Afternoon Adventures

New Places

The last few days have been spent in the comfort of some one else's home. We've been house sitting for the couple Danny works for. Our days have mostly been spent stoking the fire, playing (with these cool trucks ->), coming up with creative meals (in an awesome kitchen complete with a vitamix), and jumping in the hot tub whenever possible. The life of luxury!

There are just two little obstacles:

1.) Dogs, Within seconds of arriving the dogs chewed up one of Sati's shoes and one of our beloved cloth diapers! Yeah, I was annoyed... Does that mean I'm not an animal person?

2.) This is a house of proud hunters so there are animals hanging all over the walls (don't get me wrong, hunting's not a bad thing, Danny hunts as well). Sati is scared to death, with good reason, of the deer hanging next to her bed at night and has been crying herself to sleep, poor thing!

Plastic's Back

Actually, plastic is here to stay. And, in all honesty, it does have it's place. Using plastic for safety in car seats and bicycle helmets has probably saved a ton of lives and livelihoods. And where would we be in the medical field without it?

Plastic bags, however, do not. Filling our day to day world with thin plastic bags is not only terrible for landfills, the environment, and hard to recycle, but it's quite a safety hazard for children. Reusable bags are such an amazing alternative, even if they do initially stress the environment a bit with the production process. The canvas bags are heavier duty, have the potential to look really cool, aren't any kind of safety hazard to your family, and they're made to be reused! So, problem solved, right?

But what about the plastic bags that are already here? Lets put on our creative hats and repurpose them! We started using old plastic grocery bags as trash can liners (admittedly not the best way to use them, but a step in the right direction). We then started wondering if we could really reuse them in a sustainable way.... so we looked into it on the, oh so amazing, internet and found that people had been wanting to do the same things as we did. We saw some amazing things: bags, wallets, belts, earrings, broaches, and even a quilt made with plastic bags.

We took this idea and ran with it... the most recent adventure for plastic in our home was as soles for Sati's new shoes! Oh, the wonders of discarded plastic bags.

::Note: We use our reusable bags for shopping purposes, and only take plastic bags that have already been used and discarded by somebody else. We like to see plastic bags being fazed out of stores and are only trying to find creative, sustainable ways to use what is already here. WE DO NOT SUGGEST USING MORE PLASTIC (you know, like double bagging in target) IN ORDER TO CREATE THESE WORKS OF ART. But we would love to see what you come up with (ask your neighbors for their used plastic bags, or even raid the "to be recycled" bags at your local grocer)::

Fun Finds Friday

Chai Tea with Coconut Palm Sugar

The newest addition... (hopefully regular addition) to State Side. "Fun Finds Friday" is all about things that I've recently discovered and LOVE! I'm guessing that most of these posts will be food related... cause, um, yeah, there is just so much good food out there.

My sister-in-law was taught by and Indian woman how to make real chai tea. She shared the recipe with me, I adjusted it a bit, and I've been addicted sense. It's amazing, really!

Ready to use dry chi spice:

• 1 TBLS cinnamon stick (I use more)
• 1 TBLS ground ginger (I usually use a heaping scoop)
• 1 TBLS pepper cornes (I use more)
• 1 TBLS cardamom
• 1 TBLS coriander
• 1 TBLS cloves
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)

put all ingredients in a coffee grinder and grind it to a powder. Put it in a jar and wait for a cold day to fix up a nice cup'a tea.

For a single serving fill mug half water and half milk (I tend to use more water and less milk). Then put one black tea bag and a spoonful (you'll have to adjust amount to your tastes) of spices in and warm in the microwave on medium DO NOT BOIL never, ever let it boil... add a spoonful of sugar (*very important ingredient because the sweetness is what brings out the flavor and makes it spicy... otherwise it's just tea*) and enjoy!

For a large batch (my favorite way) fill pan with half milk half water (again, I tend to use more water and less milk). Put in one tea bag per person. pour spices (to taste) on top and heat on the stove top on med-low till hot. DO NOT BOIL.... (I've burned my tea way too many times... terrible, terrible waste)! Add sugar to individual cups and serve.

Wait, there's more. Like I said, I'm totally addicted to the stuff and started thinking that I was eating way too much sugar. I wondered if there was a good alternative out there (most artificial sweeteners make me feel like crud). Just then... I won a giveaway on a friend's blog! ~ Thanks Mare!

Coconut palm Sugar ~ This stuff ROCKS! it's low on the glycemic index, and has a wonderful nutty smell and taste that is a perfect complement to the Chai..... yummmm! It's also socially conscious, and environmentally friendly, so it's really guilt free all the way around. I can't wait to try it in ice cream and just about everything else.

A Renewed Look at Life

Our family is using this season of lent to focus on turning the way we live into something that has purpose (living in a way that truly honers God, others, and ourselves) and also something that we love, really, really love. This means many things need to be converted!

I will try to capture some of these exciting little changes and rejuvenate this tired, over-neglected blog with stories of life being grabbed by the horns. My hope is that you will be encouraged to do the things you love and be who you want to be.

Say hello to the new us!

::This picture was taken yesterday right before we got into the rafts and headed down the river for the first time this year. I'm anticipating much more of this in the near future (before the river dwindles down for the summer months)::

What do you want your life to look like? Have you been making that happen?

Updated (recent photos that bring a smile to my face)

the family up at Johnsville ski lodge.

living up the rays at the beach in Ventura

little Porter Lohn (my brother's baby) and his puppy dog

Sickies

We went down south to meet the new family to be (my father in law is tying the knot) just after Christmas, and had a great time with all of the cousins and a lovely time on the beach (is there any other kind?). It was a short trip that involved a lot of driving, however, so it took it's toll on us. On top of that, both of the girls caught a stomach bug in the middle of it all and have been sick ever sense. That means that we are still only partly unpacked and the house is in major need of a maid.

It's really sad when you have sick little kidlings, but I do nothing to prevent it. I'm planning to put both girls in public school when the time comes so I'm letting their immune systems get strong now while they aren't missing out on anything from those lame cold symptoms. As a child I was sick ALL THE TIME and on antibiotics/medications way too much. I want a different future for my children! So when some one is sick I still let my kids hang around and suck on their fingers and whatnot (I know, I'm a sick freak... we let them chew on shoes, too). We also try not to medicate... teas and lots of cinnamon, garlic, and gender are our weapons of choice. So far so good, we've yet to go to the dr. office for anything other than shots.

Sati was in bed the other night drifting in and out of continuousness. I wanted to know how she was doing so I asked her in a round about way...

"Is mono [her monkey] sick?"

"yeah"

"did he puke today?"

"yeah"

"does his belly hurt?"

"yeah"

"does he need some water?"

"yeah"

"does mono feel hot?"

"yeah"

"poor mono"

"yeah"

"does mono need besos (kisses)?"

"no, mono's sick of besos"

So maybe kisses aren't the best medicine for my little bug.

What is your philosophy about sickness and germs?

... and medicating?