You Have to Check Out What I Got In the Mail!

Y'all, I was so excited when this package came in the mail yesterday.  Like, really, really excited.  Because this is what was inside.

Of course I was excited because it was a bona fide Kindle, but I was also over the moon because I bought it brand new for exactly $.06.  Yes, you read that right - six whopping cents!  And, I could've gotten it for free if I had been slightly more patient.  You wanna know how?  Ok, you can quit twisting my arm now.  I couldn't wait to spill the beans anyway. :0)

You're probably familiar with Swagbucks by now, but just in case you live on Jupiter or something - Swagbucks is a site that you can set as your homepage or download to your toolbar and you use it as a search engine just like you would Google or whatever your search engine of choice would be.  The difference is that Swagbucks rewards you for searching with them - in - wait for it...Swagbucks (SB).  You didn't see that coming did you?  You can also earn SB by taking a 10 second daily poll, watching short videos, taking advantage of special offers and a host of other options.  I mostly just use it as a search engine and take the daily polls and still earn enough SB to buy great stuff.  You can redeem your SB for a gazillion different doodads or gift cards.  I always redeem them for Amazon.com gift cards because I figure a gal can buy anything her little heart could desire on there.  Which leads me to my next tid bit for you...

Did you know that Amazon.com has a buy back program?  So does Swagbucks for that matter, but we're talking about Amazon.com now. They will buy back books, DVD's, and games and gaming consoles.  Seeing as how we're a homeschooling family, we have books coming out of our ears at the moment.  So, I did a check of all the ones we're ready to part with to see which titles were part of Amazon.com's buy back program.  It was really simple.  They have a detailed explanation on their site.  Anyway, I added the books I would be returning to my "cart" and when I was finished I simply had to print off the shipping label they provide (and pay for), box up the books, apply the shipping label, drop it off at a UPS drop center and wait for my credit.  I was surprised at how quickly they received my shipment and credited my Amazon.com account.  When I saw how easy that was I started pilfering through all those old DVD's that never get watched and sent them in, too.

Between my credit for Amazon's buy back program and the gift cards I was able to redeem through Swagbucks, I came up exactly $.06 short of being able to purchase my new Kindle.  I have more SB to redeem, but have to wait until August to do that, as you're only allowed to redeem 5 prizes per month through Swagbucks.  I figured $.06 wasn't worth waiting an entire month for just to be able to say that I got it for free.

So, if you're doing some summer clutter removing and have books, movies, and gaming consoles or games that are just sitting around collecting dust - you should really look into Amazon.com's buy back program.  It's way easier than having a yard sale. :0)

If you're not already using Swagbucks as your search engine, I would highly recommend it.  If you're searching anyway, why not get rewarded for it?  If you decide to look into it, I would be very grateful if you link through the Swagbucks banner on my left-hand column over there.  I'll get rewarded if you link up through my site.  And then, if you get people using Swagbucks, you'll be rewarded, too.  It's a win-win situation.

Pam

Tattler Reusable Canning Lid Review

I mentioned yesterday that I did my first round of canning for the season recently.  This canning session was a little different than most for me, though.  I had ordered some Tattler reusable canning lids.  The reusable canning lids are BPA free and consist of a flat white lid with a rubber ring that goes between it and the jar.  They have received great reviews and are supposed to be something that I can use for decades.  Y'all, buying lids every year can really crank the cost of canning up.  These are kind of pricey up front, but will be much more economical over time.

I had been anxiously awaiting my first go 'round with them.  I only ordered 3 dozen to begin with because I was unsure of how they would work for me.  I was a little uncertain about them having 2 pieces and not making the "pop" that assures me that they sealed properly.

I plunged head-first into canning my first seven quarts of green beans with the Tattler lids, following the the directions exactly.  Which, incidentally isn't any harder than using regular flats - unless you count the fact that the rings need to be tightened completely when they're pulled from the water after processing.  Big whoop.  I waited until the following morning to check and see if all of them sealed properly just to be on the safe side.

Happily, every single jar sealed like it was supposed to.  That was enough for me to be a convert.  I must say that I was really impressed with these and will be adding to my supply soon.  These truly were easy to use and I would highly recommend them.

I Wash My Own Mouth Out With Soap - And I Like It!

This is a post I've had on the back burner for a while.  I wanted to have some time to use the product and get an opinion of it before I wrote about it.  You're probably wondering what it is, so I won't hold you in suspense any longer.  I've been using tooth soap.  Yes, soap on my teeth.  Actually, my whole family has been.

