Small Town Cool

We pulled up to the high school this morning,
and drove slowly and carefully through the parking lot.

Lots of kids standing around admiring each other's rides.

It was, "Drive Your Tractor To School Day."

I love small town life.

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Saying No

I have been preaching to my girlfriends lately
about saying no, because I have finally figured it out.

You say, "Oh I wish I could!" with a look of deep earnestness
and sorrow for the fact that you are unavailable to do whatever thing
you have just been asked to do.

You do not give a reason -
this I learned from the husband.

He says, "If you give a reason, you sound like you're trying to make an excuse,
and it gives them something to argue with you about, and it always comes out
sounding less important than you thought it would."

So there is this little awkward silence after you say,
"Oh I wish I could!"
while they wait for you to say why you can't.

But your look is so earnest and heartfelt and you smile so apologetically,
that after the awkward moment has passed,
they will either say, "okay, maybe next time," or
they might offer a reason for you, like,
"Oh, you're working that day?"

If they do this, watch out, you don't want to agree,
just keep that smile pasted on your face and ever so slightly nod.

To them, the nod means 'yes', and they feel better.
To you, it means,
"yes, please think whatever you like about my reason for saying no."

All that to say, I now find myself in the position of saying "no"
and it's not as easy as I made it out to be,
when I was preaching to my girlfriends.

I need a kick in the pants.

Peace!

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Squirmles are Back!

Girl twin saw this at the store and squealed that EVERYONE at school has one,
pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease?

The husband gave in this week, with two, eventually,
because there was a mighty squabble and tears over the first one.

A squabble for Squirmles.

Remember?

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Day Four

I can't believe I've held out for this long!
On Tuesday I was thinking that I could not attend rehearsal tonight without shampooing first.

Day 3 (Tuesday) was questionable - my hair felt oily and weird.
But then I read that you should only put the vinegar on the ends of your hair,
and I tried that this morning and it made a huge difference!

This time I sort of made a paste of the baking soda
(just poured a little in my hand, then wet it a little)
and massaged it through my hair, concentrating on the scalp.
I let it set for probably 3 minutes, rinsed, and it squeaked.
Then just a little vinegar on the ends and I was good to go.
No tangles.

An added benefit - after massaging with the baking soda paste,
I did a light scrub of my face with the leftover stuff on my hands. Felt good!

Anyway, I can really see that every person who tries this
needs to adjust the procedure to their own liking.
I'm already forming a plan.

On Friday I have a loooong overdue hair appointment.
This week I thought to myself...she's going to 'poo me!
Beauty salon shampoos are the BOMB and I've decided that
I'm just not going to give it up.
I only get my hair cut like 4 times a year, and that's my favorite part!

So, I think my plan might be that I will use shampoo once a week -
every Friday night -
and the rest of the week use my baking soda solution.
I'm going to try that for an extended time and see if it works for me.
Less chemicals, cheaper and hopefully better health too.

Happy Earth Day!

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Third Day

Does she 'poo?

Well here I am on the 3rd day -
it's Tuesday and I last 'pooed my hair (with real shampoo) on Saturday morning.
I've been washing with baking soda/water, rinsing with vinegar/water since then.

And the verdict is...my hair feels sorta weird.
It looks great in the mirror, but feels slightly oily and it's bugging me a bit.
I'm not sure how long I can hold out.

Here's a cool article from Nature Moms.
Thanks, Joann, for passing that on.

According to the article, it can take several weeks for your head to adjust.
It's used to excess oil production because we strip it every day with 'poo.
My head is supposed to calm down eventually.
Hmmm....

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'Poo Update

Day Two of no 'Poo...

Everything is proceeding nicely - my hair is shiny, soft and manageable (so far).

But more importantly, I've had several questions about recipes and sources, so here are some that I use:

Dishwasher Detergent:
Equal parts Borax and Baking Soda
(I keep mine in a Cool Whip container under the sink and spoon it into the detergent cup of the dishwasher - it sure beats those metal-spout torture devices on regular detergent - and way, way cheaper).

Laundry Detergent:
One bar grated Ivory Soap
One cup Borax
One cup Washing Soda (different from baking soda - found in the laundry section next to the Borax)
Use 2 Tablespoons per load
(Use vinegar in the rinse cup for softer clothes)

Crystal Rock Deodorant Stick
It lasts at least a year (mine fell out of the holder but I still use it, nearing year 2)

Here's a tip from mrc-w over at Good Things In This World
A recipe for "green" dryer sheets:

Fill a bucket or other container with 2 parts water, 1 part fabric softener. Throw a couple of small sponges (regular sponges cut in half) to soak. When you need a "dryer sheet," wring out the excess from one sponge and throw it in the dryer with your clothes.

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No 'Poo

No Poo Ingredients


Water and baking soda for the 'Poo



Vinegar and water for the rinse (plus a little bit of vanilla extract)


Always on the cutting edge of things (ha), I decide to pursue the latest trend in greening:

No More Shampoo

I had to try it, and this afternoon mixed up a batch of what I affectionately call,

"No Poo 'Poo",

jumped into the shower and tried it out.

I was really amazed at how soft my hair was after massaging my scalp with the
No Poo-Poo (I love saying that), and then following with the refreshing vinegar rinse.

I'm going to try it for a time, and see if I like it enough to change my habits.

I successfully gave up commercial laundry detergent several months ago and
haven't used typical anti-perspirant in years. I make my own dishwasher detergent, am growing my first real garden, am getting a Mother's Day gift of my very own compost bin and maybe someday we'll have chickens...

But back to the hair.

My biggest concern was how my hair would smell after rinsing with vinegar,
and walked around for the last half hour asking people to smell my wet hair.
Every single one of them said that it smelled really really good, so that part of it is okay.

But is my hair clean??

Stay tuned.

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Stymied

I don't know what's wrong with me, but I can't seem to bring myself to write.

It seems overwhelming.

Do you ever feel like that?

What to do...
push through or sit back and let the desire come back around again naturally?

Don't know.

Peace.

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On Vacation

I have...
held hands with a child while we slept,
walked on the beach in the dark,
body-surfed,
walked on the beach in the early morning,
played Marco Polo,
brushed a knot slowly and carefully out of a child's hair,
slathered copious amounts of sunblock onto backs and shoulders,
held a child's chewed gum for a while,
walked on a windy beach, hair whipping everywhere and smiling,
collected shells, mostly baby cradles,
had conversations with children,
visited a best friend,
and had ice cream three times.

So far it's going very well.

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