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Fight Depression with Life Style Choices

Fight Depression with Life Style Choices
 A few years back my sister was diagnosed with cancer and after along battle died.  In the middle of her battle I became very depressed and decided my life style was contributing to my depression.  My usually demanding outside sales job became my prison.  I could and often did stay in my Pajamas all day doing my necessary calls.  Showering , getting dressed and eating came in second to Bejewel.  I functioned on a must basis.  Finally, I quit my job which was worse because I had no incentive to do anything and my family could use my income having grown fond of food and living indoors. 

I decided to find a job close to home that forced me to be positive.   A job that demanded I get out of bed and leave the house.  I had waited tables off and on so I went to restaurants and got a sever job that let me work the hours I wanted.  I wanted to work when my family was out.  Some time alone was good  but not too much.    The atmosphere and  the people are positive and make me feel positive too.  This was a very good change and I am there still.  I don’t make a lot of money but I can’t put a price on sanity.

The second thing I did was to exercise regularly.  I feel a tightening of the screws when I go to long without strenuous exercise.  It, for me, works.  I plan my day around exercise.  Waking up and putting on my exercise clothes and planning when I will start and finish is part of my day.  I have tapes, machines and a gym membership.  I plan fun activities around exercise too. 

I also plan time to just be quiet.  Call it meditation what ever makes you feel good.  Sometimes I am over stimulated and can’t concentrate.  I turn off everything and just listen to my own thoughts.  Yeah, scary.  I keep a pad handy and write down things that race through my mind.  I maybe the 10 minute trip to work or an hour or more but I have quiet.

I tried medication.  My doctor asked questions and prescribed some expensive pills which made me crazy.  The price made me crazy no the pills.  After pricing was worked out I went generic and for a few months that made me feel better than just blaw.  I am anything if not blaw. So I stopped taking the meds.  I also stopped having crying jags out of the blue.  This did not work for me but if you feel out of control talk to a professional and medication might be just what you need. 

It is not easy to share this problem.  But because I am dealing with it I feel  sharing might be the next step to healing.  I like my life, adore my family and one day soon I’ll step back into life at full tilt.  For now I’ll be waiting tables where smiles are easy to come by and my work mates are amusing and carefree.  Simple Mat

 

Simple mat is just that simple.  If I can do I think anybody can.  I am finding that taking mortar out of the equation has made arrangement of the tiles and tile cutting the hard part.  I had a paper template of my wall to help me lay out the tile and decide on cuts.  I used a small tile cutter from Harbor Freight to cut my tiles.  The cutter was awesome for the first four tiles and than I had issues.  I took a break and set the Simple mats on the wall.  Very easy.  Because I have everything laid out it was simple.  I would use Simplemat again in a heart beat. 

Simple Mat

 

Simple mat is just that simple.  If I can do I think anybody can.  I am finding that taking mortar out of the equation has made arrangement of the tiles and tile cutting the hard part.  I had a paper template of my wall to help me lay out the tile and decide on cuts.  I used a small tile cutter from Harbor Freight to cut my tiles.  The cutter was awesome for the first four tiles and than I had issues.  I took a break and set the Simple mats on the wall.  Very easy.  Because I have everything laid out it was simple.  I would use Simplemat again in a heart beat. 

Simple Mat

 

Simple mat is just that simple.  If I can do I think anybody can.  I am finding that taking mortar out of the equation has made arrangement of the tiles and tile cutting the hard part.  I had a paper template of my wall to help me lay out the tile and decide on cuts.  I used a small tile cutter from Harbor Freight to cut my tiles.  The cutter was awesome for the first four tiles and than I had issues.  I took a break and set the Simple mats on the wall.  Very easy.  Because I have everything laid out it was simple.  I would use Simplemat again in a heart beat. 

Simple Mat

 

Simple mat is just that simple.  If I can do I think anybody can.  I am finding that taking mortar out of the equation has made arrangement of the tiles and tile cutting the hard part.  I had a paper template of my wall to help me lay out the tile and decide on cuts.  I used a small tile cutter from Harbor Freight to cut my tiles.  The cutter was awesome for the first four tiles and than I had issues.  I took a break and set the Simple mats on the wall.  Very easy.  Because I have everything laid out it was simple.  I would use Simplemat again in a heart beat. 

