Depression and Anxiety are not a Choice.

There has been a lot of talk going around the internet surrounding the recent death of Robin Williams. While I am greatly saddened, I hope we can use his tragedy to spread light on the fact that many people are quick to deny-

 Mental illness is real.

Depression is real.

Anxiety is real.

And it can kill.

Mental illness is devastating to those who suffer from it and those around them. I know this because I am a sufferer of depression and anxiety. In my short 30 years of life, I have suffered from depression, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and panic disorder. For lack of better words, it sucks.

It sucks because a lot of people think you should just choose not to be depressed anymore. People don't judge diabetics for taking insulin, but they will judge people with mental illness for taking medication.

(Image source: http://imgur.com/gallery/CWFTYoV)

If you are one of those people who thinks that enough healthy eating, sleeping, exercise, and prayer will pull you out of the pit of depression, I am happy for you. I am glad that worked for you. But, it doesn't work for everyone.

Depression is more than feeling blue. It is feeling like this:  Anne Voskamp.
It is the feeling of no feelings. I liken it to ring in one of those rooms Star Wars style where the walls are closing in on you and crushing you.

OCD is more than wanting a neat room or being clean. It is vomiting after you eat because you are sure your food has been poisoned. It driving back to make sure you didn't run anyone over every time you hit a bump. It is checking your baby's pulse every 10 minutes because you are sure he died of SIDS. It is removing all the knives from your house so no one gets hurt. I can say that because I've lived it.

What people need suffering from mental illness is not to be torn down, to be ridiculed. We need God. We need your compassion, caring and prayers. Sometimes we need medication too.

My name is Katie, and I have suffered from anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety, depression and most recently post partum depression. I take medication and I am not ashamed.

Because at the end of the day, it is NOT a choice. NO ONE would ever choose to feel like this.

If you ever need someone to talk to, you can comment and I will email you. I will listen, and pray for you. Whatever you need. You are not alone!

Katie

That time I flashed my underpants in the parking lot at Costco..

 

So! So. 

 I have been making my monthly treks to Costco to pay homage to their low prices.

On this particular trip, I had the baby with me. I was feeling deucedly excited about my bounty as I walked from the store through the parking lot to my car.

When, all the sudden, my elastic waist band maxi skirt (the skirt version of yoga pants) started slipping. Huh. All the sudden it was pulled down to mid thigh. What the heck?! I started pulling at it trying to get it back up, but it won't come back up! I couldn't figure out what had happened.

I was standing in the Costco parking lot in my underpants! With my skirt hovering around my knees!

I am freaking out! I can't get it back up! I try to hurry to my car, but that makes it worse! It starts going lower!

Finally, I realize the bottom of it is caught in the shopping cart wheel, and as I push the cart forward the skirt goes lower (can you picture this?)

So I start frantically trying to get it out, but it's stuck! An old man walks by! Luckily he seems kind of out of it (it is a weekday during the day, and all the senior citizens are out at Costco), and pays no notice to me.

I am still trying to get my skirt out, and I squat down so I can heft it up over my cute underpants granny panties. So I am squatting by the bottom of the shopping cart, trying to cover myself with my skirt, while simultaneously trying to get it out of the cart wheel. At this point I am just trying to rip it out because I really don't care if the skirt rips, I just want to get out of the middle of the parking lot.

Baby is sitting in the cart smiling and cooing and totally unaware of my distress.

Finally, I back up and get the skirt untangled, and I pull it up and for safety reasons I tuck the bottom into the waistband (super cool.)

Who ever said "maxi skirts" are more "modest"?

Katie

PS. Miraculously the skirt is fine!Can't say the same for my pride...

A Win and A Fail

I'll start with the fail first.

So, 8 (!) years ago, Mike and I got married. It was a small humble affair with immediate family and a few friends. Somebody left an umbrella. It was quite a dapper umbrella, tasteful stripes with a wooden handle. No one ever came to claim it, so I commandeered it as my own.

We shared some good times together, me and this trusty umbrella. The handle eventually broke off, but we soldiered on.

Until this summer (7) years later, we were at the shore, on the boardwalk and it started to rain. I broke out old trusty, and low and behold, he no longer kept the rain at bay. The what I assume is the "brella" part of the umbrella was so worn the rain was seeping through. Forlorn, I stuck old trusty in the garbage on the Ocean City boardwalk.

I don't have many pictures to choose from. Here is Mike and kid 1 a couple of years ago building a sand castle on the beach.

