I'll Be Back

Hello, everyone! It is been a loooooooooong time since I have posted anything. As most of you know, we have been having problems getting on the internet due to cable issues. It probably shouldn't have taken this long to fix the problem, but I had an issue with my husband drilling holes in the wal l of my bedroom to run the cable. I knew that if I did that, then the computer would continue to stay in my bedroom, taking up much needed space, and the office/sewing room/school room, would NEVER get cleaned up and organized again, and that really needs to get done!

Now that the weather has been warmer here, I have started to go through boxes to see what stays and what goes. I have found a couple of things I have been looking for, thank goodness. I didn't have the desire to do this during the winter, as there is NO HEAT in the office. I will post what I can on eBay and give the rest away. I LOVE yard sales and love having them because I really enjoy meeting all the different people. You get to meet neighbors you didn't even know you had. My only problem with them is that I just HATE the clean up afterwards!!!! : > (

Kiddo continues to amaze and annoy me in some way each and every day. I have to say I really HATE puberty! lolol He really is keeping me on my toes and I am thankful for that. Today we are hoping to go for a walk. As I was letting the dogs out this morning, I heard a woodpecker and I want to go try and find it so I can take some pictures of it. I have taken a lot of pictures in the past couple of weeks, hoping to be able to remember what it is we have done so I can post about it later.

Well, I am going to go for now. I need to go over to the Lounge and check on things there. I hope to be back blogging regularly soon. I really miss my friends here!

Love and blessings~

CRISCO.......Y U C K !!!

I was reading Jennifer's post over at jsgay97 and she mentioned CRISCO. Well did that bring back a memory I wanted to forget!!!

My mother, Nana, was good in the kitchen. She got her cooking abilities from my grandmother, Foxy. Well, one day, my mom was making an angel food cake. Now, what is the first thing you want to do when you are a kid and your mom is making a cake? Taste the batter? You bet!

Anyway, I tried to take a big spoonful of the batter like I normally did. Well, this time she tapped my hand and said very sternly, "NO, you may not eat this batter!" "Why not", I asked. And with a loving gaze, she looked down into my eyes and replied, "Because I said so!" "What kind of an answer is that,?" I thought? (I know now, that is a typical mom answer)

Okay, I don't know about you, but when someone tells me I can't do something, that makes me want to do it all the more. So, here we are in the kitchen, mixing bowl between us, both staring at each other like two cowboys with their guns cocked and ready at a show-down, waiting to see who will draw first, when all of a sudden........the phone rings.

"NOW IS MY CHANCE," I thought to myself. WAHOO....she's now in the other room. As you can imagine, I didn't waste any time. Before you could blink, I had the biggest scoop of batter I could get and shoved it right into my mouth. Uh, oh.... something doesn't taste right Y U C K....what is that? EEWWWW.....It's CRISCO!

I Just HAD To Laugh

~I am sorry that I have not been able to post for the past few days. We have had problems due to our internet cables and not because of our computer like we thought, but I think we have it all figured out and we should be good to go (hopefully) by Monday or Tuesday. In the mean time, I have to use DH's lap-top and get on when the service is working. So, please bear with me and I will post and visit my friends when possible~

And now......on to my post!

Kiddo recently celebrated his 14th birthday. My friend Biscuit and her daughters, Sunshine and Wild Flower, gave him a little hand-held game called 20 Questions and it is REALLY cool!!!! You think of an object, and it asks you 20 questions which you answer with, YES, NO, or SOMETIMES, and by the responses you give, it guesses what your object is. I have tried this about 10 times and it has only missed once, and that is because I answered one of the questions wrong. Next time, I will answer YES when it asks if my object (a match) burns!

Well, the other day, Kiddo picked it up for the first time and gave it a try. He stood there, answered all the questions, and then said............

"DARN!! I don't know how it knew my answer. I whispered really softly so it wouldn't hear what I was saying!"

My response was....what else....R O F L O L. What else could I do?

Wordless Wednesday......Well, Sorta!

This is my brother, Christian. He was checking out a rental car to go sight seeing while he was in Germany on a work trip.

