Christmas Spirit: Advent

I LOVE December 1st.
At our house, it is now the official first day of the Christmas season and we enter in full speed and whole heart.

I've blogged in the past about what really matters to me at Christmas time, but in the four years since that time, that message has been driven, quite literally, home. 
You see, two years ago, on December 16th, in the midst of shopping, baking, wrapping, appies and Christmas do's, we found out my Mum was dying.
It changed everything about that Christmas. Every carol we sang was sacred. Every lit up house was magical. Christmas Eve, that most sacred of family times for us, was spent stunned, aching and somehow still grateful. We ate, and laughed and cried through our last holiday together.
So you can imagine, last year Christmas came as an ungraceful herald of all we had lost. Part of me wanted to skip the whole shebang. And then this other voice inside of me just sang her heart out and said we should celebrate. And celebrate, we did. It was our best Christmas ever.

Homemade goodies, a veritable cornucopia of gifts under the tree, train rides and parties, turkey, potatoes and peanut butter balls dipped in dark chocolate. I threw myself into it with delight and new family traditions sprang up!
My favorite "new" tradition is a very old one. An advent calendar.
I made it, of course, and spent hours planning it out. Instead of a daily chocolate or gift, I alternated a combination of family activities, crafts and small presents. It was such a success! We loved it!
Each day is represented by a white mitten on a red string. I held each date marker on with a clothes pin. And in the mitten is either a little gift or a paper saying what the advent activity or craft will be.
It was such an inexpensive way to make the Christmas season even more magical for my children, but I have to say my husband and I were caught up in it, too!
Here, in no particular order, are just a few of the things we'll be doing this year for our advent:

-The Minter's Mini Train
-Homemade Peanut-butter Balls
-Family Candle Light Dinner
-Spiced Dough Ornaments
-Christmas movie night (this year it'll be "White Christmas")

But today, December first, is one of my favourites. Today we bust it all out and decorate the house and tree. Christmas CD's! Twinkle Lights! Garlands! Home made ornaments! The Nativity!

Speaking of decorating, I must run - IT'S ALMOST TIME!!!!!

Love,
Victoria

Pinching Pennies: While Cleaning The Kitchen

I've been thinking about all the corners I cut to save money in the kitchen. Our budget has relaxed a bit these days, so we are eating better quality food, thank God - but we still need to keep our purse strings tight.

Here are some of the ways we Pinch Pennies while cleaning in the kitchen:

1) I only fill the dishwasher soap dispenser 1/3 up. Most manufacturers grossly overstate the amounts needed to clean dishes, and I think we can all guess why: it makes them more money! If you use a third of what you've been using in your dishwasher, your soap will last 3 times as long! I was going to make my own dishwasher soap to save even more money, but all of the reviews I read said that it just doesn't clean like the commercial stuff. I think there's a line there I'm not willing to cross - I mean, the dishes need to get clean...

2) I use Norwex cloths to clean my kitchen, which saves on cleaning supplies - and is GREENER!

3) My friend, Na, cuts up holey old sweatpants and t-shirts to use as cloths and dishrags. You are giving unusable clothes a second life, and there's no guilt when you throw them out when they get nasty because you already saved them from the garbage once!

4) As already posted, I use a Swiffer to mop my kitchen floors, but with Norwex cloths (or a micro-fiber cloth if you don't Norwex) and hot water instead of the disposable, chemical soaked wipes. It's free (if you already have a swifter) and GREEN!

5) If I am only doing the kitchen, I don't bust out my hoover - I just grab my broom. It's easier, but it saves a few kilojoules of energy too (did I even use kilojoule in the correct context?), and that saves a few pennies.

6) If I need a new scrubby dishrag, I knit one out of cotton from my stash. This wouldn't work for everyone (as I am a "highly skilled" knitter [there was mockery there in case you missed it]) but if you knit, it's a fun little project that even a beginner can do.

7) Instead of using fabric bibs, which need to be laundered after each wearing, I use a plastic moulded bib with a big pocket on it. It catches way more than a conventional bib, and it wipes clean with the dishrag when I am wiping the counters.

8) If you use a table cloth, consider putting a clear pvc cover over it - it wipes clean with a rag, saving regular laundering.

What are some of the ways you Pinch Pennies while cleaning in the kitchen?

SPUD - Organic Local Produce Delivered to Your Front Door

Last week I saw this Social Shopper add in the local news paper for "SPUD." 

Basically, I paid Social Shopper $20 for a $40 gift certificate at SPUD, a sustainable produce company. I've often wanted to buy more organic, but with the prices being so high, I've stuck to organic apples and spinach (two of the top "Deadly Dozen" offenders for chemicals and pesticides).

Don't I wish I was getting paid for this. Anyways.

I purchased the Social Shopper Gift Certificate and went immediately to the SPUD website.

Basically, it's a company where you get local organic groceries delivered to your front door, a wonderful company if you're into sustainable living.

I checked out their website for a while, then I ordered a box of assorted organic local produce, to be delivered the following Wednesday (today).

When I came home from my errands this morning, there it was at the front door: my box of sustainably harvested local, organic produce. I got apples, beets, carrots, corn, fennel, romain, crimini mushrooms, pepper, nugget potatoes, and a pound of tomatoes. 

I am really pleased with this company - my only complaint is that the website is a bit complex (it needs to be with all the choices involved for online grocery shopping), but with a cup of tea and a few minutes, totally do-able.

If you want to try it out, they sent me a coupon for friends: 

Referral Code: CRVAN-BURVIC

If you use that code, we both get $20 of free SPUD groceries.

Love, Victoria