Great GREEN Fall Giveaway

If you like giveaways and you love or are like me, starting to go green, then go here to My Merry Messy Life and enter for your chance to win one or more great prizes!!! And by the way I just found her Blog and boy is it GREAT!!! She is "green" all the way and has inspired me to go as much green as I can. Well good luck to all who enter and even if you don't win go ahead and start saving our land for our children and their children...GO GREEN!!!

~Country Mama~

Make Your Own Beauty Products

Conventional personal-care products contains an assortment of chemicals, including some that have been linked to health problems ranging from weight gain to cancer risk. While many natural and organic options exist, these can be pricey. Stay healthy—and save money—with homemade body, hair care and beauty products free of chemical preservatives.

Homemade Body-Care and Soap Recipes

Milk and Honey Soap
Soothing and gently exfoliating, this creamy bar has the comforting scent of vanilla.
Simply Lavender Soap
This easy lavender soap recipe is perfect for the first-time soap maker.
Super-Healing Hand Balm
Soothe dry, chapped hands with this all-natural hand balm made with healing comfrey—perfect for those who work with their hands.
Homemade Body and Facial Scrubs
Reveal fresh, healthy skin with homemade scrubs crafted from simple ingredients in your kitchen cupboard.
• Featured body-care recipes: Bee Gorgeous Face and Body Scrub; Playing Footsie Foot Scrub
Healing Herbal Salve
Treat itchy, dry skin with a homemade herbal salve.
How to Make Your Own Lotion, Lip Balm and Salve
Making your own lotion, lip balm and salve is fun and rewarding—and easier than you might think.
• Featured body-care recipes: Basic Lotion Recipe; Salve Recipe

Homemade Hair Care

Shimmer and Shine: Homemade Shampoo and Conditioner
Give your hair the love it deserves with natural shampoos, conditioners and rinses.
No-Dandruff Rinse
Deep cleanser your scalp and rid it of dead skin cells with this herbal and vinegar rinse.
Hair Softening Rinse
Get your super clean—and leave it soft and shiny—with this hair rinse.

Homemade Skin Care and Lip Balm Recipes

Herbal Skin Care Recipes
Freshen up with herb-based recipes for your face.
• Featured skin care recipes: Lavender Facial Wash; Red Clover Whipped Lotion; Rose Petal Facial Toner; Dandelion-Elder Flower Blemish Lightener; Lemon Lip Balm
Homemade Body and Facial Scrubs
Reveal fresh, healthy skin with homemade scrubs crafted from simple ingredients in your kitchen cupboard.
• Featured skin care recipes: Bee Gorgeous Face and Body Scrub; Spot the Difference Face Scrub
Fresh Grapefruit Cleanser
Perfect for oily skin types, this cleanser is mildly acidic and astringent.
Oatmeal Cleanser
A mild exfoliant, this oatmeal facial cleanser can soothe dry or irritated skin.
Gentle Cleanser
A good alternative to harsh soap, this gentle cleanser’s soothing properties make it especially good for sensitive or mature skin.
Homemade Lip Balm
Leave your lips feeling luscious and quenched with this simple recipe for homemade lip balm.
How to Make Your Own Lotion, Lip Balm and Salve
Making your own lotion, lip balm and salve is fun and rewarding—and easier than you might think.

~Country Mama~

Top Ingredients to Avoid in Personal Care Products

Not sure which ingredients to avoid on lotion, shampoo and deodorant labels? Use this handy guide to buy with confidence.

By Kelly Lerner and Alli Kingfisher
September/October 2011 

Lotion and sunscreen. Shampoo and body scrub. Powder and deodorant. The collection of personal-care products in our bathroom cabinets—women use an average of 12 a day, men six—contains an assortment of chemicals, including some that have been shown to disrupt hormones or increase cancer risk. Because each of these products contains about 12 chemicals, we are literally bathing, lathering, brushing, spraying, powdering and rubbing ourselves and our children with dozens of chemicals every day. Nearly all of these chemicals can penetrate the skin, and some we ingest directly from our lips or hands.

Choose sensuous natural fabrics and comforting vintage finds for your sleep space.  ...

