Buy used... Save the difference

I'm so done not having a camera. The one on my phone just doesn't cut it when it comes to birthdays and car races and such. So, I headed over to Property Room and looked around. That is where I found, bid on, and won this...



I paid a total of less than $40 for this baby! Woo hoo!! It should be here on Tuesday via Fed Ex and my blogging will pick up again I'm sure! lol

Me

Update: I got my camera today~ Yippee!!! I works GREAT and the pictures are awesome! I did have to pick up the USB cable at the dreaded WM. It was $15 for one that has 4 different attachments and a self wrapping cord. So... Total spent.... $55.00.

TTFN

The Great Dishwasher Detergent Expieriment!

I like to be frugal. Let me rephrase that... I LOVE to be frugal. Show me a better way to save money and I'm all over it! I even math out purchases on games that I play, such as Farm Town from Face Book. Did you know that if you plant three crops of grapes a day you make more money AND get three times the experience points? Check it out... I swear it's true!

Anyway... I had found a recipe for making detergent for my dishwasher. I thought to myself...Self! What a GREAT idea!! Well, turns out, maybe not so great. By the time we got through the first batch my once clear glasses had taken on a strange milky hue. Bummer dude.

So to the store I went to get more "store soap". (Have you looked at the price of that stuff recently? Yikes!) After a couple of washes, the glasses went back to normal and I walked away a little disappointed, but glad at the same time. Let's face it, no one wants to drink from a glass that looks coated with dried milk! Yuck!

A month rolls by and I'm putting my store soap in the washer like usual. Then I remember that I need to top off my "Jet Dry" dispenser with my white vinegar. (It works just as well and is WAY more frugal!) I ended up over filling it (as usual) and notice that when it hit the spilled over soap... it fizzed....

Being a home schooling Momma I isuspected what that was! Baking soda! My recipe didn't call for baking soda! Off to the store I ran! I was as giddy as a school girl! lol I come home and get to mixing equal parts Borax, washing soda and baking soda. I turned around and... CRAP! There are no dirty glasses to be washed! How'd that happen?? Any other time I'd have to stick my head under the faucet to get a drink! Fine.. I'll fix this! Quick as a cobra I grabbed several glasses and spit on them! (I can't very well put clean dishes in the washer! That would be wasteful!)

I topped off my JD dispenser, added my homemade soap and turned that sucker on!

Oh no.... nope.... that didn't work. Don't try this one ladies, it was a bomb. Now I'll be alternating between this and store bought until Jesus returns! lol Oh well lesson learned I guess!

Cell Phone spyware???

I tell you, the world gets scarier everyday! Some of the stuff people come up with is just crazy!

This is a link you don't want to miss!

*Warning! The beginning audio is not kid friendly so you may want to use your head phones!


Me

Happy Anniversary Baby!!

Today is our 11th anni! So many memories over the years I would hardly know where to begin. From the stress filled fights leading up to the wedding to the crazy things before during and after. It was not funny then... but it is now (thank goodness)!

I can not TELL you how many times the flowers went in the trash and the wedding was OFF! Only for us to make up and for me to go running to the trash can praying that nothing gooey was on the arrangements I had worked so hard on. Then I would spend the next hour or so trying to fix them to get the crinkles out... ahh memories!

The night of the rehearsal we had to stop and buy rings, which made us late of course. Luckily they had a beautiful ring all ready to fit my size 5 finger. A rare thing. We had fun that night and then parted ways so that he could go to his bachelor party and I could go work on the bridesmaids dresses. I ended up pulling an all nighter, but was so hyped up I didn't seem to notice.

When the sun came up I was off to the races. I washed our blazer and hopped in to go to the reception hall and get people going on the decorations. This of course took longer than expected so I then rushed to my future brother and sister-in-laws house to shower and race to the salon.

