Best of…DIY!

I love a great do it yourself project. I’m not the craftiest of persons, but I do love these fabulous tricks, DIY, or homemade creations as you may call them. While every now and again I find a goo one, I thought I might share them with all of you!

Do it your self awards (starting with the first three I have used for years and the last three all discovered this past month!)

1. Cleaning product: I love the more natually side of products, but I also want it to work. I want it be working as hard as I am attack the soap scum! This concoction of vinegar and baking powder does wonders for stuck on foods for a kitchen surface to toothpaste in the bathroom. I put mine in a small spray bottle and get to work.  You can also create a similar solution to clean your oven in a healthy, non-toxic way.
2. Yogurt: This one I learned about a year after my time in FrancisCorp. Truth be told, had I know about it beforehand, we certainly would have been eating this then! Fresh, homemade, less bitter yogurt- yes please! Now with this one, patience is key! It takes a few batches to get your yogurt to the thickness you want, but well worth it.
3. Plant Food: Every gal loves a nice bunch of fresh flower. But nothing is sadder than seeing them wilt by day two. By taking a little vinegar and sugar, you can feed your flowers to last as long as two weeks!
4. Hair-cuts: Recently I was out with some grad school gal pals. I comment on T’s new hair cut. Looking for my own new do, I asked where she got it done. She told me “I did it myself”. As I said, “whaaat?” our other friend B also said “Yah, I cut my own hair too”. Well, I just had to try it. And this chick guided me the whole way (and I also love how I can rock out to a great Broadway musical during a tutorial vid 😉 ). TRY IT!
5. Fruit fly traps: This is one of my newer finds, but I love it oh so much. I’m not sure if it is because I always have a stack of banana hanging out for smoothies or that I live in a 120 year old space, but man those fruit flys are pesky. When my dear friend Jane from Spain posted this, I was in heaven!
6. Gar-scrap-ening: It’s not gardening, it’s not composting, it’s growing food from scraps. Say what?! As my mother’s child, I have a fairly black thumb. I try gardening, growing food from my window boxes, and I’m just not all that successful. I keep trying, and maybe one day I will get it. But this trick, both as a frugal grad student, and foodie makes me thrilled. The first 3 are pretty stinking easy, and I’m having great success with the first 2 I have tried!

What do you think? Are you game to trying the cleaning wonder or going to take the big dive and trim your hair?

My garden of scraps, fruit fly trap and my handy cleaning solution!

Share your other favorite do-it-yourself wonders!

Seth Rogen, a man child with heart

Americans whisper the word Alzheimers because their government whispers the word Alzheimer’s. … It is not enough. It needs to be yelled and screamed to the point to finally get the attention and funding it deserves and needs.

I am not sure I could love this man more…

He hits the major points:

• Lack of hope (only disease in the top 10 without at cure, prevent, or slow down its progression).
• This is the most expensive disease in terms of care.
• We need help. Every family that is affected by this disease needs more help.

Seth, you are right…it does give me hope that you speak up and care enough to trek to D.C. Heck, if this man-child starts a charity, imagine what we can all do.

 

Don’t want to worry about Alz in your future? Then support legislation and funding to stop this disease. 

 

 

Resources for your pure life

Committing to a safe and sustainable way of living sounds great. However, chances are if you have ever tried to put this idea into practice, you have been overwhelmed.

Not only is is a question of where do you start (with your food, clothes, oil consumption, investments?) but also where do you find the research (a government agency, a friend, the newspaper?). I have been there. I feel your pain and frustration.

A few things I have learned along the way:

• Start slow. Lifestyle changes can be hard, but if you start with one change, you are more likely to keep at it, as well as realize overall change is possible.
• Keep your resources. Bookmark your research and revisit it.
• Find a partner in crime. Be it your spouse, or a friend half a world away, when you have someone else to talk this through, it seems more possible.

For me, I truly appreciate the Environmental Working Group’s website. Four years ago, I discovered their rankings for sunscreen. With a ‘peaches and cream’ complexion, I use sunscreen a lot. I sure want one that is safe. Then once I went vegetarian, I wanted to ensure that my fruit and vegetable intake was safe as well. So I put a copy of their Dirty Dozen / Clean 15 chart in my wallet. Now, I’ve got it memorized. Furthermore, you can bet that before I buy a new cosmetic item, I check out its rating here.

