Week 42 & 43

The past 2 weeks have gone by so fast! Sorry about not posting last week, but I didn't have internet! The cable modem finally died. We had to go 5 DAYS without internet!!  Can you imagine? Oh it was horrid. :) 

Then Adyson and I had the crud for a few days. Let germ season begin! I have added an extra vitamin C  & D tablet to my diet along with  B complex.  I have been watching a lot of Dr. Oz lately I love his shows. I like the new up to date medical information he gives. So I am going to try his immune system booster. 

Doctor Oz

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/easy-fixes-boost-your-immunity-pt-1

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/easy-fixes-boost-your-immunity-pt-2

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/easy-fixes-boost-your-immunity-pt-3

( I AM NOT A DOCTOR, I AM NOT ENDORSING ANY PRODUCT. This is simply the diary of my life that I am sharing with you, and where I got my information. Please do your own research!)

REVIEW TIME-

I have to tell you we bought a new Linksys wireless router a few weeks ago. I really like it so far.  It can handle 7+ devices at a time and comes with  the option of a Guest Network with its own password!   Also has PARENTAL CONTROLS!!! Seems to be working great for us! 

I also LOVE the body scrub I found on Pinterest a few months back. I thought I had put it into a post earlier but can't seem to find it. I have been using this scrub since spring/summer started.  I love it and have since started using it all over my body every couple days and so far this fall/winter season I have not had to use lotion! Just remember this is an oil based scrub so your shower/tub will be EXTREMELY slippery when you rinse. 

I also LOVE the facial toner I made during week-20-21-22. So I haven't bought facial toner since! I love the smell and the way it feels! I'm 1 step closer to a chemical free life! 

IOS7- still not working correctly. As you remember from Septembers Blog I was having issues with Photo Stream. I have uninstalled everything, reinstalled everything, signed in and out of everything. Turned permissions on and off. I am getting very frustrated with everything. Still no luck! Anyone else having issues with Photo Stream? OH and the newest update 7.0.3 still didn't fix the issue!!!! 

Movie reviews- I didn't rent any movies last week because I caught the crud last week. It's that time of the year to start taking your vitamins and drinking your orange juice! Oh it was horrible last week sinus infections kick my butt! The  it turns into the chest congestion from the nasal drainage, yuck! So I used the entire stock pile of tissues, that's right all 10 boxes! My poor nose was redder then Rudolph. 

FARM HAPPENINGS- there was a death on the farm last week. Adysons chicken went to heaven. She broke her leg. Adyson took the news better then I thought. It went something like this-

Me-  Mommy has some bad news to tell you. Chicken Girl went to heaven last night. Since she is in heaven now she is not in pain anymore.

Adyson- OOOOOHHHHHH NNNNNOOOOO! Mommy I didn't say goodbye to Chicken Girl. (she has a sad, pouty face. She thinks this over for a few minutes) so mommy when are we getting  new chickens?

ME- well I'm glad you want more chickens but we have to wait until after Christmas and then your birthday before we get more chickens.

Adyson- I get to pick them out right? And I want to paint the chicken coop with rainbows. 

Me- sure honey what ever you want. (Thinking to myself, I'm glad my kids are resilient) :)

REST IN PEACE CHICKEN GIRL

READING - I'm still working on Angels & Demons. Since I wasn't up to snuff last week all I did was relax so I'm behind, I know! What are you reading?

Find me on Goodreads.com

HOMEMADE-  Since being sick last week. I am  stepping up the whole foods/healthy foods in our house! As most of you know I do not buy "boxed" dinners. I am working on getting the rest of the processed foods out of my house. 

 So I am excited to announce that I have FINALLY used up all my couponing, stockpiled dishwasher tabs!!!  I found a recipe on Pinterest about making your own dishwasher soap. It uses simple stuff from around the house (well their around my house) So hopefully you can make some too! If you have made homemade laundry soap you should have most of the stuff on hand.

