The Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day

On Valentine's Day this year, I was awakened after a restless and wakeful night (30 minutes before the alarm) by being barfed on.
In my collar, on my sheets, in my hair...
After a start like that, it can only get better, right?

Eagle has been cutting two molars--one is though now--and he had been comfort nursing most of the night. As we both climbed into the bath to wash up I concluded that he'd overfilled his tummy and just overflowed...

As I helped Wolf get ready for school, we went to open the door so he could go catch the bus, and found that it was frozen shut. We all pulled and tugged and tugged and pulled for 15 minutes. We called to our downstairs neighbor/landlord to ask if he would come up and throw a shoulder into it (it's easier to open from the outside), but the neighbors weren't home.
Wolf missed the bus.
We kept pulling and tugging and finally got the door open and Hubby took Wolf to school.

OK, so now we've had our quota of bad and the rest of the day should be all sunshine and rainbows, right?

Alas, it was not to be.

• The Hubby and I got frustrated with each other over what I guess was a misunderstanding (but felt to me like a failure to follow through on a promise that really mattered to me).
• I found out that a friend just lost her baby via ectopic pregnancy and was in emergency surgery.
• When Hubby went to pick up Wolf from school, Wolf said he wasn't feeling well, and then threw up in the parking lot. (He also threw up on his boots--guess who got the fun of cleaning that up? The mommy of course.) We might have credited it to overindulging at the class valentine's party, except that he continued to throw up all evening... And when Wolf is sick, everybody knows precisely how miserable he feels (I'm a very quiet curl-up-in-my-own-corner kind of sickie, and I admit to a lack of patience for moaning come-take-care-of-me-every-8-seconds types).
• And then Bear didn't finish his dinner so I finished his and overfilled my tummy and then felt unwell for much of the evening (leading to much wondering of whether I would soon be throwing up too...although thankfully I did not).

In so many ways it was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

But in some ways it was a good day.

• Eagle seemed to feel fine the rest of the day after that initial barf, and Bear (and Hubby and I) felt fine all day.
• I finally got the Christmas boxes packed up and put away (they've been sitting in the corner of the living room as we've slowly put stuff in/on them as we collected it from around the house, but I hadn't gotten around to packing it all up properly yet).
• I cut out and halfway sewed a cover/carrier for our little portable/travel DVD player (we've wanted one for a while--with little pockets to hold the cords and headphones and so on). I bought the fabric a month ago--right before we all came down with swine flu for a week--and I've just never gotten to it.
• I packed up three packages that I've been wanting to send to people and just hadn't gotten around to boxing up yet. (I do need to get them to the post office still, but they are packed up and addressed!)
• I vacuumed the whole house. This is impressive, because getting the living room AND all the bedrooms clean (at the same time!) in order to vacuum does not happen as often as it should.
• I did several loads of laundry--the barfy sheets of course, and diapers, but a couple of others too. And I got a lot of laundry folded too. I'm good with washing, but I hate folding. 

• I was not sick, in spite of eating too many valentine's cookies
• I finished my novel (the first Wheel of Time book--it's almost 800 pages). 
• I started a new novel (Call of the Wild--I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I've never read Jack London!)
• I went to bed at 10, and slept for 10 hours. That can cure so many things. ♥☺

30 Days of Pictures--Day 1

A friend of mine is doing this on facebook right now, and it's been fun to watch what she posts day after day. I'll state right off the bat that I am not going to post one-per-day as the original challenge requests, but just slowly work through the list over the next couple of months, posting one every couple of days (interspersed with my regular posts of course).
Here is the "30 Day Challenge" list. I'll link each one as I post them. I also reserve the right to substitute if I feel like it. I don't know if I will, but I reserve the right to do so!!

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with fifteen facts.
Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been close with for the longest.
Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show.
Day 04 - A picture of your night.
Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory.
Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day.
Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item.
Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh.
Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.
Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most messed up things with.
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate.
Day 12 - A picture of something you love.
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist.
Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die.
Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you.
Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity.
Day 19 - A picture of you when you were little.
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel.
Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget.
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at.
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book.
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change.
Day 25 - A picture of your day.
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you.
Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member.
Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of.
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile.
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss.

