Making Mah Own

I recently had a bout with a rash. Real classy. I was covered in red itchy bumps all over my forearms and legs. It. was. not. fun.

This has happened before and I attributed it to artificial sweeteners. They are not good for you in large amounts, so after some Benadryl and cutting those out of my diet I called it cured.

This time I did the same thing and it did not go away. Nothing helped. Rash gel, lotion, alcohol, Benadryl (helped but it didn't go away), hot water (um- don't try that. hurts like... well you know), cold water. Nada.

 So after about two months, I decided to take everyone's advice and change laundry detergent. I had been using the same stuff well before I got the rash- but I was ready to try anything to make the wretched itching stop.

Instead of spending the big bucks on what I usually get, I decided to peruse the 'net and take a shot at making it myself.

Not only did I succeed at making my own detergent- it was cheap, easy, will last forever, it worked, and my rash is GONE!

The super simple how to:

Homemade Laundry Detergent
Ingredients
All of which can be found at Wal-Mart for less than 10 buckaroos. Woot!
1 large box of Borax
1 large box of Baking Soda (or Washing Soda. either one)
3 bars of Fels-Naptha soap
A large container for the detergent (this recipe makes a lot!)

Step One
Grate the Fels-Naptha soap bars with a cheese grater.

Step Two
Combine borax and baking soda. Fold in the grated soap.

Step Three
Do a happy dance, because you are done!!

Toss 2-3 tbsp into each load of clothes you wash. The Fels-Naptha soap smells so clean and good and this is safe for energy efficient machines because it does not produce a lot of suds. Clothes come out clean and fresh and my whites are brighter than evah!

Ready for a surprise?! I was on a roll- so I also made my own fabric softener!!! And guess what else? It's even cheaper and just as easy and effective as the detergent!!

Homemade Fabric Softener
Ingredients
1 bottle of hair conditioner (brand and scent of choice- I used Suave Green Apple because it's $1 a bottle)
6 cups of hot water
3 cups of vinegar

Step One
Whisk together the hair conditioner and hot water until well incorporated and smooth. Gradually add vinegar and mix well.

Pour into your container of choice and enjoy! This can be measured and used the same way as store bought fabric softener. I was worried the mixture would separate, but I made another batch to fill up my container and a few weeks later it's still well mixed and gives my clothes a light apple scent without being too strong. And don't worry- you won't smell the vinegar at all!

And there you have it! Around 15 bucks and I have laundry detergent and fabric softener for months!

Seriously- if you have ever wanted to try it but haven't known where to start or what to do, please give it a shot! It is foolproof and you won't regret the savings and fact that you know exactly what is cleaning your clothes (no crazy chemicals! yay!).

Next time I'll be sharing the deets on our baby deck garden. I guess I'm a full on hippie now. Groovy :)

Peace out,
-A

Simply Living

Every now and then something comes along and saves my faith in humanity. Times are hard and the media is full of bad news and trashy celebrity gossip- oookay. Confession time. Hello. My name is Andrea. {everyone together now- "Hi Andrea!"} I am addicted to celebrity gossip. It's been over a month since the last time I was on the TMZ website. Promise. Anyway- When I stumbled upon Christie and her cause I was humbled and thrilled! I follow the blog and Instagram of an awesome lady named Melody (awesome blog- very real and encouraging. And she's from SC! Holla!) and saw on her Instagram that she'd shared a photo about a virtual shop on Instagram called Storehouse Vintage that was having its first Instasale. I had never heard of this Instasale stuff before, but after a little reading and looking I realized there are lots of people who use Instagram to sell vintage and handmade items, clothing, and thrifted treasures. (If you know me, you know that is right. up. my alley!)

So to make a simple story even more complicated, here's where I was humbled: Christie is running her shop to raise money to adopt two baby girls. From Africa.

Be still my heart.

As I realized this I shared a picture to promote her sale and encourage as many people as I could to participate and help her sweet little family raise money to bring her babies home! Unfortunately I wasn't quick enough to snag anything in the sale (the first person to comment on the picture of a desired item wins it- really fun & exciting!), but I did win! By sharing the picture my name was thrown into a hat and drawn out as the winner of one of her custom embroidery hoops she makes.

I'm so glad I won. My hoop is beautiful. I told her I really liked earthy & jewel tones, and I wanted the word "simplify" hanging in the middle. Well, that word was too long but was quickly remedied by using the words "live simply" instead. She was so sweet and had the hoop to me super fast!

It's now hanging above our stove for Josh and I to see every day and remember to take a step back and always think twice before getting hung up on the stresses of life- step back and live simply. or simply live. I'll take it either way.

