ok-well, I'm a day late, but thrifty Friday doesn't have the same ring to it, and I want to start making this kind of a regular section, so here is the first installment....
On the budget front I have been doing lots of things to cut back on costs around here since we (and apparently everyone) have a more limited budget than usual due to various factors; not the least of which is soaring gas pricing, that has been affecting the cost of everything, from leaving the house, to running your dish washer, to buying grapes. One way we have been saving is as we have been running out of things, I have been making my own cost effective replacements at a fraction of the price and with only a small bit of effort (which of course is free). I have found my "recipes" in various places, mostly the internet, and surprisingly, mostly at other cost conscious mama's blogs and things, with the occasional website thrown in for variety. Following are my latest efforts at product replacement and a review of their performance (aka value; let's face it, if the home made version sucks, not exactly a savings, but more a pain in the butt)
Before we go any further, let me post my resource, as you know I am not huge on this, but some blogs ask you to give them credit, so here you go. My new secret weapon on fighting prices is:
http://boogiemum.com/
so far this is where I have gotten the recipes I have actually tried (she gathered them and changed them a bit, mostly adding essential oils and things--to make them pretty and smell good like I like) and her blog is funny and she is green (cringe at the word) and hip and cool--hmmm, reminds me of someone I know. On with it:
test product 1) Automatic dish washing powder
Conclusion : this is a tough one. If you use Cascade as your normal detergent, you will not fall in love with this product. It will not eat the left over steak and dried mashed potatoes off of your week old plate. We however have been using an earth friendly product for a couple of years and this is fierce competition. I have found that with more natural products, more cleaning is required on your part in the first place. We have always (no matter what detergent) scrubbed our dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, (so we could use the short energy efficient cycle) so this product works great for us, and we love the custom smell, this batch is grapefruit-peppermint and makes the house smell lovely when I ever get around to washing the dishes. On a rare occasion a piece or two will have to get hand washed after it comes out or run through again, but like I said, this was normal for us with our previous purchased product as well. We love this and will be using it from now on. The savings are substantial, and our cost will drop when I start to order the citric acid from Amazon instead of getting it out of the bulk bin at Freddy's. The rest of the goodies you can get at the grocery store, shop around for the best prices, and get your baking soda in the biggest box you can find. Here's the info in case you'd like to make your own:
Dishwasher soap
In a quart jar with a plastic lid put
*1 cup borax
*1 cup baking soda
*1/4 cup salt
*1/4 cup citric acid
*30 drops of essential oil (your choice!)
mix well, cap it up. To use fill each dispenser, I use about 1 Tbsp in each.
*I also read that you can sub 2 sugar free lemonade Koolade packets for the citric acid, but haven't tried that yet. Apparently the citric acid acts as a water softener, so weather it works or not will depend on your water, if your water is especially hard, you can adjust the citric acid levels to work for you.
Test Product 2) fabric softener
Conclusion: we like this one too. I originally got a more simplified version from an e-newsletter that I subscribe to, www.hillbillyhousewife.com, can't remember if I've shared this before, but this is a great site and I have found lots of money saving food tips here. She says that you can just add 1/4 cup of vinegar to your rinse load or downy ball or whatever you usually use to dispense your fabric softener and you won't come out smelling like pickles (which was an actual concern of Alan's--he HATES vinegar) but instead, your laundry will be odor and static free. The option I tried was from the boogiemum blog though and it goes something like this:
you have to recognise when you are getting low on fabric softener and plan to save the bottle to reuse for your home made fabric softener or recycle some other bottle that has a nice sealing cap. Then gather your ingredients:
*1 cup of white vinegar
*1 cup of baking soda
* 2 cups of water
* 10 drops of essential oil
now here's the tricky part, you probably remember a volcano experiment from grade school that had these same ingredients--use this knowledge of chemical reactions to your benefit when whipping up your first batch of this new product. This will take a little practice, but it is suggested to add the liquids to the bottle first and then add the baking soda a little at a time so you can control the fizzing (hahahaaha-yeah right, just do it slow and OVER YOUR SINK!!!) Let the fizz settle a bit each time before adding more. Let this rest for a day or so, and then screw the cap on. Before using this each time, give the bottle a swirl to mix in the soda and add about 1/4 cup to your wash as you would any fabric softener. We love the smell of ours and it has been working pretty well. I think something from the chemical reaction removes all traces of it's vinegary past, and it has passed the sniff inspection around here. Please note, this is not actually downy and will not have the exact same results as a chemical laden product, that being said, we have been satisfied with the results. I have been told from various sources that fabric softener is bad for your machines and should be avoided at all costs, so this information also reaffirms my conclusion that this new product is the choice for us. **Side note, I have a friend that insists you can use a clean wad of tin-foil in your dryer as well in lieu of any softener, it will work for something like 25 loads. I don't think she's actually tried it, but it's one more option if you're looking for a list.
