Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Water4Gas!

I have to post about this. I'm very excited about it.

http://usewaterforgas.org/


I got an email from an acquaintance who has a car that is using this technology to make water increase your mpg by double in some cases. Hubby and I have been talking about getting rid of his F150, getting smaller cars, maybe a hybrid. With all the driving he does for work, we spend at least $800 a month on GAS! It is ridiculous!

So we checked out this site, bought the e-book, and hubby is going to convert both our cars to water-hybrids. Saves money, saves resources, lowers emissions.

I can't wait till its done, and will post more about it then.

THIS SITE explains how and why it works.

Monday, May 19, 2008

What Happens In Vegas... Doesn't Always Stay There

When I was a little girl, and then a teenager, and then a young woman, I fantasized about my one-day wedding. I dreamed of a perfect prince, and a big white dress, a fancy registry, flowers, candles, with beloved friends and family all dressed to match the occasion. A fairy-tale.

By the time I was 30, I had been…around the block. Twice engaged, but never married. By the time I was 30, I had personally been involved with the planning of, preparations for and stood in the wedding party of exactly 8 different weddings, all of them big affairs.

I was SO OVER weddings, by the time I was 30.

I first met my hubby when I was 31. We were long-distance friends, then long-distance romancers. Early on in our courtship, when I already knew I was going to marry him, we were sitting in Starbucks one Saturday afternoon when I casually mentioned that if we ever got married, I didn’t want a big wedding. Diamonds, yes. Big, expensive party that I wouldn’t really enjoy? No. He just smiled and said, “Okay,” which is when I knew that he also already knew he was going to marry me.

Fast forward. I was 32, and we were ready to tie the knot. We got engaged. We decided to do the deed in Las Vegas. I was living in FL, and he was still living in CA at that time. We planned to get married on New Year’s eve, 2004. I found out how and where to get our licenses, booked a chapel and a photographer, bought a dress to wear. I invited a couple of friends from L.A. who were to keep it completely quiet because neither of us had invited our families. I so did not want to make it a big deal – and it would have become a big deal quickly if they were there.

I flew out to L.A. a few days before our wedding, and we had a great time together. I met some of his family,


he met some of mine.

We packed up and drove to Vegas on the 30th. The idea was that we’d drive straight to the county office, get our license, then check in to the hotel and go do the deed at the chapel the next day. We were expecting a huge crowd, and a wait of hours, with all the rush of crazy people like us, getting married on New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas. I remember sitting in his truck on our way across the desert, thinking… feeling… that I was so comfortable with this man. That I was so happy we’d found each other. I felt like I belonged with him. That putting on that dress I bought and his putting on a suit was so unnecessary for us – it felt like we were going to go play dress-ups for a little while, and then start our life. He smiled over at me, and took my hand. I didn’t say anything to him, the thought blew right out the window, and I fell asleep until we hit the Boulevard.

The line for marriage licenses was wrapped around the block. We joined it, and enjoyed the time talking and listening to the conversations of the people around us. We were grinning from ear to ear the whole time, so happy that we were getting married to each other, and that we’d chosen to go off and do it on our own terms, just the simple, uneventful way we wanted to. Eventually, we made our way inside and got the license. As we left, Garett wondered aloud where the courthouse was. I said, “Just look for another really long line!” We’d been told earlier that we could have a civil ceremony at the courthouse, but that it would be a few hours wait at least. We decided to check it out.

We found the building – but there was no line! We went inside to see if it could be true – and it was! No line! They were expecting their huge rush on the 31st – just a few hours from that moment, they said, there would be hundreds and hundreds of people waiting for a ceremony.

I said, “Garett. Let’s just do it! Want to?”

A giggle escaped. I couldn't contain it.

He said, “What about the chapel? What about your dress?”

“I don’t care about the dress. I can cancel everything. If you want to, we’ll keep our original plan, but we could just do it now, and then just… have fun until we have to go home!”

He looked at me, laughed, and took my hand, leading us back inside the courthouse.

We said our vows standing before a judge in her office, in our jeans and t-shirts. A really nice security guard named Henry was our witness. We couldn’t stop grinning/giggling/crying the whole time. It was beautiful. It was perfect. It was us!

And then we had a great New Years Eve as husband and wife, without worries and with our whole life ahead of us.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Weekly Winners


Badass.
Nobody comes between me and my Schwinn.




Spring at the Arboretum



Friends




I'll take my little sister with me...




Our Third Mother's Day


Friday, May 16, 2008

Getting Greener...Bodies


Project Support Beauty in Nature is the brainchild of the lovechild, Lotus. Who rocks the great blogging ideas.

