Hippie Mama Has Moved

I am excited to announce that Hippie Mama has moved to an official website!! Please check us out at www.thehippiemama.org.

Vitiligo

What in the world is vitiligo? Honestly, I had no idea what it was either until a few years ago. Vitiligo is a disease that causes a loss of skin color in blotches. It is not certain where vitiligo comes from, but a lot think that is an autoimmune disease.

About 3-4 years ago we noticed a white spot on my son's hip. We all assumed it was a birthmark; a few years go by and the spot is noticeably larger and he has more white spots all over him. Last summer they were big enough that other people noticed them and started asking what was wrong with him? Doesn't that make you want to hurt those kind of people? :)

Someone told me that it looked like vitiligo. So, I googled it, and sure enough that is what his spots were. I then started to ask a lot of questions to anyone I saw who had it too. Does it hurt? How were you diagnosed? Is there anything you can do to make it go away?

No matter who I asked or what I read, from a medical or a hippie point of view, everyone said you can do things to help it not to spread but you CAN'T fix it. I decided that was my best option too. 

I talked to my son about really eating healthy and that will help it not too spread and started giving him one DDR Prime supplement a day as well. 

A couple of months go by and my son comes running out, screaming with excitement, that some of his spots were filling in. I honestly was shocked. Everywhere I read said it couldn't happen, even on all the natural sites that I looked up.

I'm so sad I don't have a before picture, because I figured it would never fill in I didn't take one, but here is an after picture. This is his biggest spot and you can see how there is some pigment in it. Before he started taking DDR it was completely white. He also had some small ones on his back that are completely filled in. I don't know if it will ever go all the way away, but this has truly been a miracle for our little guy.

I have said it before and I will say it again. Vitamins and oils are NOT magic! I feel that we are having such great success because of what his diet is. He decided to completely give up candy and desserts, not an easy decision for seven year old. We also rarely have breads, and try to eat real, whole food. His body is wanting to heal itself and the vitamins and oils give his body the extra boost that it needs!

Get Fit This Fall

I am very excited to announce that we are having another weight loss challenge!! This is going to be a six week challenge to help you feel great this fall. I am HUGE believer in eating good foods, and I love to help others feel better and be more healthy!

How it works:

We will start Monday, September 1st and go until Sunday, October 12th. (six weeks)

There will be a point system, you will earn one point a day for the following: eating three meals, drinking enough water (drink 1/2 your body weight in oz.), and exercising four times a week. So the highest your weekly total could be is 32.

You will lose points for eating the following: candy, cakes, donuts, muffins (pretty much any crappy, sugar loaded food), french fries, soda and chips(except homemade chips).

I will also need your starting weight and your final weight. The total amount of pounds you lost will be added to your score.

What I will provide: Recipes, helpful food and exercise tips, someone to be accountable to, and any general support that you may need.

What you will win: CASH!! The top three finalists will receive cash prizes, plus swag bags!!

FAQs:
Why are you doing this? I love to promote a healthy lifestyle and I love seeing people's lives change for the better

Are you promoting a certain way of eating? Nope, if you are vegan, vegetarian, raw foods, Paleo, gluten free, etc. you can still participate. 

How big is the cash prize? Depends on how many we have participate, the more people that sign up, the bigger it is!

How much does it cost? $70, you can pay via Paypal or mail me a check

How do I sign up? Just email me at thehippiemamablog@gmail.com and I will get you all signed up!!

Here is a before and after of someone from my last competition!!

Paleo Pot stickers

Last night for dinner I made pot stickers. They were amazing, and I had some requests for the recipe so here you go!

Paleo Pot stickers 

Filling:

oil or fat for cooking

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 pound ground pork

3 green onions, finely chopped

2 cups cabbage, finely chopped

3 Tbs. coconut aminos

2 tsp. sesame oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 egg (you will use this later)

In a saute pan add your oil and fat over medium high heat. Add garlic, onion and carrots and saute for 3 minutes. Add the pork and cook until is cooked through. Add the green onion, cabbage and seasonings and cook for a few more minutes. Place the mixture in a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool in the fridge for at least one hour, or you can leave it in overnight. Once the mixture has fully cooled, mix the egg in and make sure it is fully combined.

Wrapper:

6 eggs

2 cup arrowroot powder

1 cup water

ghee for cooking

Put all ingredients into your blender and blend until completely combined. Heat a saute pan over medium high heat. Put a little bit of butter or ghee in the pan before each wrapper. You will pour a little bit of the batter in the pan and cook each side for 30 seconds. 