To get your own, go follow her and her shop (storehousecrafts & storehousevintage) on Instagram- keep an eye out for when she is taking orders and get yourself a hoop!

God brought ours on the perfect day at the perfect time. I was feeling really overwhelmed about our finances and as I unwrapped my beautiful hoop I remembered that it's just money; and that a lot of my worry and anxiety will be helped if I just make an effort to

Thank you again, Christie!

-A

Yumday Monday

Y'ALL<

That last two days have been awesome. Just. awesome.

Yesterday, we attended a Budget Class hosted by our church, Newspring. Now, I wasn't expecting much, to be honest. I thought to myself "I know what a budget is & we've tried to budget before, but I just don't think it can work for us." Boy was I wrong!

Our church has a saying: "Every number has a name; every name has a story; every story matters to God." People tend to think that because our church is so large with multiple campuses there's no way they can feel included and valued- and there is nothing farther from the truth. Check it out if you don't believe me. :)

Anyway, at our Budget Class the instructor told us to think about our money in the same way: "Every dollar has a name; every dollar has a story; every dollar matters to God." And for the next hour and a half she opened our eyes to making every single dollar that passes our hands honor God and bring blessing to our little family. Seriously amazing, guys. In the Stewardship area of the website you can access their monthly and weekly budget plans that are simple Excel documents. You just plug in your info and it does all the calculating for you! If you struggle with impulse spending like me, it will help you. If you are working paycheck to paycheck and feel like you'll never be able to save any substantial money (like us), it will help you. We are so excited to actually see on paper what we never thought possible for ourselves.

Which leads me to my next point- Food!

My husband & I love to spend time together in the kitchen. However, sometimes the urge to place an order over the phone or pick something up on the way home is too good to resist when you can't remember what's in your pantry & you don't know how long it will take to prepare.

This also applies to lunch- I'm more likely to eat unhealthy school lunch (chicken sandwich, chips, cookie) and Josh is more likely to eat fast food when we're scrambling around for something quick to grab and go in the mornings or we're bored with PB&J's.

Earlier today I found the blog BentOnBetterLunches and it is so cool! This lady documents the awesome, creative lunches she packs for her children and husband. There's a cool way of putting food together called Bento that involves making 'scenes' out of the food- really just making it fun to look at and eat! I spent hours today pouring over her ideas and checking out the healthy foods she incorporates into her family's lunches.

In order to help stick to our new budget as well as create a healthier eating lifestyle, I need accountability. So I hereby declare each Monday "Yumday Monday"! I'm going to try and share our weekly menu each Monday so that I can:

-Plan meals ahead of time to keep from impulse buying at the grocery store
-Hold myself accountable to cooking meals at home and not ordering out during the week
-Share more recipes with family and friends
-Keep variety in our menu so we don't get bored of the same meals over & over

I'm going to start just sharing suppers and work toward sharing lunches & suppers. I'm beginning packing healthy, organized lunches tonight and am going to give myself a week or two to get used to it before I start sharing what I'm packing.

First official Yumday Monday:

Monday- Breakfast for Supper (double chocolate muffins)
Tuesday- Parmesan Garlic Baked Fish with Salad and Steamed Corn
Wednesday- Crockpot Hawaiian Barbecue Chicken with Steamed Green Beans & Yellow Rice
Thursday- Baked Spaghetti with Garlic Breadsticks and Salad
Friday- Date Night! (thanks to our new budget! :D)
Saturday- Venison Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes and Salad
Sunday- Velveeta Chicken, Broccoli & Cheese Skillet Meal

Have a yummy week!

-A

Resolutions... take II

 So, last year around this time I did a post about the 'resolutions' I wanted to work on for 2012. I thought this year I would take a look at those and reflect on how I did and in what ways I can improve for 2013. Ready? Here we go!

1) for 2012: {Get in shape. I know what you're thinking- "You just said that was typical!". Well making a big push to lose holiday weight is always a big deal, but that's not what I'm talking about. This past year I lived a very unhealthy lifestyle, and it has taken its toll. My skin, my weight, my moods, my energy- no good!! I'm resolving to cut out simple carbs (this is kind of necessary due to insulin resistance I have developed) and to begin exercising regularly to get in shape!! This is going to be a biggie- and probably the hardest for me.}

for 2013: This goal has been a roller coaster. I had periods of time where I was losing weight and at each visit to my doctor my weight was going down. I've also had periods where I've felt overwhelmed and put the weight back on. And then I would lose it again. This goal is a battle for a lifestyle. As I go into 2013 I've got my eyes on not what I want to lose, but what I want to gain: feeling better and ditching the aches and pains from the weight, having energy to spare, starting a family, being able to work out with my husband, getting rid of the couch potato lifestyle, and finally- looking at photos of myself and enjoying the memory rather than feeling shame about how I appear.

