tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14809116803693699212024-03-13T11:32:44.826-07:00Our Desert LifeMama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-23965368572195739782013-09-11T13:32:00.000-07:002013-09-11T13:32:10.769-07:00Detoxify Your Life - Healthy Fats<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Day 3 of the Detoxify Your Life Challenge from <a href="http://360yourlife.com/">360YourLife.com</a> is here! Today is all about FAT! Sometime in the last 20 years, everyone began to associate being overweight with consuming fats. The food market began pumping out all kinds of foods labeled "Fat Free" or "Low Fat".... yet the obesity epidemic has continued to skyrocket! All these chemicals added to food in order to make them "low fat", or "fat free" have since been proven to be more harmful for our health, and actually a cause of unhealthy weight gain. Check out the labels of foods that claim to be "fat free" or "low fat", the natural fats have been stripped away, but often replaced with starch or sugar and sugar substitutes to replace the flavor of the natural fat content. It's probably better if you avoid any product labeled "fat free" or "low fat" and instead, focus on getting natural foods that are already low in fat. Also, there is such a thing as "Good" fat, and certain fats are necessary to help us have a balanced diet and a properly functioning body! Just cutting out fats alone will not make you lose weight, as our society is quickly learning! Especially when these fats are simply being replaced by unnecessary sugars, chemically altered sugar substitutes, and addictive nutrient free starch!<br />
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Healthy fats can actually lower your risk for diabetes, heart disease, and high cholesterol. They also improve brain function, improve your mood, provide energy, and help the health of your skin, hair, and fingernails. Monounsaturated fatty acids are one example of healthy fats and can be found in Avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and poultry. Polyunsaturated fats are also beneficial to your health and are most commonly found in fish such as salmon and mackerel. There are a few sources of saturated fats which are also considered to be good for you (although most sources of Saturated fat are not good for you, if you get them through the right sources they are proven not to increase cholesterol levels) and these are the fats from coconut oil, organic grass-fed beef, and butter that is organic and made from grass-fed cows. The fats to avoid are called "Trans fats" and these are typically found in fried foods, and any food with oils added. Another name for Trans fat is "partially hydrogenated oil" and this should be avoided.<br />
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Today's challenge is to find a recipe using a "healthy fat" from this list of foods which naturally contain the best kinds of healthy fat.<br />
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Avocados<br />
Coconut Oil<br />
Olive Oil<br />
Nuts<br />
Seeds<br />
Beef (Clean / Organic / Grass Fed)<br />
Salmon (wild caught)<br />
Poultry (Clean /Organic / Free Range / Vegetarian Fed)<br />Raw, Organic Butter (from grass fed cows)<br />
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Find ways to incorporate these healthy fats into your cooking, snacking, and general diet. Avoid the things with Trans Fats and Partially hydrogenated oil, as well as staying away from things labeled "Fat Free" or "Low Fat". <br />
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My Favorite easy Salmon recipe!<br />
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<b><u>Honey-Mustard Broiled Salmon</u></b><br />
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<i>ingredients;</i><br />
Wild-Caught Salmon Fillet<br />
2 tablespoons Honey<br />
2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard<br />
1 tsp. lemon juice<br />
1 tablespoon whole Mustard Seed<br />
pinch of salt<br />
pinch of pepper<br />
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<i>Directions; </i><br />
In a bowl, mix together everything except the salmon.<br />
Place thawed salmon on baking tray, skin side down. You may want to line the tray with parchment paper to prevent sticking.<br />
Use a spoon to place the honey mustard mixture on top of the salmon in a thick layer.<br />
Refrigerate for 30 minutes to let some of the flavor soak in to the salmon.<br />
Turn broiler on high to pre-heat.<br />
Place the salmon under the broiler, 6 to 8 inches below heat source. Broil for 7 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness of the salmon. Cook until it begins to flake easily with a fork, but be careful not to overcook or it will be too dry!<br />
Enjoy!<br />
<br />Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-52637239486003823392013-09-10T15:06:00.000-07:002013-09-10T15:06:51.005-07:00Detoxify Your Life - Protein Challenge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://360yourlife.com/28-day-challenge/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinmJM1OEgqjZyNRuPME32HWLsuWYl9NDfkQWvwEAuh7Fr_5MPq6uKyKUT4YVKoQtUBlxrhV1t78grQ2dD2vRRGegP4zE9whqJGT9P5vV0M6IHQLNWV_Au1zrowEVcAXtGQS4ixsltuJvU/s1600/Untitled.jpg" /></a></div>
For Day 2 of the 28 Day Challenge from <a href="http://360yourlife.com/">360YourLife.com</a>, we are learning about Protein. Protein is an essential part of your diet. All Proteins that you eat are converted into amino acids that our cells need in order to function properly.<br />
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There are a few things everyone should know about protein. First of all, most of us were raised with the "Protein Myth", to believe that the only source of real protein is through meat products. While meat products DO provide protein, they are not the ONLY source of protein available! Getting our protein from a variety of sources is very important, because we need to make sure we are getting as many different amino acids as we can. There are 20 different kinds of amino acids, several of which our body cannot create on it's own and we need to get them through our foods. These are called "essential amino acids". The best way to make sure we are getting a variety of the 20 different kinds of amino acids is to get a variety of proteins in our diet. When people let go of the myth that "meat is where I get my protein", they become open to other great sources of proteins and essential amino acids which will help their body function at it's very best! <br />
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<b>Some non-meat <a href="http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/foods-highest-in-protein.php" target="_blank">high protein</a> foods are;</b><br />
Cheese (especially Mozzarella and cottage cheese)<br />
Tofu, Soy, Soy Beans<br />
Beans; Kidney beans, White beans, Lima Beans, fava beans, black beans etc<br />
Eggs (especially egg whites)<br />
Milk, Cheese, Yogurt<br />
Nuts and Seeds (pumpkin seeds, almonds, etc)<br />
Spirulina<br />
Flax Seeds<br />
Chia Seeds<br />
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I'm not saying you should or have to go vegetarian, just that it is beneficial for you to make sure you are getting your protein from a wide variety of sources! <br />
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The other thing everyone should be aware of with protein; is it safe? Do you know where it came from? In the case of meat... how was it raised, what was it fed, how was it processed? When it comes to other protein sources that are plant based; were they grown naturally? Organic? Are they from genetically modified crops? I know how it is, you're thinking "I would go crazy if I knew the truth about my food and where it came from. I'd rather not know." You're partly right, once you know the truth about this stuff, you can't forget it. You can't un-know it. But in this case, is Ignorance Bliss, or is Ignorance a death sentence? Studies have linked the consumption of conventionally raised meats with cancer and heart disease, hormonal disorders, etc. The long term effects of Genetically modified foods (GMOs) is still uncertain, but early testing of animals has shown a direct relationship between GMOs and cancer. The sad truth is, the food industry isn't interested in the quality of what they produce, as much as they are in the quantity, and in the end... the profit. So, even with your meats, there are healthy protiens in them... yes. But what else are you getting along with those proteins? I'm pretty sure a side effect of cancer or early heart disease is not what you wanted when you bought that steak. <br />
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What to do about it? Here is what you need to look for;<br />
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<u>Clean Protein Options</u><br />
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<ul>
<li>Organic, grass fed beef</li>
<li>Organic, free range chicken and turkey</li>
<li>Wild-caught fish</li>
<li>free-range, organic eggs</li>
<li>non GMO Soy</li>
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There are several documentaries available now which explore these ideas and the truth about the food industry. I would highly recommend you watch these;<br />
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Hungry For Change - <a href="http://www.hungryforchange.tv/">http://www.hungryforchange.tv/</a><br />
Food Inc. - <a href="http://www.takepart.com/foodinc/film">http://www.takepart.com/foodinc/film</a><br />
Food Matters - <a href="http://www.foodmatters.tv/">http://www.foodmatters.tv/</a><br />
Frankensteer - <a href="http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/frankensteer_2005/">http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/frankensteer_2005/</a><br />Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead - <a href="http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/">http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/</a><br />
Vegucated - <a href="http://www.getvegucated.com/">http://www.getvegucated.com/</a><br />
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People tell me "I don't want to know." Just stop. You NEED to know. The only way we can make a change is to first wake up and be aware, and then we can know what changes to make! The more people start changing their eating habits (and their shopping habits), the industry will follow suit and change to provide the people with what they want!!<br />
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Today's Challenge was to substitute the protein in one of your favorite recipes with a "clean" protein from the list above. <br />
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This morning I had my daily protein shake. I love using <i>Shaklee Energizing Soy Protein Powde</i>r* to make shakes, because it is high in protein, has essential amino acids, plenty of vitamins, and it is made using non-GMO Soy! <br />
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<b>Today's recipe;</b></div>
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1 cup chopped strawberries</div>
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1 1/2 cup Almond Milk</div>
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3 Tablespoons <i>Shaklee Energizing Soy Protein</i></div>
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1 tablespoon Flax Seeds</div>
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1 tablespoon Chia Seeds</div>
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Put everything in the blender except for the Chia seeds. Blend until smooth. Add the Chia seeds when you pour the smoothie in a glass. Stir & enjoy!</div>
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*If you are interested in purchasing the <i>Shaklee Energizing Soy Protein</i>, or curious about other <i>Shaklee </i>brand products, c<a href="mailto:mama_mcd@live.com" target="_blank">ontact me</a>!</div>
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I also went to the store and found some Organic, Grass Fed beef to use in our spaghetti! </div>
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and a couple other things I found at the store, while I was in the process of locating clean and healthy proteins;</div>
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<br />Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-51786326252332133382013-09-09T15:26:00.000-07:002013-09-09T15:26:07.393-07:00Detoxify Your Life, Day 1 - Grains<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://360yourlife.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://360yourlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/GRAINS1.jpg" width="223" /></a></div>
I have signed up at <a href="http://360yourlife.com/" target="_blank">360YourLife</a> for a 28 Day Challenge to Detoxify your life! I will share here what I learn, and my journey along the process!! You can sign up for the next 28 Day Challenge <a href="http://360yourlife.com/28-day-challenge/" target="_blank">HERE </a> (it starts in October) and try it yourself, or just follow along with what I share here! I do suggest you sign up at 360YourLife because you will have access to some very informative blogs, newsletters, and videos!<br />
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<b>For Week 1, we are learning about Nutrition</b>, and how to get the most out of what we eat! In today's blog and newsletter, Brooke told us about the differences between refined grains and Whole Wheat. Most things on the shelves and in your cupboards are probably Refined grains.... the pasta, bread, cereal, pizza dough, etc. that is all made from refined grains rather than Whole Wheat. In a refined grain, such as white bread and pasta, White Flour is the main ingredient. White flour is simply the endosperm of the grain....leaving out the bran and the germ portions and leaving behind just the center of the grain which is primarily starch. This makes it low in nutrients and vitamins, lacking in fiber, and the starch transforms to sugar in our blood stream leading to sugar spikes. White Flour has been linked to diabetes and Heart Disease, among other illnesses. It is also addictive! Because of the "sugar spike", we feel a temporary high (although our body has received very little nutrition) and then a "crash" later on where we feel tired and hungry again.<i> So, one of the simplest ways to eat healthier is to switch to grain products that are 100% Whole Grain</i>. This way you get the entirety of the grain, not just part of it! You get the nutrition, vitamins, and fiber that help you balance and digest the starch of the endosperm. Just as nature intended, it's better for you in it's complete form!! You want things that have the FIRST ingredient listed as Whole Wheat Flour. To help you find these items, The Whole Grains Council has created <a href="http://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grain-stamp" target="_blank">This Stamp</a> which you will see on foods that are made with Whole Wheat Flour instead of White Flour or refined, over-processed flour. Also <a href="http://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grain-stamp" target="_blank">check out this website</a> for more great information on the Health Benefits of Whole Grains!<br />
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I don't buy White Bread, but after this challenge I will be making sure to check the labels on all bread! Some so called "Wheat" bread simply adds Wheat Germ to the refined White Flour in order to call it Wheat Bread, but this is not the same! Look for Whole Wheat as the FIRST ingredient and check for the Whole Wheat stamp! As a bonus, the bread I found also has NO High Fructose Corn Syrup added! Score!! Here are a couple things I found at my local grocery store (not a health food store, just the grocery store I normally shop at)<br />
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Uncle Ben's Whole Grains Medley - Brown & Wild Rice - $1.29</div>
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Orowheat 100% Whole Wheat Bread - $2.99</div>
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Ronzoni Healthy Harvest 100% Whole Grain Spaghetti - $1.99</div>
