Sportin a new do

Yep. That's my godson.

He loves his new do.

Your welcome, mommy.

I am waiting

Okay, Meijer. I am waiting for you to jump on board with all this.

Na na na na BOO BOO

I had a birthday a little while ago. And look at what I got!



I know, can you believe it? Don't you want it? Too bad. It's all mine. My girlfriend made it for me. (I won't add the part about me actually requesting her to make it for me). She is a super knitter. She makes the awesomest things.

I love it and I can't wait to use it. I have been a little apprehensive to use it yet since we have been getting so much rain. It is wool, felted wool. I can't wash it. It may be a special occasion bag...you know the one....the one where you aren't taking everything for all your kids in it kinda bag. The one where I don't have to make sure I have a diaper and a sippy cup and a snack...well, okay. I like snacks, so it will prolly have to have those in there.

Hmmm...come to think of it, I need one of those days where I can use that bag....

Laundry soap 1.0

Mmmmmm....look yummy? Nope, it's not cheese!

I have had this recipe for some time now. I actually got it online somewhere and just hung onto it knowing that I would make it at some point. She has one as well. Hers has scent added to it. I am not that cool.

My daughter and I finally made it the other day. It was really quite easy. You have to have 3 things to throw it all together. The hardest part was grating the bar soap. And that wasn't so much hard as it was messy. I probably could have used my food processer, but I was worried that everything after that would have a slightly soapy taste. Mmmmm..soapy cheese. Great for tacos.







1 C grated Fels Naptha bar soap
1/2 C Borax
1/2 C Washing soda

Mix well in a resealable container. Use 1T per load. 2 T for heavier soiled clothes.



I found all of the ingredients in my local grocery store. They were in the laundry soap aisle.

The soap seems to clean really well. It has a nice fresh, clean scent. However, if you have a super sniffer like myself, it may seem strong at first. It lessened tho, as I used it more. Well, I got acclimated to it, I should say.

Try it out. Let me know what you think. It is a huge money saver. And you know I love those!

Blue and Brown swap

One side of the bag

The other side of the bag





I am so loving my stuff from my swap. Thank you so much to my swapping buddy.

How did she know that I love bags! Any kinda bag...reusable, that is! And I got 2. Yes, 2. And the great sunglasses holder. Love the pattern. And some cards and some computer paper. I got a new magazine to read and my kids are already drooling over the rock candy! There were some cool little stickers for crafts or scrapping, some ribbon and some towels. Even a little notepad. Oh, and a little take out box filled with thumb tacks. And some gum!

I have to say, the bags are my fave. Love them! Especially the one with the beads on it. I can already see myself carrying it now!

Paintin Poll

Okay, here goes.

I am trying to get my house ready for the market. Yeah, the pain in your butt, people coming in your house all the time, market. I am excited and not. I am stressed and not. I am overwhelmed and okay, overwhelmed.

Had the Realtor in to look around and give us some feedback on potential changes to be made. We pretty much know what all we need to do, but hey, this is what he does all day, right? I'm not one to pass up help.

I knew one of the suggestions he was going to make was that I need to paint my family room. To make it a more neutral color. Currently it is a terra cotta color. (Terra warmth, to be exact) A dark, rusty orange color. I love it. I do, however, realize that everyone may not love it like I do. (As strange as that seems to me.) It is a pretty big room. It would be a pretty big project. Especially with a one year old running around. It is the main family living space.

So, do I paint it or not? Do I take the chance that I may miss some buyers because of the color of my room? If you were looking for a house would you not buy it based on one room color?

Help me. I need help. I am so on the fence.

moving along

The kids had their dental checkups a few days ago. Routine things, you know, cleaning, x-rays, fluoride, blah, blah, blah.

The dentist comes out to give me the report. No cavities! Great, Fantastic. Let's get outta here.

