Strawbraries at the Liberry

I don’t know about you, but I DREAD my period every month. Sometimes my cramps are so bad I think a raccoon is trying to dig its way outside of my body to burst forth from my abdomen like that scene in Alien.  Now that my cramps have calmed down a bit, I have more severe mood swings, headaches, fatigue and dizziness. So I’ve got the whole crying at YouTube commercials thing going on, but at least my cramps are more managable.  Now, I am definitely no doctor, I am a mere hypochondriac with Google- so please seek professional medical advice if you are worried your cramps are too bad or are experiencing irregular menstrual cycles or PMS symptoms that seem intense, if you can. But I want to tell you about some things that have worked for me and hopefully they can help one of you!   Help with Cramps:   Pain Relievers:   I had bad cramps starting in high school. They’d be so bad, I’d have to leave school because I never thought ahead well enough to bring ibuprofen to school j

It’s no secret that the US has a very consumption-centric society, a lot of our social outings center around purchasing; shopping can even be a hobby for many people. It used to be one of my favorite things to do on my days off. I’d go into the city, I’d go to events, I’d go to antique stores, thrift stores, fair trade stores, grocery stores. I’d collect all sorts of things: Teas to try, glassware, ceramics, random antiques, jewelry, makeup, clothes- so many clothes! Every one of my outings centered on purchasing and I was always very excited about my new haul. I could hardly come home without something new from an outing to add to my collection. Before long, I had PILES up to my waist of all the things I owned. Everything was disorganized and I would just spend hundreds of dollars, completely unnecessarily. It was even more intense around Christmas, which many people probably experience. Now, I don’t even know how I had that money- and I wish I had been more frugal in my early 20’s

This is my simple green bean recipe:   What you need: ·          1 frying pan  ·          1-2 cups Green Beans (I used about 4 handfuls of fresh beans.) ·          About 1 tbsp of butter (you can certainly substitute with a dairy free butter alternative if desired.) ·          1/8 tsp or a pinch or two of fennel seeds ·          A shake or two or three of salt. Optional and to personal preference. ·          Water     Step 1:               Fill the pan about halfway with water, add the salt if desired and add the fennel seeds. Put the pan on the burner at medium heat.   Step 2:                         Wash and snap your beans as preferred. I put them in a colander under warm running water and snapped off the very ends and rinsed them. I threw them into the water as rinsed. But not hard enough to splash, I’m no daredevil.   Step 3:               Now we wait. I boil these beans until all that water has boiled out.   Step 4: