Favorite eco-friendly thing to do
Hands down, my favorite thing is making homemade products. Anything from personal care products to household cleaners – I’m there! Commercial products are filled with all kinds of nasty chemicals (sometimes even toxic ones!), that it just makes sense to try to make our own. It also ends up being cheaper in the long run! I’m still learning but I love the process! Homemade deodorant was the very first thing I ever tried making, and I loved it so much that I think that’s what set off the initial spark for starting this blog. And that’s my mission here at Nature’s Nurture: to rid our home of all chemical, processed, or otherwise unsustainable products, one item at a time. I’m slowly making my way down the list, and have no intention of stopping anytime soon. 
What are your favorite eco-friendly things to do? How long have you been doing them? What tips or ideas would you offer to those who have yet to venture into those areas?
[tssig]
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Gosh, I’m one of the boring ones. For as long as I can remember (as far back as 1st grade), I’d always wanted to be a teacher…really! I loved when a teacher asked me to help him or her with extra work, grading papers, etc. Looking back now, I probably looked like a huge dork LOL, but that didn’t phase me, I guess. I just really liked it, I can’t even explain why. I’ve also always had a great affinity for school supplies and office supply stores. Back to school shopping was sooo much fun; not because of the new clothes, but because of all the new supplies! Even until now, you can find me making my way down the office supply aisle at whatever store I’m in at the time
And in case you didn’t know yet, I actually did become a teacher when I grew up! It took me a while, but I got there! I initially started college with a desire to teach high school English, so my declared major was English. After realizing that it was way too much literature for me, I left teaching altogether and switched to psychology (my other passion). And after taking a course in child psychology, I decided that I definitely wanted to work with children, so I switched majors (again!) to elementary education, and graduated with a degree in elementary education and a minor in psychology – the perfect balance!
After a few years of working in the public school system, I left that role to take on what I believe is the greatest job ever – stay-at-home-momma, and I’m thankful everyday that I’ve been blessed with the ability to do so (as I know that too many of our mommas don’t have that luxury).
So what did you want to be when you grew up? Did you actually pursue that career choice? If so, is it everything you thought it would be? If not, why not?
[tssig]
3 Things You Are Proud of About Your Personality
Hmmm, this one is pretty easy, but also pretty hard because I really don’t like talking about myself…so I guess that would be one of the 3 things: Modesty/Humility.
- I consider myself to be a very modest and humble person. I don’t really like to talk much about who I am or what I do. I’d rather just do it and let my actions speak for themselves. I don’t like to stand out too much; I tend to sway more to the shy side; and I like to observe my surroundings, rather than be engulfed in all the action. I think these qualities have actually helped spark the sense of simplicity and practicality in me that has led me on this path to natural-living…
- I can always see every side of every argument; I guess that would fall somewhere under empathy? I can always put myself in someone else’s shoes and get a sense of where they’re coming from. Initially, this seems like a great quality! But when a loved one is explaining an idea/story/situation to me, without fail, I’m always prepared with a “rebuttal” that sheds light on the other side. Although the extra perspective actually helps them in the end, initially it comes off as me being unsupportive or unhelpful.
- I can usually “just let go“… Bad experience? Just let it go. Bad friendship? Just let it go. This is something that comes quite easily to me, and it’s also one of those blessings/curse situations. I don’t dwell on things I cannot change – and that’s great! But I also have no problem dropping someone as a friend if I’ve just “had it with them” over and over again. I’ve learned that some things and some people just are the way they are, and instead of trying to (unsuccessfully) change them, sometimes it’s best to just let them go…I love the quote in the image above!
Ok, that wasn’t so hard. What about you, would you care to share any aspects of your personality that you’re proud of? I’d love to learn more about you!
[tssig]
Post a picture you took that you’re proud of.
I love photography, and have always loved. Ever since I made my first pin-hole camera in 3rd grade, I haven’t stopped snapping pictures of the world around me. I’ve had many cameras over the years, and finally got my first DSLR last year, courtesy of Mr. Nurture.
It was hard to choose just one picture for this post, but I finally settled on this one of my sister-in-law’s cat, Nala.
[tssig]
Day 11 - Best day of your life
I thought long and hard about this. God had blessed me with so many wonderful and amazing moments in my life that it was really hard to decide which was truly the best. I also didn’t want to choose obvious things like my wedding day, or the day Baby Y came into the world, because of course those were best days!
So the one day I kept coming back to was actually the day before I went into labor with Baby Y. It was a Wednesday, the day of my weekly prenatal appointments with my midwife. After my checkup and being told that it would be any day now, Mr. Nurture and I decided that we would spend the rest of the day doing whatever we could to help the process along and hopefully kick things into overdrive.
We went out to eat my favorite meal, butter chicken, at our favorite Indian restaurant. Then we drove down to the beach and walked for hours….and hours…and hours. We walked on the sand because we’d heard that could induce labor; we hung out on the boardwalk; we ate ice cream; we listened to live music.
But the best part of the evening was when we found this awesome, secluded sandbar on the beach. There was just something about it… the waves were coming from two opposite directions, and meeting right in the middle. It was just gorgeous, and so peaceful.
We were at the beach for 4 or 5 hours, and I remember leaving with such a happy, content feeling in my heart. The next morning, I woke up feeling just a little funny…by the afternoon, I knew something was definitely different. Early evening, I confirmed I was in early labor. By midnight, my water broke. And a little after 4 am the next morning, we met our beautiful baby boy for the first time.
I’ll never forget that day
How about you? What was the best day of your life? If you care to share, please chime in down in the comments!
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