Amelia's Introduction

So Gwen Hayes was supposed to guest blog today at Tote Bags ‘n Blogs but she all “I’m busy. Ame help a girl out.” So here I am. My name is Amelia, my peeps call me Ame, and I guess I’ll be your guest host today.

Okay, so about me. I go to Serendipity High in Serendipity Falls, CA. Basically, our town is located on a portal between realms which means we attract all kinds of paranormal riffraff on account of the portal is cracked. But it’s also super cool because it’s like a hotspot for otherworldly adventures. Personally, I’m way into the metaphysical, so I love the energy of living so close to a portal. The vibe is really conducive to honing my psychic powers, but it also amplifies the charge for demons and, well, purveyors of dark power. You take the good with the bad, you know?

Besides knowing how to stake an errant vampire or vanquish a creeper demon, my other passion is environmentalism. My friends aren’t as into it as me. And by that I mean, they pretty much don’t pay attention at ALL to their carbon footprint. I think part of the problem is that most people don’t realize how easy it is to make little changes that make a difference. I mean think about it…if just one house on every block in your city switched to a push mower instead of a gas powered one, that would make a huge difference in fossil fuel use in your town right? What if that happened in every town in your state? Your country? See where I’m going with this? That’s just one easy change…but if you don’t have a lawn or whatever, you can still make a difference.

For instance, this year for Christmas, I made my super special witch brew all-purpose cleaner for my parents. Since my chores sometimes include cleaning the bathroom or kitchen, I was doing it for myself as much as them. I mean, I don’t want to inhale a bunch of chemicals or dry out my fragile skin, right? And even if you don’t have magic powers like me, you can still make up your own brew. You might just want to leave out the eye of newt. It will still clean just as well, I promise. You can also make a spiffy label—be creative!

Ame’s All Purpose Cleaning Potion

1/4 cup vinegar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon Borax

1 teaspoon liquid soap (go organic! Dr. Bonners is a great brand)

10 drops lavender essential oil

10 drops rosemary essential oil

5 drops tea tree essential oil

1 oz eye of newt (optional)

Warm water to fill 32 oz spray bottle

·         Dissolve Borax in vinegar and lemon juice

·         Add soap

·         Add drops and newt

·         Transfer to spray bottle

·         Fill rest of bottle with warm water--slowly so it doesn't foam up.

·         Say an optional blessing and feel good about yourself every time you reach for your non toxic brew instead of skeezy chemical laden, not to mention expensive, bottle of hazardous material

About the Author: Amelia is a character from the Falling Under series by Gwen Hayes. The sequel to Falling Under, Dreaming Awake, was released on January 3, 2012. For more information about Gwen, Ame, and Serendipity Falls please visit www.gwenhayes.com or follow Gwen on Twitter http://twitter.com/gwenhayes