After you have cooked the wrapper place a small spoonful of the pork mixture in the wrapper. Fold it in half and seal the edges with a fork. 

In a separate pan heat a fat or oil of your choice and cook your pot stickers. I cooked mine for about 2-3 minutes on each side.

Dipping Sauce:

2 Tbs coconut aminos

1 Tbs apple cider vinegar

Mix together and dip your little pot stickers in and enjoy!!

Guest Blogger-Banana Pancakes

Here is another great recipe from my friend Tiffany!!

Hey all! This here is a Sanderson family favorite. We eat these for Breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, lunch and dinner. But, never in one day, because they would be a boat ton of pancakes! :) I usually double the batch for my family of 6.

This recipe is modified from these pancakes, over at thepaleomom.com. I found my kids (also, possibly me) liked the flavor of the bananas better than plantains, but that required some recipe intervention to maintain a fluffy pancake recipe. They’re a simple way to enjoy a simple and quick breakfast that’s high protein and low-sugar! #grainfree #processedsugarfree #nutfree

Prep time: 5 min

Cooking time: about 10 minutes (per batch)

Yield: Makes 8-10 pancakes

2 large bananas, any ripeness (the riper, the sweeter your pancakes will taste)

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3 Tbsp coconut oil or other high-heat oil

3/4 cup tapioca starch or arrowroot powder

oil for frying/greasing the pan

Put all ingredients into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. You may have to scrape the sides of the blender once. Oil a frying pan, and heat it up to medium-high. Pour the cakes any size you like, and cover with a lid. Flip them when the bubbles that form on top start to pop (usually about 1 min). Cook briefly on the flip side, then stack ‘em and serve ‘em!  These are delectable with my AIP friendly strawberry freezer jam (hotlink to jam post), but you can top them with any toppings you like. Maple syrup, nut butter, frresh fruit and yogurt, nutella, bacon….you name it, it works.  Happy eating. -Tiffany

The World's Meanest Mom

I am most likely the world’s meanest mom. I make my kids eat their veggies, I rarely get them a treat, we don’t have any video games in the house or cable and the last thing to make me the world’s meanest mom, I had the audacity to have my kids start doing school throughout the summer, gasp!!

Isn’t that terrible? Well, actually no. The more I study about successful homeschooling families I found a few things in common.

1   #1. They homeschool through the summer. Sure they take some brakes for a vacation or if they go to a museum or zoo, but they are always learning.

2   #2. They focus on math, reading the classics and writing.

3   #3. They don’t waste their time with all the “fluff”. They study what their kids are interested in and watch their kids excel because they actually like the topic.

So, a few weeks ago I told my kids were just going to do math twice a week for the rest of summer and oh man, my house turned into meltdown city! Kids were crying and complaining, and I sat there thinking what have I done?

The next time we went to do school it was a lot better, thank heavens. The kids quickly got their schoolwork done so that they could go and play. I hope that it will continue to get better and I am excited to see their progress.

Body Butter

Do you want to know the super awesome, secret formula for soft skin?? 

Well, too bad!!

Just kidding, I love you too much to withhold something so amazing. The secret to great skin (besides eating good food), is my Body Butter!

It is a quick and easy recipe and now I can't go back to anything else; I love it too much! I even use it as my face cream, but if you do that just know your face will be shiny for a little bit while it takes some time to soak in.

I made a great little video about it; I even wore my super, awesome cosmic kitty shirt for you. :)





Body Butter

1/4 cup Shea butter
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 Tbs water
10 drops of essential oil of your choice

Melt your Shea butter and coconut oil in a double boiler. (If you don't know what that is, watch the video) After it has cooled and hardened a bit mix your water and  essential oil into the Shea butter and coconut oil. Store in a container.

AIP Strawberry Jam

First and foremost, what in the world is AIP? Well, it stands for auto immune protocol. It is eating Paleo only significantly harder. You eat this way to help with auto immune diseases.

My beautiful friend Tiffany recently found out she had rheumatoid arthritis. This is my favorite part of the story, she didn't want to go on all the medicine prescribed to her to take away the pain, so she took matters into her own hand and did the AIP and the pain was GONE!! She is an inspiration! Our bodies are amazing and if we give it right tools; it wants to heal itself!

Tiffany has made some recipes that are AIP approved. I will be posting them for others that may need to eat this way too!