I decided to take the next step in kicking more chemicals to the curb a couple of months back.  When it was time to buy more tooth paste, I opted for a natural tooth paste from Trader Joe's.  I didn't actually read the ingredients until I got home.  Dork!  It had flouride in it - something I was wanting to eliminate.

Right at that same time I began to read about tooth soap over at Health, Home, & Happiness.  This is one of Cara's posts about it.  But, if you have some time to browse around there, she has some really interesting posts on holistic dentistry.  Anyway, the timing just seemed right.  What was the point of buying "natural" toothpaste if it still had poisons in it?  So, I ordered a 4 pack of tooth soap from the etsy.com shop, Beautiful Soaps.

I like the fact that this particular brand of tooth soap comes in a chap stick type container.  It just seemed more sanitary to me than the ones that are a regular bar meant to be kept out.  Plus, I thought this style would travel easily.

My whole family loves this stuff!  I don't think my teeth have ever felt cleaner than while using tooth soap.  It doesn't give you that artificial minty feeling in your mouth after brushing - it just leaves your teeth feeling really clean.  Another thing I've noticed (Chris, too) is that in the mornings my teeth don't have that fuzzy feel that they did with regular tooth paste. 

We were close to the end of our first order of tooth soap when we went to Michigan last weekend.  I placed another order before we left, but took the tube of "natural" toothpaste with us on our trip.  I couldn't believe the difference.  By mid-afternoon my teeth felt absolutely skanky.  We're talkin' plumb carny, here (pronounced, kyarn - ee, emphasis on the first syllable.  That means absolutely, beyond nasty in my yanka-billy vernacular).  It was really gross.  I was really glad to see that manilla envelope in the mail containing...my precious shortly after our return home.

There are many health benefits to using tooth soap, including the fact that flouride is considered harmful and banned in Europe along with most other countries for reasons I'll let you research yourself.  I know, how kind of me, huh?  I've also read that flouride is a component in rat poison.  And, when we don't interfere with the process by coating our teeth with glycerine and other things - something in our saliva causes our teeth to naturally remineralize.  I don't have all of the specifics down, yet.  I plan on researching this area more fully.  But, in the mean time, I can't imagine ever going back to any sort of tooth paste if for no other reason than I know that there is nothing harmful in tooth soap and my teeth have never felt cleaner.  Ever.  I'm so not kidding here.

I hope that you take a little time to look into the benefits of using tooth soap over tooth paste.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I need to go brush. :0)

Have a gerat Monday!
Pam

Finally...Winter Jam '10

As you may or may not have caught in my "To Do" list for Spring Break last week - we went to Winter Jam '10 this past Thursday.  The original plan was to meet up with the gang at 4:00 pm and head up to Fort Wayne.  But, when Chris' boss found out where we were going, he wanted Chris to drop off some equipment at another shop up there.  That meant we needed to leave earlier (without the rest of the gang) so we could find the place before they closed.  Naturally, when you change your plans and try to hurry, it throws some sort of wrench into the mix...

Like thinking that since your son was already in the car and your husband was on his way to the car, that you were cool to lock the door and shut it.  Except, your husband forgot to grab his keys and you purposely didn't bring yours.  So, you weren't going ANYWHERE - unless your husband did this...

 
Chris had to climb through the bathroom window to get his keys before we could actually GO to the concert.  We like to keep the excitement alive.

We got the the equipment dropped off in Ft. Wayne for Chris' boss and headed over to the colliseum to get in line. 

It was actually a good thing that we went early because this is what it looked like about an hour and forty-five minutes before the doors opened.

We were able to get the most awesome seats I've ever had at a concert - and save enough for the rest of the gang when they got there.

We were right by the sound pit where all of the artist came out and waited before they went up on stage.

Those are the stairs that they actually used.  It was fascinating to get to see all of the behind the scenes stuff that went on.

The crew setting up before the concert.

Most of the groups only did two or three songs.  Except, Newsong.  They hosted the concert and did a pretty big set.

They went all out with confetti and giant balloons.  It was pretty cool.  But, some of my favorite moments were when the bands would just sing with acoustic guitars.  And this...

