What I know now, that I wish I knew then

August is here and September will soon follow, this year is zoooooming past. Looking back, I took note to a few things that I wish I had known when I first got married....so here is goes.

Did you ever notice the expensive price laundrey detergent? *I did as we made our budget & grocery list* Yikes! Sky high prices.
So, after asking some experienced homemakers, I was given this liquid recipe. It is very easy and all of the ingredients can be found on the laundry isle in the store. (Yes, Wal-mart had best prices.) All of the ingredients cost less than $7 and it makes 2 gallons of detergent, good for 64 loads of laundry (1/2 c. per load.)
For those of you who are doing the math, $7 for only 64 does not look good. However, the initial $7 that you invest makes two additial batches, before you'll have to purchase another ($1) bar of fels naptha. So, 64 loads x3 batchs=192 loads. $7/192 loads=about 4 cents per load.
Or two fels naptha...64x6=384. $8/384 loads=2 cents per load
Compared to the cheapest (on sale) liquid detergent $2/32 loads (6.25 cents per load)
Invest $8 for 6 batches/384 loads or $24 for 384 loads
In the long run the homemade detergent pays off! Additionally, you know what ingredients are in your soap. :-) Here is my favorite recipe:

Homemade Laundrey Detergent     Makes 2 gallons
1/3 bar fels naptha
1/2 c. washing soda
1/2 c. borax powder
water
(2) one-gallon containers

Finely grate fels naptha into a BIG pot. Add 6 cups of water, heat until dissolved. Remove from heat.
Add 4 cups of hot water, washing soda and borax powder, stirring until combined. Set aside.
Divided 1 gallon+6 cups of water between (2) gallon containers. Add soap mixture to each container, evenly dividing as you go. Stir to thoroughly combine ingredients. Set aside & allow detergent to gel for one day.
Use 1/4 c. to 1/2 per load of laundry

April 2

Wow, so it is officially April!! That means taxes are due very soon. sigh I've been trying to wade through all the forms. It is has been rather frustrating. (Though the youtube vidoes and ehow have been helpful in pointing me in the right direction.)

Thankfully, I have a sweet little doll to make me smile. After eating, she doesn't mind being put on the floor and playing. She quickly rolls onto her back and commences with blowing bubbles, smiling at her reflection in the mirror and talking to her little toys.

Saturday morning she woke up early (like 5:30) to eat. Once she was finished eating, I was ready to fall back into bed. Adeline was in a very visiting mood. She talked while I changed her diaper and smiled contently. I was still not very wake, so back into her pack-and-play she landed. Michael woke up at 7 to Baby still happily talking to her toys. He had fun playing with her while I got some more sleep.

Ok, well back to figuring out taxes.

Sat.

Saturdays are my favorite day of the week. Sleep in and relax without feeling like I need to get up and work. lol

Michael worked the morning and got home in time to get ready to take me out. We went to see The Screwtape Letters on stage (thanks Mom!!). It was definitely a thought provoking performance. It was interesting how "real life" was used as a tool to distract the new believer from getting to know the Lord better. And a sober reminder to not let things distract from spending time with the Lord.  

Baby likes chewing on her fist

Baby Girl got to enjoy a good long visit at Grandmom and Grandpops. :) She was having her picture taken when we returned. She still is not into taking a bottle while at G'MS. sigh We'll have to work on that when she wakes up hungry at night.

Lowes, Menards and Beyond

Today was a good day for house projects. Michael and I went out to breakfast and made a list for shopping and projects. I stuck to the shopping list pretty well. :) The only extra's I got were: gladiolus bulbs, bottled water and 4th of July tshirts.

We found most of the items on our shopping list with no problem . . . paint, tape measure, outdoor light. Unfortunately, we were not able to find jalapeno pepper plants for a reasonable price. sigh So, I'll be planting more seeds and hope the plants mature before the weather gets cool this fall.