~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~

So, without further ado:
Day 01 (today) - A picture of yourself with fifteen facts.

Taken in 2004, at a renn faire...but it's still one of my favorite pictures of me. ☺

1.  I am a girly girl. My favorite color genuinely is pink (and has been since my tweens). And I have no daughters to share it with.
2.  "Jennifer" was the #1 name for about ten years running, and I was born right in the middle of it. My baby book says that my parents picked my name because it was "a pretty name for a pretty girl." However, they wanted me to be different from the 2 million other Jennifers born that year, so they named me "Jenni" with an 'i' and no 'fer.' The 2 million other Jennifers (and everyone else) have been misspelling it ever since. 
3. I was not given a middle name at birth. I legally added one after my wedding when I was changing my name anyway.
4. I donated blood regularly in college, but I'm not allowed to any more (because my husband lived in England, so we're both at risk for Mad Cow apparently...)
5. I enjoy discussions--even debates--on almost any topic. I also am fascinated by others' opinions and try to understand them. Once I've heard someone out, I sometimes even change my mind on the issue.
6. I have never had a professional haircut. Or manicure. Or pedicure. Or any of that salon stuff.
7. I regularly overthink things. Really overthink them.
8. I think best by talking through something. My husband knows this, and tunes me out. Sometimes I do my thinking via writing, thus this blog (lucky you!)
9. I say "bolth" and "salth" instead of both and south. I don't know why. The imprecision of it annoys me actually.
10. I knit funny. It's not normal knitting. It's also not really continental knitting. It's sortof like combination knitting, only I don't match the videos of that either. I have finally learned to knit well (instead of only purling), but I do it weird. Don't try to learn to knit from me. Also, sorry, but those little knitting help videos don't help me very much either. 
11. In the past I had professional aspirations as a teacher...a few years ago I began contemplating childbirth education and doulaing. Now I am considering pursuing doing henna professionally. And of course there is always the sewing/knitting...
12. This spring and summer items of my creation are available for sale at a local yarn shop. What makes this especially cool is that said yarn shop operates out of a yurt. 
13. I had never been to Alaska when we moved here in 2007. Almost immediately upon arriving I knew this was home. I intend to live the rest (or most of the rest) of my life here. 
14. I like dangly earrings best.
15. I am settling into the idea of being a mother of only boys. Who knows what the future holds, but statistically speaking, I might as well adjust.

Resting

I don't have so much of my own post to write today, but I really wanted to share a link to another post I read. 

Don't Even Try to Be Productive

It reminds me of Ecclesiastes where it teaches us that "to every thing there is a season" I think our modern society gets so caught up in manmade routines and schedules that we forget to heed the natural cycles of nature. God made the year with changes, so that we could work hard sometimes and rest at other times. When we have a 9-5 job year round we ignore those designated times...and we should not. Some of us, as stay at home moms, have the blessing of being able to heed those seasonal changes far more than those in the workforce. Oh that we would!

Dancing

I know I just quoted this last week, but it warrants repeating.
"There was breathtaking beauty in the howling of the wolves, the glisten and sparkle of new snow beneath lights, the splendid aurora borealis that never failed to fill me with wonder. It was as though God hung the great curtains of fire to fill space with myriad colors of dancing forms and vast spears and shafts of light flashing from one horizon to the next in a dazzling display of His power and majesty."
~Norma Cobb in Arctic Homestead



Plus, because I live in the most beautiful place on earth (and most of you don't), I thought I'd rub it in a little...

Our Imbolc

I spent a lot of time on Feb 1 and 2 making candles (yes that other post is coming...) We didn't use all of them for our Imbolc Feast, but we did use five.

These are our element candles--air, earth, water, fire, and (in the center) Spirit. (Underneath you can also see our Sabbat table runner with the northern lights on it.)

We had cream of cauliflower soup (for the milk and butter, and also it seemed like an appropriate seasonal vegetable), and almond-poppy seed muffins (for the seeds).

