TEA TREE OILS ETC
Since several asked...and my friend Heather posted this on her blog today....here you go....
From Heather's blog: First of all I am really loving the essential oils. I never knew how many wonderful uses they had. Our favorite two oils are Tea Tree and Lemon. Tea tree oil is not only a disinfectant, but has anti-fungal properties as well. It can be used on Acne, sinus congestion, skin irritations, athletes foot, as well as a multi-purpose cleaner. Lemon oil also has disinfectant qualities and smells terrific when using it for cleaning. I recommend going to www.teatreeoiluses.com or www.naturesgift.com for more information. Also, by clicking on the TITLE to this post (Healthy Home), you will be directed to a website that has many natural recipes for cleaners and other non-toxic remedies for household problems and maintenance.Here are just 2 of my favorite homemade cleaning solutions.
Disinfectant spray:In a clean spray bottle, combine 4 oz distilled water; 15 drops lemon essential oil; 3 drops tea tree oil. Shake well. This is primarily what I use instead of Lysol.
Window Cleaner:Mix equal parts distilled white vinegar and distilled water with 1/4 tsp natural dish soap (like Ecover) Shake well & use as you would windex.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
We have a plan!!!
Do you remember the society matron mouse in "American Tale"? She stands up and announces, "We have a plan" in her NY accent and then life moves on (or at least the movie). This line has become my personal line. My family tease me with it and I make fun of myself with it. I MUST have planning sessions and I end them all by saying in my best imitation "We have a PLAN - e pluribus unum".
A very dear local friend has hinted that I'm "anal" about being on time. We've talked about it and this has stemmed from leadership roles. A leader can't be showing up late...and since I've been in leadership roles for the past 20+ years....I've learned to make myself be on time.
This goes along with what I'm about to confess. :::drum roll::: I cannot be on time without a WORKING PLAN. I live for plans. I drive my family crazy with my obsession with "the plan". It's sad. I've worked on this. I need to know what we are doing. I can't relax without a plan. I think being on time is hard for me and I've learned that a plan is essential for me to be on time....LOL Or maybe I've always been psychotic - Mom could comment on that.
Regardless, I'm always asking the family for "the plan". I woke up last night at 4 a.m. and realized that I had NO PLAN for what we were doing with the girls' visit. It makes no difference that we are 1/2 way through the visit...I need a plan. We may forget something important without a plan. Mike tends to be a late riser, he is content to take the day as it comes. I feel like the day is 1/2 - 2/3 gone by the time we DISCUSS what we're going to do with it. I've learned to be a bit more laid back...and my family has learned that they need to give me a plan. Which they do with much eye rolling and good natured teasing. Often Mike will tell me Friday night, "We're going to sleep in tomorrow until we wake up, we're going to laze around until lunch and then we'll go geocaching." AND I'm content with a plan. LOL
Mike called today when we were in the middle of our "planning session". He added his .02 to my plan mania. LOL One of the girls laughed at me when I said "we need a plan". They know me so well. Our plan can be as simple as "today we are going to stay home and do nothing"....I only need to know that we PLAN to relax...and then I can. Without that, I'll worry that we aren't doing something we should be doing. ::snort::
How does this gel with the persona of a person who "jumps into things?" Well - I am quickly able to switch plans...but I must have a plan. I can't move without a plan.
Our plan:
Today - Krista took the boys out for a treat - her Christmas gift to them. I called Don and got the computers working - the upgrade to IE7 had done BAD THINGS to my computer because they were clashing with Fire Fox. Bre will watch the littles and the rest of us will go see the Nativity. We'll play games and such tonight. I need to also check about cashing checks....I don't want to use my credit card again for a month. We pay it off monthly but I don't need the airline miles and I need to figure out what they are doing with limits and charges etc.
Tomorrow we have speech and produce co-op. We'll spend the afternoon playing games, visiting, maybe caching if it is nice.....and packing the girls up.
Saturday - we'll do any shopping I need to do for the girls before they leave, and get a package off to Mike.
Sunday - The girls have to be at the station by 11:00 and leave at noon.
"We have a plan.....and I can rest." ::snort::
Do you remember the society matron mouse in "American Tale"? She stands up and announces, "We have a plan" in her NY accent and then life moves on (or at least the movie). This line has become my personal line. My family tease me with it and I make fun of myself with it. I MUST have planning sessions and I end them all by saying in my best imitation "We have a PLAN - e pluribus unum".
A very dear local friend has hinted that I'm "anal" about being on time. We've talked about it and this has stemmed from leadership roles. A leader can't be showing up late...and since I've been in leadership roles for the past 20+ years....I've learned to make myself be on time.
This goes along with what I'm about to confess. :::drum roll::: I cannot be on time without a WORKING PLAN. I live for plans. I drive my family crazy with my obsession with "the plan". It's sad. I've worked on this. I need to know what we are doing. I can't relax without a plan. I think being on time is hard for me and I've learned that a plan is essential for me to be on time....LOL Or maybe I've always been psychotic - Mom could comment on that.
Regardless, I'm always asking the family for "the plan". I woke up last night at 4 a.m. and realized that I had NO PLAN for what we were doing with the girls' visit. It makes no difference that we are 1/2 way through the visit...I need a plan. We may forget something important without a plan. Mike tends to be a late riser, he is content to take the day as it comes. I feel like the day is 1/2 - 2/3 gone by the time we DISCUSS what we're going to do with it. I've learned to be a bit more laid back...and my family has learned that they need to give me a plan. Which they do with much eye rolling and good natured teasing. Often Mike will tell me Friday night, "We're going to sleep in tomorrow until we wake up, we're going to laze around until lunch and then we'll go geocaching." AND I'm content with a plan. LOL
Mike called today when we were in the middle of our "planning session". He added his .02 to my plan mania. LOL One of the girls laughed at me when I said "we need a plan". They know me so well. Our plan can be as simple as "today we are going to stay home and do nothing"....I only need to know that we PLAN to relax...and then I can. Without that, I'll worry that we aren't doing something we should be doing. ::snort::
How does this gel with the persona of a person who "jumps into things?" Well - I am quickly able to switch plans...but I must have a plan. I can't move without a plan.
Our plan:
Today - Krista took the boys out for a treat - her Christmas gift to them. I called Don and got the computers working - the upgrade to IE7 had done BAD THINGS to my computer because they were clashing with Fire Fox. Bre will watch the littles and the rest of us will go see the Nativity. We'll play games and such tonight. I need to also check about cashing checks....I don't want to use my credit card again for a month. We pay it off monthly but I don't need the airline miles and I need to figure out what they are doing with limits and charges etc.
Tomorrow we have speech and produce co-op. We'll spend the afternoon playing games, visiting, maybe caching if it is nice.....and packing the girls up.
Saturday - we'll do any shopping I need to do for the girls before they leave, and get a package off to Mike.
Sunday - The girls have to be at the station by 11:00 and leave at noon.
"We have a plan.....and I can rest." ::snort::
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
BLOGGER QUESTION
What has been the best way you have found to get answers from blogger. My edit page STILL doesn't have the "add element" button to click. I have to mess with the template to make changes. I AM signed in on blogger. I dont' even remember the old sign in info. ::snort:: I can GET to the add element page...but I don't have any buttons to easily do this any longer....I have surfed the "blogger buz" and I'm not finding an answer. Is it a sign that I should quit blogging? Begin a new blog...what....I even changed templates and it didn't help.
I'm basically computer illiterate...I'm open to ideas....step by step ideas. LOL
What has been the best way you have found to get answers from blogger. My edit page STILL doesn't have the "add element" button to click. I have to mess with the template to make changes. I AM signed in on blogger. I dont' even remember the old sign in info. ::snort:: I can GET to the add element page...but I don't have any buttons to easily do this any longer....I have surfed the "blogger buz" and I'm not finding an answer. Is it a sign that I should quit blogging? Begin a new blog...what....I even changed templates and it didn't help.
