Region of Waterloo Eco-fest

Yesterday I had the priveledge of being a parent volunteer for Miss V's field trip to the Eco-fest. It was a the perfect day weatherwise and the exhibits were very cool.

What is eco-fest. It is an awesome hands on experience for kids and anyone to learn about water and the importance of keeping it clean. They learned about how watershed work, how water contamination can be caused and dispersed. They learned about water cycles, aquatic animals and the importance of keeping foreign species out of our ecosystems. And there was much much more. We weren't able to do all the stations because there was just so much to do! It was a great day and the kids had so much fun. To learn more about eco-fest you can click here. If you are around the region you can check it out tomorrow. Admission is free and it is well worth going.

I liked the day because no one sounded too preachy and it helped the kids start to think about how their daily actions could affect others. Sometimes it is hard, especially as kids but even as adults, to think about what ripple effects our actions have on those around us. Quite often it is out of site out of mind. It is so easy to just toss something or throw something down the drain and then not think about it anymore. Probably if we were all more cognoscente about what happened after we got rid of something we would be more careful of how we dispose of things, and try to use reusable things and limit the amount of waste created.


I am so grateful for the time I got to spend at eco-fest and for the time for inner-reflection I was able to have about my actions. There are little things I can do to help the planet be more sustainable. I am looking forward to the challenge.

The Junk - It Has Served Its Purpose

A couple of months ago I read a book that really helped change my thinking around getting rid of things. In the book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, she turns purging and organizing on its head.While somethings are basic like going through your items other concepts were novel to me and left me feeling excited and hopeful as I continue my journey at tackling the junk in my house. She invites you to tackle by categories and not rooms, which really spoke to me and so far as been working really well. She helps you see what is really essential and what is not. And she tells you the most liberating question to ask yourself when you are going through things, "Has it served its purpose?"

That question, "has it served its purpose?" truly is amazing. I don't know why I hadn't thought of it before but when you start using that in your purging efforts things just seem to start rolling. I think the hardest thing about getting rid of things is thinking of the future of "I might need it someday" or "it still has some wear in it, it would be wasteful to get rid of it" or "so-and-so gave me it, I better keep it in case they ask". The thing is, if we aren't using it right now then it is wasteful. It is dragging our life down and not giving us the happiness that our things should. So if we stop asking ourselves those questions and instead ask ourselves "has it served its purpose" then we will really be getting at the heart of the issue.

One of the first categories that Kondo suggests we tackle is our clothing. That is always a tough one for me. Even though there were clothes that I don't wear anymore, some even from high school, I just couldn't get rid of them. Some items were still in good shape and so I felt I should be wanting to use them, even though I didn't. Sometimes things just aren't our style anymore, even if it was a recent purchase. So this past time when I was going through my clothes, it really was a breeze. When I got to clothes that I didn't really wear anymore but felt weird getting rid of I just asked myself "has it served it's purpose?" Nine times out of ten the answer was yes and I was able to put the clothes in the giveaway bag without a twinge of guilt. That round I was able to get rid of two bags of clothing and accessories and man did that feel good! I kept only what I loved and I was able to pass on clothing to someone who would appreciate it more than I would.

The purpose of your items can be anything. It could be the original happiness you felt when you bought it. That could be its purpose and then you pass it on. (That is a bit consumerist but, sometimes that happens.) Its purpose could be just for a certain period in your life, like maternity clothes, or the concert t-shirts from your youth. When you think of the purpose of the item and the fulfilling of that purpose, it helps give you pause to think about what the point of that object was, and seeing if it still serves a purpose in your current life. Like gifts. Sometimes people give us gifts and we feel obligated to hang on to them because we don't want to offend. The purpose of the gift was to allow the gift giver to feel happy about giving you something. Purpose completed. If that gift is something you love and want in your space, awesome, keep it. If not, well it has already served it's purpose so pass it on.