Let me just say here - I am not one to be star-struck.  People are people, right?  They put their pant on just like we all do.  They just happen to make their living in the public eye.  I've been to lots of concerts.  I got to meet lots of artists when I sang in the choir of the Handel's Young Messiah Tour years ago.  Heck, I even (accidentally) touched Michael English's butt.  But none of that affected me like seeing Mac Powell walk out into the pit to get ready to go onstage.

I suddenly became a thirteen year old girl.  I leaned over and told Chris, "I'm actually excited!!".  I was giggling and waving and trying to take pictures.  It was ridiculous.  I didn't feel too bad, though, because I think my husband turned into a thirteen year old girl, too!

You see, Third Day has been our favorite band since...forever!  Or, at least since the 90's when they actually started producing records.  Or CD's.  Or eight-tracks.  Or whatever the heck it is they actually call them now.  Anyway...we've been fans since their beginnings. :0)

Mac, right underneath our feet with his hairy Jesus lookin' self.

Guess who?  He was so close we could have plucked one of his hairs out.  But, some party pooper would have called security and had us escorted out of the building into another nice, sturdy building with bars and we actually wanted to see Third Day perform.  It was basically the whole reason we came to the concert, after all.  Plus, we had spent Chris' retirement and Isaac's college fund on 2 drinks a piece and a Dippin Dots for the boy - so we wouldn't have been able to afford bail.  We couldn't expect our friends to bail us out, either,  because they have more kids than we do.  I'm pretty sure they left the building missing an appendage or two.

So, we got to hear Third Day end the show with a 45 minute set.  Mac heard how awesome I am when he was in the pit right below our feet and had me come up on stage with him to help him sing "God of Wonders"...Yeah right.  It would have made the show better, I think, though.  No?  Whatever, Loser. 

Then...we were hungry from all that screaming and jumping and acting like thirteen year old girls.  So, we drove through McDonalds at 10:58 pm and this is exactly how the conversation went.  I'm not exaggerating here.  At all.

"Hi.  Welcome to McDonald's.  May I take your order, please?"

"Hi.  Yeah.  We'd like.....and ..... and ....with a ..... to drink with that."

"OK.  So, I have your order as ....."  Then silence before she finished repeating our order back to us.  And then, more silence.  Followed by...

"I'm sorry.  We're closed."

HELLLLLOOOOOO!  YOU JUST TOOK OUR ORDER!!!    I swear, I thought I was back in Florida for a minute.  Except, we could actually understand what she said.

So, we left without causing a scene because, remember we had no bail money left, and went and found a McDonald's that actually stayed open later than 10:58 pm on a Thursday night. 

After the adrenaline wore off we struggled to stay awake on the long ride home.  But, we arrived safely with gratitude in our hearts that we had had a wonderful evening, all in all, and didn't have to climb through the bathroom window to get in the house.  And we all lived happily ever after.  The end.  Well, the end of this story anyway. :0)

Trader Joe's Rocks!

I went to a really cool store the other day. Have you ever heard of Trader Joe's? It's sort of like a Whole Foods Market - but, waaaaaayyyyyyy cheaper!

I have been out of Castile Soap for a while. The last time I bought it I was able to get it at Meijer. They don't seem to have it anymore. Neither does anyone else in these here parts. I read somewhere that Trader Joe's carried it - and at very reasonable prices. We have one on the north side of Indy. Not a trip I'd like to make every week - but close enough for a once a month trek if needed.

I was SUPER impressed. They have tons of natural and organic foods for not much more than the prices I pay for the antibiotic riddled, pesticide ridden junk I buy at the regular stores. For instance they had antibiotic free whole chickens for $1.29 lb. I pay $.88 ON SALE for the regular kind. So, that's probably about the same as the non-sale price for Purdue chickens. They also had free-range, hormone free, antibiotic free whole chickens for $2.39 lb. I was checking out prices online at Costco a few days ago. They were glad to sell me 2 of the latter chickens for forty bucks. FORTY BUCKS!!! You have GOT to be kidding me! I'd have to sell my son, my right leg and my left kidney to shop there for very long with those prices! Puh-lease!

Check out the size of the Trader Joe's EVOO. I paid $5.99 for over a quart of it. That little 8.5 oz bottle was $2.00. The Trader Joe's olive oil is 4 times larger than the cheap little bottle I bought at Dollar General Market, yet, it's not 4 times as expensive. I'm anxious to see if the quality is better, too. It was recommended as a customer favorite.

