Crunchy Living Class

I meant to write about this earlier but it just hasn't happened. I've been busy with the kids, working in the nursery again, and I've really become active with Green Moms Network which is a group of green bloggers. It's how my blog has grown so much and I'm starting to help a lot with it…in fact I now have a weekly post for the GMN blog that pays…ok only $5/post but still!

Anyway back to the point of this post. Justin and I have talked about me teaching a "crunchy class" for awhile now. I've never really thought that anyone would want to attend and I'm not a huge fan of public speaking so I've put it off.

However, people said they were interested. So I did it. I had my first Crunchy Living Class a few weeks ago!

I'm planning on having one a month with each month being a different theme. This month was Natural Remedies so we made Elderberry Syrup and VapoRub.

Like I said, I had a lot of interest but apparently I picked a Saturday that everyone was busy on. In the end, I only had two people show up but it was probably for the best. As I mentioned, I don't like public speaking so it was nice to have more of a "just friends" atmosphere.

The class went well. It was easier than I thought it would be and it was fun hanging out with the ladies who showed up. I ended up with a lot of extra Elderberry Syrup (had to make a big batch ahead of time in case more people showed up) so I decided to sell it to some friends who couldn't make it.

I need to get planning next months class. It's supposed to be Natural Beauty themed and so I'm planning on doing deodorant, a scrub, and maybe something else…toothpaste maybe? I'm not sure (which is why I'm dragging my feet). I've also got to price everything which is never any fun.

So that's a little update about what I've been up to. Hopefully my next class will be a bit larger.

I'm Getting Old

I'm getting old. No not in age…well I am getting older but I would imagine 28 isn't really considered old unless you ask a teenager.

No, I'm getting old physically. I'm slowly moving into the age of aches and pains. Nights of uncomfortable sleep (although currently I'm blaming Verity for that one). I now officially get knots in my shoulders. I used to think knots were something people exaggerated about or almost inflicted upon themselves. I mean, think about it our bodies really shouldn't do stuff like that. But it does. I've now learned my lesson. I'm only 28 and I'm having my husband rub knots out of my shoulders. Wonderful… No more soaking in tubs for enjoyment, no more rice bags simply to warm up with…no these things are now a necessity.

Something else has changed with this passing year (I say year because everything seems to have changed at 28). I am no longer unaffected by caffeine. I used to be able to have my java chip ice cream and frappaccinos with no issues. Caffeine didn't "work" on me. It wouldn't wake me up but it wouldn't keep me awake in the middle of the night either. Not any more. Yesterday, I had a frappaccino at 5 pm (hardly night time!). I felt no different for the whole evening and then… it was time for bed.

Not for me. I was wide awake and a bit jittery (much like when I've dealt with restless leg syndrome) until 2 am!

Someone explain to me why caffeine will last longer than tylenol? There's something wrong with that!

I've always heard that pregnancy is harder the older you get. I'm still considered young in the pregnancy/baby world but I can agree that being pregnant with Verity at 27 was much harder than being pregnant at 21, 22, or 25! I don't know how women survive being pregnant in their late 30's or 40's!

I need naps now. I used to think a nap was a waste of time. I have plenty of other things I need to do! Now I crave naps. I can see why old people sleep all the time. This growing old is tiring!


So I'm getting old.

I don't like it.

Now of course, there are some good things to growing older. I don't have to deal with as much drama (ok there's still a bit…women are mean), no more school work (although I'm teaching school…hmmm), I'm learning just who I am now (only took me till my mid-twenties and after having most of my kids to figure that one out!). So growing older isn't all that bad. But the bad stuff…is not fun.

I need to find the fountain of youth in my natural remedies. I am always looking for remedies and health tips for my kids or if we get sick but it looks like I should start focusing on natural ways to age slowly or more easily now.

Better Things

When we were in college, Justin introduced me to George MacDonald. George MacDonald was a Scottish author and Christian minister in the late 1800's - early 1900's. He seems to be best known for his books, Phantasties, The Princess and the Goblin, and At the Back of the North Wind although he wrote much, much more. In fact, Justin and I love his works so much that we've slowly collected his writings and have a shelf of lovely hard-covered books numbering probably at least 20.

Sometime around college when I first learned about George MacDonald, I must have went in search of his writing on the internet. In that search, I came across his poems. Better Things is one of his poems and I've yet to see it in any of the books we own and I'm not even sure it's in any sort of collection. However, it's always stuck with me. I had the foresight to print it off when I found it way back when and it's stayed in my college binders ever since. So now I'm putting it on here. This blog is a far better place to store a poem and besides that, I can now share it with all of you.

Better Things

Better to smell a violet,
Than sip the careless wine;
Better to list one music tone,
Than watch the jewels' shine.

Better to have the love of one,
Than smiles like the morning dew;
Better to have a living seed,
Than flowers of every hue.

Better to feel a love within,
Than be lovely to the sight;
Better a homely tenderness,
Than beauty's wild delight.

Better to love than be beloved.
Though lonely all the day;
Better the fountain in the heart,
Than the fountain by the way.

Better a feeble love to God,
Than for woman's love to pine;
Better to have the making God
Than the woman made divine.

Better be fed by mother's hand,
Than eat alone at will;
Better to trust in God,
Than say: My goods my storehouse fill.

Better to be a little wise
Than learned overmuch;
Better than high are lowly thoughts,
For truthful thoughts are such.

Better than thrill a listening crowd,
Sit at a wise man's feet;
But better teach a child, than toil
To make thyself complete.

Better to walk the realm unseen,
Than watch the hour's event;
Better the smile of God alway,
Than the voice of men's consent.

Better to have a quiet grief
Than a tumultuous joy;
Better than manhood, age's face,
If the heart be of a boy.

Better the tanks of one dear heart,
Than a nation's voice of praise;
Better the twilight ere the dawn,
Than yesterday's mid-blaze.

Better a death when work is done,
Than earth's most favoured birth;
Better a child in God's great house,
Than the king of all the earth.

-George MacDonald