Let's talk dirty....

Dirty laundry, that is!
I decided I wanted to make homemade laundry detergent recently. I looked up recipes, asked friends, and poured over pins on Pinterest. Via Pinterest I found Erin at Why Not Sew? and she had a recipe that I liked.
I bought my ingredients while doing my weekly grocery shopping. Her recipe calls for a bar of body soap but I used the Fels Naptha instead. And I only had one empty gallon jug so I halved the recipe. Also this gives me a smaller amount to start with in case I don't like it or want to try another recipe.
Spent less than if I bought my normal laundry detergent. (Fels Naptha bar was $1 or $2 and I only used half. Washing soda was $3, borax was $3 and I only used 1/2 cup of each. Got enough of each left to make several, several more batches.) There's a plus.
I made the detergent on Sunday afternoon, seemed like a pretty easy and quick process. There's another plus.
Smelled pretty good. Yet, another plus.
So far I've done five loads using the new detergent. They smell nice. They are extra soft (thanks to the washing soda, I think). I think we have a winner! The real test will come after I've worn something washed in it. I have a terrible allergy to something in laundry detergent that causes me to break out in hives wherever the clothes touched me and on occasion, swells my eyes almost shut. If it can pass that test, I'd say, we will no longer buy bottled detergent.
I was reading the box of Borax and there's several other things you can do with it. It can be a laundry booster, whiten whites, clean toilets, dishwashers, remove stains, and remove hard water stains.
I would love to hear from anyone that makes their own with tips and suggestions. If you have a different and better recipe or if you've concocted your own recipe, I'd love to hear it.
Tootles for now! I'm off to slave over wash that last load of laundry...

Bye-by TV, hello LIFE!

   We have four TV's in our house, one in the living room and one in our bedroom and both the girls rooms. Wyatt was on the fast track to having one as well. We love TV, would watch endlessly. Even when we were doing other things, the TV was on. It was our background noise, our comfort, our constant companion. Until about a month ago.
   We decided (mostly I decided then convinced Jim to get on board) to cancel our satellite service, get an antenna for local channels and subscribe to instant video services like Netflix and Hulu Plus.
   Now, I know what y'all are thinking. That's not much of a change.
   Oh yes it is! We went from endless channels with endless types and amounts of TV shows to only what Netflix and Hulu Plus have and for the record, none of us really like or watch Hulu Plus. Well, except Wyatt. He loves to watch his shows on the Hulu Plus app on the iPad. Yup, my two year old can work my iPad almost as well as me.
  The first two weeks were by far the worst. We only watched Netflix and the movie choices aren't always great. There were no new episodes of anything. No sitting down on a Monday night and putting it on CBS and leaving it all evening. No, we had to pick a movie or show then when it went off, hunt for something else.
  At one point, I looked and Jim and said "I miss commercials!" Have you ever said that? I never thought I would either.
  But I did.
  I missed regular TV. I missed the news. I missed my addiction (AKA The Young and the Restless).
  But we stuck with it.
  Finally, I broke down and bought an inside antenna. It was glorious to see real TV again. I think I even cried alittle.
  By far, it was worse on the girls. They were used to watching TV in the mornings before school, after school while they had a snack, after homework, at night with us in the living room and to go to sleep with. They whined. They pouted. They got angry.
  Then they got used to it. It's not like they had to completely go without. They have DVD players and Kindle Fire HDs with the Netflix and Hulu Plus apps.
  Last week, I realized on about Wednesday or Thursday that the TV hadn't been on all day long or for a few days prior. Wyatt and I played outside since we had unseasonable perfect weather... in August... in the hot, humid South. We played trains and cars and read books. I got housework done, homework done, and had time to work on a special project (no deets yet). When Wyatt napped, it was perfectly quiet in my house, except for the occasional running dishwasher or washing machine. Quiet is something I'd forgotten and realized that I really missed. It's just so... quiet.
  Can I tell you that it was a perfect week.
  This week, we've watched alittle more TV than last week but not near as much as we used to. As a matter-of-fact, our new house rule is that we turn it off most of the afternoon. Then the girls come home from school, have a snack, do homework, then chores, then play outside, THEN finally they can watch TV.
  All of us have played outside more, Wyatt and I have started going for morning walks, and the girls are even exercising regularly. We talk more during supper because we aren't all trying to see the TV from the dining room.
  As I type this, my youngest two are dancing to music on Cassidy's iPod. They are laughing and having a blast. I think I'll go join them.
  Oh, and about my addiction? I'm proud to say that I'm a recovering Y & R addict, haven't watched an episode in weeks.
  I wish we'd done this sooner.