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After discussing Whole Grains, Brooke at 360YourLife talked about Gluten Free options. Just switching to Whole Grains alone is helpful, but you are still possibly harming your body.... because let's face it... even too much of a good thing can be bad for you. If you eat the recommended daily servings of Grain (6 to 9 servings a day) but you are only getting grain that comes from Whole Wheat, you will be denying your body the variety of nutrition it needs. There are a number of health problems that have been linked to Gluten, which is found in Wheat products. Some people may choose to go 100% Gluten Free and avoid gluten altogether, but if you simply substitute some of your Wheat grains with Gluten Free options, you are giving yourself a more balanced intake of grains. Grains that are Gluten free are considered to be "sprouted grains", which are significantly higher in protein, vitamins, and enzymes. They are much lower on the Glycemic Index (G.I.), which means they are digested more slowly, keeping you feeling fuller longer. Also, since these grains are digested more slowly, there is a more gradual release of sugars into your bloodstream as the complex starches are converted into natural sugars; reducing the "sugar spike" you see from processed grains and wheat products.</div>
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Today's Challenge was this; Choose ONE of your favorite grain foods and swap it out for a Gluten-Free option. I couldn't pick just one! Here is what I was able to find at my local grocery store. Again, I was surprised I didn't have to go to a specialty health-food store to find these things! If you look close enough, they are available to you! Also, the price difference wasn't that much, I felt satisfied with the amount of money that I spent on these products! </div>
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This one isn't new to our household, it's a family favorite. </div>
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I found these Delallo brand Gluten-Free pastas. We eat a lot of pasta in our house, so it's worth it to try something new! These were on sale for $2.89 each.</div>
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Private Selection Wild Rice - $1.59 Wild Rice is a perfect example of a Sprouted Grain that is not processed or refined. You get all the good benefits of a gluten-free grain.</div>
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Village Harvest Quinoa - $5.19. Quinoa is another good example of a gluten-free Whole Sprouted Grain.</div>
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Blue Diamond Nut-Thins Crackers - $2.57 each. Wheat & Gluten free, these crackers are made from nuts and rice! </div>
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Food Should Taste Good brand Multigrain Tortilla Chips - $2.59</div>
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My kids LOVE to snack on chips! These ones are Gluten Free, made from Brown Rice, Flax, Sesame and Sunflower Seeds, and Quinoa.</div>
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So, in completing today's challenge, I think I have a good variety of snacks and side-dishes for the week that are either Whole Grain or Gluten Free! Off to a good start!! Remember if you're doing this challenge, the goal is to just pick ONE thing in your pantry and switch it out with a gluten free option. You don't have to go all out like I did, just pick one thing and make a change! Good Luck!</div>
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<br />Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-71866689685081039682013-09-04T13:25:00.000-07:002013-09-04T13:25:17.174-07:00Wordless Wednesday; Tombstone, AZ<a href="http://wordlesswednesday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">WORDLESS WEDNESDAY</a>: Tombstone, AZ<br />
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<br />Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-66850709333881803652013-09-04T13:01:00.000-07:002013-09-04T13:02:03.471-07:00Aromatherapy Bath Time for Headache or MigraineAromatherapy Bath Time!<br />
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One of the best things I have found to help with headaches and migraines is a nice soothing bath with aromatherapy! I just wanted to share a couple of the products I use for a bath with aromatherapy to help soothe my headaches and migraines!<br />
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First of all, I light candles in the bathroom. This way I can take a bath with the lights off, but am still able to see well enough that I don't slip and fall. This is great if you have sensitivity to light during your headache or migraine. But, you should be careful when using scented candles, as the perfumes used can sometimes make a migraine or headache worse. Use non-scented candles, or a scented candle that you have used before without any side-effects. You may want to try this aromatherapy candle, specifically designed with scents to help soothe a headache; <a href="http://www.scentsandscentsabilities.com/store/product114.html">http://www.scentsandscentsabilities.com/store/product114.html</a><br />
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I found this blended "bath tea" at a local shop and I just love it! They have a few different aromatherapy scents available, and of course my favorite for headache or migraine is the one called "Headache" at the bottom of the list. <a href="http://www.scentsandscentsabilities.com/store/page38.html">http://www.scentsandscentsabilities.com/store/page38.html</a><br />
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I also like to add in a few handfuls of <a href="http://www.target.com/p/dr-teals-epsom-salt-soaking-solution-3-lb/-/A-13983533?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=Google_PLA_df&LNM=%7C13983533&CPNG=Health+Beauty&kpid=13983533&LID=PA&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=13983533&gclid=CJv_hN7CsrkCFShxQgodjmIA3g" target="_blank">Dr. Teal's Epsom Salt Soaking Solution in the Chamomile scent</a>. There is also a Lavender scent available but I find the chamomile scent to be the most helpful for headache pain.<br />
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You may wish to roll up a small towel to place under your neck for some neck support while you soak in your hot bath. Breathe deeply and evenly to get the full benefits of the aromatherapy, and allow the hot water and Epsom salts to soothe away muscle pain and tension. <br />
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For migraines, this is not a cure, but it can help shorten the duration of your migraine or reduce the severity of the symptoms. It can help you relax enough to get some sleep. <br />
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I hope this helps anyone who suffers from Migraines, tension headaches, or headaches in general! You may also be interested in my previous blog post; <a href="http://ourdesertlife2.blogspot.com/2013/03/tackle-it-tuesday-migraine-relief-kit.html" target="_blank">Migraine Relief Kit</a>Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-66389825924921832802013-03-19T01:00:00.000-07:002013-09-04T13:01:51.864-07:00Tackle It Tuesday - Migraine Relief Kit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.5minutesformom.com/category/feature-columns/tackle-it-tuesday/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6V2X_2XZuygDmE1gtqRVTMGqaWSuHlGshdsCHNa_Vd27UsF9PYuGMjjpOJ6uakR4YKWMJHRirMW5hPjCNAOo_dge5GUOlMjmuCJDKZtIsoMuUPi-C4UGtcyKnOI_a467wKZJPpEk5V2g/s320/9132a6d0.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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For this week's Tackle It Tuesday post, I wanted to share with you how I made my Migraine Relief Kit and what goes in it! I have suffered from migraines since I was a teenager and I have learned a lot about what helps relieve them when I have them. The trouble is, once I have a migraine, I can't think or function well enough to remember all my remedies! So I was looking at a post about a first aid kit, and I thought, why not make a Migraine Relief Kit? Something where I can have all my migraine relief remedies all in one place? Here's my kit;</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiejMUPSQHhyphenhyphendIyMqIBBlgQmpNrlD0E3TZwPmOgsAGfm3S8bFT8jAM78Bg6o8x72DrgI3ucYYASAvDuzcU9IocVt4pUU_YtBEMN2rWHK0nbzBaC72BxD0J5_sECut2cVNPNmGIFB8DIG8/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiejMUPSQHhyphenhyphendIyMqIBBlgQmpNrlD0E3TZwPmOgsAGfm3S8bFT8jAM78Bg6o8x72DrgI3ucYYASAvDuzcU9IocVt4pUU_YtBEMN2rWHK0nbzBaC72BxD0J5_sECut2cVNPNmGIFB8DIG8/s400/002.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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What's in it? Below are pictures and descriptions of everything in my box.</div>
As you can see, I have a large bottle of electrolyte water. Often times, migraines and headaches are a sign that you are dehydrated. I have this in my kit just in case I am out of drinking water, and to serve as a reminder to drink plenty of water once my migraine begins!<br />
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This is my favorite lotion from Bath & Body Works. Stress Relief Hand cream. Aromatherapy can work wonders for migraines, and rubbing some of this on my hands, neck, and shoulders can really help. Plus, it helps remind me that some simple self-massage and reflexology can help too. There are pressure points on your hands, feet, and neck that can help with headaches and migraines. If you suffer from headaches or migraines I strongly suggest you learn some of these reflexology pressure points. And this lotion is wonderfully relaxing whether you have a headache or not!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSd0TYl7kZ8HdeCRktgDqLucaOIaan-TZKq_4vgigOtbvamKYl8hTh_BL6CRDK54BLgKVILYHESHgM2OcyxLqp6ofJXJn8BjEzzaWWKxAPL0daqMC3pP2zh4eWc9OtH66qqLIaBHI740/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSd0TYl7kZ8HdeCRktgDqLucaOIaan-TZKq_4vgigOtbvamKYl8hTh_BL6CRDK54BLgKVILYHESHgM2OcyxLqp6ofJXJn8BjEzzaWWKxAPL0daqMC3pP2zh4eWc9OtH66qqLIaBHI740/s320/004.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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I suffer from the migraines that not only make my eyes very sensitive to light, but there is usually pounding, excruciating pain behind one of or both of my eyes. I went looking for a sleep mask, and I found this sleep mask at Walgreens. It has removable gel inserts that you can put in the freezer and then back into the sleep mask. Oh that nice cool feeling on top of my eyelids, while also shielding my eyes from any light in the room.... it's really a GREAT find for migraine and headache sufferers! I can pop the inserts into the freezer for about 5 minutes and then be ready to go!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6s2b2Yg5ePEC3Eoy6tOXb9da_h3FJ_pESR793ORfQql8Vgm9rYyII3RjXuuY1l-yJCOMI_V-vQtxCnLPRmkGNheqs2X8xqS_dY07ASeLwzowvlpZSUPS7T3PmqHJL5zogjU8k_Rngofo/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6s2b2Yg5ePEC3Eoy6tOXb9da_h3FJ_pESR793ORfQql8Vgm9rYyII3RjXuuY1l-yJCOMI_V-vQtxCnLPRmkGNheqs2X8xqS_dY07ASeLwzowvlpZSUPS7T3PmqHJL5zogjU8k_Rngofo/s320/005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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As I mentioned before, aromatherapy can really help. I have this bottle of eucalyptus oil in my kit to remind me to use it in my oil warmer. For headaches I would recommend either Eucalyptus or Lavender scented oils in a diffuser. Experiment and see what works for you, but be careful because some scents can actually trigger migraines. Also, make sure you use pure essential oil, not perfume oil. The "perfume" oils contain chemicals that can make your migraines worse.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYk_x21fokFZbMY9GnBpmLAevBlWpSASCpakeHPGnF2rEo2N8CIOv0rtZ1CxT816yNfjrWIRRrk5bfazKqCMAlw6K2LK_f2fZAfaRhuCugbVBnYmf3eiSMPtZtyqCBGrkKWTVecRYze4/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYk_x21fokFZbMY9GnBpmLAevBlWpSASCpakeHPGnF2rEo2N8CIOv0rtZ1CxT816yNfjrWIRRrk5bfazKqCMAlw6K2LK_f2fZAfaRhuCugbVBnYmf3eiSMPtZtyqCBGrkKWTVecRYze4/s320/006.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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My heating pad. I made this one myself, with a fuzzy sock! I filled the sock with a mixture of dry uncooked white rice, some eucalyptus scented Epsom salts, and some dry crushed spearmint. I sewed the end shut with needle and thread. When I need it I heat it up in the microwave for about two minutes and then put it behind my neck. The heat combines with the soothing scent is so relaxing! Migraines and headaches often come with neck and shoulder tension, so this is a must-have for a migraine relief kit! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU86j6kj5PKgoAOWfaoXoRvTftBSzovpH9s_9oL7LXhixCNPTPCcTA2vit1-4r5OK8Up3QAisiXGWkDedfn16W_6RFuYqrguBV9BrRuT-t8g0sFh5x-cFUGP3R_SuOkbIq2KOsjfT4geI/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU86j6kj5PKgoAOWfaoXoRvTftBSzovpH9s_9oL7LXhixCNPTPCcTA2vit1-4r5OK8Up3QAisiXGWkDedfn16W_6RFuYqrguBV9BrRuT-t8g0sFh5x-cFUGP3R_SuOkbIq2KOsjfT4geI/s320/003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Of course, some obvious essentials... over the counter migraine relief medication!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVFF4sc5qPeDXdHW1RT04qRPGyMzYGKTYwwdyno6pVbB2nO3HP9M7ek0wEQhodd5RJzMx5h-8dO-GVV76Oy_enubft6XDHYgfLbKdxFl3A6SZAeLVt_wQ_lgTCIwjKeULav3pWHROXzd0/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVFF4sc5qPeDXdHW1RT04qRPGyMzYGKTYwwdyno6pVbB2nO3HP9M7ek0wEQhodd5RJzMx5h-8dO-GVV76Oy_enubft6XDHYgfLbKdxFl3A6SZAeLVt_wQ_lgTCIwjKeULav3pWHROXzd0/s320/007.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I found this in a little shop of natural teas and remedies. It's a loose tea blend of chamomile, white willow bark, and a couple other herbs that are known for pain relieving. I haven't tried it out yet, but once I try it I will let you know how it works!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAgKKiiYHYJkM4S5vsU0PVyTkSUEBzGo4wHuTlOthoWQcLAU0Ufr4za-kds8JMhPquiZjDzJ6RhjYSp4ErTuGmdfyjclwEiIdV-jUqwONy4A3N6KMwax7tkbsPAfSuIokn2EmeC8NTo8g/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAgKKiiYHYJkM4S5vsU0PVyTkSUEBzGo4wHuTlOthoWQcLAU0Ufr4za-kds8JMhPquiZjDzJ6RhjYSp4ErTuGmdfyjclwEiIdV-jUqwONy4A3N6KMwax7tkbsPAfSuIokn2EmeC8NTo8g/s320/009.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I also included a couple other tea bags of my favorite soothing teas. I have a Stash Chai Green Tea, a Stash Chai White Tea, and Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Extra (with valerian). A nice soothing cup of hot tea helps me relax and fall asleep. Plus, I often get a sour stomach and nausea with my migraines, so hot tea helps with that symptom as well.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsofj_c7bIbSh8iM-0AEGeu7TfzEVGhG1uYVVmZA7MOCQgRnjzIXk_1zMGuL-xAuWuwGo5gSagYmELo_4HUJXxf5_XUg4VkoqByEOB8E19lNV4xJYaLfjQpI1gQclXerZO8ll8w7yMww8/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsofj_c7bIbSh8iM-0AEGeu7TfzEVGhG1uYVVmZA7MOCQgRnjzIXk_1zMGuL-xAuWuwGo5gSagYmELo_4HUJXxf5_XUg4VkoqByEOB8E19lNV4xJYaLfjQpI1gQclXerZO8ll8w7yMww8/s320/008.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is another aromatherapy remedy! This is a "Bath Tea" of a blend of herbs and essential oils. You put it in a bath tub full of hot water and it releases the scent into the bath water. VERY relaxing and effective!</div>
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This is some allergy medicine. Antihistamines can help relieve a migraine. I put these in my kit because I know it works, but I almost always tend to forget about taking them once a migraine hits!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEf2ckL84zIpAiahg8FzfHFyTyodZrH1JvoM0PTNlkF64evAWbSKZNGH513RDi3YWPWEJk0Ey5uMD_27X8IqF9PkwaX6oCet7GLocWfLAUqgKHfP9xI3y3pupDTnVMBSnXPMXvZwXDLcM/s1600/011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEf2ckL84zIpAiahg8FzfHFyTyodZrH1JvoM0PTNlkF64evAWbSKZNGH513RDi3YWPWEJk0Ey5uMD_27X8IqF9PkwaX6oCet7GLocWfLAUqgKHfP9xI3y3pupDTnVMBSnXPMXvZwXDLcM/s320/011.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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AND, last but not least, Emergency Chocolate! Because sometimes a migraine or headache can be caused by, or aggravated by low blood sugar. And besides that, chocolate just makes me feel better. If you put some chocolate in your kit, make sure it is Milk Chocolate, NOT Dark Chocolate! Dark Chocolate is a migraine trigger, and might actually make your headache worse!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfyGEhVVzGje1a6QLiJiQRZXQZxaPXx8166WnzMeH4QxNBOIEc_YHnag2tuJyw_HjCUJBg68J07saUHVmyi5HpFyHrLM_EX55NNOXV0QQF-VEp7YhzWoKsD_PWf_7iNoO0l0VdlAHhs4/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfyGEhVVzGje1a6QLiJiQRZXQZxaPXx8166WnzMeH4QxNBOIEc_YHnag2tuJyw_HjCUJBg68J07saUHVmyi5HpFyHrLM_EX55NNOXV0QQF-VEp7YhzWoKsD_PWf_7iNoO0l0VdlAHhs4/s320/012.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you suffer from migraines, educate yourself on as many remedies as you can, and try to figure out what your triggers are so you can avoid them. Common triggers are stress, dehydration, hormones, perfumes, chemicals, and some foods. The most common foods that can trigger a migraine are; Sharp Cheeses, Dark Chocolate, Citrus fruits, and Red Wine. You may be triggered by one or more of these things, and there may be things that trigger your migraine that are not listed here. The best defense is to prevent the migraine by avoiding your triggers, but they can't all be avoided all the time, so maybe you will want to put together your own Migraine or Headache Relief kit to have everything in one place when they do strike! </div>