I'm basically computer illiterate...I'm open to ideas....step by step ideas. LOL
WEDNESDAY
Our day began bright and early with an eye appointment for Bre. She no longer is on our military insurance. Ouch. We got her a year's worth of contacts.
We came home for a bit. Krista had figured out how to load CD's to the ipod, but only one computer is now working well. She was busy with that job.
Josiah didn't feel well, but had to work. He worked a full day.
BreAnne and Krista went for new haircuts. I enjoy them visiting with my young (18yo) hair stylist. They talked with her about their life, vision, Master's Commission...totally new views of life for her....and I think she enjoys it as well because she hugged them goodbye.
We met Tricia and family and Adrienne and family at our city's newest park. Fun. Zander chased down an 11 year old who stole their light saber. Zander has bully tendencies...but it was nice to see him use that spunk to defend others today.
We came home to more visiting. The girls had stayed home to work on course work....Cy was home and asking about ways to clear his sinus'. I had just the thing...tea tree oil. I got it all out....managing to drop and break the bottle so the whole house now has clear sinus'....there was just enough left in the bottle to set Cy up....he reports that it worked well.....I'm going to be ordering some more oils from herbco....Heather, let me know if you want me to order anything else for you. I'll get you a bottle of tea tree oil as I know you gave me YOURS. Wow...does my whole tile floor smell like tea tree oil. I wonder how long it will last???? LOL
We are getting lots of phone calls from students, friends and Master's Staff...it's fun to see how well adjusted our little homeschooled unsocialized "misfits" are. ::snort::
I managed to make sweet potato fries, fries (LOVING that french fry slicer LOL), stroganoff, salad and fruit for dinner. . .between the phone calls and exploding tea tree oil bottles.
We are going to end the night by playing Lord of the Rings Trivia DVD game....Bre is taking pity on my sharing how I feel so outnumbered around here most days...there are lots of boys here...and I love them dearly but I miss the nicey nice things...she just came to tell me that she has a pot of tea ready...think I'll grab a cuppa and watch the children play.
Hope you all are having as wonderful breaks as we are. If only the photos would load!!!
Our day began bright and early with an eye appointment for Bre. She no longer is on our military insurance. Ouch. We got her a year's worth of contacts.
We came home for a bit. Krista had figured out how to load CD's to the ipod, but only one computer is now working well. She was busy with that job.
Josiah didn't feel well, but had to work. He worked a full day.
BreAnne and Krista went for new haircuts. I enjoy them visiting with my young (18yo) hair stylist. They talked with her about their life, vision, Master's Commission...totally new views of life for her....and I think she enjoys it as well because she hugged them goodbye.
We met Tricia and family and Adrienne and family at our city's newest park. Fun. Zander chased down an 11 year old who stole their light saber. Zander has bully tendencies...but it was nice to see him use that spunk to defend others today.
We came home to more visiting. The girls had stayed home to work on course work....Cy was home and asking about ways to clear his sinus'. I had just the thing...tea tree oil. I got it all out....managing to drop and break the bottle so the whole house now has clear sinus'....there was just enough left in the bottle to set Cy up....he reports that it worked well.....I'm going to be ordering some more oils from herbco....Heather, let me know if you want me to order anything else for you. I'll get you a bottle of tea tree oil as I know you gave me YOURS. Wow...does my whole tile floor smell like tea tree oil. I wonder how long it will last???? LOL
We are getting lots of phone calls from students, friends and Master's Staff...it's fun to see how well adjusted our little homeschooled unsocialized "misfits" are. ::snort::
I managed to make sweet potato fries, fries (LOVING that french fry slicer LOL), stroganoff, salad and fruit for dinner. . .between the phone calls and exploding tea tree oil bottles.
We are going to end the night by playing Lord of the Rings Trivia DVD game....Bre is taking pity on my sharing how I feel so outnumbered around here most days...there are lots of boys here...and I love them dearly but I miss the nicey nice things...she just came to tell me that she has a pot of tea ready...think I'll grab a cuppa and watch the children play.
Hope you all are having as wonderful breaks as we are. If only the photos would load!!!