That is all for today, I have more, but I can't give it all up at once, I have to give you a reason to come back. (As if my charming wit were not enough) The sun is out and we are off to play in our new totally awesome sun hats (spf 50 and great prices) check them out: www.coolibar.com
Friday, June 27, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
I've started smoking
actually I just smell like smoke because we have spent every nice evening by our new fire pit-it is awesome! We talk and have s'mores and Alan plays his guitar, we have had friends over to enjoy it with us, it is our new favorite thing. The only down fall is as Layla says "after this we always smell so campy!" that about sums it up. For some reason, sleeping in your sleeping bag smelling like a camp fire is really great, but cuddling up in your own bed smelling like it, is well, not exactly as nice. It feels a little grimy. Um, I guess it doesn't help when the fire circle ends your day of running in the yard and digging in the mud and planting seeds and gathering fire wood, I'm pretty sure it's not just the smell, summer is just a little, well, dirty around here.
Alan finished building my raised garden beds today and we got them all planted but the 2 that are outside of my kitchen window. So far we have planted a cucumber patch, spaghetti squash, tomatoes, crook neck squash, lettuce patch (mesculin mix), an herb garden, purple bush beans, a climbing miniature kiwi vine, and a strawberry patch. We plan to plant flowers for the butterflies in one of the kitchen beds and also a children's garden of flowers to cut in the other. Then it's on to the front yard!! Woohoo, I'm tired just telling you about it. I bought a lily and a red hot poker today, and we got a weepy maple and bunch grass and some bush honeysuckle, and some perennial herbs to plant around my kitchen bay. A few more giant pots of herbs and we'll be done (planting). There are still river rocks, wood chips and landscape fabric in my not so distant future--these things aren't quite as exciting to think about, so I keep going back to the flowers.
We went to kindergarten pre-assessment this week. They make everything sound so overwhelming when you are signing up. I honestly didn't know what to expect and was a little nervous--Alan teased me and said that you would think it was my first day of school, I was walking around all nervous and troubled. As always, it was all for not: Layla blew the teacher away and had her laughing by the time they called me back to go over what Layla had done. I got accolades for spending so much time working with her (huh?) and she was so impressed by how mature Layla was (me too) and said that she is more than ready to start kindergarten in the fall.
This was a busy week (even though we hardly left the house!) I had a medium sized nervous break down when I found a bunch of reproductive carpenter ants (of course I know what they are--don't ask) which is one of the reasons we had the previous house treated and then removed, just kind of a big deal. The green bug killers are headed out next week to take care of it, let's hope they get it under control, our guarantee runs out soon, and it's kind of an expensive procedure--not as expensive as what we previously went through to remove them, but whatever. And, of course there was the summer solstice celebration. This year it included a lot of running around saying "happy solstice!!" no less than 200 times, and playing in the pool and sprinkler and having Popsicles and finishing off with a campfire and s'mores. Just about the best party ever in my book. I have to go lay down, I'm exhausted, and my back up heads back to work tomorrow-ciao!
Alan finished building my raised garden beds today and we got them all planted but the 2 that are outside of my kitchen window. So far we have planted a cucumber patch, spaghetti squash, tomatoes, crook neck squash, lettuce patch (mesculin mix), an herb garden, purple bush beans, a climbing miniature kiwi vine, and a strawberry patch. We plan to plant flowers for the butterflies in one of the kitchen beds and also a children's garden of flowers to cut in the other. Then it's on to the front yard!! Woohoo, I'm tired just telling you about it. I bought a lily and a red hot poker today, and we got a weepy maple and bunch grass and some bush honeysuckle, and some perennial herbs to plant around my kitchen bay. A few more giant pots of herbs and we'll be done (planting). There are still river rocks, wood chips and landscape fabric in my not so distant future--these things aren't quite as exciting to think about, so I keep going back to the flowers.
