Missy Rakes, Author at Graceful Little Honey Bee

No Shampoo: Week 2

January 2, 2012 by Missy Rakes 27 Comments

Tomorrow marks two weeks on my no shampoo journey. If you missed week one you can read about it here. This week has been much more challenging than week one. I’ve been doing the BS/ACV routine every other day and I’m definitely still in the transition phase. Here are pictures of what my hair looks like now:

Although my hair looks clean and normal it definitely feels different. My roots are more oily when touched (at least to me) and they feel heavier than freshly shampooed hair. (I’m starting to want that feeling again!!) Also, my scalp is itchier and my hair seems to tangle more. The majority of my hair seems to feel the same though so that’s good. I’m going to try to go three days this week between washing in hopes of speeding up the transition phase. I hope it comes quickly. I’m not sure how long I’m willing to commit to this without results. Especially since I’ve heard mixed opinions about this method. It ain’t for the faint of heart!

Do you have any tips on getting through the transition phase?

Do you think your hair feels cleaner and healthier now that your on the other side? (If you are)

I need some encouragement!!

No Shampoo: Week 1

December 28, 2011 by Missy Rakes 32 Comments

Have you heard of or tried the “no poo” method? Basically it’s where you stop using shampoo (because it strips your hair of natural oils, frizzes it and is filled with chemicals) and you use baking soda and apple cider vinegar in it’s place. Sound crazy? Maybe it is, but I’ve been poo free for nine days now and the “transition period” hasn’t been too bad. Here’s what my hair looks like today:

I’ve been using 1 tbsp baking soda dissolved in 1 cup warm water and then 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar in 1 cup warm water every other day. Basically you just pour the baking soda mixture on your roots, scrub and rinse, then repeat with the vinegar on your ends. Once you go “poo free” your hair will go through a transition period where it’s still overproducing oil because it’s used to shampoo stripping it all of the time. I was only washing my hair every three days before I started so hopefully my transition will be easier. The baking soda has been pretty effective in soaking up the excess oil. It does feel a little bit greasier and heavier than normal, but not really too much. Supposedly your hair gets curlier and fuller once your completely poo free. I hope that’s true!!

Have you heard of or tried the no poo method?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Improve Your Garden Soil Using Eggshells

November 28, 2011 by Missy Rakes 82 Comments

©karandaev / Dollar Photo Club

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I don’t compost, but I do keep my rinsed eggshells and once I have a big pile full I put them in the blender….

…and turn them into powder to spread out in the garden.

If you try this, be forewarned…

…you will have egg dust comin’ at you when you remove the lid…

…and it really doesn’t smell that pleasant.

Learn how to use your eggshells in the garden for a calcium boost!

Do you put anything in your garden such as
eggshells, leaves, or coffee grounds to help the soil?

I’d love more ideas!

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Applique Baby Bib Tutorial

November 15, 2011 by Missy Rakes 4 Comments

Who wants to applique some baby bibs with me?? Since I’ve been sewing up several of these lately I decided to do a quick tutorial just in case anyone else wanted to make some too. I’m no expert and I realize there are other ways of doing it, but this is how I do it with the resources that I have. Also, I apologize for choosing such a light colored fabric. It would have been wiser to use a darker one for all the pictures. Sorry!

You will need:

fabric for bib (flannels, cottons, and knits work nicely)

fabric for applique

fusible interfacing

fasteners (such as snaps, Velcro, etc.)

sewing machine w/zig-zag stitch

iron

fabric scissors

paper

1. First, you will need to get a pattern for your bib. You can either print one or use a bib you already have adding a 1/4″ all the way around.

2. Next you will need to draw or print the shape that you want to applique and cut it out.

3. Now that you you have your patterns it’s time to start cutting the fabric. You will need to cut two bib pieces, one applique piece from the fabric and one applique piece from the interfacing (with the shiny side up)

4. Next you will iron your interfacing to your applique piece per the directions on your interfacing. Then pin your applique piece to the right side of your bib, making sure to pin it straight and even.NOTE: My interfacing is only fusible on one side. If you are using the kind that is fusible on both sides with the peel off back, then you will need to pin it to the applique piece AND the bib before you iron it. Also, remember to peel off the backing! 🙂

5. Now you will sew all the way around the edge of your applique using the zig-zag stitch. Go slow and be sure to shift your fabric accordingly, remembering to back stitch at the beginning and end!NOTE: You can set your stitch to the smallest size for a closer and more secure zig-zag stitch. The stitch I have shown here is a large sized stitch.

6. Next you should pin your bib pieces right sides together and sew a 1/4″ seam leaving 2-3 inches open so you can turn your bib remembering to back stitch at the beginning and end of your seam.

7. Next, clip your curves being careful not the cut into your seam.

8. Now you can turn your bib right side out and iron it.

9. Pin the open part of your seam so that the edges are turned in and even with the rest of the bib.

10. Now you need to top stitch as close to the edge as you can all the way around your bib remembering to backstitch at the beginning and end.

11. Choose the fastener of your choice for the neck straps and your done! Yay!

Now wasn’t that fun?!?

