{ dear vampa }

This is an adorable kids book about vampire & werewolf neighbors.... for all of you Twilight loving moms out there, it's a perfect kids book. Happy Halloween!

{ 21 days }

....until New Moon! ;-) And I can't believe I live in a town where tickets haven't gone on sale yet!
I want tickets NOW!

Do you have your Bite ME pads yet?

And sticking with my Vampire obsession this Halloween, Will & I are dressing up as Vampires, Samme is Bat Girl and Henry is a little gray bat! Happy Halloween everyone!

{ ME vs. debt }

Check out my guest post today on Man vs. Debt ---- How I paid of $15,000 in school loans in 9 months by selling 'stuff' on ebay.

ps. Thank you Colgate for the wonderful (albeit expensive) education. However, I am equally as thankful to finally done with my school loans. Hooray!

{ flu prevention....naturally }

So, not to open a can of worms here, but we didn't get the flu or H1N1 vaccines. I'll leave it at that without launching into how we came to that well researched decision. However, I have done a ton of research on how to boost the kids immunity this year...We are fortunate that they seem to have solid functioning immune systems and rarely get sick - they eat healthy, take vitamins, get good rest, wash hands a hundred times a day, etc. But I wanted to bump it up even more since everyone we know has been or is sick. So here are some tips I've come across that have been helping us stay healthy.

Note: These are tips from a mom (ME) with no medical training (I was a geology/environmental studies major in college). Not a doctor. If you have flu symptoms go see your doctor, don't email ME!

1. Elderberry. An herb with anti-viral effects, elderberrry (or Sambucus nigra) has been touted as an all-natural defense against the H1N1 swine flu. Although research on elderberry's flu-fighting benefits is somewhat limited, there's evidence that this antioxidant-rich herb may reduce the duration and lessen the severity of the flu. Various products containing elderberry can be found at your local drugstore or online here. Additional info about elderberry's potential benefits here. We take Quantum Health Cold & Flu Immune Defense (Elderberry, Echinacea, Goldenseed & Vitamin C). Sam takes Irwin Kids Immuno-Zappers (Eldeberry, Zinc & Vitamin C) chewable vitamins - they taste like watermelon and Get Well Soothing Herbal Drops (Elderberry, Vitamin C & Eucalyptus). Henry gets 1/2 dropper of Elderberry Liquid Extract with water.

2. Andrographis. Anytime Will, Sam or I start to feel sick we start taking Andrographis. We like Plum Flowers Brand - Chuan Xin Lian. It has natural properties similar to an antibiotic. Note: We take the sugar coated (although said to be less effective because it is nasty if it dissolves too quickly in your mouth). We give Sam one tablet, 2-3 times a day. We take 3 tablets, 3 times a day. We just hide hers in a scoop of icecream and she is able to swallow it.

3. Obsessive hand-washing and resist all temptations to touch any part of face. We keep disinfectant handwash in our cars, bags, etc.

4. Gargle with salt water several times a day. H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling may help prevent proliferation.

5. Vitamin C & Zinc. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (citrus fruits). If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc
to boost absorption. We all like Trader Joe's Raspberry Flavored Zinc Vitamins.

6. Acerola - A tropical bearing fruit that contains 32x the amount of Vitamin C found in orange juice. Find it at your local health foods store.

7. Vitamin D. Get your daily Vitamin D. Best from sunshine but if you live in a rainy, dreary part of the country, take supplements.

8. Eat healthy, get some exercise & get enough sleep. Fuel your body with nutrient rich, warm foods, exercise on a daily basis and get at least 7.5 hours of sleep each night. Tired, unhealthy bodies become breading grounds for illness.

{ feed ME - eating out of the pantry week }

We've had houseguests for the past several weekends which has meant lots of cooking, lots of yummy food but also higher than normal grocery bills. We also have a lot of stuff in the freezer & pantry so this week, other than buying milk for Henry, we are having an eat out of the pantry week. Yesterday, I went through and gathered ideas based upon what we had on hand. Here's our Feed ME plan this week:

Monday - Halibut (from freezer) with Black Bean & Tomato Quinoa (make extra quinoa for lunches and make extra black beans for dinner tomorrow night)
Tuesday - Spinach & Cheese Quesidillas with Brown Rice & Black Beans
Wednesday - Whole Wheat Pasta with Tomato Sauce we canned from garden tomatoes this fall and salad
Thursday - Grilled Mahi Mahi (from freezer) with Brown Rice & Black Beans
Friday - Spinach, Kale (from garden) & Sun-dried tomato homemade pizza
Saturday - Tomato Soup & Sandwiches
Sunday - Veggie Chili (frozen from last weekend)

{ help ME }

Loving this adorable, postive chorechart {this is how i contribute to my family} that Lisa of Sweetbeets designed for her son. Download and customize yours for FREE here.

In our home we haven't used a chore chart specifically but we do have Sam help do things on a daily basis (not for allowance but just as being part of our family and helping to keep our home tidy) - things like making her bed before school, setting the table for dinner, helping fold laundry, helping play with Henry before bath time while we clean up from dinner, etc. We aim to make these things fun and work on them together - for example, she'll set the table and fold the cloth napkins while Will lights the candles and I put dinner on the table all while listening to music. What methods work at your house? Do your kids help out? Or is it a never ending battle?