We went to kindergarten pre-assessment this week. They make everything sound so overwhelming when you are signing up. I honestly didn't know what to expect and was a little nervous--Alan teased me and said that you would think it was my first day of school, I was walking around all nervous and troubled. As always, it was all for not: Layla blew the teacher away and had her laughing by the time they called me back to go over what Layla had done. I got accolades for spending so much time working with her (huh?) and she was so impressed by how mature Layla was (me too) and said that she is more than ready to start kindergarten in the fall.
This was a busy week (even though we hardly left the house!) I had a medium sized nervous break down when I found a bunch of reproductive carpenter ants (of course I know what they are--don't ask) which is one of the reasons we had the previous house treated and then removed, just kind of a big deal. The green bug killers are headed out next week to take care of it, let's hope they get it under control, our guarantee runs out soon, and it's kind of an expensive procedure--not as expensive as what we previously went through to remove them, but whatever. And, of course there was the summer solstice celebration. This year it included a lot of running around saying "happy solstice!!" no less than 200 times, and playing in the pool and sprinkler and having Popsicles and finishing off with a campfire and s'mores. Just about the best party ever in my book. I have to go lay down, I'm exhausted, and my back up heads back to work tomorrow-ciao!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
a slug in the hair
my job is weird. You wouldn't imagine some of the things I am called on to do on a daily basis that weren't exactly outlined in the job description when I signed on, nevertheless, there they are waiting for me to handle, each and every day. Some days it's not such a big deal, a few phone calls, stinky laundry, mountains of dishes, digging in the mud, you know just stuff. Yesterday I got something new. Layla came in from playing outside and she was freaking out. She had been outside playing alone, so I started to worry, it's funny how many random things can rocket through your mind in a split second. When I finally figured out the problem, it was hard to keep a straight face: somehow a slug had made it's way into her hair, and she had grabbed it and pulled it out, but now her head was covered with a giant booger. EW! We tried to wash her hands, it didn't work, we tried to wash her hair, it didn't work, apparently, slugs throw off this gross snot to deter predators, and it is permanent, to shame you for screwing with the slug. Poor baby. I ended up picking the slug jello out of her hair with my fingers and a towel bit, by slimy bit, until we could comb it through, and got it all out-mostly. We washed her hands no less than a dozen times and that stuff wouldn't budge. We finally used some minty foot scrub to polish it off and then had to rub it off with my fingers and a towel. This process took an hour and the whole time she was trying not to cry and I was trying not to laugh--it was a slippery slope. Later I dug a dry river through my front yard, kissed a new road rash, called the doctor for advice on a puncture by sea shell wound, and found the best deal for my grocery buck at 10 pm, after which I came home and formulated my own dish washer soap and fabric softener. All in a days work...
Monday, June 16, 2008
2 blogs are better than 1
ok, maybe not actually. I thought I blogged here about my upcoming Olympia trip, but apparently it was on my other (private) blog, which you are probably not able to read--oops. Well then, let me catch you up to speed. On Friday Alan came home at noon and my good friend Sarah and I caught the train to Olympia to spend the night with Aunt Wendy (not my aunt, but somebodies, and that's what she answers to, so that's what we call her) We snuck some cheap beers on the train and were having a great time heading out on our mini vacation. I have had a few mini vacations lately, and they might be one of my favorite things. For a trip to count you can not bring more than a back pack, and it has to be less than 48 hours, oh and you have to leave your home county--otherwise I don't know what it's called, but it doesn't quite count for mini vacation status. We were girls on a mission-there is a big market on the day after graduation and it is called Super Saturday. I hate to condense it, but the weather was great, the fair was awesome, we got some cool stuff and came home. I do want to mention that I saw a 300 pound man wearing nothing but a longish tutu made of purple tulle and dancing while waving 6 foot tall white feather angel wings (possibly the highlight of the trip). The point was to make it home in time for fathers day--and we did.
I got to spend fathers day with a few of my very favorite fathers. There are a few men I know that are great husbands, amazing dads, and well, basically just a little better than most every body else. Alan of course is at the top of the list, but my good friend Tyler is also high at the top, we got to have a barbecue with both of them and Tyler's dad, and it was a really great day. We ended with a fire in our new fire pit. Alan got a "SuperDad" shirt and a weed whacker--what more could a man want? We have been having fantastic weather lately and got some of our garden planted (about a month later than usual-yikes). It has been great, but is supposed to turn again soon, hopefully we can finish up before the rains come, and they can water our new plants for us.
you're all caught up now; we'll do something entertaining soon so I can tell you all about it, until then........
I got to spend fathers day with a few of my very favorite fathers. There are a few men I know that are great husbands, amazing dads, and well, basically just a little better than most every body else. Alan of course is at the top of the list, but my good friend Tyler is also high at the top, we got to have a barbecue with both of them and Tyler's dad, and it was a really great day. We ended with a fire in our new fire pit. Alan got a "SuperDad" shirt and a weed whacker--what more could a man want? We have been having fantastic weather lately and got some of our garden planted (about a month later than usual-yikes). It has been great, but is supposed to turn again soon, hopefully we can finish up before the rains come, and they can water our new plants for us.
you're all caught up now; we'll do something entertaining soon so I can tell you all about it, until then........
Sunday, June 8, 2008
drugs are bad
well, most of them probably are-but this week I, for one, am a huge fan of antibiotics!! WOOHOO! I am feeling much better (and it happened about 12 seconds after I started taking them--a little freaky really). In general, I am not a big backer of antibiotics, I think they are over prescribed and mis-used. I woke up sick on Tuesday, and woke up SICK on Wednesday and called the doc. She said it was probably viral (which doesn't respond to antibiotics) so we should wait until Friday to see if I got better on my own. Good plan I thought, until I was sick for 3 more long days, and cranky and crying and started neglecting my own personal hygiene. (I still had to hop off the couch to attend to various wipings and clean ups etc.., just none of my own) BOO! Finally on Friday I go the go ahead for the drugs and voila! I'm a new woman-just like that. Yay! Today I am all in favor of them, well, for the next 10 days, and then, I will resort to my presick mind set of overuse--but today, look out--I'm back.
In an entirely different direction, today we tried something wonderful! It is called maple butter. As you probably know we are a family with diabetes (only one of us gets injections, but it affects us all). For the past few years we have been using sugar free syrup for our pancakes and things, it is good because it mostly tastes like maple syrup and is low carb, so it seemed like a good choice for us. (it is bad because it has 89 ingredients and I can only pronounce 3 of them) As you also probably know I am a tad bit freakish about what we put into our bodies, so this chemical syrup was bugging me to no end. My dilemma is that I want Layla to feel like a normal kid, but at the same time she isn't. (honestly we always knew my kids wouldn't be completely normal by outsiders standards anyway) I have been looking and looking, and almost switched to pure maple syrup, it only has one ingredient, it's all natural--never mind it has more sugar than a snickers bar-hey, breakfast is where you get all of your energy for the day. (right?) This month I searched "maple syrup" on my co-op website so I could get me some, and there were a few variations--could this be? One of my choices was maple butter, it's only ingredient is pure organic maple syrup, and it is thick like whipped frosting. It isn't quite as sweet as syrup and only has 16 carbs per tablespoon. In case you don't know, maple syrup has about 60 or so per serving-whoa! Hmmmm...frosting for breakfast? How fast can this get to me?! We had it this morning on crepe-cakes with fresh strawberries and I wanted to kiss myself, I wanted to start a B&B, I wanted thirds. This stuff is good. Yay me, I get my good mom star for the day. I didn't have seconds even though I get a diet break on the weekends, I am a pillar of strength (a roundish pillar, but whatever). Tomorrow is my one week weigh in, and I have done great this week (possibly from not enough energy to get to the kitchen mixed with the very strict rule of no eating on the new couch, which I NEVER left).
I have heard the creeping crud is making the rounds right now, hope you are all feeling spry and fresh as a daisy. I am off to shower and brush my teeth (and then go dig in the mud that will one day be my yard)--see ya!
