My several thousand new children...

Yep, I am the proud mama of several thousand honeybees.
I have two hives that I keep on our property out in the country, about 12 miles outside of town.  I put the bees in their hives mid-April and it has been quite an adventure ever since.  Bees are amazing creatures and it has been fascinating to watch them build their combs and raise young, working to store nectar and pollen as they go.  The whole queen/worker/drone relationship is amazing to witness first hand.  Both of my original queens have been de-throned.  One of my hives is flourishing with a healthy laying queen, the other hive is in dire straights with no queen and a laying-worker, which means one of the worker bees has started laying eggs, which are unfertilized, meaning they will be drones.  It is all quite amazing and stressful also. 
Bees produce two amazing products: honey and beeswax.  Recently it has been brought into the spotlight that there are many dangers related to parabens.  Beeswax is a fabulous, safe alternative.  Local honey can help with allergies and it is an all natural sweetener just to name a few of it's fabulous qualites.  I will have more to come in the topic of my adventures in beekeeping.

Sunscreens to try

The website thedailygreen has a fabulous list of sunscreens that are free of suspect ingredients.  I will be writing soon about another ingredient they mention in this article, but for the time being, check out their sunscreen list.

Sunscreen Woes - Beware of the Oxybenzone!

So, being that the fam is now spending the majority of the day outside, sunscreen has stepped up into the spotlight and in the last week or so, I have heard some reports that made my head spin about a very common sunscreen ingrediant: Oxybenzone.
Check out this article on Planet Green.
Reading about the hormonal effects of this stuff is quite scary. Any chemical that is absorbed by the skin and can "possibly" cause hormone disruption should at least come with a warning. This chemical is found in many children's sunscreens so start reading the ingrediants.
Here is another article reported by the Environmental Working Group based on research by the CDC.
Here is what I have gathered about oxybenzone:

• It is an anti-inflammatory which means as you burn, you do not realize you are burning until it is too late
• linked to allergies
• linked to hormone disruption
• linked to cell damage
• reports that it impacts the hormones of fish
• low birth weight baby girls

Sources for this information are EWG, Super Eco and Planet Green

We can see the light....

at the end of the renovation tunnel. It has been a long hard... sometimes very hard, summer. Our renovation began in April and we are waiting on some final cabinet pieces (which includes our bathroom vanity) which will then allow the painters to finish and that will pretty much be the conclusion of this adventure. We have gone from this:

which was the room in use as a nursery, later to be a jumbled craft/toy room.

to this:

you can see the frame for the tub in the bottom right.

to a fabulous master bathroom where I actually fit in the bathtub!!

I really can't believe it is almost done. I spent so much time worrying about my design choices, the tile colors, the fixture choices, paint colors.... there just were so many decisions and they had to all add up to a completed picture that at one point I wasn't even sure if I remembered what it was. I just look around now in amazement that it all worked out. To see my thoughts and ideas in real life and see they my choices were good and that it all works! What a load off!

The awesome graphics around my master tub are from LeenTheGraphicsQueen.

The master bath was added, we also renovated our original bath. I will post that next.

I LOVE Bugs!

I love taking pictures of flowers and especially flowers with bugs in them! Here is a picture I took in the dunes on my vacation to Ocean Isle Beach, NC.

So, imagine my excitement when my mom pointed out an article in the Richmond Times about a bug photo class taught by renowned Wildlife Photographer Lynda Richardson at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens! I attended the class in August and had such a great time! Here is one of the shots I took at the butterfly house.

Lynda did point out that there was something seriously wrong with my viewfinder on my camera. I just thought it was my glasses but come to find out, my camera is sick, but my pictures still come out fine. That was a definite bummer but... life goes on... and at least it still works.

My Abandoned Garden...

My poor neglected yard. With everything going on inside the house and the workers stomping through my borders, I have basically given up on my flowers this year. But, this little beauty popped up in one of my front yard borders and I have enjoyed it thoroughly. I don't think I planted it, I am not sure how it got there, but it sure has been pretty to look at. It closes each evening and opens with more flowers each day. I especially love that a random one or two white blooms will pop out just to change things up. I think God sent this little plant to help me feel better about not having time for my flowers.

Good Lord, Somethin's got a hold on me!!!

That is what I think was the thought running through kitty Jack's mind this morning. Let's start at the very beginning... and that is when my daughter woke me this morning, holding the clock beside her bed, which is now my bed, because my "real"bed is currently covered with parts of ceiling and wall due to the downstairs renovation. So... anyway, she is atnding there pointing out what time it is, and I am like, "that's great, 10 more minutes" until I realize that would only be true if the hour said 6 instead of 7... WE OVERSLEPT!!! Well, by this time the bus has gone and I have to take the kids to school anyway, so no need to kill ourselves rushing. So we all make our way downstairs. I am in the kitchen making breakfast and I can see to the back of the house from where I am. All of a sudden there is this amazing loud, and chaotic commotion from the back of the house. I am like "WTH!" thinking th plumbers have come in and started hurling stuff into the back room. Something is flying through that room with great speed and noise. It hurls by again and it is large and cream colored. It almost looks like something has come alive. Then it flies by again and I realize it is a Pottery Barn Bag, one of the large paper ones with handles, and my brain is unable to compute this.... why and how is a bag flying around the room? Then I realize the bag is attached to our black cat, Jack... mind you, all this is happening in seconds and the confusion and dismay is spreading like wildfire. Greta, has shot through the house like she is sure the devil has entered our house, Megan is screaming, Kaileigh is crying and the bag is still flying around the house with me in hot pursuit and of course Jack still attached and thinking his life is going to end any second. So, finally, through some merciful miracle, the bag releases Jack and he is free.

It took a good thirty minutes to calm the cats, console Kaileigh and return the house back to order... well, what little order can be found in a house under renovation. Ahhh, yes, life at my house.

Charlie

Charlie
Originally uploaded by BackwoodSophisticate

Our Charlie Dog passed away last night. He was only 7 years old. He was diagnosed with lymphocarcinoma just a couple months ago. His only symptom at that time was enlarged lymph nodes. He stayed strong and healthy unil the last few weeks when he began losing weight. He was wagging his tail and enjoying watching us play ball yesterday afternoon. He definitely was quiet and taking it easy but his passing last night was unexpected, even though possibly a blessing in that he died on his own terms and still able to get around and enjoy his family. He will be missed. Rest in peace Charlie-Dog.

Help! I am addicted to facebook!

Yep, i have become a hostage of facebook. So, if you were wondering, that is where I am, catching up with old classmates and long lost friends. It is a fun site! Also, the home renovation is in full swing. We are living in a completely altered state of existence which involves constant moving of our belongings. I have found it is a lot easier to just send stuff to Goodwill than find a place to stash it. I am wondering what I will be missing when it is time to resume our normally scheduled life ;) And don't even get me started on the absurdities of home loans/refinancing/equity... blah!!!

More bathroom absurdity

So, this find makes me giggle. And also makes me ask, "Really?". I am thinking it is probably not nice to pick on these designs, because obviously, some find them to be fabulous... but sometimes a little laughter at the expense of high-design is just what you need to get through something as trying as a renovation. See the whole story here.