The paint was fun picking out because it is for our last two major rooms. . . the den and our extra guest room. Michael picked out the colors for the den . . . tan and a dark brown. I'll put pictures up after we get one of the walls painted. The other room was harder to pick out paint for because there are so many different shades of green! We finally settled on a bright yellowish green. (And yes, we now will have a green living room and guestroom.)


Once we got home, I crashed with a late afternoon nap and Michael tackled putting up the outdoor light. It will be very nice to walk up to our back door with a lighted entry. :) I'm so thankful he knows how to do handy-man type work!

Later today Michael went fishing with the guys and I started painting the guestroom. I just did the entry/corner, since boxes and a bed take up the rest of the room. Now I'm waiting for the paint to dry to see if I really like the color . . . I think I do. :)

Beware ! ! Wet Paint!

We'll see what it looks like once the paint drys  :)

To finish the day . . . my husband just brought me a serving of mint ice-cream, topped with chocolate syrup and a double chocolate cookie. And a glass of milk . . . wow, I have an amazing husband! :)

Finished Project

This week Christa asked if I would make a dress for her. She is serving at a wedding reception and was not able to find a good "blue" dress at any of the retailers. So, I dug around in my sewing stuff until I found some  patterns. She narrowed it down to these two patterns. Her final choice was the New Look pattern 6699, which I used to make bridesmaid's dresses for my wedding last year. I love the NL pattern because you can design the dress how you want it. :)

The pattern choices

 

Simplicity 2498 - View D was from Paula's wedding

The pink checkered is what Christa decided on, but no gathered overlay.

The material used was some I found at a garage sale. It was a super deal, 5 yards for three dollars. :) Christa came over Tuesday evening and helped me cut out the material. One major thing when cutting out a pattern is to go by your measurements not the size on the pattern! Thankfully, I remembered to check before we started cutting out. It saved us from having to cut out entirely new pieces.


The next day I set to work sewing! :) I must say that sewing side seams is much easier than piecing it all together. Christa was patient as I pinned her in and made sure everything fit correctly.

Christa had originally wanted ruffles on the straps, but once they were on she quickly realized it was not the look she was wanting! So, off they came and on I went making the bodice. Making the bodice took up the most time by far. Of course, some of that is because the pieces look so similar. It made the pieces way to easy to get the top and bottom switched around. I definitely got my fill of seam ripping. (One of my goals is to make a project without having to seam rip!)

The zipper was the last piece to go in. Whew, not having a zipper foot can make things complicated. However, this was my second dress to make without a zipper foot. So, I knew (thank you experience!) to sew the zipper in with HUGE stitches. (It makes seam ripping so much easier.) Unfortunately, by then my brain was tired and I forgot to pay attention to where the excess material was. So, out came my seam ripper.

Despite all the mistakes . . . I did finish the dress! I decided staying up late was better than getting up early this morning to finish it. lol So, one AM arrived and the dress was completed. :)

Finished!

Christa :)

Christa's tea-length dress

C&R + Adopted family :)

Weekend Activities

The Matson visit was a success. :) Dinner Saturday night was plentiful, complete with cranberry fluff! It is absolutely the perfect summer dessert if you use frozen cranberries. An amazing blend of sweet, tart and cool.  Here is the recipe, so I don't lose it again:

Cranberry Fluff
1 1/2 c. sugar
12 oz. cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1 can pineapple (crushed OR whole)
1 pkg. cool whip
1/2 pkg. mini marshmallows . . . . which I was informed is a TX Baz. addition :)

Place sugar and cranberries in blender, add small amounts of pineapple juice if the sug/cran doesn't blend. (Getting the frozen berries smooth took most of the pineapple juice. When using fresh cranberries, you drain the juice!) Pour mixture into bowl. Blend pineapple and add to sugar mixture. Add cool whip and marshmallows. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serves: LOTS!!

The evening was spent eating and catching up on life. Sunday, Michael, A. Sue and Rachie went to church. The boys got an early start of getting to the Indy 500. Michael met up with them just as the race was beginning. Unfortunately, the guys did not bring a camera. So, no group shots at the race. And I am still looking for my camera/pc connector, so no pics from me either.

