FUN stuff...

I have had a great time exploring the ins and outs of greener living! Really... who knew it would be so fun and right up my alley?

Anyway, I wanted to share a few links I've found that I keep going back to again and again. Some of these are green living type links and some are a mix of green and frugal living. Lots of neat information... especially for a crafty girl like me who's always got a creative to-do list a mile long and still wants to simplify her life! (What a conundrum, huh?)

Natural Beauty Workshop Blog -Lots of ideas for creating your own cosmetics and lotions and potions that are safe and eco-friendly. Just keep in mind that it's best to choose organic essential oils over the synthetic ones when thinking about scenting your creations. :)

Mountain Rose Herbs - Awesome selection of essential oils and herbs, etc. with information pages to tell you the ways to use them. I currently have Organic Lime, Organic Spearmint, Orange and also Vanilla that I'll be playing with. I want to get some Tea Tree Oil as that supposed to be a wonderful sanitizer.

Hillbilly Housewife- Interesting ways to be thrifty and in particular her very enticing recipe for Magic Milkshakes. This is definitely on my to-try list!

MommySavers Forums

Making by Saving Forums

Orange Bran Flaxseed Muffins - I made these and I really like them. They taste so "healthy" to me. I may try substituting the sugar for Stevia.

I have the powdered Stevia and a very surprisingly yummy Liquid Stevia with a vanilla creme flavor. (Note: The Liquid Stevia comes in other flavors too... like Chocolate!) It's great in my coffee substitute called Teeccino. If you've never heard of Teeccino, check out the link. Together with my VC Stevia, it's a very decent substitute for my morning coffee... which was horrible for me. I'm trying to make better choices, here! I found these items at my local Whole Foods Store but I noticed that The powdered Stevia is available at my local regular grocery store in the organic foods section.

Have fun exploring!

Hugs,
Dana

Gorgeously Green

Once again... Oprah has sucked me in! LOL.

She had the author, Sophie Uliano, of "Gorgeously Green" on her show the other day. It was a really neat segment about Eco-Friendly tips because it was Earth Day. I thought I'd like the book so I hopped in my gas guzzling car and headed over to Barnes & Noble to pick up a copy.

It is a really interesting book. I'm enjoying it for the most part... but that other little part of me is FREAKED OUT!

She has an entire chapter devoted to Beauty. First off, I've always sort of known that our beauty products (cosmetics, bath products, hair products, lotions and potions, etc.) had rather questionable ingredients. But now... after several hours of reading about various products I use and have used... let's just say... I had a mini nervous breakdown. A great resource for ingredient information is Skin Deep.
"Skin Deep is a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products brought to you by researchers at the Environmental Working Group."

It really is disturbing that there are no FDA regulations for these things that we slather onto the largest organ of our body. Our skin absorbs this stuff and who knows what the cumulative effects to our bodies really are.

Having had Breast Cancer at a young age with no apparent genetic disposition or major risk factors, I've had to ask my self the "why" question. Is it something I did? Could I have prevented it? My answer to myself and from my medical team has always been an emphatic NO. But still I wonder... how could I not?

For me, I've decided that I can't just walk away from the info I've stumbled upon and go back to business as usual. I know I'd regret it if I did. So into the trash went a lot of potions. Think$$ wasted!

One change I made immediately was to replace my Shampoo and Conditioner. I found Burt's Bees Very Volumizing Pomegranate & Soy Shampoo and Conditioner at Target
and I really like it.

The "experts" say to avoid products that contain fragrance because that is not regulated and often a catchall for bad stuff... but I'm not quite willing to give up everything yet! ;)

I also purchased Dr. Bronner's Almond Liquid Castile Soap and Peppermint Castile Bar Soap. I also like them very much.

Just a note though... do your research and don't believe the pretty labels claims of being organic and natural until your read the ingredients.

As far as cosmetics go, I already had a Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer in the Nutmeg shade so I felt I was off to a good start. My grandma had told me about this product because she uses it. It does contain Tocopherol (Vit. E) which can be contaminated but a girl's got to pick her battles. At least there are no Carcinogens or Parabens in it. ;)

I've placed an order with Everday Minerals for some samples of their mineral foundations, blush and concealer. They manufacture an all-natural and organic line of cosmetics that rates safer than what I use now. I just placed it last night and my samples have already shipped! I'll let you know what I think when I get them.

