step into spring with no shampoo

Things have been rather tight around here and as I signed up to spend free January, which I may add I failed as I bought my youngest a carpet for his bedroom!, I am watching our pennies carefully. Now poverty is relative of course and when I say I have no money, I mean I have no money except to put in the gas and elec meter, sometimes not even that these days, so I end up borrowing it off my mum, can you believe it, I'm 34 and I still borrow money off my mum!! nuts.

Well it was one of those weeks and we had ran out of shampoo, I normally spend £6-£7 a bottle on shampoo as it is chemical free and as with all things that are better for you it comes at a higher price. I have very thick hair and when it gets dirty, it makes me have headaches so I needed to give it a wash. I had a browse around the net and found this site

I followed the instructions and rubbed the bicarb into my scalp, it felt sandy and gritty, I didn't really like the feeling to be honest, it seemed easier when I added a little water to make it more runny, my hair was very tangled and felt like a damp dog, but when I added the vinegar rinse it untangled by itself, the smell of the vinegar was really off putting to me because as a child I had long hair, to the back of my knees and my mum used to rinse my hair in vinegar (lots of it), so I was thinking of that. Oh and probably because I only had malt vinegar in the cupboard! When dry my hair felt cleaner and pretty OK, this only lasted a day though and I'm not a girl to be washing my hair every day as it takes nearly 6 hours to dry.

Next up on my no shampoo idea was bicarb, vinegar followed with conditioner (still had this left) - bad idea, my hair was awful, real clumpy and waxy.
Completely by accident after finding out my soap running out and I didn't have the £3 for a new bar ( I told you chem free stuff is expensive!) I bought a bar of 99p olive oil soap

This one from our local health food shop, it is available at Holland and Barratt and other local health food shops too I'm guessing, well back to the no shampoo thing.... I needed to clean my hair so squeezing half a lemon into an old shampoo bottle and adding some water to it, I jumped in the shower, rubbed this soap all over my hair and rinsed with the lemon mix, ohh it was too lovely, my head felt so clean, my hair was totally smooth. After towel drying it and scrunching it into a hairband to dry off on it's own, I was amazed when I took my hair down, it was all curly and shiny and gorgeous. My youngest put his face in my hair and said it smelled good enough to eat!
I saw my friend who I had not seen since Christmas and she commented on how healthy my hair looked, you can imagine her surprise when I told her what I have been using. We have all been converted no to no shampoo, I only wished I had done it sooner.

Also I have a girl crush on a lovely gardener who I discovered quite by chance -Alys Fowler (who I think should change her surname to flower). I know I am sooo behind everyone else in all that I do but I missed her series last year so my lovely BF got it for me off the comp and put the entire series onto disc so I spent two nights in complete grow your own heaven. She is totally different from most grow your owner's in that she doesn't use formal lines, it is a mish mash of a bit of all sorts - I like that. If ,Like me, you are less than formal in anything you do and you haven't discovered her, I urge you to, it will make your day and her clothes are super cute too, I want to be her friend and have cups of nettle tea in her garden whilst discussing how beautiful the nasturtiums look, so Alys Fowler if you happen to read this, please be my new friend ;)

Argh bogey face!!

You know those days where your all at sixes and sevens and you don't really know what to do with yourself?, I had this great idea of being so Sunday selfish and pampering my old worn out body and dry, wrinkly face, I ran myself a hot bath and made some lavender and oat bath bags to infuse the water and prepared an organic avocado and honey face mask, Mmm you may say as I did whilst mixing and feeling gleeful, I plastered it on my face, put cucumbers on my tired eyes and instructed a child to shout me in 10 mins.

I lay on my bed thinking of all lovely things when I started to feel an itch, then a burning on my face, "oh it must be working" I thought, still led there thinking its normal that my face is getting hotter and the itch is getting intense, I asked the child how long had I got left "6 minutes mum" came the reply.

