i made soap - for real!

well, i guess i've gotten over my super-sucky-birthday-party-pout. to those few lovely, wonderful, amazing souls who shared the evening with us - THANK YOU. had you not showed up (like the other 38 people) i probably would have jumped off a bridge. my amazing sweet hubby is taking me out this weekend for my REAL birthday :-) glad to have him be my super, special date.

exiting the pouty platform....

a few weeks ago i freaking made soap. laundry soap anyhow. and i want to share my experience.

*** awesome, my pics aren't loading - i'll fill you in with some random google images, this should be fun***

so i found my recipe on pinterest. ahhh, sweet, happy pinterest. i didn't even know you could make your own laundry soap, well unless you were laura ingles or a zombie apocalypse had occured. but there it was, a recipe for it and it said you could make a gallon for like $1! we're straight up poor these days (no lie) and so i thought, sweet - i'll save us some non-existenet dollar dollar bills (yo) and make up some fabulous laundry goo.

step one - procure some supplies. my recipe called for a bar of soap (i used a bar of that yellow laundry soap - fells napatha or something like that), a box of borax powder and a box of washing soda (NOT to be confused with baking soda). you'll need a large pot that you will only be using for NON-FOOD activities, so i hustled over to wally world and got a cheap pot. you'll also need a long spoon, a cheap cheese grater and container of some sort to store your soap in (i used a gallon pitcher sorta thingy with a snap on lid)

step two - grate you soap (like cheese, but not). my recipe called for a whole bar (but makes 2 gallons) so i just grated half the bar and saved the rest for later. then you put it in a gallon (minus a couple of cups, but save these) of water and cook on low till all the soap is disolved. then you mix in some borax and some soda, boil, turn off the heat and let it cool. pour it into your chosen container. note - it would be VERY helpful to have funnel for this task. i couldn't find one, so we cut the bottom off a water bottle and used that. then it'll keep cooling. and it'll get thick. like REALLY thick. like, holy hell, what did i just do - i made a gallon sized bar of soap. enlist the help of a hunky man (or work some aggression out and do it yo-self) and shake, shake, shake it... it'll still be sorta jelly like, but at least you can get it to pour out of the container into your washer.

step three - use the darn stuff. it works! i was skeptical so i tried my first batch on some toxic peices. ie - bub's gym clothes and a washcloth nuggie pooped on in the tub. they came out clean as a bean. my one and only complaint is that it doesn't smell as yummy as our normal gain or tide, but i think the next batch i'll figure out a way to add some sort of fragrence. i know i could have chosen to use a yummy smelling soap, but the bar of laundry soap made sense to me to use. practicality over smellly-goodness won out.

i googled "super clean clothes" and this is what appeared. you. are. welcome :-)

and there you have it. minus the initial cost of the supplies, we figured each gallon costs really only about $1. it works and it makes me feel like i'm doing something happy and good for mother nature AND my sweet hubby's wallet while i loaf around in nursing school, not working. i'd find a recipe that looks like a delight to you and give it a whirl!


PS - my spellcheck button thingy isn't working either. enjoy all the errors my friends.

lesson learned...

i'd like everyone to click on over to my sweet and intelligent friend shannon's blog. she wrote this post and i'm totally referring to it today. just read it.

shannon's awesome etiquette lesson

ps - while you're reading this you should read some more. miss shannon's blog is a delight!!

ahhhhhh

whew, am i sighing a huge breath of relief. i passed a math test today in class that would determine if i could even continue on in the program. it was the first day of the new semester and they lay this massive scary test on us - nice, huh? well, i passed and that's that. thank goodness, now i can look ahead to the next little slice of insanity.

how the frap is it 2012? where'd 2011 go? i made some fun resolutions. i can't remember them all right now and i'm too lazy to get up and grab my journal... i know one of them was the standard lose weight. this is nothing new for me, but seriously, SERIOUSLY guys, something has to change. i gained like five pounds b/t thanksgiving and christmas. i think that might have something to do with the 8 pounds of homemade cookies i gobbled up when i was visiting the fam? either way, for real - the pudge must budge. nothing seems to work with me - so i'm going with teeny tiny baby steps. step one - get my ass to the gym three times a week. for real. no excuses. i made it yesterday. today and tomorrow and thursday are nutty with long days at school. i will go friday and saturday. i will. end of story.

another new year's resolution was to watch all the movies everyone always shuns me for NOT seeing. for example, i've never seen the original star wars or goonies or west side story, just to name a few. bub and i are going to try to make friday nights our little date night in. after nuggie has gone to bed we'll break out a bottle of wine and watch a weird old movie that everyone makes such a fuss over. this last friday we watched North - with elijah wood. it was cute i guess... i'd rather watch you've got mail.

