I have not cooked creatively for the past month (as you can tell from the lack of recipe posts) and need to start back up again. But I have been engaged in creative ‘other’ things so I can’t say I have been slaking off. Therefore here are some insights into what we have been up to…
Running: I started running back up in April and have been at it religiously since. I run 2-5 times a week 2.3 miles each run with an average pace 9:50-10:20. I would like to run a longer distance at a time but for some reason seam stuck at my currant distance. I am running with a baby and stroller and it has been very humid/hot lately (my excuses for not reaching my goal of 5 miles). But does anyone have any tips of what I can do to improve and reach my goal? What time of day is best for a run; morning afternoon or evening? I usually run in the morning before 9am but occasionally in the afternoon around 2-3 pm. I have noticed that I have more endurance later on in the day verses in the morning and it is less humid in the afternoon. But morning runs help me start out my day. To eat or not to eat before/after run, how much and what? With music or not? I use an app called Podrunner and its just beats that help me stay motivated and I have noticed that the faster the beat the faster I run. But sometimes I also enjoy running without anything and just listen o the birds and my baby. Any other helpful tips?
Sprouts: We are growing our own sprouts! I have wanted to do this for some time and finally Sashenka urged me to start after reading this article of how sprouts improve eye sight.
My eye sight has been failing and Sashenka is on the verge of forbidding me to use my smart phone because I read only from my phone. I blame it on pregnancy, he says it’s from me reading in the dark off my phone. I read everything off my phone from Bible reading to recipes to health articles. A solution would be is to get a reader. But that is not appealing to me because it means I will not be able to buy physical books and I have an attachment to physical books. Nor is it practical buying two copies, one digital and one physical. Anyways, back to sprouts. They are loaded with vitamins and minerals and are super tasty. In general I love sprouts but from the grocery store you are very limited between alfalfa, broccoli, maybe mung bean and pea shoots plus they can get pricey. We bought seeds from Mountain Rose Herbs for Radish, Crimson Clover, Buckwheat, Brown Mustard, Broccoli, and Alfalfa. We are growing them in mason jars with a screen on top. We start a jar a day to have a continual supply (but I think we will need to start three jars every two days). To grow them you just soak the seeds in water for 4-8 hrs to germinate them and then drain on the first day. Then rinse twice a day with fresh water to water them. Make sure they get air circulation so they don’t get moldy but do not blow on them because that introduces bacteria from your mouth into the jar. They do not need a lot of sun so a kitchen counter is more than enough. If they are on the paler side, I would put them on the window sill for couple of hours after they are done growing but before I eat them. You can store them in the refrigerator for one maybe two weeks but our sprouts never make it to the fridge; we eat them before they do. If you Google ‘sprouts’ you will get a ton of info but if you have any questions I would be glad to answer from our experience and research.
Clockwise: Sunscreen, Eye cream, Magnesium Body Butter, Solid Perfume.
Personal care products: Here is a quick story: “They were in the local Wal-Mart and she reluctantly found the sunscreen shelf. It was the second day they were at the beach and they had a whole week ahead of them. She was seven weeks pregnant and feeling great! The only problem was that everyone was pressuring for her to use sunscreen and stating she was going to burn up and feel miserable. Part of her knew they were right but the other part could not agree to put toxic chemicals on her body that she knew would absorb into her skin and be passed to her baby. Her husband and best friend, supported her but did not know how to help her. So there she stood trying to pick the lesser evil of the many choices. She knew how bad they all were even the ones labeled ‘natural’. This was before she read this and this article. All she had back at the hotel was coconut oil that she had planned on using as sunscreen but was afraid it would not be enough. She did not want to be the ‘natural miserable one who burned up’…” That was me last summer at the beach with a group of friends. So this year I found this article and made my own sunscreen. And while I was at it I made my own bug repellent, toothpaste, eye cream, magnesium body butter, magnesium oil, and solid perfume. Whew! Told you I was busy! I’m excited because my eye cream turned out great! I used lanolin, wheat germ oil, natural vitamin E, and bees wax. Bug repellent smells so superior then store bought and is not toxic at all with 20 drops EO Lavender, 20 drops EO peppermint, 20 drops EO Rosemary, and 1 TBSP Coconut oil. The toothpaste I was not thrilled about and will try to improve it to share a recipe in a different post. The sunscreen is amazing, it works, and I absolutely love it so follow the link to make your own! Also magnesium on skin to help you sleep better – works! I put some magnesium butter on mine and Sashenka’s feet and we slept like the dead. The solid perfume …um so-so. I like the idea of a solid perfume but after spending money on the essential oils I was not thrilled with the aroma. Maybe it would be great just with a different combination of oils. But this is something that I am not going to venture into for now because the art of perfume making is so extensive and expensive that (for now at least) I’m not going to dive into it. I still want a perfume that I love and does not smell like you local health and herb store. Also that it would naturally be made from essential oils and not chemicals, so hopefully I will be able to find something soon. And will tell you about it.
Elimination Communication: While I’m at ‘updates’ I might as well write about how EC is coming along. AMAZING! I am extremely glad that we started and did EC with our first baby and now we will defiantly do it with every single baby following, God willing. Aurelius is 9 months and asks to go to the bathroom every time. He sleeps threw the night dry with waking up to go to the bathroom once. We do not have poppy diapers. Sometimes we will have a wet diaper but 98% of the time it will be our fault because he would ask and we either are too busy or just didn’t pay attention. I would recommend that everyone should at least give EC a try. It is not as hard as it seems!
aamaksimchuk 