Let’s drop the shenanigans, and get right to the point: AIP is H-A-R-D! I developed this recipe with my husband, after months of missing my favorite freezer jam, that had loads of processed sugar in it. Like, equal parts sugar and fruit. I could feel my pancreas shrivel up, just looking at that stuff! Also, my kids staged a mutiny after I tried this chia seed recipe I saw on Pinterest.

But, this new recipe? Oh. Let me just accept your thanks in advance. It tastes like the old version, is wayyyyyyyy lower in sugar, freezes and defrosts beautifully, and is #processedsugarfree, #pectinfree, #chiafree, #aipcompliant, #glorious. My kids adore it. (Does anybody like that chia crap? I mean, don’t get me wrong: I just lovvvvve mystery lumps in my food. Sometimes I stir soggy chia into my bone broth, just for the joyous sensation of choking down slimy grubs.) ….But if gelatinous bug eyeballs are not your thing: have I got a recipe is for you! Be sure to check out my notes at the bottom of this recipe, for tips, tricks, and faq’s.

And, now, for the good part.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Yield: 3 ½ quarts

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Set time: 24 hours

You will need:

9 cups strawberry puree (about 6 lbs berries)

1 1/4 cups maple syrup

5 ¼ tablespoons gelatine powder (Knotts gelatine works just fine!)

Plastic, airtight containers large enough to hold your yield of jam.

Large pot

Set out jam containers. Be sure they are very clean, with air-tight lids. Puree berries, and pour into a large pot on your stovetop. Gently stir in syrup. Bring puree and syrup mixture to gentle boil, stirring occasionally. Bloom 5 1/4 tablespoons gelatin powder in 1 cup water. Whisk the bloomed gelatin into the puree until thoroughly smooth. Pour into containers, and refrigerate until set. About 24 hours later, you should have some fairly gorgeous and guilt-free jam to eat with your tea and strumpets. Happy eating!

Notes on recipe:

-No glass containers! They are known to shatter in the freezer, when the jam expands while freezing.

-Bloom: This means gently stir it into the water. Don’t over-stir it, just enough to get it wet.

-If you like a lumpier jam, this recipe will still work for you. I recommend rough-chopping about ⅓ of your fruit, and adding it the the puree in the pot, to boil.

-I’m certain this would work with any fruit, though I haven’t tried any others (I’m partial to berries). Just make sure you peel your fruit, and you have the right amount of puree to gelatine.

-Any sweetener would be super yum! Honey, date paste, whatevs.

-We eat this on these coconut flour biscuits which are otherwise aip if you can have eggs, and one of my fave aip compliant desserts: shortbread cookies.

Paleo Pizza

Who doesn't love pizza? The stuff is amazing, and amazingly bad for you!! I ate some at a Christmas party this last year and ended up in the bathroom at 2am whimpering in pain; it was ugly.

Luckily, you can make this crust that won't give you diarrhea. :)

What I love about this recipe, is that you can eat a few pieces and you don't feel bloated or gassy; you just feel full. I don't make this dish very often, because I try to avoid dairy. But, every blue moon I want to remind my children how awesome I am, so I whip up a couple of pizzas.

Paleo Pizza

2 cups almond flour
1 cup arrowroot powder
1-2 tsp oregano
1-2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
1/2-3/4 cup of water

Preheat your stove to 425 degrees. Mix your dry ingredients together and then add your wet ingredients and mix well. It will be runny, not "dough" like. Put parchment paper on a pizza pan or a cookie sheet and spread the batter evenly. Cook the batter for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and put your toppings on, then cook for 10-12 more minutes.

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For my son's birthday party this year I bought regular/crappy cheap pizza for the kids and made myself this recipe. The little punks kept trying to eat mine; it seriously tastes soooo good!

Sweet Potato Bun

Summertime is in full swing and so are all the fun, summer BBQs! For all of you going bread free, gluten free, Paleo, etc. this is a great "bun" recipe!! There is no real science behind this recipe, and you can't mess this one up (hopefully), so get creative and load up on the spices!

Sweet Potato Bun

1 large sweet potato, thinly sliced

olive oil

salt and pepper

oregano

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place parchment paper down on a cookie sheet. Place sweet potatoes on the parchment paper. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and oregano. Cook for 10 minutes and then flip over the "buns" and cook for 10 more minutes. Serve with your hamburger and enjoy a healthy, summer dinner!

All Natural, Homemade Shampoo

A while back I posted about "No-Poo", it wasn't a post about being constipated, it was about not using shampoo and just using baking soda, water and vinegar to wash your hair. 