A Baby Blanket

November 11, 2011 by Missy Rakes 4 Comments

I made a quick baby blanket using this tutorial. The layer of batting in between makes it super thick and warm, but it would work well without it too. I had heard that minky (the brown fabric) is hard to work with, but it didn’t give me any problems (except shedding all over the place.)

I cut the fabric out at 41″X41″ and the finished blanket ended up being around 38″X39″. This is because I’m horrible at cutting things out squarely and I just had to keep “evening it up” until it look right.

I think it will make a great floor blanket for baby!

What do you think?

What I Whipped Up Wednesday

No-Bake Energy Bites

October 31, 2011 by Missy Rakes 14 Comments

These no-bake energy bites are really easy and super delicious. They taste like homemade granola bars and will give you a kick of energy during your afternoon slump. I love to make a batch or two to keep in the fridge for snacks throughout the week. You could add hemp hearts, chopped nuts, dried fruit, etc. to make them healthier and more customized to your tastes. This is a great hands on recipe to get the kids involved, plus they will love eating them once you are done!

No-Bake Energy Bites

1 cup oats

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

1. Mix all ingredients.

2. Roll into bite sized balls.

3. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and enjoy!

Print Recipe

No-Bake Energy Bites

Ingredients

1 cup oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup ground flaxseed

Instructions

Mix all ingredients.
Roll into bite sized balls.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes and enjoy!

2011 Garden Review

October 17, 2011 by Missy Rakes 4 Comments

My first year of gardening was a success! Now that the season is done I thought I’d take a moment to look back and reflect. We had a pretty good experience overall, although we ended spending way more than we produced! We’re set up for next year though and we shouldn’t need to spend very much.

I learned that starting seeds indoors isn’t really that hard after all! All you have to do is give them some light and moisture and they should grow for you!

Our tomatoes grew like crazy even though we had a few bouts with worms and aphids. Next year I think we will lay some mulch and plant them a little farther apart.

I wasn’t impressed with the flavor of our carrots (they were Little Fingers). I may try a larger, sweeter variety next season.

Our tomatoes produced in abundance. Unfortunately, my morning sickness and aversion to them made me give them all away pretty quick! I’ll probably plant some different varieties next year because none of ours seemed to grow that big. It could have been the weather conditions though. I heard is wasn’t a very good year for them because of all the rain and cold in the early spring.

We dug up our sweet potatoes last week and they did really well! Now I just have to figure out what to do with them all.

Overall I learned a lot and I’m excited to put my knowledge and experience to good use next season!

How did your garden do? What will you be doing differently next year?

Our Last Harvest

October 4, 2011 by Missy Rakes 3 Comments

Well the sweet potatoes are in and a couple of them are HUGE!! This is our last crop for the season so we’re done with the garden except tilling and fertilizing it. I’m a little bit disappointed because all of our crops came into season right in the thick of my first trimester and tomatoes (plus everything else we grew) grossed me out!! Good thing I planted 25 plants, right?!? Ha it’s alright I gave most of them away to our parents and I made some salsa. It was all a big learning experience anyway.

On another note, does anyone know if sweet potato roots will grow in water? We shall see I guess.

Potato Harvest

July 26, 2011 by Missy Rakes 2 Comments

Well the potato harvest is in! We didn’t end up with very many but I think it’s because they were close together and the soil was hard. We also dug up some sweet potatoes just to “see” how they were doing. They definitely need more time. I think next year I will plant more and maybe do the newspaper and straw method. Has any one tried this before?

In the Garden

July 25, 2011 by Missy Rakes 9 Comments

The blossom end rot was only on the first few of my tomatoes so now I have plenty to go around! I’ve given away several bags of them and today I made three pints of salsa:

And I still have this many left plus a dozen that will be ready to pick tomorrow:

Also, here are the only flowers that I managed to grow from seed:

I think zinnias are so beautiful!

I have to ask, what do you do with all your tomatoes? Can ’em? Give ’em away? Freeze ’em?

Homestead Barn Hop

Extending Grace in Marriage

July 14, 2011 by Missy Rakes 2 Comments

Remember that time you undercooked the rice for the third time in a row and your husband extended you grace when you had to go out to eat yet again? Or maybe he didn’t extend any grace and made you feel like a failure. (Or maybe I’m the only one who’s ever been in this situation)

Grace: unmerited pardon or favor (my definition)

Grace. We all hope to receive it when we mess up, but we’re kinda stingy when extending it towards others, right? But why is that? Hasn’t God extended us massive amounts of grace by sacrificing His son to die so that we might have eternal life? And doesn’t he continue to extend us grace on a daily basis when we mess up or refuse to put Him first in our lives? We don’t deserve to have a personal relationship with our perfect God, but He grants us the grace to do so because He loves us. Scripture says:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith.

