Listen to Your Elders: Natural Child and Pet-Friendly Ant Repellant

Photo courtesy of www.lifewithherbal.com

For the past few weeks, I've had an ant problem. At first it was only one or two here and there, and then it turned into an infestation in my living room (they haven't made it to the kitchen yet thank God). I blame the cracks and drafts in my door and window frames of my apartment since that is mostly where they hang out. Once I could not sit on my couch without an ant crawling on me, I said enough.

Now you're probably thinking "Bring on the Raid sistah!" but the problem with that is that I have two cats and one of them, in particular, enjoys lounging on the tiles in front of my door (where most of the ants are getting in) on warmer days to cool off, and both of them love to hang out on my windowsills to look outside. I was worried about insecticides and poisons because cats constantly groom themselves and if any is on them they could easily ingest it. Also the same cat that lays in front of the door also eats everything in sight from beads to hair ties so poison or traps are completely OUT of the question.

Turns out, my cats were saved by a little old lady who works at my local Walmart. Anna, a 93 year old woman who works the dressing room desk, came by the pharmacy (in which I am working while I am in school) and asked us to order cinnamon oil for her. When she came to pick it up, she told me she uses it to get rid of ants. At first, I passed it off as an old wives tale, but as my ant problem got worse I decided to give it a try.

So, last night, I made up a simple concoction which I sprayed heavily around my door and window frames and into my welcome mat that sits in front of my door. 20 minutes later, almost all of the ants were gone. Today, I haven't seen a single one. A-FRICKIN-MAZING! And my apartment smells great!

What you will need: food-grade cinnamon oil, water, empty spray bottle (I like the smaller finger pump bottles because it creates a finer spray that spreads easily).

Mix around 4 parts water to 1 part cinnamon oil. In my case, I had a 3oz spray bottle that I filled halfway (around 45 ml) and poured a about 1/3 of my 1oz bottle of oil (about 10ml). It doesn't need to be exact, I just guessed it myself when doing it the first time.

Shake well (oil and water naturally separate) and spritz in areas where the ants are entering and where you see high concentrations of them. I made sure to spray my door and window frames as well as the carpet, furniture and mats near my front door because I figured the they would hold the smell longer.

This is a great safe and humane alternative to poison and insecticides. The cinnamon oil gets rid of ants without killing them, is food-grade so is child and pet safe as long as there are no allergies, and leaves your home smelling like yummy cinnamon instead of bug spray!

Adventures in OKC: Museum of Osteology

What is a Museum of Osteology, you may ask? Why, its a bone museum of course!

Adam and I decided to have a Saturday adventure to Oklahoma City. I'd read about the Museum of Osteology online and learned that it was the only bone museum in the U.S.A.! (or so they claim...)

Anyway, I have to say it was awesome! It was a bit smaller than I expected, but it was packed full of all kinds of creatures from all over the world. The display even exhibited modern and ancient human bones and it was really interesting to find that many animals have the same basic bone structure while on the outside they look totally different! Luckily, I got to snap a few pictures before my phone died. :-(

An Elephant Skull. They had a couple of these AND a full elephant (which you can kind of see in the background of this pic). I wonder how they got so many elephant bones?

Can you guess what this is? (stop looking at the nameplate cheater!)

Yes, this IS a calf with two faces. Yes, it IS real. O.o

This exhibit was my personal favorite. The giant thing that looks like it has a beak is actually a humpback whale. Apparently the only way we're getting a whale in Oklahoma is if it's dead... Below you can see the skeleton of a hippopotamus (left) and a rhinoceros (right).

Pretty cool stuff huh? If you are in or plan on visiting Oklahoma City and want to check this out yourself, you can find their website here.

Is there a unique museum where you live? Tell us about your adventures in your city!

Get Funky with the Citrus

After living almost three years in (small town), Oklahoma, I decided to try out a local restaurant located downtown on Main Street (it really is the "main" street) appropriately called the Downtown Diner. I had heard good things, especially about their desserts, so I managed to coax my fiance from our usual Chinese eatery and into the small restaurant decorated with simple tile mosaics and photos of old cars reminiscent of the 1950s. The food was decent (the fries were a bit too greasy for my liking), the desert was pretty good (you really can't go wrong with ice cream, brownies, and fudge topping), but there was something that totally blew me away.

Three words: Awesome Sweet Tea.

I'm not exaggerating. It was probably the best glass of sweet tea to ever grace my taste buds. I was so impressed, I even took a picture (as you can see).

