7 Summer Challenge Ideas

Although spring has had a late start this year, these last few weeks have really warmed up! It’s almost hard to believe that a few weeks ago, we had a huge blizzard! If you are anything like us, you are probably itching to get outside and enjoy the warm, fresh air!

Last year we had so much fun doing a 5-week workout challenge! Every week we made it a goal to move our bodies. I don’t know about you, but I am not a big fan of a traditional work out session. I have a hard time getting motivated to stare at a TV and watch other people work out. Or worse, go somewhere public to work out with strangers.

Hiking is my favorite way to get exercise. Being outside, in nature, makes me happy. Getting a change of scenery, enjoying a new adventure, exploring a new location, what’s not to love?!

When doing research for local parks online, I found so many! I felt like the ones I had seen were just a drop in the bucket. I wanted to see them all! Is it crazy and over-ambitious that I’m not exaggerating?!

We had only scratched the surface last year. I knew, without a doubt, that our adventures would continue. Should I do another workout challenge?! I don’t know. It did motivate me last year. Honestly, many days I felt like sitting on the couch and being lazy in the air conditioning. Knowing I had made a commitment kept me going.

Maybe this year is time for a new challenge. There are so many options! I might have to try one or all of these.

7 Summer Challenge Ideas

Get Outside Every Day Challenge-For 3 months… for a year?!
How many parks can we hit in the summer? 30? 40? 60?!
Around Minnesota in 80 Days
Exercise Every Day for a Month
Art Challenge
30/60/90 Day Planking Challenge
100 Days of Gardening

Get Outside Every Day Challenge/ 100 Days of Sun

People Are spending more time inside than ever before in history. With the air inside polluted and stale, getting outside is vitally important to our health. AT LEAST an hour outside every day is the recommended amount for every age.

There are literally hundreds of things to do every day, all year round! I made a list of fun things to do, outside, in summer that you can check out for ideas.

30 FUN Parks in Minnesota That You Have to See!

Visiting Parks is one of the most fun things to do in the summer. Parks are full of activities for every age. The whole family can go for a hike. The kids can play at the playground while the adults relax and chat. Biking, swimming, sightseeing, bird watching, there are so many options!

Although the title is just an idea, you can set your goal for as many or as little parks as you think you will visit. Obviously, you will change Minnesota to your own local area.

Around Minnesota in 80 Days

This title leaves the window open for future fun expeditions. If you don’t have an exact plan of what you want to do, but you know you want to start a challenge, this might be a good starting point.

I might make a fun list soon about traveling ideas within a region. To get you started with a few ideas, you could visit local parks, check out small historic towns, visit a museum, check out a historic site, go to a zoo, smell the flowers at a conservatory, and so much more!

Exercise Every Day for a Month!

I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time getting motivated to exercise. Making it a goal is a great way to keep on track and get your body moving. Last year we did a 5 Week Workout Challenge. It was a lot of fun!

Working out doesn’t have to be just exercise videos or hitting up the Y. Exercise can be so many different things! You could go hiking, ride a bike, go kayaking, go swimming or even try rock climbing!

Art

There are so many options with this one! Art is near and dear to my heart. My Grandfather was an artist. He inspired me to be a creative person. I’m working hard to instill a love of being creative in my children. This would be the perfect project for us all to enjoy together.

If you didn’t have an artsy Grandpa, here are a couple of ideas to get you going! I’ll make a more extensive list in the future too. Paint on canvas, visit an art museum, draw with chalk, paint rocks, make a birdhouse, do a photography project, color with crayons and so much more!

30/60/90 Day Planking Challenge

Last year, during our 5 Week Workout Challenge, we tried planking for two of the days. Planking is HARD! It was so much harder than I thought it would be. It’s such a great way to build muscle FAST though! I’d love to try a 30-day plank challenge to see how long I would last at the end of the 30 days.

I think it would be fun to plank in different places every day for different visual content. The kids would probably love that too!

100 Days of Gardening

I started my first vegetable garden last year. This year we have been expanding, growing new things and learning more and more about gardening. Doing a 100 days of gardening challenge would be a perfect way to learn about gardening faster and get a lot of fresh food!

I would love to know how you are going to challenge yourself this summer! Let me know in the comments!

