THE ONLY POLISH GIRL IN TEXAS

So I guess since this blog is titled “The Only Polish Girl in Texas” I should probably give some back story on that.   I don’t ever remember a time during the holidays when I was young that my Grandma didn’t come to stay with us.   We would always make pierogi, although at that time I was only in charge of using the fork to close them.   I didn’t eat them when I was a kid, but I was extremely picky and missed out on years and years of the buttery deliciousness.   Kolacky would always be a part of the Christmas cookies we made, and it wasn’t Easter without Polish sausage from Misch Bros.   I can remember my Grandma being on the phone with my Great Aunt talking in Polish, and the more excited or upset she would become the louder and faster she talked.   Almost until she was out of breath.   When I was in maybe 6 th grade, I had a “boyfriend” (things were different back then) and one of the first things I was asked was what’s his last name.   I wa...

Anyone who knows me knows that my cats are my kids.   I will most of the time be nicer to animals than people, and if you come to my house be prepared to leave with a good amount of cat hair attached to your clothes.   I have a ton of pictures of my cats in my phone, and maybe two of my husband. (Is that bad? He doesn’t like pictures anyway.)   They do really strange things sometimes, and I don’t know if it’s just my little weirdos, or if it’s a cat thing in general.   For the longest time they weren’t allowed to sleep in our room with us, until we moved to TX.   Now a king size bed isn’t big enough for 2 people and 2 cats.   We usually end up in a corner of the bed while they’re stretched out and comfy.   Unless of course one of them has made himself comfortable sleeping on my head.   And I wonder why I wake up sweating in the middle of the night.   I always say orange male cats are the best.   There are times they act more like dog...

Since a good amount of my posts will have something to do with Young Living Essential Oils, I thought maybe we should start at the beginning and get a little background on the company, and essential oils.  Young Living is all about VIBRANT health, wellness, self-care, and taking charge of our lifestyle and wellness choices. I'm not an expert, and I'm certainly not a doctor, but I do want to make better choices when it comes to my health and wellness.  If I can do that without the use of prescription or over the counter "conventional" medicine, all the better. EO's are volatile substances derived from plants, containing the natural smell and characteristics of the plant. They are extracted primarily through steam distillation.  These potent, volatile oils are often called the "life blood" of the plant.  They have protective properties which are the plants natural defense mechanism. Since EO's are volatile, they will evaporate, unlike a fatty o...

There's a great store in Texas called Sprouts.  They have all kinds of organic, non-GMO, grass fed meats and fruits and veggies.  Their pricing is extremely reasonable, and they have everything you can possibly need for oily recipes like the one I posted yesterday.  This is where I spent my Friday night.  Armed with a list of essentials, the plan was get in and get out.  Here's everything I planned on buying: The round jar is 100% shea butter, and the biggest bottle is Dr. Bronner's castile soap.  They even sell the glass spray bottles and jars.  Really, everything you need for oily recipes.  I didn't take an after shot of my cart, but once I made it through the rest of the store I realized it was a good thing I only grabbed one of the small carts.  I left with three different flavors of stuffed free-range chicken breasts, meat, stuffed mushrooms, organic veggies, and possibly a key lime tart.  So my shopping trip for supplies ended...

This happened about a week ago, but I had to share.  I wish I would've taken pictures, but I was so shocked at what was going on, I didn't even think about it.  It was a rare day in the summer that the husband was home from work before me.  He had the garage door open, and was doing a little weed pulling and what not.  I pulled up into the driveway, got out of my car and stood there talking for a minute.  I just happened to be looking at my car when what I assume was a juvenile (he little) possum came stumbling out from under my car.  Seriously, he (she?) looked as if it had just come home from a long night out at Spice Rack.  My first thought was it's daylight so there's probably something wrong with it.  Did it eat out of our bait boxes? Sidebar:  We live in the city, but behind us is a small undeveloped family owned farm.  This means the chance for critters is likely.  That, and Norway rats are a common thing in our area. ...

One of the great things about Young Living Essential Oils is that you can use them for so many things.  There's a never-ending amount of information on Pinterest, and various Facebook groups.  The great thing is you only need a tiny bit, and most of the recipes I'll be posting will take less than 10 minutes to make.  One of YLEO's big sellers is Thieves.  So much, that they've come out with an entire line of cleaning products.  Dish soap, laundry soap, fruit and veggie spray, the list goes on.  Today I decided to make my own version of Thieves spray. With cold and flu season coming up, I figured this would be a good item to have on me at all times.  If you know me, you know that I usually spend about 6 months of the year with some sort of ailment.  Let's try to avoid that this year, shall we? This one took literally 1 minute to mix up. One thing you want to remember, is that when mixing oils use a frosted, amber, or cobalt glass bottle....

I like to have hobbies.   Sometimes I have a hard time sticking with one, or I get frustrated, but I like to stay busy.   Texas is hot, so in the summer if I’m not in the pool, I’m in the a/c.   The husband also works a couple weekends a month, so having something to pass the time when it’s just me and the kitties is always a good thing. I have a pretty decent sewing machine, and last year I decided it was time to be a quilter.   How hard can it be?   Let’s just say harder than I thought.   The one my brother and sister in law were gifted with is associated with a good amount of swearing, and as I told them, just don’t look at it too closely.   Since then my only real attempt at sewing anything was some panels and a valance for a friend at work.   They actually came out pretty good, but it didn’t give me the confidence to do more.   I’ve made a few aromatherapy rice bags (disclosure: I don’t use my YLEO oils on these, only the cheapies),...

Growing up we never worried about chemicals.   Hand sanitizer wasn’t a thing.   There was no clipping one onto your purse for easy access.   No cart wipes at the grocery store, or cart covers for babies.   When I was about 14 I was burned really badly by the pipe on a motorcycle.   Instead of taking me to the hospital my mom said oh that’s not too bad, and took me for ice cream.   Sunscreen was not something that existed in our home, and we spent our summers swimming.   To this day if my husband cuts himself he wraps it with duct tape and goes on about his day without cleaning it.   Things are different now though.   GMO’s have been around for years and years, but not to the extent we see now.   Microwaving food in plastic?   Probably not the best idea.   Buying the cheapest shampoo at the drugstore, why not?   It’s all the same right? Ok, let’s stop right there.   I was one of the people who would stock up on th...

So I might have had some Thieves oil on my hands.   And I may have grabbed his smooshy face when he jumped up next to me.   But no, I did not purposely oil the cat.   First time here?   Hey, me too!   So here’s a little about me.   I grew up in the Chicago suburbs where I bounced around for about 34 years until my husband and I made the decision to move to Texas.   Chicago winters get old, so the first opportunity we had we listed our cute little house we had been in since 1998.   It sold in 9 days, score!   Within the next 3 weeks we packed up and moved everything to DFW, leaving jobs, friends, and family behind.   I won’t lie, it’s not been easy; I wouldn’t trade it though.   I’m looking forward to sharing my life, my journey to become a chemical free home, love for all things girlie, and my never ending search for Polish food in DFW.   Seriously, where are the pierogi?