So.... here's the thing.

I don't feel like blogging.

Maybe I just don't feel like doing this blog. I DO have lots of ideas, but when started THIS blog I was excited about different things than I am now, and got tired of doing the daily posts.... obviously.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do next - I have lots of ideas, but I want to actually commit to what I do.

Sooooo..... I'll let you know soon. :)

M.

ps - Just FYI, I love my new school. Life is good. :)

I'm Baaaa-aaaaack!

Connected!

Yay!

June was nuts, July was even more nuts. We moved, we're settled.

And we're finally connected to the world.

Updates soon. I promise.

love Miss Elle

Easy Greenies

Here's a new theme for Living To Be which, lets face it, has been less focussed on its key features and more just blah blah blah. (Yawn, yawn, yawn. It's ok, I'm bored too.)

Enter Easy Greenies. The enviro movement is huge and long overdue. Easy Greenies aren't going to be the basic, "yeah we know" things like forgoing plastic bags and choosing recycled paper products instead of the fancy schmancy new materials only 9 ply. Easy Greenies are going to be quick, convenient, natural ways to reduce the amount of unneccesary chemicals we use on

our bodies and in our homes.

I'm excited to get started, so today I'll give you 2 tips.

1. Clean your floors with lemon juice or vinegar. I fill my bucket with hot water and soak a sliced lemon in it for a few minutes. Or I just pour in a nice big splash of vinegar - it doesn't smell as pretty, but it works and its cheap. The acid kills the bacteria on the floor, the heat helps with the bacteria and the scrubbing, and it helps it to evaporate more quickly. I suggested this to someone on FB who used her status to ask for safe cleaning products. She thought the idea of using lemons was ridiculous, but would try a commerical "natural" cleaner. I think the "natural" cleaners are are better than the entirely toxic ones, but they are based on these (& other) originals. Why not just use the originals? They do the job, produce no toxic fumes, and if you have kids (or pets!) who basically do all but (and probably do) lick the linoleum, they will be ingesting salad ingredients rather than bleach.

2. Exfoliate & moisturise with this simple simple body scrub: I found a recipe for this scrub in a magazine a couple years ago. I have forgotten the actual ingredients ratio - but you should know me by now, and understand that I'm noto a fan of recipes! Just wing it. Mix ground coffee beans, brown sugar & olive oil into a thick paste. Add some vanilla for yummy-ness. Add as much water as you need to make it manageable. You can add salt (epsom or regular) if you want to make it a bit scratchier. Just keep it in a little container in the shower. After the water and steam have opened your pores a bit, get scrubby. It smells delicious (mmm... good morning coffee!), is a great exfoiliator and is super moisturising. Leave it on while you shampoo & condition. The caf in the coffee really invigorates your skin and helps with circulation. Give yourself a good rinse so

you don't smell like Starbucks all day. It helps to have a detachable shower head, because the little coffee grounds tend to get on the shower walls, etc.

Try it and let me know how it goes!!!

~ Be Ambitious ~

It's time for a change. I don't have the overload of classes as an excuse. I had a break, and a vacation. My summer job doesn't start for another week. It's time for a change. I've been mulling these things over and wanting to do them consistently for a long time now. It all happens on a haphazard willy-nilly basis, but I desperately want to get my life in order. I think we'll all be less stressed if I do. So here's the plan:

Sundays

Get ready for the week food-wise. Lunches are always a mess for us. We throw things together in 30 seconds on our way out the door, or grab a handful of loonies and quarters from the laundry coin jar. (Either way we eat crap.) So prepping means making a loaf of bread, a big pot of soup, boiling half a dozen eggs, making veggie sticks and washing all the fruit. We're really trying to focus on fresh, natural food with real ingredients. We could buy it - and some stuff we do - but it's not that hard to make (soup = veggies and beans in a pot, bread = a bunch of stuff in the bread maker), is catered right to our preferences and is a billion times cheaper. Also - our bodies will decompose properly after we die. (What?! One of the benefits for natural cooking that I have heard is that bodies are taking a longer time to decompose after we die due to all the preservatives in our food. Ummm...? Do we care about that? Really? I guess it just emphasises the not-so-good things in our food... but still... it seems like an odd argument!)