The girls decided to try out 'lil Nashville after church. By the time we arrived  . . . it was definitely time for lunch! (The nice thing was we missed the lunch crowd.) We decided on a little place that served soups, salads and sandwiches. Their lemonade was absolutely amazing! Rach and A. Sue got salads, while I settled on hamburger with steak fries. Yummy! After finishing off lunch and getting lemonade to go . . . we looked at the map and decided to  walk each block and see the sights.

There were tons of ice cream shops and trinket and candle shops. We found so of the biggest bugs ever! Plus we found a character from UP. :) (Pictures will follow as soon as I find the connector!) The neatest place in town was the 1879 jail. It was a two story building that looked like it was made out of railrode ties. It was extremely cool inside! Seriously, the temperature was just about as cool as most of the a/c shops we went too. The main entry into the jail was extremely SHORT! Rach and I both had to duck for our picture. There were several cells downstairs and upstairs was a open room. One of the walls had several ball and chains attached to the it.


Before leaving we found one cute resale shop called Seven Sisters, tucked away in a corner. It was a good idea having a resale shop in Nashville, since there clothes were very nicely priced. All three of us looked through the wracks for "finds", but unfortunately the sizes just were not quite right.


Our favorite shops were ones that sold old antique signs with funny sayings. Here are a few the sayings, "If your smoking in here you had better be on fire"; Trespassers will be shot . . . Survivors will be shot again! and "I'm not short . . . I am fun sized!". After a hot afternoon, we needed some laughs.

Unfortunately, we ran out of time before we could get icecream. (We joined the guys for dinner at the friends they stayed with.) We did stop at one of the ice cream parlors, but the line was all the way around the corner! (Their icecream must have been REALLY good!) So, the plan is start with icecream the next time we go. :)

Visitors :)

It is the weekend of the Indy 500 and we are getting ready for the Matsonian's visit. It has been my job to clean out our storage room, which actually is an extra guest room. The task has been challenging, as the garage is already full of tools and extra carpet. So, I reorganized closets and made room for more boxes. Since we still have a limited amount of space in our home, I lined the big boxes along the storage room's wall.

When I started cleaning the storage room, there were boxes from the door to the far wall. Fortunately, I was able to condense boxes and get rid of stuff. I have a good size pile of empty boxes waiting to be burned.  (My afternoon project.) I am very pleased with the result, as there actually is space to walk through the room! The other good news is my sewing material and accessories are now readily accessible. :)

Now I have time for a quick nap before it is time to make supper. I was thinking of throwing together baked chicken, seasoned potatoes, mac & cheese and cranberry fluff. And if I have extra time, I'll make Mom's whole wheat bread. sigh Nothing beats walking into a house to the fragrance of fresh baked bread. :)

Ice Storm

 
Last night Michael and I were watching a movie in the den, when there was a loud cracking sound. It was a sound that last for several seconds.

If you were ever around when the dad's were logging, you'd know the exact sound. There would be a loud CRACK as the tree began to fall . . . followed by creaking and one of the men shouting, "T-I-M-B-E-R". For us kids waiting at the trucks, it was exciting. You'd scan the woods in the direction of the shout and try to see the tree fall to the ground. You had plenty of time to look because the tree falling started off slow motion. It would take out smaller trees before hitting the ground.

Ok, back to the ice storm. We bundled up and went outside to investigate. The biggest tree out back had lost a huge branch. (Fortunately, it missed the neighbors fence.) We should have plenty of firewood next winter. Now for a chainsaw to cut up the wood.

The ice storm left a solid inch of ice coating all outside surfaces. We had snow earlier in the week, which the ice covered, making our yard into one big ice skating rink. I tried skating in my slippers . . . it worked really well. The ice has added to our already full gutters. Hopefully they hold until the temperature warms up. 

I'm staying warm with a nice cup of spice tea and snuggling under the covers with Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin. :)

Sledding

Since today was our last day together, we decided to make the most of it and go sledding!! We bundled up, snow suits and boots.

First, Audrey and I cleared off the car. We delayed going to the park because one of us started a snow fight. After successfully beating Audrey, ahheem, I mean cleaning off the car . . . we took off for the park.