Change

Sorry that I have been MIA as of late.  You see, it's summer break and I'm trying to spend as much time with all the kiddos as I can before the girls go back to school.  Speaking of, school begins in just four short weeks.
I've not done any new 50s things since I deep cleaned the house.  Funny thing is, if you don't keep that schedule up, it all goes back to the way it was.  And honestly, the way it was is...
Comfortable.
My home is clean enough to be healthy but dirty enough to feel lived in and happy.  Just the way I like it!
I want to talk to y'all today about attitudes, feelings, emotions and how they effect you, especially the negative ones.
Envy
Jealousy
Discontentment
Anger
Those are the feelings I've had lately and I've noticed my attitude gets worse the stronger these feelings get.
I decided those feelings need to go away and be replaced with godly feelings and emotions.
So, I took a technology fast, technically still am.  I stepped away from Facebook, email, Candy Crush Saga, etc to speed time in the word.
I knew to make the changes I needed to make, I needed God's help because I've spent years trying to do it myself to no avail.
I started by reading James, which I highly recommend all Christians read.  He is open and honest about how the Christian should live.  And he'll tell you flat out which things you shouldn't do.  Can I say that he stepped all over my toes?   Especially when he talked about being quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger.  Then there's the part where he talks about the tongue being like fire and corrupted by the world.  Oh yes, and we can't forget about faith without works being dead.
Yowzas!
I'd love to tell y'all that I'm a completely different person and have made a full 180 degree change but I haven't.  I am making strides, baby steps, if you will.  All with God's help.
I want to share the prayer that I have been praying.  Maybe it'll encourage someone to pray the same, maybe not but I'll never know what impact it could have if I don't share it.  So, here it is.

I can do nothing on my own!  I need You to bring about changes in me.  Rid me of envy and jealousy; replace them with love and mercy.  Take away my worldly desires and replace them with a desire for more of You.  Turn my angry and bitter words into loving and faithful instruction.  Pull all sinful nature out of me and fill me instead with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Make me quick to listen, slow to speak, and slower to anger.  Tame my tongue, Father Abba, as only You can.
Amen.

