Wow time flies

First off I would like to apologize for my absence.  I have been busy dealing with a family issue and I am still deeply involved with cleaning up the mess in my home at the moment.  G took some pictures of my 'mess' and I will post them later with a more elaborate explanation to my absence.

I have missed spending time with you all and trying to get my house in order before Xmas season officially starts.  My health is holding in by a thread at the moment and feel a burn out coming quickly but I can no longer stand the chaos in my home.

G is still looking for work and actually has an interview today and a friend has passed on G's resume to his own business and when the owner saw it, he said, "This guy sounds perfect for a new job opening." So we really hope he gets the later job because it seems like something he would love to do and has experience in doing it.

My stress levels are ridiculously high the last couple of weeks and am trying to relax for a couple of hours in the early morning and late evenings.  Not sure if it is working LOL.

I do have some projects that I will be working on soon.  Some of them are Christmas presents that I need to work on for the kids this year.  I need to make my way down to the Re Store and go shopping.  Any excuse to go shopping right girls?  LOL  I am looking for cabinet doors for one of the projects.I need four of them.  I also have to start working on getting addresses for Xmas cards this year.

My mom and her boyfriend have been gone for only 10 days and I miss them horribly.  I do try and call them at least once a day, especially since they are my support at the moment for my 'mess'.  I don't know how I am going to be like after 5 months without my best friend around.  I am not sure if I will ever get used to her leaving each year.  But I am trying not to be selfish but its very hard.  As we grow,  I cherish her time with me more and more and am afraid that the time she is away from me is time wasted.  *see trying really hard not to be selfish but I think I am failing :(

I have a few more ideas for homemade solutions like I did for the 31 days Nester challenge I did in October.      I was able to get all my posts done but I have more in my head I would love to share with you.  I am also going to try and get a few things to host a small giveaway.  If you have a product or service and would like to donate to our readers then please email me at homemakerhaven at gmail dot com and I will see if we can get set up for a december giveaway.

Well back to work for me.  I do hope you all are still around and look forward to spending more time back on the blog and I am still in the process of designing a new self hosted/domain blog that I will eventually switch over to.  I do admit that I have just been too exhausted to even reach over and open my laptop.

Have any of you started your Christmas decorations yet?s  If so, are you finished or is it a work in progress?  What is your most loved Christmas decor piece and why?

I'm still here..

Wow what a busy week I have had.  I got my mother and her boyfriend off Sunday morning to Detroit, where they stayed in a hotel till the next morning before flying to Yuma Arizona, where the live half the year.  We have also had an emergency in our family that has been taking G and I away from home each day.  Although I do believe that by the end of Wednesday we should be finished for the most part.

I am sure I will fall asleep Wednesday evening, and spend most of the next days sleeping and recouping from all this activity.

I am sorry that I haven't been able to get over and share some awesome projects that I am working on but I do think I can share a couple at the end of the week.

I have also purchased a domain name and hosting and will eventually migrate to WordPress.  I am not aware of all the goodies that come with WordPress as well as not knowing the exact way to create my own themes..  So I will be doing a lot of studying till I get that up and running.

I know there are couple of  you that have commented and I will try and answer you by Thursday.

For all of you knowledgeable WordPress users, what plug-ins/widgets are your 'can't live without' favorites?  Also please tell us why you like them?

Thank you for stopping by and I hope to be back soon.

Do you have a hard time sleeping when your are stressed?

Wow can you believe that it is November all ready?   I am still awake tonight, it is 3:30 am and I am trying to get some work done on my household binder since I am unable to sleep.

I experience a lot of anxiety and today it just wasn't a good day.  Stress crept up and bit me all day. 

I suffer from depression and have since I was 7 years old.  When I get excited, nervous or afraid, my stress level skyrockets, like I am sure most of you do as well.  Tomorrow will be a long day for me. 

First thing in the morning I need to get up and tidy the dining room as I am having a meeting at 10:30.  This meeting was scheduled for last week but they cancelled the day of.  The worst part is that this meeting in my home will consist of 5 of us.  To give you a little back history, I have a PSW come into my home to help me twice a week.  So I have a meeting with all the agencies involved to deal with a few things that have been a bother to us about the service in the last few months.

