Hello hello everyone!

Errr… as we’ve been hearing a lot around these parts, “Howdy howdy!”

Martin and I really rocked the neighborhood with Friday’s challenge of visiting neighbors with food in hand.  How about you?  Any wild stories?

Sadly there wasn’t a whole lot of chatter when we went knocking.  It turns out one of our neighbors (and by “neighbor” around here, you know I mean a mini road trip) had just gotten some serious dental work done.  Howdy to a seriously sore mouth!

I whipped up some roasted squash soup, and Martin and I took it over to our neighbor just in time for dinner.  It was perfect.  I don’t think I’ll ever forget the hug I received that day.

You know what the incredible thing was?  Another neighbor (and by “neighbor” this time, I’m going the he-lives-within-10-miles route here) had given us the squash from his summer garden a few weeks ago.

Giving is contagious.

So why quit when you’re ahead?  We also made the most delicious oatmeal blackberry muffins.  Martin biked down the country road in the snow to deliver.  I think he’s crazy.

I had these great plans to actually show this food to you.  Ummmm.  That’s not going to happen today.  We sorta, kinda ate it all.

Now we’re bundled up at home with mini mugs of hot chocolate.  Don’t laugh at our outdated seasonal decor; these cups are our all-time favorites!  (That and they’re the only ones that are ours in the tire house.)

Besides, we’re feeling a little buddy-buddy with Santa this weekend.  The guy knows what he’s doing.  Sharing with others is awesome.

It’s a habit we’re keeping.

How about you?

I’m already rubbing my hands with excitement for this Friday’s challenge (and Friday in general!)  High fives with Santa all around!  Or wait.  Is he waving?

I love February because it is such a month of giving.  My mom always taught us that Valentine’s Day isn’t about couples.  It’s about extending signs of affection to the people around us.  All of February is about extending that love.

No doubt you’ve caught on to something:  I’m sort of obsessed with challenging myself.  And just as often, I like to challenge you just a bit, too.  ”Hi.  My name is Katie, and I’m totally addicted to personal development challenges.  I will bet a package of fruit snacks that I can do it…”

Let’s scratch that whole fruit snack thing.  This month it should be all about those little boxes of candy hearts.  You know the ones.  I’ll try again…

“Hi.  I’m Katie, and I’m totally addicted to shooting personal challenges to everyone at Making This Home.”

Each year, I always start thinking about how I can reach out to others with little gifts throughout February.  It’s something I love… and I’m hoping you’d love to do it too because guess what.  Each Friday of this month, you and I and all the readers of Making This Home are going to team up with a common goal.  That goal is to give.

Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.  - John Wesley

This weekend’s challenge:

drop by the neighbor’s house with food.

People always say that food is the way to a man’s heart.  The truth is that it’s the way to anyone’s heart.  It gives you a reason to not just be neighbors, but for a brief moment, you become a part of one another’s lives.

When words have become impossible when we lived in Germany, homemade European cookies bridged the gap with a traditional neighbor.  American jerky and candy bars bridged another not-so-traditional gap.  The act of sharing can be so much more powerful than words. It certainly means more than waving from the car or saying hello at the mailboxes to all our neighbors.

So drop by a neighbor’s house with a treat.  Bring a jar of something you canned.  Bring something from the grocery store or handmade.

I’m counting on you to do this!  Imagine if all of us – all around the world – took a moment from our week to extend that kindness.  Imagine the influence of those brief moments.  Imagine the joy.

Some favorites that we like to visit neighbors with:

• low-sugar muffins
• the world’s greatest American chocolate chip cookies
• Czech cookies
• German Lebkuchen
• fresh bread
• chocolates (one neighbor is a sucker for Hershey’s Kisses)
• local honey or organic jam
• junk food (there’s no way those bachelor neighbors around us would go for organic anything)
• ice cream in the summer
• a slice of pumpkin pie
• banana bread
• homemade marshmallows (because how many people have tried those?)
• a package of tea

So what will you give this weekend?

