Uniquely December: Ice Cream Day

If you were reading awhile back, you know that I love Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey and that I also struggle supporting that particular ice cream establishment due to our differing political views.  When I mentioned it just a few months ago I hadn't found the impetus to make a definite turn away from my favorite frozen delicacy.  Today, however, I've taking my stand.

With Ben and Jerry's today throwing their corporate support behind the Occupy Movement, I will no longer support them even to indulge my strongest cravings.  Not because there isn't good to be done buried somewhere deep in the mess that is the Occupy Movement.  And not because I disagree with their long-standing efforts to support employees and consumers over corporate interests.  The reason I can no longer sneak my Chunky Monkey has much more to do with their decision to fuel a completely ineffective and direction-less movement.

Over the past few months I've found myself in several different states and seeing fairly up close the Occupy Movements in several those areas.  I've listened intently to what the Occupiers in my own neck of the woods are saying, and there's not much coherence there.  I know they must believe strongly in what they're fighting for-why else would they have stretched their protests into the bitter cold of winter?  But no one else is believing them because their is no concise point for us to be believing.

Let me share my view of the Occupy movement based on what has happened here in Salt Lake City...

Pioneer Park for years was a haven for homeless people and drug dealers.  It was a BIG problem; a historic and significant area of the city and nobody was able to enjoy it.  Finally the city stepped in to clean up the park and the problem.  Over the past few years they have made tremendous strides in cracking down on crime and finding shelter options for those in need.  Families are coming back to the park.  The farmer's market sets up there once again and a new summer concert series packs a crowd every week.

So what is the logical next step for a park with such a troubled past?  I promise you it's not a group of unorganized squatters pitching tents and piling up trash in the walkways.  It's not a group of people who apparently also have no homes because they never go there and also maybe can't read because they are completely oblivious to the printed park curfew signs.  The city bent over backwards, set aside their own city tenets, to enable a peaceable protest.  The SLC Occupiers recognized that. Then a man in a tent died. The city had to put their foot down. And the occupiers lawyered up to sue on the grounds that the city violated their own laws by letting the protesters stay.

What are the SLC Occupiers fighting for?  I have no idea.  On Black Friday they were calling for a boycott of shopping at Wal-Mart because Wal-Mart undercuts prices and products that are American-made.  Today, they're "riding our bikes very slowly" in front of trucks leaving the Wal-Mart distribution centers to show solidarity for the Wal-Mart workers who "deserve a living wage" and should unionize.  Are you kidding me?  Riding your bikes very slowly in front of a moving 18-wheeler?  Great cause.  Great movement.

If I think about it, I suppose the Occupiers are out there fighting for me.  Right?  Middle-class family struggling to keep health insurance, a bit afraid of the rate at which the price of food is rising, and wondering what comes next.  But you know what?  My husband and I won't be joining you.  No.  We're working.  We're supporting our family.  We're making ends meet the best way we can and looking for opportunities to intelligently make our situation better.  Know what else?  We're bathing!  (Well, okay, except for the no shampoo thing...)

What does all this have to do with ice cream?  Absolutely nothing.  Except that Ben & Jerry's has made it their new mission to stick their noses into the mess.  If, in the long run, their clout and own corporate dollars are successful in finally bringing a point to the Occupy movement, hurray for them.  Let them be a catalyst for something good (it'd definitely be better than touring with a burning effigy of the President).  For now, though, I am one of little faith.  I'll continue to grant them their creative tastiness, but will no longer be indulging...in their ice cream or in their involvement with the Occupy movement.

I Smell Amazing! (Hair Challenge Update, Week 3)

Let's start by saying I'm on my sofa right now loving that my hair smells yummy!  Yes, let's definitely start with that because nothing else with this week's alternative shampoo experiments turned out nicely.

After writing last week, I emailed Kathy and my sister Brooke (who decided to do the challenge with us because she's lazy and doesn't want to shampoo, honest, those are her words) with a list of alternative shampoo options, told them to pick one, and report back.  Here is what we have to say:

Baking Soda

Mix 1 T baking soda with 2 c lukewarm water

There are a million ways to use baking soda outside of cooking.  It's a great cleaning agent and so why wouldn't it also make a great shampoo?  Kathy agreed to try so I shared with her that my research showed the baking soda would be extremely drying. Many of the recipes online suggest following up with a vinegar rinse for conditioning.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Mix 1 T vinegar with 1 c water

No one tried this.  See, I didn't know Brooke was going to do the baking soda so I didn't warn her about the drying.  When it completely dried out her hair she didn't mind, but when it "completely dried out my back and my legs and anywhere the water ran" Kathy chickened out and decided her hair was doing just fine with out shampooing.