Here's the Castile Soap with the huge bottle of EVOO. I'm not sure of the ounces at the moment and I'm too lazy busy to go downstairs and look. But, it's huge. I paid $7.99 for this bottle and it will last me until my 14th grandchild is born. The last bottle I bought was the same brand but about 1/2 the size. I paid at least ten bucks for it. So, needless to say, I was pretty pleased.

So, if you're looking for a good, wholesome place to shop - check out Trader Joe's website and see if there's a store near you. I'll definitely be a return customer.

Pam

P.S. Check out Adventures in Homemaking to find out a cheap, easy way to stay healthy this winter.

A New (To Me) Twist On An Old Favorite

My husband could eat the same thing every day for the rest of his life - as long as it's something that he likes. Not so with me. Or the boy. Especially the boy. He can be loving something for months, then one day he's like, "Oooh. I hate that. That's gross." It doesn't matter if he loved it yesterday. When he's done, he's done. This makes keeping appealing snacks on hand quite a challenge. Trying to find healthy snacks is even more of a challenge.

Today, while checking out the Pretty Organized Palace blog, Pretty dealt with pinching pennies in the kitchen. Her snack ideas caught my attention. Basically, everyone in the US loves popcorn, right? I always have popcorn in the cabinet. I just have one issue with the stuff. The boy of the home is bored with it right now. Don't ask me how this child derived from my gene pool can be bored with the buttery, salty, corny goodness in a bowl - but he is. So, there must be another alternative.

I remember sometimes as a kid, Mom would buy that oh, so yummy powdered cheese shake stuff to go on popcorn. But, Dear Jesus! Have you looked at the price of that stuff lately? I'm much to cheap frugal for that. Then I remember the gourmet popcorn shop that me and my best girlfriend, Samantha, used to ride our bikes to downtown. You walked into this shop that was floor to ceiling bins of every color and every flavor of popcorn imaginable. It was near heaven on earth to a child. You could almost hear the angels singing the Hallelujah Chorus. Could life BE any better? But, I have no idea how to create blueberry popcorn. Or bubble gum popcorn. Or even caramel popcorn, for that matter. If someone knows how to do this, please, for the sake of all that is good and holy, leave me the directions in the comment section, or send me an e-mail. I won't be picky! But, I WILL love you forever! Anyway...

Pretty mentioned several options for popcorn toppings in her post today. Have you ever tried 1/2 butter mixed with 1/2 soy sauce? Me neither. But, I think we'll try it sometime. What about BBQ seasoning powder? Mrs. Dash? A ranch dressing packet? We tried that as a snack for today. The boy loves all things ranch dressing. Most kids do. As fortune would have it - I just happen to have 10,000 packets of the stuff in my cabinet at the moment. Normally, I buy the Hidden Valley type that costs $1.09 a whack. But, recently Aldi has been carrying their version for $.69 each. Needless to say, I stocked up.

So, I popped some corn, opened up a packet of my Aldi brand ranch dressing mix and sprinkled it on. I was pleased to hear, "Mmmm. Mmmm. Mmmm. This is good, Mom."

What to you top your popcorn with?

We're Baa-aaack!

I must say that we are home from the best vacation of my life. Ever. Seriously. It was that good. We rented a cabin for the week in Nashville, IN. It's in Brown County, which is a very hilly forest. Gorgeous! Our cabin sat right in the skirts of Yellowwood State Forest, and it couldn't have been more perfect. It was secluded - just what we were looking for. The front porch had a rocker and a swing. The back porch was screened in and had a hot tub. It was perfect for viewing all of the wildlife. Then it had a large deck on one side that sat right up on the pond.

We lazed around all morning, then we would take off and putt around all afternoon. Nashville is an artist colony with 200 unique shops. The locals are the most laid back people I think I've ever seen in my life. You would really have to try to be stressed out there. Not only is Nashville right there - but, Brown County State Park is a definite must visit. It is 15,000 acres of forest. I think we are the only people ever to visit it (twice) and not see any deer, though. Seriously. I can't figure out what was up with that. But, the vistas were phenomenal, anyway. Pictures don't even come close to doing it justice.

There was so much to see and do that I couldn't possibly put it in one post. So, I'll spend the next couple of days sharing some of the highlights.

See ya tomorrow!

Bar Keeper's Friend and Car Wax

So, what exactly do Bar Keeper's Friend and Car Wax have in common, you may be asking? I'm not sure that they do have anything in common, actually. But I used them both and wanted to tell you about them. :0) Hmmmm...where to start?