And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

-Ephesians 2:8

God extends us His grace as a gift. We haven’t earned it and we certainly don’t deserve it. Don’t you think this is a good model in how to treat our spouses? We should be happy for the chance to extend grace to our spouse simply because we are filled with the joy and thankfulness of knowing that God has first extended grace to us. Yes we should be extending grace towards our spouses (and other people as well) any chance we get, but its not that simple because our sinful selfish selves get in the way don’t they? So how do we begin to shut out our selfishness and show grace?

The only way to do this is through prayer and Christ working in you. Pick a verse and pray it over yourself. Pray to be convicted when you react in anger instead of grace and love. If you continue to pray these things then they will be fresh in your mind and God will begin to convict you when you are reacting wrongfully. Its not an easy thing to extend grace, but with the help and grace of God all things are possible. The two verses that I’m praying over myself are:

“A soft answer turns away wrath,

but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

– Proverbs 15:1

“Let every person be quick to hear,

slow to speak, and slow to anger;

for the anger of man does not produce

the righteousness that God requires.”

– James 1:19-20

If reacting in anger and withholding grace is something that you struggle with then I suggest getting into the word and letting the Holy Spirit show you a verse or two to memorize. Then repeat your verse throughout the days and weeks ahead and pray it over yourself daily. “For God is working in you giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him.” – Philippians 2:13

Remember no one this side of heaven is perfect, but that is no excuse to show harshness and anger towards our spouses. Next time you find yourself irritated or angry towards your spouse just repeat your memory verse and remember that Christ has extended you grace. No they don’t deserve it, but neither do you. It won’t be easy, but with God it is possible!!

Homemade Laundry Soap – Round 2

July 11, 2011 by Missy Rakes 3 Comments

I just made a new batch of laundry soap. This time I used Fels-Naptha and washing soda because I couldn’t find Zote or a big container of baking soda. So far I like the Zote variety better because the Fels-Naptha scent gave me a headache and it’s a smaller bar so I had to buy two. PLUS the Zote is hot pink which is way prettier than the yellow. 🙂 We’ll see how it cleans. I really need to try and find soap flakes which would make this process much easier. Does anyone know where you can find them?

I made my first batch of laundry soap in March so it lasted me four months. That’s pretty good considering I only spent around $3 to make it. I do 3-4 loads of laundry per week and I’ve been using 1 tbsp for small loads and 1 1/2 – 2 tbsp for larger and/or dirtier loads. It seems to work pretty well. My clothes seem clean so I’m happy. Here’s my recipe:

Laundry Soap

2 parts soap (Fels-Naptha, Zote, or Ivory can be used), grated
1 part borax
1 part baking soda or washing soda

Mix and store in air tight container.
Use 1-2 tbsp per load.

Problems in the Garden

July 7, 2011 by Missy Rakes 4 Comments

I noticed yesterday that some of my tomatoes were finally turning red and I got so excited!! Until I took a good look at them and realized they were being eaten and they were were molding. All but one of the red ones were rotted. Grrr. I picked the halfway decent red one and I’m letting it ripen on my window sill. Anyway, I need advice on how to prevent this from happening!! Here’re pictures of my fruit (Sorry they’re blurry but my camera was not focusing right):

Okay experienced gardeners what’s my problem and how do I fix it? I need your help!!!

Also I’ve kinda been at a loss as to when to pick my corn. Everyone says when the silk dies and the kernels are milky. Well mine have been like that but they just didn’t seem ready to pick to me for some reason. But when I looked out the window today and a bunch of black birds were eating them I figured they were ready! I’m about to shuck them and see if I was right. Ha. I’m learning through all of this trial and error and I’ll be more knowledgeable next year.

Garden Update

June 20, 2011 by Missy Rakes 9 Comments

Lots of exciting things are happening in the garden! It’s been about 2-3 weeks since I last updated and a lot has happened since then. I’ve had to deal with pests and we have produce on the vine! Here’s a look:

Here’s our massive amount of tomato plants. I had a dream last night that they were all turning red! I guess you can say I’m ready for my home grown tomatoes.

Our corn is pollinating:

We have lots and lots of tomatoes on the vine. This one is beefsteak, but mostly we have Roma’s growing so far.

Here are our bell peppers. Salsa here we come!

I know I say this a lot, but gardening and growing most of my plants from seed has been such an awesome and rewarding experience for me.

We’re getting close to harvest and canning season! Yay!
How is your garden growing?

Garden Update

June 2, 2011 by Missy Rakes 6 Comments

The garden is still growing like crazy! (Unfortunately so are the weeds.) I staked a few of my tomato plants last week. Also, a lot of the tomatoes have blossoms on them! Yea baby!

I ground some eggshells into powder and sprinkled it in this bed for a boost of calcium. Has anyone ever done this before?

Our cabbage is getting huge:

So is our corn:

These are our potato plants. We only planted them about a month ago and they are as big as the corn!

Well I guess that’s all for now. Hopefully soon I’ll have some baby produce to talk about! 🙂

Linked at the Homestead Barn Hop

Garden Tour

May 23, 2011 by Missy Rakes 3 Comments

My garden is looking so healthy and strong right now! It’s so exciting! I can’t believe how much my tomatoes have grown in the last two days. It’s crazy! Here’s a quick tour: