Monday Morning Update -AHS

We're up to $1365 and as of last night at 16th on the ticker. (Oops, 18th now) We're almost there. We are sending out letters to the neighbors this week and Josh is working on his co-workers now that "conversion" is over. I know I'm getting obnoxious, but in one month it will all be over, I promise! Thanks for putting up with us!

Bath Fizzies recipe

Here's the instructions for the bath fizzies that Kim made for the shower. I tried them last night and they are yummy. Kim made them baby powder scented for the baby shower theme, blue because it's a boy. Thanks Kim for sharing the recipe!






Sift 1 3/4 cup baking soda, 1 cup citric acid, and 2 cups cornstarch
through a sieve to remove chunks. To make different tints, fill small
spritzer bottles with water and add about 6 drops of food coloring to
each. Pour 1 cup of powdered mixture into a glass bowl. Lightly
spritz, stirring after each spritz, until powder is desired color. Add
water slowly, so mixture does not fizz. If mixing two tints, alternate
colors as you spritz. Check the consistency of powder with your
fingertips; when it can be tightly packed or shaped, stop spritzing
(this may take a little while). Select an essential oil. Add 5 drops
if it's one of the stronger scents (peppermint, lavender), 6 if it's a
weaker one (lemon, grapefruit). Mix well. Firmly pack mixture into
small baking molds. Approximately use 1/4 cup for each fizzy, which is
good for one bath. Allow mixture to set for 2 hours, then pop out
carefully. Repeat with different tints for remaining powder.

To save a few steps I put the scent and color into a little spritzer
with water. I also used a mini-muffin pan as my mold, scooping the
mixture with the Pampered Chef Medium Scoop.

Enjoy!

Brien's Home!

I've mentioned our DuRoche friends before on this blog, but usually it's the rest of the family and not Brien because he had moved to Colorado for about 6 years. But Brien FINALLY moved back to Minnesota and yesterday was his surprise Golden 30th Birthday/Welcome Home party. It had been since Meg and Chris got married since we had seen Bri (he is the reason Meg and Chris met) so we're happy to have him home again! Now our family events will have EVERYONE again:)

Jenny's Baby Shower

I hope Jenny doesn't mind, I know I posted pics from her last shower too... If ever you don't want to be on my blog, this is my disclaimer, if I take your picture, it might be on the blog:)

Here's pictures of: Jenny and her mom, Riley's party shoes (my heels), and some of the creative works of Kim, one of the co-hosts! She MADE the bath fizzies and the packaging for them, and she MADE the baby sock flower arrangement for the table. How cute!

Kim and Aimee were my co-hosts and they are both graphic designers...very creative, very talented designers...Aimee made the cupcakes and hand decorated them too (I didn't get a picture, but I think Jenny's mom did so I'll post if I can get a copy). I must say I have a few designer friends (Jenny included!) and they are such talented people! I'm so glad I went into magazines so I got to have friends like these!

Baby On The Brain

Ok, I just finished co-hosting a baby shower and so I have baby stuff on the brain (I'll post pictures later). I was at Carters outlet in Albertville this week and there's a contest to win $2500 worth of Carters Nursery stuff...crib, changer, bedding, etc. Go to Carters.com to enter! You can enter now through April 14th.

Do It Green Newsletter

This is from my Do It Green newsletter. As you know, April is the month of Earth Day so I'm guessing there will be lots of Living Green posts coming soon...
-------------------------------------------------------

Movie Night: An Inconvenient Truth Showing and Discussion

Date and Time: Friday, April 18th, 6-9 PM
Location: Do It Green! Resource Center inside Twin Cities Green (2405 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls)

Watch Al Gore's Oscar-winning film, An Inconvenient Truth, with fellow Do It Greeners. This documentary has helped create more public awareness about environmental issues and global warming than anything prior to it. There will be a group discussion following the movie, as well as refreshments provided. If you've seen it already, come for the free beverages and popcorn!


Sign up online, email ami@doitgreen.org or call 612-345-7973 to reserve your spot at the workshops!

*A suggested donation of $5 per workshop can be made online or at the workshop. Do It Green! appreciates your support!
---------------------------------------------------------

Make this year’s spring-cleaning more eco-friendly with these tips:

-Clean it green. You won't have to compromise indoor air quality if you use green cleaning products. Eco-friendly brands like Seventh Generation will do the trick...
-Recycle it right. If you find yourself surrounded by possible recyclables, www.greenguardian.org will help you sort through it all. On April 11th and 12th, drop off post-consumer electronics for free at sites around the Twin Cities. For details, go to www.wm.com/WM/sony/index.asp
-Reuse your junk (or at least let somebody else reuse it). If you have a lot to get rid of, make something new out of something old, have a yard sale, organize a clothing swap with friends, donate to charity, or use Craigslist.org. Twin Cities Free Market.org is another good outlet.
-Don’t relapse. Use the next year to question consumer behavior. Before you buy something new, make sure you don’t foresee it in the give-away pile next spring.

Rachael Ray - Green Living

You can blame Meg for this one. Rachael Ray was partly about living green today. She had umbrellas that are biodegradeable (apparently it takes like 300 years for normal umbrellas to decompose), Environmentally friendly cleaning products called Get Clean, and Dr Scholls sandals that are made from renewable resources and they plants trees with every purchase to revive damaged forests. I guess there's gonna be more, but Riley wanted to check out the potty chair so we're upstairs, back to Rachael....