Lemon and Cucumber Smoothie

Peel 1 lemon and 1 cucumber. Blend.

This is the option I decided to go with.  The lemon is supposed to be cleansing and the cucumber moisturizing.  My kids thought I'd gone off my rocker when I told them they couldn't eat the cucumber because I needed to wash my hair with it.  While fighting back a gag reflex with the first pouring on my head I thought I might agree with them.  

The blog I got this recipe from warned of a need to make sure you rinse really well to get all the little lemon pulp pieces out.  I'm here to tell you there is absolutely no way this is possible.  Originally I washed with just the smoothie.  My hair was extremely tanged, but I was determined to leave it. I got out of the shower, dried off and then gasped at my reflection in the mirror.  There were little white lemon flecks from root to tip!  Hoping conditioner would grab onto all that mess, I flipped my head over in the sink, conditioned and rinsed again.  No better.  My hair is full of citrus yuckiness...

Lemon Juice

Use the Juice of 1/2 Lemon, Squeezed

Seriously, my hair smells amazing!  And my scalp is tingling.  The good way tingling.  I can say with certainty that neither Kathy and Brooke nor myself are going to be come all-natural granola-type shampoo users.  But I definitely can see myself occasionally squeezing the juice of a lemon and/or a cucumber into a spray bottle and adding it to my washing routine.  As my husband pointed out, there must be a reason manufactured cucumber scent is so popular in commercial shampoos.  Trust me, the real stuff is so much better!  

So what am I telling you to do? 

 Experiment if you must.  

Use our experiences for jumping off and let me know how it goes.  

Have you tried these or other alternatives?  

I'd love to hear about them!

I have to add here that Brooke's solution for de-greasing her hair up 'til now has been rubbing in Dawn dish soap.  The sulfates in shampoos are also found there.  That should be enough reason to switch to a gentler shampoo...

Kitchen Kismet

I have been trying for hours to come up with something interesting that starts with "K".  All I can come up with are kitchens and kids.  Or koalas.  Kismet.  And Kit-Kats.  On a love/hate list my kids obviously go on the love side.  Koalas and Kit-Kats somewhere in the middle neutral ground.  My kitchen?  In a heartbeat I would trade in my kitchen.

First let me say that we live in a rental so we have what we have and that's what stays.  Size-wise, it's okay.  There are a lot of cupboards and drawers for storage.  The cupboards are painted gray, which seems like an odd kitchen color to me, but we've decorated in blacks and reds and I guess it's working.  We have a decent amount of counter space, which is an improvement from places I've lived in the past.  And, our stacked washer/dryer are in our kitchen and surprisingly I absolutely love that!

So what are the problems?  Two I can think of.  First, the cupboards are hung over the bar and require a person to bend over nearly parallel to the floor before speaking to the person on the other side-even when you're sitting.  Second, we don't have a dishwasher.  I used to feel spoiled complaining about not having a dishwasher, but not anymore.  It's seriously a problem.  Dirty dishes eliminate all that usable counter space and reality is that they just don't get done everyday.  Plus, if you remember my statement on the proper order of hand washing the dishes, you know my marriage would be much better off with an automated machine doing my dish cleaning.  

In the end, I love cooking, and so love being in my kitchen;  even if I don't love the kitchen itself.  I'll keep making do and dreaming of the day one of these kitchens is part of my home.

Other A-Z

The Butter Dish...Seriously?

There is an order to all things...especially washing the dishes.  Is anybody listening?  The order goes like this:

1. Cups and glasses
2. All plastics (exception: the salad bowl coated in oil dressing from last night's dinner)
3. Silverware

The above three items can all go in the first load of bubbly water.

4. Plates and bowls of the non-plastic variety

5. Any mixing bowls, baking items, etc not completely covered in anything disgusting.

Anytime after beginning items #4 & #5 it is acceptable and necessary to evaluate the state of your bubbly water.  Don't be stubborn or lazy-Drain and re-fill, the world is not going to end.