You see, there was something unique about this tea. Usually, my sweet tea comes with a lemon slice that I am quick to fish out of my glass, fold in a napkin, and forget its existence before it further taints the wholesome goodness of sweet tea. This glass however, came with two treasures: a slice of lime and a slice of orange.I have no idea if this is done in other places, but this is the first time I've experienced it anywhere, and I've lived all over the U.S.  Lime I sort of get, but orange? Really? I was ready to do my normal fishing routine (I can never remember to ask the waitress to leave out the citrus) but decided to try this odd commodity out of pure curiosity. My conclusion? Whoever came up with this combination is a fricken genius. Try it!

The Snooze Button Affair

Hi, I'm Sara and I'm having an affair. Now, before you start booing and preaching, let me explain. He's a bit plump, he doesn't talk much, and he has a strange orange tint to him, but he gives me something that every woman wants: 9 more minutes of sleep.

Yes, I'm talking about my snooze button.

I'll admit, its been going on for quite a while. Ever since my mother left the responsibility to me to get myself out of bed in the morning, and I discovered the magic of the snooze button, it has been one of my closest friends. Recently, however, that line of friendship has been blurred.

I'm not sure what it is about those 9 minutes of sleep that have me so hooked, but boy do I love them. And I love getting them again and again each time my alarm goes off, to the point where I set my alarm early so that I can hit my snooze button for over an hour before I actually need to get up. One of these days I half expect him to say "Please, Sara, not this morning. I have a headache." It hasn't happened yet. My little button keeps on putting out. He never gets tired of it, and neither do I.

When discussing this with my fiance, he admitted he's fooling around with snooze button too, so now I have to figure out this weird love triangle situation.

While writing this post I decided to randomly put "snooze button" into my Google search bar and happened upon an article discussing what they call "The Snooze Button Effect." Its amazing how much I can relate to the things presented in the article, even the corny rehab confession at the beginning.

Are you having a Snooze Button Affair? Are you suffering from the Snooze Button Effect? What creative ways have you come up with to get yourself up in the morning? Please, do share!

Soak Yourself to Silky Skin

In the rush and frustration of modern daily life, its nice to skip the shower once in a while and instead indulge yourself with a long, luxurious bath to relax and forget about all the hassles of the day.

Recently, I suffered several nights of insomnia (NOT fun!) and took baths to help me relax so that I could fall asleep (it still didn't work, but the baths were fantastic). One night, I decided to make my bath extra special, so I raided my bath cabinet and came up with a great basic mixture to stick in the tub. I poured in my ingredients, stirred them around, planted myself in, and read a few chapters. When I finally dragged myself out, I realized something: my skin felt fantastic!

Ok, Ok, so my skin was silky and moisturized, so what? Well, for someone who suffers from chronic skin dryness (no that's not an actual medical term, I just made it up.. I think.. but it really is the most accurate description I can give) its like a gift from heaven. I can lotion up every day and my skin is still dry and even chaps in the winter, which sucks BIG TIME! So, when my skin was still soft and moisturized DAYS after my special bath, I, of course, did it again! Its been over a week since my second bath and my skin still feels awesome (besides the excessive sunburn I received  yesterday, apparently 2 coatings of sunscreen and pure will doesn't stop UV rays).

Anyway, my concoction is pretty simple and probably nothing groundbreaking, but I figured I'd share anyway for all the ladies (and gents too!) who are looking for a good skin moisturizer.

You will need: vitamin E oil (not pills or cream), epsom salts, baking soda, and essential oils of your choice (optional). You can find these ingredients at your local health food/supplement store or even at your local Walmart pharmacy (except for essential oils, which they should be able to order for you).


First, begin running your bath. I like to add my ingredients under the faucet so they get spread throughout the bath water. Then, add 1/4 cup of epsom salts, about 3 teaspoons of vitamin E oil, 1 tablespoon of baking soda, and 3-5 drops of essential oil. I like to use lavender as my essential oil for its relaxing aroma, but you can make your own concoction based on your needs. Before using essential oils, however, you should research them because some can be harmful if not used correctly and others can cause allergic reactions. However, if used correctly, they are great for a number of holistic treatments for stress, pain, and more! If using this mixture for children, if you are pregnant, or have extremely sensitive skin, I don't recommend using essential oils in your bath.

SO, now that you have a basic road map, I invite you to sit back, relax, soak, and explore making your own bath creations!