While many of the chemicals used in common personal-care products are benign, some are known carcinogens, neurotoxins or reproductive toxins. Others are endocrine disrupters that upset the body’s hormonal balance (leading to weight gain and other hormone-related health problems), including chemicals that mimic estrogen in the body and can cause problems in sexual development and adult sexual function, as well as increase the risk of breast and prostate cancer.
Unfortunately, these toxic ingredients may be more prevalent than you think: More than one-third of all personal-care products contain at least one ingredient linked to cancer. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, as less than 20 percent of the chemicals in personal-care products have been tested for safety. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t regulate or limit the use of chemicals in personal-care products or require that all of the ingredients be listed on the label.
As a result, trying to choose safer personal-care products can be confounding. You can read labels, but because the FDA doesn’t regulate the health claims or labeling for personal-care items, the words “organic,” “herbal,” “natural,” “hypoallergenic” and “nontoxic” used on these products have no legal meaning. One particularly maddening example of this is the “pink-washing” of brands that have campaigns to fight breast cancer while continuing to use chemicals that have been linked to cancer.
No one should have to worry about inadvertently choosing toxic products while shopping in the personal-care aisle. That’s why a group of organizations, including the Breast Cancer Fund, have come together to form The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition working to eliminate dangerous chemicals from cosmetics and personal-care products through legislative, regulatory and corporate reforms.

But you don’t have to wait for major reforms to find safer  products. Here’s what you can do today to protect and promote your health and safeguard your family:

*Ingredients to Avoid 

*Prefixes Ethyl, Methyl, Butyl or Propyl
What It Is: Parabens
Health Risks: Endocrine disrupters that mimic estrogen; linked to weight gain and breast cancer
Found In: Lotions and shampoos

*Fragrance, DEHP, DHP, DBP 5, Dibutyl Phthalate
What It Is: Phthalates
Health Risks: Sperm damage, infertility
Found In: Nail polish, shampoo, deodorant, lotion

*Dyes: Blue 1, Green 3, Yellow 5 & 6, Red 33
What It Is: Coal tar
Health Risks: Carcinogenic
Found In: Hair color, medicated shampoos

*Triclosan, Chloro, Phenol, Irgasan
What It Is: Triclosan
Health Risks: Endocrine and thyroid disrupter; promotes antibiotic-resistant bacteria; bioaccumulates in the body
Found In: Antibacterial soap, shampoo, facial cleanser, toothpaste, deodorant

*3-(4-methylbenzylidene)-camphor (4-MBC), octyl-methoxycinnamate (OMC), octyl-dimethyl-PABA (OD-PABA), bexophenome-3 (Bp-3), homosalate (HMS)
What It Is: Sunscreen chemicals
Health Risks: Estrogenic activity; enhances the potential for pesticides to penetrate the skin.

*Polyethylene glycol (PEG, PPG, Cocoate), propylene glycol, polyoxyethylene, polyethoxyethylene, polyethoxyethylene mineral oil
What It Is: Petroleum byproducts
Health Risks: Carcinogen; liver and kidney effects
Found In: Lotions

*Petrolatum 

What It Is: Derivative of petroleum
Health Risks: Endocrine disrupter; carcinogen
Found In: Lotions

*Lead acetate, thimerosal, mercurius solubilis, mercurius sublimates, mercurius corrosives, mercuric chloride
What It Is: Lead and mercury
Health Risks: Found in higher levels in women with breast cancer; neurotoxin
Found In: Hair color, wound treatments, artificial tears

*Isobutene
What It Is: Propellant made from petroleum processing
Health Risks: Carcinogen
Found In: Moisturizer, shaving cream, foot spray, breath freshener

*Placenta
What It Is: Placenta, placental enzymes, placental extract
Health Risks: Filled with hormones that upset your own balance and increase estrogen
Found In: Skin and hair conditioner

*Hydroquinone
What It Is: Hydroquinone
Health Risks: Can cause a skin disease called ochronosis
Found In: Skin whitener

*Nano zinc oxide What It Is: Nanoparticles
Health Risks: The safety of nanoparticles has not been tested, but they can cross the blood/brain barrier and move along nerves.
Found In: Sunscreens, lotions

A year studying sustainability in Sweden prompted Kelly Lerner and Alli Kingfisher to revamp their personal-care products. The more they find out about the effects of toxic ingredients, the more they read labels and change what they buy. 