I was now thinking "shit I can't wait any longer", I rushed to the bathroom where another child was on the loo,"arghhh Bogey face" he shouted and as I moved forward to get the toilet roll he screamed so piercingly it made me a little deaf, he kept shouting "get out", not because he was on the loo but because he thought I actually had green snot on my face?!. I ignored his screams and started to wipe the face mask off, underneath the green gunk I had huge hives, big red patches and I felt like it was on fire, I rinsed, still burning, I smothered my face in coconut oil and lavender (lavender is great for getting rid of spots/bumps etc), it still burned, I plunged my head in the bath water and found relief, although this was short lived.

It eventually calmed down although I was bumpy for a few hours and then red patches appeared, that was yesterday and today I am left with a red blob in the middle of my forehead, I look like Gandhi :(

so much for pampering, damn that avocado!.

yummy fast food - NOT!!

We never go to KFC or Mcdonalds or any of the other dodgy, greedy consumerism filled take aways but I know that others do, maybe sharing this will make you think again before you reach for that "family (sick) bucket"!.
Be aware some scenes are very upsetting.



Watch more videos at KentuckyFriedCruelty.com.

Frugal 2011, making bread....

Reassessing things after Christmas as we all do and thinking, new year, new start etc as we all do too, I considered my spending, it is at a minimum anyway because I think we all have too much "stuff," but I love collecting old furniture, fabric, vintage/retro home wares, books, vinyl records and clothes, I'm quite terrible actually, but 90% of what I buy is second hand or given to me. The only things I buy new are shoes, knickers and bra's and the boys pants from Boden because they are great quality and last ages, well thinking of it I buy most of their clothes new because it is hard to get second hand older boys clothes that are decent. But this isn't that much over a year.

So I set myself a little challenge, to minimise our spending even further so I can save up for things we actually need/will benefit our lives/make lasting memories.

Over the next few weeks I will be posting about the kinds of things I'm doing to save money, be closer to a natural way of living and hopefully inspiring others to do the same.

I am very particular about what we eat and love to cook so I won't compromise on spending money on food at all, it has to be organic, free range, outdoor bred etc, I have made some menu's up though to try and get more out of my money, we bake our own bread which saves us a fortune and the lovely smell that lingers in the air is unbeatable, this is why supermarkets have a "bakery" (most just reheat frozen loaves!), so the smell makes customers hungry. If you haven't got a bread maker already I really do recommend you save up and get a decent one, taking to friends and my own experience it is worth spending that bit extra on one, ours is this one, which bakes bread, mixes dough, you can even do cake mix in it, although I haven't tried that as I like the process of mixing cakes myself.

It is simple to use, you just weigh out the ingredients from the cookbook that comes with it and pop them into the bread pan that goes inside the bread maker, choose your bread setting and voila in and 2 hours you have a lovely loaf, all hot and delicious! We have made fruit loaf, which is lovely, curry bread made with mango chutney and curry paste, believe me it IS good.

You can of course bake your own loaves in the oven, I have tried and failed many times, they always come out like bricks!!

working it out, a loaf of bread from our local shop costs £1.30 each, (not organic) we as a family of 5 eat on average about 6 loaves a week, sometimes more (if it's fruit loaf!!) so that's £7.80 a week compared to doves organic white flour at £1.87, this would make 3 large loaves, doves organic yeast, 1.29p, one packet lasts us about 3-4 weeks, then in our bread maker you add a tsp salt, 1oz marg, 2 tsp sugar and water, so pennies really, I will allocate 90p for these things, so all together for a weeks worth of organic bread =£4.50, over the course of a year you would save £171.60 on bread alone!

Happy New Year and happy bread making, I will be pleased to answer any bread making questions no matter how silly they seem, before I got a bread maker a lovely friend answered all mine even though I felt daft asking her!

My second craft fair

My second craft fair went really well, it was held in the main church in our town and although the snow lay thick on the floor and it was so cold outside people came. I must say though because it was on the 18th Dec and close to Christmas I did feel under pressure to get things done, I had also been poorly so lost a few days making too. My hats sold really well, I was pleased but also surprised, you know my bf is always telling me how good my things are but even though I believe him it's always nice to hear strangers say it, it gave me a real boost.
The naughty tinker elves at the back went off to some good homes, apart from 2 who are sulking here with me!! I called them tinkers and a friend pointed out that in Ireland that's what Gypsies are called!! I am still going to call them tinkers as I don't mind gypsies anyway.

