homemade mouthwash recipe

We don't have mouthwash in our house, and we use Tom's natural toothpaste. I haven't researched much about mouthwashes yet, but I like to have some around.

I have memories of my parents getting ready for a date while the babysitter started settling in with us, and my Mom always spruced up her make up, spritzed on some perfume, and last but not least, swished with mouthwash. I love that little routine she did; she inadvertently taught me how to get ready for a date with my man.

I considered adding mouthwash to my grocery list, but decided to Google around. I found a homemade, natural recipe on this site, and here it is!

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 glass of water

optional: a drop of peppermint oil

voila! fresh breath. really easy.

Why does it work?

Baking soda neutralizes the odors in your mouth, instead of covering them up.

What are the benefits?

cheap, no chemicals, doesn't burn, no alcohol

Bulk?

Yes. For every 8 oz add 1 tsp of baking soda and store in a container.

(all info found on the website linked above)

whole, fresh, local

I had lunch with a favorite professor from Baylor yesterday.

We had a delightful time talking about life and even health! I had no idea he loves nutrition and homeopathy!

He told me to remember 3 things when looking for the most nutritious food possible:

whole

fresh

local

Whole - don't cut up an apple to eat it. Bite into it! It's good for your teeth and gums. This also means that less processed food is best. As soon as you cut into food with a knife, it's no longer whole.

Fresh - Foods carry the most nutrients closest to the time they've been picked or killed. This refers to juice - you don't need concentrated orange juice where 1 glass = 8 oranges. You don't need 8 oranges in a day! You need to peel apart and orange and get the fiber from the whole orange.

Local - Foods picked in your area are more likely to be fresh rather than being shipped several days from California.

I've been using an App on my phone that I love. It's called Fooducate.

Fooducate has a scanner and when I'm at the grocery story, I scan bread, frozen lunches, peanut butters, and coffees to find out what foods have the best nutrition possible.

It grades foods A-F, like a school grade! It'll tell you about the product, the reasons it has the grade, and will suggest healthier alternatives! Pretty cool. Watch out, though. You could be in the grocery store for hours before you know it!

(I've scanned my coworker's lunch foods, too, and I might become unpopular with them if I keep doing it, so I should probably stop.)

green cleaning - shower drains

easy shower drain (green) cleaning recipe

1/2 cup baking soda

2 cups boiling water

pour the soda down first, then slowly add the boiling water

if that doesn't work, chase it with one cup of vinegar, seal it, and then pour another gallon of boiling water down.

Target Shopping Downs Girl

My sister and I go to Target every year at 7am the day after Christmas. We get everything we need for next year: gift wrap, tags, boxes, decorations, etc, and everything's half off. It's SO fun.

Here's the line in the morning:

As I rounded a corner, I saw a young girl, maybe 10 years old, lying on the floor with her eyes closed. Her parents were standing over her telling her to wake up.

Emergency-Robin-Mode kicked in. I love to help and I know what to do.

So, I sat by her head and asked the parents what happened and if I could help. They said she complained of her tummy hurting. I asked if she had breakfast and they said no. (Duh, this is why she passed out) Girlfriend flickered open her eyes and I asked her what her name was. She answered and then I asked what month it was, and she was correct in saying December. Her Dad wanted her to stand up immediately, but I encouraged him to let her wake up a minute. She looked dazed and weak. A store clerk approached and I asked him to get water. I pulled a Chewy bar out of my purse and gave it to the Mother and told her to give it to her to eat soon. She was hesitant, but I was insistent. She took it. The Dad took the girl in his arms and went somewhere else. That was all I saw, but I know she was ok, and probably had low blood sugar at the moment.

Moral of the story: eat breakfast before you enter a high energy situation in the morning.

natural moisturizer

instead of your normal night cream, try olive oil on your face for 30 minutes, then lightly cleanse with a wet towel before going to bed. oil attracts oil, so this is cleansing and moisturizing

pumpkin carving in years' past

As you should know by now, my extended family has an Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest. This will be Year 6, and will take place on October 23. So you'll have to wait to know what Josh and I choose to do this year...but I thought it'd be fun to take you back with us to see what our creations have been:

2006, Year 1 and the Winner

"Jack Attack"

2007, Year 2

(no name)

2008, Year 3

"Soul Eater"

2009, Year 4

"Phantom of the Opera"

2010, Year 5

"Pumpkotillion"

Here is the great pumpkin who is holding the party in his mouth:

Here is the party inside:

to get the full story on this one, click here

And now we have come to 2011, Year 6 and the Leonards will be able to join us in person this year.

Happy Carving!

I wrote McDonald's about adding Veggieburgers to the menu

I cheated and ate a burger this weekend, and some ice cream, eggs, bacon, cheese, real ranch dressing...along with my plethora of fruit and veggies. Why? I was visiting my in-laws and it's fine with me once in a blue moon! Anyways, I got the burger at McDonald's on the drive and wondered how Burger King so easily added Veggieburgers to the menu when McD's has not. So I wrote in:

Dear McDonald's,

Does McDonald's plan to add Veggie Burgers to the menu?

As a vegetarian, I'm thrilled that Fuddruckers and Burger King have these items on the menu; however, when I travel, I do not pass those places. I pass McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Subway. It would be wonderful if McDonald's could add this to the menu as well, as the vegetarian (and vegan) lifestyles are trending with more popularity in our nation.

Thank you for your consideration. -Robin

They wrote me back:

Hello Robin:

Thank you for your interest in McDonald's and for taking the time to write regarding our menu.

At McDonald's, we're sensitive to the special dietary requests of our customers. We're always reviewing our menu, developing new products and searching for ways to satisfy the many tastes of the nearly 50 million customers we serve each day. Ultimately, however, it's our customers who choose what's on our menu. And, we'll continue to offer those products that are most popular with a majority of our customers.

Please know that we have tested several veggieburgers and other vegetarian menu options in different parts of the United States and, at this time, have chosen not to offer them on our national menu. We will, however, continue to look at these products and make decisions that make sense from a customer interest and sales perspective.

Lastly, it's important to know, we gladly accommodate customer requests to custom-order items without meat (i.e., without beef, chicken or fish). As one example, customers may order the Caesar Salad without chicken and topped with Newman's Own Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette. This combination contains 130 calories, 7 grams of fat, 10 mg of cholesterol and 3 grams of fiber. In addition, the salad provides two servings of vegetables and is an excellent source of vitamins A and C.

Again, thank you for contacting McDonald's. We look forward to serving you for many years to come.

Jessica
McDonald's Customer Response Center

Thought I'd share with you. Have a great weekend!