Let's think about what goes "ON" our bodies as much as what goes "IN" our bodies.

~Country Mama~

Me Go Back To School????

       
      I am thinking of taking some online classes for Fitness and Nutrition. I will know more for sure in the next few days, I am going to try to get enrolled for Fall classes. If I apply myself I can have a degree in about 6 months. I'm really excited and eager to get a degree and then to try to open or work in a fitness club. {An all women's of course!}

 But I am also leaning towards becoming a health coach, which would take about a year or so to get a degree, but then again it does pay quite a bit more money! Of course, it also costs more money to get the degree.

I gota pray about it and see what God wants me to do.

   

~Country Mama~
 

Homemade Deodorant

     I made {again} my own homemade deodorant, I got it from here this time  The Sensible Mom but I put mine in the fridge to make sure it would harden. But then I decided to liquify it again and add essential oils to make it SMELL great! Then I put it back in the fridge to harden back up.

     It smells GREAT!!! Even my husband said so! And to top it all off I have enough deo. now for about...oh I don't know maybe 3 months or longer. I love making my "own homemade" things...to know "I" made it and usually it is even better than store bought, not to mention cheaper! I love that feeling. 

     I just happened to have 2 of my husbands empty deo. containers and filled them up then I also filled two small containers of it, so needless to say I have quite enough for awhile. I do so love it! 

     Thanks for the recipe Sandra  I will be back to look for more homemade recipes you may have.

 ~Country Mama~

A Handbag Contest....

Head on over to Bagluxe.com and enter for your chance to win a lovely handbag! 

 

Good Luck and have a great day today!  

~Country Mama~

It's such a shame...

That the world has turned out the way it has. When you have to worry about if your children are really talking to other children or a pervert!!! My 12 year old gets on 'horseland" and she has a hard time understanding why she can not tell "to much" about herself because the people she is chatting with may not be a 12 or 13 year old girl like they say. 

My children are pure and innocent they do not watch TV, just the CD or DVD movies we approve of. We also home school and they do not sleep over at other peoples houses either for fear of other children corrupting my girls. And when I here someone say..."Well they have to grow up sometime" or "You can't shelter them forever" your right I can't, but I sure can keep them pure and innocent for as long as I can!!!!!!!!!!

It's a sure sign that the Lord is coming back soon, this world is so bad and people are so corrupt, cruel and sinful!

Well I've vented enough for now, LOL. So I pray we all get ready to stand in front of God and give an account for EVERYTHING we have done...Good or Bad. 

~Country Mama~

Alot of things have happened lately...

My husband got hurt and has been out of a job since April 16th. So things have changed quite a bit around here. First we had to move to a less expensive place which has more land and alot less money, but it was not fenced in and we did not have the money to do it. So we had to sell our horses, but not until one of our dogs killed 6 or 7 of our chickens. So we got rid of that dog! We now have only 1 dog and 4 chickens and 1 rooster left.

The house is an old farm house, 5 bedrooms but only 1 bathroom. We put ALOT of work into it, but it really looks good now,  at least on the inside. The outside still has alot of work to be done to it.

Roy goes back to the doctor on Thursday and hopefully he can start back to work again. I am trying to find work online or even take a course online and get me a degree of some kind!?!

~Country Mama~

A Great Giveaway....

At Home Educating Family Publishing
they are having a giveaway go on by and check it out! This is what it is all about....

Deeper Roots in Life's Jungle

We are doing 2 drawings this time around! One junior high prize pack and one high school prize pack!

The Junior High Pack worth over $85 will include:
1. Discovering Our Amazing God - A Teacher's Guide/Student Workbook Bible curriculum
2. A Well-Planned Day Student Planner (winner chooses between 2 styles)
3. One Year Subscription to Home Educating Family Magazine (already a subscriber? If you win you can gift your subscription prize to a friend!)


The High School Pack worth over $100 will include:
1. Rooted and Grounded, High School Bible Curriculum - a Teacher's Guide/Student Workbook plus test and answer key
2. A Well-Planned Day 1 Year High School Planner (let us know your year of graduation so we can send the correct planner!)
3. One Year Subscription to Home Educating Family Magazine (already a subscriber? If you win you can gift your subscription prize to a friend!)


