I fixed it!!

We have a clock in the living room, it was $1.99 from Ikea, and it's been knocked down about 50 million times... this time it broke! Option A: toss it buy a new one. After all it's under $5 and fits in my budget. Option B: fix it. I chose option B because, it hurts me to throw things away. The huge green heart inside just wont let stuff go unless it's really gone. We can all thank Sesame Street and my awesome mom:)
   I started with fabric leftover from my curtains, modge podge, paint brush, scissors, a pencil and some  gorilla glue to fix the cracked part.

 Broken Clock

 Glued together so beautifully!!

 Expert measuring skills

 Reinforced patch

Drying project

Finished Product!!

There are a few bubbles, on the edges, I can smooth those out once it's dried for 24hrs. In the humble opinion of this Chica, it is look'ing good! Happy crafting!

$1.28 for laundry soap?!?!

Budgets can be a real bummer! Creating them, sticking to them, going over them... blah! However on the flip side there is great potential for creativity with in a budget. I have a budget! A nice tight little budget that keeps us comfortable. Even still, I am always on the hunt for new and improved ways to create just a hair more wiggle room with in that budget. 
Approximately three months ago I decided to try and make my own laundry soap. I started with the dry mixture, moved to a liquid mixture and am currently on the cream mixture. All versions have left my clothes clean and smelling great! I have spent $9 total on the required ingredients. 

Borax $3.50

Washing Soda $3.50

Falths Naptha Soap $0.99

Zote Soap $0.99 (not pictured)

   Up first was the dry mixture because it was super easy to make! Just grate the soap into the powder, stir and, go. It dissolves and cleans beautifully. The only draw back to the dry mixture, for me, was the dust it kicked back made me sneeze. 

   I found the liquid mixture was much better for the sneezing, a little more time consuming with the cooking, cooling and transferring from pot to storage. The only draw back I found was the logistics of moving it from the storage bottle to the washer. This transfer was a bit sloppy but, that was largely attributed to my method of storage (large white vinegar bottle). I'm sure with a different storage method, I could have eliminated the messy.

   Now the cream mixture is, by far, my favorite! I have done 3 loads with it so far and found it easy to dispense, is in a condensed state making storage a breeze. I have it in a small coffee can and a large parmesan cheese bottle versus, a large white vinegar bottle, a parmesan cheese container and a pitcher as I had the liquid. I will note I was able to make this without the aid of the two quart sized mason jars, however helpful they would have been it is possible to do it with out. Reasoning behind the quart sized mason jars was to put the liquid in, straight from cooking, and turn it upside down. Suspending the liquid upside down to cool is vital to the process. As the recipe states "you don't want to know how we know this, we just do."

   There you have it! Laundry soap for three months for $9.00. You cannot even buy one container from Cost Co for that amount. Happy budget! More room for coffee...yum!!

Oh, be careful little feet where you go...

For the Father up above is looking down in love so,

be careful little feet where you go. (song)

I pray that my son would follow Jesus and not me.

I pray that his heart will belong to God and no other.

I pray that he would lead others towards the cross and not be lead away.

I pray that my husband and I are able to train up this child in the way he should grow.

So that when he is older he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6 pharaphr.)

I praise Jesus that we are fearfully and wonderfully made.

I pray that our family would be able to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. Sharing with Gods people who are in need

by practicing hospitality.(Romans 12:12-13 paraphr.)

In Jesus name and for His glory!

Amen

Let your light shine!!

Epiphany

Jesus has been working over time in my life. It's not unsolicited, I asked Him to enter in and renew me, refresh me, refine me.I must admit it has been a journey to remember and, we are not even close to being "over". I just wanted to stop by and share with you a few of the revelations I have been gifted to me.
   'You Lead' By Jamie Grace is a beautiful description of this exploration I am going on, and on, and on with Jesus. Because I want to be a 'God girl' and this is who I am and where I need to be. I'm 'With You' Jesus and nothing else matters. 
   2 Corinthians 12: 7-10 (The Message)
            Because of the extravagance of those revelations and, so I wouldn't get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angels did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty. At first I didn't think of it as a gift and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me. My grace is enough, it all you need. My strength comes into it's own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ strength moving on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size- abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks! I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get the stronger I become.    
John 16:33 
            I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.


You are...

Fully Forgiven (Romans 8:1)
Freely Forgiven (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Forever Forgiven (1Peter 3:18, Hebrews 9:28) {Matt Chandler}

I will close with this quote from 'Made to Crave' by Lysa Terkeurst. 

"...the ultimate goal of this journey isn't about making me a smaller sized person but rather making me crave Jesus and His truth as the ultimate filler of my heart... I'm not on a diet, I'm on a journey with Jesus."

Sub zero!

What to do on another frozen day? I know!! 

A very simple dance to do.

If your a kid...

Boom Chicka Boom

Clap your hands

Go Banana's

Wishy Washer Woman

Please do enjoy our list of wonderfully active songs!!

Tea for two or more!

Well, it's winter! The temperature is 1* and it feels like -9. These frigid temperatures limit the   activities to inside play. After sticker collages, play dough and a few dragon battles we settled down to have a tea party!  

Menu

Colby cheese cubed

apple slices

heart shaped carrots
mini muffins

orange kool aid

During our most delightful tea we were entertained by listening to Rumpelstiltskin on Story Nory.  This set up captivated the natives and kept them entertained for well over an hour. 

All it takes is faith and trust with a dash of creativity to keep the day interesting. 

Muffins!

I have few arch nemesis in the kitchen. One of them being rice and the other muffins! For years I would try, try, and try. Different recipes, different ingredients, different muffin pans, oven temperatures. You name it! I tried it!I threw in the towel and started calling banana bread, muffin bread. That was our life till a few months ago when a friend posted this Zucchini Banana Bread Muffins recipe. The whole idea of following an actual recipe is completely foreign to me. The vast majority of recipes I use require me toss in ingredients and assume it will taste as good as it smells! I am rarely disappointed:)Apparently for muffins you can't do that. So... FOLLOW this recipe and you will have ah-mazingly healthy and delicious muffins.