Not so fast...K has a molar that is trying to come in and the current tooth is not yet ready to fall out. Okay. Seems normal enuf to me. Just keep wiggling it and it will come out. What's the problem? Well, I would like to give you a week to get it out on your own and if that doesn't happen then she will need to come back in and have it taken out. What? Why? Can't I have more than week? No, I don't think so...actually, why don't you just come on back now and we will pull it out. (At this point I am near hyperventilation) How does one explain to her 11 yr old that right now, this very minute, after you were given the green light, that actually, no, we aren't done. We have just one more little thing to do????

So, I head out the the lobby, 1 yr old squirming in my arms and 8 yr old making it clear that he is ready to go home, to inform 11 yr old that she has to have a tooth extracted...RIGHT NOW.

It went over much better than I had anticipated. I dreaded those few, short steps to the lobby to tell her. We get back there and she gets all set up. There were way too many shots..I think about 8 times to be exact...there was a little crying during the shot process. Then I got to watch them yank a great, big ol tooth outta my tiny, little daughter's head. Yeah. Not so much liking that. Coulda done without ever seeing that.

Dentist gets it pulled out and shows me the tooth, pointing out the huge root still intact and saying this never would have come out on it's own. Be very careful of the tooth. It is very sharp. Uh-huh. Okay. Very sharp, got it.

Puts it in a little purple treasure box, hands me some gauze and a great big bill and we are all done. NO talking for 30 minutes and don't use a straw at all today. Uh-huh. Okay.

Later on that evening, we had a serious talk with the tooth fairy and put in a good word for said 11 yr old.

Next morning...11 yr old comes down...very befuddled...Were you half asleep when you left me this, she asks? Left you what, I say? This 20 bucks. Nope, I say. Getting a tooth pulled outta your head is worth quite a bit in my opinion. Especially when I would have been slobbering like a big baby if I had to do that. And you didn't and you were very brave. So, there you go. 11 yr old is walking off totally giddy. I say, just make sure this doesn't become a habit.

One Local Summer

I am not sure what week we are on...I am gonna hazard a guess and say 7. Honest, I am still in the game! I promise to do better from now on.

OLS #7Grilled Strip Steak---grass fed---80 miles

Mashed Yukon gold taters----organic----60 miles

Roasted green beans---90 miles

Sour cream cucumbers----my backyard---okay, so not the sour cream---that was 180 miles and is hormone free

Biscuit----totally not local

Milk---hormone and antibiotic free---180 miles

Now, if only I hadn't just had my braces adjusted....I might be able to enjoy my steak a little more.

cherry, schmerry

So, I had this great idea, right? Well, I mean, I had some help from the Food Network. (Note to self...whilst sick and unable to eat anything...watching the Food Network is prolly not the best idea.)

While wasting away on my couch I had seen this great idea on one of the cooking shows on how to use a bunch of cherry tomatoes at one time. Since we are harvesting those daily from the garden I figured what better way to use them up.


The general idea was to use a bunch of them, put them in an oven-safe pan and add some garlic cloves, olive oil, oregano, and basil. Roast them in the oven. Sounds easy enough. I think I had them in there for like 30 minutes total. The smell was heavenly. I was thinking that I was really onto something here! I pulled them out, put them in the blender and blended it all together for a nice sauce.


Yeah, not so much. It was very bitter. Very. I decide to add a splash of cream and a little sugar to see if that would tone it down bit. It did help, but it was still not what I had in mind. And for sure not what the delicious smells were boosting it up to be.

Any ideas? What could I have done differently?

Wondering

Not that anyone out there is wondering where I have been....but I do want to apologize to my OLS buddies for not meeting my commitment of the one local meal a week program.

As some of you know, I had a date with the hospital several weeks back and I ended up experiencing some complications after the surgery. I got home and things took a nasty turn for the worse. After many meds and restless nights, I am hopeful that I am on the upward trend now!

I feel like I have been out of the loop forever. Please fill me in on what you have been up to. And everything exciting that I missed.