Latest from LifeClectic - Kid's Music

Here's a little somethin' somethin' I wrote about the delightful children's music we're often plagued with and some alternatives. Click here!

Day 107 - Fill The Bathtub With Vodka - I Mean, Water! Part 1

HURRICANE! Well, NYC battened down the hatches, shut down the subway, and headed for the liquor store in preparation for Hurricane Irene. Our part of town fared well, but lots of folks down the coast are dealing with minnows in the basement and a swimming pool out back where none existed before. We all want to be prepared without building a freaky Armageddon cellar, so what do you really need, and what can you leave to the fringe polygamist sects?

Wish I could credit this photo, but it shows Irene rolling into NC. Truly humbling.

Step 1 - General Preparation
I found most of this information at http://www.72hours.org/ - it's a gold mine for disaster preparedness, and well worth checking out. Go get an old duffel bag or backpack, label it "EMERGENCY BAG", and store it near the main exit point of your home. If you have more than three people in their family, consider making each person their own bag & make sure there's ID in it. Have the bag(s) easily accessible, and fill them with: one large water bottle per person, assorted bars (granola, Clif, etc.) or other prepackaged snacks, can opener, two sets of disposable utensils (the little packs complete with napkins that you get from fast food places are perfect), first aid kit & instructions, copies of all important documents & phone numbers (+ copies of insurance & ID cards), change of warm clothes + trash bags (to be used as rain gear) for each family member, umbrella, heavy work gloves, unscented liquid household bleach + eyedropper & instructions for water purification, travel-sized toiletries, personal hygiene items (feminine supplies, hand sanitizer, toilet paper), bungee cords, blanket (one of those foil ones that folds up small is perfect), face masks (the kind you use while woodworking, not the kind you put on at Halloween, though that can be fun too), flashlights and batteries, battery operated radio, whistle, pocket knife, warm hats, local map, duct tape, permanent marker, photos of family members & pets for reidentification purposes, list of allergies to meds & food in a plastic sheet protector, extra eyeglasses, extra keys to your house & vehicle, special needs items for seniors/children/pets.

Then, get a waterproof bin that's easily moved and store: one gallon of water per person, ready-to-eat prepackaged food to last at least three days, full sized essential toiletries & hygiene items, one roll of TP per person, roll of trash bags, plastic sheeting + duct tape + utility knife for covering broken windows, basic tools (crowbar, hammer, nails, adjustable wrench, bungee cords), heavy blankets or sleeping bags, large heavy duty plastic bags, & a plastic bucket (to POOP in!).

Yes, I know - it's Monumental, I hyperventilated for an hour after I saw that list. Break it down into steps - lots of this stuff is probably lying around your house as we speak. Put everything else on your lists for Errand Day, and just do it.  If there's a true emergency, it could mean the difference between life and death for you or someone in your family. Once it's done, it's pretty much done! You'll just want to check them about every 6 months to make sure moths haven't gotten your food, a water bottle hasn't leaked, etc. It's also a great time to update children's clothes.

In the next post, we'll tackle what to do when we hear that the storm's a-comin', and the media goes into a gleeful frenzy.

DEATH TO TELEVISION: PART DEUX!

Here's part 2 of my screen time rant for LIFEclectic. I'll be doing a proper Practically Amish treatment of this topic at some point, just as soon as I finish this season of SYTYCD.....

Another couple of years and I can REALLY put him to work! (oh heavens, sometimes his cuteness takes my breath away!)

DEATH TO TELEVISION!

OK, not really. But, I have to say that I watch way too much of it when Sebastian goes to bed, and I bet you do too. Yes, I'm always doing something else while I "watch" (sewing, knitting, etc.), but still... I'm pretty sure the Real Housewives are eroding my brain.... LIFEclectic time! Read more here.

A Problem With Mice

Here's a link to a post I wrote for LIFEclectic.com. What do you think - do the benefits of living in the city (ready access to culture, museums, street sense, etc.) make up for not being able to just run out the door and play in Nature? Lawzy, I hope so - cause we ain't moving any time soon. Click here.

Day 106 - NC Shindig

Do you hear that, folks? That's the sound of a whole mess of balls dropping. Our new website launched, Sebastian and I flew down to NC to attend my mom's ordination as a Deacon (shout out, Reverend Witwer!), and, to top it all off, I decided that right now was a GREAT time to attempt a raw vegan diet (it wasn't). Honestly, sometimes I wonder if I'm playing with a full deck (I'm not).

Anyhoo, I'll be jumping back into the fray, but I thought I'd post some pics from our time in NC. Cause my son is cute, ya'll.

