Measuring success my way with a hearty side of used coffee grounds.

Lately I have been feeling "less than" Less than a good Mom, less than a good wife and less than successful. I am a stay at home mom. We are not rich, we don't HAVE a lot and I work 2 jobs from home to help make ends meet. Lately I have been noticing the differences in my life and others....the dream house, vacations, money to burn. Today while sweeping dirt from around the illegals ( the daycare kidlets) and feeling "less than" I came to the realization that I HAVE a heck of a lot. I have a crazy wild almost 4 year old boy, a wonderfully loving and patient husband, a HOME, a family and a wonderfully simple life.  Does the rest matter? I don't think it does. If someone had told me I was not successful I would have eaten them alive but because I decided it was so.............it was so. I was comparing myself to people with different values, families, lives. It turns out that this girl right here is VERY "MORE THAN" We live in 1000 sq ft of condo space....yes, I want a farm. We have one vehicle ( it's new..but who cares..it's still a minivan) and a very full life of everything. Life's not always beautiful..trust me, it is not. But I always come out the other end more grateful and happy than I was before. So I tip my hat to those of us who don't keep up with the Jones because I firmly believe that leads us down a path of debt, divorce and despair. I am worth way more than that and so is my family. Onwards and upwards!!! So.......What do you do to re purpose your old coffee grounds? Did you know you could re purpose them? I was standing over the percolator today while it bubbled away and was wondering to myself what I could do with that black mess inside the cup. So I hopped into my shower with a cup of them and scrubbed away....my face and body. Let me tell you that this was close to a miraculous discovery. I mean who would have thought that it would be sooo good to exfoliate all that winter dead skin away with coffee!! It actually made my skin feel alive. Makes sense.............caffeine keeps me from falling asleep in the bread dough why couldn't it liven up the rest of me. I did a little google research today and turns out there is quite a lot we can do to reuse the stuff! I already knew about mixing it into my garden soil for nitrogen replacement. Shout out to my Mudder here...............coffee grounds placed into the base of the blueberry plants makes the blueberries grow bigger, sweeter and more. BUT did you know it acts as a hair softener/shiner? A exfoliate, a pot scrubber, a shower scrubber, fridge deodorizer( dry it out add to bowl, place in fridge..easy peasy) This shit is A.MAZ.ING!!!!!! No pics today.....I used up my grounds before thinking of taking a pic!!. Anyways a recap.....Simple= Fuckin' Awesome, Coffee Grounds = A.MAZ.ING and my life.........damn near beautiful.  Shameless Charity Plug time.....my favorite people, my favorite Non profit society that I would do anything for( My husband fears winning the lotto big) Please take a minute and learn about Cameryn. A very special little girl who started something amazing without even knowing it. www.camerynscause.com. If you have it..give a bit. One day you too might be on the receiving end of a small cheque to pay a bill when you  need it. Nothing is more important than our kids.

ISO Hand Powered Kitchen Tools.......with no luck.

I spent the morning out "Thrifting" with a good friend. She owns a business that turns old into renewed (http://www.etsy.com/shop/lovemetimestwo) It's a awesome idea and the best excuse in the world to browse old things that make me think of my Great Grandparents. One find in particular today was a little sign that said " Kissin' don't last but good cookin' do!" My Nan had a sign like that in her kitchen. I didn't buy it today but if it's there next time....it's mine. I did however complete my cast iron pan collection with a mini for $4.99 !

Yesterday I made a awesome Quinoa wrap mixture/salad.

Recipe:

1 cup Quinoa cooked according to package.

1/2 cup beans ( I used black)

1/4 cup chopped pineapple

1/4 cup of spinach chopped, peppers chopped and tomatoes chopped.

2 tablespoons epicures pueblo bean dip mix

Zest of one lime

Juice of 1/2 lime

Garlic Garlic Garlic

Mix together and let sit one hour.

Eat as you want it!

PS.....I did not find any hand crank kitchen tools and the salad would be great with fresh cilantro in it!

Moon Dust

So in a effort to do more myself and make more myself I decided to take on "Moon Dough" Let me tell you that the stuff is awful....it's meant to be. On a cold, ice rain into snow slush day with the illegal daycare kids hidden in the condo.......nothing seemed more perfect. I don't particularly care about mess. I clean it up ferociously but don't care it happens. After all a mess says " We had a great day" Never expect children to leave " inappropriate daycare lady's" house clean because My Ducky...it ain't gonna happen. OK, back to the "Moon Dust" 8 cups of plain ole flour, 1 1/4 cup ( awful, disgusting, harmful for your baby) Baby Oil. I just so happened to have a unopened bottle some well meaning person gave me when my son was young. Wasn't sure why I kept it until today:) Mix and knead and squish in your fingers ...get the kids going, they will love it. I didn't add colour to this batch but next time for sure. Hours of enjoyment( just kept the broom handy) After we were done playing it was a quick clean up by brushing it onto the flour and vacuuming it up. Easy Peasy.

Condo Homesteading....can it be done?

I am completely intrigued and interested in homesteading. It fits my values and lifestyle. One BIG issue for me though............we live in a condo box. So can I homestead while dwelling in a condo building? I can't seem to convince my husband that I could sneak 2 "quiet" breed chickens onto the deck to live a peaceful existence. I can't seem to convince anyone else in our strata that community gardens would be a great idea or that solar panelling the shit out of our roof is a awesome way to send a big "up yours" to the hydro company and other condo communities. Let's share a small well kept secret. CONDO LIVING IS NOT AT ALL GREEN LIVING. Let's start with the excess heat in hallways, lights everywhere, stupid lamps turned on in the "lobby" all day, air conditioning ( we live in a rain forest, a Pacific Northwest rain forest), no composting, barely recycling and the watering of green grass twice a day. It's enough to give a hippy a heart attack. My neighbors find me weird to say the least. I have the wrong colour blinds and run a illegal daycare out of my unit. SHHHHHHHH What's a few chickens????? Alas, the dream will continue being a dream...for now ;) . I believe the microwave is the devil and have not used or owned one in over 8 years. My great grandmother hated it...I hate it. I don't owe a coffee pot....cool girls percolate! I am currently amassing a large collection of cast iron and copper molds. I think doctors are " hocus pocus" and will try anything first. When I had my son my eyes opened wide to the array of shit chemicals we ingest, soak in, inhale, touch, eat, use, love. I spent a few years on Salt Spring and began to realize the hippies were right!! Out went everything but my makeup ( I can't do it..I have tried) I went back to Dr. Bronner's soap........and I put that shit on everything! Hair, face, body, bath, kids, dogs, husband, cleaning solution and more! At $18.99 for a concentrated 1 litre bottle I truly think it's a miracle. The peppermint will change your life, the tea tree will change your hair and the lavender will bring your bath to a whole "notha level kids. I tend to make my own moisturizers, and many other "hippy" items. I have never lived better. My skin still sucks but the benefits and enjoyment I get from not slathering cancer all over myself and family is insurmountable. I hope to share some of my ideas and recipes here. If it can be made homemade I want to make it and can't list everything we do already. I have stopped buying canned foods.......very hard to do and have also switched most of my baking, cooking and eating to a more natural approach. I have never sacrificed flavour however. It does not cost more, taste less, or smell worse to cook with a natural mind frame. This week we made our own pasta and own roasted tomato sauce and served it with bread I made and butter(not made by me) This week we will try making our own butter and I am pondering ketchup and home canned pineapple chunks. This is just a ramble about where we are heading but stay tuned for more adventures in CONDO HOMESTEADING ( said with a movie guy voice)