Simple Mat

 

Simple mat is just that simple.  If I can do I think anybody can.  I am finding that taking mortar out of the equation has made arrangement of the tiles and tile cutting the hard part.  I had a paper template of my wall to help me lay out the tile and decide on cuts.  I used a small tile cutter from Harbor Freight to cut my tiles.  The cutter was awesome for the first four tiles and than I had issues.  I took a break and set the Simple mats on the wall.  Very easy.  Because I have everything laid out it was simple.  I would use Simplemat again in a heart beat.A few years back my sister was diagnosed with cancer and after along battle died.  In the middle of her battle I became very depressed and decided my life style was contributing to my depression.  My usually demanding outside sales job became my prison.  I could and often did stay in my Pajamas all day doing my necessary calls.  Showering , getting dressed and eating came in second to Bejewel.  I functioned on a must basis.  Finally, I quit my job which was worse because I had no incentive to do anything and my family could use my income having grown fond of food and living indoors.  

Environment
I decided to find a job close to home that forced me to be positive.   A job that demanded I get out of bed and leave the house.  I had waited tables off and on so I went to restaurants and got a sever job that let me work the hours I wanted.  I wanted to work when my family was out.  Some time alone was good  but not too much.    The atmosphere and  the people are positive and make me feel positive too.  This was a very good change and I am there still.  I don’t make a lot of money but I can’t put a price on sanity.
Exercise
The second thing I did was to exercise regularly.  I feel a tightening of the screws when I go to long without strenuous exercise.  It, for me, works.  I plan my day around exercise.  Waking up and putting on my exercise clothes and planning when I will start and finish is part of my day.  I have tapes, machines and a gym membership.  I plan fun activities around exercise too.
Quiet
I also plan time to just be quiet.  Call it meditation what ever makes you feel good.  Sometimes I am over stimulated and can’t concentrate.  I turn off everything and just listen to my own thoughts.  Yeah, scary.  I keep a pad handy and write down things that race through my mind.  I maybe the 10 minute trip to work or an hour or more but I have quiet.
Medication
I tried medication.  My doctor asked questions and prescribed some expensive pills which made me crazy.  The price made me crazy no the pills.  After pricing was worked out I went generic and for a few months that made me feel better than just blaw.  I am anything if not blaw. So I stopped taking the meds.  I also stopped having crying jags out of the blue.  This did not work for me but if you feel out of control talk to a professional and medication might be just what you need.
Sharing
It is not easy to share this problem.  But because I am dealing with it I feel  sharing might be the next step to healing.  I like my life, adore my family and one day soon I’ll step back into life at full tilt.  For now I’ll be waiting tables where smiles are easy to come by and my work mates are amusing and carefree. 

Simplemat Simple

Simple Mat

Simplemat is just that simple.  If I can do I think anybody can.  I am finding that taking mortar out of the equation has made arrangement of the tiles and tile cutting the hard part.  I had a paper template of my wall to help me lay out the tile and decide on cuts.  I used a small tile cutter from Harbor Freight to cut my tiles.  The cutter was awesome for the first four tiles and than I had issues.  I took a break and set the Simple mats on the wall.  Very easy.  Because I have everything laid out it was simple.  I would use Simplemat again in a heart beat.

Four Techniques for Bulk Shopping

My biggest savings comes from purchasing groceries for up to 20 days at a time. To make this work I use some easy techniques.

1. I bag ingredients together for meals. No one is allowed to remove food from a bag so when I go to make my special pasta dish I still have the special cheese.
2.  I take advantage of bulk purchases, especially in meat. I buy large portions and separate for two or more meals. This is super important especially if your family does not eat leftovers.
3. I also have a hiding spot for popular snacks. I bring them out as needed.
4. Further you must have a good ration of fresh to canned, frozen etc. I will shop at specialty shops next week for milk, fruit and fresh fish.

Save time, money and your health by shopping smarter and for longer.

Two for One Blankets to Pillows

Space Savers

 
vintage blankets rolled into pillows and secured 

In the long winter months we lounge more often. I keep vintage blankets folded and wrapped on the sofa. When the blankets are folded they make great pillows and look neat. When we have guest or just want to get warm one can quickly unwrap a pillow and get cozy.

Orange Chicken for Four

Chicken tenders  $6
Orange ginger sauce  $2
Rice $1
*Fresh Veggies ( your choice: carrots & onions; broccoli, green beans; mixed veggies {frozen or can})
$2-4

Cook rice
Place tenders in oven
Cook veggies
Combine veggies tenders and add orange ginger sauce

Serve over rice.  Enjoy!

