yes, yes. i'm not the only one. i'll post photos later, we're going to the pumpkin patch today.
so i've been working on binding a quilt, a halloween costume for eddie, some embroidery, halloween decorations, and a halloween party. everything but the embroidery had to get done this month (i think the halloween stuff is obvious!). i still have a long list of christmas gifts to make, but i'm still pretty sure it's doable. i haven't even mowed my backyard! now that's bad! it's getting cold, it'll mostly die off. i still need to order the dang gas tank for the lawn mower too.
eddie's new show - ni hao kai lan. cool show, i'm trying to figure out why we chose chinse instead of japanese there though. are we trying to show a friendlier china? and if we're going to spend the time on a show that helps teach another language shouldn't it be one that's a little more useful for american children than chinese? yes, yes, i know a lot of stuff is made in china and they are a big power when it comes to manufacturing. ummm... again, japanese...? i'm really not sure which aspect of choosing chinese i find more odd.
at the doc i was 198... that was a few weeks ago. i haven't stepped on a scale since, but it was nice that i didn't gain anything in san diego.
so i just read something about how going green is expensive. ok, some aspects can be super pricey. buying products from sustainable forests and the like are way up there in price. but honestly, you know what's even better on cutting a carbon footprint and better for the environment? - buying used! what a novel friggin' concept. i often don't buy used either, i'm unsure why. i guess because most of it doesn't suit my needs, based on my location it's harder to find and get it used... i'm sure i could come up with loads of excuses. i do tend to give away things we no longer use instead of throwing them away though. so at least on one end i'm doing it right.
cleaning products. green cleaning products often cost the SAME as their not green counterparts. hello - argument null and void now. arm and hammer and clorox realized they had a great market for green cleaners that didn't add to the budget. need met. even better - a box of arm and hammer baking soda (or whatever brand, no name you get) is what? $3, $4 for the big box? a large bottle of vinegar is about the same price. so for $8 you have green cleaners for every room in your house for ...6 months-ish (depending on the size of your house and how often you clean). 1 32 oz spray bottle of 1/2 white vinegar 1/2 water lasts me 6 months in the kitchen. the one in the bathroom lasts longer. i clean the counters in the kitchen almost every day and the bathroom once a week. i was having a problem with soap scum and calcium build up on the tiles and grout in my shower - baking soda took it right off. now i just have to scrape out the caulking that has mold growing under it. nice. it also go rid of where the mold was coming out, so once i get the caulking up, i can get rid of the mold. if you want to get all fancy - get some
castile soap for a whoping $15 ($13 if you don't insist on eucalyptus, i just really wanted that scent). there are numerous recipes online that use it, but it is not necissary to clean your house. i really only use it diluted with water on my plants to get rid of pests. so now we've spent a total of $46 to clean our house for the year. your alternatives: furniture polish/duster (ie pledge), all purpose cleaner, soap scum remover, toilet bowl cleaner, abrasive cleaner, ammonia. lets say you shop at the dollar store and find all of these products there. so that's $6 to start with, the only product that isn't used at full strength is the ammonia. at best you're only replacing the all purpose cleaner monthly (add $11), toilet bowl cleaner and soap scum remover every other month ($10); and the polish, abrasive cleaner, and ammonia every 3 months ($) - $36. hmmm, you think that's $10 less. but now i ask, do you buy them at the dollar store? no? well, then double or even triple that cost. so now you're saving $26-62 each year. guess what that can do? but the
dirty dozen organic.
on the issue of organic - try the farmers market. they are usually the same price or a little cheaper than the grocery store. you are taking a huge part of your carbon footprint out, and the liklihood of it being organic or at least far fewer chemicals used goes sky high. now the same price - for the non organic equivilants. so why is the liklihood better for less chemicals? i'm so glad you asked, farmer's market vendors produce a wide variety of fruits and/or vegetables. growing variety is the key to natural pest control. what one plant attracts is often cancelled out by growing it next to a plant that repels that pest - and believe me, farmers know this! and better yet, those at the farmers market use that knowledge. not because they care about it being organic (not to say they don't, but that isn't the only or often the main reason), but because it saves them money! if you could sell your products at a better profit simply by arranging them differently, wouldn't you? you can also grow a few of the dirty dozen - bell peppers, strawberries, lettuces, carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes are all fairly easy to grow and can be done in just one season. are there orchards in your area? there's another way to take care of the organic issue. amazingly, a lot of the chemical process contiues after harvest to make the produce look pretty for you to buy. by finding an orchard (or strawberry farm, we use ours - we even walk to it!) you can at least cut down on the chemicals if you can't get rid of it overall. if you own your own home, plant a fruit tree or two of fruits you truely enjoy. do a little research to find out how and where they grow best and try it! milk, meat, and coffe i can't help you with except to tell you use that money you save on the chemicals.