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<br />Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-47981275540915814112013-03-17T21:06:00.000-07:002013-03-17T21:06:16.130-07:00It's Monday! What Are You Reading?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Join the Meme at Book Journey with me! Come check out <a href="http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/2013/03/17/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-181/" target="_blank">It's Monday! What Are You Reading?</a><br />
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Last time I posted, I had just started reading <a href="http://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden" target="_blank">The Dresden Files</a> by Jim Butcher. Well, guess what? I'm hopelessly addicted. Each time I finish a book in the series. I say to myself, "<em>Maybe I should look for something different to read for awhile</em>." And then I say to myself, "<em>Ha! Who are you kidding?"</em> and start the next book in the series.<br />
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So now I'm on book 6. I think I need to pace myself. Slow down, take it easy. After all, what will I do when I have read through all of them, and have nothing left to live for? I haven't felt this way about a book series since Harry Potter. Come to think of it, The Dresden Files IS a "Harry Potter" for grown ups. Even the main character's first name is Harry. (Although the ubiquitous Harry Dresden was named after the Magician, Harry Houdini.) Harry the grown up Wizard isn't in Magic School, he's living in Chicago where most people don't know about or don't believe in magic. Yet he manages to make a living as a Supernatural Investigator, doing all kinds of odd jobs that mostly end up with him battling the ultimate evil and almost losing his life. He has to skirt around the rules laid down by the White Council, very much akin to how Harry Potter had to question the sanity and integrity of the Ministry of Magic. With each book there is a new case, a new mystery to solve. Yet there is an ongoing plot line that continues through each book and takes you deeper into Harry's past (which haunts him), and effects how and why he makes choices through each book.<br />
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Did I mention I just LOVE this series?<br />
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Anyways, I am in the middle of Book Six, <a href="http://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/blood-rites" target="_blank">Blood Rites</a>;<br />
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<em>"For Harry Dresden, there have been worse assignments than going undercover on the set of an adult film. Still, there’s something more troubling than usual about his newest case. The film’s producer believes he’s the target of a sinister curse-but it’s the women around him who are dying.</em><br />
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<em>Harry’s even more frustrated because he only got involved with this bizarre mystery as a favor to Thomas-his flirtatious, self-absorbed vampire acquaintance of dubious integrity. Thomas has a personal stake in the case Harry can’t quite figure out. But Harry is about to discover that Thomas’ family tree has been hiding a shocking revelation that will change his life forever…"</em><br />
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<strong>Sample of Chapter 1</strong>; <a href="http://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/blood-rites/br-chapter-1">http://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/blood-rites/br-chapter-1</a><br />
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<strong>Monday Ramblings.</strong><br />Onward, another week to conquer. This week the kids go back to school. (They were out on Spring Break last week) I have my usual work schedule, and faithful hubby is working 7 days a week. So far, it's been 14 days since he last had a day off. This week in Mom-Land I will try to stay on top of housework, focusing on Laundry and organizing my Master Bedroom. I have something exciting to share with you tomorrow for Tackle It Tuesday, so come back tomorrow to see it! <br />
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Have a Great Week! Please leave a comment and tell me what YOU are reading right now!<br />
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<br />Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-60255154243549579522013-02-06T07:50:00.001-08:002013-03-02T22:47:00.803-08:00Living Room Organization<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.5minutesformom.com/category/feature-columns/tackle-it-tuesday/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6V2X_2XZuygDmE1gtqRVTMGqaWSuHlGshdsCHNa_Vd27UsF9PYuGMjjpOJ6uakR4YKWMJHRirMW5hPjCNAOo_dge5GUOlMjmuCJDKZtIsoMuUPi-C4UGtcyKnOI_a467wKZJPpEk5V2g/s320/9132a6d0.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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This week I am sharing what I did last week in my home! I focused on cleaning & organizing The Living Room! To get ideas for your own "Tackle It Tuesday" project or to see what other bloggers are sharing, check out <a href="http://www.5minutesformom.com/category/feature-columns/tackle-it-tuesday/" target="_blank">Tackle It Tuesday at 5 Minutes For Mom!</a></div>
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Last week (Jan. 28 thru 31st) was a time to focus on Zone 5 (<a href="http://flylady.net/">FlyLady.net</a>). Each week FlyLady has a different "<a href="http://www.flylady.net/d/zones/zone-1/" target="_blank">zone</a>" or area of the home that you focus on for decluttering or deep-cleaning. So this I a big part of why I focused on my Living Room last week!</div>
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<a href="http://www.abowlfulloflemons.net/2012/11/home-organization-101-week-11-the-living-room.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifiQR3F0gWluLmTsE6NOD-wZ4_bzcJC1V12bfUWhQKK3PUf1PPU01wNyqNe4s3pUB2-LtSK9NHYeqUGfDPYi12YcKnMSEsXG8tNAOnOoonMZB5wxYNY3cBWKhCFDQdRWa_rDhiczlIIvM/s1600/7844547136_48b81fc455.jpg" /></a></div>
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This week's organization was also inspired by the <a href="http://www.abowlfulloflemons.net/category/home-organization-101" target="_blank">Home Organization 101 Challenge</a> at A Bowl Full of Lemons! Check out <a href="http://www.abowlfulloflemons.net/2012/11/home-organization-101-week-11-the-living-room.html" target="_blank">this awesome livingroom</a> and see where I got my inspiration and see what other bloggers did in their Living rooms as well!<br />
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First of all, my Living Room was DUSTY! One of the joys of living in the desert! Dust gets everywhere and builds up very quickly! I had neglected dusting in here for awhile as you can see with the following before and after pictures!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-d-Hh3vO8AZYcfY2stsaYWBui8D0klKsOtNM-KfTS3adQxi6e-si1Qr5mhFfprwpqhMhtvk45W8Ieu2bJUukoA9r65CUvOainU69mbCjXvICVmYTFBuRMz7mA-9-IXsXKfsvvqDpXfRw/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-d-Hh3vO8AZYcfY2stsaYWBui8D0klKsOtNM-KfTS3adQxi6e-si1Qr5mhFfprwpqhMhtvk45W8Ieu2bJUukoA9r65CUvOainU69mbCjXvICVmYTFBuRMz7mA-9-IXsXKfsvvqDpXfRw/s320/004.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfDJVet3tWU8bL0pk3wUXw_caxljR00RetfHkBTvD3Cnv7nrkBc2ULUlF2vQQI32_XJAKEY3dyaqWLDeUiPkrE3BbKPBCqAIqkAC7wKurCMrOmoNVgkelwkxbHGO8obHY8jQaaj6b_tdw/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfDJVet3tWU8bL0pk3wUXw_caxljR00RetfHkBTvD3Cnv7nrkBc2ULUlF2vQQI32_XJAKEY3dyaqWLDeUiPkrE3BbKPBCqAIqkAC7wKurCMrOmoNVgkelwkxbHGO8obHY8jQaaj6b_tdw/s320/008.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I loved using <a href="http://ourdesertlife2.blogspot.com/2013/01/product-review-and-giveaway.html" target="_blank">Shaklee's Basic H2</a> for dusting! Just a little spray on a towel and I was able to get all my surfaces super shiny, without any chemical smell, and with the peace of mind of knowing I used a safe & healthy product! </div>
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Moving on... the shelves under the tv were a bit cluttered! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQp5ky5z4RB_fDUfJpcQbuLd9RiQdd9r9nCB9RDfAcJ_O_cRlOSARlYueWXrajwQZ8OlnBNOfi01PgLDjUjxSYUB7rfp6tFk50xdvSkYzuGZk2oJ9BUPGaVKBi1VJlaKQL1M5JsRtOzQM/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQp5ky5z4RB_fDUfJpcQbuLd9RiQdd9r9nCB9RDfAcJ_O_cRlOSARlYueWXrajwQZ8OlnBNOfi01PgLDjUjxSYUB7rfp6tFk50xdvSkYzuGZk2oJ9BUPGaVKBi1VJlaKQL1M5JsRtOzQM/s320/001.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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I sorted through the books and got rid of quite a few that the kids had outgrown. Some of the books were moved to the girls' bedroom. What was left all fit on the bottom shelf, leaving the middle shelf open for video games and a few DVD's. The canvas caddy box with blue spots on it now serves as a storage bin for remote controls and game controllers.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1pgI4eJAwTD_zkbZPeEsTBTml-W42lTsTHQDrI5r4lH6MMb7zCZG-ftmQ4fQufl6g3UIINj-IozVgwTdf1k25dPZin3py8K9J2P4RLvmsmurmHffmb5D7f-yuLmPBlun12qXyTnRzLNg/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1pgI4eJAwTD_zkbZPeEsTBTml-W42lTsTHQDrI5r4lH6MMb7zCZG-ftmQ4fQufl6g3UIINj-IozVgwTdf1k25dPZin3py8K9J2P4RLvmsmurmHffmb5D7f-yuLmPBlun12qXyTnRzLNg/s320/003.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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This corner was very cluttered! A lot of papers and miscellaneous stuff, but most of it was my hubby's guitar stuff. (Guitar strings, picks, supplies, and books) He has been teaching himself to play guitar over the past couple of years.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTMvP63T-dXEbDdF2FQJlnL-jnUQ2lD8WcOyC0iZELMP69PvFsHvABWTBBZXbqdjnDgT0UJr9W0YaJnfNNru79j1bX_c44derR2J3oIP3Sds8heWnk2od_oVot0x_1XxkhNZ2CI9sYSY/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTMvP63T-dXEbDdF2FQJlnL-jnUQ2lD8WcOyC0iZELMP69PvFsHvABWTBBZXbqdjnDgT0UJr9W0YaJnfNNru79j1bX_c44derR2J3oIP3Sds8heWnk2od_oVot0x_1XxkhNZ2CI9sYSY/s320/002.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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I straightened up the table, and put all hubby's guitar related stuff in a basket! </div>
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Now it looks like this! Hubby's two guitars, Miss Z's Guitar. The window unit A/C is tucked under the small table for storage until summer when we need it again. I even framed and hung up a picture above the table to add some more decoration to the room!</div>
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It's a picture of Jerry Garcia! Drawn by my very talented brother. He did this in an art class in college. I'm glad it finally has a home, displayed above our little "Music Corner" in the Living Room!<br />
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Onward - a couple more areas needed dusting and straightening....<br />
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Yeah. The ceiling fan was gross! I used a duster with an extension handle on it to reach it. Funny how those things get so dusty when they are constantly moving!</div>
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Anyways... that was my living room project! It's nice to know that there are specific "homes" for things in my living room now, and easier to maintain with specific places to put things. If it doesn't have a home in the living room, out it goes! </div>
Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-88890239015001642902013-01-31T09:34:00.000-08:002013-01-31T09:34:14.376-08:00Product Review - AND ~ A Giveaway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Have you ever used a product and been so impressed with it that you wanted to tell everyone you know about it? You feel like a walking commercial when you do that! But when a product really works, and leaves you feeling happy and satisfied, you want to share that with your friends and loved ones! </div>
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This is how I have felt since I started using Shaklee's Basic H2 Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate. I have been telling my mom, my friends, my online friends... just about everyone I know about how good it works! They probably think I'm a little crazy... I mean, who gets excited about a household cleaner?</div>
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Well, first of all I ordered it because I am interested in using products that are less toxic and less dangerous around kids and pets. Have you read the warning labels and ingredient labels on some of your store-bought cleaners? I have, and they give me chills. As a mother of three children and also the owner of a cat who is very much a part of our family... when I heard there was something out there that was safer and more natural, I was excited to make the switch!</div>
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The thing is, I just wasn't expecting it to actually CLEAN as well as it does!</div>
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First impression; <br />I read the directions. "Mix 1/4 of a teaspoon with 16 oz of water in a spray bottle." I looked at the spray bottle, measured out 1/4 of a teaspoon, and thought... "surely this isn't going to be enough!" <em>A fourth of a teaspoon</em> seems so small! I shrugged... if I needed to add more, I would add more. I started cleaning.... and then I started to really get excited! Dirt was coming off of surfaces in my home that I thought it would never come off of! Things were coming clean with just a couple gentle wipes, that normally would have taken some extra scrubbing. There is virtually no smell... in no time my kitchen was sparkling but there was no chemical smell in the air! Get this; as I was cleaning my kids came in. I said, "Watch this!" and sprayed some on the refrigerator and we watched it start to come clean right before our eyes. <em> My kids got excited and wanted to take turns using the spray bottle to clean off walls and counter tops</em>! I am not making this up, this stuff made my kids <em>WANT</em> to clean! And as a bonus I wasn't worried about my son -who has asthma - while he was using the product... no coughing or wheezing occurred which sometimes happens when he is around the fumes of the harsh chemical products.</div>
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Since then I have been using the Basic H2 all over my house... to clean walls, counter tops, windows, floors... it really is possible to use on everything! I have been looking at my house in a whole new way, instead of looking at some things as "terminally dirty", I now look at them and think; "I bet the Basic H2 can take care of that!" And I haven't even used an 8th of my bottle yet! Since it's so highly concentrated, a little bit goes a long way! I have been able to throw away various bottles of toxic cleaners under my sink and now just have one product for cleaning around the house. Good-bye Pine-Sol, Windex, and Mr. Clean! Hello Shaklee!</div>