Being 7 foot 1 inch, he needed a car with a LOT of head room.

R O F L O L!

Wonderful, Merciful Savior

~If you would like to view the clip I have posted, please scroll to the bottom and pause my playlist~

Dear Jesus,

I am sitting here writing this letter with a heart full of thanksgiving, and praise for you, and a desire to tell you and the rest of the world, just how much I LOVE YOU!!

I LOVE YOU because have been with me my entire life, through good times and bad.

I LOVE YOU because you have comforted me in times of great sorrow.

I LOVE YOU because you have encouraged me in times when I have been down and felt that things couldn't possibly get any worse.

I LOVE YOU because you have filled my heart with joy by blessing me with a wonderful family.

I LOVE YOU because you have made me smile by sending me CRAZY blogger friends.

I LOVE YOU because you have given me a Godly husband who loves you, and his family with all of himself.

I LOVE YOU because you have shown your trust in me by loaning us three beautiful angel babies.

I LOVE YOU because you loved me UNCONDITIONALLY even when I didn't love myself.

I LOVE YOU because you are a merciful and forgiving God and even though we may stray from our walk with you, you patiently wait for us to return to you. And when we do, you are there with your arms outstretched, waiting to embrace us and welcome us back.

I LOVE YOU because YOU LOVED US so much, that you willingly gave your precious life on the cross for us!

Thank you, JESUS, for all that you have done for me!!

Love,
Your daughter

WONDERFUL, MERCIFUL SAVIOUR

Wonderful, merciful Savior

Precious Redeemer and Friend

Who would have thought that a Lamb

Could rescue the souls of men

Oh, you rescue the souls of men



Counselor, Comforter, Keeper

Spirit we long to embrace

You offer hope when our have

Hopelessly lost the way

Oh, we've hopelessly lost the way



You are the One that we praise

You are the One we adore

You give the healing and grace

Our hearts always hunger for

Oh, our hearts always hunger for



Almighty, infinite Father

Faithfully loving Your own

Here in our weakness You find us

Falling before Your throne

Oh, we're falling before Your throne

To The Birthday Girl

~PLEASE SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM & PAUSE MY PLAYLIST BEFORE YOU VIEW THIS CLIP....THANKS~

Hey, everyone. Today is Tirzah's birthday, so PLEASE go on over and leave some birthday wishes for her. I know she would LOVE IT!!

To My Loving Husband

My Dearest Skippy Man,

I want to thank you for the past 2 years since you have come back to the Lord, your obvious change and desire to follow him has really blessed me beyond expectation or imagination and you taking over the reigns of spiritual leadership in our home is blessing me tremendously.

During our 21 years of marriage, there have been some challenges, some good, some bad, some devestating. Things haven’t excatly been easy for us. Frustrations have been the name of the game lately. We’ve made it through but not without some bruises and scars. We know that God can and does perform miracles. We have Kiddo as a constant reminder of that. (Thank you Jesus!) We know that with God, anything and everything is POSSIBLE!!!

You have a lot of great qualities which I admire. You are faithful, loyal, considerate, gentle, caring, devoted, understanding and gracious. I could go on forever.

I know I tell you every day that I love you, and sometimes it must seem like every five minutes, but every time I say it I mean the words with all of my heart.

I wanted you to know that not just on Valentine's day, but EVERYDAY for me, is full of thoughts of everything you’ve done for me and our family. I can never truly express how much it means to me that you’ve been taking care of us like you have. You work two, sometimes three jobs so I can be able to stay home and teach Kiddo. It has also given me the opportunity to spend time with the girls as they will be starting lives of their own soon. Being able to make some more beautiful memories with them is something I will cherish forever and which YOU have made possible. I just wish that you could be here with us. You will never know just how much that means to all of us.

As the years go by, I stop and think about all the memories we've made together. You are not only my husband, but my best friend and soul mate. You are a blessing from above - one that I will not take for granted. Not only are you a wonderful husband, you're a terrific father, provider and caregiver. You give so freely to all those you know in such a loving way. Your generosity is inspiring!