All this talk about being "Green" we usually hear is mostly focused on external things we do and use in our daily lives, but I've got to thinking about applying this to the INSIDES of our bodies too.

We eat fast food, take drugs and medicines - all of that fills us up with chemicals and toxins that we don't get rid of very easily. I've been known to pop a Midol when something gets bad enough. Childbirth, I could handle without drugs. But a bad headache? I'm a wimp. But even antibiotics - while they kill a nasty bacteria, also kill loads of good bacteria and set us up with a slightly disabled immune system and for more need in the future for antibiotics and drugs. When there is something natural that can be done, why not? There are some great, simple, natural things we can do that help a lot, and make our bodies stronger in the process, rather than just covering up a symptom, or making other things worse.

SO.

This post is about one, simple, natural item.

Hydrogen Peroxide.



Last week, Hubby, The Kid and I all got sick. Hubby had a fever and a sore throat. Kid got an eye infection. I got a sinus infection. We suffered. I bombarded everyone with Vitamin C, garlic, and colloidal silver, and we just didn't get better, not very quickly.

I read some stuff about eye infections that made me panic a little. I debated taking the kidlet to the regular doc and getting antibiotics. But instead, I took him to our natural doc, and lo and behold, her "perscription" is hydrogen peroxide. She said that with her patients and her own kids, it cures eye infections, sinuses, sniffles, colds, etc. 100 % of the time. She's never seen it fail. I was game to try it out, not wanting any of us to have to go on antibiotics again.

I came home with a little 1 oz. bottle of food grade hydrogen peroxide. I diluted it, 10 drops in about 1/2 cup of water. All three of us have been drinking that twice a day, and I also started rubbing it over the kid's eyelids a few times a day. Within ONE DAY of starting this, we were all 90% better.

I've had some nasty sinus infections in the past, and nothing I've ever done has worked this fast. I've been using that dilution and squirting it up my nose a few times a day and its just killing it dead fast.

This is food grade hydrogen peroxide, 17.5%, I just ordered a bunch more of it HERE because now my mom, sister-in-law, and a couple of friends want some too.


Turns out that this simple thing that most of us have in our homes can be used for a LOT of other things too!

1) A friend told me she's always cured her kid's ear infections with 3% hydrogen peroxide. Puts a few drops of 3% into the ear a few times a day at the first sign of ear pain, and it heals up quickly without getting more painful.

2) I started using it this week on a foot fungus (nice, right?) that I've had for months on one little spot. After a couple of days, the itch is gone and its healing up.

3) Brushing with hydrogen peroxide and baking soda whitens your teeth - faster and less expensively than with those "Crest White Strips". It tastes like poo, so I only use it on the fronts of my visible upper and lower teeth, after I brush with toothpaste.

There's a whole mess of other things that hydrogen peroxide can be used for, but this post is longer than...something really long. I can only think of something really perverted to say here so I'll just leave it at that. I'll post a full list of uses of hydrogen peroxide another time!

Bath Time

This is what I go through...and he LIKES taking a bath!

Its all a big game... called 'mess with mommy, make her work for it!'

How boring it would be to just... you know... GET IN THE TUB!

Lucky for him, his extreme cute factor stretches my patience almost infinitely.

video

Thursday, May 15, 2008

The Goddaughter Goes 4H



My Goddaughter has been utterly and completely excited about chickens lately. She decided she wanted to raise chickens. She begged her parents. She didn't mind dealing with mounds of chickenshit. They amazingly agreed and her dad has been helping her build a coop for them. He IS the coolest Daddy in the world, kid, I agree.

And I'm not just saying that because he is also the cutest daddy in the world, or because I still want to marry him when I grow up, even though I am grown up and we are both happily married to other people. Ahem.

My crush on him is like a family secret that is not at all, in any way a secret, because everybody knows all about it. And rolls their eyes at me. But that's not what this post is about. At all. Ahem.



Haley got her 6 chicks this week. They are called Buff Brahma Bantam Chickens. They are going to be show chickens. The girl is joining the 4H Club, and plans to go to the Missouri State Fair with them on her own to show them.

These pics are what they might look like when they're grown up:



'Aint them some fine lookin' chickens? I'm proud of that cute little farmer girl.

All this hick talk reminds me - I heard this song on the radio this morning. It made me laugh out loud. Ever been stuck on a 2 lane road behind a big, slow tractor? I have. Lots.