January 3, 2018

Making Your Own Dried Basil

Making dried basil is so incredibly easy, I think my children could do it! Plus, homemade is always so much cheaper than the store, after the initial purchase, it’s free!

I grew my own basil this year and it did really well! I’ve tried to grow basil one other time when my neighbor gave me a gift of basil in a pot. It died within a few months, sadly. If you know anything from reading my blog, it’s that I don’t give up easily.

When Nate saw a potted basil plant at Walmart earlier this year, he suggested we give it another try. I immediately jumped on the idea. We brought our new plant home and it did exceptionally well! In fact, it became enormously bushy. I have had to prune it back a few times.

I love having potted basil year round. Pinching off a few leaves for snacking on with tomatoes and cheese is one of my favorite ways to enjoy fresh basil. I also love to cook with it after it’s been dried. It’s one of my main herbs that I use.

Here are the steps I use to make my own dehydrated basil.

When your basil gets especially bushy, trim back the stems until it has a nice compact shape.
Put the stems in a strainer and gently rinse them off.
Shake the excess water off of the basil.
Remove the leaves from the stems and place them in the dehydrator. Use a fine mesh or fruit leather attachment for smaller leaves.
Dehydrate until leaves are dry and crumbly.
Put basil on a plate and crumble into small pieces.
Put dried basil crumbles into a spice jar.
Lable jar.

You can check out how I have dried basil in my videos!

December 5, 2017January 14, 2018

52 Project, Week 23: Green

I love the color green! It’s thrilling when the sun warms the earth in spring and everything seems to pop with green overnight. The world comes alive with energy and excitement.

When I see garden centers set up outside local stores, I feel like a kid in a candy store. I always want to stop and peer into their shady depths to see what treasures lie within. I fall in love with all of the things growing around me. Usually, choosing just one thing is difficult. During the end of the season sales, I end up splurging on a variety of plants, trying new things that have caught my eye.

A few years ago, an asparagus fern was one of these purchases. I knew nothing about it other than the fact that it was a cute little fern. I put it in a pot and it survived my brown thumb days.

My little fern has grown up quite tall and is beautiful. I’ve learned a few things through experience. Asparagus ferns have thorns like roses and must be navigated carefully. It loves to be watered and will start to die if it dries out. If part of it dies, all of the soft feathery “leaves” turn into a million sharp needles. Out of personal safety, I opt to always take especially good care in watering it frequently.

I have had great fun photographing all of my plants this year. One of my favorite all-green images is my asparagus fern. It might be an acquired taste to love, but I truly adore my plant. It’s got a feisty personality and I have a soft spot for feisty things.

Do you have an asparagus fern you love? What is your favorite green thing?

Previous Week: 52 Project, Week 22: Self Portrait
Next Week: 52 Project, Week 24: Words
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You can post your image on our Facebook page here:

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Need inspiration for your green project? Check out my inspiration board on Pinterest!

I recommend clicking on the images for full view for these.

September 22, 2017July 3, 2018

52 Project, Week 20: Favorite Color

My favorite color is purple. It has been for as long as I can remember. I’ve had rotating secondary favorite colors as well. Pink, black, blue, green, deep turquoise blue, aqua blue. I love jewel-toned colors, bright colors, earthy colors. I love cream and brown in combination with any of my favorite colors.

Funnily enough, I also have a color that I extremely dislike, yellow. I’m not a fan. Yellow is one of those colors that make me grimace. Strange right? You’d think a color that seems sunshiney would be likable.

Now, I’m not going to go crazy and banish all yellow from my life. I just won’t go out of my way to purchase or create something yellow. Plus, yellow isn’t always awful, some flowers look lovely with a touch of yellow in their centers. Sunflowers are incredibly beautiful and they are very yellow. Yellow leaves in combination with reds, greens, and oranges in the fall are also pleasing to the eye.

When I was very young, I loved rainbows. My whole room was done in the Rainbow Bright theme. Color, and lots of it, was wonderful. So although I love purple as my favorite color, truly, I love a wide range of the whole rainbow. My house is filled with color. My wardrobe is organized by rainbow in my closet. Yes, I wear almost every color, except yellow!

