Happy New Year from Our Urban Homestead

 Here on the urban homestead front it's been kinda slow these last few weeks.  I think for awhile we were learning something new each day and had more to share than any one human could listen to, so we started blogging.  At this point our energy is focused more on living what we have learned, and not caving into laziness and falling back into the convenience trap.

With the holidays being the busy time they are this has been a challenge, but all in all we've stayed true to our core values and came out on top.  I find the two major areas that tend to get out of control are gift lists and food.  Our gift list wasn't very long but did have a handful of family on it and all but one gift was made by hand in our home.   However, since I wasn't out shopping all day like in years past I was able to avoid the fast food dinner trap.  On Christmas day I realized I didn't have any Bisquick and McClane had specifically requested sausage balls as one of our menu items.  I have a recipe for homemade Bisquick, but like most moms on Christmas day, I was too busy cooking to fool with it.  Racey offered to go to Walgreen's and grab a box along with crackers to replace the ones he ate on accident so I figure what the heck... it's Christmas day for crying out loud!  As you can imagine, they didn't have any so I was forced to take the time to make it myself and I'm glad I did.  It was so easy and only took less than ten minutes start to finish, which was less time than it took Racey to put his shoes on and drive to the store.  In my rush I forgot to take pictures of the 'Homemade Bisquick' so here are the directions.

10 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. baking powder
1/4 c. sugar
4 tsp. salt
2 c. shortening, that does not require refrigeration

 

Combine all ingredients except shortening in large bowl. With pastry blender cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Store in airtight container, up to 6 months. Use as you would any other baking mix. Makes 12 1/2 cups.

 

May the New Year bring you and your family many blessings and may you grow in strength and knowledge!

12 Days of Christmas - Teacher Gifts

December is a frenzied time where students and teachers alike are doing their best to make it to the end of each week and the goal being Christmas Break.  Each teacher usually has a class party where parents bring special foods and gifts, and each grade usually has a special program where the students perform for their parents.  Most parents are scurrying around doing their own Christmas decorating, shopping, and cooking while trying to figure out what type of gift for their child to give to their teacher. All these activities create a very memorable time for the student and parent, but f you have multiple children this can sometimes get expensive and overwhelming.  In my last job, I worked as the head custodian for an elementary school.  This position opened my eyes to the waste and disregard of most of the items that parents bring to their child's school.  Each afternoon I emptied the trash for an entire school with over 1000 students, which makes for a lot of trash!  Every afternoon I would be absolutely amazed and down right irritated to see what some teachers threw in the trash.  Each day my eyes were opened more and my spirit as a gift giving parent was crushed. Some of the gifts would still be in the gift bag, and bag and all would be trashed.  Sometimes others that contained candy or other small stuff would be dumped and they would keep the container.  Most home-baked items were just given to the custodial staff or thrown away. I don't tell you this to burst your bubble, or try to talk you out of buying gifts for your child's teacher. I just want you to be aware of the reality of what I experienced, and if your budget or schedule is tighter than you would like, and these gifts are causing you more stress than joy, then maybe it's time to re-evaluate your gift list.

A few of my suggestions would be:

• If you have a strict teacher budget of $10.00 or less then don't buy a gift
• If you have more than one child and they have multiple teachers (school, sport, piano, dance, church, etc) then don't buy a gift
• If you or your child feel like there is a bad connection between the teacher and you then don't buy a gift (a gift will not strengthen the relationship)
• If you are having a hard time buying for your own family, then don't buy a gift
• If you have to purchase it on a credit card, then don't buy a gift

Our children's teachers are very important people.  They have a huge impact on what our kids learn, how they react to success, failure, and how they feel about learning in general.  They should be appreciated, respected, and supported, but that doesn't mean you have to buy them a gift.

Here are a few of my gift replacement suggestions:

• Donate your time once a month to come in and help the teacher with something in the classroom 
• Lamaniting special items
• Cutting items out
• Grading papers
• Packing folders
• Change bulletin boards 
• Sharpen pencils (kindergarten)
• Set the room up for the next day
• Ask her where you can help

• Support and defend the teacher to your whining child (even if you check matters out later)
• Write a thank you email and send it to her principal letting them know how much you appreciate the work he/she is doing with your child
• Save the money you would spend at Christmas, Valentine's and maybe their birthday and give them a nice end of the year gift with a true thank you note ($5-$10 isn't much of a gift at one time but at the end of the year you can purchases a nice $30-$50 gift)
• Give them a nice fruit & veggie basket.  Even the pickiest of teacher has to eat.