did you know you can also make your own laundry detergent for a fraction of what grocery store brands cost you? washing soda ($6), borax ($4), and your choice of soap (mine is $3 for 2 bars). 1c washing soda, 1c borax, 1 grated bar of soap. 2tbs per load (i have an old oxy clean scoop i use). i've made 3 batches and am still on the same box of washing soda (i use borax for other purposes also). so i've spent $16 for at least 80 loads of laundry. looks good, doesn't it? and, you guessed it - it's green. at least as green as the soap you choose. don't want to do that? check out
dropps, that's 84 loads for $30... they are rumored to be available at walmart also. again, savings here can get passed on to your grocery food bill.
so while you may not save money, you don't need to spend more to be significantly greener. now quit whining about how expensive it is. sheesh ;)
eddie tried on my had before i spray painted it - thank you for the fabric mom.
lychee eyeballs last night
was supposed to be granola bugs. i need to read directions through before starting to make it. i needed to pat dry all the fruit. so it didn't set. i decided it was monster brain dip instead.
and that's all for the party pics. i didn't stress too much and we all had a good time.
page credits: template kim wresh, fall fantasia kit by irene alexeeva
at the halloween festival, he flipped frogs
back to august photos...
playing the steel guitar
playing piano with gramdad
he tore up this giant hunk of bread - he ate about 1/2 of it
at magui and papa joe's
with carlos - eddie loved carlos, they played together a lot when luis' kids were there
playing piano with magui
with papa joe
at a goat farm when we stayed at gpa ed's cabin
kaylin
chillin' in the spa with cousin conner
i still have more photos from SD that i'll put up another time
wrote his name (copying what i wrote and what i was saying)
could i make this up?! they didn't taste very good though. eddie didn't like them either. kinda like berry kix+cardboard... do they even still make berry kix?
cheesehead
donuts are tasty
he has now worn this shirt twice mom - and both times he picked it out. excellent.
eddie lined them all up while i was cooking
eddie's costume in progress. i'm almost done, i just need to sew orange triangles on the hat and some giant black eyebrows too. he's going to be brobee from yo gabba gabba. but felt, not fur.
pumpkins from the pumpkin farm... i didn't take pics there b/c we went to the same place as last year, and really, it's not super cool or anything.
love this set up of pumpkins
my hanging creature under the carport
ENTRYWAY
INSIDE
that's the door to the entryway
still working on it, the tombstones are now up, the top windows have crepe curtains and there is crepe roofing on the traditional roof. still need some windows and a door.
changing photo - i have 3 in the house, i failed to photograph one because that's all there was on that wall. the other print is a black apple print. love her stuff!
KITCHEN
specimin jars mixed in with my dry goods
some more specimin jars above the stove
i need everyone to tell me how awesome this on is - €30... it took me a year to finally decide i was going to buy a painted pewter piece for halloween, and they only had the totally awesome big one when i went to rothenburg otb. the other ones were sweet too, but they didn't have them at the time... maybe if i ever make it back there again...
don't you love his smile? i got these last year or the year before
she doesn't look impressed
a close up of what's going on in the kitchen, some bugs in "formaldehyde." to set these up early and not get mold, use some white vinegar in the water. some plastics (i'm learning) get weird looking so go for hard plastics unless you want them to look waterlogged.
halloween town... i have more, i just couldn't find it all for whatever reason.
i think with the exception of moving some things and adding a halloween photo in the empt frame, this one is done... oh, wait, i took this before the glittered bones were put in the container with the matches... i'll update later.
seriously, we need to figure out something better for the movies... some mice hidden in here.
still working on this side... there are some mice hidden in there too.
another changing picture, yep - more movies.
not sure exactly why i took this one... but, new, super cool, jammies.
squishing a penny at the zoo
the carousel at balboa park. eddie really liked this one and the one at seaport village
yeah, pete playing with eddie - on two separate occasions