My bunting said "Dotty Delightful" after my shop and misi page, I had loads of fun and can't wait to do another one, I just wish here in Blackpool there was more going on culturally, I know individuals try and organise things but the council make it hard and also people don't tend to turn up to events much either. We had loads of empty shops right in the middle of town that could be used to hold fairs and such, it seems so silly them sat there doing nothing.

I would love a shop again (I used to have a vintage/retro clothes shop), I really enjoyed doing the window displays and it is so nice to talk to people, some have such interesting things to say. I also have some rather funny stories from my shop days too, like the one where a man asked if he could try on clothes and then took this large holdall (shoplifter I thought) and a woman's dress into the changing room. He was in there ages, I knocked on the door and asked if he was OK, I wont type what I heard but put it this way it's something you should only do in private!. I knocked loudly and said we are shutting now, you need to come out.....he did wearing a blond wig, full makeup and one of my dresses, heels and stockings! I didn't quite know what to say and tried hard not to look shocked or laugh, he asked if he looked OK!!. I said yes but he had to change as we were shutting (he had been in shop about 2 hours now), he then spent ages longer back in the changing room and asked if he could stay all night, he asked to be locked in so he could try on more stuff!! My friend called her boyfriend and he had to be rather stern with the poor fellow!. I did kinda feel sorry for him as he said he felt free dressed up, but not so sorry after I found the dress covered in ...use your imagination :{

woo post 100, christmas and snow Brrrrr

Its been over a month since last posting and do you know it drives me mad, thinking I'm a bad blogger etc but the thing is I spend ages reading other peoples blogs and then have no time left to write anything, so I have decided I shall not label myself any longer as a bad blogger but as a good blog reader!!

Well we have had in no particular order....colds, flu-ish type thing which I don't want to call flu because it is Sooo overused to class everything ill related in winter to flu, ohh and going off on a tangent here, have you been reading about the swine flu jab and how certain people in the media are writing, pregnant mothers should have it or they could harm their unborn babies - how bloody irresponsible is that, I would hazard a guess that they real ingredients in the jabs are more likely to harm them. I keep getting a doctors letter advising me to have one as I have asthma but that is not happening. Our bodies re chemically polluted enough just living in this world without having more pumped in so big pharma can get richer-Crazy.

On a lighter note and going back to what we have been up to, I did my second craft fair and although the snow was deep and uneven and bloomin' freezing I still did really well, much better than last year. I really enjoyed chatting to people and enjoyed it when people who don't know me liked my things, I sold bags, plush toys and hats the most. I can't wait to do another one but the prep for it made me so tired. The week before it I became ill, with the (not) flu, I spent a couple of days led on the sofa feeling sorry for myself but it was frustrating too as my arms ached so I couldn't knit or crochet anything, I felt like I had wasted loads of time doing nothing. Chris picked it up next but was thankfully better after a few days of the sniffles. He has been loving the snow, bouncing on the snow covered trampoline much to the disgust of our boring neighbours!I made everyone apart from my eldest who by this time had got the (not) flu, come out to our local park, to say it was a disaster was putting it mildly, imagine slippy boots, freezing toes and hands, breathing in ice air, crying, moaning and grumbling and me saying "ohh how lovely, how beautiful the now is" and then you will get the idea. I got home really disappointed we had not had the perfect outing, I hate the way I look at magazines and watch certain Christmas home shows and feel like we should be more perfect, we should have a grand decorated house, the children should all be lovely to each other and me and my bf should dance in the snow whilst singing gaily, not quite the real picture though is it. My poor hard done to (having me as his gf) bf, freezing in our lovely winter wonderland park....


I love this photo and want to enlarge it for our wall, the boys are actually sat in front of the lake which is frozen solid, the poor ducks and swans seem so miserable....