Dive for cover! Sebastian's driving the tractor!!!!!



Dad and Sebastian feeding L'il Poo some fish food. Don't ask.



A really dreadful picture of my family! (L to R - mahself, Seb, my dad, my mom, my brother Tim)





Day 105 - A Tub of Spackle and a Pink Gloss

The day has arrived. I am now going to do what I have been putting off for over a year. I have procrastinated, avoided, delayed, dawdled, deferred, postponed, and prolonged. I have changed topics, and even denied that there was a problem. But today, Dear Reader, I face my Greatest Challenge Yet. I will pare down my makeup.

But first, my coffee.

Thank you for waiting. Would you like a cookie? How about some peanut butter toast? Can I get you... wait, I'm doing it again. OK - I am resolved. Here is a picture of my makeup box right now.

Oh my....

Close your mouth, you'll catch a fly. What can I tell you? I LOVE makeup! I have since I was little. For me, it's not so much about "correcting nature" as it is about expression and creativity. Don't get me wrong, that concealer is absolutely about correction, but the gold glitter eyeshadow is part of my little Steampunk phase, and the pink gloss is for when I'm playing "The Real Housewives of Orange County", and the black eyeliner is for when I wear my salwar kameez from India and want to get all exotic and oh for the love of all that's holy somebody stop me! Yes - I'm conflicted. My Amish self wants to be free of it, but my Creative Artsy For-Heavens-Sake-I'm-A-Circus-Performer side gets really sad when I think about giving up makeup. My compromise? At some point, not today, I will go one week without any makeup. But not today, Friends, not today....

Much better! The bottom is filled with unopened duplicates, I swear.

Day 104 - The Kitty Litter Facial

Confession: when I was in college, I was in possession of a book which supposedly contained 100 of the best kept beauty secrets in Hollywood. One of the suggestions was to use a 100% pure clay kitty litter as a face mask - I mean hey, clay is clay, right? Not having a cat, I never actually tried it, but I couldn't help fantasizing about all the women who did. You have to figure that, after this author made the morning talk show rounds, that thousands of women across America actually went to the store, purchased kitty litter, mixed it with water, and smeared it all over their faces. Did it make a difference? I'll never know, but here's another gem from the book: never eat anything bigger than your head. And use Preparation-H as eye cream. Good stuff, people.

Anyway, I've started making my own beauty products where it suits me, and I thought I'd share some of my "kitty litter facials" with you all:

• baking soda makes a rocking facial scrub - mix it with your cleanser & kiss that haggard, rough complexion goodbye (wait... am I the only one looking haggard these days?)
• make your own hairspray by combining one cup of boiling water and a tablespoon of sugar. Let it cool, pour it into a spray bottle, and voila! If you don't want to keep it in the fridge, add a few drops of rosemary essential oil - it helps keep bacteria from growing.
• salt scrub: salt + oil + skin-friendly essential oils = a greasy tub glowing skin
• honey makes an awesome (and delicious!) face mask in the winter, yogurt is a good one for summer

If this kind of thing really floats your boat, go here for 50 recipes for everything from beet tinted lip gloss to vodka hair shine, a hair product I can really get behind. And now, a random cute photo of my son from our week in the Finger Lakes.

A girl and her cow! This was taken at the county fair - it was just too great to pass up.

Day 103 - Podcasts Are Nifty

Guess what? My husband is home today, Wednesday, and Thursday while the BS tour is in town (that's Britney Spears, ya'll). WOOT! So, short post today!

Podcasts - awesome. For the reader who is not well-versed in Scary Techie Terms, a podcast is a form of internet broadcasting. They can be recorded by anyone (individuals, companies, radio stations like NPR, etc.), and you'll be thrilled at the scope and variety and the FREE-NESS of it all. You can learn Spanish, listen to radio shows you missed, catch up on news, even download the sermon from last week's church service that you skipped because you were watching The Real Housewives of New York sick.

You don't have to have an iPod to listen to them (though it's mighty handy) - you can listen via computer, or any device that can download and play back files. If you haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet, go to www.iTunes.com and see what's cookin' (I know there are other places to get them, but I'm not researching it right now - my husband's home). What's in my podcast library, you ask? NPR's "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me", Manic Mommies, some Joyce Meyer, Satellite Sisters, and more.

And WHY is this simple? I dunno, I suppose it's technically not. I just really love being able to select the media I put in my head - it's fun, and deliberate. Plus, I don't have to slog through commercials - BONUS! Now, if you'll excuse me, mah hubby is home, and I'm going to enjoy every second.