OK. You know that I am on a journey to greener cleaning and have pretty much rid our home of all chemicals. I feel that if there is a safer way to get something done, then that's how I want to do it. This journey started because of my son's health. We are reaping the rewards of these changes. However, I'm not completely opposed to doing something in a non-"green" way - but only as a last resort. This brings me to today's post.

It all started with this (once) gorgeous Paul Revere tea kettle that I bought at the thrift store for $1.00. I tried to not be in the picture, but, everywhere I went...there I was. After cleaning it up and getting all of the lime scale out of the inside with my trusty friend, vinegar, it has served me well. Until I did something stupid, that is. I leave it sitting on the back of the stove because I really don't have anywhere else to put it. One day while meaning to turn the front burner on, I turned the back burner on instead. I dry boiled that tea kettle and it ended up looking like this. I googled to see what would clean it up (after trying everything else I could think of) and basically found that if anything would do the trick it would be Bar Keeper's Friend. That didn't work. Evidently, water in a tea kettle takes the blah, blah, blah from the heat and spares the metal. Since there was no water in the kettle the heat ruined it. Bummer. I really liked that tea kettle. It still works, but it's not pretty anymore. :0(

I still had a whoppin', huge container of Bar Keeper's Friend, though. It isn't totally green but it doesn't have phosphates in it, at least. I tried on my sink. It's porcelain and gets all these really ugly scratches in it.

Oooooh...pretty!

I read the back of the container. It can be used on tons of materials, even plastic.

We have a 2000 Ford Taurus that MW drives. The headlights started getting a thick haze on them. We have tried tons of junk to get this off. Nothing worked. It's so bad that he has to constantly drive with his brights on just to see at night. No one flashes their lights at him to let him know he's hurting their eyes, either. It's awful. We thought we were going to have to replace them. This happened to my MIL's lights a few years ago and it cost her a few hundred bucks to replace her headlights. She told us the other day that she had just seen a commercial for something that was supposed to take every last bit of that nasty old film off of headlights. But...when I saw that Bar Keeper's Friend could be used on plastic, I figured "Why not?" They're already ruined. I told MW what I was planning and he immediately went out to the car with Bar Keeper's Friend, a sponge and a bucket of water. He came in a few minutes later and said, "Come look." It took every last speck of film off those headlights. We can now even see the paint that's peeling off of the light bulbs. I bet that stuff my MIL saw on TV cost more than $1.79. A lot more. MW took the car for a spin last night after dark to check them out. They now work beautifully! He can actually see when he drives it! Whoo Hoo!

Lastly is my kitchen faucet. We have really hard water. I am constantly fighting a battle to keep it free from mineral deposits which make it look like this.

And this.

I usually soak some paper towels in vinegar and wrap around the faucet to break down the minerals and clean it up. This works great but it takes a bit for the vinegar to break it down. Since I already had the Bar Keeper's Friend out I cleaned my faucet up with that. It did a good job, too. What I really want is a way to keep the mineral deposits off the faucet. Enter car wax.

I had read in one of Jerry Baker's books that if you polish your faucet with car wax it will create a barrier that protects it from hard water stains. MW gave me what he had in the garage. I applied it with a cloth and let it dry to a haze. This only took about a minute.

Then I buffed the wax off with the other end of the cloth.

Oooooh...shiny!

When I was done I sprayed a little water on it to check it out. It beaded up and dried right up, which is a good sign. I'll have to give this one a little time to see how well it does in the long run. I suspect that it's like a car where you have to reapply the wax every so often. I can live with that, if it works. I'll keep you updated.

OK, folks. That's all I've got. Thanks for coming by! Hope some of this you'll be able to find useful in your own house one day. Not that I'm wishing mineral deposits or foggy headlights on you or anything...but, hey, life happens! :0)

Have a wonderful Sunday!

I Can't Believe It! I Won - Again!

OK. So Kimba over at A Soft Place to Land had a great giveaway from Purple Lemon Designs a while back. I entered. I won. I didn't know it! Not until Kimba waited forever for me to respond and then when I didn't - she finally got a hold of me. Funny thing is - I went back and checked the post where she announced the winner. I read that post. I guess I just skimmed across the bottom part where she announced it and totally missed it. What a dork! Not Kimba. Pam.