Contest dates runs from Monday July 11, 2011 through Sunday July 17, 2011.

New Section Premieres – 70s to Today

New Section Premieres – 70s to Today

Too often, we think of history as "100 years ago, or at least 10 years ago." But history actually began 10 minutes ago. A lot has changed in the last 40 years, and a new section of the Web Site explores those changes in rural America. In the left hand navigation pane, you'll find a new button that will take you to the new section. These were tumultuous times. A farm boom in the 70s led to a bust in the 80s when many over-extended farmers lost their livelihoods and their land. Those who were left were forced to get bigger or get out. Those who made it finally achieved parity in income with their urban neighbors. This was a time when ag technology made astounding discoveries in genetics, machinery and computers. Pesticides became more sophisticated and, ironically, some consumers started demanding food without chemicals. In pop culture, rural America was portrayed as either a nostalgic refuge from modern life or as a threatening place filled with sadistic perverts. And farmers began raising fuel in addition to their traditional crops for food and fiber. When you enter the new section of the Web Site, just click on one of the thematic buttons across the top, and then follow the stories in the left hand navigation.

2011 Event Calendar

The schedule for the 2011 season of special events at the Wessels Living History Farm has been set. It includes a wide range of family and educational events. The admission price for visiting the farm and special events is $5.00 for adults, $4.00 for senior citizens and $2.00 for children. The farm can also be rented for parties, reunions, weddings and other special events. Call Dale Clark for details at 402-710-0682.

• Sunday, July 17 – Model A's on the Farm from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m.
• Sunday, August 14 – Living History Day from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m.
• Saturday and Sunday, October 1-2 – Tractor, Engine and Vintage Auto Show from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day.
• Saturday, October 1 – Barn Dance with music by the Kramer Sisters from 4:30 p.m. to Dark.
• Sunday, October 23 – Boo on the Farm from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
• Sat. December 10 through Fri. December 23 – Christmas on the Farm from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. each day.

Recognized! Outstanding Tourist Attraction in Nebraska

The Wessels Living History Farm has been named the "Outstanding Tourism Attraction" in the state by the Nebraska Travel and Tourism agency. The annual award is given to a Nebraska tourist attraction that has worked toward the continued success and growth of it community and the tourism industry in the state. The Farm has increased its annual attendance at the physical site to over 8,000 visitors a year. Visitors have come from 49 states and 21 foreign countries. Memberships have grown to over 200. There are now nine buildings on the Farm site south of York. And the Farm's educational programs have kept the Farm open six days a week for seven months with a full schedule of special events during the other months. In addition, this Web site has now reached over 6.1 million visitors from all over the world. They have read through over 11.2 million page views, and the site's movies have been viewed over 1.2 million times.

The Wessels Living History Farm Web site was also recognized as one of the "one of the best online resources for education in the humanities" by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). In 2007, a panel of reviewers voted to include this site on EDSITEment, a gateway to the highest quality humanities-related educational content on the Internet. We have more about this honor here. This recognition prompted the Omaha World Herald to say we are "A Virtual Must-See." In addition, we continue to receive messages from folks across the country who are using the content and learner resources we offer. We've got excerpts from some of these e-mails here. It's heartening to know that the material we're working hard to provide is being used and appreciated – by 6.3 million visitors like you since 2003. Thanks!

Winter - Holidays

Winter - Holidays

During the long winter months, most farm families looked forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas when family and neighbors would gather for a festive meal and a chance to visit. The holidays brought special performances at school, music and singing, a

	Was Christmas for kids in the 1920s like it is today? Merna Bailey tells a Christmas story. Watch This Video (Quicktime required)

Christmas tree decorated with real, burning candles, and sledding and ice skating. Harvey Pickrel remembers skating on a pond near his school. "…Our skates, you'd just clamp to your shoes, the old farm shoes, and they'd come off every once in a while, quite often. So they didn't work too good…we had fun doing it anyway."

Albert Friesen remembers a special treat at Christmastime — peanuts. "Candy or bananas was a big treat in those days. Peanuts, well peanuts…we only had them at Christmas time."

A trip down to the local pond for some ice skating was always good for a little winter fun.

The Orphan Train

Norma Ehlers remembers that illness and accidents often claimed the lives of children or parents. Relatives or neighbors often took in orphaned children after the death of parents. Her grandparents raised the child of an acquaintance whose parents had died.

