The Art of Non-Conformity

This website was highly recommended for me to "check out."  It's called the Art of Non-Conformity, Unconventional Strategies for Life, Work and Travel. I rarely do REVIEWS on websites, but as I began perusing through this site, I became overwhelmed by the sheer coolness and relevance.  Many of us who have joined the Domestic Goddess Network are in search of ways to become more than the average person, which leads me to 2 favorite areas of the site.  All the articles are written by a philosophy student, Chris Guillebeau (which sounds like a pen name to me) who's working on his PhD.

How to be Awesome

Chris poses this opportunity to change your life and simply "Go and be Awesome."  His writing is really fresh, as he works through your first thoughts of the day, working hard, relationships and good vs. evil.  He posts the quote from Ayn Rand: 

"The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me."

How to Recruit a Small Army

If you're looking to change the world in a big or small-ish way, you aren't going to get there spending 5+ hours a day playing World of Warcraft.  You need people backing you up. (Domestic Goddess!!) And not just people, the RIGHT people.  Chris discusses real-world applications for the use of your army of remarkable people, and it's kind of a cliff notes, non-lame version of The Purpose Driven Life. 

Check out the site, and change your life!

Earth Day tips for Going Green

Re-use

If we re-used and re-purposed everything at least once, we’d have a lot less waste, and a lot smaller landfills.  Here are a few things you can easily re-use or re-purpose:

-       Water bottles.  I found a company recently who re-uses water bottles, puts a sprayer on top, and sells organic fertilizer inside.

-       Newspapers.  Remember making fun crafts with paper mache?  Get some balloons and get crafty!

-       Plastic Grocery Bags.  I re-use mine to pick up doggie-doo.  They’re great for storing your wet towels and bathing suits on the ride home from the beach or pool too.

-       Milk Cartons. I cut open a half gallon milk jug and made a dirt scoop with the handle left on, and used a gallon milk jug, spray painted black, as a planter on my porch.

-       TP and Paper Towel rolls.  Re-use the cardboard for Timmy’s hamster, or create all sorts of easy creative crafts for the kids.

-       Wine Bottle. If you’re artistically inclined, you can paint designs or flowers on the bottle and turn it into a vase.

-       Single Sock.  How long has that sock been lonely? Re-purpose it by using it as a dust rag, or cut it up and make ties for plants.

-       Egg Carton.  Germinate your seeds, cut off the lid and keep jewelry easy to find.

-       CD spindle.  This is by far the most clever thing I’ve seen in the re-use forum – use your old CD spindle to carry BAGELS!  I’ve used paper towels and baggies too often to bring my bagel to work, and end up throwing them away. (the bags, not the bagel!) Stack your bagel with the works and everything stays in place.

 

A great website to help keep you motivated: http://tinychoices.com, 2 ladies who address all the tiny choices we make on a daily basis.

Happy Earth Day!

How are you helping Mother Earth?

Today is a great day to start thinking about it if you haven't already. 

We'd like to hear your two cents: How are you going green?

Easy Earth Day Pasta Primavera

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked bite-sized pasta
1 chopped organic tomato
Sea or Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper
and your choice of 
- 1/4 cup Salad Dressing
- Organic Vegetable
- 3/4 cup Cheese
(used here: Kraft Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan, Athenos Traditional Crumbled Feta, and Baby Spinach)

This is an easy 20-minute recipe that can be done way ahead of time and is great for "Potluck Pennys" - you know who you are!

Directions:

- COOK pasta as directed on package; rinse and drain.

- TOSS hot pasta with Tomato, Organic Vegetable, Dressing and Cheese. Season with the salt and pepper to taste.

- TOP with additional 1 Tbsp. cheese.  (Don't forget presentation!)

How easy is that? YUM!

DG wants to know!

Tell us exactly what you think:

Has the feminist movement killed chivalry?

Green Thumb?

It's spring! And it couldn't come sooner. I love to cultivate and grow things year round, but Spring is the best time of year to get things started blooming in your garden. I live in an apartment, so my garden is restricted to potted plants, and because of limited space, I've been known to plant 2 or 3 different varieties in the same pot.

But it never fails. My dog Fergie is frequently lounging on the porch surrounded by the lovely oxygen-making flora. I've caught her on occasion nose-deep in the soil, and I still can't for the life of me understand why she likes the taste of dirt so much. Maybe she's hungry. Maybe dirt tastes better than dog food. Maybe she's just insane. Plenty of my plants are edible to humans, and I even keep a little cat grass around for my cat Sparrow to munch on, so I don't worry about "the girls" ingesting anything harmful.

