Homemaking ~ Frugal Living ~ Lifestyle
I don’t have a lot to say this morning, but I took some great pictures of the brunch my daughter and I shared with friends this morning. Sometimes, pictures are just too much fun not to share. Missing from these pictures, the dill pickle bloody mary that Hannah and her friend shared. Happy Saturday friends, it’s going to be a great weekend.
My post today was originally posted on greensuburbanliving.com. Bookmark this site, Laureanna gives great ideas to make the world a cleaner place.
In celebration of dental health month, I thought I’d throw out a couple of ideas for how to reduce your plastic load when taking care of your teeth. How else are you going to be able to smile brightly about all the positive changes you’re making?
A Facebook ad popped up recently with this jarring thought: All the toothbrushes you’ve EVER used are still here on Earth. Let’s say three toothbrushes a year, times your age… And then times over 300 million of us probably doing about the same thing just in the USA. Most of us don’t give a second thought to the free toothbrush we get at the dentist’s office, or even another second thought when we toss out our old, somewhat mangled one into the garbage. We certainly don’t think that it will be on Earth FOREVER.
And beyond the toothbrush material, there’s the packaging to consider. Usually, there’s additional plastic found here too.
In this age of information and innovation, we’re able to make choices that are better for the long term of our planet. Try to avoid all plastic toothbrushes – they’re made from crude oil, and will be around for millions of years, someday breaking down into microplastics that everyone will ingest. Better choices include recycled toothbrushes or ones made from bamboo. This cuts down on our plastic load, and in the case of bamboo, relies on a renewable resource.
My purpose is to educate rather than sell products, so I’ll let you do the research on what might work best for you. Googling “best toothbrush for the environment” gives a trove of leads. Many also offer recyclable packaging! If you try one, or if you have one that works for you, please leave a comment for others. 🙂 At our house, we love the bamboo ones – especially for backpacking, because they’re so lightweight.
Finally, what about the free toothbrush that you get twice a year from the dentist? Remember, you can always say “No, but thank you” and talk about your efforts if they ask. Or, donate it! Homeless and women’s shelters are often looking for basic toiletries items to share with their clients.
Good luck!
Smile more (brightly),
Laureanna
I know that it is only February, but graduation parties are only a few months away. I myself will be having a graduation party for my youngest. As good parents, we want to give our children the best of everything, right? Even fun, brightly decorated parties. They worked hard, they deserve it. Before I go further this rant, I will be the first to admit that with my older children, I had parties and pulled out the stops. I decorated with balloons, plastic confetti, plastic utensils, paper plates. The works! I wanted to enjoy their party, celebrate their accomplishments and make my life easier. But, in the last couple years, I have become so much more aware of the environmental impact of these disposable items. Parties can be fun without the plastic waste. Here are some ideas:
These are just a few of the ideas I have as I already start planning my daughter’s graduation party this summer. What other ideas are floating around out there to make graduation party season both fun and eco friendly?
It has been 3 months since I had a health scare that landed me in the ER for 9 hours! What they found that night was two things. One, I have very high blood pressure that needs medication. Two, I have a thickening in my aorta. I was referred to a cardiologist who isn’t sure what is going on. He ran a whole series of blood tests on me. I was tested for everything from hepatitis to scleroderma. Thankfully, everything is fine. The majority of my blood might have been drained, but my blood work is good.
Of course with that all being fine, the question remains, what is wrong with my heart? So, today, I am having a cardiac MRI. I was pretty calm about it, until last night. Now, I am getting a little scared. It doesn’t help that I am terribly claustrophobic and this is going to be a two hour procedure. My husband is going with me. He won’t be able to hold my hand during the procedure, but I know he will be in the waiting room for me when I am done. Claustrophobia set aside, I am actually starting to worry that they are going to find something wrong with me. Given the heart procedures my dad has had this year, I am scared I might have to have the same thing done to me. Most of the time, I feel like I am pretty strong. But today, I am not really feeling that way.
I had planned on skipping the procedure. I told myself that I was going to skip it because it was unnecessary, the blood work told me I am healthy. I also used the excuse that with our high deductible insurance, this was not fiscally responsible, which is ridiculous of course. I was going to skip it because I just didn’t want to know. Ignorance is bliss and all. But, after long discussions with my husband, parents and some really good friends, I realized that in this case it is better to be proactive today rather than reactive in several years in a cardiac crisis.
So, off we go in a few hours. When we return, I will be enjoying a glass of wine.
This last weekend was one of those rare weekends in which it was perfectly relaxing and yet I was able to do so much. We finally got a date night in. It was nothing spectacular, we went to a local bar for burgers and then headed home for a cocktail. We decided to start a jigsaw puzzle that my daughter had given me for Christmas last year. It was a 1000 piece puzzle and felt like a monumental effort. It turned into a family project though, the four of spending hours working on it here and there while listening to music. It was the kind of family togetherness that happens organically, we will not be able to just recreate it, because it just happened. Here is the end result:
Female power!