Our driver (back)

Walking to the hill

 The park was deserted when we arrived. YES! The whole sledding hill to ourselves. We trekked to the hill and began our afternoon of fun. (Last week I had been shopping with Christa and I found blue "Powder Stick". It looked like a new and improved sled, so I bought it.) We tried out the powder stick and discovered why it was called that. When sledding down the hill . . . both people on the sled were bombarded with snow dust in the face. When we called it a day, we were all tired and ready for a hot cup of spice tea.
PS We did take more pictures, but they were on Audrey's camera. And I forgot to download them before they left. sigh Guess that means they will have to visit again soon. :)

Beautiful snow picture 1!

Beautiful snow picture 2!

Before sledding down

After our snow shower

My wonderful sisters

The end of our sledding adventure :)

Ski Trip

Saturday, we all ventured out the Perfect North Slopes for some skiing.

On the way we had to make a little detour for some necessary purchases. (Thank goodness for Wally-World!) The snow does give off a glare which makes sunglasses and sunscreen quite important. Haylee and I settled on the BIG sunglasses . . . they covered half our face and were quite effective.

Water, Sunglasses, batteries and sunscreen = Important Gear

Fashionable Ski Attire

We spent an hour taking lessons, which was really smart because learning as you go can be rather painful. It was nice having an experienced instructor giving tips. We were then able to enjoy the rest of the time skiing the slopes.

Uhhhh, wipe out?

 Most Important Lessons

To Stop: Ski into the hill. Pointing toes together (without crossing your ski's) is also effective.

How to get up after falling:
Untangle self from fall. Lay side ways. Use poles to push yourself up. :)

If your poles are not nearby:
Good luck getting up!

Our walking boots

Michael, Audrey and I quickly learned that the ski boots are not good for walking. It was decided a locker is worth renting for the day for non-valuables items. Especially since wearing a backpack with water bottles gets heavy on the slopes AND throws you off balance.

Michael

The Girls!!

 We all enjoyed skiing and have no serious injuries to report among our group. Despite Haylee's attempt to cut in line by barreling down the slope straight into the cones! Thankfully none of the bystanders were hurt. And she only suffered minor bumps and bruises. All together a fun and safe weekend. :)

Taking on the slopes

sigh  . . . "It's harder than it looked!"

"Are you ok back there?"

Comedy relief . . . ask Michael

Surprise

It is funny how life can be full of surprises . . . . and is definitely the best way to start a new year.

After prayer meeting, I went to the kids room to let them know that they could join everyone else in the living room. I opened the door and poked my head in to say, "Hey guys, its over," only to see my sisters standing there! So, instead of announcing that the meeting was over, I said the first thing that popped into my head, "What are you guys doing here?!?!" And then I hugged them both to cover the tears that suddenly appeared in my eyes. sigh I have the BEST sisters. :)

New Recipe :)

The other day I was wanting to try something new in my kitchen. So I pulled out some recipes that Christa gave me. I settled on General Tzo's Chicken, a delicious Chinese recipe for supper. Since I had turkey on hand, I substituted chicken for turkey. The result . . . "It's a keeper." :)

General Tzo's Chicken

Cut up 8 chicken breast into cubes; mix in 3 eggs
Breading:
1 c. flour
1 c. cornstarch (I don't like cornstarch, so I added extra flour)
1 T. parsley
1 t. ginger
1 t. salt

Sauce:
4 c. BBQ sauce
2 c. corn syrup
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. ginger
1/2 t. cayenne pepper

Dip chicken into eggs, then breading. Fry in oil. (Olive oil works well.) Remove chicken. Add sauce to frying pan. Stir until boiling. Add chicken. Let set to glaze.
Serve with rice and enjoy! :)

Now I'm getting ready for a cookie bake on Wednesday. Unfortunately, I left the best recipes for Christmas cookies at home! I'm longing to make the delicious jam filled cookies. Mmmmhmmm, they are good!