The agency would change the times that the PSW's were coming to my home almost every week.  Now you ask , what is bad about that? LOL Well they kind of didn't tell me ever.  So I would sit here and wait, and wait, and sometimes I waited 5 hours.    With my health and all the doctors that I have to see, its very hard for me to schedule anything on days that the PSW comes cause I never know when they are coming.   Also I am of the mind that if I am sure to be ready and early for my appointments (showing respect to others), then I should be respected for my time as well.  I feel totally disrespected as if I have no life at all and am free to wait around all day for them to show up whenever.  Issue 1

**Note:  I just wanted to add to the paragraph above, that I understand things come up and people are late.  But I feel a patient's time is just as important as the Dr's. etc.** 

Also the second last time I had a review with the agency that sends my PSW out, she said something like this (paraphrasing), "You are too young to be on service, we will have to try and get you off within the next 6 months."  Now I know I have not talked much about my illnesses, but none of them will improve.  Each has 'will deteriorate' on my disability forms.  Also, one of the standards in the book they give you it says they will not discriminate based on race, age, etc. etc.  That really upset me.  Of course I would love to be off service but that is not realistic.

Anyway that is my morning for tomorrow, so am nervous about the outcome.  But the exciting part is that tomorrow I will finally be getting my hair cut.  Not just a trim , but quite a few inches.  It is almost at my tailbone.  I have picked a lovely medium cut, and a color and foil.  I haven't had short hair in many many many years, but due to my health I just cannot look after it anymore.

Also lets add the stress of G not having worked in almost a year.  Add a temporary stint at one employers for 2 months, but it wasn't a good fit.  We have basically been living due to family helping out.  I will be forever grateful for all the help we have received in the last year.  It's super stressful, I never know where we are going to get the money to pay this bill and that bill.  This week has been super long cause we are waiting for one company to give him an offer. 

Have I told you that I hate 'waiting' LOL.  I am not the most patient person in the world.  I also am not fond of surprises.  Yeah I know… boring lol. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I finally fell asleep halfway through writing this post.  It was actually written yesterday Nov.1, but due to the busy day I had, I never got the opportunity to finish and post this.  I will be writing a post tomorrow about my day today and the results of the meeting and hair.  

What strategies do you use to calm down when you have had 'one of those days'?  Do you use meditation techniques at night to let yourself mellow out and sleep well?  

31 Days...Phew

Phew I actually made it through and also was able to manage to catch up on the days I was too ill to make my posts.  But due to no kids, and being in bed often due to my illness I have the extra time to do this.

Today I have seen a lot of people upset or disappointed that they were unable to complete all 31 days of posts but I want to say to you all reading that were unable to 'complete' all 31 posts this month…

Blogging should never be your number one concern.  This journey of life we are on provides so many amazing memories of our families and friends and amazing experiences.  It is much more important to be out there creating memories than sitting down to blog about your past memories and our lives past, present and future.  Remember to live and enjoy the moments you create memories for others as well.

Good luck to all and I know that I found some absolutely amazing blogs this month due to TheNester's (31 Day Challenge).  I am excited to delve deeper into the blogger lives I have chosen to keep reading.  I hope to make some friends in this niche of loving home and all that that includes.

Thank you everyone for coming to visit with me this month and I am really looking forward to doing some projects for you in the next few weeks.

Fun Fact:  In the little over a month since I have started this blog I have received almost 2000 hits.  To me that is amazing.  Thank you everyone, and I do hope you continue to visit.

Thanks for stopping by,

Kylara

Shampoo and Conditioner

Today is the last day of Homemade Solutions.  I have had a lot of fun and I hope that you all enjoy these recipes and learn to make things for your home that you know all the ingredients of to help purify our lives of unknown ingredients all around our home.

So back today… today I will be offering a couple ideas for homemade shampoo and conditioners.

Shampoo:

I have found that a lot of people online are using a baking soda shampoo.  Due be aware that people say it does take your hair a while to get used to the change but eventually it is said to work and you only need to wash a couple times a week.