Mondays - Fridays

We'll actually get up with enough time to walk or run with the dog and eat breakfast together. Sounds simple, but actually - its HUGE!

Thursdays

Plan our next week, especially food-wise. This means going through the cupboards, fridge, and freezer, making a menu and getting groceries.

So basically, my plan is all about food. I like food. We eat it alot. 3 times a day, actually. Plus, you know, 7 more times. I think if I can stick with this we'll eat better, and feel better.

So this post went from thoughtful and intentional to ramble ramble. I'm sitting in the kitchen with bread baking, soup souping, & eggs boiling. The dishes are done, the cupboards are organised, and I feel good. And tired. Maybe I should add going to bed earlier to that list. I hate being tired.

Oh - also, I cleaned out and organised all our cupboards over the weekend. I got rid of things we don't want to eat because its no longer up to our health standards, or is just old... like... um.. the cake mix that expired in 2006. That means this is its 3rd apartment. And it's half used. It was in a ziplock bag inside the box... but still. Ew. I also organised and hid all of my yummy baking stuff I shouldn't eat so often. I love baking and decorating cupcakes and cookies, but I have this tragic feminine flaw, which causes me to eat half the dough before it even gets in the oven. So it's way up on the top, outside of my not-so-high reach.

Today was a good day. We spent the afternoon with some of our besties. The boys inside Wii golfing, and the girls outside on the porch swing, cuddling under blankets and laughing about nipples and stuff.

So... ambitious, purposeful, intentional... to ramble.

How was your weekend? What are your goals for the week? Any New (half) Year resolutions?

PEI & Nova Scotia

Right now we're snuggled up at a cozy little inn near St. Andrews By-The-Sea, New Brunswick. We're here for a couple days, stopping in Quebec for a night, and then home. It's been a wonderful trip! Since my last post we've been to PEI - Charlottetown, and Cavendish, and then down to Halifax - Peggy's Cove (absolutely stunning!), and the Keith's Brewery Tour (incredibly fun - you must go if you get the chance!). The last pic is for my wonderful girl Laura, who always thinks my over-zealous eyelids make me look sleepy in pics. See? We're not tired! :)

We're loving driving through windy maritime roads, stopping off at little artisan studios and galleries. The weather has been beautiful - a bit of rain, but not too bad. We're still having a great time, but are also looking forward to reuniting with our snuggle puppy and being home again.  :)

New Brunswick!

We've been busy! New Brunswick is absolutely beautiful. We spent a couple days with our friend's father & his cute little pup - Roger rocks - so hospitable and a fantastic cook. We went lobster fishing, popped in to see an old friend, spent the night with a new friend - a friend of Roger's. Maritime hospitality is incredible. We drove through Fundy National Park, visited a glass blower, visited an awesome little icecream shop, played on the shore, visited a lighthouse, and Hopewell Cape. Now we're snuggled in a gorgeous little B&B in Charlottetown, PEI. Drew's napping after a wonderfully warm day biking around town, and a fabulous pub dinner. We're heading out to a little cafe for dessert soon, Cavendish tomorrow and then on to Halifax. Sorry I'm not captioning each photo - too much to do and see to spend it all my time with Fiona. (My laptop.)

J'adore Quebec!

We love Quebec!

Our summer road trip has begun! We'll be in Moncton, Charlottetown, Halifax, Peggy's Cove, St.Andrew's & Montreal before we're home.

Right now we're camping just outside of Quebec City, and spent yesterday evening and all day today biking and walking around the Old City - mostly Le Chateau Frontenac, Le Citadel, and the City Walls. We're brushing up on our french, but most of the servers and shop owners have significantly stronger skills in our language than we do in theirs.

It's been raining the past couple hours, but otherwise has been beautiful. We're positively knackered, and are cozied up in a Starbies to warm up and stay in touch with you lovelies.

Tomorrow we're off to New Brunswick for a little Lobster fishing (ack!)

Love!