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Here's the exciting news! I am so happy with this product, I want to share it with you! I want others to have a chance to experience what I have! You can't buy Shaklee products in the store... you have to buy them from a distributor. Shaklee has some other great cleaning products... from laundry detergent to dishwasher detergent. I would be happy to tell you more! Shaklee also has nutritional supplements for adults and children, weigh loss products, and beauty products... all natural, all designed to be safe for you, safe for your home, safe for your family! When you sign up for a Shaklee Membership, (less than $20) you get a discount on all their products, and you get an inside look at everything they have to offer.</div>
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<strong>I am going to give away one free bottle of Basic H2 Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate</strong>! A $12.15 value... one bottle of concentrate makes 48 gallons of household cleaner! Everyone who signs up the be a member or distributor in the month of February will have their name entered in a drawing! At the end of February, I will draw one lucky winner to receive the free bottle of Basic H2! And you will already be a winner when you sign up for membership because you will be giving yourself access to all of Shaklee's other great products!</div>
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If you are interested, or would just like more information, please e-mail me at <a href="mailto:mama_mcd@live.com">mama_mcd@live.com</a> with "Shaklee" in the subject line. I will be happy to answer any of your questions, and tell you more about Shaklee products and opportunities! </div>
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<br />Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-65974411259628227162013-01-28T07:58:00.001-08:002013-01-28T07:58:56.314-08:00It's Monday! What are you reading?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/2013/01/27/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-173/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTgD3rfVsyYzuDkW3kbR-yhwhQkZXdbL1Z_yEr4XLj71PmrFb8oGjfMPGeHe2PTcSDt0P2A0uhXXukijwE0pcDk8HdakmsJe8mUuQHT5IZLy47f5WYTOjmmDbOYRjFor8kiUoscy-7Oxo/s1600/Monday36.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/2013/01/27/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-173/" target="_blank">It's Monday! What are you reading</a>?</div>
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Last week I started reading <a href="http://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/storm-front" target="_blank">Storm Front by Jim Butcher</a>. It's the first book in a series called The Dresden Files. </div>
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"<em>Harry Dresden is the best at what he does. Well, technically, he’s the only at what he does. So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal creativity or capability, they come to him for answers. For the “everyday” world is actually full of strange and magical things — and most of them don’t play well with humans. That’s where Harry comes in. Takes a wizard to catch a — well, whatever.</em><br />
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<em>There’s just one problem. Business, to put it mildly, stinks. So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry’s seeing dollar signs. But where there’s black magic, there’s a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry’s name. And that’s when things start to get… interesting.</em><br />
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<em>Magic. It can get a guy killed."</em><br />
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So far I am REALLY enjoying this book! It is action packed... just when you think Harry Dresden might catch a break, he finds himself in bad situations again. Like being threatened by a mob boss, hit on the head with a baseball bat, or attacked by a demon. He's just trying to earn a paycheck to pay his rent by helping the police solve a double homicide, but of course this puts him in all kinds of danger. The best part of the book is Harry's narrative. Despite being a powerful wizard, he is pretty down-to-earth, and reacts to his changing situations in a realistic and <em>human</em> way... his character is very believable and you can't help but relate to him and root for him. <br />
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How is it that I didn't even know this book series existed until now? There are 13 books in the series, so I know I will have plenty to read! Thanks to my friend Amanda who suggested this book for me!<br />
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What are YOU reading? I want to know!!<br />
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<br />Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-48126140215462121972013-01-23T08:18:00.001-08:002013-01-23T08:18:55.481-08:00Wordless Wednesday - Green Juice!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(Recipe; <a href="http://youtu.be/YHGDyPAohzc" target="_blank">HERE)</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://wordlesswednesday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Wordless Wednesday!</a></span></div>
Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-35132423332445216682013-01-21T14:49:00.001-08:002013-01-21T14:49:54.970-08:00D.I.Y. Laundry Essentials!<em>Recently a friend shared with me this great blog post with some wonderful DIY, Home-made laundry essentials! I have already been making my own laundry soap for about 2 years now, but I thought this post had some great tips and I wanted to pass it on! <br /></em><a href="http://campwander.blogspot.com/2012/08/top-3-diy-lavender-laundry-essentials.html" target="_blank"><em>Top 3 DIY Lavender Laundry Essentials!</em></a><br />
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<em>So check it out! Today I had a "Laundry Day"... I washed some laundry, made the Lavender Scented Dryer balls as mentioned in the other blog, also made the Lavender Scented Fabric Softener! I was already using Vinegar as a fabric softener but I loved the idea of making it scented! Then I washed some more laundry because I had to try out my new products! I must say I Love the Fabric Softener and Dryer Balls! Thanks so much, </em><a href="http://campwander.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><em>Camp Wander</em></a><em>!!<br /><br />I went ahead and made another batch of laundry soap, since I was almost out. I make a liquid soap version vs. the powdered version mentioned at the other blog, but the ingredients are pretty much the same!</em> Here is what I do;<br />
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<strong>Supplies;</strong><br />1/2 Cup Borax Powder<br />1/2 Cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda<br />1/2 bar of Pink Zote Soap<br />* 4 scoops of Oxi-Clean (using the scoop provided in the container... looks like it is also about 1/2 cup)<br />
A cheese grater<br />
a 5 gallon bucket to mix everything in<br />
a medium sized pot for the stove<br />
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<strong>Directions;</strong><br />Grate the 1/2 bar of Zote soap with a cheese grater. You don't have to use the Pink kind, the plain white bar works fine too. You can also substitute Fels-Naptha soap. These can both be found in the laundry section of most grocery stores.<br />
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In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients... the Borax, Washing Soda, and optionally the powdered Oxy-Clean (Oxygenated Bleach). Set this aside.<br />
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On the stove, bring the medium saucepan filled with water to just below boiling. Turn the temp down to medium, medium low to keep it warm. Slowly add in the grated Zote soap while stirring, you want it to melt evenly and avoid clumps and I find it works best if you just sprinkle a little at a time into the hot water while stirring.<br />
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In the 5 gallon bucket, fill it half way with warm water and add the dry mixture of Borax, Washing Soda, and Oxy-Clean. Mix until all the dry ingredients are dissolved. Slowly pour in the melted pink Zote & water mixture from the pan you had on the stove. Mix well. Add more water until the bucket is full, mixing well. <br />
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Cover the bucket with Plastic Wrap, set it aside somewhere safe and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours. It will thicken and become more gel-like. Mix again, and then you can add it to empty bottles to be used for laundry! I used empty bottles from store-bought detergent I had bought before, because they have the lid for measuring and store easily. Hard to believe that I have been using those same bottles for nearly 2 years, just refilling them with my own home-made soap!<br />
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For washing I use 1 cap full of detergent for small loads and 2 cap fulls of detergent for large loads. I sometimes add more Oxy-Clean if the clothes are particularly stained, or for my work shirts which need to be very white! Adding 1/2 cup of plain white vinegar to the water at the rinse cycle really helps soften the clothes and leaves them deodorized. Check out that blog post above to learn how to make the scented version of this fabric softener!<br />
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<em>After making my Dryer Balls, my Laundry Soap, and the Fabric Softener, I decided I needed to clean my laundry room, because these great products need a nice cozy place to live, right? I swept, mopped, and wiped down all the surfaces in my laundry room (top of washer & dryer, and top of the water heater) Now I have lots of lavender-scented clean laundry to fold and put away, but that doesn't sound too terrible! I am gonna sit down in front of the TV and start folding! Sounds like a great way to wind down from my busy day!</em> Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-83978254003942033272013-01-20T21:15:00.000-08:002013-01-20T21:15:06.553-08:00My 3-Day Detox!Hello friends! I know it's been awhile since I have blogged here, and I hope to remedy that! I hope you are all doing well and that 2013 has been amazing for you so far! It's been pretty fantastic for me so far!<br />
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I wanted to tell you about something I did this last week! I did a 3 day detox to help remove toxins from my bodies. I was thinking a lot about how the sugars, processed foods, etc have lots of added stuff we don't need, and how our bodies sometimes need help getting rid of those toxins! The best way to get those toxins out of your body is to avoid the source of those toxins! <br />
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<strong>For THREE Days I had; No Meat, No Dairy*, No Sugars, No Processed Foods, No Coffee!</strong> I did this to give my body a chance to cleanse itself, sort of a Re-Boot of my system! I recently started taking a new vitamin supplement; <em>VitaLea from Shaklee</em>. I was also using <em>Shaklee's Energizing Soy Protein</em> Powder added into smoothies every day before work. Within 6 days of taking these I was already noticing a huge difference in the way I felt! More sustained energy, better mood, less fatigue, less body aches, and the bronchitis I had been fighting off since Christmas finally went away! This was great, but I figured if I felt this good now, how much better would I feel if I detoxed my body of all this other junk and really gave my body the ability to fully absorb some of these great nutrients I was giving it! So I decided to do a 3 Day Detox and give my body the Re-Boot it really needed!<br />
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Fo<strong>r Day 1</strong>, I started with Shank Prakshalana. This is an ancient Yoga method for clearing out the bowels, intestines, and colon. It's basically a salt-water cleanse in which you drink salted water and then do a series of yoga moves to open the intestines and get the water flowing through your system. It's not very glamorous, and I won't go into too much detail here... but the point is you remove a lot of the "stuff" that gets stuck in all the twists and turns of the intestines and lines the inside of the colon. There are many health benefits to doing Shank Prakshalana, and I highly suggest you research it and learn as much about it as you can before you give it a try! Learn more <a href="http://www.centrejaya.org/spip.php?article694" target="_blank">HERE</a>, and <a href="http://www.yogapoint.com/info/shankha_praksha.htm" target="_blank">Here</a>, and <a href="http://newtherapies.blogspot.com/2012/07/hindu-bowel-cleansing-mode-shank.html" target="_blank">HeRe</a>. :) <br />
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After the Shank Prakshalana I ate a bowl of cooked rice with butter. It's necessary to eat something solid, yet easy on the system, and suggested to have something buttery to help lubricate the intestinal walls. But you want to stick with something very plain... nothing spicy or overly flavored, and nothing too hard to digest. <br />
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For awhile after eating my rice I just sipped some water with lime slices and mint leaves added in. I made sure to drink plenty of water the rest of the day and through my whole 3 day detox. <br />
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Later on that day, I made a smoothie. I made it with Blueberries, Almond Milk, Plain Organic Yogurt, and My Shaklee Energizing Soy Protein Powder. *(the plain organic yogurt is the only dairy, other than some butter in my rice, that I had for this whole 3-day detox.) With this I took my daily multivitamins, and then some more water. I continued to sip on water all day. <br />
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At dinner time I had another bowl of rice with butter, but I also added in some fresh baby spinach. More water before bed!<br />
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<strong>Day 2</strong>, for breakfast I made myself a nice cup of hot green tea with some organic honey, and a bowl of plain oatmeal. Usually I have coffee with lots of flavored creamer, and if I have oatmeal I usually add milk and sugar or use the pre-flavored sweetened kind.<br />
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A little before lunch time I made a juice with my juicer - I used 2 grapefruits, a large cucumber, and about 3 big handfuls of baby spinach. It was delicious! <br />
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For Lunch I had another smoothie, the same as on Day 1.<br />
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For Dinner I had more rice with butter, and with cooked baby spinach and carrots added in.<br />
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All day long I drank LOTS of water!<br />
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F<strong>or Day 3</strong>, I had my Green Tea, no honey added. I didn't have any oatmeal or anything else to eat. Surprisingly, I just wasn't feeling hungry yet. <br />
About an hour after I got up, I made another juice in my juicer; Grapefruit, Spinach, cucumber, and beet. YUM! <br />
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For lunch I made my smoothie again, but this time I added spinach to the blender! 2 large handfuls of baby spinach leaves, lots of blueberries, plain organic yogurt, and Almond Milk, the soy protein powder. I had never added spinach to my smoothie before... it was only something I had used in my juicer! A friend had suggested it and I have to say... it was fabulous! My smoothie didn't taste like spinach, I could only really taste the blueberries! The texture wasn't awful either... in fact I think the spinach made it MORE creamy!<br />
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Later on I made a simple Apple-Carrot-Ginger juice in my juicer for a bit of a "snack"... didn't need much because I wasn't starving! <br />
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For dinner I had tomato soup. This was the only store-bought pre-packaged food I had eaten, but it was a Healthy Choice brand chunky tomato soup, so I didn't feel like I was "cheating". Plus, I was all out of rice and spinach! Of course all day I drank lots of water, and had more water with dinner and before bed.<br />