It worked very well for us, but my husband really likes having a shampoo that lathers, so I had to start all over and come up with an all natural, homemade shampoo that lathers. We have been using it for months and have been really happy with the results.

All Natural, Homemade Shampoo

1/4 cups Castile Soap
2 Tbs Vegetable Glycerin
1/2 Tbs Olive oil (optional)
5-10 drops Rosemary-helps with hair loss
3-5 drops Melaleuca-helps with dandruff
3-5 drops Peppermint-very invigorating, and smells great!
Water

Pour all your ingredients into a bottle, and fill the rest with water. 

When using, simply shake the bottle and pour some directly onto your scalp and scrub, scrub, scrub. Rinse out after a few minutes. 

It lathers up really good; notice my beautiful model and all that lather. 

I haven't got around to make my own conditioner, so I have been using this one.

Banana, Coconut Ice-Cream

For how much I used to eat ice-cream; I surprisingly don't really miss it anymore. But last night just felt like a hot summer that needed ice-cream. 

This recipe is incredibly fast and it tastes amazing. My kids kept trying to eat it all, which is super annoying, but because I am so awesome I shared a tiny portion with them. :)

Banana, Coconut Ice-Cream

2 very ripe bananas, frozen
1 can of full fat coconut milk

Cut up two bananas and freeze them. When they are frozen put bananas and the fat from the coconut milk in your food processor and mix until all blended. 

If you are wanting a little something extra, it is REALLY yummy to add my chocolate sauce and whipped cream on top!

Book Review: Between Shades of Gray

First, and most importantly, do not get this book confused with 50 Shades of Gray! I know someone who accidentally did, they were not happy.

OK, now to the book. Between Shades of Gray is a historical fiction, which is slowly becoming my favorite genre to read. It is the story of a family from Lithuania and their trials as Stalin is taking over their country. The story is told from the perspective of the daughter, Lina.

The family is taken in the night and forced onto a truck where they are taken to a train depot. Eventually the train takes them to a work camp, and later they are taken to Siberia and forced to work there for several years.

This book is actually a teen novel, so it is an easy read, but there are some upsetting scenes in the book. I was hesitant to have any of my kids read it, but sometimes history isn't pretty, so I allowed my 12 year old to read it, and he loved the book too. He was shocked at how cruel other people can be, and we talked about the beauty of Lina's mother and how she was so kind no matter what, and that she is someone we can try to emulate. 

The author of the book really did her research and everything that happened in the book really happened to someone, which makes it all the more heartbreaking. I absolutely loved the book and ended up finishing it in one night, because I am a reading addict. 

To me, it was a beautiful story of hope, and how no matter how awful of a situation we are in, we can always choose to be happy.

Here are some spoilers, so you know what some of the questionable parts of the book are, in case you want your children to read it:

* A baby dies, and it is rotting in the train car with them, and they have to eventually throw it down a hole to get rid of the body
* The mother of the baby is shot
* Some of the girls are groped by Russian soldiers when they were allowed to shower
* One of the ladies sleeps with Russian soldiers to save her son's life
* A lot of people die

Honey Mustard

I'm a big fan of sauces, so are my kids. My six year old could eat ketchup as a meal; she is real classy like that. 

Most sauces are LOADED with sugar and high fructose corn syrup. I am always on the hunt for a sauce that tastes great and aren't bad for you. This is one of my favorites. We have used it to dip chicken or we have used it as a salad dressing.

Honey Mustard 

1/2 cup Paleo Mayo

1/4 cup mustard

1/4 cup raw honey

Mix all the ingredients together until you have a nice creamy consistency, and then eat it until your little heart's content!

Mama's Sunblock

I have wanted to make all natural sunblock for years, but I always was dragging my feet, mostly because it seemed too hard and I can be lazy. Well, I finally broke down and bought the ingredients needed and started making my own this summer. I am happy to report that it works great and it wasn't hard!

I keep getting fancy, which I hope you appreciate, and have made a YouTube video on how to make your own sunscreen. I also included the recipe below.

Mama's Sunblock

1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbs Shea butter
1/4 cup beeswax, grated
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 leaf of an aloe plant (optional)
2 Tbs zinc oxide
12 drops of essential oil (do not use any citrus)

Use a double boiler and melt olive oil, Shea butter, beeswax, coconut oil and aloe. Once it is all melted remove from heat and mix in the zinc oxide and essential oil. Pour into a container and let it harden over night, or you may put it in the fridge to speed up the process. This will make your sunblock about SPF 20 and waterproof!