I used this mantra when I was going through the clothes etc. in the mudroom. And I got it looking pretty good and it is still looking pretty good.

one of my mudroom walls. I got rid of a lot of unnecessary shoes

So, I reccommend reading Kondo's book. It is a pretty fast read. It's not too long. It gets kind of hokey with the whole thanking your things when you put them away and it can get a bit repetitive but, there are some cool ideas in there. If you don't have time to read it, then take this advice... ask yourself "has it served its purpose?" That will be a life altering question for you and your junk.

Wrenches Can Be Useful Tools

from wikipedia

I don't know about you but things in my life rarely go as planned. Things come up that can really throw a wrench in things. While at times this can be really frustrating, in the end, you end up with a sizable tool collection. These are tools that help you learn and grow and allow you to roll with challenges instead of comletly seizing up.

In my home lately we seemed to have never ending sickness. Just as one kid would be getting better the next one would get it and so on like dominoes. When I thought I would have a day to tackle a project one kid would end up at home from school. Now, I love my kids and enjoy their presence but, and there is a but, they can make accomplishing things a little difficult at times. So, when all of the sudden they were home needing my attention a few wrenches were thrown into the mix.

Now these wrenches don't have to be just our kids. As with other wrenches things that mess up plans can come in all shapes and sizes. They can be an unexpected repair, a medical emergency, running out of a key ingredient, bad weather, traffic delays and so on. All can be wrenches, but, all can make things better than expected.

Example. Last Saturday Miss G. was at camp and had to be picked up by 2 p.m. My husband wanted to help out at the ball field in the morning and I wanted to go to the regional museum as it was the last day of an exhibit that I wanted to see. I knew my going to the museum was going to be a bit of a squeeze, but I figured it would be okay. Well that morning, while my husband was at the ball diamond I got a call that we needed to pick up Miss G. because her tummy was bothering her. 20 minutes after that my husband was home with the van, I had packed a picnic lunch and off we went to go get Miss G. Since she didn't feel too bad we were all able to go to the museum and enjoy a lovely and leisurely time there. It was much nicer than if I was there and was constantly checking the clock to make sure we weren't going to be late. So, what could have been a wrench in our day (getting Miss G. early from camp) turned into a blessing in disguise. 

Because of these small wrenches recently I have gained valuable tools. I have learned how paper towel is made and what makes it absorbent. I've learned how to make paint for kids to use. I've learned to be a bit more accommodating yet I am still learning that one. I definitely need to figure out how to be more flexible. So, while in the midst of the chaos a wrench can create, try to think of it as an opportunity. When you can do that the wrench truly becomes a useful tool.

The Best Brownie! Seriously.

I am not really a big chocolate eater. If it is there, I will eat it. If it isn't, well, it doesn't bother me. Most of the time I would rather a fruity type of dessert than a pure chocolate one. There is only on exception. These brownies.

Brownies are really a fickle thing to nail down. There are so many varieties and with that so many different tastes. Some people like walnuts in their brownie to give it an extra crunch. Sometimes I like walnuts in brownies but it really depends on the texture. Some like brownies with icing others not. You can have cakey brownies, fudgy brownies and everything in between. It really is hard to have a will please all kind of recipe.

For me I don't want a dry brownie. Nothing is worse then biting into a browning and having it be all dry and bleh. I need moisture.

Well enter this recipe. It is my favourite. I could eat the whole pan myself... sometimes I almost do. This recipe is from my grade 11 English teacher. She would bake them for us and when I bit into them I felt like I was in brownie heaven. At the year end assembly she gave the recipe out (as she was leaving the school) and I think I was the only one who brought a pencil and paper to write it down. But now I will pass on this delectable secret, mostly so I know where to always find the recipe when I need it.

In a microwavable bowl put
1 cup butter
300g pkg of Chocolate chips (this is around 1.5 cups of chocolate chips if you buy in bulk)
melt and mix together.

Then add
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups sugar
mix together

then add
2 cups marshmallows
1 cup flour
mix up

Pour into a well greased 9x13 pan and put into a 350 oven for about 40 minutes.

I find that it is easier to cut them when they are completely cool, or the next day. But it is hard to resist the awesome gooeness.