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And that was it! After that I on the 4th day I allowed myself to eat & drink whatever I wanted. Honestly I wasn't craving too much... I wanted more fruits and vegetables! My body wanted more of the good stuff I had been feeding it for 3 days! I did have a coffee this morning, but with soy milk instead of cream. I was happy to realize I was having this coffee because I WANTED it, not because I needed it to wake up. I felt awake in the morning without having coffee first! And, I realized... I made it through 3 days of no coffee without getting a headache or a migraine! Could this mean I have kicked my caffeine addiction??<br />
I'm also drinking more water. Spending 3 days paying <em>Really Close Attention</em> to what I put in my body made me realize I haven't been drinking enough water and it also got me used to drinking water again. Now if I don't have a water bottle right next to me, I feel lost! <br />
It wasn't all easy! Day 1 was rough because Shank Prakshalana is not easy on the system and requires some rest afterwards... I got the rest but felt rather cranky and discouraged by the end of the day. But I stuck with it and in the morning I felt a lot better! Day 2 was pretty easy. Day 3 was pretty easy too, although I started seeing things I wanted to eat in my pantry and really had to fight off the urge a few times. Because I knew it wasn't something my body needed, just something I craved due to old eating habits!<br />
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So this has been a really long blog post, but I had to share that I am feeling GREAT! I think I gave my body a great advantage by letting it go for 3 days without a lot of junk! I spent a lot of time thinking about the food choices I make and am ready to continue to make better healthy choices. And I know I will continue to feel better with the Shaklee supplements I am now taking.<br />
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<em>If you want to know more about Shaklee, please fill out the form </em><a href="http://ourdesertlife2.blogspot.com/p/clean-green-living.html" target="_blank"><em>HERE</em></a><em> or watch the links on that page under the form. I am excited and more than happy to share with you these great products!</em>Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-84600632079529104992012-12-03T17:30:00.000-08:002012-12-03T17:30:20.678-08:00It's Monday; What are you Reading?Joining in again at <a href="http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-166/" target="_blank">Book Journey; come and see what is being read by others</a>! I like to check out the posts by others to get ideas of what to read in the future, although my "Books I want to read" list just grows exponentially! So many books, so little time! I feel a little odd reporting that I am STILL reading the same book I posted 2 weeks ago.... A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.<br />
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I am really enjoying it! Along with delighting in the amazing prose of Dickens, I am learning a bit about the French Revolution and a period in history I didn't know much about. I usually read through books more quickly than this, but... well there was a Thanksgiving Vacation thrown into the mix, and then an injury to my shoulder (which actually gave me MORE time to read, but the pain medicine made me drowsy so I would fall asleep while reading!) But also, I am just taking time with this book. It's like a delicious home cooked meal made by a master chef.... something to be savored and eaten slowly to fully enjoy every flavor. Sometimes I go back and re-read a paragraph a few times just to let the words swirl around my brain a few times the way that one would taste a fine wine.<br />
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<em>"The mill which had worked them down, was the mill that grinds young people old; the children had ancient faces and grave voices; and upon them, and upon grown faces, and ploughed into every furrow of age and coming afresh, was the sign, Hunger. It was prevalent everywhere. Hunger was pushed out of the tall houses, in the wretched clothing that hung upon poles and lines; Hunger was patched into them with straw and rag and wood and paper; Hunger was repeated in every fragment of the small modicum of firewood that the man sawed off; Hunger stared down from the smokeless chimneys and started up from the filthy street that had no offal, among it's refuse, of anything to eat. Hunger was the inscription on the baker's shelves, written in every loaf of his scanty stock of bad bread; at the sausage shop, in every dead-dog preparation that was offered for sale."</em> - from A Tale Of Two Cities by Charles Dickens<br />
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Also lately, when I am not reading I am listening to music. When a song strikes me, I like to look up the lyrics and read along while I listen to the song. So here is what I have been reading/listening to today; Amanda Palmer!<br />I really enjoyed the lyrics to Ukulele Anthem so I will share them here for you; Enjoy! Oh and I might actually ask Santa for a Ukulele for Christmas, just because of this song!<br />
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<strong><u>Ukulele Anthem</u></strong><br />by Amanda Palmer<br /><br /><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]."><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[0]"><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[0].[0]">sid vicious played a four-string fender bass guitar and couldn’t sing </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[0].[1]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[0].[2]">and everybody hated him except the ones who loved him </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[0].[3]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[0].[4]">a ukulele has four strings, but sid did did not play ukulele </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[0].[5]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[0].[6]">he did smack and probably killed his girlfriend nancy spungen </span></span><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]."><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[0]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[1]">if only sid had had a ukulele, maybe he could have been happy </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[2]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[3]">maybe he would not have suffered such a sad end </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[4]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[5]">he maybe would have not done all that heroin instead </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[6]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[7]">he maybe would’ve sat around just singing nice songs to his girlfriend </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[8]" /><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[9]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[10]">so play your favorite cover song, especially if the words are wrong </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[11]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[12]">‘cos even if your grades are bad, it doesn’t mean you’re failing </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[13]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[14]">do your homework with a fork </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[15]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[16]">and eat your fruit loops in the dark </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[17]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[18]">and bring your etch-a-sketch to work </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[19]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[20]">and play your ukulele </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[21]" /><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[22]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[23]">ukulele small and forceful </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[24]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[25]">brave and peaceful </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[26]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[27]">you can play the ukulele too it is painfully simple </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[28]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[29]">play your ukulele badly, play your ukulele loudly </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[30]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[31]">ukulele banish evil </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[32]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[33]">ukulele save the people </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[34]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[35]">ukulele gleaming golden on the top of every steeple </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[36]" /><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[37]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[38]">lizzie borden took an axe, and gave her father forty whacks </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[39]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[40]">then gave her mother forty-one, and left a tragic puzzle </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[41]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[42]">if only they had given her an instrument, those puritans </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[43]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[44]">had lost the plot completely </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[45]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[46]">see what happens when you muzzle </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[47]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[48]">a person’s creativity </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[49]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[50]">and do not let them sing and scream </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[51]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[52]">and nowadays it’s worse ‘cause kids have automatic handguns </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[53]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[54]">it takes about an hour to learn how to play the ukulele </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[55]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[56]">about same to teach someone to build a standard pipe bomb </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[57]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[58]">YOU DO THE MATH </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[59]" /><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[60]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[61]">so play your favorite cover song, especially if the words are wrong </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[62]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[63]">‘cos even if your grades are bad, it doesn’t mean you’re failing </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[64]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[65]">do your homework with a fork </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[66]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[67]">and eat your fruit loops in the dark </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[68]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[69]">and bring your flask of jack to work </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[70]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[71]">and play your ukulele </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[72]" /><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[73]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[74]">ukulele, thing of wonder </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[75]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[76]">ukulele, wand of thunder </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[77]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[78]">you can play the ukulele, too </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[79]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[80]">in london and down under </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[81]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[82]">play joan jett, and play jacques brel </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[83]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[84]">and eminem and neutral milk hotel </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[85]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[86]">the children crush the hatred </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[87]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[88]">play your ukulele naked </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[89]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[90]">and if anybody tries to steal your ukulele, let them take it </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[91]" /><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[92]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[93]">imagine there’s no music, imagine there are no songs </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[94]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[95]">imagine that john lennon wasn’t shot in front of his apartment </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[96]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[97]">imagine if john lennon had composed “imagine” on the ukulele </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[98]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[99]">maybe folks would have more clearly got the message </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[100]" /><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[101]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[102]">you may think my approach is simple-minded and naïve </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[103]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[104]">like if you want to save the world then why not quit and feed the hungry </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[105]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[106]">but people for millennia have needed music to survive </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[107]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[108]">and that’s why i’ve promised john that i will not feel guilty </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[109]" /><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[110]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[111]">so play your favorite beatles’ song </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[112]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[113]">and make the subway fall in love </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[114]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[115]">they’re only $19.95, that’s not a lot of money </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[116]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[117]">play until the sun comes up </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[118]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[119]">and play until your fingers suffer </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[120]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[121]">play LCD soundsystem songs on your ukulele </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[122]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[123]">quit the bitching on your blog </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[124]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[125]">and stop pretending art is hard </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[126]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[127]">just limit yourself to three chords </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[128]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[129]">and do not practice daily </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[130]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[131]">you’ll minimize some stranger’s sadness </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[132]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[133]">with a piece of wood and plastic </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[134]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[135]">holy