Being who YOU were meant to be

I've been thinking about something for a few days now. I want to talk about being who you are supposed to be/who God intended you to be. I know it has nothing to do with high heels, housework, or the 1950s but it's important.
I'm a follower.
That's just me. I'm not the leader type and I know that. The problem comes along when I try to be just like someone else, you know following exactly in their footsteps, or at least trying to.
I'll give you an example. I have a friend that is a fitness guru/healthy eating expert. She has four kids and is in the best shape of her life now. She's dedicated to working out, eating clean, and being the healthiest, most fit she can be.
I want to be like that.
She told me about this detox she's done and it sounded pretty easy. You eat fruits until lunch then fruits and veggies after that, all day, as long as they are raw, and you can eat all the fruits and veggies you want. BUT that's all you can eat. Do you know how much will power it takes to just eat fruits and raw veggies all day long? Especially when you have homemade brownies in the house?? I don't know how she does it! I managed to do one day; she's done like 7 days IN A ROW!
I'm weak, have little will power, whatever you want to call it because today I'm eating food, real food, probably not all that healthy food. And I'm going to love it. You know why? Because trying to be like her made me realize something.
I'm not her, I'm ME!
I need to stop trying to be like everyone else and just be the person God wants me to be.
My cousin is another perfect example. She's like a doctor, teacher, Martha Stewart and Martha White all rolled into one well organized, multi-tasking machine. I want to be just.like.that! She just graduated with her doctorate! She teaches nursing, works in the doctors office, bakes, crafts, volunteers and still has time for family and sleep. How does she fit all that in?! She's Super Woman, that's how. And I've tried to be Super Woman but I'm just not.
Who am I?
I am OCD.  I believe things should be in the proper place with labels facing the same direction, organized by color, size, shape, and in neat rows. I procrastinate bad. I want to be better and do things early but I work best under the pressure and time crunch of a looming deadline. I get distracted easily (probably have ADD or ADHD, just not officially diagnosed). I can be lazy, okay, I am lazy. I kill plants, all plants, whether houseplants, outside flowers, or the fruits and veggies in my garden. I get an idea in my head and it must happen RIGHT.THIS.MINUTE! I don't like to plan and wait and work toward something. If I think it, I want to do it immediately. I jump in with both feet on projects, whether it's my desire to learn to sew or become an expert cake decorator. I like eating junk food like chips, brownies, and ice cream. I love painting and sewing.
That's me, not at all like the fitness guru friend or Super Woman, huh? Nope, but that's okay and I'm slowly learning that. It's okay to just be me as long as I'm being the best me I can be and being the me God wants not the me I think I should be.
Okay enough profound thoughts for the day, especially considering I'm writing all this at 6 a.m. before I've even had my coffee! WHEW! If this is the pace I'm setting for the day, I better go have that coffee now.
Tootles!

New uses for old things

Hey everyone!  It's been awhile, hasn't it?  I've sure missed blogging to everyone.  I finally finished English Comp II and my research paper (which was on the 1950s family and what we could learn from them).  Still waiting for my grade to come in so keep your fingers crossed!
In my last post, I mentioned that I was planning to do a week of just the crazy strict cleaning schedule and the beauty routine of the 50s housewife.  My plan as of now is to do the cleaning one next week.  This week I have something to do nearly every day and know I won't have the time I want to dedicate to it.  I'll use this week to do more research and gather my cleaning supplies.
Today I want to talk about another important aspect of the 50s housewife's life.  She was a recycling queen due partly to the recent Great Depression and World War II and due partly to that generations desire to reduce waste.  People didn't throw many things away.  They either found a new use for them or repaired them.  I currently have a few clothing items waiting to be repaired (maybe I'll get to that the week I do the cleaning schedule as one day is set aside for mending/repairing).  I found myself finding new uses for things today and wanted to share with you all so maybe you'll think about doing the same.
I was making Jim's breakfast burritos and I used all the flour tortillas.  As I was about the throw away the bag the tortillas came in it dawned on me that I could put the burritos in there and just get out one each morning.  Normally, I put each one in its own zipper bag.  So, today I found a new use for the tortilla bag AND saved three zipper bags- SCORE! 
Another thing I reuse and have for awhile are those zipper bags.  If it has something like chips in it, I reuse it for food again.  If it had a liquid or raw food (chicken, beef, etc) then I toss them.  I also double bag foods that I'm freezing for future use.  The inner bag is almost always trash but the outer bag didn't touch the food and is fine to reuse. 
Aluminum foil is another thing that I reuse.  Some dishes require being covered with foil while it bakes and the foil never touches the food so why throw it away?
Another item I found myself reusing today was my old liquid creamer bottles.  I found an idea on Pinterest about reusing them to put dry snacks in or to put chocolate chips in once you've opened the bag so I kept a few.  Then recently I found a pin for homemade coffee creamer using sweetened condensed milk, milk or heavy cream, and flavorings such as vanilla, chocolate, etc.  I needed creamer this week anyway so I bought the ingredients to make my own.  I used my old creamer bottles to put it in.  And let me say, homemade creamer isn't as good as store bought but it's pretty close and much cheaper.  Coffee-Mate in the smaller size is around $2.  I spent maybe $1 on the sweetened condensed milk and already had regular milk and vanilla extract so I made almost 2 bottles for half of what the store bought kind costs.  I plan to try it again when this runs out and I think I'll venture out and try another flavor. 
One more, and yes, it also came from Pinterest!  If we are all honest, don't most of our good ideas come from there? When Wyatt was younger and wore diapers all the time, I bought them by the box to be more economical but I ended up tossing a lot of the boxes (how economic is that?) until I saw this pin.  Is this genius or what??  Too bad I didn't see this until I had stopped buying by the box and only had one box.  I now use it to hold the kids books in their reading corner.  (Note: a good blogger would put a photo here, wouldn't she?  Guess I'm not that good! lol)
If any of my local readers have any diaper boxes and you won't be using them, I'd love them to make more of these cuties.  So, there's a few of my reusing tips.  I'd love to hear from y'all so please leave a comment with your tips and suggestions.  Tootles for now!