$2.5 per serving sounds great to me.



Soup optional

Cuffs, Collars& Headbands - BadArt

Cuffs, Collars& Headbands - BadArt

Love Pillow Cover - BadArt

Love Pillow Cover - BadArt

Save, time, money and get healthy with one secret

Shop for two weeks you can shop for two weeks or more worth of meals you will save money and time. You will save time at the store, your diet will be better because you will plan healthy meals and you will save money by not going to a restaurant instead of eating at home. 

Plan a menu for two weeks The most important thing is to know what your family eats. What they really eat. You will plug these things into a list. You will create an eating map. If you work late every Thursday or the kids roll in at different times because of sports after school commitments plan for it. Don’t plan to get a bag of burgers on the way home. Plan microwave burritos with a great big salad, tuna sandwiches with can soup. You get the idea simple but healthy like meals planned around your crock-pot. Sitting down for a few minutes and making a genuine list and taking the time to shop this list will save on many levels.

Shop the list Shopping the list means don’t buy things not on the list. I usually leave one day open to fill in with a surprise item I discover at the store. I plan to buy six snacks what snacks are open but I only buy six. With my clan I usually take a few snacks and hide them so everything is not gone in the first three days. I also plan on items to carry over.

Examples

• Buy fresh OJ and concentrate juice for second week
• Fresh veggies first week canned or frozen for the next
• Fish days I plan later in shopping cycle because we buy and eat the same day on that day you can buy milk and some fruit to last until your next big shopping day.

Keep staples on hand and Buy in Bulk
Staples vary from home to home but there are some items no home should be with out. When creating your list shop your cabinets first to avoid over purchasing. Also this will guide you to create a meal for fresh food you have on hand.

I would include toiletries here like Soaps, Shampoos, Laundry soaps, cleaners. All these items should be bought in bulk or as needed to keep them in stock. Without grocery shopping I can usually prepare a meal from staples alone. The list below is comprehensive you will want to pare it down for your specific needs.
Increase your Skills The other thing I would suggest you have is a really good cook book. I have several and I do use the internet to quick reference how to cook specific foods. However, to get ideas for meals I love to flip through my books. My favorite book is broken down into food types so I can look at how to prepare carrots or just veggies. Another way to improve your list is to prepare your list from the recipes or get a new subscription. Food should be tasty, healthy and cooking should be a pleasure.

Be creative there should be a mix of fresh healthy meals, home cooked fast food and so easy a child could do it. Your schedule may dictate lots of fast easy meals at times. You can pack a weekend with great meals when  friends are in town. Try it and see if your waistline and your wallet don’t thank you.

Knowing your child’s friends will strengthen your relationship

Know their friends
You should know all your child’s good friends. Have them to dinner ask question and get to know their value system. Get numbers and addresses if needed. Let them know they call contact you too. Changes happen quickly ask specific question, be informed.



Ask for their help
Tell friends what you expect from your child and enlist their help to achieve results. I love to hear my son’s best friend say, “Clean your room or we’ll never get outta here.” His friends push him to keep up with home work too. They know the rules: bad grades and incomplete chores means he has no fun.

Give your child the benefit of the doubt
Choosing good friends is a skill you can nurture in your child. However, give your child the benefit of doubt about who he chooses but be involved with. If you have doubt, without proof, ask your child to tell you if the friend is ok. Explain that as friends values change he/she may need to discontinue or limit friendships. Give you child the opportunity to make good choices.

Good friends will ask for your guidance
If you’ve laid the ground work his friends may tell you when there is trouble. Recently I had a friend of my son’s tell me to “watch out for another child”. This child does not have much support so I give extra when he’s in the picture. It maybe hard but you can give advice without being judgmental. Leave the door open for question and support.

In Conclusion
Keep communication open. Be prepared to ask for and give help. Your child is the best judge of his friends. Talk and ask question and listen with an open mind. Your child will be glad you did. 

Crafty Mom

Round Crochet Pillow

I’ve made this cool round pillow. Yes is is made with recycled bed sheets and t-shirt fabric. I made an inner lining from cotton muslin. It is soft and sturdy at the same time. Love it!

How to entertain Ghouls this Halloween

How to entertain Ghouls this Halloween.
Since we plan on trick or treating I start with a devilishly healthy meal. I make an extra large pot of witch soup which can be served with your choice of sandwiches. Guacamole dip and chips, olives and bowls of fresh fruit complete the meal.