fuck it’s so fantastic, playing ukulele </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[136]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[137]">eat your homework with a fork </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[138]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[139]">and do your fruit loops in the dark </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[140]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[141]">bring your etch-a-sketch to work </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[142]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[143]">your flask of jack </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[144]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[145]">your vibrator </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[146]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[147]">your fear of heights </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[148]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[149]">your nikon lens </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[150]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[151]">your mom and dad </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[152]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[153]">your disco stick </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[154]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[155]">your soundtrack from “karate kid” </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[156]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[157]">your ginsu knives </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[158]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[159]">your rosary </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[160]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[161]">your new rebecca black CD </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[162]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[163]">your favorite room </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[164]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[165]">your bowie knife </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[166]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[167]">your stuffed giraffe </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[168]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[169]">your new glass eye </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[170]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[171]">your sousaphone </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[172]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[173]">your breakfast tea </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[174]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[175]">your nick drake tapes </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[176]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[177]">your giving tree </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[178]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[179]">your ice cream truck </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[180]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[181]">your missing wife </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[182]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[183]">your will to live </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[184]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[185]">your urge to cry </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[186]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[187]">remember we’re all going to die </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[188]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[189]">so PLAY YOUR UKULELE</span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[190]" /><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[191]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[192]">credits</span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[193]" /><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[194]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[195]"> released 31 October 2011 </span><br id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[196]" /><span id=".reactRoot[51].[1][2][1]{comment542478282449012_6412289}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[3]..[197]">Written and performed by Amanda Palmer (hear the song here; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZaR_4us6Ec">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZaR_4us6Ec</a> )</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<a href="http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-166/" target="_blank">It's Monday! What are You Reading?</a>Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-58764813886080924342012-11-29T16:46:00.000-08:002012-11-29T16:46:03.354-08:00Tinsel Tissue Box "Gift" Decorations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So I saw this idea on Pinterest, but can't remember who pinned it or what website it came from! But I could remember enough to try and make my own, even without instructions! These turned out GREAT, it was fun to make, and I love how they look in my home!</div>
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<strong><u>Here's what you need;</u></strong><br />empty tissue boxes<br />Tinsel Garland (your choice of colors)<br />Some pretty holiday ribbon & bows.<br />A hot glue gun & hot glue sticks</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS6VPwyv59L20bMRoZ5MjUJeaTXm-NH2Kgf0mInPZF_0CoITUWYX4sNYnhLXhzG-Ccmiy2SXUUbkXzRvlEDvEjc2Gm4MrJTCTCK703929-vaCnQdWBtE4FSvvI31Uu7V0YFjvqqa0HHSw/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS6VPwyv59L20bMRoZ5MjUJeaTXm-NH2Kgf0mInPZF_0CoITUWYX4sNYnhLXhzG-Ccmiy2SXUUbkXzRvlEDvEjc2Gm4MrJTCTCK703929-vaCnQdWBtE4FSvvI31Uu7V0YFjvqqa0HHSw/s320/001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><u>How to make it:</u></strong><br />Start by wrapping the tinsel around the tissue box. Use the hot glue gun to hold it in place, and layer it together close enough that you can't see very much of the tissue box showing through.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGTZawk4Aq_apZuAwr0SOFXQDGufcQnInc37SVrMBjR2Tfu04WzLKEOVswcixyyGxGzXn2cCwDAOg_liL7S2nJ7cBPAAKs9OqSbCx520SOKt0blX3kJ8RGghl2YpEGYrH_WLjcKR41IzI/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGTZawk4Aq_apZuAwr0SOFXQDGufcQnInc37SVrMBjR2Tfu04WzLKEOVswcixyyGxGzXn2cCwDAOg_liL7S2nJ7cBPAAKs9OqSbCx520SOKt0blX3kJ8RGghl2YpEGYrH_WLjcKR41IzI/s320/002.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNrcQCvWUv6T-s4A4u_TESqTRWcb8o_VjK_iJ3hX_6FHSQQk7K-jSC3ZSmFbiACwLyMgWw0ZMk8_PQaFieWjQhFfYxLG1RFrUp70vEND-HEVZcwPO7Fuojq49luYWi72KjDtsK_o7buQI/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNrcQCvWUv6T-s4A4u_TESqTRWcb8o_VjK_iJ3hX_6FHSQQk7K-jSC3ZSmFbiACwLyMgWw0ZMk8_PQaFieWjQhFfYxLG1RFrUp70vEND-HEVZcwPO7Fuojq49luYWi72KjDtsK_o7buQI/s320/003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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.....around and around you go. Glue, Tinsel, turn, repeat.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKZ670tYxX8hZ0a7fuLkVgjGHIEYMpAFq-1qBXJm2uA4IDn3mrb3YoPubl4hBwpN7e0hawc5NzWyFf6LwP6H0-OmpGksBwSNJtSUzRCj5robasE4-CnSYb5dt9VJYSzDHT3qF9fdhoLo/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKZ670tYxX8hZ0a7fuLkVgjGHIEYMpAFq-1qBXJm2uA4IDn3mrb3YoPubl4hBwpN7e0hawc5NzWyFf6LwP6H0-OmpGksBwSNJtSUzRCj5robasE4-CnSYb5dt9VJYSzDHT3qF9fdhoLo/s320/004.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Back and forth with the tinsel garland across the top of the box. I didn't cover the bottom of the box, so it sits flat. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdxb8MOuV-gINbje1VLLU95WZgKZddEUigqAHCPPWylRI-MBB0-g6M155x3zcw7xbgNzUDcWnavIIvluH-MdMHIsc529uMLmKfb6aJqva6iwagPGtonud9mZhX5eS5VcWizOGPdXOh7KU/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdxb8MOuV-gINbje1VLLU95WZgKZddEUigqAHCPPWylRI-MBB0-g6M155x3zcw7xbgNzUDcWnavIIvluH-MdMHIsc529uMLmKfb6aJqva6iwagPGtonud9mZhX5eS5VcWizOGPdXOh7KU/s320/006.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Wrap with ribbon and add a pretty bow, just like you would a present! Use the hot glue gun again to hold the ribbon and bow in place if needed.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzzzwhklt-Bw1cRM7Uhf0jFO_zWDsukjNBb96_eVtV06lr9mmY9VF3kEPGz840hKhyphenhyphenBrn6jUWMiO-pZ-paBIunbHP-mhyphenhyphen_Jzkzx5Y2o0Luo3psOJO_b933aPPjwDSnn6WqJtCo5ZuVxsY/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzzzwhklt-Bw1cRM7Uhf0jFO_zWDsukjNBb96_eVtV06lr9mmY9VF3kEPGz840hKhyphenhyphenBrn6jUWMiO-pZ-paBIunbHP-mhyphenhyphen_Jzkzx5Y2o0Luo3psOJO_b933aPPjwDSnn6WqJtCo5ZuVxsY/s320/007.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here is another one I made;</div>
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So Pretty!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOy0G7CoZuNSvd3rHaR4g7wK5C0Pna9GMMAnn-tG2sAtuuv93YNDXtiGEtprWyhEDnSpvEUlamumQa8-O-PrmcQsfxa6buWv7PyH2m1AfjgB4ryF4yHInsy6RZpFYFKgOtewolD3eNSMk/s1600/013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOy0G7CoZuNSvd3rHaR4g7wK5C0Pna9GMMAnn-tG2sAtuuv93YNDXtiGEtprWyhEDnSpvEUlamumQa8-O-PrmcQsfxa6buWv7PyH2m1AfjgB4ryF4yHInsy6RZpFYFKgOtewolD3eNSMk/s400/013.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here they are on display! Pretty sparkly presents! And I up-cycled those tissue boxes, they won't go in the trash but will continue to live on as Holiday decorations for many years to come!</div>
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Oh, and if you are interested in the pinecone vase centerpiece between the two gift box decorations, click <a href="http://ourdesertlife2.blogspot.com/2012/11/easy-holiday-centerpiece.html" target="_blank">HERE</a> to see my blog on how I made that!</div>
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Interested in another UPCYLCLE Holiday Craft? Check out the <a href="http://ourdesertlife2.blogspot.com/2012/11/up-cycled-holiday-wreath.html" target="_blank">Holiday Wreath</a> we made out of plastic grocery bags!</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><u><em>HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!</em></u></strong></span></div>
<br />Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-71909340435214018102012-11-29T16:30:00.000-08:002012-11-29T16:30:48.881-08:00Easy Holiday Centerpiece<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
To make a really simple Holiday centerpiece, all you need is a big glass (or plastic) vase that you're not using right now. Then get some small "bulb" or "Ball" Christmas ornaments and some pine cones;</div>
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We had these pine-cones from last Christmas. They were cinnamon scented and some of them are glittery or gold! I found the pretty green ornaments at the dollar store, where I also found the "Holiday Pick" which adds the "spray" coming up from the top.</div>
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I simply filled the vase up with the pine cones and Christmas ornaments! Very simple and a pretty centerpiece for your Holiday table!</div>
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This only cost me $2. It was $1 for the green bulb ornaments, and $1 for the pretty tinsel spray coming out of the top. I simply re-purposed a vase we have and the pine-cones from last Christmas!</div>
<br />Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-71369761559678430542012-11-29T15:43:00.001-08:002012-11-29T15:43:34.820-08:00Up-cycled Holiday WreathYeah, I know if you are like me, you fully INTEND to take the re-usable canvas bags with you every trip to the grocery store, but 9 times out of 10, you forget and end up using the awful plastic bags. Also, if you are like me, you hate throwing them away, so you save them. I mean, they make great liners for the bathroom trash bins. And they come in handy when cleaning out the cat's litter box. But honestly, you will use.... what... 3 or 4 in a week, but bring home 18 more from your next trip to the grocery store. These things MULTIPLY and before you know it, the pantry is overflowing with plastic bags, you finally get frustrated and throw them all away, only to have 30 more sitting in a chair in the corner a week later. That is, hypothetically, if you're like me.<br />
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So here is a super-easy, cute holiday craft idea to use those plastic bags. This isn't recycling, this is UPcycling! Because this is WAY better than using the bag to line the bathroom trash bin and putting it in the trash after saving it because you didn't want to throw it away....<br />
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<strong><u>You will need;</u></strong><br />
An old wire coat hanger<br />
About 25 - 30 plastic shopping bags<br />
Scissors<br />
Tinsel<br />
A nice pretty bow.<br />
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<strong><u>Here's how to make it;</u></strong> <br />
Bend<strong> an old wire hanger</strong> into a circle<strong>.</strong> Or you can use any other type of wire that is sturdy yet can be shaped into a circle. For mine, I simply twisted a wire hanger in half and bent it into a circle, leaving the hook on the top.<br />
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<strong>About 25 plastic grocery bags</strong>. Any color will do, most are white or brown. I had a bunch of the brown ones so that is what I used.</div>
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<strong>Scissors.</strong> Cut each plastic bag into 4 strips. Cut from the bottom of the bag to the top, and leave each strip folded in half the way it was when you cut it. (so it's a double layered strip)</div>
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Tie each strip around the circle part of the clothes hanger or wire frame. One knot is enough, and the ends will be sticking out. It doesn't look pretty... yet.</div>
Every 4 bags I tied a little piece of <strong>tinsel.</strong> You could also add bells or other ornaments.<br />
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Once you have tied all the plastic strips all the way around the wire frame, trim the ends off. I ended up cutting 2 or 3 inches off of the end of each strip. Then you kinda "fluff" the edges out. We added this <strong>pretty bow</strong> to the top. Bend the hook of the clothes hanger down a bit, it's now the hook from which you hang your wreath!</div>
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If you wanted to get really fancy, before adding bows you could spray-paint the whole thing green or gold or whatever color you want. But we were happy with ours just like this. (my 13 year old daughter did most of the work on this one) These would make great gifts for the kids to make for their teachers or grandparents! More decorations could be added to make them more festive... use your imagination! But hey, a great way to use those grocery bags!</div>
Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-84723113740701004842012-11-24T21:24:00.000-08:002012-11-24T21:30:57.920-08:00Thirteen Vacation MemoriesIt's time for another <a href="http://thursday-13.com/" target="_blank">Thursday 13</a>; a list of 13 things (anything!) on a Thursday! (Yeah it's not Thursday yet! But I missed last Thursday because it was Thanksgiving and we were ON this vacation!) Since we just got home from our wonderful family vacation, I thought it would be cool to share with you 13 of my favorite pictures/memories from our trip!<br />
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<a href="http://thursday-13.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ywLxUtWcCa_pALtMEc59rEHn9khg-EBeZvJq2CO-9fTjCM92VjJGGBWYWODZpNCG0bI1oYDMwq3EoKZvIV-M9pywSEGlYjGqKBuFk0Fl-J9pMUF0LbyqUcRojzd0XvNNHxeXLYhvY7w/s1600/thurs13-2.jpg" /></a></div>
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<strong><u>Our Thanksgiving Family Vacation! 2012</u></strong></div>
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Brother & sister reading books in the car! this was the longest road trip they have ever taken! 6 hours in the car is a LONG time!</div>
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Along the way we stopped in Cabazon, CA to see the big dinosaurs on the side of the road! </div>
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We arrived in San Pedro, CA and settled in to our cottage where we spent the next 3 nights! It was so lovely! Plenty of room for all of us! The kids played kick ball in the front yard for awhile, they needed it after the long drive!</div>