Despite my love of a variety of colors, I always seem to pick purple flowers for my garden. When the garden center is having a sale, I can’t be as picky with what I end up with. By the time the sales roll around, most of the flowers have fallen off. This ends up being exciting for me, seeing what colors will bloom when my plants are nursed back to health.

This year I got a fantastic find with a lovely purple datura. I managed to get a large amount of purple alyssum, some more pastel, some a rich, darker purple. I also got pinkish purple petunias and dark purple salvia. Everything else was a surprise color.

It always amazes me how many different shades there are of one color. I love seeing all of the beautiful variations in flowers. I have only seen a small fraction of the flowers in the entire world! I would love to see them all! I can only imagine the joy that God had in making them. I feel so thankful that he created this beauty for us to enjoy.

What is your favorite color? Join us in the photography challenge! We’d love to see your images!
You can post your image on our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/cisforcomfort/posts/1466141406804414
Or tag us on Instagram with #cisforcomfort52

Previous Week: 52 Project, Week 19: Jewelry
Next Week: 52 Project, Week 21: Simplicity
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August 29, 2017August 29, 2017

The Great American Farm Tour Minnesota Meetup

Twas the day of the farm tour and all through the house,
Every creature was stirring, yes, even the mouse.
The children were loaded in the van with great care,
In the hopes that the Rhodes Family soon would be there;
The children practiced what they would say in their seats,
While they snacked on organic, non-GMO treats…

We had a lot of fun at the Great American Farm Tour Minnesota Meetup. The park was packed with kids and the lawns were packed with like minded small farmers. It was a lot of fun meeting new friends and sharing our farm stories.

If you haven’t heard of The Great American Farm Tour, you should check it out! It’s about small farmers using permaculture methods to grow food and raise animals. My Dad recommended the Rhodes family to me last year and I’ve been hooked, watching almost all of their YouTube episodes.

All of us were excited to meet and talk to Justin and Rebekah. Rebekah was even sweeter and more beautiful in person. They were kind enough to take the time to talk to each and every person. I can only imagine how tired they must be after traveling across the country, but they were kind, patient and respectful to everyone.

My Dad and Cat were the most excited to meet the Rhodes. I think it might be the highlight of the year for both of them. Cat was especially thrilled that Justin asked her to play her ukelele.

Waiting for the Rhodes to release their video of the day, all of my family had the farm tour youtube tab open and kept hitting refresh all day. lol You’ll have to check us out in the video below. If you don’t have time to watch the whole thing, you can skip to 7:42 to see us!

What farmers are you fans of? Do you have a favorite YouTube channel or a channel of your own? I’d love to hear about it!

Happy Farm Tour to all, and to all a good-night!

Check out our video of the meetup!

Check out the video from The Great American Farm Tour to see what everyone was growing at the Minnesota meet up:

August 20, 2017November 23, 2019

I Turned My Brown Thumb Into a Green Thumb

I have always joked about having a brown thumb instead of a green one. I have good intentions with plants, but I usually kill most of them. My problem was that I watered them too much. For me, caring for a plant equaled watering it. I literally loved them to death.

I did manage to keep hardy plants alive, to my great joy. My brother got me a Philodendron as a gift when I was 13. It’s the only plant that has survived this long.

My parents were great gardeners. As a child, they had a huge garden in our yard. I can remember working with them to weed, pick off pests, gather ripe plants and care for my own little garden plot. And occasionally, they had me get to lawn care and landscaping near me to make the garden more aesthetic-appealing. My favorites were the raspberries bordering 2 sides of the garage and the strawberries.

When I was given my own little corner plot, I planted Shasta daisies, echinacea, and zinnia among a few other flowers. I loved flowers and the butterflies that they drew to our yard. My Mother had flower gardens in raised planters that my Father built all over our property.

After my own children were born, I gave plants a renewed interest. I tried a few easy house plants, a few palms, some morning glories outside during the warm months, hanging petunias or impatiens. I tried peppers many times but they rarely produced peppers and if they did, were never large enough to eat. I’ve overloved and killed many orchids over the years.

With the addition of extreme allergies to my life, I’ve had to learn to grow my own food. Organic food from health food stores is usually incredibly expensive and is not always guaranteed to be corn free. The safest option is home grown because I control all of the factors of what my food is exposed to.