So, ya want to see what I picked out for my prize? I really like it. A lot. It's a personalized address stamp. Except mine won't have this last name or this address. It will have my last name and my address. Just in case you didn't realize that!



Here it is again - on stationary this time. I'm thinking that it will look really great in red ink this Christmas when I send out cards. Or in green ink for St. Patty's Day. Not that I send out cards for that holiday. I'm just sayin'. How 'bout orange this Fall? A pretty pastel that's still bright enough to show up in the Spring? Actually, that blue looks great.


Anyway, I'm excited about receiving it. If you're looking for a personalized gift that is reasonably priced, you should go check out Purple Lemon Designs. Kelly has a lot of great personalized products in her Etsy shop; address stamps, stationary, note cards, kid's stuff, book plate stamps, lots of wedding items and so much more. It's a great way to get a quality product and support small businesses. That's always a good thing.

Have a wonderful day!

Come See What Came For Me!

Look, look, look! I want to show you something. Something that Fed Ex brought me yesterday. Something I've been really excited about. Are you ready?

MY PLATTER! Yay! Ain't it perty?

This is the platter I won in Nester's give away. It's from DaySpring's new "Life" collection. It has one of my favorite verses on it, John 10:10. And then all of the other words that you probably don't recognize unless you're multilingual, are the word "life" in different languages. I didn't see Pig Latin on there anywhere, just in case you're wondering.

I am still deciding where it's permanent home will be. I think it will end up in my bedroom, though.

So, Nester, (in case there is some chance that you would read this) thank you for a great give away. I love my new platter.

The Indianapolis Zoo and White River Gardens

This past Saturday my family and I headed off for a fun-filled day at the Indianapolis Zoo and White River Gardens. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. The sun was shining. The temperature was comfortable. There was a gentle breeze. And the fact that it was Mother's Day weekend AND the weekend for the Indy 500 may have been contributing factors as to why the place wasn't busting at the seams. We have also realized through our past couple of trips that if we arrive at opening time we'll have several hours before the crowds really start to roll in.

Check out the swarming crowd. I jest, people. I jest.

Little Britches rode his first roller coaster. Yes, at the zoo.


He got to pet some sharks. We're not talkin' Jaws here y'all. What kind of a mother do you think I am?

We saw lions. And tigers. And bears. Oh, my!


Once we had explored everything there was to see at the zoo, we headed next door to White River Gardens. It was absolutely beautiful - and most of it wasn't even in bloom, yet! There are many different types of gardens there from the formal English garden to shade gardens, water gardens...There is even a Wedding Garden where people can get married or renew their vows. I would love to go back this summer when it is in full bloom.

This trip to the Indianapolis Zoo was much, much better than the last time when we went to the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Florida and I was attacked by a Satanic bird. Thank God! No drama is just fine with me! All in all, I had a magnificent Mother's Day weekend. I hope you did, too.

A Couple of Great Companies

We bought this little Cape Cod style house 15 months ago. It had great bones and wonderful charm but needed a lot of TLC. It had been abused and neglected. It didn't have a tree in the entire yard. Some knuckleheaded, peyote smoking owner before us put rocks everywhere. You can see the bed of rocks in the foreground of the picture that someone put in for extra parking. That is going to be dug out and replaced with luscious grass one day. There is also rock all around the house and in certain places in the backyard. Now, if you are one of those knuckleheads that actually LIKE rock - don't worry. I won't tell anyone that you smoke peyote! People will probably figure that out on their own when they see truckloads of rock in your yard. But enough about rocks and peyote, already. Back to my house. We have focused most of our attention on the inside seeing as how the weather was too stinkin' cold to do much of anything outside for months on end and all. Now that the weather is becoming more favorable - it's back to the outdoors for us. MW put a new roof on the hot tub house this past weekend. The garage is going to be painted next. And I am going to paint the front door, shutters and light post out front within the next few weeks. I know - very ambitious seeing how I don't even have my sewing projects done yet. We could have looked at the yard in one of two ways: A) A total train wreck. B) A blank slate. We chose option B. That means we have had (and still have) our work cut out for us. We have planted 8 trees, a lilac bush and various bulbs and perennials out front already. Some from local places. Some from mail order.

Today I wanted to give a little shout out to a couple of plant and flower companies that we have had great experiences with.