i need some ideas people... since we very unexpectadly ended up going to oregon for christmas, i have a HUGE ham in my freezer and a family sized thingy of pillsbury gingerbread cookie dough in my fridge. what do i do with these things? i can cook up the ham, but i don't want to eat it for the next two weeks. anyone wanna share with me? any idea of what to do with like 8 pounds of ham? and the cookie dough. i can't bake it all up - i'll eat it and that won't help me. maybe i'll make gingerbread valentines cookies? is that a thing? it doesn't sound like a thing. ugh.

up, up and away we go

my super amazing hubby gave me the very best Christmas gift EVER! wednesday he sent me a text asking what we were doing on thursday? i said nothin' - then he said i was wrong that we were having lunch with my momma. SAY WHAT?!? long story short, he surprised me with a trip to oregon to spend the holiday with my family! i had less than 24 hours to prepare to head out of state. everything fell perfectly in to place though - we seriously are blessed with some amazing friends! the best part of it all was telling my mom. she's not ordinarily an emotional person, but i swear i detected a hint of a tear when she found out we'd be all together for Christmas!

now, it's time to get real friends... i love traveling but i hate flying. like really, really hate. nuggie was about as good as i ever could have hoped for. it's me that has the issues. first off, i get anxious - so my stomach goes to knots. and by knots, i mean grumbles of gas and the distinct possibility that i'll need to make an urgent trip to the ladies room. awesome. you know how easy it is to use a plane's potty. is there anything grosser than a "lavatory"? and who calls it a lavatory? we all know what it is. and don't even get me started on changing a poopie diaper in one of those washing-machine-sized spaces. and sitting on the damn thing. could they possibly give you any less space? and why is that i'm ALWAYS and i repeat, ALWAYS stuck behind the joker who wants to recline his seat as far back as humanly possible. then there i am with my wiggly toddler trying to keep her from grabbing at the selfish jack-wads perfectly quaffed hair. but i'm sorta thinking, go ahead sweetie, kick the frap out of that guys chair and pull off his ridiculous sweater tied around his neck. but that's not very polite and i don't really want to teach nuggie to be a little jerk, but golly do i want to smack that man. ok, let's move on. then there's how super awesome i always look. i am so NOT one of those girls with the perfect make-up and stylish clothes, even under the best circumstances, so putting me on a cramped, stuffy plan doesn't help things. when you fly with a little one (at least our little one) we must get the first flight out. so we were up at 3:30am. yeah, that's right - AM! did i put on make-up - NO. did i put on a cute outfit - NO. my hair went in a ponytail and my trusty yoga pants went on. so you stand in line at security, take off your coat, take off your shoes, rush to put everything back on. you sit on the plan in the dry air and cramped seat. you've got a bouncy toddler rubbing cracker crumbs, snot and milk all over your face, shirt and pants. your hair gets pulled all wonky like. your eyes get red, your lips get chapped. you deal with adjusting to time changes, lack of sleep, lack of anything healthy to eat or drink. and then you get to your destination. and i think as i stand at baggage claim waiting for my cheapo luggage to cycle around on the conveyor belt (and don't you sorta want to jump on it and ride it around??) hoping the suitcases are still in one piece and oh yea, that they actually came to our destination with us at all. and i start looking around. and they're there. the cute girls. the ones that have their boots with heals on and their perfect hair and their smudge-free makeup and not a bit of baby goo on them anywhere. and i think - i've got to do better. but how? HOW???? how do they do it? i can hardly get my act together when i've got two feet on the ground - flying just drives everything right off to H-E-Double-Hocky-sticks-fashion-town.

thank God that we're typically flying off to see family, who has to love me no.matter.what :-)

update, update, read all about it...

i was reminded today (while out to lunch with two dear, sweet former co-workers) that i haven't blogged in a little minute. and it's true! i've been bloggy MIA. i know you all are just foaming at the mouth (is that the saying??) to get the scoop on what i've been up to and i'm lazy, so here's a list (you know how i love a good list!)

first and foremost - i freakin' passed my first semester of nursing school! how is this possible??? and i passed with pretty good grades. i have to admit, i'm proud. this has been the hardest 4 1/2 months of my life. like mental breakdown, wondering what the hell i got myself into sort of months. but i kept going and stayed diligent and said a few prayers that a little miracle would happen and it did! so fundamentals, pharm and my first clinical experience are behind me. now it's on to ob/peds and something called trends? another clinical experience and then i'll have kicked the first year in the ass! woo!

so here i am on Christmas break. i haven't found myself with three weeks off from school in a LONG time. i've been going pretty much non-stop since last january. what to do, what to do?

1. make and eat about ten tons of cookies... i found these delightful little treats on pinterest called peppermint snowballs. they ARE little bits of wintery heaven.

2. clean! you guys know me, i can't pass up a chance to clean the frap out of something. so far i've sorted through all nuggie's clothes and pulled out all the stuff that's too small. i re-organized the only two cuboards we have in our kitchen that hold all our bakeware and pans and such. it's amazing how everything fits so nice and neat in there :-) i've washed ALL the laundery (still attempting to put it all away). AND i cleaned the ollie-cat nose prints off all the windows. still ahead is the pantry, the laundry room and the linen closet.