I'm researching some other things like mascara and hairspray and when I decide on something, I'll share.

I've been on a quest to simplify my life for a while now and I'm viewing this as another step in that direction. I've been in the process of "cleaning out" my household cleaning supplies and learning to use safer and cheaper options. I'm really liking the old staples of vinegar, baking soda and lemon. They really do work for a variety cleaning tasks. One product I switched to was Method Brand Pink Grapefruit All Surface Cleaner from Target. It works as good as the Windex and Counter Cleaners I previously used.

So anyway, I feel like I'm doing something good for myself and my family. Hopefully they won't notice when I start switching out their potions and lotions!

Hugs,
Dana

Today it was 78 degrees! It was glorious! I'm so happy to welcome warm weather and get busy in the garden. I've got some Marigold's coming up an egg carton on my windowsill that will hopefully be able to be planted outside in a few weeks.

Here's a photo of the cute Momma Bunny that made her baby nest right outside my laundry room window. The babies were so cute! (Sorry... I didn't get a photo of them!) But oh... what an ordeal for me. One Friday morning about a week after finding the babies (who were likely only a week or so old) I had noticed that a bunny had been hit by a car within eyesight of the nest. I WAS TERRIFIED to say the least. I was so worried that it was my Momma Bunny so I began stalking the nest. On Sunday, I made a quick check of one of the babies and it appeared to be just fine. So I kind of figured that these weren't babies that hadn't been fed in 2 days... but I needed to be sure!

I placed sticks in perfect little stacks over the nest to try to see if they got disturbed when the Momma Bunny visited the nest to nurse. Mommas only visit the nest once or twice a day, between dusk and dawn, and only stay about 5 minutes so it's no easy task to catch her. After a weekend of stress, sticks and flour (to try to see bunny tracks) I finally saw the Momma Bunny on Monday morning. I was so relieved!

We have a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center about 45 minutes from me and I would have been able to take the babies there but I'm so glad I didn't have to. You always want to be sure that the babies are not being cared for because most of the time they are! Baby Bunnies are weaned at about 3-4 weeks and then they come out and start exploring the world. They may come back to the nest a few nights to sleep... but then they are gone. Mine... I'm so pleased... have left the nest! Yahoo.. I'm so thrilled. My husband, on the other hand... not so much because they eat all his plants. ;)

Anyway... a great resource for baby bunny info is Rabbit.org

On to craftiness... here are a few cards I've made lately. Just playing around and trying to be inspired. I love to be crafty but lately I've been a little less than creative so I'm trying to get my groove back.

Hugs,
Dana

Good results...

Ughhh...keyboard is still wonkyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! :(

My Mammo and Ultrasound came back fine. No signs of cancer. Not sure about the MRI as I haven't called for results and nobody has called me. My mind ASSUMES that must mean everything looked normal. I guess I'll call tomorrow to be sure and set my mind at ease.

Still, sad news. I checked in at the breastcancer.org boards and a couple girls that were diagnosed at the same time as I and went through treatment "with" me were diagnosed with mets. Their cancer has come back and spread. Even more heartbreaking is that a few more "sisters" are now angels.

I hate cancer. It makes me so angry!!!! :( Why can we spend millions of tax dollars frivolously when people are dying. Makes no sense to me.

I wish there was something I can do to help find the cure. I'm going to try think of something. There has to be some way I can contribute.

Hugs,
Dana

Just a bit nervous...

Monday Morninnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng I have follow up scans frrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrom my .... something strange is going on wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiith my keyboard. I'm honestly not typing all those characters! I'lllllllllllllllllllllll delete them as I go from now on. ;)

Anyway... the scans... an ultrasound, mammogram and an MRI with contrast... which means I have to have an IV. This is the follow up from the biopsy I had late last summer. I'm beginning to come to terms with the fact that cancer will always be a part of my life now. It's just the way it is.

As long as it's just a part of my life and I'm still living it... the trade-off is acceptable to me.

So wish me luck!

I'll try to be a better blogger. Really, I will. :)

Now I'm off to find some batteries for mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmy keyboard and hope that fixes this problemmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Hugs!
Dana

Just because...

Here's another purse I made using my new paper collection. :)

I'll try to get some instructions up one day... I'm kind of swamped lately with work (the real day job!) and craftiness.

Enjoy!