If you have squeamish guest remind them, ghost, goblins, trolls and witches are out on Halloween night. Having a bowl of witch soup wards off evil sprits throughout the year. This may insure every child will have at least one portion of veggies on this night.

Traditional Split Pea Soup

• Bag of split peas
• Water or chicken broth
• Fatback
• Cup each carrots, celery
• Lemon juice

If you choose this method I suggest you cook an extra large ham a week or so before the Halloween and use that to season the stock. Yummy. Clean, wash and cook the peas over low heat for about thirty minutes in water/chicken stock. Add ham to this mix ASAP with celery and carrots. Simmer and serve with bread, sandwiches or sausages.

Vegetarian split pea soup

• Bag of split peas
• Water/ veggie broth
• Pepper, onions, carrots, celery
• Thyme leaf
• lemon

Clean and wash the peas cook over low heat with stock, adding veggies. You can also add potatoes to thicken the mix and make it hardier. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with garlic bread or bell pepper quesadillas with goat cheese.

It’s the perfect time of year to get your kids to eat something green and yucky looking. Your job is to make it taste so good they ask for it next year. Do what ya gotta do to fight off those witches goblins and ghouls.


Extra
Quick fun for older kids. Create a dark scary corner. In a small space place black garbage bags covering wall to ceiling. Replace the light with a black light. Instant spooky corner. Ours is in the hall way going to the bath room. It’s a great place to take pictures. A group shoot here is a blast. The Flash reveals all!

Live large.

Three steps to a fun family Day

Experiences Make Lasting Memories

A bonding experience with your family does not have to be expensive or elaborate. However, I do believe they should happen regularly. As children get older activities get harder to plan. Carve out a time that works for everyone and set it in stone. Nobody gets a pass. I also believe this should be a family only time. Be creative a few hours stolen here and there add up.

Plan an activity that everybody likes or no one has done before. A family hike, a walk in the park, tossing the football could be some examples. Game night, monopoly, cards, life or get mom on a video game you might besurprised. My family loves playing charades. It does not matter as long as everybody is involved.

Food is always a good way to keep things interesting. Let every one help cook a simple meal. You could put together something simple that does not keep one person locked to the stove. I like one pot dishes, roasted store bought chicken with sides is also a good choice. Take out. Food is not the star the family interaction takes center stage on this night.

So set a time, choose an activity and make some memories.

My Last Family Night

With three boys I usually start fun days with food. This time I picked up a few kayaking voucher on Living Social so I thought a picnic would be perfect. The picnic was mostly prepared foods except the sandwiches.

Because my hubby works most weekends we gathered after school and headed to Town Lake Rowing Center. This venue is close so we did not waste time getting to the fun. We rowed for about an hour pulled into a picture perfect inlet and ate our dinner. We laughed and looked at a hawk, teased and had a great time. It was a windy afternoon not perfect for rowing and we apologize the team we cut off in the lanes but we won‘t forget it. And we found another fun family activity we will do again.

Picnic
Tuna sandwiches
Chips
Strawberries
Baby carrots
Water/soda
Small cooler
Freezer bags

You can help feed the world

Take back the food agenda from multi National Corporations who only think about profit. We can feed the world, reduce pollution, and have plenty left over. How? Vote with you pocket books and don’t allow your elected representative to choose reelection and money over health and welfare. The largest situation to stop now is the use of food as energy. Corn use to feed the world, now it feeds the commodity markets and cars. Tell your congressman to stop subsidies for any food products that don‘t feed the people of the world. Ethanol could be made with a number of non food products. Let’s push from both sides and help change the tide. Talk to your government and take dollars away from companies who use corn as energy. Call the gas companies and congressman now.

Three steps to Healthy Kids

This question was posted at Circle of Moms:

8 Year Old Over Weight, Help!
My son is 8 years old and he is getting fat and I don´t know what the best to do. Sport, change the food, no candys...What can I do?
Thanks.
Make every choice a healthy one. Foods should be healthy. I give my kids the parameters to pick their own cereal. Less than 10 grams of sugar high protien and low calories; they make the choice with the guidelines. Bowls of fruit and raw veggies are between meal snacks. Be active. Take your child on hikes, bike rides swimming, and tennis. Video and TV are rewards we only have on the weekends. You may need to start with one change and add. But if you eat better and move more your child will benefit.

http://dbadart.blogspot.com/

The Coolest Toilet Ever!