The weather on Saturday was gorgeous. We knew that a storm was expected on Sunday, which by the way turned out to produce more snow than I think anyone expected. We took advantage of the weather and went to our local county park and took a long walk with the dogs. That was a comedy of errors. Those dogs were not expecting the many smells, the other dogs and just the change of scenery. They were so excited and so badly behaved. At one point, two of the dogs had completely wrapped themselves around my legs in opposite directions. What can you do but laugh. It made me realize that like humans, dogs can get cabin fever just as much as humans. We walk them daily, but they haven’t had a good, long walk like that in a couple months and it really showed. Honestly, as much as I hate to wish the passage of time, because it means I am just getting older, spring can’t come soon enough.
Inspecting something very important
Sunday, I had plans to spend the day with a friend for brunch and the museum, the weather had to put those plans on hold. I took advantage of the time and made several meals for the week. I am always so happy when I do this, I don’t know why I don’t do this timesaver more often. When my son came home that day, I introduced him to the 90’s classic Beverly Hills 90210 and we spent the afternoon watching that train wreck. Don’t get me wrong, I still love it and appreciated that after attempting to get my daughters to watch it with me, my son finally did. We had our weekly Sunday family dinner and enjoyed each other’s company.
When the boy comes home, he gets the good stuff
Yesterday’s weather put my Sunday plans on hold, so I took advantage of that time and made a couple meals ahead of time. My week is going to be really easy as far as dinners are concerned.
Sunday, February 9th – cream of mushroom soup, salad with crab cakes, rolls and cherry pie with vanilla ice cream
Monday, February 10th – lasagna, salad and garlic bread
Tuesday, February 11th – rice and bean enchiladas
Wednesday, February 12th – lentil soup and salad
Thursday, February 13th – salmon, quinoa and broccoli
Friday, February 14th – Valentine’s Day, dinner out
Saturday, February 15th – Not sure about this day, will be out of town for both a show choir competition and a roller derby tournament.
Planning my meals out like this every week has helped keep me very organized, saved me money and prevented food waste.
I made an amazing shrimp with polenta dinner last night. In fact it was so good, I forgot to take a picture. I was too focused on my meal. It was another meal made with the things that I have found in the dark corners of my freezer and pantry. It’s amazing what you can come up with when you force yourself. Below is this week’s meal plan.
Sunday February 2 – spicy shrimp with cheesy polenta and salad
Monday February 3 – macaroni and cheese and broccoli
Tuesday February 4 – bean burritos
Wednesday February 5 – minestrone soup (frozen leftovers)
Thursday February 6 – spinach quiche and salad
Friday February 7 – date night!
Saturday February 8 – Potluck with friends!
I found some frozen cauliflower gnocchi in the far corners of the freezer, along with a bag of frozen cherries. My husband commented on how much we have used up this month, but we have so far to go. Here is the plan for this week.
Sunday January 26 – hearty quinoa chili and sour dough bread
Monday January 27 – gnocchi with roasted butternut squash and kale
Tuesday January 28 – bean and rice burritos
Wednesday January 29 – crockpot hamburger cheddar soup (using beyond beef)
Thursday January 30 – salmon with mashed sweet potatoes and salad
Friday January 31 – pesto quinoa with chicken
Saturday February 1 – out, we will be out of town for a show choir event
My girls
We got a lot of snow last night. Last week’s snowstorm hit us this weekend instead. We were planning on driving about an hour away to see my daughter’s show choir competition. The weather continues to be the deciding factor in whether or not we go. I hate driving in winter weather almost more than anything. While it seems like it is clearing up now, blowing snow and ice remain in the afternoon forecast. Thankfully, 3 more competitions are on the calendar and I have committed to meeting family at 2 of the 3. We may decide to err on the side of caution today and stay home.
Last night’s snowstorm was kind of nice. It forced us to stay in and properly unwind from the work week. I had put some lentil soup in the crockpot before leaving for work yesterday, making dinner prep and clean up very easy last night. We watched Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (which I liked, my husband hated), snuggled with the dogs and popped a big batch of popcorn. It was nice to turn in early last night with a good book. I was sound asleep by 10:45.
Given the likelihood that we will be staying home today, I plan to make some brownies, a loaf of bread, get a good walk in and finish a book. We have dinner plans for tonight, that is why I am going make some delicious brownies for dessert to serve with ice cream, here is the recipe.
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
What are your plans for this snowy Saturday?
Homemaking ~ Frugal Living ~ Lifestyle
Homemaking ~ Frugal Living ~ Lifestyle
Homemaking ~ Frugal Living ~ Lifestyle
Homemaking ~ Frugal Living ~ Lifestyle
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