Everyday Celebrations...

is about the little things... and the big things, that make each of our days special. Find something to celebrate every single day! :)

Here it is... the sneak peak of my new collection for Dream Street Papers. Check back soon for some fun projects I will be sharing!

Don't forget to check out the Dream Street Blog for more peaks!

Hugs,
Dana

Purse-Mania...

TWO posts in one day! Wow... that's a record for sure, isn't it?

It's fun to finally be creating again. I really love to be paper crafty, but sometimes I get in a slump and do other things. I'm really feeling inspired lately though so keep checking back for new things. :)

I've been having fun lately creating some cute purses from my papers and vinyl. I have one planned for my new collection... but you'll have to wait to see that for about a week or so.

I'll start with this one... what do ya think?

Dream Street Papers Sneak Peak...

This is such an exciting time of year for us, the designers, at Dream Street Papers! The sneak peaks of our 10 new collections are going up on our blog. There will be 2 collections posted each day this week.

Today, it's Kelly and Audrey (Art Nouveau and Birdie Bits) ... 2 very different collections with such FUN possibilities. They are gorgeous designs.

My collection peak will go up on Wednesday. I can't wait!

Anyway... so go on over to the blog and take a look!

Hugs,
Dana

Mmmmm.... cookies...

If you like Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies... here's a yummy recipe I saw on Martha before Christmas I think.

This photo is from Martha's site and the chocolate looks quite light in color... but I made these with Wilton's dark cocoa mint melting wafers that I found at JoAnn Fabric and they were a nice dark color. FYI... they didn't have the mint ones at my Michael's.

All you do is melt the wafers in the microwave on defrost, checking and stirring frequently. Then just dip the Ritz crackers into the melted chocolate. I used a little pair of tongs.

I also had set my cookie sheets out on the deck in the FREEZING temp before I started. I brought them in and lined them with parchment, dipped the Ritz into the melted chocolate, filled the cookie sheet and then set them outside again for a quick cooling to set the chocolate. Then I just put them into another lined cookie tin and they lasted for days... until I... I mean WE... ate them all. ;)

Anyway... they were super easy and were really yummy! Now if I could only find a recipe for those awesome caramelly coconutty ones... what are those called? Never-mind... don't remind me. I don't need to know. ;)

On the agenda for the week is to clean my home office/craft space. It's getting to be a messy little pit! I just cannot for the life of me keep it organized. I end up working at my desk in a little teensy 6x6 INCH spot because I have so much JUNK around me. What's my problem? Sorry... I won't frighten you with a photo! LOL!

The weather here in Minnesota has been so cold. We had Wind Chills in the -25 degree range over the weekend. Let me tell ya... that's just plain cold. It's a painful cold. Did anyone see that Packers/Giants game? That Giants coach looked like he was getting frost bite on his face. It was so red. My husband and I kept wincing whenever they showed his face on the screen. OUCH!

Thankfully, we are going to warm up into the low 20's by the weekend though. It's silly... but that will seem so much warmer! It will be so nice. :)

HUGS!
Dana

I feel old...

Our son starts Driver's Training tomorrow. I've been dreading this day. It's another sign that he's growing up. I am proud of the wonderful young man he's becoming... but I still miss the little boy... just a bit! ;)

Time goes by way too fast!

I'm busy getting ready for the big Winter 2008 CHA Show. Dream Street Papers will be releasing many new lines. I must say... they are really neat, too! Maybe I'm a bit biased, but they are really cool! As soon as I can show some sneak peaks, I will.

The show is so much fun, but it's a lot of work, too. There's a lot of manual labor involved in setting up and tearing down the booth and being on your feet all day during the show days does completely wear us all out. But we manage to get in some quality girl chat catching up time.

This year, several of us are going to go to Disneyland since it's just down the street. I'm looking forward to it. I'd also like to go to the beach and I am hoping for decent weather. I know it'll be too chilly for a real beach day... but I'd like to see it. It's been years since I've seen the beach and even if it's cold... it'll still be warmer than here in Minnesota!

I'm still working on my goal to pare down my "things"... ya know, simplify and all that. It feels so good to not have too much stuff... but my hoarding instinct is VERY strong! Slowly... I work at it and in gradual steps, it gets easier to let go of those things that I really don't need.

