Thrift Shops

I go to the thrift shops on average once a week.  Our suburb has several thrift stores.  The one I most frequent is Goodwill.  Main street has a nice new store (built in 2007) with drive up donation.  They have a HUGE quantity of sweaters, so much so that they have large bins throughout the store brimming over with what doesn't fit on the rack.  I also, on occasion, travel south to another burb with a different Goodwill.  It is a smaller shop but still has plenty, and  I have found wonderful items there, including Isabel's little brown cowgirl boots.

The other store I like is call CCA Resale.  CCA stands for Christian Community Action.  It is the organization that gave us services last year.  They have a food bank, give people clothing from their stores, have a housing project, full service clinic, back to school and Christmas shops, etc.  They have several shops.  One is small and dark and dusty, but everything there is $1.97 or less.  It sells the rejects from their other stores, either the things that didn't sell or the less desirable items.  It is at this store that I can find vintage things like this lace dress and lavender pillbox hat.  The other store is priced much higher but has very nice clothing and lots of furniture and everything else.  This store is where we bought Clara's Trek bicycle.

Raw Food

In an attempt to get our family to consume a greater quantity of raw vegetables, we have adapted the typical lettuce based salad.   Inspired by the Pei Wei lettuce wraps, we (well, Damian actually) created what we call a lettuce burrito.  We use organic Romaine leaves as the wrap and shred what ever veggies we want for the filling.  Veggies like carrots, cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli work well (anything that's not too juicy, like making coleslaw).  We then let the individual choose their favorite salad dressing.  If you like you could put dressing in the slaw and mix it up.  But this way everyone in the family is happy.

Oliver and Isabel like ranch dressing (I buy an organic variety.)  Clara, Damian and myself are in love with Annie's brand Woodstock.  Our local Sprouts stopped carrying Woodstock, much to our dismay, but we were able to special order a case (6 bottles).

You Are What You Eat

You may have noticed the photo to the right titled Food Matters.  Damian just purchased this amazingly informative video.  It is an eye opening experience to watch.  Now that we have a copy we are happy to share!  It talks about the food industry, pharmaceutical drugs and supplements, and what our bodies really need regarding nutrients.

Did you know, 106,000 people die each year from pharmaceutical drugs, taken correctly?! Over the past 23 years there have been 10 cases of death from supplements.

Feel free to click on the photo and browse their website and watch a movie preview. -->