DISHWASHER SOAP-

3 cups Borax

3 cups washing soda

1 cup Epson salt ( I got a big 10 lb bag at Sams Club for around $8)
1/2 cup citric acid. (don't freak out, I found it in the canning isle of the grocery store. I used this in place of the "lemonade packets" or Lemi-Shine rinse aid called for in most recipes) around $3-$4. 

Mix all ingredients together. Use 1-1.5tbs per load! PLEASE BE AWARE IT MAY HARDEN IF NOT STIRRED EVERYDAY. You can break it up and still use it. Or you can get little ice cube trays and pour powder into trays & let sit out for 2-3 days to harden. Just remember to buy to use trays that have small enough cubes so they fit properly in your dishwasher & a container big enough to handle all the tablets! 

So far I like it! I've only used it a few times so it's going to be reviewed again in a few weeks once I give it a good & dirty test!

CRAFTS- With Christmas coming I have lots of crafts planned for Adyson to do! Thanks to Pinterest I would love to do Adyson's hand in the clay and bake it. I also love the idea of the Snowman Orniments. There is so many. But I REFUSE to push the holidays. So we wont be starting any Christmas crafts until after Halloween. I just can't wait. 




Hope everyone has a great week! See you next time! 

Week 6

I'm trying to figure out if the weather knows what its doing. Cold & windy, tornadoes, rain now today its 55 outside, during the middle of February! I can't wait for spring. I am trying to wait patiently but I'm running out. 

I just realized that the last "update" Apple did screwed my phone up. It erased my icloud back up, erased all my notes, so far. Trying to restore from computer now. ughhhh So if this week's review gets a little weird you know why :) ok 11 minutes later & still no notes!!! Now on the phone with Apple tech, the update didn't "update" like it was supposed to. I have lost my all of my Notes!

Smoking- DONE! 

Family time- Has been going better this week. Eating meals together, chores together. Still need to come up with something fun for all of us to do. If anyone has any ideas put them in the comments! 

Organizing- Well Adyson's room is coming along. I got her involved in the process of her room. She wants it painted purple. She wants to get rid of all her babies & "junk" (she calls it) that go along with the babies. "I don't play with babies" is what she tells me. So this makes it easier to get stuff out of her room that she doesn't play with anymore. Her and I have this discussion all the time, if you don't play with it let's give it to someone who will. Adyson seems ok with this, she actually packed the garbage sack full with her babies & baby stuff, might I add she is very proud of herself!

Healthy eating- haven't bought anything junky from the store yet!!! still trying to eat up what we have here. I haven't bought a boxed dinner this year! (I did buy a few boxes of mac & cheese BUT I looking for a homemade recipe) I have found some great recipes on Pinterest ( I comment on the recipes I have tried).

Exercise- haven't done any yoga or stretching this week, BUT I have been active in the yard.  I have weeded/dead headed my strawberry plants, weeded the front walk way & made a compost pile this week! 

Reading- still reading lots of gardening books this week. I have ordered Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion (turned into a movie, it just came out) from the library, waiting for it to come in.


Tips for Container Gardening from Fine Gardening- This was great for flowers, not too much info about vegetables

The New Self Sufficient Gardener by John Seymore- This book was GREAT! Great tips!

The Weekend Homesteader by Anna Hess- This gives you  month by month steps on how to prep everything. It was OK. A few tips and some good kid activities.

The Vegetable Gardener's Container Bible by Edward C Smith- AWESOME book, I bought it! Explains in detail the soil types for your veggies, depth of pots, what plants you can grow together  and the plants you should keep separate!

Cleaning by Real Simple & Kathleen Squires - this didn't give me the information I was looking for. I thought this book would give me homemade cleaning solutions to the commercial brands. All this book gave me was a "schedule" (daily, weekly, monthly, annually) of what to clean in my house. 

Brain games- Haven't found anything new this week. Still having fun with the ones from last week. check them out here

STILL BLOGGING-

Positive thinking- its still a challenge to remain positive about everything BUT I am getting better. 

Craft- Adyson doesn't seem to want to help with Valentine cards. I think I need to show her the "finished" product, maybe she will want to help then!