Industrial Country Market: Columbus Texas

The best stop  on 71  is the greenest general store; the entire vibe is precious for a girl who loves hardware stores and solar power.  It's about 80 miles outside of Austin, Texas on 71 the Industrial Country Market.We were greeted the moment we entered the store and made to feel right at home. The shelves are filled with the practical and creative enterprises’ for the DIYer and those who love interesting things for the home and garden.

If you need to go you need to stop here for the super cool composting toilets. They are beautiful, practical and well you have to go to know. I’ll give you a little peek and you stop at 1799 HWY 71 in Columbus, Texas.
You can’t miss the solar panels and the signs. Check out the not so general store and use the compost toilets nestled in the water fountains and art.
You’ll be glad you did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chketHAJSjI

Daring Rescue

Daring Turtle Rescue

A turtle crossing a four lane road in Austin, Texas was rescued by a man in Honda Accord. I was turning left from Manchaca to Davis when I notice something  large in inside south bound lane crossing Manchaca, a Turtle.   I paniced in the left turn lane next to the turtle.  Suddenly  a dark colored Accord, going south,  stopped and a tall, bald man stopped in front of the turtle.   He  picked up the turtle and  ran across three lanes, moving north,  to deposited the turtle on the other side of the road. I stayed in the left turn lane waving to on coming traffic hoping no one would rear end the good Samaritan's car. Two cars swung by hooking not knowing of this daring rescue.    I’m glad I witnessed it. Thank you, and I’m sure the turtle thanks you too.

A real hero does  the right thing even when no one is looking.

stock photo Bob Moul May 4

Plan A Family Day

How to plan a Family Day

Like most families sometimes all our circles are moving in different directions. I decided to insist on time to reconnect regularly. I have two teenagers and a husband with a crazy schedule so I planned the day around dad. In the morning I made a family favorite dish that required a dose of cheese and heating up to be table ready. We lingered over dinner laughing and talking over how things were and any changes. The days have been loooong and hot so we took advantage of the cooler afternoon with a walk. I chose an area close to home and not too busy. We actually had the trails to our selves. I got to hold hands and ask serious questions. Through the long walk Mom and Dad got a little alone time with each boy and we connected as a family. I feel like our batteries were recharged and we are in sync again. I little undivided attention is all we needed.

Does DIY Laundry Soap Work?

Week Three: DIY Laundry Soap; Does it work?

I used a dry method to make laundry soap with borax, washing soda and a bar of Ivory soap. I like not having a huge bucket around the house so this appealed to me. The soap is easier to handle because it is concentrated. I washed several stained work shirts. I know lots of us have made the soap so I wanted to show how well the powder cleaned my clothes.

I found the powder left behind a fresh, clean smell. It took out some fresh stains but not the old ones but neither did my commercial soap. Washing my work shirts with bleach was much better. Colored and whites are clean and have a great smell with no artificial odors. I give the natural laundry soap a big thumbs up.

Ingredients:
Arm &; Hammer Washing Soda $3.54
20 Mule Team Borax $3.54
Bar of Ivory Soap $?

Mix one cup of each and a grated bar of soap. Wash with 3 tablespoons and bleach if needed.

Natural Whitening
Vinegar
Lemon juice
Sun drying

What not to do if some one breaks a bone.

House Park Broken Bones

Well, we got the call yesterday at about 5:30. My son broke his arm at House Skate Park. Another mom there with her younger kids brought him Brackenridge. I can not thank her enough; I was there a long 25, 30 minutes later. The break was bad; his wrist bones were crossed one almost coming out of the skin. The Doctor who usually handles these cases grimaced, "That is ugly.” True to heart my boy asked about his board before he got on the ambulance to move from Brackenridge to Dell Children’s Hospital so I hope this is the least of injuries to come. The staff at both hospitals were supeior making the best of a bad situation.

I learned a few things from this tragedy. First, I could not have stopped it. I can try to insure his safety by getting a promise that he will never skate alone. Second, I will find him the coolest helmet; but I can’t make him wear it. Finally, if someone is injured do not give them food or drink. This might be nice but if they need to go into surgery it can be very dangerous. Any food or drink can come up into the lungs while the patient is under anesthesia. And always grab a sweater on the way to the hospital.


Love you all. No skating for at least 6-8 weeks