When I first told Bear that we were going to turn off all the lights for dinner he got very concerned and said "but mommy, we can't do that, we have to see our food." I told him we would light so many candles that we would be able to see and he said oh, well then that would be ok. The next night, he asked if we could turn off the lights and light "so many handles" again. ☺

Making Tallow Candles--part 1 (rendering the tallow)

We bought a half a beef last fall. They asked if we wanted the scraps, and since I believe in using every part of the animal (since it died for us, I don't want to waste any part of its life), we said yes.
I surmised that the 'scraps' would be soup bones and the like.
I was wrong.
We got a box full of, well, scraps. There was some bone (which did go to make stock of course), but most of it was fat. Cows are fatty animals in case you didn't know or have forgotten (and there is nothing like a whole box full of fat to make sure that I will never ever forget!)

So what does one do with a whole bunch of cow fat? Well render it into tallow and make candles of course!

First, all that fat/gristle/unknown stuff has to be chopped into little pieces  (you can see the box there behind my bowl of bits--it was pretty full).

Second, put the bits in a big pan with some water, and boil for a loooong time until all the fat becomes liquid (keep an eye on it, because the water will boil off and then things get ugly and stinky and just generally bad...)

Pour the contents of the pan out through a strainer. BE CAREFUL, THIS STUFF IS REALLY HOT!! The things I read recommended straining twice, which I did (once with a bigger-hole metal colander and then once through a fine-mesh strainer). Once it is well strained, pour the remaining liquid--which will be murky--into a dish to separate and cool. The water and fat will separate and the fat will rise to the top and solidify. Give it at least a few hours, I have had the best results with letting it go overnight. (I put it in bread pans here, the square shape made it easier to get the tallow block out later.)

Once the tallow is solid, use a table knife to separate the tallow from the edge of the container. Dump out the water into the toilet. (The bits of tallow will clog up your sink drains, it has to go in the toilet!!) Set out the tallow to dry/drain (I put it on paper towels). It usually seems to have some gunk along it where it bordered the water, so I use the table knife to scrape that scuzzy part off and put it in the garbage or toilet.

I like to let it air out for at least a few hours before using it. If you do not have immediate plans for it, put it in a bag in the freezer.

Coming next: part 2, making the candles!!

New Moon

In keeping with MotherWheel, and observing the wheel of the year, our family is observing not just the 8 sabbats but also the esbats, or the new and full moons. We're not holding rituals or anything, but on each new moon I am holding a personal fast of some sort. Last month, for example, I abstained from sugar of all sorts for several days (to detox from the holidays). On the night of the full moon, we have a family feast (which is to say that we have a fairly normal family dinner accented by silver candles!) I am already finding that the mindfulness of this regular fasting/feasting cycle is very grounding. Today I'm cross-posting here what I posted over on MotherWheel.

I have decided to name each moon this year, according to my hopes and intentions for that lunation. I began last month with my Purification Moon. Today is the new moon of what I am calling my Vision Moon.

I've been thinking about Imbolc and Candlemas, and something that keeps coming to me is that this is a day that falls within the darkness, and yet celebrates the light that we put out into the world. Candles are an obvious metaphor, and I am reminded of Matthew 5:
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Candles and light are not just a metaphor for testimony, they are also a metaphor for vision I think. For our focus. The light of one candle in a darkened room will draw the attention of all who enter. We see the flame and cannot help but go toward it. Even an infant, who does not know what the candle is, will immediately focus that direction.

The light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

John 1:5

Even if the darkness does not comprehend the light, the light still comes, and cannot be ignored. In this month where the darkness still has hold over our earth, the little lights of our candles are standing up and being seen, and cannot be quenched.

This lunation, I will ponder and meditate on Vision: what I am focusing on, where I am going, and also what kind of light I am putting out to the world.
During this new moon, my fast (I'm planning three days) will be from the internet...so I'll see ya later. ☺

As a closing, I wanted to share this song:

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.

Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;

I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;

Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;

Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;

Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:

Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,

Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:

Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,

High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,

May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

If you are unfamiliar with this psalm, and want to hear it--words and music--try this link. If you just want to hear the melody, or want something to sing along with (especially if you've adapted the words for your own purposes), here is a lovely, simple, instrumental version of it from youtube

Celebrating Imbolc/Candlemas

Imbolc is tomorrow (on February 2), so today's post is to share some background on the Sabbat, as well as give ideas of ways to observe it. (Please note that, as with all sabbats, the celebrations/observations traditionally begin at sundown on the night before, in this case, tonight!) If you'd like to learn more about this holiday, check out the posts on MotherWheel.

Background:
The First of February belongs to Brigid, (Brighid, Brigit, Bride,) the Celtic goddess who in later times became revered as a Christian saint. Originally, her festival on February 1 was known as Imbolc  (pronounced "IM-bulk" or "EM-bowlk") or also called Oimealg, ("IM-mol'g), two names which refer to the lactation of the ewes, the flow of milk that heralds the return of the life-giving forces of spring. Later, the Catholic Church replaced this festival with Candlemas Day on February 2, which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and features candlelight processions. The powerful figure of Brigid the Light-Bringer overlights both pagan and Christian celebrations.[source link]

Brigid

Brigid is the goddess not just of fire, but also of hearth and home, smithcraft (blacksmiths, goldsmiths, etc), poetry and creation, healing, women's health, and childbirth. She is an incarnation of the Maiden form of the goddess, and our word "bride" comes from her name.
Imbolc is the time of Blessing of the seeds and consecration of agricultural  tools. It marks the center point of the dark half of the year. It is  the festival of the Maiden, for from this day to March 21st, it is her  season to prepare for growth and renewal. Brighid's snake emerges from  the womb of the Earth Mother to test the weather, (the origin of Ground  Hog Day), and in many places the first Crocus flowers began to spring  forth from the frozen earth. [source link]

Brigid's Wheel aka Brigit's Cross

When Ireland was Christianized, veneration of the Pagan Goddess Brigid was transformed into that of St. Brigit, said to be the human daughter of a Druid... Pagan lore was incorporated into the Christian traditions  and legends associated with Her as a saint. She  was associated with miracles and fertility. Into the 18th century a women's only shrine was kept to her in Kildare (meaning Church of the Oak) in Ireland. There, nineteen nuns tended Her continually burning sacred flame. An ancient song was sung to Her: "Brigid, excellent woman, sudden flame, may the bright fiery sun take us to the lasting kingdom."  [source link]

According to some sources, the Celts celebrated an early version of Groundhog Day on Imbolc too – only with a serpent, singing this poem:

Thig an nathair as an toll
(The serpent will come from the hole)
la donn Bride
(on the brown day of Bride (Brighid)
Ged robh tri traighean dh’an
(though there may be three feet of snow)
Air leachd an lair
(On the surface of the ground.)

In Christianity, this date (about 40 days after Christmas) marks the time when Mary and Joseph would have taken Christ to the temple, and also the conclusion of Mary's purification. In this tradition, St Brigid was the midwife who attended Mary at Christ's birth.

Symbolism:
purity, growth, renewal, new beginnings, commitment/dedication, birth, creativity, healing, brides, virgins

Symbols:
white flowers, candles , torches, grains, seeds, acorns, plow, snakes, poetry, blacksmiths/goldsmiths,

Foods:

• poppyseed cakes or muffins
• breads, cakes, scones
• seeds (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc)
• dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc)

Activities:

