this moment

A Friday ritual started by Soulemama: "A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment to pause, savor and remember." (except I choose two)

happy 35, mike!

Off the top of my head...

1. Mike is the most wonderful partner you could ever dream of.
2. I was lucky to find my soulmate.
3. mike makes me laugh every single day, without fail.
4. mike is a tender husband.
5. mike sings A lot.
6. mike has so many friends, more than anyone I know, because he is an amazing friend.
7. mike is a spirited and dynamic uncle.
8. mike cares very deeply.
9. mike is a dedicated worker.
10. he is a great son.
11. and a great brother.
12. m. thinks about politics and human rights.
13. mike works hard at everything he takes on.
14. he sounds amazing on the guitar.
15. mike has the best smile.
16. mike has the best ideas.
17. and many ideas come when he is in the shower.
18. did i tell you how funny mike is?
19. mike always compliments my cooking, even if i tried something new and it failed.
20. mike brings me flowers all the time.
21. mike knows exactly what to do when i am sad.
22. mike is an excellent dog trainer. (it should be one of his many side jobs)
23. mike was the wedding singer the day I met him!
24. mike jumped right in with my huge family and became apart of it immediately.
25. m. is trying to make urban life better for those who are struggling.
26. mike has a very young spirit.
27. mike always encourages me.
28. i love watching mike grow and grow as he experiences life.
29. mike manages to see the bright side of it all and it is contagious to everyone around him.
30. mike dreams big.
31. mike is the most generous person I know.
32. mike is loyal and honest.
33. mike is has absolutely gorgeous eyes.
34. mike is a great writer.
35. mike gives the best hugs.

crazy days of march

It was warm and I began to dream of gardening and sitting on the porch at the cottage. It is back to winter coats and feeling glad that I didn't plant anything yet. I do like March despite the dramatic weather changes. I love all of the signs of warm weather to come. I have already been feeling up to walking more. These little guys are almost past and daffodils are just starting. I made coffee chip ice cream this week, in celebration of Mike's birthday. I have been reading and baking with whole grains from a lovely cookbook. Baby blankets are being knit!! The beginning of spring is going along sweetly.




Next up....tulips. Seneca was checking on their progress.

spring approaching, showers too.

We had a crazy storm last week. Flooding all over, trees down, power outages. Mike took this photo after the storm at the Great Falls, Paterson, where he works. It is strange how a storm can have such lovely consequences. I also joined a CSA this week. I can't wait to get our first delivery! Crocus are popping out, daffodils on their way, seeds arrived in the mail. I will be starting tomato seeds soon...

{this moment}

a moment this week, with few words...working from home, the doggers napped while I participated in a 2 hour conference call.

Finally, snow!

healthy home

It is really difficult to eliminate all toxins in our home but I do as much as possible. I wanted to share a few sites I have come across that are useful to 1) remember what to avoid when buying products for house or body and 2) find healthy stuff for our home and bodies. I have spent a lot of hours so if nothing else, at least I will have some links all in one place!

This website is great and can also drive you crazy. You can look up what you have at home to see how bad (or healthy) it is or you can do the opposite - type in a product you want to buy and find one that is rated ZERO health risk or close to zero. This website is run by the Environmental Work Group and I do think it is very reputable/reliable. Say you want to buy face lotion, you do a search and it will come up with products in order or hazard rate, so all of the zero's will be first. Here are a few zero's I have found - it takes awhile because first you look through the zero's, then you have to see if they are easily available and affordable.

zero face moisturizer - it is lovely and the company is sweet and affordable - I like to support them for sure. Actually, all of their products are rated zero hazard! I just ordered some body lotion. I would like to try their shaving creme for MIke.

zero shower soap - Kiss my face pure olive oil, no fragrance

zero body scrub (good for getting those toxins moving on out) - Organic Fiji Pineapple Coconut Organic Sugar polish, you can get it here - it is a nice big jar.

zero face wash - Kiss my face potent and pure exfoliating face wash

zero body butter - Badger fresh citrus

zero sunscreen - this is a big one - finding an effective and harmless one - this group did a ton of research into sunscreens - Badger sunscreen was found to be the most effective while being safe for our bodies. Also - Badger products are all quite safe for us.

A lot of these products were purchased at vitacost.com. As you can see, I have put a lot of time into finding safe products. I just came across this list of things to avoid. I have seen some of these things in other recommendations - I am not sure of the credibility of this list but some of these ingredients have been banned elsewhere so there must be something to it.

PS I often find some nice organic products when I am roaming around a health store and buy it. Instead of looking it up all the time, I just enjoy it!!