I hope you share your plans in the comments.  I hope you come back and tell us what you did!  I promise I will do the same.

**Let’s see how many people we can get to participate!  Can we top the comments left in the last post with this challenge?**

My heart is so full just thinking about the goodness we can offer.

(Images from Necco and my sister… giving out her handmade s’more supplies here at the tire house during warmer days)

The problem is that products like tampons and sanitary pads create a lot of trash.  Even when you choose more environmentally friendly products that are 100% unbleached cotton or don’t have plastic attachments, those products still wind up in the garbage can.

Can you believe it?  We’re each throwing away 16,800 pads or tampons.  Over 12 million pads and 7 million tampons are heading to the US landfills alone.*  Ouch.  That’s killing our environment, and if you think about it, it’s not exactly cool for the wallet, either.

You and I have jumped into a lot of paper-free and disposable product discussions over the past months at Making This Home (on stuff like a paper-less bathroom, paper-less nose blowing, and making a paper-free kitchen).  But there’s one teensy tiny topic that I keep asking myself should I write about this?  Should I really mention the topic of a simpler and greener menstrual cycle to the world at large?

Here goes.

Menstrual cup.

There.  That’s big and large and intimidating me.  Menstrual cups have a way of doing that to people.

Have you ever heard of a DivaCup, The Keeper, Moon Cup (shown above), or any of the other reusable menstrual cups?  Different brands are sold all around the world.  They’re insertable and washable cups that catch menstrual flow.  Most are made of silicone.  You fold them and insert them with a twist.  The basic technology of this product has been around since the 1930s.

So why so many tampons and pads out there?

Because menstrual cups scare the heck out of us! They’re pretty weird sounding, aren’t they?  You’re using a silicone cup and ummm washing stuff at the sink so you can reuse the cup again.  It took me a couple of months to take the plunge.

But today, years later, I won’t ever go back to tampons and pads.  Here’s why:

1.  Menstrual cups are cheaper.

The cups cost $20-$35 and last for years – some packages say “lasts a lifetime”.  I confess I got a little envious when I saw how much cheaper they are now after several years.  It’s like newer cheaper big screen TV envy for the simple girl.

2.  They’re greener.

Again – the whole trash thing. No need to beat those numbers to death.  But still – eww.  Trash!

3.  They’re comfortable.

The first cycle that you use a menstrual cup seems to be sort of awkward for most women.  (It’s that way with any first down there, though, right?)  The next time around you feel like a pro, and periods become the most comfortable that I’m pretty sure they could ever be.

When I first decided to go for it, I poured over forums and websites (including this useful FAQ) for reassurance.  Hopefully I can give that thumbs up for anyone wondering today.  I feel like menstruation isn’t such a big frustration anymore.  Now they just rhyme.

4.  They’re kind of everywhere.

You can get menstrual cups online with free shipping or at most natural grocery stores.  If they don’t have it on the shelves, they’ll probably order it for you. (The link is for the same one I’ve been loving for years.)

5.  They’re serious space savers.

Did I ever show you our bathroom in Germany?  No?  Well that’s because a camera can’t even fit in there.  I have no idea where I’d stash all my monthly goods.  You only need one little cup.  It comes in a fabric bag for storage, and that’s it.

(I donated all unused pads and tampons to a local women’s shelter.)

6.  More people use them than you think.

I used to think this was something I could never talk to anyone about.  Then I got brave and told a best friend after a year or so.  She laughed and said, “Oh yeah!  I’ve been using mine for like four years.”

It’s surprising how much they’re catching on, and it’s definitely a good example of a loved product going viral by word of mouth.  I sort of tell everybody, and it seems like I’m not the only one.

So there you go.  Now I’m telling you.

Let’s start a discussion – if you have any questions or fears, please share.  (Anonymous comments TOTALLY okay.)  If you have experience with a menstrual cup, will you chime in with any thoughts or tips?  You remember how weird it was the first time!

*Data from Pleasure Puss, and images from Diva Cup and Moon Cup.