International Harvester


Well you may be on a state paved road
But that blacktop runs through my payload
Excuse me for tryin’ to do my job
But this year ain’t been no bumper crop
If you don’t like the way I’m a drivin’
Get back on the interstate
Otherwise sit tight and be nice
And quit yer honkin’ at me that way

Well I know you got your own deadlines
But cussin’ me ain’t savin’ no time hoss
This big-wheeled wide load ain’t goin’ any faster
So just smile and wave and tip your hat
To the man up on the tractor

Chorus:
Cause I’m a son of a 3rd generation farmer
I’ve been married 10 years to a farmer’s daughter
I got two boys in the county 4-H
I’m a lifetime sponsor of the F.F.A.
Hay! That’s what I make
I make a lot of hay for a little pay
But I’m proud to say
I’m a God fearin’ hard workin’ combine driver
Hoggin’ up the road on my p-p-p-plower
Chug a lug a lugin’ 5 miles an hour
On my International Harvester

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Thanks a LOT

A friend just emailed this link to me:
Celebrity Baby Blog.

It was NOT okay for her to send this to me. AS IF I needed another addiction. Sheesh.

Can I just say that Celine Dion has just reaffirmed her rank as the celebrity who annoys me most? Celine, wipe that look off your face, woman, before I smack ya. That look that says, (insert annoying French accent), "Oh, my, I am SO surprised and SO happy to see the paparazzi! Because I am SO humble! And because I love my fans SO much! So much!"

AND can I just say that her son needs a fucking haircut? What is with that, Celine? Like, boys with long hair = fine in and of themselves. But I just don't get you as the kind of mom who would let her kid grow his hair for years just because he wants to, and I don't know you but I'd guess that you have his long hair incorporated into how you want to be perceived by the world... so...are you a hippy now? Or just trying to appeal to the free-spirited youth? Or just trying to look like a cool, non-conservative mom? Or what? Is the deal?

Love,
The Mean Evil Critical Queen of the World Who Gets To Tell People What to Do And Fantasizes On Occasion About Sending Annoying Celebrities to An Island Of Lepers Never To Be Unwittingly Viewed On Web Pages or The Covers Of Magazines Again. Amen.


Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Need dental advice

The daughter of my good friend in FL just got some bad news about her 2 year old daughter's front teeth. I'm emailing everyone I know and thought I'd post this here too in case anyone reads and has some info or has been through this. Its of interest to me too, as my kid has some cavities as well...

Hello,
I have a two year old daughter who has cavities in her two top front teeth. She has slept with a milk bottle since she has had teeth. I have recently stopped giving her milk at night and being diligent about brushing. I took her to a highly recommended pediatric dentist in Tampa, and she said the cavities have hit the root (I saw the x-rays, and they have, but looks like just barely) and there is nothing she can do to save the tooth so she has to pull out her two front teeth. As far as the procedure, the dentist wants to put her in a "papoose" so she won't move, and will give her Novocain and then pull the teeth out (no general anesthesia). I asked her about pain afterwards and she said there isn't any. The dentist said that these front teeth are not "space holders" for permanent teeth, so will not affect how the permanent teeth come in. I have done research online and am not really finding any good stable information one way or another on this topic. Has anyone else had this type of experience? Is this dentist giving me correct data? Is there really nothing else that can be done? Does anyone have any info on laser dental treatment? Any recommendation of a really good pediatric dentist - I'm willing to go anywhere!
Thanks very much!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Pandora

Wow, I just signed up with Pandora, and I'm LOVING IT.



Free, type in a genre of music or a song or an artist, and it will create a station of non-stop music for you with similar music or artists. You can change it anytime. Its SO COOL. Thought I'd share.

Though I'm often the last to know about stuff like this. =)

Yunny!

Happy Monday. At least... I hope it is for you. I'm looking forward to today.

Mother's Day was fun. We all made breakfast together - eggs, sausage, blueberry pancakes from scratch. Then we went to see a matinee of Speed Racer. It was the first movie we've been to in a theater with The Kid since he was about a year old. He did great! Got a little bored during the talking, but hey, so did I. Luckily there were lots of kids in the theater and nobody was pissed at us. It was not a great movie, but the racing was COOL!

We ate lunch, cruised around downtown Burbank a bit, and then came home and broke out the Slip & Slide I bought last week. It was awesome - we had a blast with it, non-stop for over three hours. The Kid kept drinking the water spray, going "waddy yunny!!" (water is yummy!) And he got really good at flinging himself down on it. I laughed so hard, I loved those things as a kid and it was just as much fun as it always was. Finally, The Kid walked away from it, leaned against a wall and said, with a deep breath, "No...no waddy."

Translation: No more playing in the water, I'm exhausted.

So went went inside and took a nap. The kid slept for 5 hours. Five! I got to hang out with Hubby and finish reading my book.

Lovely, perfect day with my boys.