And for good measure, kid 1 and I in front of the beach house.

 

So, back to my story. I proceeded to forget about it until one day recently, when I had to go out in the rain, and I did not have old trusty to take along with me. I had to get to work, and the only place on the way to stop was a CVS drugstore, not a thrift store in sight. I shelled out $10 for a cheap metal and plastic imitation, a poor substitution to my old friend. If I had planned better, I could have scored an umbrella at the thrift shop I'm sure.

FAIL!

Now for the win. Another wedding, this time my mother in law and her husband, 2 years ago. Somebody left a pair of sunglasses. My mother in law searched in vain for their owner, and when no one laid claim, she asked me if I would like to give them a home. I accepted, and over the last year or so I have enjoyed wearing them. So, I kept them in the pocket in the door of my car. One day, I opened the car door and they fell out onto the pavement. I proceeded to get out to pick them up, but I must have poorly misjudged my place in space and I stepped on them, breaking off the ear piece. 

I was disappointed, I like these glasses, and good sunglasses can be hard to find. Sometimes they squeeze your face, and sometimes the ears are lopsided, but these fit well. I was prepared to go to Good Will to search for a replacement, when an idea came to me. I brought them to my dad, and asked if he thought he could fix them. And he did! So, I saved myself a trip to the store and having to find and buy new glasses! WIN!

Weekly Spending Report 4.19.14 - 4.25.15 and My Dreams are Getting to Literal

Weekly Expenditures:

Groceries: 84.15
Monthly Total so Far: 413.13

13.35- Baby Food and Formula ( I went into work and needed a back up for the baby)
146.03- Bills
2.00- Snacks at Library
23.46- Diapers and Wipes
75.00 - Anniversary Dinner at Restaurant with Kids
Our first dinner out as a family of 4.
10.00 - Field Trip for Kid 1

The couple weeks I have been using disposables makes me see how expensive they are! My total stash of cloth diapers and accessories paid for itself in 4 months.

Total for Week: 353.99

I have been having a lot of dreams lately, that I remember. I think it may be due to the fact my sleep is so broken that I am in this semi-awake-asleep state. They are getting so literal I cannot remember if they happened in real life or not.

For example, in one dream I was hanging out with our extended family, who thinks I am a hippie communist liberal, and we were having a friendly discussion over dinner of whether or not electronics affect the environment. And, in my dream, I hopped on my soapbox to educate everyone about the mining of coltan in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and how bad it is.

Since this did not actually happen in real life, I figured I'd share it here and encourage you to learn about coltan and try to hold out on buying new electonics as long as possible.

Have a great weekend!

Katie

That's Life (as Frankie Says)

So I mentioned in my last post how I have a "weak constitution" and don't deal with stress well, so I thought I'd provide you with some anecdotal evidence of such.

The other night, I woke up in the middle of the night to a feeling, with the closest thing I can describe is the feeling of when you have your lady 'stache waxed off (you know that burning, tingling, irritated feeling? oh, you don't have a lady 'stache? Lucky you. Darn Italian genes.) But this was on my stomach. And, I am not at the point in my life (and hopefully never will be) that I need to have my stomach waxed.

So, I decide this merits extricating myself from the baby and son who are sleeping with/on me (Son 1 sleeps in his own bed, but somehow migrates into ours without me knowing) and checking it out. I have to do this very stealthily, because waking them up is not an option.

So I stumble into the family room, which isn't very far because our house is small, and Mike is passed out on the couch, where he usually is when he falls asleep watching something such as Star Trek (the Next Generation, I Love Patrick Stewart. I digress).

I lift up my shirt to inspect tummy, and low and behold is a funky rash. "Look Mike," I say, "I've got a funky rash."

He mumbles something like "That's nice" and stumbles off too bed. (We're doing a lot of stumbling tonight.)

My first thought is, "oh sh*t, the carpet beetles are back." We had a carpet beetle infestation a couple of years ago. It sucked.

So I break out the google, and research "carpet beetles." But, they don't bite. Then I am thinking, "aw crap, it's bed bugs." Even though we haven't traveled anywhere. It's the middle of the night, and I am not thinking properly. So I google all types of bug bites, and then I decide it's mosquitoes. And I go back to bed.

The next day the rash is still there and itching and burning. While inspecting it, Mike says "Whoa, you've got a funky rash! You should get that checked out!" And I'm like yeah, I showed you last night. But he doesn't remember. Whatever.

So then I show my mom, and she tells me I should get it checked out.