Lessons from the past...

As I sit here thinking back over the last two weeks, I realize that I learned some very valuable lessons that I might not have learned if I didn't do this experiment.
The first lesson I learned on day 1 was about being myself no matter what.  I was so nervous to go out dressed "different" from the norm.  I was worried people would stare, giggle, or think I was weird or different.  But you know what?  I am different and so are you.  We are all different, unique, and special.  As the time went by, I was less and less self-conscience about how I was dressed and looked.  Now that the experiment is over, I've actually started to like the style I developed for this project.  I might just keep alittle of the kitschy, retro 50s style.  Because I shouldn't get my self-worth from what others think about me, but from God who made me just like He wanted me to be.
Another thing I learned is that doing things to please others gave me pleasure.  Many people think the 50s housewife was beaten down and bogged down with trying to please her husband but has anyone thought that maybe she enjoyed doing things for him?  I found that the more I did for Jim and the kids and saw the look of appreciation on their faces, the happier I was.  It makes me wonder who those people are that say you get the most happiness by looking out for yourself above others?  Maybe no one ever did anything for them just to show that they loved them... or maybe they never did anything for someone else "just because".  Either way, I think they are wrong.  You cannot manufacture your own joy by being focused on yourself only.  We were designed and created by God to put others first.  There in lies true bliss.
I'm sure I'll be back with more reflection and lessons later as I reflect more on this project.  Now I'm off to check Facebook, play Candy Crush, text my friends, all while running the dishwasher!  Just kidding... partly!  Tootles!

Sunday supper in the South in the 50s

Today is the final day of the 1950s housewife project and I'm alittle sad but alittle relieved.  I'll be so happy to use the dishwasher again!  And stop ironing everything!  And use my cell phone and Facebook again!  I'll miss the dressing up, the big meals, and the desserts! 
Sunday is big meal day and I accomplished that and went above and beyond, if I do say so myself!  My cream taters were the creamiest ever, the green beans (which I normally don't like) were buttery, bacony goodness, the chicken fried crisp yet juicy, and the Hershey bar brownies were chocolatey yet gooey.  Let me show you:

And the overall setting, including the table linens and vase of fresh flowers:
Lastly, we have a funny serious shot of the chef, working hard!

I told y'all about the dresses I bought at Ross and would like to show you my favorite one now. It's flowy, bright, classy, and so comfortable! I also got one just like this but in white eyelet.



Doing this entire 50s housewife project has been overwhelming but fun. It's got me thinking about other projects I want to do. I really love this so I'm taking it deeper. I plan to do a week long project just focusing on the cleaning schedule of the 50s housewife. I did most of it during this project but I was also focusing on the meals, my clothing, etc. so I'm going to do another project soon of just the cleaning. I'm excited to get my house in tip-top shape and want to plan to do this detailed cleaning, maybe 3-4 times a year. Another project I'm going to work on is the beauty regimen of the 50s woman. I've found daily schedules of just what she did to look her best, including exercise, and hair and face treatments. I'll update on both once I've decided when I'm doing them, and of course, I'll blog about them as I do it. This week I'll be pretty silent on here because it's the last week of English Comp II and I have to get my research paper fully completed. Check back soon for the deets of my next project! Tootles!