I love you, Sweetie ... more than words, more than life. I'm forever grateful for your love and proud to be your wife.

I LOVE YOU!!!!

V A L E N T I N E

For God so loVed the world,

That He gAve

His onLy

BegottEn

SoN

That whosoever

Believeth In Him

Should Not perish,

But have Everlasting life.

Route 11 Chips

WOW.....did we have fun today! My sister, Cathy and I took the kids on a field trip today to the

Route 11 Potato Chip factory in Middletown. This was a much needed outing for all!!!! Rt 11 is a very small mom and pop owned establishment. I wanted to take some pictures, but that would not allow it.

We were able to get a picture off their web-site. Turns out that the young men in the picture, were the same ones that were there today. They even gave us fresh, hot samples of Sour Cream and Chive chips.......DELICIOUS!!!

One thing that Kiddo had to do for our field trip, was to come up with five questions to ask while we were at Rt. 11. Here is what he wanted to know and the answers they gave us:

*How long has your company been in business?

Route 11 Potato Chips has been in business since 1992

*How many different kinds of potato chips does your company make?

Our company makes 14

different kinds of chips. We have 12 that are year round, and 2 that are seasonal.

*How many times a day/week do you make your chips?

We make our chips 5 days a week, 2 times per day.

*How many bags do you sell per year?

Well, that's a hard question. You have some really good questions. Why are you asking so many questions?

Because we are homeschoolers and we like to learn!!! We can turn any situation it into a learning experience! ! ! !

Well, we cook chips twice a day, making 135 batches each day which = 700 2 oz bags and 500 6 oz bags

*What is your most popular chip?

The regular lightly salted chip is our best seller. The sweet potato chip comes in second. (my favorite)

Kiddo figured out how many bags they sell approximately every year of each size bag and then a combined total. Here are his calculations:

5 days a week x 52 weeks = 260 x 135 = 35,775 batches each year.

700 - 2 oz bags x 260 days = 182,000 bags

500 - 6 oz bags x 260 days = 130,000 bags

for a total of...............312,000 bags of chips per year

Now that's a LOT of chips!!!

Blogger Friend School #13

Hello, everyone! I am so excited as I have been looking forward to my first assignment for Blogger Friend School. Nancy, over at nancysnook has graciously agreed to take over this wonderful job and we thank her for that!! THANK YOU!

My first assignment is to introduce you to my Bible and tell you a little bit about it.

This is my Bible.............................................

How old is your Bible? My Bible is 26 years old.

• Why did you chose this Bible? It was a gift.

Do you highlight/mark passages in your Bible? Yes, I do highlight/mark in my Bible.

If so, what is your system for marking passages? I really don't have a set system. I mark or highlight passages that I feel have touched my heart in some way.

Do you have notebooks to record things? No, I don't. Our pastor provides us with an outline of his sermon. I use that or paper I bring with me.

Where is your favourite spot to read your Bible? Outside on my swing when the weather permits.

Are there any special thoughts about your Bible you want to share? My Bible was a gift from my sisters, Barbara, Victoria, and Cathy when I was 17. It is all the more precious to me now because our sister Victoria passed away.

At that point in my life, I was going to become a Salvation Army officer but then realized that it was not God's calling for me, but everyone else's. I knew that there were other ways that I could serve our Heavenly Father.

I know that everything in our lives happens for a reason. Looking back now, I realize it was God's calling for me to become a wife to my DH and a mother to my three beautiful children. He know that later on I would need to stay home full-time with Kiddo. Had I been an officer at this point in my life, I would not have been able to homeschool. GOD IS GOOD...............ALL THE TIME!!!

Is Making Your Own Laundry Detergent Really Less Expensive?

The approximate cost of making 2 gallons of the liquid laundry detergent, using the Fels Naptha soap is .71 cents. With the 2 gallon recipe, you will have enough detergent to do approximately 64 loads of wash. That comes out to about .01 cent a load.

