Simply September

Ahhh, September!
I love it!
I am so happy to be on a schedule again!
Of course, I don't want every minute scheduled~
We need time to relax and chill, too!
(As if we haven't been doing that all summer!)
I love the change of seasons and the change of schedules.
It makes life exciting and interesting.
Oh, but I do love a simple life!
Hmmm.
What can simple mean?
Let's see.
~More time at home.
~Less running around.
~Less clutter.
~More time for faith and family.
~More time outdoors.
~Listening to beautiful music.
~Reading wonderful children's books.
~Talking and listening to God.
~Simple, healthy meals.
~Enjoying the beautiful things in life.

So I said to myself~
"Stop dreaming, Laura, and start simplifying!"

The first thing I thought to simplify was our meals.
I came up with this plan that makes it easier for me to think about our meals.

A Meal Template!
Yay!
This is what it is: (I plan on using it until I am sick of it.)
I picked a main food for each day of the week and I create my meals from that.
~Monday is chicken or turkey day.
I cook a chicken dinner with 2 whole chickens along with all the vegetables. I then boil the bones and tiny bits of chicken into broth so I can use it for other meals.
~Tuesday is rice, bean and veggie dishes.
I know it's coming, so I pre-soak the beans the day before. I can even cook the rice before and then add whatever veggies and spices I want.
I could do Mexican, middle eastern, greek, italian. Whatever we are in the mood for.
Next Tuesday, I plan on making black bean and rice burritos with all the toppings.
~Wednesday is salad day.
I am thinking hearty salads, like cobb, chef, taco, greek etc.
I will add bread of some sort.
~Thursday is fish day.
Fish, veggies and a salad.
So simple!
Everyone loves it!
~Friday is homemade pizza day.
Lenny decided he will be the pizza maker.
He's all fired up!
He made it once and considers himself quite an expert!
It was really good~crispy crust, yummy sauce!
He found a thin crust recipe online.
I will post the recipes at a later time.
Every week could be a different flavor. There are so many types of good unusual recipes for pizza!
Now Saturday. Soup and sandwich day.
This is our running day and I didn't want to worry about what we were going to have for dinner, so I thought this would be a good meal.
I plan on using the crockpot and just making sure there are sandwich fixings in the fridge.
It could be as simple as vegetable soup and broiled tomato, basil and mozzarella sandwiches.
Sunday. Pasta day.
I plan on putting this meal together in advance.
I plan on lasagna this week so I will make it Friday and probably freeze it if I do not have enough room in my fridge.
I'll put it in the oven on Sunday morning before church. Or I could layer it in my big electric roaster. I have even made lasagna in a crockpot.
Other pasta ideas: spaghetti and meatballs, turkey tetrazinni, greek pasta salad etc.

So I have a plan.
Will I use it?
Yes, I will.
But I am enlisting every single child I have to help me!
I am not doing it by myself!
I don't need to!
The kids need to learn their life skills, you know!
I will ask each one for specific ideas for each meal and we are going to put on our aprons together!
Actually, maybe I will hang up mine and go take a nap!

I do know that every day won't be as easy as it sounds, so on those days, I have a back-up plan: breakfast for dinner!
Oh well!
It's better than the fast food on the corner!

Anyway, I look forward to more simplifying.
Does anyone want to share their simplifying ideas?
Oh, Please!!!
I long for simplicity!

Natural Homemade Sunsreen

I don't think it makes sense to load up my family's skin with chemicals just to protect it from something God so lovingly provided~
~the sun!

So I go to the health store and buy Aubrey Organics Natural Sun lotion made with herbs and green tea.
It's exspensive but well worth it.

I might make my own sunscreen this year, though, with one of these recipes:

Recipe #1:
Buy zinc oxide ointment in the diaper rash section of your favorite store and mix it with your favorite natural lotion.
My friend, Melissa, makes wonderful natural lotion that I just love and use for my reflexology business. She has a beautiful etsy shop @ www.ElegantRoseBoutique.etsy.com.

Recipe #2:
3 T grated beeswax
3 T shea butter
1 T avocado oil
1 T coconut oil
1 T sesame oil
1 T olive, almond, jajoba or sunflower oil
3 T aloe vera gel
3 T lavendar hydrosol
1/2 t. borax powder (laundry section)
1 vitamin E gel caplet

~Melt in double boiler: beeswax, shea butter, avocado oil, coconut oil, sesame oil and olive, almond, jajoba or sunflower oil. Do not boil. Remove from heat.
~Add vitamin E caplet to oil/butter mixture.
~Warm aloe vera gel, lavendar hydrosol and borax in separate pan until well blended.
~Mix aloe vera mixture with butter/oil mixture and whisk until creamy.
~Store in airtight jar and refirigerate.
~Will last up to 1 month.
~You can add 5-6 drops of grapefruit seed extract (natural preservative) to mixture and it will last up to a year.

Recipe #3:

1. On low, heat 1 cup olive or almond oil.

2. Add 1 oz. crumbled beeswax to heated oil until wax melts completely.

3. Remove from heat and immediately add 2 T zinc oxide. Mix thorougly.

4. Pour into sealable container and store in refrigerator. Shake container if oils separate.

Eating deep green, red and yellow fresh produce also protects the skin and provides tons of antioxidants, so remember to get those in if you want to be healthy in the sun!

And you know what they say about avoiding too much sun exposure between the hours of 10:00-2:00. I think we should just be wise about it and wear a hat, etc.

The sun is a GOOD friend, not a bad one, but I think we should use a little caution.

I am sure all of you had a grandparent that you remember wearing hats and long sleeves in the summertime.

They weren't laying around baking in the sun.

Well, maybe some of you might have to think way back to the great-grandparents!

Anyway, give these recipes a try or check out Aubrey Organics products.