You may ask, "Hippie Mama, what's the big deal using commercial sunscreen?"

Oh, thank you for asking! Well, first of all your skin is your largest organ, take care of it! You wouldn't put toxic chemicals on your other organs, so don't put it on your skin. Also, the cosmetic industry is not very regulated, allowing them to use all forms of chemical ingredients; some of which have been banned in other countries.

Here is a list from The Food Babe of what you need to watch for with sunscreen.

• Oxybenzone - this is a hormone disrupting chemical which penetrates the skin and enters the bloodstream. It is the most popular ingredient in chemical based sunscreens and only blocks UVB ray (sun’s good rays that provide vitamin D production), not UVA which are the most free radical damaging rays.  Avoid any sunscreen that has this chemical at all costs, especially for children.
• Vitamin A (Retinyl Palmitate) – A 2009 study by U.S. government scientists released by the National Toxicology Program found when this is applied to the skin in the presence of sunlight, it may speed thedevelopment of skin tumors and lesions.
• Fragrance – Sure it may make the product smell nice, but this is a petroleum based product that is linked to organ toxicity and allergies.
• High SPF – The FDA does not regulate SPF higher than 50 and there’s no scientific proof they work betterthan lower SPF. Many of the higher SPFs do not provide any additional protection and studies have suggested that users are exposed to as many or more ultraviolet rays as those who use lower-SPF products.
• Sprays or Powders – Generally speaking, sprays and powders have additional chemicals added to them for performance purposes. These additional chemicals are usually not something you want to be spraying on your body and can be toxic to the lungs. Besides, remember sunscreen is formulated for your skin, not your lungs. Many of the side effects of sprays and powders on the lungs are not tested before being approved.
• Popular Conventional Brands - Aveeno, Banana Boat, Coppertone Sport, Coppertone Water Babies, Bull Frog, Neutragena, Storebrands (CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens), Hawaiian Tropic and many other popular brands are rated the worst in terms of safety in the Environmental Working Group’s Sunscreen Guide. You can use this guide to find out how good or bad the brand you have or want to buy is rated.

Zucchini, Squash Medley

Have you planted your garden yet? Did you plant any zucchini? If you did, you will probably have it coming out your ears once it starts to produce. I think zucchini could survive an atomic bomb; not only that, it would continue to give you too much produce!

Near the end of summer when you can't think of one more zucchini dish, try this one!!

Zucchini, Squash Medley

2 zucchini
2 yellow squash
1 small bunch of fresh basil
1 Tbs butter or EVOO
Salt, pepper, and garlic to taste

In a small pan melt your butter or oil. Sautee your sliced zucchini and yellow squash until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Toss with fresh basil and sautee 1-2 more minutes. Salt, pepper, garlic to taste. I honestly don't know if you could ever use enough garlic, I love the stuff!! Serve warm, and enjoy.

Giveaway!!

Who loves free stuff? If you answered no, I think you might be crazy. Every week I will be having a new giveaway. This week I am giving away a bottle of Lemon essential oil.

What can you use lemon for? I am glad you asked :).

Lemon is antibacterial, antibiotic, antiseptic, antiviral, astringent, diuretic, and a disinfectant

Some of the common uses for Lemon to help with their allergies, asthma, cold and flu, constipation, hypertension, sore throat, stomach ache, stress and throat infections.

It's awesome stuff. I use Lemon a lot to clean with; especially my laundry because my kids are stinky!!

To enter just go here! The winner will be chosen this Friday, June 6th.

Sunburn Spray

My favorite season is almost here, summer! I love the heat, I love playing in the water, I love it all. When I was young and had no responsibilities and my favorite thing to do in the summer was to lay out. I still love it, I just have too many children to just lay out all the time, blah. Just kidding, I love them.

The only downside to summer is sunburns. My husband thinks the downside to summer is the heat, but he is crazy. I usually don't get too burned, but inevitably one of my darlings will. This is a quick and easy spray to make to give relief when you are sunburned.

Sunburn Spray

10 drops of Lavender
5 drops of Peppermint

Mix in a spray bottle with distilled water and store in the fridge. 

The Lavender will help heal the skin and the Peppermint will offer relief from the heat. You don't want to put a thicker oil on, like coconut oil, for a few days or it will trap in the heat.