Source

2) for 2012: {Commit to keeping my house clutter free. I'm a pack rat. I married a pack rat. I have seen way too many hoarders episodes to be comfortable keeping junk anymore. So in 2012 I will continue de-cluttering and keeping my house simple and neat. I'm very excited about this one! Less clutter leads to more projects! And we all know I love projects!!}

for 2013: I rocked this resolution!!!! The only problem is I should have said "Get rid of the clutter" rather than "Keep it clutter free". It took the entire year to rid our house of most of the clutter. My biggest advice- take it room by room. Even today after I finish writing this post I will be cleaning and re-organizing my office because it looks like Christmas exploded in there. I have to refuse to be overwhelmed by the mess (being OCD I want everything in its place all the time and I have to fight the urge to be stressed when it's not that way) and just take things one space at a time. I am WAY more productive that way. So for this year I'm going to focus on painting the kitchen cabinets and reorganizing them to better suit our needs, keeping up with laundry and putting things away, and being careful about impulse buys so I don't bring things into our home that are not going to be used.

Source

3) for 2012: {Be committed to serving in a church. God led us in an unexpected direction church-wise this year and it has been awesome to see God bless our obedience, but it is hard to get plugged into and committed to another church. Please pray for us that our hearts will ignite with passion and we will find a place to serve.}

for 2013: God was so faithful! Josh and I joined Newspring Church and not only attend church now, but we are plugged in serving God through being a part of their Greeting Team! We have seen so much growth in our relationship as a married couple through us taking care of our individual relationships with the Lord. We communicate better, we are in better moods, and we enjoy the time we get to spend together volunteering. We've made new friends and look forward to volunteering faithfully and continuing to take our next steps with God!

Source

4) for 2012: {Get out of debt!! Honestly, I don't really consider 2 credit cards and a home loan a lot of debt but it's important to me to be debt free. We need to purchase another vehicle and will not be able to do so until I get these credit cards off my back.}

for 2013: Y'all. This is hard. Financial hardship always seems to hit you when you're down. We have worked really hard this year to pay debt off and make better financial choices. We were very blessed to be able to purchase Josh a vehicle (even if it is an ole rust bucket- we love it regardless!) but we still have debt to take on. We were wasteful with our income tax money last year and will be very disciplined this year in using that money in ways that God leads us. My best advice when it comes to living comfortably on a not comfortable income: tithe. Every time we have tithed and been faithful in giving our 10% back to God, He has been SO faithful in providing for us. Every. single. time.

Source

5) for 2012: {Save, save, save money!!!! Our responsibility with money has matured a whole HECK of a lot (I'm not sure how much a heck is, but it's gotta be a bunch!); however, in order to visit one of my best friends in England, feel comfortable talking about having babies, visit precious friends that live in California, and be able to pay our bills without ridiculous juggling and pushing due dates- we gotta get ahead of the game. Paycheck to paycheck ain't gonna work.}

for 2013: Again- money is a hard one. We did an okay job of saving here and there for small things we wanted, but in the grand scheme of things we did not make very calculated decisions and were not able to save any big bucks for any big trips. We feel pretty good about where we are in regards to whenever God blesses us with starting a family. Ideally I would love to be able to stay home and raise our children and teach part time or substitute, but if I had to continue teaching we would trust the Lord for that and just be overjoyed He finally blessed us with a family. We also love giving and being able to do things for our families and would love to be in a better position to do so.

Source

Overall I have to say we did a bang up job growing together as a couple and doing our very best to soak in every drop of joy and opportunity given us by this one wild and precious life.

I have a feeling 2013 is going to be the best yet. :)

Source

-A

525,600 Minutes

How do you measure, measure a yeeeaaaarr? GREAT song.

On Monday, Josh and I celebrated our very first anniversary!! Cue the fireworks, the balloons, the confetti, and the dancing dolphins!!

It's so hard to believe it's been a year since we said forever to each other! It feels like yesterday and it was the best day ever! It went by so quickly and wasn't without its hiccups, but I had SO much fun and felt so blessed to become the wife to my very best friend.

This time last year we were enjoying our honeymoon in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee.

In the Mtns of NC

On the Blue Ridge Parkway

Before I give you all the details about how we are going to celebrate surviving our first year of marriage, I want to share what this year of doing life together has taught us:

1. Do not go to bed angry. No matter what. There were nights we were up until 12 or 1 am (on school nights, no less!!) working things out. I went to bed angry one time and will never ever do it again because it solves nothing, makes you even more tired, and you just get angrier and angrier.