Imbolc decoration on etsy

• On the evening before, each family member leaves one item of clothing  outside for Brigid to bless. In the morning the clothing is brought back  inside, with Brigid's blessing of healing and protection (see here).
• Make herbal salves, teas, or other healing things.
• Make your own butter.
• Read scriptures about light, the Light of Christ, candles, or fires, as well as the things they stand for (testimony, example, etc)  (Matt 5 is a good place to start)
• Sing hymns or other songs about light, such as Pass it On.
• Use straw to make a Brigid's Wheel, or a broom, to hang on or above your door to bless your home
• Make fire starters
• Make a Brighid's Crown or a Priapic Wand.
• Go outside and encourage things to grow, perhaps while waving your priapic wand, and/or with a verse like this "Wake, wake, plants in the earth, / spring is a time of light and rebirth. / Hear, hear this magical sound, / and grow, grow, out of the ground."
• Sweep out your home to cleanse and purify it. 
• Clean your fireplace/hearth and sweep out the ashes
• Write or read poems 
• Since Brigid is the goddess over childbirth, share the birth stories of family members together
• Candlemas is the day when the Catholic Church blesses their candles for the year. If you use candles in your home (especially if you use them for spiritual purposes) you might consider blessing them.
• Light candles.
• Make candles! or Ice candles.
• Have a candlelit meal with your family
• If any early flowers have come up where you life, bring some inside.
• If you grow a garden, this might be a good day to start your seeds indoors.
• Plant a garden of healing herbs.
• Help at or donate to a women's shelter, women's health organization, or pregnancy/childbirth support group.
• (if you have other ideas, please share them in the comments!)

 
Source links:

• http://www.chalicecentre.net/imbolc.htm (this page has a lot of background on Brigid, and a bit on candlemas)
• http://www.wicca.com/celtic/akasha/imbolclore.htm
• http://www.circlesanctuary.org/pholidays/imbolc.htm (includes lists of symbols, colors, foods, animals, etc associated with Imbolc)
• http://www.circlesanctuary.org/pholidays/candlemascustomslore.htm
• http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/imbolcfebruary2/p/Imbolc_History.htm
• http://annieshearth.blogspot.com/2010/06/brigit-celtic-goddess-of-fire.html (LOTS of information about Brigid)

Arctic Homestead

When I was growing up, my mother always started off our homeschool day by reading to us. She read us biographies and historical fiction mostly, counting it toward our history studies. I think I was 8 or 9 when she read Tisha to us. It was about a young woman who took a job teaching school in rural Alaska in the early 1900s.
I was fascinated.
I guess that was really the beginning for me, of wanting to come to Alaska. I re-read the book a couple of times in my teenage years too. As I was finishing college, I was contemplating getting dual certification (Alaska and my then-homestate of Washington have a reciprocal certification agreement) and I was going to come teach for a year or two in the middle of nowhere in Alaska, save up my money, and then go back south and get married. I was going to do what Tisha did...only Tisha found a spouse up in Alaska and stayed...and, well, if that happened that was ok too.
Only I found a spouse before I got a chance to go to Alaska and get rich. So I stayed poor and got married, and I'm not sure whether Alaska was still on my radar or not...I certainly wasn't thinking about it in any concrete way. But less than 4 years into our marriage we had an opportunity to move our family to Alaska, and even though we had never made serious plans to do so, we both jumped at the opportunity. Sometimes, something is so in your blood that you don't have to talk about it. I hadn't realized that my husband felt the call of the wild too, but he did, and we came.
And when we got here, we realized that it was home.

In the early part of our marriage, we had talked about buying a little piece of land where we could have a big garden, some fruit trees, and maybe raise some chickens or something. Now that we have realized that Alaska is home--more particularly that this region is where we want to stay for the long term (employment permitting)--now we have begun researching what exactly will be involved in creating an independent, sustainable, mostly-off-grid homestead for our family in this area. We've been getting books from the library, and reading up on everything from yurts and earthbag homes to cob houses and underground dwellings. We're learning about building with logs and how to use passive solar. We plan on heating with wood and geothermal energy, and will probably have a sod roof. We're reading about wind and hydropower. We know we'll need to build a greenhouse for our fruit trees and some of our vegetables. We're studying up on breeds of chickens and sheep to find which ones are gentle with children, which ones are hearty in cold weather, and which ones are the best for eating (and eggs, and wool...) The more we talk about it, the more excited we become. We know we need to sell our house down south before we can buy land here, and we don't want to buy land until we have tenure with a school district, so as to avoid what happened last time we bought a house (getting laid off and not being able to find another job within commuting distance of the place we owned!) So this is a 5 year plan at least...but it is a plan, and we are doing our reading, and it's exciting every time we talk about it.
Lots of people talk about things, but if the last few years are anything to go by, we are not just talkers, we are doers. We are the people who hold hands, hold our breath, and just jump already.