Last Day of School

We have just finished our sixth year of homeschooling!! Who knew I could finish something I started :). Seriously though, the last six years have been awesome and also exhausting.

We started a fun tradition this last year where we have a Battle of the Brains at the end of the semester. This is a great review for the kids and it gives me a chance to see where they are without having to take tests.

We have five events; this year the events were: Science, Greek History, Church History, Math, and Fitness.

My six year old was my helper once again; she kept score and got to pick the next event. 

I didn't grab as many pictures this time, sorry about that. You will have to use your imagination and trust me that we all had a good time.

The first event chosen was Greek History. I had written a series of questions and the one who answered the most questions correct won. I found out my boys really paid attention in Greek and my daughter, not so much. Ethan and Porter tied for first during this round.

Next was Church History. It was the same format of our Greek history. Porter won this round.

The next event was Math. I use Math-U-See and they have printable pages on their website. I printed off math questions from the last four years of math. They have 10 minutes to answer as many questions as they could, the one with the most correct answers won. Porter won this round with Ethan right on his heels. He only beat him by a few.

Our next event was fitness. The kids had to run a half a mile and the first one back wins. Again, Porter won this round with Ethan right behind him. 

Our final event was science; this is my favorite game. I have made trivia questions from every science book we have ever used and compiled them into one game. We use an old Sorry board. If you answer the question with no help you get to roll two dice; if you have a hint only one die; if you answer incorrectly you must roll one die and move backwards. Ethan won this game.

Porter ended up winning the Battle of the Brains. He is our two time champion!! The winner receives a beautiful bouquet of creepy fake flowers, every 11 year old boy's dream.

I was so proud of my kids and how hard they all tried; even my little seven year old kept up with all the big kids. I felt a little bad for Bella because she really excels in art and we didn't have an art category this time. I will make sure next time to have art be included.

So what will we do while all the other kids are in school? Play, of course!! We have plans to go to the zoo, park days, and most importantly sleeping in!

Wall Art Round 2

I am pretty sure I just wrote about removing wall art not too long ago, but thanks to my three year old who just drew all over the wall with permanent marker I am doing a follow up post.

This time I thought I would record just how easy it is to get the marker off the wall with baking soda, water and lemon essential oil. 



In case you do like the before and after pictures I have included one too. I do want you to notice how much his art work has improved; he has now added a smiley face versus the old, boring squiggly lines. I am so proud :).

DIY Dry Shampoo

Have you heard of dry shampoo? If you haven't, this is my gift to all women around the world!! Dry shampoo is a powder that you put on your hair when you don't have time to wash it. 

My husband thinks I'm gross that I don't wash my hair everyday, but have you ever seen my hair? I have long, thick horse hair. I love it, but it takes sooo long to do. 

This is a great, quick, easy way to get ready in the morning. Just use a powder brush and brush it in your hair. If it leaves a "powder" look in your hair just rub or brush the powder through your hair.

I have two recipes, one for blondes and one for brunettes.

Brunettes

2 Tbs Arrow Root Powder
1/3 cup coco powder

Put in a container and shake it until it is all mixed.

Blondes

1/3 cup Arrow Root Powder
2 Tbs Baking Soda

Put in a container and shake it until it is all mixed.

Fire Starter

Doesn't my title sound exciting? Oooh, fire starter. I think it does. 

I don't know where or how my husband came up with these; all I know is that they work. We have a fire pit out back and if I am starting it I just use vitamin G, or more commonly known as gasoline; however, my husband didn't think that was very safe.

The fire starters are easy to make and use and they really help get a whole fire going. All you need is: egg carton, dryer lint, old cotton fabric (we cut up an old shirt), dental floss and paraffin wax.

First step is double boil your paraffin wax to make it a liquid. I bought my wax at Hobby Lobby.

Next, you stuff a little bit of your dryer lint and your cloth into an egg carton. You will then proceed to tie your dental floss around your egg carton. Make sure you leave a long tail so you are able to dip it into the wax easier.

Once the wax is melted you dip your little fire starter into it and then set it aside to dry. When you are ready to start a fire you just light your little starter and put it in the wood and it will get your whole fire going. It is definitely much safer than my vitamin G; not as exciting, but very effective. :)

OK, here is where I get fancy. Not only did I record my husband making one, but I learned how to edit it!! I have never been more proud of myself. I had to hold myself back because I was going to add sound effects and weird music just because I could. So for your viewing pleasure: here is my sexy husband making a fire starter.