Sitting on the front porch enjoying the "last day" I thought it would be funny to hide from the hubby and kids to see if they would freak out!
Yikes, it’s already Wednesday?? I have been super busy this week and by the looks of my kitchen, either A. I’ve been so busy that I have not been able to clean it since Saturday or B. the dishwasher exploded and spewed dirty dishes every where. Hmm, it must be B because I think the washer machine has done the same thing! HA!
I have started designing blogs again and have done three since Saturday…so if you want something different for your blog, sneak over here. I know, shameless plug, but there is a wonderful sale going on right now…just sayin’.
I NEED TO LOSE THE REMOTE TO THE TV!! TV has kept me super busy as of late!! We watched the most fantastic movie on Sunday, it was Secretariat. Have you seen it?? It’s been a while since I seen something that brought such inspiration to me!! If you have not seen it yet, please put it on your to watch list! Great movie for the whole family!!
I have also been watching Survivor, Biggest loser and Dancing with the Stars. I know reality TV is bad…BUT I LOVE IT!!! (Here comes the a spoiler for Survivor so if you have it DVR’d and have not watched the finale, skip over this part……
BUT I was so frustrated at all the kuddos given to Rob for winning. Good grief, please let’s mention that it took him 4 times to finally win it….after four times I think anyone could!! Also, it made me want to throw my popcorn at the TV the way he strutted around that camp like a glorified rooster…he ran that camp like a prison. Sorry Rob, but if I was on Survivor for 30 some odd days and was only eating rice and my team mates were eating fish…I would of laughed out loud at you while running over to the camp fire to EAT my fish too!! I could not believe that he had that much control over them!!! Made me so mad!!!!!!!! Enough of Survivor!
Are you watching DWTS or The BL?? Who are you wanting to win??
See I told you I have been busy!!! HA! I guess I am needing to put myself on a TV schedule! It will not be that hard since all good TV will be winding down for the summer. :( Oh but wait, the Bachelorette is coming back on…..
I get so easily distracted but in my defense, housework VS television, it’s like salad VS chocolate. Hmmm, I think I am needing to start a diet as well…….
Okay here is the deal, and trust me, before did something about it I complained and ranted and raved and complained some more. The cost of laundry detergent is ridiculous, just sayin’…so is the cost of gas the cost of groceries, the cost of everything!!!
Anyhoo, before I get going and am unable to stop my rants let me tell you what I did!! I made my own laundry detergent!! Yep, I am no longer going to give all my money to the big corporate people that make my laundry detergent for pennies on the dollar, nope I will make it myself! HA!
Here is what I did….First let me introduce to you the cast of characters that helped me make this possible…
There are many recipes on the internet on how to make laundry detergent and they range from liquid to powder. I opted to make the powdered version for two reason, one it was easier to make and two it would take up less space because the liquid makes a lot and they store it in a five gallon bucket. I do not have the room for that in my laundry room! If you like liquid form better, than go for it. I have a friend that makes it liquid form, so it comes down to what ever floats your boat….or laundry…HA!
Anyways, in my handy dandy, older than dirt, food processor I first grated the bar of Ivory soap. Then I chopped it to death with the chopper attachment. As for the soap, my recipe said that you can use any bar soap that you would like. I used ivory for the first time since I was wanting to stick to the recipe word for word, but if you are a girl, like me, that loves her laundry to smell all flowery and such, than go for something with a scent you like.
After I chopped and pulverized the poor bar of soap to smithereens, I added to the food processor a cup of Borax and a cup of Arm & Hammer. Then again, I chopped it until it was a fine power like this.