Recently, a fellow Alaskan friend recommended the book Arctic Homestead by Norma Cobb. She was another jumper. She and her husband took their five small children and settled in the wilderness north of Fairbanks in the 1970s. I admit I am not that daring, I have no desire to be that far north. I'll stay on my very sub-arctic peninsula thank you...but reading her story was inspiring, and reminded me of the reasons why I want to live off the land, with the land, in the land...and why I want to do it here. (It was also a thoroughly delightful read, so whether you have a homesteader's mindset or not I recommend the book!)


I conclude with a post from the book that seems to capture the way I feel about living in Alaska.

"There was breathtaking beauty in the howling of the wolves, the glisten and sparkle of new snow beneath lights, the splendid aurora borealis that never failed to fill me with wonder. It was as though God hung the great curtains of fire to fill space with myriad colors of dancing forms and vast spears and shafts of light flashing from one horizon to the next in a dazzling display of His power and majesty."

Frugal Friday: Water

Perhaps none of these will be anything new for you, but one way to make a little wiggle room in your budget is to lower your utility bills by cutting back on your water/electricity/gas use. Today, ideas for reducing water usage.

• Set a timer when you shower. How long do you think you usually spend in the shower? It's very likely that it's longer than you think. Whether you're aiming for a true 5 min shower, or just wanting to take a couple of minutes off your standard, try a timer!
• Bathe/shower with company! Seriously, most kids like to take baths together, and I've taken a baby into the shower with me more than a few times. Couples can share showers in both romantic or purely practical ways.
• If your kids don't like to bathe together (or you have too many to fit into the tub at once), try to get them to take baths back to back, using the same tub (or perhaps just adding a little more hot for round two, but not having to refill the whole tub).
• Don't wash your hair so often (if your hair is to your shoulders, you can probably make it at least 3-4 days between washes. My hair--to my waist--goes a week pretty easily.)
• Use the 'short wash' cycle on your dishwasher
• Use the smaller load size settings on your washing machine if you're running a smaller load.
• Fill the dishwasher or washing machine full before running a load.
• If/as things wear out, buy a more efficient washing machine or dishwasher, low-flow toilets, and low-flow showerheads.
• If you can afford it, consider replacing inefficient things even if they have not worn out yet.
• Install a toggle switch in your showerhead so that you can turn off the water flow (without turning off the water and losing your temperature settings). Turn it off to apply your soap/shampoo, then turn it back on to rinse... you might be surprised how much water goes straight down the drain in those seconds.
• Strip cloth diapers with the 'boil them on the stove' method rather than the 'run them through 11 cycles in the washer' method. (I have a front loader washing machine so I have to do it this way, but I have found it faster and more effective as well as saving water. You just have to keep an eye on them so that you don't singe fabric or melt snaps!)
• Designate specific cups or water bottles for each person (we have color-coding here, one color per family member). If your family is anything like my family, this will save several unidentified half-cupfuls of water several times a day. (We mostly stick with the colored camelbak water bottles for water, and the colored cups for milk or juice.) 
• If you live in an area where you need to water your garden or lawn, set timers so that you don't water for longer that necessary.
• Consider collecting rainwater from your roof into a barrel and using that (for watering plants if you don't trust it to be clean).
• Don't flush every time ("if it's yellow--let it mellow; if it's brown--flush it down") 
• When you have a bucketful of dirty water (from scrubbing the floor for example), set the bucket by the toilet, and pour it into the bowl to flush next time it needs flushing.
• If you're building/remodeling, consider installing a grey water recycling system (which uses the water drained from things like your dishwasher to do things like flush the toilets). One of the simplest forms I've seen is the sink-toilet combo.  --->

What water saving ideas do you have?