Me bundled up with my sprightly youngest, whom I'm happy to say loves the outside as much as me, in front of the lake, there were footprints all over it too, some people are so stupid, I have even seen full families on the lake with little toddlers, Crazy....

Poor ducks, our chickens have had cold bums these past few days, we have been putting extra bedding in and each morning and having to defrost their water whilst in my dressing gown and bobble hat is very fetching.

Well I hope you all had a jolly Christmas whatever you celebrate, my oldest boy and middle one have the (not) flu so spent the day coughing ( sorry but how long do you last before you want to shout "STOP coughing" at them?) snotting everywhere, shivering, leaving their Christmas dinner and sleeping, the rest of us ate, drank numerous cups of hot drinks, played games and slept by the fire. It was OK, not great, not awful just OK, but then again it's only one day out of a whole year and I'm looking forward to the other days when everyone is well, the tiredness is gone and we can smile and dance gaily whilst holding hands....Yeah right ;)

just stuff...

Well it's been a while since I last posted but not because we have been doing anything really exciting, just because of my rubbish time management skills - yeah I know it shouldn't really take long to write a post but you see each time I sit down to write one I find other peoples blogs more interesting to read oh and then I check facebook like a lonely teenager with spots who has no friends, just to see if anyone still wants to talk to me, which most of the time they don't or I end up reading other peoples status' which sometimes can be amusing but I hate the ones that say things like "right I'm off to work" -SO BLOODY WHAT!, maybe just for fun I will put "right I'm off for a poo, oh and I ate breakfast today and got some post etc", it is the voyeur in all of us though that looks at such sites, I wonder sometimes if these sites are actually bad for the already twisted nation, like the woman who was so obsessed with farmville (a shitty farm game) on FB that she smothered her baby to death because it was crying and it was interrupting her time on the game.

I do love blogs though, they are so inspiring, uplifting, funny, and awesome. I have so many on my favourite list I need at least a day to read them all, I think I am officially a blog hoarder.

We made a little terrarium for a caterpillar we found at the park, Chris carefully collected things he thought the caterpillar would like to keep him cosy including some lovely soft moss and a twig to make his cocoon on. That was 2 weeks ago and I haven't seen the caterpillar since, I don't think he is dead or an escapee though, probably just hiding somewhere.

The boys love drawing, Adam especially is very talented and I don't just say that because I'm his mum either!. He wants to be a comic illustrator when he's all grown, he draws the most comical pictures.

Chris loves getting tips off Adam with his drawing, it's lovely to see them in full concentration, with hair not brushed and a complete tip of an art desk (mine) behind them!

I have been drawing designs by candlelight (not because the ellecy had run out, just because it's cosy) for an embroidery commission I am doing for a lovely lady, it has been great doing something so girly with 3 boys running around the house. The close up sewing has been affecting my eyes though, I pick up my new glasses tomorrow, they are proper geeky and black, I love them, the boys said I looked a real nerd when I went for a fitting so I'm glad, that's the effect I'm going for, my youngest asked me "what if Tom (bf) doesn't love you anymore when he sees you", bless him.

This is the face of a boy who has been told he can't go on his console as he has lightening homeschool to do! I had to put it on so when he is nosey and wants to see my blog he can find this hideous photo of himself ;) HELLO ADAM

I have loads of Christmas gift making to do, I have to make loads of things for a Christmas fair I am doing in dec, I have only 1 present made for family and I just want to curl up in front of the fire, we finally got our chimney pot put on, so it works now, and crochet granny squares. Not that I'm very good but I read this tutorial from Julia Crossland's blog, I found her in a search and I'm so pleased I did, her blog is lovely, she is a very talented illustrator, go have a peek but beware, you will be there for ages. She is also having a Christmas giveaway because she reached 300+ followers - wowee.

I have also been loving Kristie's homemade home, the good life, ugly betty, the walking dead and desperate housewives whilst I knit away when the boys are all tucked up in bed, candles glowing, fire crackling and too many cakes and biscuits to nibble on.

Have a lovely week xxx