Recycling Shoes and A Movie Recommendation

..I knew I shouldn’t have let my husband throw out his grimy, dilapidated work shoes… I’d been spending so much time researching how to recycle odds and ends of junk in our house (cds, dvds, furniture, electronics, etc.), I decided I just couldn’t spend one more minute looking for shoe recycling info. And wouldn’t you know it, a few days later this article showed up in my email inbox. Fooey!! Instant regret.. the garbage had already been toted away so there was no chance of reclaiming those lifeless shoes for a better purpose. But at least now, thanks to Annie at care2, I have some great future referencs for recycling worn-out shoes. I especially like the Croc initiative Soles United… now that makes me excited and willing to buy the real deal instead of a knock-off!

You know what else makes me excited?.. going to a movie that you know won’t have foul language, nudity or any other offensive material. Add ice-cream- PUMPKIN PIE ice cream- to that and you’ve got a great recipe for a date night. Which is what I was blessed enough to have on Saturday night. My husband and I went on a much needed date, probably the last before Baby Bump arrives (39 weeks on Tuesday, it’s go time!), and it was so relaxing. So what’s that movie we watched? Fireproof. I cried watching the trailer, and cried even more watching the movie. Now I’m a drama fan and enjoy watching Hallmark movies so I won’t give my review because honestly they don’t normally hold up well with the general public. However, my husband- my movie-loving, past theatre performing husband- even enjoyed the movie. His response was that the acting and filming were better than Facing the Giants, made by the same creators, that they did a good job of showing both sides of what was going on in the minds of the husband and the wife, and that it showed how Christians aren’t perfect, revealing issues that happen in everyone’s lives but no one talks about- i.e. people yelling at each other, losing control, blaming others, trapped in addictions… Oh how I yearn to be a part of a Christian community that is for real and truly open with one another instead of hiding behind a “holier than though” front. Ok, so I’m not going to get all whiny and negative, I know I’ve just got to be prayerful and patient. But it ticks me off people! Sometimes I think I should wear a t-shirt to church that says: “I yell at my daughter sometimes. I’m not proud of it. I’m praying that I will stop interfering and let God work in my heart. Will you pray for me too?” That could be interesting.

…gotta go remove a spider from my house. Love to all!

You’re in for a sweet surprise???

Ha, the new commericals put out by the Corn Refiners Association are laughable! Have you seen them? Check them out here and here if you haven’t. I’ve only seen the first one but I honestly did laugh when I heard it on TV. Granted they are right.. it’s all about moderation, but what can you buy at the grocery store these days that DOESN’T have high fructose corn syrup in it? As I said, I agree most things are okay in moderation, that’s why when we’re some place other than home I don’t make it a huge deal. So, no I’m not going to single my child out at the birthday party or let them go hungry if there’s nothing else to eat than high-fructose corn syrup laden drinks and food. But I am going to make sure they’re eating well at home and educating them in the process. Here’s a great article with some quick facts (as the commericals do suggest you “get the facts”) from one of my favorite websites on health and green living. Sign up for a customized newsletter, they are a great way to keep up-to-date on the topics you care about most.

have a great day friends!!

Make your own hand soap

I’ve not been so great at submitting posts consistently and wondered if it’s because they’re just too long.  I am not a natural writer so I write, delete, write, delete.. you get my drift.  So, here’s my first attempt at a short, concise and yet still interesting post.

I’ve been making my own hand soap for a while now and it’s so simple I thought I’d share it with you all.  It’s simply diluted Bronner’s soap, which comes in several scents and can even be found at Meijer- woohoo!  I’ve looked up the dilution amounts literally every time I’ve made it, and somehow failed to make note of it for future reference.  So today I found one that intrigued me because it also calls for vegetable glycerin, which I learned from one of the comments on that post, is used as a humectant, or natural moisturizer.  That’s something I’ll definitely have to try during the upcoming dry winter months. 

So here’s what I do:

Fill a 2 cup liquid measuring cup with 1 cup of water and add Bronner’s castile soap up to the 1 1/4 mark- adding the soap TO the water reduces any foaming.  (*In the future I will also add 1 tsp. of vegetable glycerin.)  Mix with a spoon and pour into a (re-used) foaming hand soap dispenser.

Currently I am re-using a couple of Bath and Body foaming dispensers, but they are hard to clean being so strongly scented and the labels are also hard to remove.  I learned today, again from the comments on this recipe, that Method makes a foaming hand soap. I think I’ll pick some up at Target to use for the hand soap and retire the Bath and Body ones for homemade carpet cleaner. I originally used a regular soap dispenser, however the runny diluted soap is hard to control and would squirt in all directions; I’ve had it on my face, clothes and even the wall.  

I use Bronner’s peppermint scented soap because that’s what I use for my household cleaner recipes, but I’m looking to try something different for the hand soap- maybe citrus, almond or lavender. What scent would you suggest?

So much for a SHORT post today huh? *grin*