Not at the same time!
So I threw dinner in the crockpot today because I still can't deal with cooking for the most part, nor meat. It needs tweaking, but could be a good side dish for anyone having roast beef or chicken. In my 2 qt. crock I put:
3 sliced large red potatoes
1 small onion diced fine
1 bunch of green onions sliced, inlcuding the white part
8 oz. mushrooms sliced
1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp paprika
1 can of golden mushroom soup
7 oz shredded cheddar cheese
I layered everything in the crockpot and wound up with 3 layers. The cheese didn't melt in between two layers because I got paranoid and added a half cup or so of water. It didn't need it at all. I have a bit of soupy concoction, but still tasty. Next time, I'll leave out the water and figure out something different with the cheese, but still use that much because it is good. This would probably be 4 generous side portions. And next time I might try it with some cheddar cheese soup.
Onto the sewing...well serging. It took me an hour and half of trial and error tonight to get things right. But I finally started working on my hemp inserts for my diaper stash. I have enough fabric left over that I can make about 30 additional inserts which I plan on selling on etsy. 6 will be for super soakers overnight and the rest will be for regular daytime use. So, we'll see if they sell. I hope they do because obviously that would be a sense of accomplishment after all the hard work going into them. But, I am really excited to get the ones for my diaper stash done, plus I am making diapers for my newest arrival so it'll be neat to see everything together for those diapers. And I only have a couple more months before I can see the fluffiness on a newborn bum! :-)
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
It's a little bit of everything
Pregnancy and chasing after a high need and demanding toddler has been kicking me in the behind. I finished a request for etsy that I'm really excited about although I think it took me a month to finish between morning sickness, braxton hicks and the toddler that loves sewing machines/sergers and has to be right in the thick of action. I got a new serger, well new to me anyway, so I am working out the kinks of getting to know it and get better. And I am getting better each time I sit down.
On the personal side of sewing I'm working on what to do for Christmas since this year will have to be largely handmade because my husband probably won't have a job and we need to save money for hospital bills. I'm also working on making some reusable snack/sandwich bags to have around. And I'm going to be working on some maternity shirts since I can't find anything that fits properly, as well as some nursing tops/tanks especially for night time. Cold weather nursing with exposed skin does not make for a happy mama.
And tomorrow my friend and I are going to hang out and I'm throwing this in the crockpot in the morning to be ready when she comes over....
Chicken breasts
Golden mushroom soup
portobello mushrooms
onions
carrots
rice
and maybe some button mushrooms because I feel like mushrooms
cook on low for 6-8 hours. (add water to help the rice, and the rest should be gravy)
We'll see how it turns out. Could be great, could be terrible.
And that is all for now. Good night all!
On the personal side of sewing I'm working on what to do for Christmas since this year will have to be largely handmade because my husband probably won't have a job and we need to save money for hospital bills. I'm also working on making some reusable snack/sandwich bags to have around. And I'm going to be working on some maternity shirts since I can't find anything that fits properly, as well as some nursing tops/tanks especially for night time. Cold weather nursing with exposed skin does not make for a happy mama.
And tomorrow my friend and I are going to hang out and I'm throwing this in the crockpot in the morning to be ready when she comes over....
Chicken breasts
Golden mushroom soup
portobello mushrooms
onions
carrots
rice
and maybe some button mushrooms because I feel like mushrooms
cook on low for 6-8 hours. (add water to help the rice, and the rest should be gravy)
We'll see how it turns out. Could be great, could be terrible.
And that is all for now. Good night all!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Cleaning Recipes Part 2
My child is asleep so I can finsh up my post.
Tile Cleaner
2 tbsp. distilled white vinegar
3 cups water
10 drops of essential oil
Mix these together in a spray bottle and spray on your tile and wipe off.
SL: Use what you need discard the rest
Scrub solution
1/4 cup baking soda
Castile Soap
5-10 drops essential oil
Mix ingredients to a paste like consistency and use a rag to apply and wipe off. Rinse off well with water.
SL: Use what you need and discard the rest
Window cleaner
2 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
4 cups (1qt) warm water
Mix together in spray bottle. Spray on windows and use a natural fiber cloth to wipe clean. I use a squeegee as well and it works fine for me. This stuff is tried and true. People can’t really go wrong with this.
SL: Indefinite
Tile Cleaner
2 tbsp. distilled white vinegar
3 cups water
10 drops of essential oil
Mix these together in a spray bottle and spray on your tile and wipe off.
SL: Use what you need discard the rest
Scrub solution
1/4 cup baking soda
Castile Soap
5-10 drops essential oil
Mix ingredients to a paste like consistency and use a rag to apply and wipe off. Rinse off well with water.
SL: Use what you need and discard the rest
Window cleaner
2 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
4 cups (1qt) warm water
Mix together in spray bottle. Spray on windows and use a natural fiber cloth to wipe clean. I use a squeegee as well and it works fine for me. This stuff is tried and true. People can’t really go wrong with this.