I use two tablespoons per load of laundry (the recipe said one to two tablespoons) and it works like a charm!! I am so happy! Also, for y’all HE people out there with wonderful Energy Efficient washers like myself, THIS IS SAFE FOR YOUR WASHERS! I did some research before I embarked on this journey to make sure that I would not kill my washer in the effort to save money. The main thing about HE laundry detergents is that they are low-sudsing. They are low-sudsing because HE washers use less water. All the ingredients used to make this detergent are low-sudsing as well. I also have been keeping a very close eye on it to make sure! So in a nut-shell if you follow this recipe, it is safe for HE. Of course, you will have to take that on a leap of faith like myself! All I can say is I have been using this for almost two weeks and I am more than satisfied with the results!!
So are you ready for the cost comparison?? To make this laundry detergent, it cost me:
Borax 76oz box $4.79, 1 cup breaks down to roughly $.19
Arm & Hammer 55oz box $2.79, 1 cup breaks down to roughly $.20
Bar of Ivory Soap $.42
It makes enough detergent for roughly 18 loads and it cost me $.81, which breaks down to $4.5 cents a load! Woo to the hoo!! Also if you do not have teenage boys and feel more confidant with using just one tablespoon of detergent, you will save even more!
I was spending $.27 cents per load or roughly $17 for a bottle of detergent and there are times that I use more than the recommended amount because of the filth and grime that teenage boys laundry seem to come with, so actually the $.27 cents a load was being very generous!
As soon as I run out of auto dish detergent, I am going to try to make that as well!!!
Do you make your own cleaning supplies? If so tell me more, I am looking for anything to cut cost around our household! :o)
Here is where I have been spending so many of my waking hours as of late…my porch!
A couple of weeks ago I needed to do something, that cost nothing, to spruce up my fr0nt porch. Although I did spend a little bit ($56 and still need new cushions) most of the things I used has came from things I already had. Take a look at what I have done:
Right Side of Porch
I wanted to make our front porch an extension of our living room. I had envisioned a window behind the wicker love seat, so I set out to buy an antique wooden window, but could not find one. Then from a salvage yard, kind of place around us, I purchased a window insert to hang instead until I find what I really wanted. BUT, it worked perfect and it is so light weight that I do not have to worry about it falling!! Love it!
Left Side of Porch
I also hung a few crosses up next to the front door, filled up the humming bird feeders and added some plants for this side of the porch. All I have left to do is wait for the plants to grow to their full potential and some new cushions that I am going to have made and viola, the porch is compete!
Our porch has quickly become the “hangout” spot for the family! We are sitting outside so much more either enjoying coffee in the morning, eating lunch or watching our son yard fish with rocks as bait! HA!
Yesterday we decided to enjoy our anniversary by spending time together as a family. We did not have any ideas on what to do so the day was a blank canvas. We finally decided that we would hike to Burgess Fall, a place that someone at Jeremy’s work suggested. He warned that since there has been a lot of rain that we may not want to go because it would be muddy and we would not be able to hike down to the falls, but we gave it a try anyways! So glad we did…it was BeAuTiFuL!! Here is the picture of the actual Burgess Falls…
The amount of rain that we have had made it even more beautiful than we could of ever imagine. Yes, we could not hike down to the fall, but the look of this made up for it. This picture of from the overlook and I wish that I could attach the sound to this blog as well that the falls were making, it was breathtaking!!
Can you see the rainbows??
There are also a few smaller falls along the way and here are picture of those…
There was beauty all around with small cascading waterfalls….
Here are a few more pictures that we snapped of ourselves…
It was a fantastic way to spend the day!!
Getting Married!!
Twenty Years ago today, I married my best friend!
20…I can not believe that I am sitting her typing the word and number 20.
We have been married 20 years!
Yesterday we were talking about being “almost married 20 years” because of course yesterday, we were still only married for 19….HA! We talked about what has happened for the past twenty years. Here is the short low down, in bullet form, of our married life:
Of course there have been many more things I could of listed but those are the first few things that came to mind.
Over the 20 years we have loved, fought, cried, made up, endured hardships, enjoyed friendships, laughed, mourned, celebrated and traveled. We would have done a few things differently, but would not change a thing about our life.
I could not imagine my life without Jeremy and look forward to what the next twenty years hold for us. The Lord has blessed us tremendously!