In an entirely different direction, today we tried something wonderful! It is called maple butter. As you probably know we are a family with diabetes (only one of us gets injections, but it affects us all). For the past few years we have been using sugar free syrup for our pancakes and things, it is good because it mostly tastes like maple syrup and is low carb, so it seemed like a good choice for us. (it is bad because it has 89 ingredients and I can only pronounce 3 of them) As you also probably know I am a tad bit freakish about what we put into our bodies, so this chemical syrup was bugging me to no end. My dilemma is that I want Layla to feel like a normal kid, but at the same time she isn't. (honestly we always knew my kids wouldn't be completely normal by outsiders standards anyway) I have been looking and looking, and almost switched to pure maple syrup, it only has one ingredient, it's all natural--never mind it has more sugar than a snickers bar-hey, breakfast is where you get all of your energy for the day. (right?) This month I searched "maple syrup" on my co-op website so I could get me some, and there were a few variations--could this be? One of my choices was maple butter, it's only ingredient is pure organic maple syrup, and it is thick like whipped frosting. It isn't quite as sweet as syrup and only has 16 carbs per tablespoon. In case you don't know, maple syrup has about 60 or so per serving-whoa! Hmmmm...frosting for breakfast? How fast can this get to me?! We had it this morning on crepe-cakes with fresh strawberries and I wanted to kiss myself, I wanted to start a B&B, I wanted thirds. This stuff is good. Yay me, I get my good mom star for the day. I didn't have seconds even though I get a diet break on the weekends, I am a pillar of strength (a roundish pillar, but whatever). Tomorrow is my one week weigh in, and I have done great this week (possibly from not enough energy to get to the kitchen mixed with the very strict rule of no eating on the new couch, which I NEVER left).
I have heard the creeping crud is making the rounds right now, hope you are all feeling spry and fresh as a daisy. I am off to shower and brush my teeth (and then go dig in the mud that will one day be my yard)--see ya!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
sicko
I am sick, sick, sick! My symptoms are: complete lack of any energy, and my glands are swollen, making me look like I am sprouting twin goiters or perhaps am a member of some intergalactic Galaxy as seen on Star Trek. The gland issue is extremely painful and makes it hard for me to even turn my head, and forget about swallowing- it brings tears to my eyes. If my mom or grandma were closer, I would be on the phone campaigning for them to get over here asap and take care of me, but, of course, they live in a land far, far away, and I am on my own. Well, I wish. I am actually here with the girls, and they have been making a game of trying to get me to completely lose it, and shout at top volume, making a vein poke out on my forehead, and the goiters stick straight out at attention--apparently it is funny enough for them to risk the rant, so it must be pretty good. I have debated trying it in front of the mirror, so I can at least get a laugh too, but it hurts too bad, and I just can't seem to work up the anger looking at my (poor) self in the mirror, it just makes me feel sick and sad.
The silver lining is that I started my diet on Monday, and nothing kick starts a good reduced calorie intake than a kick ass viral infection-yehaw!! I'm pretty sure I'm on track to drop about 5 l-b's by the end of the week. Granted, if I could move off of the couch, the loss would be even more significant, but hey, I take whatever I can get at this point. Well friends, the room is starting to spin, I must crawl back to the couch for now, just wanted to check in, and remind you that we can't kiss this week (unless you're trying to kick start your diet too....)
see you on the flip side, when the sun is shining, and I get the energy to brush my teeth again (hoping like heck it is soon)
P.S. if you bring get well gifts of sparkly things or dinner, leave them on the picnic table on the porch, and I will send my minions out to collect them.
The silver lining is that I started my diet on Monday, and nothing kick starts a good reduced calorie intake than a kick ass viral infection-yehaw!! I'm pretty sure I'm on track to drop about 5 l-b's by the end of the week. Granted, if I could move off of the couch, the loss would be even more significant, but hey, I take whatever I can get at this point. Well friends, the room is starting to spin, I must crawl back to the couch for now, just wanted to check in, and remind you that we can't kiss this week (unless you're trying to kick start your diet too....)
see you on the flip side, when the sun is shining, and I get the energy to brush my teeth again (hoping like heck it is soon)
P.S. if you bring get well gifts of sparkly things or dinner, leave them on the picnic table on the porch, and I will send my minions out to collect them.
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