2. Stick to a budget and save. Being a relatively new teacher making beans for pay and being married to a man that may clock 103 hours in a pay period but only get paid for 40 of them (because technicians only get paid for the work they do) we have learned that a lot of times our attitudes toward each other and stress levels revolve around money. What has made the biggest difference is being devoted to tithing to our church. One of its core values is that you cannot out-give God and He has proven this time after time. When we are faithful to Him, He blesses us! Maybe not with more money, but definitely with better attitudes and peaceful spirits. So instead of being against each other about money, we've learned to take it on as a team and hold each other accountable to the budget that we set together (even if it involves me pouting over a throw pillow; true story).

3. You can never say "I love you" enough. I know it's cheesy but I take every opportunity to tell Josh what he means to me. It helps us stay grounded and remember what brought us here in the first place- love!

4. Even though you share the same bed, you don't necessarily get enough quality time together. It's very important for us to set aside time to do things together we enjoy. Sometimes it might only be the ride to the waste management facility to take out the trash; other times we may actually have time and money to enjoy a meal out and a movie. Regardless of what it is, we make the time to continue getting to know each other. It helps reinforce our bond.

5. You cannot grow closer to each other if you are not growing closer to God. We have had some rough times this year and the first 6 months of our marriage were not that great. We were very selfish and self centered, and not growing in the Lord like we should have been. We had to stop and evaluate and realize that there was tension and friction between the two of us because there was tension and distance between each of us and God. The Lord cannot teach you and bless you if you are turned away avoiding Him. I know I avoid Him because I do not want to face my own sin and desires, but when I give those desires to Him and repent and try my best to do better- He blesses us. We know what direction to go in and He makes His presence known. And it's wonderful!! It's very liberating to know you can trust Him to guide your steps instead of being a stressed out control freak- trust me on this!

So one year is gone, and I am so excited to continue our journey together. Pregnancy? Baby? Another dog? More home projects? A trip to England as a couple? All are on the agenda, but the when and how are unknown. I have a year of formal evaluation at work this coming school year and I need to be on point. We also have debt to pay down (more on that later), sick leave to save up, and projects that must be done around the house before I will feel comfortable welcoming a little one (or ones... I am a twin :P) into our family.

Until God makes it happen, we are focusing on living life to the fullest and best right now, enjoying each day as it comes and being thankful for what we have!

Stay tuned for the scoop on our anniversary celebration!

Outnumbered.

Have you ever had before you a plate still beckoning with delicious treats, and you want to keep eating but your stomach screams "If you put one more bite of food in me, it's ALL coming up!!"? You know what they say when that happens and you leave food on your plate- "Your eyes were bigger than your stomach."

Josh and I had one of those moments this weekend; except our realization was that our hearts were bigger than our pockets. You see, I have a bleeding heart for animals. I can't stand to see an animal without a home, without love, without care- I. can't. stand. it. I adopted Scooby against the wishes of every family member I have when I was a senior in college. He has been my baby boy. He was the runt at the Humane Society nobody wanted. Seriously. He was so scared when they brought him to the little 'meet and greet' room he pooped!! But I wanted him anyway. I loved him anyway. When Josh and I got engaged, we wanted to adopt a dog together. My hubby's heart for animals is as big as my own. So, we adopted a little fuzzy husky mix and named her Kina. For a year we have tried to fit her into an 'indoor dog' mold; she's so not that. A few months after we got married, a kitten bound for isolation at a barn found a home with us; we dubbed him "Maverick". Knowing full and well the full house we had, a few weeks ago we opened our hearts yet again because I wanted to scoop up a sweet little pup that needed a home; Penny is what she was called.

You can see our dilemma. Our hearts are so much bigger than our pockets!! Food, vet bills, flea and tick meds, exercise, attention, grooming, and on and on and on and on and on is so much more than we could afford (financially, mentally, and emotionally) and we had to have a grown up moment and sit down and decide what to do.

After lots of prayer and consideration, we have returned Kina to the rescue we got her from. Hold on while I wipe my eyes... Watching her look back at me out of the window as they drove away ripped my heart to pieces. Penny the puppy got placed with the Humane Society and I was assured they would find her a great home. More breaking of my heart. :(

However; Kina is going to find a home somewhere I know that is going to wear her out, get her groomed, give her a spacious yard to play in, children to play with, and tons of love and kisses! Penny is so stinkin' cute someone is going to fall in love and, again, give her a yard where she can run and chase kids and bugs and bark at birds and squirrels. I just know it!!

