Inspirational sites!

I love these ideas... will have to find a way to use them.
Window film links and how-tos (tip: do not use contact paper.  It's hard to remove)
Painting on window film 
Design Sponge
Trove
Using fabric as window film


Shades made from old window blinds (looks like roman blinds)

Wall decals are so neat!
making fabric wall decals
Wall decal ideas
Etsy search for wall decals

Too sweet

Okay... DH loved the cookies, and they look good, but I thought they were way too sweet. Of course, we followed the recommendation of using 1/2 cup suncrystals per 1 cup sugar, but I think we can cut it down quite a bit and still have tasty, sweet cookies.

Think now... they say stevia is 10 times sweeter than sugar. So 1/4 cup of stevia would be the same as 2 1/2 cups sugar... right? Already that's too much for a 2 cup sugar recipe. So we should be replacing 1 cup sugar with 1/10th of a cup of stevia. Hmmm... yeah.. I think 1/8th to 1/4 would be about right for suncrystals. We'll try again next time.

So... Sun crystals appears to be a good solution. It browns like baked goods should and is very sweet, with a much reduced caloric content. I'm wondering if changing the proportions of sugar in the recipe will cause any other problems. We'll see next time. I'll post the cookie recipe when we get it just right.

Sun Crystals Sweetener

I think I've found the perfect sweetener. It's rather pricey, but if it will help him keep his sweet tooth from killing him, I'll use it. He ordered five bags (5lbs) and paid 34.00 for them. It's a mixture containing 50% stevia and 50% regular granulated sugar. You use 1/2 the amount of sugar called for in any recipe, and you'll have the same results with fewer calories. So if you're baking, this is a real plus... cookies will look and taste good.

I found a box of small packets at a local grocery store, but the large bags were not available there. DH found it online. Sun Crystals can be found and ordered here. SunCrystals website

Today we made cookie batter and replaced most of the sugar with Sun crystals. We'll bake it up for Santa tomorrow, and see if it tastes good. This is only going to be used for dad's cookies since the rest of us don't need it. I sure hope it works out for him.

Truvia: NOT the perfect sweetener, but....

Drats. We've started using it and I thought it would work out but after researching a bit more, I've found out it has side effects. It may have something to do with the erythritol and apparently it can cause some people to have stomach problems. Some people have also reported having MORE carb cravings... not what you want if you're diabetic. Other reported side effects were mental confusion, fatigue. I'm not sure we'll stick with Truvia, but if we don't experience any of the side effects, it might be worthwhile to manage his diabetes. We haven't used it much yet, and I generally don't like to add too many unknown sweeteners to our cooking.

Here's a link to an article I found useful in helping us make a decision regarding it's use:
Purevia/Truvia controversy

I try to stick with tried and true white sugar. However, knowing NOW that less refined foods are actually easier for the body to process, I think I will be using less refined sweeteners when possible. Here are a few I'll try:

• regular stevia sweetener when I can find it
  
• organic agave nectar
• brown “turbinado” cane sugar, we use this occasionally. Maybe we'll use it more often.

I'm sure white sugar will still manage to make it's way into my meals since the rest of us don't eat many sweets anyway.

So I'll be adding a few recipes using some of those natural sweeteners, sometimes including Truvia for my DH. Today's recipe:



Cucumber Wakame Salad (Namasu):
2 japanese cucumbers or one regular one
sliced carrots
a little bit of wakame (soak in water to rehydrate it)
1/4 c. rice vinegar
1 1/2 packets Truvia
a pinch of sea salt

Dissolve salt and Truvia in the vinegar. Slice the cucumbers into chunks and carrots into rounds. Squeeze out the wakame, mix it all together with the dressing and let sit in the fridge for an hour or so before serving.
Optional chores: Remove the seeds by slicing the cuke in half then scooping out the seeds with a spoon. Looks nicer.
You can also grate some fresh ginger to add more spice to this one... it's really good.

Diabetes... what a chore

Okay... DH is finally accepting the fact that he needs to do something about his health or he will be on insulin in a few months. We're praying it's not too late. I've been trying to get him to eat healthier, more veggies, less rice, more fiber, less refined foods... and get some exercise.

He's been eating healthier meals (whatever I pack, rather than buying fast food) and we've been trying very hard to do the diabetic plate thing. 1/2 veggie, 1/4 protein, 1/4 starch, a glass of milk, and a fruit. It's a big improvement. In the past 2-3 weeks, he went from 260 to 245. Oh... and he tries to take a 30 minute walk on his days off. I'm going to try getting him to take a walk 5x a week, or at least on days when he doesn't have overtime.

