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October 9, 2010
Eating, Emergencies, Household
CERT, disaster, earthquake, emergency preparedness, fema, fire, go kits
For the last year, emergency preparedness was one of those things on my to do list, but I never got it together to actually make our emergency kit (go kit) or to even learn what to do. After attending 2 emergency preparedness meetings (1 class was mandatory to continue in the CERT program), I finally signed up to take the official classes to become a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) member.
What will you do in an emergency? How will you know your family and loved ones are safe? How will you handle the situation? …
admin
September 30, 2010
Eating, Household, Kids
Dinner is the one meal we all sit at the table and eat together. When Marc and I found out how few people actually take the time to do this, we promised ourselves that we would try to eat together for as long as possible. We all have extremely busy schedules and with work – this can be a challenge, but we have found some great tricks along the way that I thought I’d share.…
admin
September 30, 2010
Gardening
We cleaned up the garden and this is what we were able to pick this weekend. Yum!
This was our first year with a front yard garden and, as I’ve said before, it was awesome. I have truly loved it. I have been extremely thankful that we got so much out of it, as so many people I know were not as successful, due to the weather. …
admin
September 2, 2010
Eating, Kids
One of the best compliments we receive is that our 4 year old son is a great eater. He actually prefers veggies and fruits and eats a lot. He’s as adventurous as you can hope a 4 year old would be and will at least try a bite of anything new. This is something our family has agreed upon – all of us – we don’t have to finish any dish, but you must at least try a few bites of anything new.
I was really surprised when his preschool teacher informed me that food was one of the biggest issues they have at the school. Many kids don’t eat, are picky, or have bad foods provided. I found out that one of the biggest questions parents have for the teacher is – what should I pack for my child to eat? What is quick, easy, nutritious, and that my kids will eat? …
admin
August 25, 2010
Eating, Kids
breakfast, cereal, eggs, extruded cereal, food, pastured animals
They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the daily. Sadly, this is the one that most people skip. But, breakfast is very important. It sets the tone for the day. Its like making sure you have gas in your car before you start the engine. By starting the day right, you give yourself an edge on having a great day. For kids, breakfast is essential. The differences in their comprehension, mood, and concentration are astounding. Even The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion created policies to ensure that school age children were able to obtain breakfast at public schools. Don’t let time in the morning or effort convince you to just send them to school to fend for themselves. If you are able to provide a good breakfast for your children, it is crucial to do so. Schools are on tight budgets and the foods they are able to provide are often a compromise between quality and cost. …
admin
August 24, 2010
Bargains, Eating, Kids
baby food, puree, weaning
Lately, a few people have been asking me what we feed our children and how do we get them to try new things.
We have a 14 mo old girl and a 4 yr old boy…both, I’m relieved to say are pretty good eaters.
I am going to be doing a series of posts regarding how we eat…starting with baby food. …
admin
August 18, 2010
Eating, Gardening
cabbage, gluten free, pro biotic, sauerkraut
I started getting into sauerkraut a year ago when I became obsessed with pro biotics. I have tried to eat pro biotic foods for years and have been making yogurt since I realized it was costing me $12 a week for organic whole milk yogurt for my son. But it wasn’t until last year that I really started to look at all of the different foods that are pro biotic.…
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August 14, 2010
Bargains, Eating
For the last few years, I have been milling my own grains. Of all the things I do - composting, eating organic, trying to reduce our carbon footprint, etc - this is the one thing that raises the most eyebrows...grind your own wheat and other grains? Now, that's going too far...or is it?
I grew up in the San Francisco bay area, sourdough (but still white bread) was a staple. I moved to NYC (Brooklyn Girl, thank you) and bagels became a staple. I have bread almost daily - if not with every meal. So, eating the best tasting and best for me is important. My love of bread is also something my entire family shares. So of course, I want to get the most out of it.
admin
July 12, 2010
Gardening
chamomile, edible flowers, Gardening, tea
It seems with the coming of Summer, our garden knew and bloomed! Everyday we’ve been seeing new flowers, veggies, and the signs of things to come. This is a lovely picture of our chamomile and nasturtiums blooming. I have started cutting and drying the chamomile for tea. Imagine how yummy!
This year, I learned more than I ever wanted to know about chamomile. I knew I wanted to grow an edible flower in my garden and chose chamomile because of all it’s medicinal purposes. There are 2 types of chamomile: English and German. The English (or common) Chamomile is a low growing, ground covering. The German (or wild) Chamomile is more of a floral bush. We are growing the German chamomile. …
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June 30, 2010
Emergencies, Gardening, Household, Kids
I am writing this post because I’m the next door neighbor of someone who apparently has (or in our case, had) termites. We have a new neighbor. He hasn’t moved in yet and we only met him for 5 minutes the other day. I only wish that in those 5 minutes of talking to him (while he told us how much he loved the house and neighborhood), he would have mentioned that the next day we’d walk outside to see his house tented with warning signs informing us that a poisonous gas was in use.
For those that know me well, they know that I have been posting like crazy everywhere to obtain as much information as I can regarding the chemicals used in fumigating for termites. I decided I’d post what I discovered regarding termite extermination in CA.…