I go to the doctor, and low and behold, I have shingles. She says it usually only happens to old people but if you are stressed and run down, sometimes it can happen then. (Weak Constitution!)

I get a prescription for Valtrex, which she says is okay for nursing.

But, I go home and break out the google again, just to make sure it's okay for nursing.

While researching, I find out Valtrex primarily treats genital herpes. "Great," I'm thinking. The pharmacist is going to look at me and think I am genital herpes girl.

"No matter," I say to myself. The pharmacist is probably some old guy who I will never see again.

Commence pharmacy trip.

I am standing in line, waiting to pick up my prescription. I am staring around, and notice the sign with the name of my pharmacist today.

"Huh," I think. "That name is familiar".

That is the problem about living where you grew up. You always run into people you knew (like old dates, past mean girls, etc.) on a day where you've forgone yet another shower (I can go one more day, right?) and decided your pajamas could pass for clothes today.

The name is familiar, I remember, because that guy went to school with my husband.

Great, so now I am genital herpes girl who also doesn't shower.

But, that's life right?

More Things We Do that Seem Normal to us but has Friends and Family Members thinking we are Not...

Hi! This is a spin off this post I wrote a while ago about the things that have become habit here at my house (like not watching tv and not using paper towels) but have our friends and family scratching there head and talking about us as "odd"and "eco freaks"..

(Just as a side note, people tend to think we are deprived. I don't really picture myself as that. Not to mention, I am actually kind of lazy.)

1.) Social Media

Other than this blog, I don't participate in any social media. (Unless email counts?) I had a facebook, but to be honest I didn't find it useful. It contributed to my dissatisfaction with my life. And I've never had a twitter. I will never forget the first time we had a friend over who was talking about twittering something, and my husband and I assumed "twittering"was some kind of sexual slang.. I guess we are getting old. (My husband has a facebook.)

2.) Wash and Re-use plastic bags

Yeah, I know plastic isn't that great. But if I buy something that comes in a plastic bag I am going to try to use it rather than sending it straight to the trash. We have a hook in the kitchen that is meant for hanging paper towels, but since we don't use paper towels it has become my plastic bag dryer. I just hang the bag on it. People really seem to think this is weird. (And you get this odd sort of pity that maybe you are so poor you can't afford a box of Ziploc.)

3.) Cloth Diapers

I get a lot of questions about this. The first I always get asked is if I use a diaper service. This puzzles me. I think that this would negate the savings/environmental impact of using cloth if I paid someone to come in a truck, haul the diapers away, wash them, and bring them back.

Really, as I said, I am kind of lazy and I do not find cloth diapers to be difficult. I use Fuzzi Bunz Pocket diapers and wipes. I keep a bag in the bathroom where I put the dirty diapers, and I wash them about every other day. Washing them is not hard. First, I run them on a cold rinse, then I add soap and wash them in warm water. Then I toss them in the dryer (when it isn't 4 degrees out maybe I'll even line dry them).

4.) I don't wash my clothes

Well, unless them smell bad. Or have stains on them. But, I wear them a lot before I wash them, and if they get a small spot I will use a rag and just scrub that spot. This is pure laziness disguised as eco-friendly.

I just want to share these things because it really isn't that hard to make changes. If I can do it, so can you. :)

Katie

Low Sleep Living

Anyone who has been reading my blog might have guessed my absence is due to my having a baby a few weeks ago.

I have an older child who is 7, but it has been a while since I've done the "baby" thing- and let me tell you, only sleeping in 2 hour chunks makes "low waste/zero waste" living take a backseat on the "things to do" list.

I am using disposable diapers and wipes (I can't go up and down the stairs yet- the washer is in the basement!) among other things. I have not given into paper towels yet :) :) But who knows?

My self righteous environmentally conscious somewhat judgmental self has been humbled- I will no longer judge the mom who is formula feeding and using disposables (although I did bottle feed my first born, that is a tale for another day) because I get it- sometimes life puts you into survival mode, and all you can do is use a disposable diaper/eat at McDonalds/drink a bottled water/fill in the blank because it is all you can handle.

Not to say you should do it all the time, but we all need some grace and encouragement, not judgment.

I am not sure what the next step for this blog is, I still am focused on living and environmentally sound life, but I am not sure the spark to write about it is still here.

And even though I am not commenting on blogs, I am still reading (when I can, got to love the kindle for late night reading while nursing).