But he's craving sweets now. So I've been researching stuff like Splenda, Nutrisweet, and Truvia. I've ruled out using Splenda and NutriSweet artificial sweeteners. There are side effects. Truvia appears to be a safer alternative. It comes from the stevia plant and is used in several other countries as an alternate sweetener to sugar. This week we'll be trying it since we found some when we went grocery shopping at Safeway today. It's a bit pricey, but if he likes it, we'll continue using it.

Here's more info... Truvia.com . They also have recipes to try and info on how it can be used in baking and cooking in place of sugar. Maybe I can convert some of our favorite recipes too...

Girl 5 and the Ukus

Wow. She had a lot of babies in her hair, and tons of nits. We spent at least 2 hours pulling nits out and there's still a lot left. She will need to return for another combing session next week.

This time, I thought I'd take a few pictures for anyone who is curious to see what an uku looks like. Here's a pic of one of the ukus.
And some nits:They almost look like dandruff, but some are brownish in color. The white ones are usually already hatched shells, the brownish yellow ones are probably live eggs. You can tell it's a nit if it doesn't slide down the hair shaft easily.

Her grandma gave her a third treatment a couple days ago and they applied the nit gel to help remove the eggs. It didn't work very well. We found at least a dozen baby Ukus, a few adults and lots of nits. Poor kid, she must've been itchy for a while. This is evidence to me that those pesticides don't work very well and the only REAL way to be sure you get rid of them all is to keep nit picking and use the Robi comb... daily if possible. Gosh I'm beginning to sound like an sales associate for the Robi comb. Honestly, I'm not affiliated with them (though I'm beginning to think I should be). I just believe in their product after having to deal with these little buggers.

How to finally get rid of head lice (aka ukus)
Use a remedy that would kill them first. If it's Nix, Rid, mayonnaise, essential oil solution, it really doesn't matter what you use initially. You most likely won't be able to get rid of all of them because they probably will not kill off the eggs. And you may also have some resistant bugs crawling around your head even after treatment.

Next, do the egg releasing gel or use a vinegar solution to loosen up the nits a bit. This only aids in the nit removal process. It doesn't mean you'll be rid of ALL of the eggs, so you'll have to pick out whatever you can when you finish with the little plastic comb. The vinegar might sting if you have open sores on your head, but the smell will wash out and it'll actually leave your hair feeling beautiful.

Then, follow up after your hair is clean and dry with the Robi comb. You might find nothing left, but continue to do this daily for at least 2 weeks, then maybe 2 times a week for the next month. Anything you've missed will be zapped. If you use this method, you shouldn't need to do a second treatment. The hatchlings will be killed off daily rather than waiting a week (for them to spread perhaps?!).

And here's the famous Robi Comb.
Now, if you don't want to use pesticides or messy mayo treatments at all, I think using the Robi comb twice a day (take a good 20 -30 minutes to do a thorough combing) would do the trick. I'm just a little paranoid. But if they ever get the Ukus again, I think I would feel safe with this method. But I might end up Robi combing 3 or 4 times a day...

And don't forget to wash the beddings and vacuum the house. They say it's not necessary, but I still think it's a good idea if you have the time. At the very least, vacuum the area where your kids lay around or sleep. Daily if possible, til you know they're gone... the ukus, not the kids.

Head lice, ukus, the curse, whatever you call them, takes TIME to get rid of. But I really think the comb has been a blessing. If it weren't for the comb, I think my daughter would still have the bugs. And her friends, well, if they can just keep visiting so I can comb through every few days, we'd all be rid of them sooner.

I've become mommy to my daughter's clan.

Yes... they are starting to call me mom since I'm the one who is trying to rid their heads of the bugs. It's only because I have the comb and have done all that research and I know how hard it is to get rid of them.

Well, we have another one of her friends here... And I thought they were all clear. This girl (#5) has also gone through her 2 treatments and she was the first one who did it. She hasn't come over for Robi combing till today and the girls are checking her head before we Robi her. It's a hot day and the comb will not work if her head is sweaty, so they're laying around in the shady backyard to cool down before we start. They've already found a bug and lots of nits so I'm assuming we'll find lots... I'll be back to update this after we comb through... Gosh.. what a month it's been.