I am glad that justice had been served and the terrorist mastermind and al-Qaida founder, Bin Laden is dead. I am relived that this mad man can no longer plot to destroy our wonderful country. I am sad that evil is still alive and that those who lost the ones they loved in the 911 attacks in for the loved ones lost in the war, that this historic event can not bring them back.
My husband called me last night to tell me that Bin Laden had been killed and that Obama would be speaking any minute about it. I like many across our nation, shall I go as far and say the world, tuned into the news to see if it were true and to hear what the President of the United States would say. When Obama finally came on to discuss what had happened, I think I more disappointed by his words than anything else.
I try hard to keep my blog politics free, if you will. I am not a huge debater by any means in the political loop, but I know what I like and what I dislike. I have certain standards in which I feel our elected officials should hold, regardless of which position they were elected too. I feel first and foremost you are hired by me, my family, neighbors, friends, the people of our country, to do a job…a job that should be dictated by our wants, not your gain.
Anyway, during last nights address I felt as if Obama was taking credit, or far more credit than he should over the killing of a wanted terrorist. Were you or were you not, President Obama, a former senator that voted against the war and the surge needed to protect our troops but now you stand in front of our nation taking credit for this whole thing. AND…please do not tell me that you just brought up the muslin religion in this address?? Did you really go there? Could you not just come on TV and talk about the death of Bin Laden without mentioning the religion that most terrorists actively and devoutly practice in. Yes, it is not a war against a religion, but is this or is this not a religion that follows a man which feels that Americans are the enemy?
I say that not to upset anyone, but this hunt for Bin Laden has been happening over three presidencies. It does not matter who was in charge when he was killed, it is more important that justice has been served. I am now more focused on what happens from here. I feel this is far from being over and now the war continues. There will be those ready to avenge Bin Laden's death.
This morning I came across this quote, not sure who said it but it is fitting…
“In the end, I'm happy for justice and peace, but I don't believe God rejoices in any death. Even our enemies."
I took advantage of the beautiful sunshine today and began decorating our front porch
with a little bit of purple…
a touch of yellow…
a tad of red…
a little bit of pink….
and of course a whole lotta white!!!
I still need a few things that I hope to be able to pick up this weekend!! I can’t wait to show you my favorite place to sit, relax and drink coffee when it is all finished!!
Have you heard about (or seen) Kohlers new toilet that will be coming out in the fall?? Feast your eyes on this baby, I introduce to you the Numi….
Kohler is saying that this toilet is their most advance toilet! So what is so great about this ugly different looking kind of water closet you ask…
For starters there will be no more fighting with your spouse about who left the seat up! Nope, not anymore, the Numi automatically closes and raises the adjustable-height toilet seat when it senses your presence. If you'd like, it can greet you with the sound of rushing water and soothing piano music, which may come in handy when you have a stomach virus…kind of takes your mind off of the gut wrenching pain that you are feeling.
Is your bathroom dark?? For those of you that do not have light fixtures in your bathroom, never fear the Numi has a night light that will guide you to the heated seat. Also, if you have cold feet you are in luck, a floor-level vent blows warm air on your little cold toes!
Ever forget you reading material as your rush into the bathroom?? Well if so, pull out you iPhone or iPod and plug it in to listen to your tunes or turn on the built in AM/FM radio. If you are spending too much time jamming out to your favorite tunes, the Numi has a charcoal-filter deodorizer will keep the air fresh.
Oh yeah, did I mention that it comes with a remote control. Yep, that will come in handy if you forget to flush the toilet, just pull out the handy dandy remote from your pocket and flush it up to twenty feet away….let’s just hope you didn’t forget to wash your hands….ewwwwww.
Here is another picture of this high functioning toilet.
Beside the airy bathroom, you might be really liking the luxury car worthy list of amenities that this toilet has to offer. If you would like to have one these in your home you will have to fork over $6,390 and no, that does not include the installation fee.