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"Girl Time Bonding" with my mom! We traded socks, now she has one of mine and I have one of hers. Our "mismatched" pair of socks will always remind us of this vacation!</div>
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Thanksgiving Day, we walked to a park where some very fat squirrels would come right up to us for some bread crumbs!</div>
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There was a beautiful pond with lots of ducks to watch and feed! And some very noisy geese as well!</div>
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Taking a walk around the neighborhood with my uncle. My youngest son really bonded with his great-uncle, it was so sweet!</div>
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Waiting for the Thanksgiving Feast!</div>
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Day after Thanksgiving; Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. At the "touch tank", petting some starfish and sea anemones!</div>
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more fun at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium!<br />
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Daddy and Daughter in the ocean!<br />
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Exploring the tide pools at Cabrillo Beach! We found some really cool shells, starfish, sea-slugs, and had a great time!<br />
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We had some car trouble on the way home! But it's just another memory... an "adventure"! All worked out okay! Being stuck in the desert was no fun but it just made us all the more grateful for our wonderful, safe, happy family vacation!</div>
Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-11774168396843083162012-11-19T10:02:00.000-08:002012-11-19T10:02:02.160-08:00It's Monday! What are you reading?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I found this blog meme at Book Journey and thought I would join in! Since I am pretty much ALWAYS reading something! <br />
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<a href="http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-164/" target="_blank">It's Monday! What Are You Reading?</a><br />
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I was looking through books on my Nook last night to find something new to start reading. I have several Terry Pratchett Discworld novels on there I haven't read yet, but since I have read like 7 of those already this year, I kind of wanted something different. Neil Gaiman? Hunter S. Thompson? Chuck Palahniuk? While these great authors are certainly considered Classics in my mind, I decided I wanted something <em>really</em> classical. Something I should have read, because it's considered a Classic. So I browsed through my Classic book collection. Emily Bronte'? neh. I tried reading a few pages of <em>Wuthering Heights</em>, which I read in High school... but I just wasn't getting into it. Back to the Nook library. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tale-Cities-Dover-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486406512" target="_blank">A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens</a>. Hmm... maybe? I hang my head in shame when I say this; <em>I have not read this novel before</em>. So what the heck, I will give it a try.<br />
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The first chapter; pure magic. Dessert for my eyes, a magnificent treat for my brain. Yes, yes! Give me more! I am really going to enjoy reading this, I can tell already. And I've already chosen what book will be next on my reading list. Just in time for the Holidays... after <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tale-Cities-Dover-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486406512" target="_blank">A Tale Of Two Cities</a>, I shall read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/A-Christmas-Carol-Illustrated-ebook/dp/B006CQLGXG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353347725&sr=1-1&keywords=a+christmas+carol" target="_blank">A Christmas Carol</a>! <br />
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I would love to know what my followers are reading! Leave me a comment and tell me what you are reading right now! <a href="http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-164/" target="_blank">And check out It's Monday! What Are You Reading?</a> To see what other bloggers are reading right now too!<br />
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I should actually be getting ready for work right now. But before I go, just a quick family update! We are all excited about our upcoming family vacation! We have never taken a family vacation before, and thanks to the generosity of my parents, we are finally able to do so! So, there might not be many blog posts this week, I just wanted to take the time to wish you all a very <strong>HAPPY THANKSGIVING!</strong>Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-90221972527297307382012-11-18T15:25:00.000-08:002012-11-18T15:25:59.338-08:00Easy Crockpot Chicken & DumplingsThis is what I am making for dinner tonite. I thought I would share the recipe, because it's really easy, and a recipe to fit a tight budget. Cheap and Easy, just the way I like it!<br />
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<strong><u><span style="font-size: large;">Easy Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings</span></u></strong><br />
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<u>You Will Need;</u><br />
<strong>4 - 6 large chicken breasts, thighs, or legs</strong>. Bone-in or boneless, whatever you have available! You can either cut the chicken into smaller pieces, or leave it in big pieces... whatever!<br /><strong>1 large can (26 oz) Cream of Chicken soup</strong> (condensed)<br />
<strong>1 large can (26 oz) Cream of Mushroom soup</strong> (condensed)<br />
<strong>2 cans buttermilk biscuits</strong>. You know, the refrigerated kind of biscuits that come in a tube that you peel open? What are those called? Canned biscuits? I've never really thought of it before.<br />
<strong>Various chopped vegetables</strong>. Your choice. Carrots, onion, celery, potato, mushroom. All of those would be good but in a pinch I would choose the celery and carrots.<br />
<strong>Water</strong><br />
you<strong>r large crockpot</strong><br />
<strong>4 to 5 packages of Ramen noodles</strong>, any flavor but for this recipe I am thinking Chicken would be best :) These will be used later, and are optional.<br />
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<u>Directions;</u><br />
<u></u><br />Thaw the chicken.<br />In the crockpot, mix the condensed soup (both cans) and one can of water (26 oz). Mix until there are no lumps.<br />Add the chopped vegetables and the chicken.<br />Mix well and turn the crock pot on low heat for 4 to 5 hours, stirring occasionally.<br />
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About 30 minutes before you want to eat (and when you have checked that the chicken is fully cooked), open the canned biscuits. Separate the biscuits and cut each biscuit into fourths. These are your "Dumplings" Mix the biscuit pieces into the crockpot. They will float on top. Stir well, replace lid, and turn the crockpot to High. Let cook another 30 minutes. ** Check the dumplings. They should be soft and doughy on the outside, but cooked in the middle like bread.<br />
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Serve on top of pasta, or in a bowl like soup.<br />
Enjoy! :)<br />
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** If you want to serve this on top of noodles, cook your noodles while the dumplings are cooking. I usually just use chicken flavored Ramen Noodles but you can substitute any kind of pasta you want.Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-77644118601042682492012-11-18T00:04:00.003-08:002012-11-18T00:04:32.984-08:00TiredTIRED.<br />
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This ever-working, always-moving, on-the-go<br />mother<br />is tired.<br />My core aches and even when I<br />stop to rest,<br />I feel the Earth is moving still-<br />spinning, orbitting.<br />It will pass me by if I don’t move with it.<br />Look, another year<br />another candle on<br />another birthday cake,<br />and children run, laugh, scream<br />and pass me by.<br />Stop.<br />Let me hold you,<br />look at you,<br />cradle you one more time<br />before I’m too tired<br />to remember.<br />If I could stop the Earth’s rotation<br />and just float<br />with you in my arms,<br />sleeping and laughing and smiling<br />I would never grow<br />tired.<br />
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Wendy J. McDowell<br />August, 2010<br />
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<em>Looking through some old files, I found this poem I wrote back in 2010, and wanted to share it here. I hope to maybe find some more of my old poetry to share here as well...</em>Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-63784865311938029062012-11-16T14:22:00.001-08:002012-11-16T14:22:16.066-08:00Home Organization Challenge - The Kids' Closets (week 8)So I have been loosely following along with the 14 Week Home Organization challenge over at A Bowl Full of Lemons. About 2 weeks ago I did the Kid's Closet Organizing Challenge, but hadn't posted it on my blog.... until now!<br />
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Check out the great advice and beautiful inspiring pictures at <a href="http://www.abowlfulloflemons.net/2012/10/home-organization-101-week-8-kids-closets.html" target="_blank">A Bowl Full Of Lemons - Organizing The Kid's Closets</a> post! <br />
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<a href="http://www.abowlfulloflemons.net/2012/10/home-organization-101-week-8-kids-closets.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP29oDvvKY7t36Mzclj1xuLOths1NVCCDlhIPkT4Zfpgjne_gn4yJCQeEt52nkBn46qKC0NTbb8uyZXtoYfJGm3Ho3ODFi1wOEoJbkFMSo3IEYAhvTZMFjFbIBscVNWKY8e5pRVqv6UNQ/s400/8pinterest.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And here is what I did with my kid's closets!<br />
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<strong>My son's closet;</strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8TCz7WEoV55FE3XiIqLcswG6lnDLExTcf_C0oHF4OBM-p7Wcqx_QVTK00ZGUfX2-TTalI8C-FqziEzcgDNPNAZuWekAdUJyqktVCvvMT_1BIdYffvrAlgZY5iAtkWJQPSKqC7RxGofs/s1600/043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8TCz7WEoV55FE3XiIqLcswG6lnDLExTcf_C0oHF4OBM-p7Wcqx_QVTK00ZGUfX2-TTalI8C-FqziEzcgDNPNAZuWekAdUJyqktVCvvMT_1BIdYffvrAlgZY5iAtkWJQPSKqC7RxGofs/s320/043.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<strong>BEFORE</strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9tN8xCNTlJ8SC34I5oiGoIKAf4CkB2R8gZgJjBHpiiblJbvEAZuf8DzaCkR8B7iw6OQP8tcdKG1k70pEAjCeVnxMIYb0SXMsP4WeOsWcJhYKDTCdf_fvgvW8l51ur8V_lO5uMqAWMuY/s1600/044+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9tN8xCNTlJ8SC34I5oiGoIKAf4CkB2R8gZgJjBHpiiblJbvEAZuf8DzaCkR8B7iw6OQP8tcdKG1k70pEAjCeVnxMIYb0SXMsP4WeOsWcJhYKDTCdf_fvgvW8l51ur8V_lO5uMqAWMuY/s320/044+(2).JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<strong>AFTER</strong><br />bought some hangers and hung up his shirts on one side, and his sweaters/jackets on the other side. On the top shelf is one pair of shoes that are too big for him (in the box), and the other box is empty. There is a duffel bag/backpack (empty) on the top shelf also.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA1kQddlPwK1vlpEqkIF02n1rpdW_Inrk2Xej7cgZWOTUzEL3OS2RsuckKNa6_UGFdiZC5AD2266-bLiyOR65wG_AN6DVPCkLcFW-JpruPcnScPosBImwYgCCfgJ2ybUV-mpog8zKGuUg/s1600/045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA1kQddlPwK1vlpEqkIF02n1rpdW_Inrk2Xej7cgZWOTUzEL3OS2RsuckKNa6_UGFdiZC5AD2266-bLiyOR65wG_AN6DVPCkLcFW-JpruPcnScPosBImwYgCCfgJ2ybUV-mpog8zKGuUg/s320/045.JPG" width="320" /></a><br /><strong>The Bottom portion of his closet - BEFORE</strong><br />Pay no attention to the big white stain on the carpet. A bucket of paint got spilled after we painted his room. But this picture is just to how you the mess... as a boy... when he is told to "go clean your room", it involved picking stuff up and throwing it into the closet!</div>
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<strong>The bottom portion of his closet - AFTER</strong><br />I got him some bins to keep things in. The plastic drawer thing used to hold his clothes, but we moved a different dresser into his room for his clothes and this one is now used for toys. Each drawer holds a different kind of toys... green is the play tools and play dishes for playing house. Red holds all his toy dinosaurs, and yellow drawer is just all the various small plastic toys. On top of the dresser are two other boxes... one holds toy cars (Hot wheels/Matchbox) and the other one holds plastic army men. The large bin on the right (behind the pirate ship) holds all his larger toys that are too big to fit on the drawers or small boxes. </div>
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Two weeks later - he is still doing a great job keeping his room clean, with some gentle reminders from us of course! But when he does clean up, he is putting everything in it's proper box!</div>
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<strong>The girls' closet.</strong></div>
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My two daughters share a bedroom. This "Before" picture isn't really the <em>Real Before Picture</em>. This is after the girls, myself, and my husband had to go in there with trash bags and clear out their room because no one could walk through it. It was a complete disaster... so this "before" picture doesn't look too bad considering the room had a major overhaul the week before! But there was still room for some improvements!</div>
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<strong>Girls' Closet - BEFORE</strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2E0b_Zrw1nHF99JQ_D1Oq6Fg28oMikLHfAuQi7mKiGN0-vNbEJkQUxy82CsDbQMGxP6mYv_p4PCYgIczRkMJYYfDZM95iL38GURFT8kO4D5XlF6thbmVLTXu2iO6T8u7ZmiV-ro2mgw/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2E0b_Zrw1nHF99JQ_D1Oq6Fg28oMikLHfAuQi7mKiGN0-vNbEJkQUxy82CsDbQMGxP6mYv_p4PCYgIczRkMJYYfDZM95iL38GURFT8kO4D5XlF6thbmVLTXu2iO6T8u7ZmiV-ro2mgw/s320/003.JPG" width="320" /></strong></a><br /><strong>Girl's Closet - AFTER</strong><br />moved the metal bed frame to the back yard. Got some more plastic bins for their smaller toys and organized them. 9Barbies, Barbie clothes, ponies, tea party) Went thru the boxes and threw most of the contents away, filed the rest.</div>
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<strong>Girls' Closet - top shelf BEFORE</strong></div>
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<strong>Girl's Closet - top shelf AFTER</strong><br />Hmm... lots of room! All that remains is one box with some keepsake school parers, and I moved the sheets that the girls use on their bed to their closet, freeing up more space in my linen closet!</div>
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<em>Fellow Procrastinators, listen up!</em> These projects took A LOT LESS TIME than I thought they would. I was able to complete both projects on my day off, just working a little at a time until they were done. Once again I revisit the lesson that it always looks worse than it is, and doesn't take much time to fix once I focus and just do it!</div>
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<br />Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-19732340915307231412012-11-16T13:32:00.000-08:002012-11-16T13:32:19.356-08:00Home Organization Challenge - The Office (week 4)I actually did this Home Organization challenge a few weeks ago, but I am just now finally getting around to posting it on my blog. These challenges are a part of the 14 week Home Organization Challenge posted by <a href="http://www.abowlfulloflemons.net/" target="_blank">A Bowl Full of Lemons</a>. You can check out the<a href="http://www.abowlfulloflemons.net/2012/09/home-organization-101-week-4-office.html" target="_blank"> Home Office Organization</a> post to see the tips and advice... this was my inspiration for getting my Home Office area organized! There are lots of great tips and ideas here please check them out!<br />