Our Christmas Tree is still up. YES, it's a fake one! :) I've not had much time or motivation to tackle that project yet. Hopefully next week! It's in our basement so my procrastination is not obvious! :)

I've been eyeing up paint chips. I'd love to paint my kitchen and dining room. The color I think I'm going to go with is a Pottery Barn color called Squire Hill Buff. I'm not brave enough to choose a real color because I'm afraid I'll choose poorly... or get tired of it. At least neutrals give me flexibility. So, this Spring that's on my to-do list.

My neighbor had a Taste Of Home Entertaining party. They had some neat things. I held a winning ticket and won a set of 4 pasta bowls. They look like this but each one has a different pasta name on it. They have a brown rim. There is a matching serving bowl... I might get that at some point.



I ordered an Italian Stitch Square serving plate and really cool 4-bowl serving dish. They actually look really neat together. I may like to have some dinner plates that match the Serving Plate. That way, I'll have those pasta bowls with the brown trim and they'll look cute with the square dinner plates, too I think. Well... maybe. :)




So... that's all for now. I'll try to post some creative inspiration soon. One of my goals for the year is to use my supplies more and be more creative.

Hugs,
Dana

A big Cyberspace hello...

OOPS... Somehow I managed to delete the first 2/3 of my post and then save it. So... I'll have to summon up the energy to recap another time. Sorry about that.

Here's what I didn't delete... ;)

I've kind of had sewing on my brain lately and have noticed some really fun ways other crafty girls are reconstructing old clothes into trendy "new" fashions. That's something I'd really like to try one day. I've got pretty basic sewing skills, but would love to be a better seamstress.

I'll leave you with a couple cute little photos of my backyard bunny. He lives under the neighbor's shed and I ADORE seeing him (or her!) each day. I have lots of pictures of this little cutie. Sometimes, he sits for hours soaking in the sunshine. Such a simple pleasure... just makes my heart smile.



HUGS!
Dana

A funny perspective...

Cause we all need that sometimes.

Here's a quote from Kris Carr's - Crazy, Sexy, Cancer Blog...

"Cancer really doesn't want to kill me, I'm the host, if it f***s up the party who else is gonna buy the keg?"

That made me laugh out loud. Just because....

Hugs,
Dana

Time goes by...

...so fast.

I've been kind of in the scrapbooking mood lately. Imagine that?

I've been going through photos from my childhood and I'm about ready to make some pages.

It's so much fun to look at the old photos. Here's one of me and my mommy. She looked so pretty here. It just makes me smile. This photo was taken in October, 1973.

I wish I had better quality photos from when I was a kid. Heck, I wish I had better quality photos from when Kristofer was a baby... but I don't. So I'll scrap what I've got. It's ok. It's about the memories, right?

Halloween is almost upon us and I haven't purchased any treats for the trick or treaters yet. I think I better put that on my Target list for this evening or they could be trouble. LOL!

Here's a really neat photo Scotty took of the recent Full Moon. I just love this one. I think I need to frame it... but I have to find a place for it first!

Hope you all have a great day!

Hugs,
Dana

Bad Blogger...

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last blogged. I've started to several times, but then decided against it. Guess I just don't have anything too interesting to share.

Hey Deanna... guess what? I have successfully given up caffeine. I've only had maybe 2 or 3 caffeinated drinks since August 14! Can I get a hi-5? ;)

I had promised my Oncologist I'd give it up to see if my heart flutters would decrease and ya know what? I realized about a week or so ago that I haven't even noticed having one and I was having them several times a day! I think that's so neat. It feels good to be proactive about my health.

Now... I have a new challenge to myself to give up High Fructose Corn Syrup. That's going to be way tougher than the caffeine I think. I've been able to switch to the occasional Sierra Mist to curb my desire for bubbly drinks but that can't last either. I do also like fruit juices with no Sodium Club Soda so maybe that'll be my next switch.

Now... if I could just get motivated to use that darn treadmill in the basement. I seem to be able to talk myself out of that so easily! Apparently, I have limited willpower. I need to work on that, too.

I made Stephanie's Pumpkin Spice Pancakes for breakfast yesterday. It was a little time consuming but they were really yummy. The recipe says it yields 12 pancakes, but I got 16, 1/3 cup pancakes. They were very filling and I could only eat 2 along with a couple links of turkey sausage. :)

This afternoon, I'm going to put some bread going in the bread machine. I just need to decide on a recipe. I'm thinking maybe Italian Herb and then I'll make some Chicken Parmesan to go with it for dinner.

