if you don't sugar your legs, you need to.

i'm a girl with a hippie heart who doesn't want hairy legs. (i'm also a feminist who always wears a bra). but even if you're not a hippie, sugaring is for you. 'cause it's basically free, all natural, easy, and lasts as long as waxing. you want your hair to be about 1/4 inch long for this to work. seriously folks, this has changed my life. here's the recipe:

• 1 cup sugar
• Half a lemon for the juice
• 1/4 cup honey
• A little bit of Molasses if you have any like a drizzle (i didn't and it worked fine)
• Cornstarch (to powder with for tautness making it more effective)
• Something to spread the mixture with like a tongue depressor, popsicle stick, or spatula. (i like a spatula)
• Cotton fabric (any old thing you can find), cut into large strips (maybe 2 x 8 inches) and a few small strips (1 x 3) The more strips you have, the more efficient you will be. They are reusable.

mix the sugar, lemon juice, and honey in a saucepan. heat it up slowly, stirring occasionally. it will bubble and turn a pretty amber color. after about 20 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool completely. this stuff is no joke and will burn you, and sugaring isn't done hot like waxing is.

later on that day (or put it in the fridge and use another day), microwave it for about 30 seconds. this is to soften it up, not heat it. if it gets hot, let it cool off again.

sprinkle some cornstarch (or talc powder) on your legs if you have it. spread the mixture on your legs very thinly with the spatula, place the fabric and smooth it out, and pull quickly in the direction opposite the hair growth. (i do it on both sides of the fabric, but of course this is messier. after i yank, i place the fabric in a bowl of warm water so it will be easier to clean later)

if you have a sensitive area, or if you are tough enough to do your bikini line or underarms, just do smaller areas at a time. it only hurts for a sec, and the smaller the patch the easier. when you are all done and the fabric has soaked, rinse each one well in warm water. i have re-used mine at least 10 times so far. voila! go sugar!!

innovative gift wrap and more:)

i am often asked how i stretch my dollars. i suppose folks have noticed that i don't make much but i seem to get by. i secretly kind of enjoy pinching pennies, and it's a bonus that it's almost always better for the planet.
i NEVER purchase gift wrap. sometimes i put gifts in take-out boxes from restaurants. shredded newspaper makes a nice tissue paper. here i've used potato chip bags (turned inside out and washed) as gift bags.

as everybody knows, i make most presents that i give. you don't have to be craftsy to do this. my mom's friend sally makes CDs for her friends, mel gives photographs as presents (he's a great photog:)), and lots of people give baked goods or homemade candy as gifts. but if you're a craftster like me, you probably already have tricks up your sleeves. Susan is a knitter, Claudia crochets, Honor is quilting, even Zoe has discovered her craftsy side! Tracy gave me homemade pesto sauce once-it was yummy.

To nurture the craftsy side of you, check out craftster.org. There you can learn to make absolutely anything. and if you want to sell or buy handmade goodies, check out etsy.com. You'll be immediately hooked:)

teaching change?

I always mean to post more often. Oops.

So in a few weeks, my Saturdays are going to be freed up as the TWIGS season comes to a close. Money is already tight, so I will probably pick up some private students on other days to stay afloat. As for my Saturdays....

I have been itching to volunteer lately, and I heard a teacher saying she needed to see her students engage in the community...so...I'm having that teacher choose 2 or 3 students to work with me, and I am going to volunteer with them once a week. (I'm hoping that I may inspire a few other teachers/people to do the same.)

We will be limited by their youth--kids aren't welcomed to volunteer just any old place (the kids are 11 and 12). But I have a few ideas, and I'll keep y'all posted.

In other news, we are putting on a production of Einstein on the Beach with the kids at New Song. It's a post-modernist opera by living composer Philip Glass, and this production, to my knowledge, is the first all-kids production and the first all-black cast. April 24th at 4pm. Fun! More soon...