Say No to bottled water..PLEASE

Wow, my husband and I just watched "Tapped" on our Net Flix. All I can say is "WOW". I've always known buying water in a bottle was a waste of money and that not enough people recycle the bottles, but I just never saw how bad it really was. We use a Britta..actually I think I have a Pure filter on the facet right now. (the stupid casing has a crack in it after only changing the filter once..I won't buy one of those again!) We've also been using stainless drink bottles for a couple of years now. We've been doing that because we have made the choice to be as green as we can, but also because I am as thrifty as I can be. With 4 kids you have to be. I was a single mom with my two sons for 7 years, so believe me when I say that I know how to save money.

This film is such a must see for everyone. My family is going to take this on as our cause. Everyone needs something to fight for and honestly we've been looking for something we can sink our teeth in to. We'll start with school. My youngest son in in a good number of sports and if we bring the cooler and recycled paper cups we might be able to save some bottles every week just by supplying water to the teams. We'll keep thinking on this.

If anyone reads me just ranting, please please please join us and swear off bottled water.

Our Fox Friend

We really don't live in the wild. It's actually considered a town here and there is a trailer park next door. There are a lot of fields around us though. We've had a skunk at the front door, a  raccoon in the hen house, at least 3 coyotes I could pick out of a line up, and now we saw the owner of the mystery footprints.  My boys and my husband were out clearing the two feet of snow from the drive way when Brandon yelled "Coyote". When ever we see anything now we think that's what it is...my kids are afraid to be out alone.

I was looking out the window since one of my daughters was out with them and frankly they are all just so damn cute out there together. It wasn't a coyote this time but a beautiful red fox. I didn't get the best look at at, but my husband did. We gather around the computer to find pictures and verify exactly what we see. I don't mind a fox in the yard except for the fact I have 4 chickens and am boarding another one for a friend. They are safe in the winter lodgings, but a fox so small could fit right into the poop door if it wanted to. I need reinforcement for sure.

All the posts I've read said a fox wouldn't go after my dog. My dog is only a 10 pound fluff ball though, so I still want to be careful. Cricket is the most wonderful companion I've ever had in my life. She's a Coton De' Tuleua and Shitz Tzu hybrid. She just wants to be with me and after having her I'd never go back to hunting breeds. She's just the perfect type of dog to have with little girls and to sit with you while you are on the computer. Just wild enough to be exciting but calm enough to be perfect. For now I shake a loud tambourine thing my husband got from Omega before I  let her out. I think it would scare off anything that may be out there.

So far so good

I can't say that I've been diligent with the vinegar, but I have been putting forth a good effort. I have to say that it's the nastiest tasting thing to try to swallow that I've ever tried. My sister seems to like it, but for the life of me I can't see how. My husband and I switched to Balsamic Vinegar on our salads only and I'd rather drink that really. Here's the important thing though, I haven't had a single attack since drinking what I have been drinking of the vinegar. None. I might have over did it the first week, but not so it ever upset my stomach. I tried putting it in my orange juice and did this a couple times a day. I also tried to do shots, but that just doesn't work for me. I don't like any kind of shot and it might as well been tequila it was so nasty.

On top of the vinegar I've been taking dandelion tablets once in a while when I felt the gall bladder getting a bit sore. The bottle says "consult a doctor if you have a blockage of the intestines or bile ducts or inflammation of the gallbladder." I don't know why since that's why you buy the pill to begin with. Anyway, what I feel is what I think some inflammation or at least irritation but the doctors I've gone too have been worthless. This seems to work.

I also found some malic acid pills at the Vitamin Shoppe. I don't take them as often as I should, but I can't see how they could hurt you. It's like eating apples. I was just trying to find acids to work like the vinegar without the nastiness. I've been on a huge vitamin C kick. This year I'm NOT going to sick. My husband gets sick every year and with 4 kids in the house and 2 in public school you know the cold bug is lingering around here all the time. As soon as I get sniffles I start up with the Emergen-C. Honestly, I just love it just as a drink. I have a tall Tupperware class of it on the counter about all day. I'm thinking the asorbic acid is, well, acid.

I can't say exactly what it helping, but I have felt better than I have in a long time. I go back for ultrasounds when I can find a doctor for my yearly. It's hard around here. I have talked with surgeons, but have yet to find a doctor who will monitor me. My insurance pays for one physical a year, so my last time was last February. I'll find someone by next month. A year ago my gallstone was 3 cm and I had a lot of pain and a few attacks where I thought I had food poisoning. Since I've been working on it and visualizing it shrinking I haven't had a single attack where I've been sick. I have had some episodes where the pain in my shoulder blades has been unbearable for days at a time. Since the vinegar and like 3,000 mg of C I haven't had a single episode of pain. Well see when I get a doctor what the ultrasound shows.

Busy December

I won't post any more complaints about snow...just to save time. You can just picture me crying. I want to do this Christmas season right for the kids. I hung the Snowman calendar up on the wall on time and we decorated the tree on December 1st. We are riding the Polar Express this weekend and we are off to a good start.

This is not the time to diet and we have cookies planned a few times a week...I know, what a bad mother that must make me:( I did try Pumpkin Cookies with dark chocolate chips. That went over with the girls but it was my husband that just said "interesting" and didn't eat them. Pumpkin is a Superfood so I do try to incorporate it as much as I can. My boys love the Pumpkin bread with brown sugar but my husband is the one who is harder to get healthy food into. I can't very well tell him that he can't leave the table if he doesn't eat his carrots. I wish I could. All I can do with him is be glad he takes the supplements and tea with me at night.

Coyote Attack

This was the first time that I've ever been scared for my safety because of a wild animal. When I ran out the door to see why my chickens were going crazy I saw a flash of red and thought it was a fox. Jumpers, being true to her name, tried to fly/jump to the roof right at our front door. When she fell back to the ground what I thought was a huge fox--now I know it was a coyote, grabbed her in its mouth and went running. I ran out the door and almost grabbed the thing with my bare hands I was so close.

When I used to live in Colorado I read often that when you came across a Bob Cat you were supposed to yell and be all crazy. This is something I'm very good at. I figured that's what you do with any animal and it worked. I chased the coyote with my dear Jumpers in its mouth and Jumpers was dropped as they crossed the road. This was all good until I saw this magnificent reddish brown coyote turn around and stare at me. I had only seen the fluffy dark tail with the black tip until this time...when it was heading in the opposite direction of me. Now this picture postcard looking animal was in full pose looking at me eye to eye. My God this was a beautiful animal. I do have to say though that next time we meet I do plan on having a gun.




My sons and I looked it up and saw cases where coyotes have taken off kids. One article spoke of a two year old taken from the sand box. Well, I have a two year old...and a one year old and I do let them sit in the sand box while I garden a few feet away. Another article spoke of a coyote killing a Maltese dog and my little Coton - Tzu runs around the yard all the time. So, needless to say, this animal has spooked me. It would be one thing if it was a night time attack, but it was just before 5 P.M.. Time for a bee-bee gun. My sons are thrilled to end about that.

Soggy Chickens

They took Guiding Light off the TV so I had to find some drama in my life. I find myself wondering around waiting for 3:00 to come so I can see what in the world in going on with Reva. I'm lost.....what do you do when your friends of 25 years just up and leave you? How could they do that? I gave them the best years of my life!

In 6th grade my Amish friends and I would run across the street to the Hardware / Everything store in our little Ohio town. They had the TV's all set to CBS and were waiting for us. They welcomed us because, I believe, we gave them such a wonderful excuse to follow the stories along with us. You have to imagine a small Amish town with a diner, a small grocery, a bank, a number of churches, and, well, that's about all. My middle school friends and I loved these old guys. Sometimes they would act like they were surprised to see us. Really? 5 days a week as soon as the bell rang we would be standing in the aisle of the store. They would be standing behind us making cute little comments about the show. I was convinced that Stan, the owner, had a wicked crush on Reva....they all did didn't they?

My husband never gave me a hard time about watching my stories. He's a therapist...he KNOWS stuff:) There was some report that indicated that people that watched these stories and had that drama and connection to these soap opera people were actually more likely to be well-adjusted. Really, he read that. That's all I needed. Actually I didn't need anything...like I said, this was a 25 year relationship I just lost.

The good news - I have chickens in my backyard. After a year and a half of free entertainment and healthy organic free range eggs I am convinced that anyone with a square of a yard should have chickens. Aside from really wanting to eat local organic foods they are just fun. Ok, they do poop a lot. I don't love it when they poop on the patio. It seems like they want to come into the house. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact I bring treats:)

The group dynamics of the clutch bring me angst as well as enjoyment. If you have never had chickens, you may not realize how different their personalities can be. Lacy is my Reva. Yes, she can be a bit rough around the edges. The other girls don't always love her, but I do. There's no rooster in my coop, so that keeps out some of the drama. There are however predators. Meat eating, viscous, hungry, animals rooming around the neighborhood waiting for a chance to catch one of my lovely ladies. They are after all - meat.

work in progress.......

overhaul...

time to clean out the cob webs of this old blog....more updates to come:)



I have four wonderful crazy kids and a husband that I'm madly in love with. So life is good.