The first one is Spring Hill Nurseries . A couple of weeks ago we received our first order from them. We bought a perennial shade garden set that had a bleeding heart, or is that hearts? Oh, well. It also had 4 astilbe and 6 lily of the valley. We also bought 3 rose bushes and 4 diamond grasses that went into containers on my porch. One of my grasses died. Bummer. BUT...this company has a great guarantee. Unlike most big chains and local nurseries that guarantee their plants and trees for a year - Spring Hill guarantees theirs for life. They will either send you a replacement or a full refund, whichever you prefer. I called them yesterday and they are sending another replacement grass right out to me. No questions asked. You can order a free catalogue from their website. They usually have great coupons, too. We got half off of our entire order, plus the perennial shade garden was already 50% off. We ended up getting that $40 set of shade perennials for $10. I can deal with paying 25% for something!

The second company I want to tell you about is Breck's Bulbs. Last fall we received an order of about 125 tulip bulbs and 25 Discover Dutch Iris bulbs. The tulips were stunning this year. The irises have yet to show off because they bloom later. I noticed, though, that only 12 of the 25 irises have come up. They have the same warranty as Spring Hill. So I called them yesterday, too. I expected that they would probably send me 13 bulbs to replace the ones that didn't come up. They are going to send me a whole new set of 25 instead! Needless to say, I am VERY pleasantly surprised. The whole reason I ever tried this company in the first place was because I received a catalogue in the mail with a $25 coupon. If I spent $50 - my order would cost $25. If I spent $25 - my order was free. I figured that a company wouldn't do that unless they were so sure that you would love their product that you would be back time and time again. They were right. We are already planning our next order for fall. You can also request a free catalogue from their website.

What I like about these mail order companies is the fact that I can get a much greater selection of plants than I can locally. Don't get me wrong. I DO buy locally - for a lot of stuff. All our trees and our lilac bush were bought locally. And I plan on heading to the local greenhouse within the next week or so to load up on herbs and some annuals to replace my tulips as they die back. But...take my grasses for instance. I wanted to fill my porch containers with something that would look great clear through winter, but it needed to be able to take shade. The grasses I found locally needed full sun. The diamond grass I was able to order can take full sun OR full shade. Once I get some pretty flowers and vines in the pots with the grass it will be beautiful.

So, if you have a particular landscape need - let me encourage you to check out Breck's Bulbs or Spring Hill Nurseries. You'll be able to find a great selection at reasonable prices with a guarantee that can't be beat!

Happy planting!

The Soap That Changed My Life! Or At Least My Dishes!

Y'all have I got something to share with you! Ooooh, this is goooood! If you read my blog much AT ALL, then you know I am on a mission to rid our house and yard of chemicals. That means I am on the lookout for products that will not only be safe for my family, but that will actually work, too.

In this post I told you about a book I have been reading, "Clean Home, Green Home", and it mentioned Castile soap. Evidently, it is a purely vegetable based soap that bonds to dirt on a molecular level and actually dissolves it. Dr. Bronner started making this soap in the late 1800's. It has 50 gazillion uses so I decided to find it and give it a try. I found it at Meijer in the aisle where the bar soap and body washes are located. I thought the price was a little steep at $10.00 for a 16 ounce bottle. But, once I got it home and read the bottle I realized that it is concentrated. You dilute 1 1/2 teaspoons to a gallon of water. So, now I'm thinking, "Wow! What a value!"

I had read that you can make it into dish soap. So, I just put a squirt of it into my dishwater. No other cleaners - just Dr. Bronner's Pure Castile Soap. It didn't suds - at all. This was little weird for me. I grew up thinking that I had to see suds to know something was working. I'm learning that the suds don't do the cleaning. So, I just kept going. Keep in mind that I have been a Dawn fan every since I have lived on my own. I also grew up using it. Nothing cuts grease like Dawn, right? That's what I thought, too. But, I was amazed at how this stuff was cleaning my dishes. My plates were actually squeaking! SQUEAKING, I SAY! I have NEVER had plates squeak from being clean. Even tough stuff that I usually have to work at to get clean was just coming right off. I even had a jar that I had just emptied of pizza sauce and it came right off.

Another thing I noticed was that my water was staying clean and the dirty gunk was clinging to the sides of my sink and my rag. See what I mean?

Believe it or not, my sink was clean before I started the dishes. And that rag? It was perfectly white. Well, except for the red stripe on the sides. But let's not get hung up on the details, OK?