Chocolate Mint Cheesecake (Andes Mint or Tropical Source Mint LOL)
This is one that I knew would be requested for Christmas. It was requested at Thanksgiving. It took a bit of time to gather all the ingredients to make it "healthier" but certainly not healthy. It was amazingly yummy...and no preservatives or dye or such of any sort. It's still incredibly rich and you'd do well to start with a sliver. This is a recipe I came up with years ago and has repeatedly been shared on SHS but I couldn't find it on the blog this week when I thought the recipe was lost. ::snort:: So now it will be somewhere online that I can access easily. This cheesecake has earned the title the "400 lb cheesecake" and earned me the title of "cheesecake diva". Kelly in OH makes it very pretty by adding some dollops of whip cream along the bottom..... I still have an idea for a maple/honey cheesecake but I didn't want that many competing flavors in the chocolate one. I used Rapadura, which has a mild toffee flavor. Sucanat would work -sucanat is a bit grainier than Rapadura. The girls were suitably impressed - comments such as "I never knew organic could taste this good" flew around the table...along with my comments that this is a RARE treat these days. I also made an organic cheese ball so the girls are starting to realize I am not depriving the youngers with our lifestyle change. The favorites are still there...just adapted. ::snort::
Crust: *See note
1 1/2 C Oreos (about 22 - I used Newman O's)
2 T sugar (Rapadura)
1/4 C melted BUTTER
Mix. Press onto the bottom and up the side of a greased 9 inch spring form pan.*** Bake at 350* for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325*. Set aside to cool.
Filling:
1/4 C Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips (Sunspire)
1/2 a pkg of Andes mints (1 1/2 - 2 bars Tropical Source Mint Crunch Dark Chocolate)
1/4 C Whipping Cream (NOT cool whip)
4 packages (80z) cream cheese, room temp (Organic Valley)
1 C sugar (Rapadura)
1/3 C baking cocoa (ahLaska!)
4 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla
In a small bowl melt chocolate and mints (double boiler or microwave - stir every 30 seconds). Add 1/4 C whipping cream and stir until well blended. Set aside.
Beat cream cheese and rapadura on low speed until there are NO LUMPS. Add the baking cocoa and beat on low until blended. Add eggs and stir until blended. Add the reserved chocolate mixture and 1 tsp of vanilla and stir until blended. Pour into prepared spring form pan.
Bake for 45-50 minutes until center is almost set (small cracks begin to appear around the edges of the cheesecake) I do the water bath **** here so it takes about 10 - 20 minutes longer. Cheesecake is fine without the water bath if time is short.
Topping:
1 C Andes Mints (1 C Tropical Source Mint Crunch)
6 T butter (or Whipping Cream to thin)
Melt. Spread on cheesecake. Cool completely before covering in any way. Chill. Refrigerate overnight. Just before serving garnish with whipped cream if desired.
*We like a thicker crust so I use 3 C of cookie crumbs, 1/3 C of butter and 2 T of Rapadura for my 9 or 10 inch cakes. The sugar could be left out but I like the hint of crispness that it gives the crust.
*We like a thicker crust so I use 3 C of cookie crumbs, 1/3 C of butter and 2 T of Rapadura for my 9 or 10 inch cakes. The sugar could be left out but I like the hint of crispness that it gives the crust.
**The second batch of chocolate mint can either be melted with the chocolate chips and incorporated into the topping (my favorite) or shaved over the top of the topping....or used to garnish before serving....but that makes for BIG bites of mints...
***I have used 9 or 10 inch pans...either work.
****To water bath or steam your cheese cake: Wrap the bottom and up the side of the pan in foil (I'll have to illustrate this as this is the most questioned step). Set the cheesecake in a pan big enough to hold the spring form pan. Pour boiling water 11/2 -2 inches up the side of the pan. Set the whole thing in the 3255* oven and continue. Water baths improve the texture of the cake and get rid of most of the cracks.....however when you top the cake it tastes wonderful and looks pretty either way.
NOT SURE WHY BLOGGER HATES PARAGRAPHS AND SPACES ::snort::
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