It's rainy and chilly here. It makes me so glad that I can work from home. I love not being rushed to get out the door and drive 45 mins to work. I'm so happy to not have that stress in my life.

Well, speaking of working from home... better get back to WORK! I have lots to accomplish this week!

Oh yeah... the photo is one that Scotty took up North a couple weekends ago. Isn't it pretty? ;)

Happy Monday!
~Dana

Could this be it?

It brings me to tears to think about the possibility. Wow!

Spontaneous Regression of Advanced Cancer in Mice

Hugs,
Dana

Yippee... I have Arthritis!

A very mild case in my lumbar spine... but that's it. My MRI's showed no cancer. THANK GOSH! :)

I also had a quick telephone conversation with my Oncologist about my thoughts on having the Bilateral Mastectomy. He said he didn't think that from a Pathological perspective it was necessary. He said that basically my decision to have the surgery would be an emotional one and that if it would give me peace of mind, then it would be something to think about. Not exactly the same conclusion that my conversation with my Breast Surgeon came to.

There's just nothing cut and dry about my Breast Cancer experience. I don't want it to come back, I don't know why I got it in the first place and I don't know what to do other than "watch" and wait. That's kind of scary.

I think I'm going to do some more research on Fribrocystic changes and Ductal Hyperplasia without Atypia(Usual Ductal Hyperplasia). That's what the biopsy showed. See, once you get cancer, you start playing Doctor. It's one of the ways I'm able to feel a bit of control in a really out of control situation. From what I've read, Ductal Hyperplasia without Atypia increases one's chance of having breast cancer by 1.5-2X. That may seem like not much... but my odds of getting breast cancer in the first place were pretty slim, too.

For me, I think that risk reduction may be worth it. I know what it's like to be told "you have cancer" and how it wreaks havoc on families and sanity... I don't really want to subject my loved ones to more fears if I can do something to prevent it.

So... I have some thinking and reading to do. I might have to dig out Dr. Susan Love's book even though after I read some of it when I was first diagnosed, it frightened me so deeply I relegated it to the dark depths of my closet and vowed to never open it again.

Anyway, in a nutshell, I think I'm fine and relatively healthy. One day at a time... right?

Tomorrow, I'll try to post some of the fun things I've been up to lately. ;)

Hugs!
Dana

Remembering...

the many Hero's of 9/11/2001. My prayers go out to those of you personally affected on that awful day that we will never forget.

Thank you to the men & women of our Armed Forces who give so much to secure our freedom and the freedom of others. I feel so very lucky to live as I do!

More tests...

The fun just never ends! It's been a BUSY week and it appears there's no end in sight!

I had a Breast MRI yesterday, results showed nothing abnormal, Yippee! But apparently I do have very active, somewhat overly active, breast cells. This was determined in my most recent biopsy. This can be an indicator of the cells becoming malignant again in the future ... or then again they may not do anything but be overactive. It's all such a guessing game.

Can I just say that MRI's are not that fun? They are quite loud and it's very disconcerting to have all those obnoxious noises clanking and gonging at odd times. However, I'm so happy that I have this technology available to me... so it's worth it. ;)

I had my appt with the Breast Surgeon and she agreed with my thinking. The girls must go. I will have an appt with the Plastic Surgeon next Thursday to go over options for reconstruction.
I'm not thrilled with having to go through this and I am scared about the surgery... but I feel like it's the right thing to do. So I'm comforted by that.

On Friday, Sept. 14 at 5PM I'm going to have another MRI. This time of my lower spine and right hip because I've been having pain. There's always a concern of pain being caused by cancer once you've had it, so it's best to just not mess around. Breast Cancer has a tendency to metastasize to the bones so it's a real risk. But from what I understand, Breast Cancer in the bones is quite treatable. There's no cure, but there are some good treatments that help keep it at bay. I have Osteopenia, low bone density. So I'm going to have another DEXA Study, too, to see if there have been any changes there that may account for the pain.

I tell ya... I'm just falling apart! Oh well... I'll keep ya'll posted. :)

Hugs,
Dana

A HUGE sigh of relief...

The results for my biopsy are in... BENIGN, fibrocystic changes = NO CANCER!

I'm thankful that I do self exams and try to notice changes. I'm even more thankful for the MRI I have scheduled next week so I can get a good idea as to whether or not there's anything else going on... and then, I'll plot their demise! ;)

Tracy, thanks for thinking of me! :)

Hugs,
Dana