My Decision to Become A Minimalist

Most of us grew up thinking that “rich” meant having alot of money, a ton of things in our homes, brand new cars, and all the luxury items. Everyone these days seems to idolize money, new things, buying the best brands out there. I mean, its the “American Dream”, right? I don’t want the American dream. I don’t want to work so hard just to rub it in other people’s faces. I don’t want my children to think money makes you happy and gets you places. Greed is the root of all evil.

After having a very serious talk with my partner, we decided to make the steps to become Minimalists. What is a minimalist? It’s only having what you need, and throwing out the excess; Living for quality instead of quantity. You declutter your home, save money for emergencies and live with the things you only need. Do you really need those 4 pairs of shoes that are all the same except in different colors? Will it help you be healthy, give you a good, quality life? No. Chuck em. My partner and I are starting to go through our things in our home. We’ve already donated so much to people from the things we didn’t need or made our lives better. We sold/donated/threw away  422 Items so far! We noticed already that the stress of having more is fading! You don’t have to keep up with all this stuff that you bought out of impulse!

Our next steps are to save money for serious emergencies, become healthier by eating right. You don’t need pop tarts, ravioli, frozen dinners when you can buy cheap onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes! There’s so much you can do with them! We are noticing a positive change in our lives and we couldn’t be happier. We have a long way to go, but so far, it’s the best thing we’ve done.

 

DIY Glowing Bouncy Balls

This is so much fun to do with the kids! So simple, and you most likely have all the ingredients to do it. There’s only 5! You’ll have bouncy balls bouncing all over your house in no time! Just make sure you remind the little ones to pick them up off the floor so no one slips! So here”s what you do.

 

To Make Each Ball Combine: (affiliate links provided)

• 1/2 Tsp of Borax
• 4 Tbsp of Corn Starch
• 4 Tbsp of warm water

Combine in a small bowl, mixing until all ingredients are dissolved

In a separate Bowl Combine:

• 1 Tbsp white glue
• 1 Tsp Fluorescent or Glow in the Dark Paint

Mix well until the paint is completely blended into the glue.  If you have homemade glow in the dark glue on hand you can also use that and skip the mixing.

Once the ingredients of both bowls are well mixed combine the two bowls.  Allow the ingredients to react by themselves for a minute before stirring them.  As you stir a sticky hard, slimy material will form.

Take the material, and continue to work it with your hands, rolling and shaping it into a ball

As you roll the material it will lose it’s sliminess and become dry and rather hard, yet still moldable

Once you have formed 6 separate balls, break them apart.  We broke each ball into 6 pieces to make 6 RAINBOW bounce balls

Take the 6 pieces and work the varying colors together.  We stretched and pulled them into a RAINBOW before rolling them together to form our bouncing balls.  The stretching and pulling was very FUN!

Notes about the bouncing balls:

• The material of the bouncing balls is very similar to slime only thicker.  The balls lose their shape if left to sit.
• Placing your bounce ball material in the refrigerator before playing helps the balls to hold their shape longer.
• These balls are different from store bought bouncing balls.  They do not bounce nearly as high nor do they bounce on all surfaces, but a big part of the fun is the experience of making the balls.
• When play time is over you can store your bounce ball material in a zip-lock bag in the fridge for future play. Next time you are ready to play just pull out the material and and re-form it to make bounce balls
• The bounce ball material is also fun to play with in other ways. It is essentially a thick slime.   It can be used as a sensory material in it’s own right, and GLOWS BRIGHTLY which is always a hit with kids.
• Adults should handle the borax and/or closely supervise older children.  Borax is not meant for consumption and should be kept out of the reach of small children who may be tempted to taste.  The same rule applies to the borax bounce ball material.  Please use your own judgement to determine if this activity is suitable for your child.

ENJOY!

Potato, Ham, and Spinach Frittata

So this is an amazingly simple, delicious and healthy breakfast recipe! Note, I buy free-range organic eggs or organic/Gmo free options when I can out of my belief that Gmo’s are hazardous to human health and organic does not have dangerous pesticides or insecticides. You do not need to do that if you can not!

First off you will need:

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 small russet potatoes (about 3/4 pound), peeled and thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
9 large eggs
kosher salt and black pepper
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess liquid
4 ounces white Cheddar, grated (1 cup)
4 ounces thinly sliced deli ham, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 head red leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces (6 cups)

Our Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400° F. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes and onion and cook, tossing occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, 12 to 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Mix in the spinach, Cheddar, and ham.

3. Add the egg mixture to the skillet, stir once, and transfer the skillet to oven. Cook until the eggs are set, 12 to 14 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, the remaining tablespoon of oil, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Add the lettuce and toss to coat. Serve with the frittata.

So there you go! This a a hit with kids. Just remind them that its a special kind of omelette! Of course you can always add and take our your preferred veggies! I hope you enjoy!