6. Any greasy plastics, disgusting items from #5-THIS is when you'd wash the butter dish, NOT with #1-3.

7. All your pans

Same instructions as with #4 & #5.  Check your sponge or washcloth, too-rinsing isn't helping? Grab a new one!

I guarantee this is the proper order for washing dishes.  Follow it and your clean dishes won't be sticky or covered in a slippery film.  Follow it and I'll quit wondering how a family that grew up with a strict dish schedule neglected to learn how to properly clean the dishes they were scheduling.  Follow it and I'll quit throwing half the "clean" dishes back into the sink without being used.

Oh, but, since I HATE doing dishes, thank you...carry on...

A Lesson For the Class

"Cleanliness is next to Godliness."

The Relief Society room filled with gentle chuckles when a sister offered this as one of the most important things we can teach our children in our homes.  In preparing the lesson I had anticipated many more answers like this-the temporal lessons taught by parents.  Instead, the ladies in the room had humbled me with long lists of values and attributes they've taught their little ones-honesty, respect, to love the scriptures.  I secretly cheered that there was at least one sister in the room who's home, like mine, has not yet become a permanent haven of heaven on earth. She continued, "If the Saviour were on the Earth today, would he want to come into your home?"

It seemed like a simple enough thought to me and we returned to listing divine characteristics all children are apparently supposed to know before they head off to school.  Then, a screeching halt.  A sister in the back row raised her hand and proclaimed, "I'm going to have to disagree with that sister over there."  She went on to voice her opinion that the Saviour is not going to care what your house looks like when he comes again.  Her intention was good, but the comment was actually quite offensive, and standing in the front of the room I could see the first sister's feelings had been hurt.  Unfortunately, I have not yet become perfect at diffusing these types of situations in class and I chose to move on to the next part of the lesson rather than make this a point of discussion.  That was two days ago and the entire event keeps playing itself out in my mind. 

Here is how I now know I should have responded:

I understand both viewpoints and don't believe either one of them is completely wrong.  The Lord has said, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Rev. 3:20) The question needs to be not whether or not the Saviour will want to visit me, but whether or not I keep my home in order so as to feel comfortable when the Saviour comes to visit me.

Latter-Day Saints have been instructed to keep their homes like a temple. I'm sure similar sentiments are taught across many world religions.  The Holy Ghost does not dwell in unholy places, places of clutter and disorganization.  And certainly it is much more difficult to recognize the promptings of the Spirit when our minds are distracted by busyness and a backlog of responsibilities.  As with the story of Martha and Mary we need to ask ourselves if we have prepared well enough for the Saviour's arrival so that we might sit at His feet and absorb the love He brings for us.

It is important to keep an orderly home and to teach our children that importance.  Associate Professor Shirley R. Klein remarked, "Everyday activities in our homes may be simple, but because they are simple, frequent, and repeated, they offer important opportunities to build individuals and families." So where do we find the balance?  I've often been told that a home where children are loved is a home well-lived in.  In other words, there are going to be toys on the floor.  The dishes may not always be done and the beds may not always be made.  Is this the sign of a sloppy lazy family?  Not necessarily.

Look around a little further.  Is there children's artwork hanging on the refrigerator?  Are the little ones playing together while their parents help older siblings with homework?  Have the children been taught by example that there is a time and place for controlled chaos as well as for quiet and order?  Or, are the children's toys under lock and key for fear of appearing less than perfect to the visiting teachers?  Are the floors shining and the windows gleaming in the middle of the day even though the children are bored and begging for attention and love?  The Saviour will recognize our best intentions.  We need to determine whether or not our best intentions will have been enough on that great and glorious day.

Had I been brilliant enough to spout out all that to the class on Sunday, I'd either have received oodles of hallway compliments after class or been quickly released from my calling.  Either way, it has left me thinking more deeply.  Obviously the state of our earthly home is not going to be what keeps us from being embraced by the Saviour.  That will be determined by the state of our hearts in the moment He arrives. Our work until then is to strive towards living in a "house of order."

So let me ask these questions to the class:  If the Saviour came today could He dwell within your heart?  Would  the clutter and distraction make you unable to recognize the lightness of your burdens being lifted?  Is the balance between your devotion to the Lord and Jesus Christ weighted with things of this world or divine desires of the soul?

When He stands outside and knocks will you hear His voice and let Him enter in or will the rush to clean up the house keep you from opening the door?