been making edibles....for body and hair

i must say something. cuz this topic has bothered for me as long as i've been a blog reader. when i first discovered the world of creative mama blogs, i was instantly mesmerized. i loved getting a peek inside these women's worlds. how they spent their time was so inspiring. i would seriously study their methods, and hoped so badly that i could find inside of me, the abilities to make a life for my family that looked a little more like 'hers'. you know what i mean? blissing out with the children all day long, creating beautiful handmades in every spare second, getting along with the husband everyday, looking good and stylish, making homemade bread and butter, and just feeling really proud about all that. who wouldn't? over time, i often felt like i was just a lost cause. i felt so far from living my days the way these girls were. but, i kept wanting it. after doing it (blogging) myself for a while (umm, a long while, but i was so shy at first i couldn't let anyone know about my own, and i whisper, embarrassing blog) i am realizing that people really can get crafty with what they choose to share. and it hit me yesterday, when i began piecing this post together. i had the shittiest morning. our rhythm has gotten out of whack, and i've been in the place where i just don't know if i can do it the way we have been, one more day. i was starting to have awful daydreams of giving up. and then, when i got home from a stressful drop-off at school, i felt my old friend, lady depression, knocking at my sacred soul's door. deep breath. that is a scary knock. thanks to a pot of beans i had started soaking (2 nights ago, is that okay? i wondered...) i found something to do that seemed a tiny bit interesting, and kept me from responding to that knock. my two year old miraculously was happy to play at my feet with her own 'soup' ingredients, and two hours later, i had a soup that i liked, and some cute pictures. i realized i could so easily paint a picture of our day being all about domestic bliss. and there's nothing wrong with that. i still read a lot of blogs that feel like this. and you know what, i believe those girls may be telling their whole truth. anything is possible. but it's just not me, i mean, it's just not my truth. i have such intense moments, and leaving them out feels like a lie. and i personally wish more girls who are intensity junkies like me, were talking about their challenging times, or at least going a little more in depth into those 'other' parts of their days. it normalizes life for me to hear other people share their struggles. it's the yin~yang again, for me. just telling myself that everyone has their own struggle, doesn't help me, as a tribal animal. i want to know my tribe intimately. not just their happy stories. i mean, if ani difranco didn't sing about her intimate personal struggles, i never would have been drawn to, and benefited from her music, like i have.

and now, without further ado, i dive into the pretty part of the past few days....

more osha root has been simmering here. mmmmm. no one is really sick, but i thought i felt a sore throat coming on, and that's what this is about.
i tried my hand at sara's hash browns for dinner. i did okay. i couldn't swing the whole pan sized cake like sara does, but i made these little latke-like ones instead. the man and i ate a lot of them....middle child wouldn't touch them. but that's her. first and third had a decent amount.

AND, this coffee popsicle i made in september, is incredible. i wish you could come over and eat one with me. a friend brought some iced coffee over for a breakfast we were making, but ended up drinking the fresh hot coffee we had made, and so instead of throwing his out, i sweetened it a bit, added some milk, and turned it into pops. i hadn't tried one till this warm day last week. olive was having her lime pop.

and then it snowed. yin yang. hot. then cold. tell me to stop with my yin~yanging.

so that is the baby, miraculously feeling satisfied playing by herself at my feet while i made some soup.

and a delicata squash. why do they have one of the best flavors on the planet? she actually could not get enough, because i insisted on having some too.

and there's my soup.

garlic/onion/beet/sweet potato/navy bean/curry soup. yumm. i cook like a hippie most of the time. with whatever is on hand, and whatever i'm drawn to. i sometimes try to use a recipe, but i just can't stick to it usually.

i also just washed my hair with egg yolk and apple cider vinegar, while holding a little glass of straight tequila in the other hand. i was kind-of scared that i might space out and sip from the wrong cup, but i didn't. i'm pretty over commercial shampoo.

i'm feeling really good about my hair right now. thanks to my farmer friend, melanie, who gave me the recipe.... 1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup warm water. whisk. mix into hair, let sit for 5 minutes (while sipping tequila if it's an evening shower, i say), then rinse with water.

okay....i swear, my hair has not felt this good in a long time. try it. and don't forget my secret ingredient.