Many house and garden plants are harmless to pets, but there are several that are actually POISONOUS and possibly DEADLY to our four-legged companions. Here's a list of several common springtime plants that can cause vomiting, seizures, hallucination, and possibly death.

-- LANTANA. It's very common in florida, and I love the easy maintenance. Fortunately, I keep my sunshine yellow lantana in a taller pot, so Fergie can't reach it.

-- TULIP. A beautiful and favorite flower to many, if ingested, can result in death.

-- DAFFODILS. I've been seeing these everywhere from Lowe's to Publix, but keep them out of your lawn if you have a furry plant-eater.

-- AZALEAS. Though not deadly, the effects aren't something you want to wake up to.

-- RHODODENDRON. Beautiful shrubs seen often around houses to brighten the lawn, but one munch can send Fido to the vet.

-- MORNING GLORY. Lavender vining blooms cover many mailboxes and are great for hanging. Unfortunately, it's like LSD for your dog.




If you'd like to learn more about maintaining a pet-friendly garden, click the jump.

Healthy Eating doesn't have to suck!

When you hear the words "healthy eating," what images race through your mind?

Brussel Sprouts and no chocolate, right?  To me, that's no way to live.  I hate celery.  I've never eaten a brussel sprout.  For those of us who actually ENJOY eating, and cooking, it's easy to fall into the "comfort food" mode, in other words - we end up making dinners that are easy, but not all that healthy.  Sometimes we feel bad and throw some steamed veggies on the plate.  Hey, that's not a bad idea.

But what are some really good ways to eat healthy, but still enjoy it?  Submit your tips below and the one chosen as Domestic Goddess' favorite will get a prize at the meeting in may.

One way I like to keep it healthy is to HYDRATE.  Many of us forget the simple act of drinking water can do so much for our health.  Drinking a glass of ice water burns more calories than water at room temperature.  Research has shown that cold water passes through the stomach faster and is more quickly dispersed thorough the body.  Having a glass with a meal can also help you feel full more quickly.  

"Our bodies are about 75% water. It is a vital part of a healthy diet. Water helps flush our systems, especially the kidneys and bladder, of waste products and toxins. A majority of Americans go through life dehydrated." -helpguide.org.  

Tip: If you don't like drinking water, there are many powders on the market like Crystal Light that provide a better taste, and still have all the benefits of water.

Impromptu Domestic Goddess

Many great things are happening for Domestic Goddess!

We'd love to share all of it with you at an impromptu meeting on Saturday at 2pm at the Starbucks Coffee Shop in The Lakeside Village Shopping Plaza in South Lakeland.

Please RSVP at ernstandgilpin@live.com if you'd like to come!

Domestic Goddess First Meeting

Domestic Goddess is off to a great start!




Brunch on Saturday: 8 people in attendance
Kerri
Brooke
Ashleigh
Ashley K
Sara
Ashley P
Brittney
Sylvia

3 Ashleys - that was interesting!

The brunch/meeting started promptly at 11am with Breakfast Pizza, Lemon Berry Trifle, Friendship Bread, Chips and Salsa and Tea & Coffee.

Kerri and Brooke explained their ideas behind Domestic Goddess, and the vision for what it could be, discussing membership rewards, dues, activities and when meetings would be – twice a month, theme lasting 2 months.

The first theme is Cooking and Entertaining.

Everyone took a quiz called "What kind of Entertainer are you?" which answered whether you are "Fancy Nancy" "Casual Caroline" or "Potluck Penny."

Homework before the next meeting: Go to your local Farmer's Market.

At the beginning of the meeting we asked everyone to write the answer to this question of the day:
In your opinion: What is the best and worst part of being a woman?

Best: when youre upset and your best friend knows just what to say to make you feel better and not suicidal

Worst: I hate how women can be so mean with each other

Best : Some times there are things "we" can get away with, simply because we’re women.

Worst: Some people think there are things “we” can’t do

Best: Motherhood, having the gift to bring a child into the world

Worst: hormones raging, up and down emotions

Best: My favorite thing about being a woman is fashion. Clothes, purses, shoes, I love it all!

Worst: Least favorite thing about about being woman: over-emotional, and over-analyzing everything

Best: Being able to experience motherhood, pregnancy and being a mother

Worst: Period! One day a month I can deal with.