Earlier this month, EWG released their new website layout. Now you can easily find information. Whether it be on  farm subsidies, toxins and BPA ,or the most sustainable meat to eat, it is now all at your fingertips.

Start today- with these guides, finding your sustainable living-style will be much easier!

 

***

These are just my thoughts and musings on a great site. I do not have contributions from EWG.

For other posts on EWG see:

Safety in your Personal Stuff

Eat What?

Post-Sandy Help

Parts of the East Coast are ravaged. Temperatures will drop to 30 degrees this weekend, while millions still have no heat or electricity. Add the frustration of finding gasoline and you have limited options in mitigating these struggles.

We in the greater NYC and East Coast areas are a fast paced, resilient bunch. But we do need your help.

 

Breezy Point, Queens
(Photo by Mark Lennihan, AP via USA Today)

 

Ways YOU Can Help:

1. Watch the telethon tonight and donate.
2. Keep searching for news stories to stay aware, even after common reporting dies down.
3. Donate blood.
4. Donate food or money to relief efforts.
5. Offer prayers for those in need and your own prayers of gratitude.

 

Ideas and reflection:

There are calls to action in the Blogshere. Alli creates a compelling case for WHY to donate. Steph provides additional ideas for donations as well as where to donate in NJ. And if you’d like to know more about what is going in in terms of relief efforts, this Rock Center video is a good start.

 

Thank you for all your help. We need it.

How To be an Informed Citizen

Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

Quote from Margaret Mead. Watercolor by Karen Kerney. SCW©2000

Source

Indeed.

This watercolor hangs on our office door, each day reminding us of the task we are called to- be the light, forge through. Change begins with us.

There are many ways and reasons to be an active and informed citizen. Here are a few ideas.

1. Vary your news: Learn what many, not one, think of an issue and how they approach it.

2. Watch the parodies…this is not all work and no play. This helps in looking at an issue with a critical eye. In fact, it is estimated that 1 in 3 people under the age of forty in the US utilizes this resource.

3. Sign up for a few e-alerts. Once you are aware of certain issues, take a step further, and sign up for action alerts. Are you against Mountain Top Removal Mining or Hunger? Great, 1 quick Google search and you’ll find fantastic ways to send 30 second letters to legislators.  (Some of my favorites are  IPJC; Food and Water Watch)

4. Find an economist you love. No kidding. You don’t need to be them, but if you resonate with their analysis,you can use them as a trusted source and aid you in comprehending complex issues. (Even better when you love someone that your friend & colleague may not, because it will commonly lead to rich conversation, as I have seen!)

5. Be uncomfortable. Of course its hard. But there is much wisdom in this tidbit. Go speak to someone at a rally, even if you aren’t participating. Ask someone their opinion of a news item. Watch something that pushes you out of your comfort zone. Seek the uncomfortable, and you will learn even more.

6. Decide for yourself. At the end of the day, you make the decision for you. I.E. Do you think that a comment was taken out of context, or reflective of their mindframe? It is helpful to take in other ideas and resources, but ultimately, it’s your choice.

Expanding your mind takes action. Do it.

Vote Your Conscience

The time has come….election season is upon us. Despite if you know who you will vote for, have no clue, or are apatheic to the whole process, this guide is amazingly insightful.

Informational pieces that tell us what the candidates’ stances are on political concerns are helpful. However, they will not guide you in deconstructing the issues at hand. This is a ripe moment for true discernment about how you feel.

Take those fact sheets on the candidates (easily found on their websites) with this voter discernment guide, and reflect.

Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.
John Quincy Adams

Hungering for the will

Hunger is no longer viewed as something endemic that will take decades to address through long-term economic growth and “development,” but as a problem that can be actually solved quickly if adequate responses are put in place.

A-MEN! Discovered while reading through this report at work, I appreciate the authors’ analysis of certain responses to this problem. However, a statement like this irks me. We have the ability in the world to end hunger. When will we have the will?

****

Let’s do something.

Willing the Will: A call to action. : I encourage you all to do at least one of these in the next week. Let us know how it goes by commenting!