Here is the breakdown I found on the internet, but I can't remember where.....SORRY!!!! But please remember, they are using the prices they paid for these items and you may have paid a little more or a little less for your ingredients. Here in VA, I paid less for all three. I buy my soap when they have really good sales. However, this last batch I made, I used FREE (I love that word) soap I got from my close friend. Her husband travels a lot for work and he brings her back lots of hotel bar soap. Thank you, my close friend's husband!!!

Fels Naptha: $1.12 for a 5.5 oz bar. The recipes says use a 1/3 (approx. 1 cup) of a bar. They calculated 2 oz. just to make the math a little easier. The cost of the Fels Naptha per batch is: .40 cents.

Washing Soda: $2.23 for a 55 oz. box. This came to .17 cents per batch. They calculated how much per oz (2.23 divided by 55) and then weighed a half cup of washing soda (4.2oz.) and multiplied my per oz. price by 4.2

Borax: $3.27 for a 76 oz. box. This came to .14 cents per batch. Did the same calculations as above, however a 1/2 cup of borax weighs 3.5 oz.

For the final numbers they have .40 + .17 + .14 = .71 for 2 gallons of laundry detergent.

That means that 2 gallons = 64 - 1/2 cup portions. They then divided .71 cents by 64 which = .01109 which is approximately .01 cent per wash load.

Can you beat that? The answer is.......................NO, YOU CAN'T!!!!

Come On..............You Know You Want To Make Some Homemade Laundry Detergent

"GOD IS GOOD!!!"

I just had to say that!!

Before I get to the detergent recipe, I just wanted to wish my son, nintendomaster a......

"HAPPY 14th BIRTHDAY"

Please stop by and wish Kiddo a Happy Birthday. He would LOVE it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Have you ever had something on your mind and then out of nowhere, someone asks you about what it is you have been thinking about and there is NO WAY they could have known that? THAT IS SOOOO COOL! Well, Belinda over at luvs2bemom read my mind yesterday. I kept thinking all day that I needed to make more laundry detergent before I ran out, but something would come up and I would forget. Thank you, Belinda, for reminding me I need to make detergent!
When we decided to homeschool, I knew I had to find ways to help us live a more frugal lifestyle, now that we were going back to one income. Not only that, I just LOVE things that are home made, no matter what it is. (unless they are dust bunnies) My kids have always known that I have a very hard time spending money, but when I started making the detergent, they thought I had gone "CRAZY!" We have been making and using this recipe for over 7 months now and I have only made 3 batches. Each batch I make will fit in one of those Purex containers with the pour spout and cup.
So, here are the directions.......and with pictures too! I am a "visual" person and need to see how things are done. I have a hard time reading directions, so when we first made this, I had my husband read the directions and do it with me. For some reason, I can read the same directions, book passage, scripture verse, etc., and get something out of it completely different than you. So, the last time I made the detergent, I decided to take pictures in case someone wanted to make it.
So here you go, Belinda.........this is for you!
There are 2 ways to make this detergent, liquid and powder, but they both use the same 3 basic indredients. Also, if you can, whatever utensils you use to make the detergent, it is a good idea to label them and keep them separate so you won't cook with them. I can't remember if I got my untensils at the thrift store or at a yard sale. This detergent will not suds up very much, which also makes this great for front loading washers, but it is still cleaning your clothes. The first time I used it, I put in my detergent and the clothes, but I forgot to close the lid. When I went back and looked at the water it was dark. I thought something had run because of the BORAX of the Washing Soda. Looking more closely, I realized that nothing had run, it was the dirt from our clothes. Y U C K !!!! I know, I know.....stop talking and get on with the directions!

The 3 basic ingredients you need for your detergent are:
1 cup of Grated bar soap - (Fels Naptha, Ivory, Coast, Irish Spring, basically any kind you like...scented or not) you can add a little bit more soap if you want a stronger scent or you can add essential oils to scent it.

(Now you know what to do with all those bars of hotel soap )

1/2 cup BORAX - you can get this at Wal-Mart or almost any grocery store down the detergent aisle

I purchased mine at Wal-Mart for $2.97 for a 4 lb 12oz box.