Music- Only got in 30 mintues last week. I really need to buckle down and schedule myself music time everyday. 

No chemicals- I made my own DISH soap & LAUNDRY soap. It was not as bad to make as I thought. I did have to go and buy a 6 gallon pail/trash can. I have kept all my milk jugs, my soap did make 8 gallons & 3 laundry soap bottles. So approx 9.5 gallons & it cost me about $10!!! Cleans just as well as store bought. No perfumes. No dyes. 


 Adyson LOVED helping me stir everything. 

I had to buy Fels-Naptha soap, Borax and WASHING soda (not baking soda) I found all the items in the laundry isle of my grocery store. Then I used this video from YouTube for the PROCESS on how to make soap! 

For Dish soap I found Frugally Sustainable on You Tube,watch her make  dish soap
My ingredients were Kirks Castile Soap grated, WASHING soda, white vinegar & HOT water. VERY simple to make. Just remember- this IS NOT like store bought! It does not bubble much, and yes, it will make the water cloudy. . . Bubbles do Not make your dishes clean! The cloudy water shows there is soap in there-- Soap is what cleans, not bubbles.

Gardening- My African Violets haven't sprouted new shoots yet takes 4-6 weeks its only been 2 weeks. I planted a cut leaf in soil, and put a clear plastic bag over them to create a green house effect. The veggies I planted inside are doing great, my tomatoes are 4-5 inches tall. My cucumbers are 8-10 inches tall. I will have strong plants to plant this year! 

This year has been wonderful so far! I love being able to blog, and share my stories and adventures with you guys! 

Week 3

This week has been a little busy. It has been another successful week! I'm VERY proud to say my #1 goal for 2013 has been accomplished, I QUIT SMOKING!!!! It wasn't easy, but I did it. I haven't had a cigarette since January 12th!!! So here we go for what goals have been accomplished this week...

1- Quit smoking- DONE- It was easier then I thought. I kept my mind and hands occupied. I also left my cigarettes in the car! That way they were not so easy to get to. Living in Tennessee, its a little cold here right now, so to me it wasn't worth going to the car to get a cigarette, when the temp outside is 28 degrees!

2- Family time- This has been working out well. I tried an idea this week (and I will continue with this because it worked out so well) when I start cooking dinner about 4:30-5, I call all the kids in the kitchen with me. My oldest (who is 14) and my youngest (who will be 4 next month) both come in the kitchen with me. My oldest sits at the table with her books to study for school. We TALK about what she learned in school that day. She will open her books to the lessons and read the "study questions" from the lesson that day, and I engage her in discussions about her lessons. The more she repeats and studies the better she does on her tests!!
For the youngest she tries to help me with cooking dinner. She made Parmesan biscuits the other night! I opened the store bought biscuits, but she took over from there! She dipped the biscuits in melted butter, then  patted them into the Parmesan cheese, and put them on the cookie sheet! She had a wonderful time. When I do not have anything she can help with, she sits at the counter and colors in her color books! She hears me and Sissy talk about history and science, etc. She will actually stop and ask questions too! So Sissy will stop and answer her. So everyone is learning and talking to each other.

3- Get Organized- The kitchen is complete! See my previous post Operation Kitchen Reorganization to see what I did. I am getting ideas for doing my youngest's room.

4- Eat Healthy- We are doing great with this! I made homemade banana bread, and sourdough bread this week in my bread maker! I haven't used my bread maker in years! I found it at the back of the cupboard when I was organizing the kitchen. So I am not putting it to GOOD use! Since I quit smoking I have a better appetite!

5- Get in shape- still working on my stretching and yoga. I can't wait until it gets warmer outside so I can go for walks! Last weekend we had unusually warm weather( in the 70's) so all of us got out in the yard and played! We also started weeding the front flower beds.