SL: Indefinite
Cleaning Recipes Part 1
I've been meaning to do this for a long time, so I'm posting some of my favorite recipes for DIY household products and cleaners. With these I cannot stress enough, please label your containers! I use glass to store my powders. Generally recycled fruit and pasta sauce jars and sometimes if I'm desperate pickle jars. But, please label, label, label!
All purpose cleaner 1
2 Tbsp Borax
1 qt. Hot water
Mix well together and pour into spray bottle. It will need to be shaken together as it separates if not used all in one day of cleaning.
Shelf Life (SL): Indefinite
All Purpose Cleaner 2
1 tsp Super Washing Soda
2 tsp Borax
½ cup Castile Soap (I really like Dr. Bronners)
10-15 drops of whatever essential oil you like
Mix all of these ingredients in a 16 oz spray bottle or double and put in a qt. bottle.
SL: Indefinite
Carpet deodorizer
2 cups of baking soda
20-30 drops of essential oil
Blend together very well and pour into a shaker bottle. I use the cheap glass ones at my local big box store (even the parmesan glass containers would work but won’t hold two cups of baking soda so adjust accordingly). Shake onto carpet and sweep in with a broom or brush. Let sit for a half hour or for heavy odors overnight. Vaccuum up.
SL: Indefinite
Dishwasher soap
1 cup Borax
1 cup Baking soda
Mix together and pour into a glass container for storage.
SL: Indefinite
Air Freshener
1 cup warm water
5-10 drops of favorite essential oil or blend
Mix together in a small spray bottle and use as needed.
SL: Indefinite
All purpose cleaner 1
2 Tbsp Borax
1 qt. Hot water
Mix well together and pour into spray bottle. It will need to be shaken together as it separates if not used all in one day of cleaning.
Shelf Life (SL): Indefinite
All Purpose Cleaner 2
1 tsp Super Washing Soda
2 tsp Borax
½ cup Castile Soap (I really like Dr. Bronners)
10-15 drops of whatever essential oil you like
Mix all of these ingredients in a 16 oz spray bottle or double and put in a qt. bottle.
SL: Indefinite
Carpet deodorizer
2 cups of baking soda
20-30 drops of essential oil
Blend together very well and pour into a shaker bottle. I use the cheap glass ones at my local big box store (even the parmesan glass containers would work but won’t hold two cups of baking soda so adjust accordingly). Shake onto carpet and sweep in with a broom or brush. Let sit for a half hour or for heavy odors overnight. Vaccuum up.
SL: Indefinite
Dishwasher soap
1 cup Borax
1 cup Baking soda
Mix together and pour into a glass container for storage.
SL: Indefinite
Air Freshener
1 cup warm water
5-10 drops of favorite essential oil or blend
Mix together in a small spray bottle and use as needed.
SL: Indefinite
My laundry soap recipe
Ok, I've jumped on the bandwagon and have now made my own laundry powder. I have to be honest it wasn't too much work and I really like it. It works just as well as any powder I'd buy in the store.
Ingredients:
Borax 2.99
Super Washing Soda 2.99
Fels Naptha Bar 1.29
Baking Soda .99
Oxyclean 7.69 (after coupon and sale from Target)
Essential Oils (nominal because I already had them and use them for other applications)
In a large recycled pickle jar, like the one you buy at Wal-mart that has the whole pickles in them Vlassic brand and probably had 25-40 pickles in it. So the really big one. It was a couple years old and hadn't been used in a while so it didn't have the after smell anymore that sometimes sticks around. Anyway, in this large jar I poured 1 1/2 cups baking soda, 3 cups of Borax and Super Washing Soda each, and about 5 cups of Oxyclean. Close up the jar and shake really well to mix together. Then I used a cheap metal grater specifically for cleaning products and grated up the Fels Naptha bar. It took me about 45 minutes to grate because my hands got tired and I made the mistake of not watching once and grated my knuckles...Ouch. Once this was grated I added the bar to the previous mixture. I shook this up really well until I could see the yellow of the Fels Naptha bar throughout the container.
I then took about 3/4 cup of the mixture and poured it into another non food use cup and blended in about 20 drops each of peppermint and sweet orange essential oils. When they were blended really well I poured this into another recycled jar (I used a Orchard Select fruit jar that you get in the refrigerated case of the produce section since my child loves the fruit from them) and then added another 3/4 cup roughly of the unblended (in terms of EO's) to the blended mixture and shook very well to incorporate the two together and gave it a stir for good measure. When ready to do laundry I put 2 Tbsp in a measuring cup and quickly dissolved with warm water and poured it into the laundry tub for use. It works great. I got probably 15 or 20 loads out of this mixture. I'm not sure since our summer student used some as well while she was here and loved it too. But, I still have the big jar to use and can change up the essential oils as it pleases me since I take some out and do smaller batches to have the scent that I want. I will say that you don't have to use any fragrance. The Fels Naptha seems to have it's own scent which is pleasant enough especially when mixed with the rest of the ingredients, but I like being able to do what I want. And that big jar I will guestimate has over a 100 loads in it. Plus, this is my second batch of making my own soap. So, the $15.95 I spent to get probably close to 200 loads of laundry soap which equates to roughly $0.07975 per load is better than anything I can get in the store. However, for those that might be wondering, do not use this on your cloth diapers as I don't recommend it or consider it safe for them.