3. i put together my brand new school bag! i ordered one of those super fun Thirty-One bags. I LOVE it! so many pockets! so many opportunities for organization! is this pathetic? don't answer that...

4. bought a ham! for christmas dinner - duh.

5. started reading the hunger games. i'm totally sucked in! this is part of the reason i haven't blogged the last few days. i've just about finished the first one. now that harry potter is capoot and twilight is just about done, this will fill the void of book-to-movie love that i have.

6. caught up on my DVR list. this is important i tell ya.

well, i guess that's about it. only a few more days till christmas! i'll have to blog about that another time... this is gettin' long and i've got to finish the hunger games.

dr. oz - you be crazy

dr. oz - WHY??? why do you insist on getting up on your nationally syndicated tv show and telling the american public that we're all going to have cancer and we're all going to be dead if we don't watch him... he's telling everyone right now that if they drink more than 2 sodas a week you will get pancreatic cancer... say what? we all know soda is something you should probably avoid, but c'mon - 2 a week will give you cancer?!?

this guy is a fear monger. he loves to tell us we're all about to die. dr. oz - shut your yap.

since i'm on the topic of death and sickness - i'm sure i just subtracted about 3 years off of my life by indulging in the super yum yum amazing paula deen peach cobbler i made for class a couple of days ago. it's got a whole stick of butter in it! and it's to die for. so so so yummy! i've actually been working out this week too, so i hope they cancel each other out!

finals are next week. just three 100 question exams stand between me and holiday cheer! i'm so ready to make plates of pretty treats for our friends and to wrap up nuggie's gifts and to finish some decorating. the holidays are so much fun now that we've got a little one scampering around. i can NOT wait till next year - i think nugget will be old enough to get "elf on the shelf" and i've been pinning all sorts of fun ideas for the fun little tradition. i think my fav so far is when the elf toilet papers the christmas tree!

bub's 30th bday is coming up - next friday. if you know him - tell him how old he is ;-) we're having a fabulous joint party next month since i'll soon be 30 myself. it's gonna be 80's themed (since the 80's brought you the wonder of bub and myself :-) - so i need to hit up goodwill and find a great outfit to wear. i'm thinking an off the shoulder sweatshirt with some tights and for sure crimped hair!

oh lordy, now dr. oz is telling us all we have brain cancer if you have a headache. seriously - someone stop this man.

product junkie

i am a product junkie. hair products to be specific. you'd never guess it, huh? i know, my general hairstyle these days is letting it air dry and throwing it in a pony tail. if i get REALLY ambitious i might use a couple of bobby pins (living on the edge, huh???) but put my booty in a salon chair and i'll buy anything. seriously. it's a problem. here's what happens. a professional does my hair and for one shining evening it looks pretty. and i love it. and i think, if ONLY i had those goops and serums and magical hair concoctions, i too could reenact what the stylist did and have a pretty, well quaffed 'do. but then i get home and i get scared and my hair NEVER looks like it did the night before and i'm forced to add the overpriced hair product to my basket of other WAY overpriced hair goo and life goes on, one messy ponytail at a time.

tonight was no exception. i went in for a trim. my first since nuggie was about 6 months old.... so like 7 months ago. pitiful. what sort of an excuse for a woman am i??? it's just that a good cut is expensive and you can't take a baby to your appointment so you need a sitter or a hubby to be home (any hubby will do really :-)

and so to have money AND a sitter is like waiting for the 37 moons of jupiter to align. i've probably lamented at some point the other hair issue i'm having and that is - its freakin' turned curly on me. but only in a few places. its betrayed me. i had the loveliest, straightest hair for forever. and then i had a baby. and as if my body wasn't deformed enough, the patron saint of bad hair days decided to get a good jab in there too and jacked my hair all up.

so when sweet sarah beth at salon ya ya worked her magic tonight and said, hey, how about i show you how to style it curly, i said YES. do it! curly hair is like a secret club. all you curly hair-ers know whats up, but the rest of us uninitiated are left to travel the rough tides of curly hair maintenance all alone. so she did it. and it looked pretty. i had curls all over. happy, soft ones. and i too could achieve this look if only i had those two (or three or four) hair products.

and that's how i walked out tonight - with two new hair products and a diffuser (b/c not only does curly hair require extra goops, you also need extra tools) we don't have money for all this jazz. but i had to do it. i HAD to. don't you want me to look pretty world? bub was sweet and amazing enough to treat me to the hair cut and to a fancy schmancy flat iron. i'm ready hair - bring on your curls, your frizz, your waves in just the back that look so dumb - i'm prepared! i've got the tools and i will prevail! (cue dramatic braveheart soundtrack)

mama is gettin' her groove back. one hair appointment at a time ;-)