6- Read More- I have read 6 books this week on gardening in containers! Finding out what flowers do well in pots, and what plants prefer to be free. I also learned about herbs! I found two books that I really liked, it gives you "recipes" for planting beautiful flowering containers/pots. One is called Container Garden by P Allen Smith and Gardening without a garden by Gay Search. I was able to find both books at my local library. So this puts my book count week to date +3. (I was -1 last week) So I have read a total of 7 books.See all the books I have read

7- Brain games- loving my crosswords and  word searches. I sit in the morning with my coffee and try to do one before I start my day. I saw an advertisement for an app on my phone for Lumosity, I did download the app, but haven't tried it yet. When I downloaded the app it shows up as Brain Trainer. I also found a cool app from the NRA  called Practice Range in the app store. The app is free, it gives you a "shooting" range and different weapons to shoot. What I like about this app is you can look up local gun laws, discussions, etc for your area from the app!

8- Still Blogging-

9-Positive thinking- this is awesome. When thinking in a more positive light everything is possible!

10-Crafts- I'm looking for ideas to make the plant labels, and decorating pots for garden.

11-Music- I did a few sessions this week, not as many as I would have liked. But something is better then nothing.

12- No Chemicals- I have done well with this. I'm still making my own coffee creamer, fabric softener, Air freshener (Febreeze), and made my own bread!

13- Gardening- read all those books about gardening, weeded front flower beds Created a little shelf from shoe rack the seedlings are just now coming through. See week 2 about show rack.


HAPPY 2013 EVERYONE!!!

Week 1

      So far it has been a wonderful 1st week of 2012. On Jan 1, I posted my 13 goals for this year. I must say most of them have been started! Throughout the week I have felt like I can't set enough done. I am trying to take everything 1 step at a time to avoid "burn out" but I am so excited at the same time that I want it all done already, HAHA...

1. Quit smoking- This is going great. I'm down to about 5 cigarettes per day. I can't believe what I can accomplish with the "extra time" from cutting out all the cigarettes.

2. Family time- This hasn't been started yet. Poor Brittany hasn't felt good this week, and I have been BUSY with goal 3.

3. Get organized- This month I am concentrating on the kitchen. I have ordered all my needed containers from Walmart and they should be here next week. So during the week I have been going through EACH cupboard & shelf and wiping it down and stacking. I even put Post-It notes on the outside of every cupboard telling me what containers are needed and what shelf it goes on. So right now the outside of my cupboards are "decorated" with bright orange Post-Its! I have also been going through my stack of handwritten recipes. Throwing away ones that I will NEVER cook, & creating my own cookbook (using spiral notebooks & labeling the front, "Dinner", "Soups", etc). I have been cutting, & writing recipes for 2 days! I didn't realize how many recipes I had laying around, but I am almost done.

4. Eat Healthy- So far I have not bought any "junk food". There is still some left in the house, leftover Christmas candy, etc.

5. Get In Shape- So far this is working. While watching TV at night, I get out my Yoga ball & weights and do about 30 minutes! Can't wait til it gets warmer so I can go walking!

6. Read- This has not been started. I've been too focused on getting the kitchen done. Going to find a book today!

7. Brain games- Haven't started this either. But I must say my brain is in over drive over the excitement of organizing. I lay awake at night thinking how everything will look!

8. Blog- I have started this one or you wouldn't be reading it!

9. Positive- Been looking at things in a more positive light all week! Doing good!

10. Crafts- Haven't even thought about this yet. But I have a craft tub set up with lots of stuff in it.

11. Music- Haven't started this yet. But working in sometime over the weekend!

12. No Chemicals- I have made 2 HOMEMADE solutions! I did make my own Fabric Softener & Febreeze! It was very simple.

FABRIC SOFTENER                                              FEBREEZE
1 cup conditioner (cheap stuff)                          1/4 cup Fabric Softener
1 cup vinegar                                                    2 T  Baking Soda
2 cups water                                                      HOT water to fill 27oz spray bottle
Mix well & use                                                 Mix well & shake before use
1/4 cup to start & adjust as needed                   may separate a little.


13. Gardening. I have been saving my egg cartons to plant seeds next month. I have all the bulbs I need to start my flower garden and researched what I need for trees in the back yard!

So I guess I am going great. 7 out of 13 goals already started, within the first 4 days of the New Year New You!!!!


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