After I took the nasty pictures so you could take a look-see, I cleaned my sink...again. Then I realized something. My hands were actually softer. Could it be that it was because they had just experienced a spa-like dip in a mix of natural oils and lavender essential oil? Hmm....I wonder.

I am going to look for the actual recipe to make dish soap with the proper proportions. I am also looking forward to seeing what other small miracles this stuff can perform. I think it has actually changed my life. Yes, I know. How pathetic. But I am a homemaker.

If a soap product has ever changed your life...you might be a homemaker.

If you can't remember the last time you used the toilet by yourself...you might be a homemaker.

If you have to sneak off and lock yourself in a closet for "me" time...you might be a homemaker.

If you've ever been peed on by a potty training two-year-old and considered it an occupational hazard...you might be a homemaker.

We could probably go on with those for days. But, I'll be nice and spare you. But seriously, you need to give this stuff a try. I have been, once again, amazed by a natural cleaner. If you know of any other great uses for Castile soap - drop me a comment and let me know what they are.

Have a great Thursday!

An Update In Honor Of Earth Day

Back in the beginning of March I wrote a post about the homemade laundry soap I made. You can click here. if you want to read it and get the recipe. It's been a couple of months. I've truly gotten a feel for how I like it. I'm on my third batch 'cause I have shared it with my mother-in-law so she can see if she likes it. Yes! It is a miracle! I actually love my MIL - and she loves me! At least that's what she tells me. Anyway, this stuff is truly AMAZING!

Some things I've noticed since using it:

a) Our clothes are REALLY soft. I have even quit using fabric softener because they are so soft. Now I just place about 1/4 cup of vinegar in the rinse water. I'll comment on that more in a minute.

b) Our clothes rarely have static cling when I take them out of the dryer.

c) This one is a little revealing. How many of you that have been married for a while actually buy new bath towels? I have recently begun to replace ours because the ones that we were using are shameful. You know the look - ripped edges and thread-bare middles. Then there's that nasty grayish cast that they take on over the years. Weeelll...that nasty little grayish cast on our towels is vanishing. Yes, people, it's VANISHING. It's like some magical mystery potion has enveloped our bath towels.

d) Our clothes look BETTER, CLEANER.

e) Our whites are WHITER.

f) We have very hard water and had begun to see rust marks in the area that holds detergent and what not. The rust marks are now gone.

g) We have this awesome, thick, fuzzy blanket that is red, white and blue. It got washed with something else red that bled all over it about a year ago and has been red, pink and blue ever since. Do you know that since I've been using the homemade laundry soap it has pulled all of the pink out of that blanket and it's red, white and blue once again? I kid you not!

I am still amazed and astounded that something so cheap, so safe, so simple to make is having such a huge impact on my laundry. I feel like it's new advocate. My mom just made a batch and split it with my sister. Good reports, so far.

If you read my blog much you'll know that I am on a mission to rid our home and yard of chemicals and pesticides. I checked out this great book from our library recently, "Clean Home, Green Home" by Kimberly Delany. It is full of great information and easy recipes if you are on this journey, too. I highly recommend it.

I just wanted to share a couple of things Kimberly mentioned in this book. Keep in mind that the homemade laundry soap consists of 3 ingredients, plus water: Fels Naptha soap, washing soda and Borax. Also, keep in mind that I am only using white vinegar in my rinse cycle.

This is some information concerning vinegar. It disinfects, loosens dirt, deodorizes, removes mineral deposits, stains, and tarnish, and eliminates static cling when added to the rinse cycle. Go figure. Also, studies show that distilled white vinegar kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of germs. I now by this stuff by the gallon. I use it everywhere.

Now, allow me to share some information about soda. Not the kind you drink, silly! It's abrasive enough to make a great scrubber that won't damage most surfaces, it eats odor and works as a deodorizer and (get this) you can add it to the wash cycle to soften fabric!

Lastly, here are some things that Borax does. It can be used as an abrasive to scrub stubborn stains off of counters or bathtubs, cleans toilets, cleans ovens, whitens clothing when added to the wash cycle, and it fights mold, bacteria and neutralizes odors.

All right. Now you have another update on my homemade laundry detergent and one more (actually many more) reason to try it for yourself. And really, if you're interested in finding out more money saving, healthy cleaning options you need to see if your local library has "Clean Home, Green Home" by Kimberly Delaney. You can also get it online. It won't disappoint.

OK. I'm outta here folks! Have a great "Hump Day"!