In my son's 7th grade year his teacher and I didn't see eye to eye at any point in the year.  My son didn't like her because she was a "tough love" teacher, and that just is not his style.  At the end of the year I gave her a thank you note with a gift basket filled with Bath & Body Works items.  My son's relationship was over with this person and I was truly thankful for her assistance dealing with my difficult student.  She sent me an email later that day thanking me for the card and gift and saying how she really appreciated the thank you because it had been a very hard year for her as well, and most parents turn a difficult year into dislike for the teacher.

If you and your child's teacher are friends, and money is no issue for you then please, gift on!  There is nothing wrong with giving, and obviously not every teacher is as disrespectful as the ones I mentioned above.  It's only when we place ourselves in a stressful situation and put our budget in a hard place to give a token gift that it would be better to not give.  

This year, take an honest look at where you are financially and what the mood of the holidays at school are and take care of your family first.  Then, if it's appropriate, take care of that special teacher!

12 Days of Christmas: Gift #2 - Jewelry

Today's gift is for the jewelry lover in the family.  This necklace and bracelet combo is for a special night out.  It is made with Swarovski crystals and .925 sterling closures.  It has a simple but classic design.  While it is handmade, it isn't cheap.  The crystals alone were over $100.00, not to mention the sterling silver closures.

If this is too dressy or out of your price range, here is an example of a necklace, bracelet, and earring set I made for my girls last year.  The total package was under $20.00 and they have had several family members try and buy it off of them!

If you have someone with long hair that likes to wear it up, this is a great idea!  I call them 'hair sticks' - original I know. ;-)  This item is what got me into jewelry making.  I saw a pair of these in a shop and they wanted $40.00!  I wanted them so bad but I couldn't afford them.  Each time I went back to this store I would look to see if they were still there, and each time the quantity had dwindled.  Racey surprised me one night with a special gift... sure enough my hair sticks!  I was so happy to get them that I started making my own!  Now I have several pair and wear them at some point nearly every day.

Last, but not least, you can make little trinkets.  I tend to use my leftover jewelry from a project, but you can use anything that suits your fancy.

I attached a little something to my sewing scissors to help remind people that these are not to be used for anything other than fabric.  Plus, when I hear them jingle and I'm not doing the jingling, I start hollering!  The key chain was a product of me using things up, but each time someone sees it they ask where I bought it.

So, as you can tell, there are many ideas for homemade gift giving that don't require you to pass on a fruit cake, or have your gift be considered cheap.  It's all about the thought and time you spent in preparing and making the gift that gives it real meaning.

I hope I have given you a few ideas, and I would love to hear some of the things you are making this season.

12 Days of Christmas - Foot Scrub & Body Butter

In the spirit of Black Friday, I thought I would get a jump on the shopping for this holiday season.  Unlike most Black Friday shoppers I slept in this morning.  Once awake I took my sweet time eating a little leftover Thanksgiving dinner for breakfast.  What?  Everyone doesn't do this?!?  Then I sat at the computer and looked at all the Google news stories about crazy Black Friday shoppers and all their antics.  What some people will do for a discount!  I'm all about saving money but this is just nonsense.  To me this is a prime example of how we have transformed into a consumer society where we are literally possessed with stuff.

Now don't get me wrong here.  I love things... I love getting gifts... I love giving gifts...I have a wish list as long as my arm as well.  I'm just at a point in my life that each item causes me to think about several things, such as the following:

• Where was this made?
• Who made it? (Maybe a child or severely underpaid parent?)    
• How much fuel did it take to get this item to me here in the States?
• Could it be made here in the U.S. and, if so, why wasn't it?
• Is it made of something that could possibly add to my personal toxic load?  If you are unfamiliar with this topic you can read about it here, here, and here. 
• Will this item be around and still in good working order in 3 years, 5 years, 10 years?
• Is this a temporary gadget, and will I be wanting the new and improved one in six months?
• How long will I or my husband have to work to buy this item?

As I said I love things, I just hate what it take for me to have them.  So back to my Black Friday plan!  I will still celebrate the holiday as I talked about in a previous post, my main focus will just be on spending time with the people I care about, enjoying a good homemade meal and giving small handmade gift as a token of love.

Here is my first handmade gift of the season!

 This is for the woman who loves to pamper her feet.  The jar on the left is a powdered foot scrub, and the blue dish is a deep conditioning body butter.  The foot scrub can be made with items in your pantry.  The body butter supplies can be found at any health food store.