I have to say that... the salon was a mistake. I was supposed to get a nice relaxing message, but it turned into a torture session instead. The masseuse decided that I was way to tense and was going to work it out of me even if it killed me! I was sore for a month and a half... literally. My make-up was spot on though, even if I did have a HUGE zit on my face. God bless that woman for being able to cover it and not make me look like a total freak! lol

Now, however, I'm late to the church where I was to get my hair done. As soon as I walked in the door I realized... I FORGOT MY DRESS!!!!! I was supposed to pick it up on the way to the church! Oh noooo! Luckily I caught my Mom on the phone just before they left for the church and she was able to go and get it. Breathing a bit easier I went to the organ loft to get on with the rest of the day.

Everything was going great until.... I notice the bridesmaids whispering among themselves. "What's going on?" I ask. Well, we are supposed to be married in 45 minutes and none can find the Groom! Turns out the best man had shut the alarm off and wasn't answering the phone. His wife (bless her heart) drove like a bat outta hell across town and saves the day! (Thank you Lisa!!)

There I am... stuck in a chair getting my hair done, worrying if he's gonna make it in time, when the fresh flowers arrive. The order is wrong. I could'a killed that florist right there on the spot. I was starting to wig OUT! I'm crying by this point and the only thing that had gone right that day was now a smeared mess on my face. Thankfully my Daddy steps in to save the day and offers me (get this) a get away car! lol (Have I mentioned how much I love my Daddy??)

Time to get dressed... ok.. dressed... Final touches on my hair... oh no... It didn't have time to curl properly thanks to the masseuse from hell and it just kinda hangs there like a limp rag. At that point, I didn't really care. I just wanted to get this over with. Finally Lisa (remember Lisa?) gets back and tells me the groom has arrived and is getting dressed. Hallelujah!! (I bet his mom was disappointed though.. not lol)

The music starts and down the winding stair case I go on my Daddy's arm. Good thing to 'cause I slipped and twisted my ankle. Ugh! As I'm waiting in the vestibule I notice that one of my brides maids is wearing a nice outfit... but not her dress. "Where's your dress?" The seamstress never showed up with it. You know what?? Whatever! Let's get this over with all ready!

And we're off! The music changes, the door opens and... no one is looking... no one is even standing!!!! Being in a catholic church you can not play "Here Comes The Bride" so no one knew the bride was coming! "Look at me! Loook at meeee!!" It's my wedding and we're half way down the aisle and no one has even noticed!!! Finally, someone does and they all turn around... phew! I'd have felt like a HUGE heel if I'd been all the way to the alter before anyone noticed!

Wait a second... Oh no... Is he alright?? Oh no.. he's gonna pass out... no wait... he's gonna puke! No... worse.. he's realizing what a huge mistake he's about to make and running right past me out the door screaming for his life! His mom is jumping up and cheering and screaming praises to God as she follows after him up the aisle! Whooping for joy all the way!

But it didn't happen... it was all in my head. Yes he looks about to pass out and puke at the same time, but he's still there! Maybe he wants to run and his legs aren't working... but I don't care. I breathe huge sigh of relief as we (finally) approached the altar and the ceremony begins.

It was beautiful, it really was. We had family and friends speak and a unity candle and a wonderful soprano singer. It was great, and it was OVER! Everyone files out side and they all blow bubbles and the sun is shining bright and beautiful... until...

Until that is I see a horse drawn carriage approaching. I had wanted to have one, but it was so expensive that we just couldn't afford it, but here it came. Everyone thought that someone else had ordered it for us. I thought it was my new husband. He thought it was my Daddy. Daddy thought it was my Mom, and Mom thought it was my new in-laws.

Turns out... no one ordered it for us. It turned the corner and there were people inside! My stomach took a lurch and the whole crowd collectively let out a huge, sad "ugh". Like they had all been punched in the stomach right along with me. Fortunately (not) the photographer caught the whole thing on film. He couldn't snap pictures fast enough. Thanks photo guy!

As we are all standing around discussing this event, the carriage comes back. The driver felt so bad about the look on my face that he asked/told the couple to get out so we could have a ride. It was wonderful! I think it was God's wedding gift to us, I really do.