When I first moved to this house, my Mom helped me plant a small outdoor garden. The weeds overtook it to my great frustration. Creeping Charlie choked out most of my plants. I did get some tomatoes and small ears of corn (ironic, right? This was pre-corn allergy.). After that, I gave up planting in the ground. Nate built me a planter around the mulberry tree in the backyard, which I grew flowers and hostas in, for an easy to maintain, decorative garden.

Inside, I grew potted plants. I tried basil by the sink but I ended up overwatering it. My next sink plant was rosemary, which, as it turns out, LOVES being overwatered. In fact, if I don’t water it often, it starts to die. I also grow potted plants on my porch and bring them inside over winter. My theory was, if they die, that’s ok because they would have died if I had left them outside to die by frost. If they live, I have another plant to enjoy.

This last year, my gardening skills have grown, as has the number of plants in and out. I have several plants that live inside year round, Outside, on my porch, my number of potted plants has grown. After installing a critter fence, it was clear that the plants where staying healthier and growing faster. Those pesky critters can really make a dent in most plants. Those interested in the specific fence used, I found it here. I renewed my attempt for ground grown plants. I planted several things around the porch outside and started a new side garden. I’ve also planted raspberries and blueberries along the fence.

I am not an expert gardener. I have, however, turned my brown thumb into a green one with persistence and determination. I’ve never given up. If my plants die, I try again. I do more research. The best way I’ve learned is by experience and trial and error.

I recommend everyone give gardening a try. It is so rewarding. When I eat food from my own garden, I have a great pride and satisfaction that I have never gotten from bought food.

If you are afraid of killing plants, don’t let that deter you! Keep trying! Start with potted plants. Try something easy to maintain, like impatiens, petunias, philodendrons, or palms like I did. Otherwise, try checking out the end of the year plant sales that most greenhouses have. You can usually get plants cheap or for free. Use the mindset that if it dies, at least you tried. Research what you can do differently next time.

Do you care for any plants? What do you grow? Have you also overcome a brown thumb or has gardening come naturally to you?

Check out my video for a tour of my garden!

June 28, 2016June 29, 2018

Homemade Bug Spray

With summer right around the corner, I decided to whip up a batch of homemade bug spray. With 4 little ones, I needed something that was 1.Safe to use on kids, 2.Safe for those of us with allergies 3.Non toxic, 4.Affordable and last but not least 5. It needs to actually work. If it could also not smell horrible, that would be a plus.

I set about my project as I do with most new tasks to tackle, research, research, research. I wanted to be sure that whatever I chose, it would meet all of my expectations above.

Safety

I have read a lot of differing information about the safety of using essential oils on children. Some say that essential oils are natural, therefore go nuts! As someone with allergies to a lot of “natural” things, I know that it is better to err on the side of caution. Since essential oils are highly concentrated forms of the original, it only makes sense to me that less is more. After reading about an alarming number of injuries and deaths from essential oils, I knew I wanted to proceed with utmost caution. I joined a few essential oil safety groups on Facebook to learn about what books, websites, and companies would aid me in my search.

I found this awesome site that lists oils that are and are not safe for children:
http://www.usingeossafely.com/essential-oils-and-children/

Allergies

As with any new product that comes into our house, oils and accessories need to be safe for our unique allergies. I wondered 1. How are they processed 2.What hidden ingredients are there 3. Has anyone else in my allergy group had any reported reactions?

Corn Allergy Statement
This recipe is unfortunately NOT corn free. Thayer’s witch hazel uses citric acid as a preservative. Princess and I do break out in mild hives if applied to the skin, so I try to spray mostly on our clothing, with a light application on exposed skin Since we live in a high mosquito area, a few small hives are preferable to having entire limbs swell up from mosquito bites. Thankfully using this has not created any breathing problems, but we will always stay on alert for safety since the severity of allergens can change at any time. I’m, hoping to learn how to make my own witch hazel in the future.

Non-Toxic

This is a no-brainer for me. If it has ingredients I can’t pronounce, it’s off the list. I believe part of why I am allergic to so many things and have been so sick in the past is due to the fact that I have been exposed to too many toxins. I want to decrease the bucket load of toxins for my family and me.