{ ebay round 413...and yes i'm selling my frye boots }

What is the world coming too? Listing what could be the coolest pair of boots ever made? I just don't wear them hardly ever. I know I probably should. I should rock them out with a cute pair of skinny jeans and a long tunic and be hip. But I'm not going to. I wear my yoga pants most days or my super comfy and not skinny joe's jeans. And I just have come to the realization that I don't NEED a HUGE closet full of stuff (just in case I might someday want to wear something again). I know what I like to wear and that isn't going to change. So, I've got some more lovely stuff up on my ebay shop. And I'm so so so so close to paying off my school loans ($15,000) with the ebay sold stuff to date. So close. So, who wants my loved Frye boots (size 7.5)? ;-)

{ top 5 organizational products }

I'm over at Kotori today guest posting about my Top 5 organizational products! Come visit ~

{ ship ME }

Sorry I've been absent around here - I've been super busy shipping out orders & media kits... The holiday season is in full swing with LobotoME. Be back soon once I catch up!

{ mondo beyondo }

I am so excited to have finally signed up for this course with the fabulous Andrea. Don't you want to sign up too so you can generate a big dream life list like this?

{ feed ME }

Our friends gave us a huge bucket of apples from their tree so I spent the weekend making apple pie, apple bread, apple spice cake, dried apples, apple fruit leather, applesauce, apple juice, apple smoothies....you get the picture. And I still have some leftover....Any other ideas?

Anyway, here's our meal plan this week.

Monday - veggie chili
Tuesday - Tom Kha Gai - Thai Chicken Coconut Soup {Raising Foodies Cooking Club new recipe}
Wednesday - Chicken & Spinach Quesidillas (using remaining chicken)
Thursday - Spinach & Kale stuffed shells
Friday - Homemade Pizza & Family Movie Night (spinach, sun dried tomatoes & goat cheese)
Saturday - Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos
Sunday - Leftover Tom Kha Gai with brown rice

What's cooking in your house this week?

{ raising foodies cooking club }

Been on the road a bunch lately so I got a late start to Josyln's Raising Foodies Cooking Club but I'm on it now. This week I made this recipe from Stephanie (Steph Modo)'s blog - Slow Cooker Fajitas. It was super easy to make (it only took about 10 minutes of prep time getting it into the slow cooker) and it was delicious and healthy.

Slow-Cooker Fajitas, serves 8-10 people

1 1/2 - 2 lbs. flank or skirt steak, or boneless chicken
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 red or green pepper, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 TBS. fresh lemon juice (I used lime too)

warm tortillas
sour cream
avocado

Cut meat across the grain into 1/2 inch diagonal strips. Place in a slow cook cooker. Top with onion and bell pepper. In a small bowl, combine garlic, chile, chili powder, cumin, salt, oil and lemon juice. Pour mixture over meat. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 6 1/2 hours. Spoon several slices of meat with sauce into center of each warm tortilla. Fold over. Top with sour cream and avocado. Yum.

{I let Samme help assemble the stuff onto everyone's tortillas and let her put a very generous heaping of shredded cheese onto hers. She liked practicing eating them without anything falling out!}

{ our adoption story on design mom }

Read about our adoption story over on Design Mom today!

{ hoME office }

I do most of my work/work out of my home office...Shipping happens partly from here and partly from our warehouse down the road. I love my workspace - lots of great light, right off the kitchen/dining room area, etc. Samme has a chair and space to do art projects, homework, etc. although we tend to do most of that in her playroom or in the kitchen.


and in the interest of keeping it REAL around here (a picture of my non-domain...the garage).... YIKES. I need the garage to be more like my office above - clean and organized. So this is the project I'm working on this week (in my free time)....what are you working on this week?

{ the spending hiatus is still going on...and on...and on }

While I haven't written much lately about my spending hiatus I am still on it. In fact I wrote a guest post over at Daily Worth yesterday about how it's going so far... I know there are still skeptics out there who think they can't do it. But you can. And it gets easier as time goes on.

I even found that at one point, I caved and bought a new bag, and as soon as it arrived I returned it because I didn't NEED it. I had others to use. That money would be more wisely spent on something else. That (the act of returning a beautiful bag) would have never happened before. I would have found a way to rationalize the purchase. Somehow.

Anyway, for those of you who have joined ME in the never ending spending hiatus of 2009 how is it going? And for those you who are hesitant - why not join Amanda of Daily Worth next week for a one week spending freeze beginning October 5th? See what happens when you don't buy things, just because. Let me know how it goes.

And for those of you itching to buy something ask yourselves these 4 questions:

• Do I need it?
  
• Can I get it free?
• Can I get it for less?
• Can I get it in exchange for something else?

Topics coming up in the spending hiatus update realm now through year end will include: financial goal setting, a simple Christmas, why I prefer spending plans vs. budgets, a {use up what you have on hand meal planning week}, and how to sell stuff on ebay to bring in extra $ tips.

{ inspired ME }

This is a video from one of my friends, Pam. We first met when she came to one of our adventure racing camps in Moab, UT. She had just lost over 200lbs and wanted to gain the skills necessary to do her first adventure race. She has competed in several adventure races since then and has become a dear friend to us. Please watch her video and vote for her aha moment in this contest! The top 10 vote-getters will have their aha moments included in Mutual of Omaha's 2010 TV campaign. Isn't she amazing? You go girl!