Happy Holidays to All, maybe I'll talk to you soon-

Katie

Becoming Habit

I was having a conversation the other day when the subject turned to laundry detergent (I know, don't be jealous, I lead a very exciting life.)

It got to how we mentioned we can't use the smelly stuff, because it gives us headaches, and I mentioned I make my own laundry detergent. "Oh," my friend said "I could never do that. To much work and time. I just buy free and clear."

I thought about it, and to be honest, I really don't think it takes much time to make laundry detergent. I have been doing it for so long it's just part of my routine. Then, I got to thinking of other "low waste" activities in my life, and how to someone totally unaccustomed to this type of "lifestyle" (if you want to call it that), it may seem time consuming.

But, once it becomes habit, it doesn't.

I haven't bought paper towels in over a year. At first, it was a pain in the butt to get use to the "rag" system, but now I don't even blink. It's not something I even think about. I just do it

I try to remind myself every time I begin a new low-waste endeavor, that while it may seem like a lot of work now, eventually it will become part of my routine (I am hoping this is the case with cloth diapers!)

Although, I have to emphasize, that the point of a low waste (or zero waste) lifestyle is not that it's easier, or convenient (although I find not having to buy lots of beauty products is a lot easier for me, personally), but I do it because I feel passionate about being the best steward I can of the (abundant) resources I have been given.

What's the most tedious housework/low waste/environmental change you've made? Mine would be cleaning the tub/shower. I don't just spray bleach on it anymore. I make homemade soft scrub, and I actually have to scrub.

True Confessions: Low Waste Fails, and Giving Myself Grace

Hello all. I am in week 36 of my pregnancy, and I am large, tired, and cranky. Not much longer to go.

And I have to confess. I have not been diligently living a low waste lifestyle.

I have been too tired to making yogurt, and resorted to buying it in a plastic tub.

My dryer is running. It is cold a damp and I took the easy route.

I have not made the 14 mile trek to the bulk foods store. We are eating cereal out of a box* and almonds in a plastic bag.

*(The box is cardboard, and the bag is wax paper. I reuse the wax bag for other things around the kitchen, and the cardboard gets recycled).

I feel like a failure. I am upset with myself. But, I am trying not to drag myself down with guilt and showing myself a little grace.

This stage of life isn't forever, and I am trying to do what I can at any given moment.

The Autmnal Equinox, or Hello Autumn

"Today is the autumnal equinox," my husband (M) said to me.
"Yeah, it's officially fall," was my response.
"What is an equinox Kate?"
"Oh, you know, it's something with the sun and how it's not summer anymore."
"Yes I know, but, what, exactly?"

Then I realized that I really did not know the specifics of the equinox, and neither did my husband, and shouldn't we know something like that? I am grateful for my husband's child like questions (not saying he is childish or meant in a negative, just that he is always curious and wanting to learn knew things.)

So, in normal course of our partnership, M puts out the questions, and K (that's me) searches for the answers. (I admit to making one up for him time to time when I do not know the answer. Usually he can tell).

And for those who are just as ignorant as us, the Autumnal Equinox is the day when the Earth's equator passes the center of the sun, and the axis neither points toward nor away from it. Now, because it is the autumnal equinox, my part of the world (The United States) will start to point away from the sun, and it will get cooler, and eventually become winter.

I live in Pennsylvania, where we have 4 distinct seasons. The Fall weather is my favorite. The mornings are chilly (it is 45 this morning), and a sweatshirt and a hot beverage are in order. The afternoons are warm (75) and one can shed their sweatshirt and be comfortable in short sleeves. Then, when night falls, it gets chilly again. To me, this is just perfect.

I look at fall a beautiful disaster. The leaves become magnificent shades of orange, red, and yellow. The tree lined streets become wondrous works of art.

But, behind the beauty, the leaves are actually dying, which is actually sort of depressing. I can remember in my early days this was a time when sadness would settle over me.
Now, as an adult, I embrace it. Because I know just around the corner (after the darkness of winter) is the Vernal Equinox, and soon enough I'll be singing the praises of spring.


So, M and I got our answers. These are the kind of things I wish I had learned in school. And now I'm off to research M's next question about evergreen trees.

Have a beautiful fall day! :)

Katie

Do you live in the moment?

I'll confess, I have a really hard time living in the moment. I am a forward thinker, and a natural worrier. I am always thinking about the next meal, the next day, heck, the next 5 years.

This isn't always a bad thing. I attribute this type of thinking the reason why we have a healthy savings account (we can't buy that! we need to save that money!) and in turn curbing any wasteful spending (well, do I need this? will I used this tomorrow, next week, next decade?) and my concern for the environment (this plastic's gonna be here longer than me!)

But, I will admit it does take away from say, savoring moments with my child when I am constantly thinking of what's next. And they grow fast! So I want to savor those moments.

I have found yoga and meditation to be helpful with training myself to live in the moment. The constant focus on your body, your breathing, really allows me to slow down.

My husband is the opposite. He is a "live in the now" person. He frequently gets lost in what he is doing, unaware of the time passing by. When I ask him what he wants to do at a later date, I don't get much of an answer- "how am I supposed to know where will be in 5 years?" I think of the John Lennon quote, "life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." -He's living, I'm planning. Maybe this has something do to with being a musician? They ability to live in the moment, savor the music.

I think we compliment each other- each grounding the other to a happy medium somewhere on the life spectrum.

What kind of person are you ?

Vacation and a Break from Thought

My family has been on a lovely vacation this week at a lake house with my parents, sisters and their families in the beautiful state of Vermont. I have enjoyed the week and being "away from it all", the slow summer days, watching my son play and swim in the lake with his cousins, having bonfires and making smores at night.

I really needed this time away, lately my thoughts have been bringing me down. I have been in the midst of reading "Garbagology" by Edward Humes, and while very informative, this book has really been bringing me down. I feel that even if I make an effort to reduce my waste, everywhere I look around me it is astounding to see the amount of waste going on. It really is astronomical. I found myself being irritated by every giant SUV I see, every plastic water bottle. " Don't these people care at all?" I think in despair to myself. But, this kind of thinking does not bring me anywhere but down.

I am trying to live and find ways to make positive impact in and outside myself, but it was very nice to be away and not think about the waste in the world for a week.

How I found minimalism or how minimalism found me.. Part 2

So after my debacle of being sick, I moved home with my parents to convalesce. I had a lot of time in between sleeping/taking medicine, and during this time I felt motivated to go through all of my stuff. I organized my closet and drawers in my room, and got rid of a lot. At the time I wasn't even conscious I was downsizing. I just was surrounded by the stuff from my life and didn't want there to be so much of it.

2 months later I had another set back when I got Lyme's disease. I can laugh about it now, after being so sick I get a tick bite and Lyme's disease. More medication etc. Luckily, I healed quickly from this.

And then, a month after that, I got pregnant.

That was a surprise. My doctors were surprised after my whole situation I even got pregnant. My boyfriend (now husband and I were surprised, as I was on birth control. But, nothing is ever 100%.

We decided if we were having a baby, we might as well get married now (as opposed to later). My parents had money set aside ear marked for my wedding fund. We had a decision to make. Wedding, or save the money for our future (2 young people not out of college raising a baby).
We chose to have a small wedding with family and close friends at a local park. Total cost: $500.00
I have no regrets about this. While I didn't have a traditional wedding, we had a beautiful day celebrating our love and didn't go broke.

And having a little cushion when starting out in the world with a small family and no job really made  a difference.

When we had our baby, some of my minimalist ways I developed after I was sick went out the window. I became caught up in the modern baby "stuff" culture.

My husband was the voice of reason through all this. He was actually the one who pushed for minimal television and less toys. I guess he had the foresight to know his college degree (music performance) was not one in sync with the "Keep up with the Jone's" culture.

Never have been living on a low budget, I soon realized what it took to be creative and survive on a low income. We went through 3 rentals before we found the current home we live in now (about 900 square feet, not tiny, but small.) I can remember during these times feeling very discouraged, the "when am I going to get to live in a 2,000 square foot house and drive an SUV/ mini van like all the other moms?"

The changing point was a monumental shift in attitude, that stemmed from reading this article
Simple Mom- the opulent ability to give. Once you look outside yourself, and your realize how large problems are the world, how many people have less than you, all the sudden all of the other stuff becomes stupid. It took my back to where I was after I was sick, thinking about the people with so much less than me, and I got to a place where I was like "who gives a @#$ if my house is small? SUVS are horrible for the environment! I embrace my small car! I have a place to live with a working toilet, I am damn lucky."

And when you stop focusing on stuff and all the unimportant stuff gets falls out of the way, you realize what really matters in life. Minimalism allows my husband to have his dream career even if it is not high paying, and allows me to work less and spend time raising my kids. Because we don't spend a lot of money on stuff we don't need, we don't need to make as much. It's still a work in progress, but we're getting there and we're happy.

How I found Minimalism (or how Minimalism found me) Part 1

I wasn't always into simple living. Isn't that how it goes for most of us? We're living in the world of "average American" (for me at least, because I am in the US) and then something shocks us out of our stupor.

Well, I'll save you a lot of time by summing up the first part of my life in a nutshell. I had a great childhood. I lived in suburbia with middle class family. I have great parents, and my mom was a stay at home mom. My parents loved me and (still do) took care of me. I had no wants.

Although my  dad made a decent living, my parents were very anti-debt, anti-credit card etc., so while not minimalists, they were both raised by depression-era parents, and instilled good financial values in me. (I was a later in life baby :) )

Fast forward to me being 20 years old, and away at college. I went away to a college in an inner city, and it was a stressful environment, especially for someone like me who had never been exposed to poverty. This was my first experience in an environment nothing like I was used to.

Until I got sick. It started with inconsistent diarrhea for 2 weeks, and culminated to me passing bloody mucus and diarrhea upwards of 60 times a day. Obviously at this point something was very wrong, and for some reason I didn't tell my roommate (I don't know why. Was I embarrassed? Really? Why are people so embarrassed by bowel functions? Everyone has them). I was only an hour away, so my dad picked me up and took me to the hospital.

Over the course of 4 months, I was admitted to one hospital 3 times, and because they couldn't help me, I was eventually transferred to another hospital (via ambulance) and spent a total of 40 days in the hospital. I was diagnosed with colitis, put on anti-inflammatory drugs and steroids. But, I still wasn't getting better.

Then, I was also diagnosed with a bacterial infection call clostridium difficile. I took antibiotics. I seemed to be getting better, then I would relapse. I could not digest any food. I had track marks to rival your neighborhood addict, and eventually I had a pic line sewn into my arm, where I was administered parental nutrition (because I could not eat). I lost 30 pounds. I had to drop out of college.

When I was finally released the last time, I moved back home with my parents, where I was on a regiment of medication and an extremely strict diet.

I want to tell you now that that was 8 years ago, and other than having irritable bowel syndrome, I have made a full recovery and I have not had another bout of colitis or infection.

This was the first life changing event that made me rethink my priorities in life. When you spend your days in a hospital bed, unable to eat, you start really thinking about your life and what you want out of it. You start to realize $50 spent on jeans is stupid, and that validity of the statement "your health is the most important thing".

Having this experience at such a young age was actually beneficial, because it forced me to step back and say, "what is important? what do I want?" when I think for a lot of people this does not happen until they are older.

To Be Continued..

Things that seem normal to us but has friends and family members thinking we're not..

Over the course of time my husband and I have made changes in our lives. These were due to budget concerns, environmental concerns, etc. They have become normal and routine for us, but I find friends and extended family members think we are a little "off". Here are just a few.

1.) No television

We own a television. It is hooked up to a vcr (yes, we still have one) and a dvd player. But, we have no channels. We used to have the basic channels, but when things went digital, our 1995 model tv no longer broadcasted them (and we were to lazy to get a converter. No regrets.) My son watches shows on the computer (and so do we), and we rent dvds from the library. This seems totally routine for us, but often I get, "you don't have cable?" "no." "Basic channels?"  "No". "??"

We do have and pay for the internet, that was non-negotiable (except when we couldn't afford it, and we didn't).

2.) As long as were on technology, neither one of us has a smart phone. Or a GPS. We each have a cell phone (and we have a family ipad). We survive with the phone and maps. Really. We do.

3.) Paper towels

I stopped buying paper towels about a year or so ago. I had an old flannel sheet that I cut up into rags. Is it gross? Yeah, sometimes it's gross. But you get over it and get used to it, and now I refuse to spend money on a paper towel when I can use a regular towel just fine. We have a "rag bag" system in our kitchen, there is a clean bag of rags, and a dirty bag of rags. When the dirty bag is full, I wash them.

4.) Tissues

Once again, like paper towels, I use a hanky. If our snots are really bad, we use a roll of recycled toilet paper. It works fine.

5.) Homemade yogurt.

Yogurt is like the gateway to making things from scratch. Once you've made yogurt, you get the "heck, I could make anything!" feeling going. The funny thing is, it is pretty easy to make, and cheap/ I make a half gallon of yogurt for $2.50 (the cost of a half gallon of local farm fresh hormone free milk sold in returnable glass bottle).

Do you have things that you do that have become routine but have people thinking your a little off when you tell them?

Katie