Really Big Turkey

After watching the price per pound of turkeys, I decided to cash-in on some of the good deals. I got two BIG turkeys, one for 57 cents per pound and the other around 25 cents per pound. I had to go with the non-traditional method of cooking the turkey. I cooked it in a roaster pan on the stove top (we are still waiting on the appliance store to "fix" the oven). Anyways, after cooking a turkey, I decided that one is enough to last for a while. . . the other one will keep the freezer until Christmas.

Michael has been enjoying turkey sandwiches, while I have worked on freezing the cooked meat in ziplock bags. So far, I've put away 4 quarts with 4 cups per quart. We won't be needing meat for a while! The rest of the turkey I'm in the process of pressure canning. I was giving a wonderful pressure canner for our wedding and I thought I'd try it out. :) Thankfully it has a pressure-canning booklet with recipes, as my Blue Book is still packed away. Two quarts of turkey meat and hopefully three quarts of turkey broth will be done by the time Michael gets home from hunting tonight.

On a different note . . . the Bosch meat grinder works really good! After having some difficulty with the venison getting jammed in the grinder, we realized to just drop the pieces in and let the grinder pull it through. :) Now we are enjoying ground venison and put about 10 pounds in the freezer.

Thanksgiving Surprise

Wednesday evening we drove to the Matsonian's and surprised U. Matt at the door! He had just come up from the basement and there we were at the door. :) After getting over the initial shock of us standing there, he brought us down to the basement were the guys were chilling. Josiah, Benj and Peter were all shocked to see us walk down. It was priceless!

Rachel drove up a short time later and saw our car with the Texas license plate in the driveway . . . she guessed it was us. :)

Thursday was filled with finishing the Thanksgiving meal. Aunt Susie and Rachel made a delicious brunch, complete with bacon, eggs and money bread! It was the perfect way to start Thanksgiving. The kitchen was overtaken with food . . . turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potato pudding, gr. bean casserole, spinach souffle, stuffing, sweet potato casserole (with marshmellows), and tons of dessert!


The rest of the family made it in and the house was turned into a hearty celebration. The camera's were snapping all through out the meal. Now, no Thanksgiving is complete without a good game of hearts. The girls kept up the tradition while the guys crashed in front of a movie downstairs . . . we had more fun. :-)

Guys weekend

So, the guys (Caleb, Ben and Joel) stayed up late watching "Miracle" and some hunting video. I watched most of Miracle and then called it a night when they put in the hunting video. :-)
The next morning they were stirring before 6 AM. I decided to pullout the camera and get some "before" shots.
Joel got to enjoy sleeping in until I got up to make brunch. Michael requested Venison Taco Soup for the guys. :) Around 10 am Michael called with news that Caleb had shot a BIG buck! Joel and I wrapped up the kitchen stuff and headed to the field. It was a BIG buck . . . . 13 point! Very nice job Caleb!

(Pictures will be posted once I get more batteries for my camera. . . it died in the middle of uploading them.)

Friday

 It is FRIDAY! Not that it is to much different from the rest of the week . . . it just means the guys are coming over tonight so they can go hunting early in the morning. I'm still debating whether or not to get up and make a big breakfast . . . it means I'd be up before 6 AM on a Saturday! :) Still it is always nice to hear those nice compliments like, "MMMMmmm, this is good!" :)

Below are pictures from the guy's FIRST deer ever. Ben got his just this last week . . . it was a really nice shot! 

 

 Michael shot this doe last season.  Since then he has also shot a buck . . . but I don't have the pictures on this computer. They are out hoping for another successful evening of hunting tonight. :)

Settling into a new life

The weekend is approaching and it promises to be another busy one. Men's meeting for Michael, the youth meeting and guest speakers for the weekend. Grocery shopping still awaits, if only I could get my printer operating. It looks like I need to download "something" to help the printer run correctly.
Today has been a productive day. Internet was setup, kitchen is clean and I ordered my Bosch! Plus wonderful attachments like cookie paddles, meat grinder and a cookbook. Now to get a good oven so I can start making goodies for Thanksgiving.