We decided to keep Scooby and Maverick. Maverick is very low maintenance, budget friendly, and very well behaved. He's a cat that acts like a sweet, old dog. Scooby is my baby. I will hold him when he takes his last breath. Period.

So here we are. Me and the boys. I'm outnumbered! Do I miss my girls? Yes. Do I know they are in better places? OH Yes!! They deserved better than we could give, they deserve someone with pockets as big as their hearts!

So. It's bittersweet. Maybe in a few days I won't feel like I let them down, I probably won't feel like a bad pet owner anymore; I know as we prepare to discuss extending our little family of two we want to keep our dreams and desires in line with God's Will and His priorities for our life. For tonight, though, I'm going to be sad and miss my girls and pray God understands the desire of my heart that those sweet puppy souls find perfect forever homes!

Back to school tomorrow. Oh boy.

Until next time,

Resolutions

Oh yes. The time is upon us! As this brand spankin' new year approaches, I can't help but sit back and think on some 'resolutions'. Oh of course I've thought of the typical 'lose weight, be nicer, find a cure for cancer, etc, etc', BUT (and this may be a resolution in and of itself) I want to make some really good, realistic, challenging, relevant resolutions this year. I don't know about you, but often throughout the year I get stuck in a rut. I don't like who I am at those times; I feel like I've lost my happy, jolly self and don't know what to do. I'm resolving this year to make some important changes.

1) Get in shape. I know what you're thinking- "You just said that was typical!". Well making a big push to lose holiday weight is always a big deal, but that's not what I'm talking about. This past year I lived a very unhealthy lifestyle, and it has taken its toll. My skin, my weight, my moods, my energy- no good!! I'm resolving to cut out simple carbs (this is kind of necessary due to insulin resistance I have developed) and to begin exercising regularly to get in shape!! This is going to be a biggie- and probably the hardest for me.

2) Commit to keeping my house clutter free. I'm a pack rat. I married a pack rat. I have seen way too many hoarders episodes to be comfortable keeping junk anymore. So in 2012 I will continue de-cluttering and keeping my house simple and neat. I'm very excited about this one! Less clutter leads to more projects! And we all know I love projects!!

3) Be committed to serving in a church. God led us in an unexpected direction church-wise this year and it has been awesome to see God bless our obedience, but it is hard to get plugged into and committed to another church. Please pray for us that our hearts will ignite with passion and we will find a place to serve.

4) Get out of debt!! Honestly, I don't really consider 2 credit cards and a home loan a lot of debt but it's important to me to be debt free. We need to purchase another vehicle and will not be able to do so until I get these credit cards off my back.

5) Save, save, save money!!!! Our responsibility with money has matured a whole HECK of a lot (I'm not sure how much a heck is, but it's gotta be a bunch!); however, in order to visit one of my best friends in England, feel comfortable talking about having babies, visit precious friends that live in California, and be able to pay our bills without ridiculous juggling and pushing due dates- we gotta get ahead of the game. Paycheck to paycheck ain't gonna work.

Over all, I think this is a good start. There are lots of other things I would love to work on when it comes to improving myself. It's my firm belief we need to strive to improve. Being content with how we are leads to laziness and complacency. Don't get me wrong! You should love who you are!! For sure! But you shouldn't make excuses for habits and quirks that you know are not letting you live the best life you could. Trust me- I've been through a lot this year and I know.

Dealing with a terrible workplace at the beginning of this year, working for someone who enjoyed breaking down my confidence and self esteem, eventually losing my job due to said person, being forced to find a job a week before I got married, running my credit cards to the max to afford my simple wedding, working so hard to convince an underwriter to approve my home loan, dealing with a variety of serious medical issues, eating spaghetti over and over because we couldn't afford groceries for a few months, and struggling to understand my role as a wife the first 6 months of my marriage almost broke me. Like I said, I know.

But I can still look at this year and my eyes mist over at the incredible amount of blessings I've experienced- having the man God hand picked for me ask me to spend the rest of my life with him, becoming a homeowner and moving into a beautiful house, being showered with love and gifts by so many family and friends before we got married, finding another teaching job before I even got married at a place where I am valued and praised for my very hard work, adding a sweet little girl named Kina and a mischievous little guy named Maverick to our small family, walking down the aisle in a gorgeous dress to become the Mrs. to my very best friend, and because of that acquiring a new family who's been so incredibly helpful and along with the rest of our family been our cheerleaders, and finally reaching a place in our marriage where we understand each other and spend our evenings together, not against one another. Boy am I blessed!!

And I cannot wait to see what next year has in store!!

Until the new year,