"[They] took him into their home and raised him as their own. And I think you saw a lot of that in those days. In fact, I have an aunt and uncle that had done the same thing with the other child of the family. My parents had done the same thing with a cousin's child from Illinois that needed a home. It was just, you know, heritage of a lot of love and compassion for people." -- Norma Ehlers (Quicktime required)

From New York to York County: Orphans from much farther away found homes in Nebraska. From the late 1800s through the 1920s, the westbound train brought thousands of orphaned children from New York City to plains states and Nebraska's rural communities. Older boys were strong enough to work in the fields, and girls could help farm women with the endless chores of cooking, cleaning, laundry, sewing, and other duties. When the "Orphan Train," as it was known, stopped in the town of York, and other communities across Nebraska, farm families came to the station and looked over the children on the train. Perhaps a childless couple wanted a very young child. Or maybe a family that had lost a child to illness or accident and was searching for a foster child. The long train trip was frightening for these neglected children from the East Coast, but many children found a new family and a new life in Nebraska. People who came to Nebraska on the Orphan Train now go to Orphan Train reunions to tell their stories.

See What You've Learned!

Try this trivia quiz to see what you've learned about living on a farm in the 1920s.

Written by Claudia Reinhardt.

Winter - Social and Community Activities

Winter - Social and Community Activities

In the winter, many farm families looked forward to church, when they could get there through the snow. There was no 24-hour per day electricity on farms in the 1920s. There were no evening television programs or video games. Mother often mended clothes or did needlework by the light of kerosene oil lamps.

The family gathered around a battery-powered radio, using headphones to hear their favorite programs. Herbert Heine said their family used a radio powered by batteries. All family talk stopped when "Ma Perkins" or the "Amos 'n' Andy Show" came on the radio. "Amos 'n' Andy" first aired in Chicago in 1928. It soon had a huge national audience that lasted for 30 years.

The program was a humorous look at stereotypical black characters… played by white actors. Later, the show moved to TV in 1951, but was met with protests from the black community. The show was cancelled after two years. But in the 1920s and 30s, the popularity of the show and others sold a lot of radios and, on the farms, a lot of Delco home battery systems to power the radios.

Do you ever fight with someone over the TV remote control? The same thing happened back in the 1920s – except they fought over the radio.

"I can remember my brother and I used to – The first radios you had a headphone, there was no speaker. And we'd fight over who was going to get the headphones… And there were shows that went on like 'Amos and Andy' and some of those we liked to listen to." -- Darrell Ronne (Quicktime required)

	Walter Schmitt talks about the early days of electricity. Watch This Video (Quicktime required)

Written by Claudia Reinhardt.

Winter - Chores and Work

Winter - Chores and Work

	How can you keep ice in the summer if you don't have a fridge? Norma Ehlers lets you know. Watch This Video (Quicktime required)

On winter mornings, children had to get out of warm feather beds in the dark. The house was cold in the morning, so they dressed quickly as the fire in the heating stove slowly warmed the house. Families kept an eye on the wood supply — fuel for the cook stove and the main heating stove. Keeping the wood box full was an important winter chore. Winter morning and evening chores were done in the dark before breakfast because winter days were short. Cows had to be milked, horses, cattle, pigs, sheep, and chickens had to be fed and watered. Then children washed, ate breakfast, and got ready for school. Snow was no excuse for staying home from school.

Before electricity and refrigerators, harvesting ice during winter was the only way to keep things cool during the summer.

Harvesting ice

In winter, creeks, rivers, and the mill pond froze solid. It was time to harvest blocks of ice for the ice house. Albert Friesen remembers harvesting ice from a nearby pond.

Ice tongs were used to pick up the slippery ice blocks.

"During the winter when that pond would freeze solid, we'd go and cut ice and they had ice saws. You did it by hand, just like wood. Saw it like that… You'd slide that, put tongs around it and pull it up along the skid way, up into that wagon… and then haul it to the ice house. That would be a sort of silo, a deep hole, and they'd pack this ice in there and then with straw. You had to have straw around it or else it would melt in the summertime. And we went to ice houses in the summertime and got ice to make ice cream." -- Albert Friesen Written by Claudia Reinhardt.