1/2 cup Super Washing Soda (not to be confused with Baking Soda....they are NOT the same thing) You can find this at Martin's, Kroger's, and Farmer Food's here in VA. You would need to call your local grocery store to see if they carry it. I purchased mine at Martin's for $1.99 for a 3 lb 7oz box.
Other items you will need:
5 gallon bucket or container with a lid (if making the liquid or some other container for the powder
Grater ( or you can use a food processor, but you need to grate the soap for both kinds)
Cooking Spray or something else to "lightly" grease your grater for easy clean-up later (trust me on this one from personal experience!
Pot - big enough to hold 1/2 gallon (this is needed to dissolve the ingredients)
Measuring cup - 1/2 cup size
Mixing spoon with a long handle - to stir your mixture in the bucket

Ok, we are going to make the powder first.

The first thing you need to do is to "lightly" spray your grater with cooking spray to make cleaning the grater easy later on.

Now, grate your bar soap. Grate the whole bar even though you only need 1 cup, as you can save the remaining soap for another batch. Put soap into a bowl or container.

Measure out a 1/2 cup each of BORAX and Super Washing Soda. Put them in the bowl/container with the grated soap.

Stir or shake your 3 ingredients together.

Now if you have a food processor, some have even used a coffee grinder, you can grind it up to make a finer powder. I did that to mine. The picture above is with the soap just grated, the pictures below, is what it looked like before and after I used my Ultimate Chopper. I prefer to make a finer powder.

See the difference? It is just a matter of preference. Now all you need to do is store it in some kind of container.
How much powder do I use? I use 1 tablespoon for a normal load and 2 tablespoons for a large or extra dirty load.


Onward to the liquid~

Follow the same directions for grating and measuring the soap (you do not need to put this in the food processor because you are going to dissolve it in water), BORAX, and Washing Soda only this time keep them separated.

Take your pot and put about 2 quarts of water in and put it over a medium flame till heated.

(you don't have to be EXACT with this recipe. As my mom would say, "It's not rocket science, Laura!" ha ha (LOVE AND MISS YOU, MOM!)

While the weather was warm and we cooked outside, I would make my detergent on the grill using the left over coals. This way I was not wasting the charcoal or using the electricity.

Ok, now we are going to add our ingredients ONE AT A TIIME, stirring and dissolving each one before adding the next one. The mix will get thicker but to what degree all depends on the soap that you use.

1 cup grated soap,

1/2 cup BORAX,

and 1/2 cup Washing Soda

Are you still with me? It's pretty easy, huh? It's okay, we are almost finished!!!

Alright, after those three ingredients are dissolved, turn off the heat and remove pot from burner. Get your bucket/container and put again about 2 quarts of water in it.

I like to use warm water for this part, only because I am ALWAYS FREEZING and if I get my hands in it, it's WARM!

Next, pour your soap mixture into the bucket and stir.

Now add about a gallon of warm water and stir again.

Coming to the home stretch..........................Now all you have to do is put a cover on it and let it sit overnight, however, I have used it right after making it because I waited to long to make more and I really NEEDED to do laundry.

The next day when you remove the lid, there are a few different ways it may look. There is no WRONG way, as again, it all depends on the kind of soap you used. I don't have a picture because mine looked the same as before.

• It may look just like it did before you put the lid on
• It may look like nothing but a big blob of gel
• It may have the look and consistency of egg drop soup

In any case, all you need to do, if it has gelled, is to stir/shake before use.
How much liquid do I use? I use 1/2 cup per normal load and up to a cup for large and extra dirty loads.
Well, there you have it in a nut shell. Homemade laundry detergent. I hope you enjoy making this as much as I do.
Should you have ANY questions, please feel free to message me.

~COMING SOON TO A BLOG NEAR YOU.....................

HOMEMADE FABRIC SOFTENER~

Do I really need a DISCLAIMER? Should this say something different? "As with any recipe, please take caution using any/all appliances. Results may vary. I do not assume any responsibility for your results."