Affordable

We live in Minnesota so we get a lot of mosquitoes. I need something that I can afford to use a lot of.
Let me break down what making homemade bug spray costs for you. I’m using Young Living, and also NOW for the prices.
8oz Bottle $2.00
15 Drops Lavender Essential Oil at 9 cents a drop $1.35YL or >2 cents a drop $0.23NOW
15 Drops Cedarwood Essential Oil at 5 cents a drop $0.75YL or >1 cent a drop $0.13NOW
10 Drops Geranium Essential Oil at 17 cents a drop $1.70YL or >3 cents a drop $0.28NOW
20 Drops Vanilla Essential Oil at 10 cents a drop $2.00
Young Living does not sell vanilla essential oil because vanilla is not an essential oil. I instead used the price for the vanilla oil I got from my local health food store.
4oz Witch Hazel $3.03
4oz Distilled or Boiled(and Cooled) Water Free!

This ends up being $10.83 for the first bottle and $8.83 for each refill with Young Living.
Or $7.67 for the first bottle and $5.67 for each refill with NOW.
For a price comparison
Burt’s Bees Outdoor all Natural herbal Insect Repellent 4oz bottle $13.50= $27.00 for 8oz
Honest Co Bug Spray 4oz $11.69= $23.38 for 8oz
BabyGanics Shoo Fly Deet Free Natural Insect Repellent 2 oz $4.99= $19.96 for 8oz

So there you have it! Homemade bug spray wins the price comparison again!

Effective

I sprayed the kids at the beginning of mosquito season as they went out to jump on the trampoline at dusk. They came in with one bite on one kid. Earlier this week we had a bonfire. Cupcake and I stayed out the longest. I sprayed myself an average amount of spray. I was wearing a skirt, so my legs were pretty exposed. I did get one bite on my foot and after that, I made sure to spray my feet too. I didn’t get another bite after that. I was lying in a lounge chair and I saw several mosquitoes fly around me and close to my skin before changing their mind and flying off. Incredible! I’d definitely say that it’s effective!

I read that adding vanilla oil increases the duration of the effectiveness of oils. In bug spray, the longer it works, the better!

Comforting

What is more comforting than not being eaten alive? Seriously, I have been bug bait my whole life, mosquitos love me. I’m so happy I’ve finally found something that works!

I was worried the smell would be gross after mixing everything in the bottle. It’s actually quite pleasant. It smells better than all of the chemical ones I’ve been using my whole life.

First Homemade Bug Spray Attempt

Ultimately, I decided to give one of the oil blends from this site a try:
http://blog.oneessentialcommunity.com/diy/diy-bug-spray-works-kid-safe-options/
After assembling all of the supplies, I waited anxiously for my daughter to arrive home from school. I promised her we would make the first batch together. I had everything set up and ready to go on the table and I pretty much sat at the table waiting for her to walk through the door so we could play. Ahhh, big kid toys are just as fun and exciting.

We started by dropping oils into our bottle, stopping to smell each one as we went. Cat helped me count in case I lost my place. I had already boiled and cooled the water before she came home, so we added that in and topped it off with witch hazel. After we shook it up we both excitedly took a whiff of our new concoction and grimaced. It didn’t exactly smell awesome. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t very pleasant either. Oh well, it is supposed to repel bugs after all.

Next time, we are going to try lavender scented witch hazel instead of aloe vera. I believe this might have contributed to the weirdness.

Homemade Bug Spray

8oz Bottle
15 Drops Lavender Essential Oil
15 Drops Cedarwood Essential Oil
10 Drops Geranium Essential Oil
20 Drops Vanilla Essential Oil or 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract*
4oz Witch Hazel
4oz Distilled or Boiled(and Cooled) Water

Add Oils to bottle first. Add in water next, then top off with witch hazel. Test a small area of skin on each person before using liberally. Spray on clothes and especially ankles and wrists for adults. With small children, avoid spraying hands or near faces to avoid accidental ingestion or rubbing eyes.

*Vanilla oil is not an essential oil

Thank you for reading! What do you use for bug spray? Have you tried ours? I would love to know how it works for you!

As always, this is not medical advice. Please consult your own medical practitioner for any health-related concerns. Everything shared in this blog is based on my own personal experiences and are what we do for our family but may not necessarily work for yours. Please do your own research to find out what works best for you. An informed and educated choice is always best! 🙂