I must be missing my girlfriends after the holiday break stuck with enjoying my family.  I just want to chat away and tell you all a bunch of random stuff related to Kitchen Stewardship.  If you’ll indulge me (again), here I go:

• I ordered and received the canned tomatoes in glass jars from Tropical Traditions that I mentioned with the free shipping deal.   I haven’t used them yet, but I have to gripe a little that I was disappointed that 8 jars  came in TWO boxes.  It seems a terrible waste of packaging and shipping fuel.  I’m really going to have to seek out glass jarred tomatoes in local stores.  (or just suck down some BPA and deal with it!  We’re livin’ in the real world, after all.)
• Speaking of griping, if you have been around for a while, you know I have a bit of an obsession with spreading the word about the evils of antibacterial chemicals and soaps, as well as a special dislike for Bath and Body Works because they are so over-the-top with their antibacterial products.  I told you last week that I was taking back my BBW soap to trade it in for Cleanwell, which was sold there at this time last year…but alas!  After braving the overpowering mixture of putrid fragrances that nearly knocked me flat upon entering The Store, I was dismayed to find that they no longer carry Cleanwell!

I was directed to some “natural” Bath and Body Works label, only to find parabens in the ingredients.  Well.  I’m not about to make a special trip to get rid of triclosan only to invite parabens in where they currently aren’t.  (I don’t avoid all parabens at all costs, but my handsoap is pretty “clean” currently, pardon the pun.  No need to break something that is already fixed!) I finally traded two handsoaps and a pocket-pac antibacterial sanitizer for one lousy “aromatherapeutic” handsoap.  Their stuff is always on sale when I make it to the mall to make an exchange!  I might have gotten two lousy handsoaps if they hadn’t been!  As it was, I gave them 26 cents.  I figure that’s probably going to the government anyway, right?

• To see how I clean my house with two small kiddos, see the comments at this cleaning post.   It’s nothing groundbreaking, ,but I thought it was interesting that a reader wanted to know how I did it (step one: I don’t, at least not very much).
• I’ve seen people ask before how bloggers get enough ideas to post every day.  These are people who are or want to be blogging, and it feels ridiculous to me.  As someone who never runs out of things to say, I wonder how it is that someone could expect an artist to explain “inspiration”. I also wonder why they might consider blogging if they have nothing to say.  If you’re curious for more, I responded to such a comment (tactfully, I hope) at my Problogger guest post.  Scroll down to comment 99 or so.
• Now, are you ready for a little Wednesday morning giggle?  I mentioned offhandedly at the Monday Mission from last week that my son has some seriously threadbare sheets that I felt guilty throwing out. I received so many suggestions!  I presented them to my husband that night in this order:
  1.  I could make a rug.
  2.  I could wait until I have a few more and sew them together to make a picnic sheet.
  3.  I could make a cape for the kiddos.
  4.  I could cut them into hankies.
  5.  I could braid them into a dog toy. (Immediately, he says, “We don’t have a dog!”  “I know,” I say, “I’d have to find somewhere to donate it.”)
  6.  I could cut them into toilet paper.
  As expected, hubby’s jaw absolutely dropped to the floor and his eyes got as wide as, well, as wide as a toilet seat!  “Can you flush those?” he cried.  “Well, no…” and then it dawned on him that I meant to re-use.  He is not a fan of this idea.  Heh, heh, heh.  He wondered where you put them.  What would guests think?
  “Do you–?”
  “Just for number one.”
  “Oh, just for women then.”
  {Thinking.}
  Me:  “If only I had time for all this crafting!”
  Husband:  “I think you should iron first.”
  Touche.  He’s had shirts hanging in the ‘to-iron’ space for months.  Maybe a year.  I’m not a big ironer, as it turns out.
• And another cause for laughter.  This is the gift my best friend from college sent my husband for Christmas:
  
  That’s Taco Bell hot sauce packets in there, in case you don’t recognize them like we do around here!
  My 4-year-old, her godson, got a Heroes of the Old Testament book and this:
  
  He put them on immediately and hasn’t taken them off yet since yesterday lunchtime.  He was pretty pleased to wear jammies all day!There are reasons some people are best friends. She gets us!  She’s the same one who sent me this, and what a talent she has for finding the perfect gift.  In my box, I got a book about preserving food and purple jammies.  Such fun!

  Now the kids’ jammies aren’t organic, of course, and I was actually surprised that they are treated with flame retardants.  I guess even though they’re not the fuzzy jams, they aren’t tight enough not to catch on fire when my kids play around candles in their PJs.  Right.  The good news is that the tag instructs me not to use soap, just detergent, to retain the flame retardant quality.  Score! Soap, here I come!  I’m hoping Charlie’s Soap or Soap Nuts count as soap, because that’s what I have.  (Giveaway for Charlie’s Soap in 2 weeks.)

• You know how we moms are always trying to keep our kids from getting tempted by the items for sale in the checkout line?I was that kid tonight. *blush*I was totally taken by a copy of Michael Pollan’s new book, Food Rules, prominently placed by the cash register at a bookstore.  I was only buying one book, with gift cards.  Oh, temptation!  I thought I had enough gift cards to nearly cover both, but one card only had a few bucks left on it.  *sigh* $15 later and I’m out the door wishing I had just requested the book from the library!Then again, it did keep me awake while nursing for at least 5 minutes, a full 4.5 longer than the other book I bought. 

  I’ll share the wealth – a dead-on quote from the introduction:

  “Eating in our time has gotten complicated – needlessly so, in my opinion….It’s gotten to the point where we don’t see foods anymore but instead look right through them to the nutrients they contain, and of course to the calories.”

  Pollan goes on to share 64 rules for food to help people live out his 7-word answer to “What should I eat?”

  Eat Food.  Not too much.  Mostly Plants.

  Rules no. 63 and 64:  Cook.  Break the rules once in a while.

  Nice.

• I tweeted at Michael Pollan to invite him to our #realfood hashtag Twitter chat, tomorrow evening (1/7) from 9-11p EST.  Even if you’re not on Twitter, you can follow the action by going here.  Lots of folks hop on and talk about fascinating things, and it’s really fast-paced and kind of exhilarating to participate in!  If you follow the link now, you’ll see what folks have been talking about Real Food on Twitter today.

  You can “meet” some of the folks who will be participating in the Real Food Bloggers’ Face-Off, starting soon!

• Lastly, my friend Shannon sells the cutest nursing bracelets in her Etsy store, Organic Mamas.  She has a huge giveaway of Etsy products from all over (over $100 worth) right now – definitely worth checking out!  I reviewed and gave away one of her bracelets here.
• My darling readers, would you be so kind as to take a 60-second survey for me?  I’d love to know who’s out there reading and what you’re most interested in, to give me a little direction as I plan the year.  Plus, you can get 5 extra entries in the first giveaway of the new year, which I think is a pretty fab item!  Click here for the survey and here if you’d like more directions.

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If you missed the last Monday Mission, click here.

Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money.  If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.

Check out Real Food Wednesday at Cheeseslave for other interesting food notes!