1 tbsp. baking soda

1 cup warm water

Mix both ingredients well and shampoo your hair.

Next shampoo recipe:

1 cup pure liquid castile soap

1 cup green tea (brewed for 30 minutes)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. honey

Use as is.

Conditioner:

This is another recipe that many are using.  It consists of an ingredient we all can find in our supermarkets.  It is said to also aid with tangles.

Dilute 1 tbsp. of apple cider vinegar to a cup of water. 

We even have shampoo and conditioner combos we can make:

1/2 cup Organic castile soap (liquid)

1 tbsp. Apple cider vinegar

3/4 tbsp. Tea tree oil, Vitamin E oil, Olive oil (chose either a combination or just one)

Drops of essential oils: lavender, eucalyptus, etc. (optional)

1/8 cup of water

1 container

Combine ingredients together.  Rub thoroughly into hair to activate suds and then scrub scalp.  This shampoo/conditioner combination is more liquid than standard hair products.  You could use this in a spray bottle to apply if you would like.

To know if this is working properly, your hair will more oiled.  This is a good option for those with dandruff.

Another Conditioner:

2.5 cups hot water

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 sprig of rosemary

1 bag of your favorite herbal tea for fragrance

Place the water in a container of your choice.  Then, add the rest of the ingredients.  Let the mix sit for 30 minutes.  Use about 3/4 cup of the rinse each time you condition, shaking bottle prior to use.

Another recipe for 2 in 1:

Blend one fresh peeled lemon with one peeled cucumber in the blender and pour out into a jug.  Mix into your hair, massaging well, and rinse thoroughly.

Cucumber: conditioner agent

• For dry hair add more cucumber

Lemon: Cleansing agent

• For oily hair add more lemon

(it can be difficult to wash it out properly.  The tiny flakes of lemon can get stuck in your hair)

Have you ever tried to make homemade shampoo and conditioner?  Do you have a favorite or new recipe?  Please let us know what you think of these.

Thanks for stopping by,

Kylara

Dry skin magic.....body oils

Body oil is a skin care product that is generally recommended as treatment or prevention of extremely dry skin.  It provides dry skin with a shine and luster.

  Good body oils contain only natural ingredients.  The best way to ensure the products are natural is to make them yourself.  Usually you can do it at home at a fraction of the cost.  You can also use this product as a shaving cream. 

Basic body oil

Ingredients

• Vitamin E

• Jojoba oil

• Almond oil

• Distilled water

• Sweet orange essential oil
• Vanilla essential oil
• Neroli essential oil
• Lemon essential oil

• Bergamot essential oil

     Buy all the ingredients from a whole foods store.  Almond oil, distilled water and Vitamin E are available even in supermarkets.  Essential oils can be purchased in a few places.  I know that there are some essential oils for sale in my bulk barn store.  You can also look at stores that sell makeup ingredients.  If you are unable to find these ingredients in your area stores, they are available for purchase online.

     Combine 10 drops of each essential oil in a glass bottle and allow to mellow for at least two to three days.  This will enhance the individual fragrances, making the find finished body oil more aromatic.

     Add 4 ounces of distilled water, 3 ounces sweet almond oil, 2 ounces of jojoba oil and a tsp. of Vitamin E to the glass bottle containing the oils.  Gently shake the bottle to blend the ingredients.

     Pour a few drops of the body oil into your palm.  Rub your palms together and apply the lotion anywhere on your body that you need extra moisturizing.  Store in a cool dry place.  Refrigeration does prolong the shelf life of your body oil.

Below is a link to a site that has multiple recipes as well she pairs her oils with body powder for gifts.  Do check out her site it is very informative.

Crunchy Betty

Do you use body oils?  Have you ever consider or made any homemade body oils?  If so please feel free to share your recipes and let us know which is your favorite body oil scent?

Sandy...

Hi all,

I just wanted to let you know that the storm is supposed to hit us sometime tonight, ( I am close to toronto) and so if i disappear for a bit you will all know what is going on.  I scheduled a post to go out tomorrow morning but if we lose power they are saying it might be a few days for us to get electric back.  Please say some prayers for all those who will be affected.

Your all in my thoughts and prayers.
Kylara