A Sick Mess!!!

May has been a rough month in the Thelen household. We have all had a bought of sick. Now that we are all over the hump and on the mend. It's time to get the house in order so we have no more sick. It has been going round town like wildfire so i decided to blog some of my new techniques to "get the sick out." I haven't been feeling very good. but, I am well enough to start taking on the job of giving the house a proper deep scrub.

• First things first, AIR YOUR HOUSE! I can't stress this enough. There is nothing like the healing power of a fresh breeze in a stale room.


• Wash all your bed. wash all your linens, blankets, mattress pad, and pillows. Let your bed air for a couple hours. Using baking soda and a stiff brush, pour baking soda onto the bed and work into the crevasses with a stiff bush. let it set. Vacuum clean.


• Iron your linens. Do look at me like I'm daft! iron your sheets, dish towels, and washcloths. Washers and dryers do not get hot enough to kill all germs. The heat of a good steam iron will kill all the remaining germs. Our Grandparents did do it b/c they liked extra work.


• Wash your walls. Warm water and a bit of borax does the trick. Make sure to get the baseboards!


• Wash your curtains and blinds. They collect so much dust and filth. Don't forget to clean your curtain rod. -Wash Venusian blinds in the bathtub or shower. just mild dish soap, use an old toothbrush for stubborn dirt or insect spots.


• Give your bathroom a proper scrub. make sure you get on hand and knees and get every nook and cranny.- clean your shower liner by soaking it in washing soda and hot water. rinse with cold vinegar water. let set outside to dry in the sun. -peroxide works wonderful if you can't stand the smell of bleach (like me).-don't forget to disinfect your toothbrush well or just get a new one.


• Air everything out. Yes i put this again. put couch cushions outside in the sun, take anything porous like wicker out to let get warm in the sun. anything that doesn't have a removable fabric can benefit from some airing and warm sun.


• Disinfect surfaces. This is a no brainer but we forget sometimes to clean door handles, car steering wheels, drainboard, keyboards, phones, toys, and counter tops.


• Feel Better soon!!

One Year Gluten Free....and loving it??

April 9th marks the one year point when i have been Gluten Free. I am so proud that i NEVER cheated once on my diet. You can ask my family. There was slip-ups from hidden wheat. But I didn't go out and binge on gluten food. I have learned to much in a year. So I will do a rundown for you


1. Gluten free bread is NASTY!
2. It is harder for children to be Gluten free. everything marketed for kids is loaded with wheat and other stuff my boys can't have.
3. Companies stick Malodextrin in almost everything!
4. I have had a problem with gluten my whole life and didn't know it.
5. I can barely eat out at ALL. I have only 3 things in town that are safe at fast food joints.
6. With all the things they add to packaged foods you have to make almost EVERYTHING from scratch.
7. I can only eat organic meat, eggs, and milk. If the animal ate any kind of grain is stays within the meat, eggs and milk. it can make me sick. that is how sensitive I am to the crap.
8. If is has a good flavor you might want to spit it out and check the label.
9. You have to add 30-45 minutes when you shop so you can read every single label.
10. If I have eaten something that contains gluten I will be sick in less then 30 minutes.
11. When I get a big dose from hidden gluten I will be sick for 2 days and sometimes it triggers my partial seizures.
12. It really sucks but I could have it worse.
13. The Gluten-free isle at Hy-Vee in Columbia by Sam's is like heaven on earth. *tear*
14. I adore General Mills for the efforts they have done to make it easy on my to buy food for the boys.

I have learned much and will go forward with lots of knowledge. One day I might find the secret to it all. Who know i might even publish a book one day :). I am pretty proud of myself. This has been a very hard year on me.

SCENTSY

I bet everyone who knows me is sick and tired of hearing about SCENTSY!! Well get used to it. I love it and I love to sell it.

In these times it's hard to find a product that you love and can afford. I can't have candles like i used to when i was single and could have whatever i wanted. Having children you see a flame and you instantly think...hmmm...how long before my boys try to play with that and set the place on fire (they don't, but you think it)

It is also nice to have people over and they say your house smells AWESOME!