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My Home "Office" is one of those rooms that is ALWAYS getting cluttered and messy! It was pretty much a disaster when I began this process, but disaster was pretty much the norm for this room! Since I have gotten it decluttered, it has been much easier to maintain. (Although right now as I type, I am looking around and I see it needs some work!) But even when it does get messy, it's been so much easier and less time consuming to clean. This is because; 1) I got rid of LOTS of Clutter... so there is less "stuff" to junk up the place. and 2) Everything that I kept now has a "home", or a place it belongs.<br />
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First of all, getting rid of the junk and organizing everything else meant pulling EVERYTHING into the middle of the room and sorting thru this huge pile;<br />
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Then I spent a long time sorting through everything, throwing a lot of stuff away, and sorting the "keep" stuff into piles so that similar items would be grouped together. This kind of decluttering can be time consuming, don't expect to get thru a pile like this in less than an hour. It helps to break it up into small 30 minute work segments, and give yourself breaks. My whole office organizing project took me all week, because I would work on it for an hour or tow a day, 30 minutes at a time. <br />
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Here are the before and after pictures;<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBoYiJeqzLW5cOxPkytzm_Y7emovo6hyocXtFw-oqOcKL-9ZYY6hyphenhyphenKmTInTzeTq9c5M3Oo6qysQaZqrEOVO2JxsJqTgpsqxhODFTRZTUCF9Q4xapCKq1MRofrK1JPJ8TWKuceXvKW_A70/s1600/083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBoYiJeqzLW5cOxPkytzm_Y7emovo6hyocXtFw-oqOcKL-9ZYY6hyphenhyphenKmTInTzeTq9c5M3Oo6qysQaZqrEOVO2JxsJqTgpsqxhODFTRZTUCF9Q4xapCKq1MRofrK1JPJ8TWKuceXvKW_A70/s320/083.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<strong>Side of Entertainment Center. BEFORE</strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyIwKPyEx1fTUu2JD5BKMA-QORLJmyKiNWx0vsC3QoRGKWnG7H-N8-KrAUPoe8U1aYBLtlP6RBPKWdK4H_iy5DoOeKKhOmZ_9qKsEhUfUWv2xYoTI6Fh4-nGwnFYLUaJpaMVPi8OgRGAU/s1600/094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyIwKPyEx1fTUu2JD5BKMA-QORLJmyKiNWx0vsC3QoRGKWnG7H-N8-KrAUPoe8U1aYBLtlP6RBPKWdK4H_iy5DoOeKKhOmZ_9qKsEhUfUWv2xYoTI6Fh4-nGwnFYLUaJpaMVPi8OgRGAU/s320/094.JPG" width="240" /></a><br /><strong>Side of Entertainment Center AFTER</strong><br />The upper shelf now holds all photo albums & scrapbooks<br />The lower shelf has two plastic bins, one for photos that have not been placed in photo albums or scrapbooks, and the larger bin holds all of my scrap booking supplies. These scrap booking supplies used to be in a different bin under the craft desk, which you will see in later pictures.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWnDE9dijloR2rkQt5zEl1wI8Ft7EYJ0SSiRGtqmE4gndY179EiNJmKf9FEeVm2EiDfjKOQDEjjNRG1BwDQnLbNAdBnOCXS8YPJeihPFQ8LTlJtn3cHuagCjNIbyRwsm2JIRrlpmzpvbc/s1600/085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWnDE9dijloR2rkQt5zEl1wI8Ft7EYJ0SSiRGtqmE4gndY179EiNJmKf9FEeVm2EiDfjKOQDEjjNRG1BwDQnLbNAdBnOCXS8YPJeihPFQ8LTlJtn3cHuagCjNIbyRwsm2JIRrlpmzpvbc/s320/085.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong>Under the entertainment center - BEFORE</strong></div>
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Und<strong>er the Entertainment center - AFTER</strong><br />Just DVD's and CD's. All that other stuff either got thrown away or found a new, more organized home to live in! (organized elsewhere in the office)</div>
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<strong>The corner behind the door. BEFORE</strong></div>
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<strong>The corner beside the couch - BEFORE</strong><br /><br />I am showing you these two areas, because well, obviously I wasn't making very good use of these spaces. The corner by the door held NOTHING, it was just where random stuff would get placed and where cobwebs would collect.<br />The bookshelf next to the couch? Well it wouldn't fit anywhere else in the room, so it had to go in sideways. Which resulted in it not being used very well for a storage area, because it was NOT accessible.</div>
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BUT! When I realized that I could move our File Cabinet to the empty corner, I also realized that if I moved the file cabinet... it would give enough room to place this bookshelf along a different wall and it wouldn't have to be placed like this.</div>
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The problem was, this is where the file cabinet was;</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqe80k9m8chMHTOrgflVTBq-YcDF_j1z89yntnuv1Qdy7zHtPdQ9SPjgPTLBIDYNJiRg1qKSpcYG6nqShSqg1Mpky6vVb33Kt5is7BQOGdIe1dF3-3z0ZM6ddrmE2hdMExz6wpqsDA-lI/s1600/086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqe80k9m8chMHTOrgflVTBq-YcDF_j1z89yntnuv1Qdy7zHtPdQ9SPjgPTLBIDYNJiRg1qKSpcYG6nqShSqg1Mpky6vVb33Kt5is7BQOGdIe1dF3-3z0ZM6ddrmE2hdMExz6wpqsDA-lI/s320/086.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<strong>Corner Shelving - BEFORE</strong></div>
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Yep... the messy corner. This is where the majority of that stuff piled in the center of the room came from. I took everything out of this corner, threw it in a pile in the middle of the room, and started sorting it. THEN....<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfIOTDwwfhlGcW_aA3_yMY_UThQFk7U4DB0ClH5mJXn1cdQB2BU9oXEXbHF6QI4EGZGV_FeEvBH6BN9uM60xfrhPyHaRcMJP2ICWEml7wVvoR4d17Lv8QFqmAY0Jb8MHEwYkfJRSRJPNk/s1600/093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfIOTDwwfhlGcW_aA3_yMY_UThQFk7U4DB0ClH5mJXn1cdQB2BU9oXEXbHF6QI4EGZGV_FeEvBH6BN9uM60xfrhPyHaRcMJP2ICWEml7wVvoR4d17Lv8QFqmAY0Jb8MHEwYkfJRSRJPNk/s320/093.JPG" width="240" /></a><br /><strong>Corner Behind the Door- AFTER</strong></div>
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I moved that file cabinet (with help from hubby) to that empty corner. Using the top of it to store board games.</div>
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With the file cabinet moved out of the way, I was able to move that ill-placed bookshelf from the corner by the couch (push the edge of couch into corner) and place the bookshelf over here in the corner....</div>
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<strong>Corner shelving - AFTER</strong><br />This, obviously, I also after sorting through all the clutter and labeling everything! Art supply bins, school/homework study supplies, children's educational books, and a box holding my stationary, envelopes & stamps.</div>
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Once again, just for emphasis;<br />
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Just to the right of these shelves is our art/craft/homework desk. </div>
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<strong>Top of desk - BEFORE</strong><br />As you can see, not much crafting was going on here, and the kids have been doing their homework at the kitchen table. And yes, those are my husband's work boots on the table. Don't ask me why. Although, when messy is the norm, and a surface looks as cluttered as this for so long, it basically INVITES things to be placed on it that don't belong there! Lesson learned!</div>
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<strong>Top of desk - AFTER</strong><br />Paper & coloring books stored in magazine bins. Supplies such as crayons, pencils, pencil sharpeners, erasers, etc held in the little bins. I even found curtains to match the new bins I got! (All found at Big!Lots)</div>
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<strong>Under the desk - BEFORE</strong><br />Remember the scrap booking supplies in the box under the entertainment center "after" picture"? And the Art Supplies in the bins in the corner shelf "after picture"? Well this is where all that stuff used to live!</div>
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<strong>Under the Desk - AFTER</strong><br />yep, nothing left! All that lives here now is this purple bin which holds my daughter's Girl Scouts supplies.</div>
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Well, that was my week long organizing project in a nutshell, finally here for the world to see! I hope this has given you some ideas! No matter how messy and cluttered a part of your home is, I hope this post can give you hope and inspiration and show you that YES, it CAN be fixed! Don't forget to stop by <a href="http://www.abowlfulloflemons.net/" target="_blank">A Bowl Full Of Lemons</a> for some more great home organization & home decorating tips and ideas!</div>
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Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-33854354447836050572012-11-16T12:38:00.000-08:002012-11-16T12:38:04.095-08:00Friday Fill In's 11/16/12<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Time for another Friday Fill-In's! These fill-in-the-blank sentences were posted at </span><a href="http://fridayfillins.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Friday Fill In's</span></a><span style="font-size: large;">, and my responses are in b<strong>old</strong>. Check out the link to see how other bloggers filled in thiers!</span><br />
1. "If you <strong>like to talk to tomatoes, if a squash can make you smile. If you like to waltz with potatoes, up and down the produce aisle"</strong>. Has been running through my head all morning, thanks to watching Veggie Tales with the kids last night!<br />2. <strong>All week I have had Amanda Palmer/Dresden Dolls stuck in my head;</strong> singing <strong>Mrs. O</strong><br />3. I have to ask you <strong>please share your recipes for natural/homemade house cleaning supplies!</strong><br />4. Secret to happiness: <strong>control over your</strong> vices; <strong>enjoyment of your</strong> habits. <br />5. I didn't have time <strong>to worry about what time it was</strong>. <br />6. <strong>Kissing my kids' soft cheeks</strong> is something I love beyond all reason.<br />7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to <strong>relaxing at home</strong>, tomorrow my plans include <strong>working (hopefully)</strong> and Sunday, I want to <strong>make lots of money at work! Send me some good tippers!</strong>!<br />
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Have a great weekend everyone!Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1480911680369369921.post-78604271555143336432012-10-27T09:01:00.000-07:002012-11-18T00:05:08.226-08:00Xander's Birth Story & the past 7 yearsToday we are celebrating the birth of my 3rd child, my son! I can still hardly believe that it has been 7 years since he was born! 7 years ago at this time, I was checked into the hospital and going through the process of induction.<br />
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I had been having Braxton-Hicks contractions on a regular basis for the past month, and at my last check up I was already 4 cm dilated. My doctor suggested that I be induced because I was steadily and continually dilating which meant a couple things; 1) I could "pop" at any time and then we would have a mad rush to the hospital while in labor. 2) being dilated left my cervix open and increased the chance of infection... to both me and Xander. So I (happily) agreed to go in and be induced 2 weeks before my due date.<br />
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When I checked in, I was already 5 cm dilated, which is considered "active labor" even though I wasn't having any contractions. They hooked me up to a low IV drip of Petocin to get the contractions started, and then took me down the hall to get my epidural, which I had opted for. My oldest child was born <em>sans-meds</em> and I am sorry, but once was enough for me! Unfortunately, the anesthesiologist had trouble getting the epidural in, and it must have been crooked or off center, because the left side of my body went numb, but not my right. I could move my right leg, but not my left. I couldn't feel the contractions on the left side of my body, but I COULD feel them on the right. Very strange sensation! We gave it some time, but nothing changed and I could still feel contractions on my right... though the contractions were very mild. By this time I was 7 cm dilated and they felt it was too late to try and fix the epidural so we all just agreed to move forward.<br />
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My doctor came in and told me she was going to break my water, and then she was going to go have lunch. I told her I didn't think that was a good idea. She said she would be right downstairs and not to worry. Lady, this is my 3rd child! First of all, with my previous two children, once my water was broken, things moved along very quickly! Secondly, this is my THIRD child, so I am expecting things to go a bit faster than before! But she insisted that I would be fine, AND that she would have time to eat lunch. HaHaHa! As she left the room I told her, "You're not going to have time to eat lunch."<br />
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She broke my water, checked my cervix and everything again, (still 7 cm) and left the room. Right after she left, I had three HUGE contractions. I knew he was coming. My husband went and got the nurse, who came and checked me... and guess what? 10 cm dilated and the baby's head was crowning. They paged my doctor, who had just gotten off the elevator on the lower floor at the cafeteria. When she came back into the room to find me surrounded by delivery nurses who were scrambling to get everything set up, she said, "Wow, you weren't kidding, were you?"<br />
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I only had to push 3 times, and Xander was born. 7 lbs, 0 oz, and 19 1/2 inches long. He was just beautiful! We looked at the clock and it was 1:00 pm... only 15 minutes had passed between when my doctor broke my water and when my husband cut the umbilical cord. I realize I am blessed with quick, easy, uncomplicated labors! And I continue to be blessed in many other ways in my life every day! Here is a look back over the past 7 years of Xander's life.... <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, Hubby & brand new Xander</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Baby Boy!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6 months old - chubby crawler!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Age 1 - swimming</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Age 3</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4th Birthday</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Age 5 - doing some preschool homeschooling</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwP_m14owMDdHDoBgFl_WCGkSdtX0UdBtf4DIoLxF8xY9FARmrK9UsB5nc4uSX4iY6COXoIQWg1LK5tXmyhIwCUIWqOET7obPqqQL4Q0Yz-I1isFwShlYEqAClk3NJ9uDn-k-4Q8DQAtA/s1600/age5-startingkinder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwP_m14owMDdHDoBgFl_WCGkSdtX0UdBtf4DIoLxF8xY9FARmrK9UsB5nc4uSX4iY6COXoIQWg1LK5tXmyhIwCUIWqOET7obPqqQL4Q0Yz-I1isFwShlYEqAClk3NJ9uDn-k-4Q8DQAtA/s400/age5-startingkinder.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Age 5 - starting Kindergarden</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFqhKhBcEP69woNjuJR0ZGciW-SeCjHnlH8hfFA139hNCyGVhiXmYJD9NsYwFAmSgJHc2fm7dlfsNJxaplS_5Kk6BmCW_P8cBRe40Ae6UwVxvb3E5_HRxYY-ZvVp1CEHcEmKW-YrJygkc/s1600/age6-kindergraduation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFqhKhBcEP69woNjuJR0ZGciW-SeCjHnlH8hfFA139hNCyGVhiXmYJD9NsYwFAmSgJHc2fm7dlfsNJxaplS_5Kk6BmCW_P8cBRe40Ae6UwVxvb3E5_HRxYY-ZvVp1CEHcEmKW-YrJygkc/s400/age6-kindergraduation.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Age 6 - Graduating Kindergarden</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZpZWAVo7nDRzbIOcEAF0OZ0bsA-IvNk1m2lx-BgZAG2MQ-hrMVk3t6ZK_Z9KFGZ3hozVKIBAUGzEzMhsyGZLISHN5reOk9JTQHOSb2F3yZQqbmUWgMOwrhyphenhyphenwPveYMKQY0MZzqJElNh4E/s1600/041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZpZWAVo7nDRzbIOcEAF0OZ0bsA-IvNk1m2lx-BgZAG2MQ-hrMVk3t6ZK_Z9KFGZ3hozVKIBAUGzEzMhsyGZLISHN5reOk9JTQHOSb2F3yZQqbmUWgMOwrhyphenhyphenwPveYMKQY0MZzqJElNh4E/s1600/041.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Age 6 - this picture was taken just a couple weeks ago.</td></tr>
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Mama McDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17667111302285733357noreply@blogger.com3