1. Advocate: Write to your congress person about the Farm Bill, SNAP benefits, or general food policy.
2. Give: Donate food to a local pantry. For inspiration, visit Generous Savings.
3. Share: Donate your abundance from your garden or CSA to a pantry, check out Ample Harvest.
4. Educate: Learn more, by reading the above report, or following a few great blogs, such as: Food Politics, Mark Bittman ,Meatless Monday, Michael Pollan, or Politics of the Plate .
5. Remember: Honor others by your actions- be it at grace, in fasting,  in mediation, or in your daily encounters with others. Avoid ignorance and choose to be in solidarity.

There are solutions. Let this be the moment, now.

For the ‘poor one’

Do you have a minute? If so, you may be able to help thousands of residents without health care!

My good friends in Syracuse are eligible for an $8,500 grant for providing supplement health care costs for those who cannot afford it. What might this include?

1. Lab Fees
2. Payments for biopsy testing
3. Diagnostic kits for strep, flu, etc
4. Stocking of essential prescriptions
5. And plenty more

Can you imagine the costs of not having insurance? Even simple procedures, well checks, tests or medications can be incredibly expensive. Think of the irony of needing a  pre-employment physical if you are currently out of work, as well as not insured, how much is that going to cost? When you are on a tight budget, these needs can put you over the edge.

As I’ve shared, I worked in this clinic a few years ago. Spending time with our wonderful three person staff, 74 medical volunteers, and over 3,000 patients opened my eyes, wide, to the benefits of solid foundational health care. These women, my heroines, complete the day to day work of caring for others, and running an ever more popular yet crucial ministry: a health clinic for the uninsured.

If you are wondering what lead them to open this clinic more than a dozen years ago, Sr. JP (an RN) will say, “We asked the people on the streets what they needed. They said ‘healthcare'”.  Their story is simply amazing, the work they do is self-less, and the lives they lead are inspirational.

Sr. JP utilizing her nursing skills for a patient.

Please, vote for the Poverello Health Clinic, and do so each day of the month of June to ensure they win! Click on the link, enter your email, and scroll to find Poverello, with the explanation of : Supplement health care costs for those who can’t afford them.

This is a fantastic organization, as I can speak to my year of working there. But don’t just take my word for it, there is even research on  their success!

“For it is in giving, that we receive”.  ~ San Francesco il poverello d’Assisi

I choose (for) me.

I’m a big believer in knowing what I put into my body. It is not just that I want a choice, or my belief that I have right to make such a decision: it is spiritual.

Say what?

Yup, spiritual.  This body, I’ve got just one. It won’t last forever.  Therefore, I want the assurance of what I choose to eat, consume, or slather on- is safe.

What do I mean by safe? A strong assurance that it is not detrimental to my health, that I am protected & not at risk and best of all, has been proven to not be harmful. I believe in the precautionary principle:

“When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.”

As our news is filled with safety: in our supply chain, in our foods, as well as what are rights at stakeholders are, here are tangential causes to be aware of:

1. Just Label it campaign to label genetically modified food. Ask the Food and Drug Administration to allow (or mandate) labeling of any genetically altered food.

2. Campaign for Safe Cosmetics: I’ve written about this before, in ‘Safety in Your (personal) stuff‘. We consumers put plenty of products on and into our bodies.  Campaign for Safe Cosmetics says it best when they say “We don’t want mercury in our lotions, formaldehyde in hair products and baby shampoos, or lead in our lipstick“.

Regardless, I want to be able to choose what is right FOR me. That begins with having knowledge about my products.

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom” ~ Victor Frankl

Veg-Out: Guest Post

Well friends, I’ve done it. I’ve gone and guest posted at 26 Dishes, a first for me! The post brings forth another first; a large explanation about why I choose to be a vegetarian/pescetarian. I’d say that I’m killing two birds with one stone… but that seems raw.  😉

While I’ve shared about this personal process  here I’ve not shared with my Say Yes readers why I continue to live this way.

Yes, I’ve alluded to overwhelming food choices, how to eat healthy and meat free on the cheap, as well as how volatile food prices affect those suffering from hunger. But, a full delineation is missing.

Without further ado, without further concern that I’m being too preachy, I link you to….Veg-Out: Guest Post.