I am glad that my parents convinced me to become a consultant. I was burned so bad by Mary Kay. I needed that same thing as i need now. Flexibility and a paycheck. Mary Kay really reamed the ones who needed that most. All the hidden fees, cost of stock,and monthly maintainer cost. you where shelling out more money then you would ever make. But Scentsy has virtually no overhead. You don't have to stock ANYTHING (unless you want to) and the product you get in your starter kit is worth the investment.

So i am sorry if you get tired of hearing me talk about it, seeing on my facebook page, or whatever. I am out there busting butt getting somewhere. right now i looks like Scentsy might be making my new car payment

Wheat, why do you hate me so?

Well chalk a couple more things I must do in my battle against Wheat. I have found out that products that have wheat/ or working with wheat give me trouble. So now i am on a hunt for products that don't have any wheat or gluten. That doesn't sound to bad. but, I have Celiacs which means i also have problems with oatmeal. How many lotions do you know have oatmeal?

I have recently found out that some toothpaste have wheat also. It is amazing how much stuff has wheat or wheat by product. Most people don't think of make-up, bath products, and lotions. Our skin is our largest organ and you have to treat it right.

So this is my solution I have a recipe for my own lotion. so I am going to give it a whirl.

The other things I need to do is get both boys Gluten free. Last year at Collin's school I put him on a Gluten free trial. At home he didn't seem that different so I took him off it. but, the teachers tell me that he has lost his focus at school and that I should go back to what I was doing. This won't be hard. It's just a lot of work for me. I now can have almost nothing prepackaged at home almost all fresh produce. It is healthier but its a lot of testing new recipes and prep cooking. Zach is going to suffer. He is odd man out so he has to eat what I fix (muah hahahaha) This is also another good step. I will have tried and true recipes the boys will eat that I can put into a cookbook.

Wish me luck. I will keep you posted.

Yep...it's mudslinging time.

Politics....the word send chills down spines and makes people run the other way.

This year it seems the mudslinging has reached a pivotal high. In Missouri we have been bombarded by campaign adds for almost a year. So, I am looking forward to November 2ND when we can go to the poles and cast our votes.

Now I don't want you thinking I don't like politics. In actuality I LOVE politics. I have for quite some time now. I haven't really had a flavor for it until I hit my middle 20s. To me it's fascinating how people can sway on a subject. I love the inner workings of Washington and how things really get set in motion, not just the face of the clock (president) but the gears and levers that truly move it. I think it's funny how many things get blamed on a figure head. when it's the policies that get voted on my congress and the senate that really impact us. but, that being said the figure head should present himself as a man living and thriving in the economy that has been voted on for the whole of the public under his watch. I think that has always been the problem with the role. People are tired of being told one thing while they go off and do another. I think that falls for any political party. So that is my bipartisan view of the whole situation.

I want to clear the air just a bit though about the parties themselves. STOP LUMPING PEOPLE!!!! that goes for both sides. I am so tired of if you are Democratic that you are a pushover, baby killing, hippie, socialist living on a welfare check. And if you are a Republican that you are a gun slinging, backwoods, bible thumping, uninformed war monger.

I am a Republican. I have been for as long as I have understood politics. I don't vote straight ticket. I research everyone and do my homework....like everyone SHOULD :) I do listen to conservative radio, that is my right and choice. Everything that anyone says can be taken out of context no matter where your loyalties lie. I see so many political cartoons passed around that makes my party seem like inbred hillbillies. Like in all things you don't LOVE some of the people who your party represents. I don't like Rush Limbaugh or Sarah Palin, they have at least to me been a smear on the conservative party. If you even say "Tea Party" people think you are psycho. I myself feel that we should go back to basics. Take the bolt back to remnant. I have other thoughts on subject matters, but i will save your from my personal rantings. I just feel run down this year. People hear what party I support and try to run me down. I am sick of it

so let me say this:

I just don't like to be lumped in a categories. I work so hard to be an Eco warrior so when I look back I can say I did my part no matter how small. I do believe in the 2ND amendment. I try to be a christian...some days are better then others :). I do want green energy, but i know it will take YEARS and we need oil supply until it become cheap and available to everyone. I don't like universal health care, it sounds wonderful, but on paper not so good, ask your doctors what they think. All the doctors I spoke with don't want it and they will tell you why. I believe states have the rights to amend, that is the reason we had a civil war. Government was trying to control to much. I feel everyone should cut back and tighten the belt a bit. But, most of all we should be proud of those who fight and have fought for this blessed gift of freedom.

All these things make me a Person.

Buffalo Chicken Chili

AHHH..... Fall is here!!!

There is something so exciting about the leaves changing color, the crisp morning air, and the smell of damp leaves. Fall gives us such a wonderful time and great food. Pumpkins, squash, and apples just to name a few. This is the time of year we blow the dust off the crock pot and get ready to make great soups and chilies to warm us on the crisp Autumn nights.

This is one of my favorite recipes. A great spin on Buffalo chicken for your football Sundays.

Buffalo chicken chili
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp Butter
2 pounds of all-white meat ground chicken ( I used 2 pounds chopped chicken breast)
2 cups chicken stock.
1 large carrot peeled and chopped finely
1 large onion chopped
3 ribs of celery, chopped finely
5 large cloves of garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp chipotle chili powder or smoked paprika
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper
¼-½ cup hot sauce, depends on how hot you like it (trust me ½ cup is really hot)
1 15-ounce can of tomato sauce
1 15-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
Blue cheese crumbles to top (optional)
Preparation
Place a large opt of medium-high heat. Add 1 turn of the pan of EVOO. About 1 tablespoon, and the butter. Once the butter has melted and the pot is hot, add the ground chicken. Brown it. Using the back of the wooden spoon to break it up in to small pieces, about 5-6 minutes. Add the carrot , onion, celery , garlic, chili powder, bay leaf and some salt and pepper. Cook stirring frequently for about 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken stock and scrape up any brown bit on the bottom of the pot. Add the hot sauce, tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes, and bring up to a bubble. Simmer for 8-10 minutes to let the flavors come together.
Top with blue cheese and serve
　
* note*
It is kind of a liquidity. To make a thicker chili I would brown chicken and veggies in EVOO and take out of pot. Melt butter in bottom of same pan . Add bout 2 tablespoons of flour and brown It to make a rue, add extra EVOO if need. Then use your stock to the rue. Add your seasonings, then return the chicken and veggies and add your hot sauce. This is just what I would do now that I have played with the recipe a bit.
ENJOY!!! We did.

If you want dessert i would suggest warm apples on french vanilla ice cream or apple crisp!

Have fun and Happy Fall!!

Making Plans

I had a strange but lovely time a week ago. I was invited to a 40Th wedding anniversary party of my ex-fiance's parents. They always liked me and I kept in contact with them through the years. It seems a bit strange but I have good relationships with all my exes and their family.
It was nice to reminisce with them. I even caught up with my ex and met his wife and children. It was such a lovely time that is seemed normal I guess is why it made it strange.

Having such a nice time i have decided to do a similar party for my parents this year. They are going to be having their 35Th wedding anniversary. I would have waited till the 40Th but my Grandmother Jackson's health is failing and we wanted to have everyone there on a joyous occasion.

Talked to my Brother Richard and plans are set in motion. I am preparing a guest list. Doing the list it just kind of set you back how many people my parents are close to over the years. So i have the task of rounding up addresses and making sure everyone saves the date and all that good stuff. I had to tell my mother b/c some of the family might stay at her house. She was a bit shocked but, she loved the idea.

I hope this goes over well. I want my parents to have a good time. If you are family reading this you shall get a "save the date". I really hope this goes well. I love to plan things like this and see it all come together. If all goes to plan there may be around 150-200 people.