Shelf life without essential oils: Indefinite
Shelf life with essential oils: 3-6 months. Scent will slowly fade.
Ingredients:
Borax 2.99
Super Washing Soda 2.99
Fels Naptha Bar 1.29
Baking Soda .99
Oxyclean 7.69 (after coupon and sale from Target)
Essential Oils (nominal because I already had them and use them for other applications)
In a large recycled pickle jar, like the one you buy at Wal-mart that has the whole pickles in them Vlassic brand and probably had 25-40 pickles in it. So the really big one. It was a couple years old and hadn't been used in a while so it didn't have the after smell anymore that sometimes sticks around. Anyway, in this large jar I poured 1 1/2 cups baking soda, 3 cups of Borax and Super Washing Soda each, and about 5 cups of Oxyclean. Close up the jar and shake really well to mix together. Then I used a cheap metal grater specifically for cleaning products and grated up the Fels Naptha bar. It took me about 45 minutes to grate because my hands got tired and I made the mistake of not watching once and grated my knuckles...Ouch. Once this was grated I added the bar to the previous mixture. I shook this up really well until I could see the yellow of the Fels Naptha bar throughout the container.
I then took about 3/4 cup of the mixture and poured it into another non food use cup and blended in about 20 drops each of peppermint and sweet orange essential oils. When they were blended really well I poured this into another recycled jar (I used a Orchard Select fruit jar that you get in the refrigerated case of the produce section since my child loves the fruit from them) and then added another 3/4 cup roughly of the unblended (in terms of EO's) to the blended mixture and shook very well to incorporate the two together and gave it a stir for good measure. When ready to do laundry I put 2 Tbsp in a measuring cup and quickly dissolved with warm water and poured it into the laundry tub for use. It works great. I got probably 15 or 20 loads out of this mixture. I'm not sure since our summer student used some as well while she was here and loved it too. But, I still have the big jar to use and can change up the essential oils as it pleases me since I take some out and do smaller batches to have the scent that I want. I will say that you don't have to use any fragrance. The Fels Naptha seems to have it's own scent which is pleasant enough especially when mixed with the rest of the ingredients, but I like being able to do what I want. And that big jar I will guestimate has over a 100 loads in it. Plus, this is my second batch of making my own soap. So, the $15.95 I spent to get probably close to 200 loads of laundry soap which equates to roughly $0.07975 per load is better than anything I can get in the store. However, for those that might be wondering, do not use this on your cloth diapers as I don't recommend it or consider it safe for them.
Shelf life without essential oils: Indefinite
Shelf life with essential oils: 3-6 months. Scent will slowly fade.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Ok, it's been a while
I'm pregnant and trying to make it through the first trimester exhaustion and morning sickness and crazy hormones. I finally listed in my etsy shop though which is an accomplishment in itself! I plan on listing more soon since I want to use the funds to buy some material to make myself a couple things like maternity shirts and I'd like to put it towards a Serger Fund since my current serger does not like to play fair or cooperate and it's been diagnosed several times in the past few months. I figure I can't sell anything without being seconds until I start that fund. So, here's hoping. I've at least picked cute fabrics that would be gender neutral or boyish which is my aim. And I have to say because I've been so sick I haven't been so eco-friendly with cleaning, more specifically the bathroom. I've been using Lysol toilet cleaner because I can't seem to keep the mildew away with tea tree oil. And since I'm visiting the porcelain gods so frequently I want to see a sparkling bowl without said mildew. Anyway, I will try to post again later.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Easter brought us...
I gave my son a sand bucket full of goodies for Easter. Some were store bought, but I also made him a couple things which I loved. I made him a shirt, shorts and a contoured diaper which was a first all around and I think it turned out well for the first attempt.
I personally love the fabric. I got it at Joann Fabrics in their red tag bin for $4/yd. Since, I don't have the budget right now to spend on the other fabric that I want I shop that section and am able to find some things to store away and hold onto. Lately they have a lot of camo print which is great because we like it since we're a military family (and we have family members that have been in and close friends that are.) Dh and the baby helped pick out the fabric since I said that it was going to a project for the baby. I think it turned out well and am really happy with it. :-)
It was his first Easter of being aware of what was going on and being able to take part in things which was so much fun. There are still a couple of eggs that he has to "find". I think that he will in the next couple days, he's just so happy with the things that we got him. We got him a couple kitchen play toys since that seems to be one of his favorite rooms in the house. Plus, I love that he's not pulling out the pots and pans constantly and making others unhappy with that since it's requested that they be washed every time they are played with by him. Anyway, it's time to find a few more snacks for the darling before bed time and his last long nursing session of the evening.
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