Expat or World Travelers?

For the last five years, Ben and I have been seriously considering moving to New Zealand to retire.  Back in 2008, we had the amazing opportunity to visit (we lived in Okinawa, Japan) and absolutely fell in love with the country.  I admit, it was all my doing--I'm a true nerd.  You see, since the 6th grade, when I read "The Hobbit" in school, Tolkien has been my favorite author, so naturally, when Peter Jackson directed "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy--it was inevitable that we were popping over to New Zealand for a look-see.

We had a go at Wellington, Christchurch, and Te Anau (via Dunedin).  From Te Anau, we drove the two hours to Milford Sound for a once-in-a-lifetime ferry ride!  Anyway, as I mentioned before, we absolutely fell in love with New Zealand (and took in a bunch of LOTR movie sites along the way)!!



As our research into moving to NZ has expanded, another thought came to mind...why not be nomads?  World travelers?  We're used to that lifestyle!  Ben's father was Air Force (he lived in Puerto Rico for about six years), my father was Army (we lived in Germany for about six years and took in a bunch of other countries while in Europe--to include, then Czechoslovakia and East Germany...sheesh...my sister was even born in Panama)!  We could really do this.  Our children could grow up as true world travelers...spending about two to three years in each country.  We could become minimalists during our travels, renting furnished apartments, living like the locals...this could be real!

Ben and I really love traveling, and fortunately for us, our lifestyle has allowed us to consider this second option as a true possibility.  We already homeschool our children, and I will tell you that I have a very long list of places I would love to visit and/or live.

I believe it is now time to start doing a different type of research, and we are really excited.  :)

~~Homemade hand soap~~

Since we've started the 'natural' thing at home, we've realized that a bunch of the things we've started to use are pretty darn expensive.  Our grocery bills were hitting $700 or so, and that was just the monthly bill--that didn't include all the perishables we were buying throughout the month like milk, bread, etc.!

But, as with most things, with that dark, expensive cloud, there came a silver lining...do-it-yourself!  Who knew it could be a blast?!

Yesterday I tried my luck at hand soap, something that we buy a lot of (three bathrooms + 1 kitchen...1 per room per month at $5 a pop...equals mucho dinero).  Anyway, it turned out that it was extremely simple.  Mind you, there are many different methods and depending on how you like your hand soap (watery vs gel) will determine which method you decide to go with on this.  The method I used was very basic, but I think next time I'll play around with it a little (maybe add some of that glycerin I have sitting in our pantry).

What you'll need:
1 quart of water
1/4 bar of soap (I used Kirk's Castile soap since it's very natural)
2 tsp honey (optional)
10-15 drops essential oil (optional)



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Step 1:  put 1 quart water on low-medium heat (you want to get it steaming...some recipes call for boiling, but not the one I used)



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Step 2:  grate 1/4 bar of soap and set aside until your water is steaming





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Step 3:  once water is steaming, remove from heat and pour in grated soap...whisk/mix to ensure soap dissolves, then let it sit for about 15 minutes



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Step 4:  whisk/mix again and let sit overnight to cool...in the morning, whisk/mix again real quick and pour soap into your dispensers; any left-overs can be stored in a clean jug of water/milk or mason jar to refill your dispensers once you've run out of soap



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Now, I actually made two batches...one like the one I described above, the other with honey and lemon essential oil...and the color came out a little different (I added the honey and essential oil when I mixed it again after the initial 15 minutes).



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I've not seen much of a difference between the one with honey and the one without.  I think next time I may add a little olive oil to the mix as well, as I was going for the moisturizing effect.


A few things to note:

-- Remember, suds don't equal clean.  Household cleaner manufacturers have conditioned us to believe that bubbles mean it's working...it doesn't.  The homemade laundry soap we use at home cleans very well, but it does not bubble at all!

-- The above recipe will give you a very watery hand soap, but couple that with this Castile soap (coconut oil/soap) and you will find that it IS very bubbly.

Happy experimenting!!  =)

Role-reversal...

Recently, there was an article in Times that stated women are embarrassed to have 'stay-at-home husbands.'  I do have a personal opinion about the author, but instead of sharing that, I'll stick with the following:

I am extremely thankful and comforted that Ben is a stay-at-home dad.  I am VERY proud of the work he does with our kids, and am in no way, shape, or form embarrassed.  I think it's great!!  It made sense for our family and allows me to go to work without having to worry about who is caring for our children.  As a working mother, that is a HUGE worry off my shoulders...believe me.  

Would I love to trade places? You bet, but ONLY because I would love to spend more time with our kids. Would I prefer us to be a dual-income family and send our kids off each day with strangers--never in a million years!  I completely understand that we are truly fortunate to be able to have this choice--not many are afforded the same opportunity. But, it's a choice we've made and one we're completely happy with.  No...my stay-at-home husband is NOT an embarrassment to me--he's my hero...

http://ideas.time.com/2013/12/09/the-househusbands-of-wall-street/?iid=op-main-belt

Welcome!

Hi, welcome to my blog.  I'm Clara, mother to two boys (we'll call them Bear and Frog--their nicknames) and wife to a wonderful husband (Ben).  Ben is a stay-at-home dad and homeschools our kiddos.  I absolutely adore my family and when I think of the word beautiful, they are all that comes to mind!!

I've been meaning to start a blog (well, I've actually started a few, but never followed through with them) for a while to share some of our exciting adventures as a military family.  We currently live in the DC area and we're enjoying our time here... except for the traffic.  :)

What you'll find is that I'm a photo-holic.  Ben will often say that in a 30-minute period, I will take close to 500 pictures...he's not far off from the truth!  I love traveling and I love taking snapshots of wonderful moments with my family.  I also love to cook, when I have time.  AND, I've recently taken my family on the 'organic... non-gmo... natural... homemade' adventure, meaning, we're trying to eat and live healthier--although, we're not completely there yet.  These are some of the ramblings you'll see on this blog.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you enjoy it!