Hear are the steps to make this wonderful, handmade, personalized gift for someone on your gift list!

Here are the ingredients for the foot scrub:

• 1/2 cup of  cornmeal
• 1/2 cup of oatmeal
• 1/4 cup of seasalt
• 10 drops of essential oil (I used lemon because that's what I had on hand.  It gave the mixture a clean citrus smell)

First you will want to put the oats in a food processor or blender and blend into a fine powder.

Next mix the powdered oats, cornmeal, and salt.  Once all dry ingredients are mixed add essential oil for scent.  This step is optional.

I used a wide mouth decorative jelly jar that I had left over from the canning season.  If you have a canning funnel it comes in handy for more than canning.

Here are the ingredients for the body butter:

• 1 tbsp. of Coconut Oil
• 2 tbsp. of Shea Butter
• 2 tsp. of Safflower Oil
• 2 tsp. of Grapeseed Oil

Coconut oil is a solid below 76 degrees and becomes a liquid at 77 degrees.  I measured both solids and heated in microwave for 20 seconds till soft but not melted.

Once softened, place in mixer and SLOWLY add oils.  This step can take a few minutes.  You will want to increase the mixer speed as the oil is incorporated.

Your final product should look like whipped butter.

I had a old Avon jar that I found at an estate sale several years ago so I used it to hold the butter.










Remember that this is a deep conditioning body butter, so a little goes a long way.  Because of the coconut oil it will have an oily feel to it, however, if you use a small amount it will be absorbed into the skin within a few minutes.

As you can see, this gift is one that is not expensive but is a little more time consuming than just picking up a gift card.  The purpose of this post is to show you that you can give gifts and enjoy the holiday season without becoming a crazy Black Friday causality.  The focus is not money as much as the mentality of the modern gift giver. Tomorrow I will post another homemade gift, so if this one isn't up your alley, check back then and see what you think!

*Note: The foot scrub is a powder so you will want to put a little in your hand then add a small amount of water to form a paste.

Give Love Instead of Stuff This Year

    With Christmas being eight weeks from today, the question of whether Christmas on a budget is really possible begins to consume my thoughts.  I've had excessive spending years, I've had lean gift giving years, and I really can't remember one Christmas being better than the other.  I know at the time I probably thought more gifts would equal a richer holiday experience, but in my memory I can't recall what year was what.  That realization and the frightful economy has helped me move to a "less is more" approach this year.

Give homemade!

    This year we've told the grown kids and family that we would not be giving or receiving gifts.  That doesn't mean we aren't celebrating the holiday, we're just doing it a little differently this year.  We'll still decorate the house, drive through town enjoying the lights, and watch our favorite Christmas movies.  We'll still indulge in all the wonderful food of the season and listen to Christmas music till the youngest ones in the family know the songs by heart.  The only thing we're not doing is buying gifts.  This year our focus is on spending quality time with our loved ones and enjoying the most stress free Christmas we can imagine.

    Most people I know enjoy shopping for a day or two, but after that they dread standing in lines, fighting traffic, and circling the parking lot.  Then there are those who would usually be on our gift list who already have everything, and what they don't have are things you could never afford.  To make shopping easier, many of us have moved toward online shopping or buying gift cards to help ease this burden.  Notice the word I used there?  Did it catch your eye?  I said BURDEN!  Is that what the holiday should involve?  We think not!

Simple doesn't mean "less"!

Here are a few things to consider before you start to run and buy things from the store:

• Do you buy or exchange gifts just because that is what your family has always done or because it's standard for our culture?  If so, is that really a good reason?

•  Do you worry about the quality of the gift or do you get something just to get something?

• Is it any way a burden on your budget?

• Do you use credit cards to purchase gifts then carry a balance after Christmas?

•  Can you even remember all the things you bought for everyone you bought for last year?  What about the year before that?  Do they even still have whatever it is you bought?

• Have you ever re-gifted an item?  If so then the person who bought that gift wasted their money, and the same goes for you when the person you buy a gift for re-gifts it.

•  Is all this really what holiday time is about ?

    Every family has different expectations, resources, and traditions.  You certainly don't need to adopt our model if yours is working fine and you're happy with everything exactly as it is.  We just suggest you take a moment and evaluate what really matters the most to you about the holidays and tweak your plans until it brings the most happiness to the most important people in the least burdensome way possible.  Do that and you'll be sure to have a Merry Christmas!