Everyone makes sure they know where they are going for the reception and My Honey and I stay with the photo guy for more pictures. It took forever, but it was fun and I knew I'd appreciate the time spent later when we got the proofs.

We finally finish and it's off to the party! Woo hoo! But wait... ummm... where are the keys?? Turns out they are in the best man's pocket... who is already at the reception! We hurry to catch photo guy just as he's leaving and ask for a lift. He obliges and we pile into his little car headed for the reception. My dress was so HUGE that I couldn't see out the front and photo guy couldn't see out of the passenger side. Lol we must have been quiet a site that day, but we made it without any incidents!



The reception was great (even if the air wasn't working on the hottest day of the year). The cake was beautiful (even if it did taste like card board). And we all had loads of fun dancing the chicken dance and the hokey poky and cha-cha-ing our way around.

I look back at all the adversity of that day and think to myself..."Self, you are one lucky woman!"

TTFN,
Me

How Does Your Garden Grow??

Lol! we are going to try it again this year. We shall see how it goes. Over the last couple of years we have tried different things. The first year I picked a poor spot and the plants didn't get enough light. Last year, I started the plants but they never got in the ground. This year we went with Sq. Foot Gardening.

First, we built two of these boxes. It took DH a long afternoon to get them both built, but it was worth it! Then it came time to plant our seedlings.




The thing with this type of garden is that it saves space. In a traditional "dug bed" you need a foot wide space the length of one row, two feet of space for walking (the length of your row) and then another foot for your next row. Let's say you are going to plant 64 plants that need a foot of space each. You would need a dug bed that is 8' X 22'. (That's 8 plants per row, 8 rows) That works out to 176 sq.' total. We planted the same amount of plants in only 64 sq' using the boxes!! That's almost a third of the space! Can you imagine?!

Since the boxes are 4' wide, I can reach in from either side without straining. Another advantage is that I don't have to bend over as far to weed or reach the plants at harvest time! Win win! I do wish I could say that I didn't have to weed them at all but alas, that is not the case. What I will say is that weeding is MUCH easier since there are fewer weeds, and they are not well established.

I hope you will give this a try. There is the initial investment of materials, but I think it will pay for itself in the first year. We bought all the materials and even the dirt mixture and spent (roughly) $150. We will not need to make such an investment next year so our garden ill only cost us seeds. My plan (we all know how plans can go...lol) is to dry seeds from the best of our plants from this year for next year. That will help with the cost and should be a fun learning experience for both myself and the kids!

Have a blessed day!!

TTFN,
Me

ROFL!!!

Bitter Sweet

Those friends of mine who are TTC will understand this. Those that aren't never will. That's ok. I wish that no one would have to understand it.

One of My Love's co-workers just had their first baby. That is to say, the co-workers wife had the baby, not the co-worker himself. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for them, really, I am. However, it doesn't make it any easier for me to walk away and not feel...reflective. Had we not lost our baby last November I would be eight months preggers by now.

Knowing me, I would have packed my bag of mid wife supplies a month ago. I'd have arrangements for the kids ready and most (if not all) items bought and carefully cataloged. Double checking that I would have everything possibly needed, most of which I wouldn't need at all. (chuckle) I'm a little neurotic about that kind of thing.

We went to the hospital to see the baby... I mean congratulate the parents... and she was so darling... She was just the same size as my son when he was born and the memories just came flooding in. Unfortunately, with the joy of those memories come the pain of them as well. Knowing that I didn't want to get a tubal, but doing it anyway, is the biggest mistake of my entire life... bar none. Those that know me can attest to the fact that that is saying a lot! (insert another sad chuckle)

It makes me wonder what would have been. Would we still only have three kids? Or would we have more?? Would I be totally over whelmed by it, or would I be the mother I always wanted to be?? Patient, quiet, all knowing... mostly patient.... I don't know, probably not. I would probably still be me with all my faults and failures. I guess I'll never know. At least not on this side of Heaven.


TTFN,
BigMness