#7: Homemade Toner

Adventure #7 in my goal to try/experience 42 new things was making my own toner.  I've tried plenty of other homemade beauty recipes, but have always shied away from trying a toner.  I don't really know why.

On my regular blog I've been very open and honest about my nightmare struggle with perimenopausal hormonal acne.  I would not wish it upon anyone.  No purchased product I've ever tried has cleared it up completely.  I had promising success with a couple of products, but the acne always flared up again with a vengeance.  Also as the result of stress and hormonal wackiness, I had a quite sizable facial cyst form near my cheek.

For over a month now I have been using a homemade toner and am pleased to report it has delivered fantastic results.  Seriously, really fantastic ... as in I am giddy with delight.  I simply combined 1/4 cup organic apple cider vinegar (I specifically used Bragg's) with 3/4 cup purified water.  I've been using this "toner" once a day with the following results ... the acne on one side of my face is completely cleared up, the acne on my chin and other side of my face has diminished greatly, and the facial cyst (which was quite puffed up) is nearly entirely gone.  As an unexpected bonus, my skin is so soft and smooth I have not had to exfoliate at all.

#6 - Hair Curling With A Sock Bun

Adventure #6 in my goal to try/experience 42 new things was attempting to curl my hair using the sock bun method.  I have naturally curly/wavy hair that has a mind of it's own (and that's an understatement).  I saw this method and hoped it would work for taming my locks into a glamorous bounty of beautiful, flowing curls.  

I tried this several times, but am sad to say it just doesn't deliver.  It did turn out lovely, but the style didn't last more than 15 minutes.  Seriously.   Maybe it's just my hair.  On the plus side, this makes a gorgeous bun, so that's one great discovery to come out of this experience.

#5 - An Alpaca Farm

Adventure #5 in my goal to try/experience 42 new things was visiting an alpaca farm.  I've had the pleasure of getting to know the alpacas at a nearby zoo over the past several years because my kids and I are absolutely crazy about them.  As a result the petting yard is always our first stop once inside, and we have been blessed to befriend one of the zookeepers who cares for these gorgeous animals.

However, I have never been to an actual alpaca farm.  Visiting a particular one has been on my wish list for quite some time, so I was thrilled to recently have the opportunity to make that wish a reality.

While there I got to see several cria who were not very old, including the adorable 4 day old little lass pictured above.  I witnessed an alpaca spitting (I've never seen that happen at the zoo) and learned how to stop it.  The herd of 40+ alpacas at this farm was breathtakingly beautiful.  

#4 - Vegan Apple Crisp

Adventure #4 in my goal to try/experience 42 new things was making a vegan apple crisp.  Since making the switch to all vegan baking in April 2010, I had not made a crisp.  I was unsure how to get around the issue of not using butter, plus I wondered just how good it would taste.

I recently had the opportunity to do a review for a new vegan cookbook called Vegan Pie In The Sky.  I was drawn to the apple crisp recipe as it wasn't full of complicated or costly ingredients, plus it sounded really good.  My local natural foods market received a shipment of really lovely organic Granny Smith apples, so I seized the chance to give a vegan crisp a try.  It was divine.  Truly divine.

#3 - An ITF Tournament

Adventure #3 in my goal to try/experience 42 new things was attending an ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) tournament.  I'll keep my opinions to myself concerning the calls by the judges (so that will make this post short), but seeing some of the varying degrees of black belts do their patterns was amazing.  Pure quality - the kicks and leaps were fantastic. 

#2 - Coconut Point Sanctuary

Adventure #2 in my goal to try 42 new things was visiting Coconut Point Sanctuary in Melbourne Beach, FL.  It's a 62-acre preservation area lying between the Atlantic Ocean and Indian River Lagoon and is just across the road from what historians now believe to be the possible/probable landing site of Ponce de Leon in 1513.

Although we've driven by here numerous times, this is one sanctuary my family has never hiked.  I always laugh using the word "hike" for this area of Florida.  The trails are certainly not what one would generally think of when it comes to "hiking."  Regardless, Coconut Point Sanctuary has a .75-mile trail that's quite easy and pleasant to navigate.

I didn't purposefully intend to visit this sanctuary.  My family actually planned to explore a nearby museum that turned out to be closed for the day as our homeschool field trip for the month.  Remembering this was nearby, I suggested we stop even though we weren't dressed for the occasion.

I very much enjoyed the lovely trail despite the plethora of mosquitoes and mucky conditions from recent heavy rains.  We had the trail to ourselves and stopped to enjoy the beauty of the lagoon from an observation point.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to complete the entire trail due to the very end portion being flooded.  There's a wide variety of wildlife to be spotted at any given time, but we only encountered a black racer (snake) and several butterflies.

#1 - Romanian Pancakes

Adventure #1 in my goal to try 42 new things was trying Romanian Pancakes (recipe from Taste of Romania  by Nicolae Klepper).  As part of his homeschool geography lessons, my 7th grader has been doing a study of the country and I thought this recipe sounded like something we'd all enjoy.  Romania is a country I don't forsee myself ever visiting, so this was an easy way to "experience" it a bit.  

I wish I could say I liked these, but I cannot.  (My kids didn't care for them either.)  These are like a crepe, so don't let the word "pancake" fool you.  Sadly, they were too sweet and left an unpleasant aftertaste.  I tried it, didn't like it, and so be it.