Sorry for being MIA so long...it just seems like we can't catch a break this year....(last year?) We went from my husband being laied off, to him being in the hospital, to BOTH of our piece of crap cars breaking down on the same day...what are the odds of that???
That is the equivilant of winning the lottery for bad luck, rite?
I could play the "economy screwed me" card... but the truth of it is, we knew it would be hard when we moved in to this two bedroom house with FOUR kids...and we knew that we paid too much money for it...we just neivley hoped that next year would be better....
well, that was two years ago, and suffice to say, it has not gotten better for ANYONE.
I have taken action though! I have enrolled in Stephens Henneger College, for nursing classes!(go me!)
So at least when the world goes to crap...I will be able to take care of someone I love....
Anyway...I still think of my internet buddies, I felt like I was a part of something...even if I was just sitting here all day reading about everyone'elses mis-adventures...So MeadowLark... Please forgive me for being a flaky girl...I am OH SO BUSY....just like everyone else is I am sure....:)
Just had a miniute thought I would say HI!
Still learning all of lifes lessions, one day at a time.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Christmas is rapidly approching.....
And in my ever growing cheapness....(scratch that)....I mean..errr...effort to save money....(yeah that's it)....I have started making my own bread.
(Also...drum roll please...making my own laundry soap!
These things SOUND more ambitious then they are. They are easy and practical ways to save money. And lets face it...We all like to spend money on things, other then necessities....especially around Christmas time!
Easy Recipe for Bread:
1/4 C. Milk
5 t. sugar
1 t. salt
5 t. butter ( 1 1/2 T)
1 pkg of yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)
2 1/2 - 3 1/2 C flour (unbleached white)
Put 1 C warm water in yeast and stir. Melt butter in microwave. Add it to milk, sugar, salt. Then stir it. Add to yeast mixture. Then add 2 C of flour to the mixture. Start stirring (its OK if some of the dough sticks to the bowl...) remaining flour in adding 1/4 C at a time(every minute or so.) Dough should be "slightly sticky" but not stick to hands.
Beat dough ball for 10 minutes. Then punch flat, and fold into ball again(repeat for 10 min or until you think your hands and arms might fall off!) I like to squeeze and twist it too!
After beating the heck out of it, put it into a greased bowl to rest 1 hour. (and give yourself a rest too!)
Punch down dough (3 or 4 whacks). Lay dough on floured area...shape it into a rectangle shape. roll it up tucked end underneath. Spray pan and cover loaf with towel. Wait ANOTHER hour. Put loaf in 400' oven for 30 minutes.
I had never learned to make bread, until I found this recipe. It is EASY enough to make with kids underfoot and it fills the house with that wonderful smell of baking bread! And I don't have to pay 3.00 a loaf!
Laundry soap:
1 c water
plus 3 Gallons of water
1 C borax (3.00 for huge box)
1 C washing soda (not baking soda) ( 3.00 for huge box)
1 bar of soap(dosen't matter what kind)
1 5 gallon bucket
Warm water in pan on stove, while shreading soap( cheese grater works well) then add shredded soap. DO NOT LET IT BOIL. Stir it until disolved.
In 5 gal bucket add borax and washing soda mix. Add 3 gallons water. Stir.
When pan of soap is disolved, add it to bucket.
let it sit for a day, then stir it again. Ours looks like leftover soapy bathwater. But the website that I got the recipe from said theres looked like slime...so it must vary depending on the soap used.
We poured it into old laundry soap containers, and use it a cup at a time.
Works every bit as good as laundry soap, maby better!
Just thought I would share. Hope these recipes might save someone a few bucks the way they have our family. Merry Christmas and God bless!
NOTE: Spell check hates me and won't do the last half of the page, so bear with me!
(Also...drum roll please...making my own laundry soap!
These things SOUND more ambitious then they are. They are easy and practical ways to save money. And lets face it...We all like to spend money on things, other then necessities....especially around Christmas time!
Easy Recipe for Bread:
1/4 C. Milk
5 t. sugar
1 t. salt
5 t. butter ( 1 1/2 T)
1 pkg of yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)
2 1/2 - 3 1/2 C flour (unbleached white)
Put 1 C warm water in yeast and stir. Melt butter in microwave. Add it to milk, sugar, salt. Then stir it. Add to yeast mixture. Then add 2 C of flour to the mixture. Start stirring (its OK if some of the dough sticks to the bowl...) remaining flour in adding 1/4 C at a time(every minute or so.) Dough should be "slightly sticky" but not stick to hands.
Beat dough ball for 10 minutes. Then punch flat, and fold into ball again(repeat for 10 min or until you think your hands and arms might fall off!) I like to squeeze and twist it too!
After beating the heck out of it, put it into a greased bowl to rest 1 hour. (and give yourself a rest too!)
Punch down dough (3 or 4 whacks). Lay dough on floured area...shape it into a rectangle shape. roll it up tucked end underneath. Spray pan and cover loaf with towel. Wait ANOTHER hour. Put loaf in 400' oven for 30 minutes.
I had never learned to make bread, until I found this recipe. It is EASY enough to make with kids underfoot and it fills the house with that wonderful smell of baking bread! And I don't have to pay 3.00 a loaf!
Laundry soap:
1 c water
plus 3 Gallons of water
1 C borax (3.00 for huge box)
1 C washing soda (not baking soda) ( 3.00 for huge box)
1 bar of soap(dosen't matter what kind)
1 5 gallon bucket
Warm water in pan on stove, while shreading soap( cheese grater works well) then add shredded soap. DO NOT LET IT BOIL. Stir it until disolved.
In 5 gal bucket add borax and washing soda mix. Add 3 gallons water. Stir.
When pan of soap is disolved, add it to bucket.
let it sit for a day, then stir it again. Ours looks like leftover soapy bathwater. But the website that I got the recipe from said theres looked like slime...so it must vary depending on the soap used.
We poured it into old laundry soap containers, and use it a cup at a time.
Works every bit as good as laundry soap, maby better!
Just thought I would share. Hope these recipes might save someone a few bucks the way they have our family. Merry Christmas and God bless!
NOTE: Spell check hates me and won't do the last half of the page, so bear with me!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
I am still alive...
I just thought that instead of reading about everyone elses 'oh so interesting' lives, I should go and live mine....and it's been one hell of a month! ('scuse the french)
~That was french?~
We bought two clunker cars as our other newer van could not be registered without major overhaul.
My Darling Dearest has been working weekends for the last month. That means, that I get to do EVERYTHING around here myself, because he is working his guts out, and when he gets home he melts into the couch from exhaustion.
We also had(and still have) a goat issue....
*(Here comes the long winded story/explanation)*
She got into the chicken feed and got bloat. I spent the next two(or was it three?) days force feeding her tums, massaging her stomach, and walking her around the pasture. THEN when she started to look like she felt better I decided that I should milk her so she didn't dry up. As I was doing this I noticed that she was bleeding from her privates..... SO
(back in time)
When we got "Nanny" we got her for a milk goat, and she had just been freshened. But when we got there to pick her up she was in with (and under) a billy, who didn't want to see her go. So we knew she had been "exposed". I read that you can't tell with goats until about the last month( unless you get the vet) if they are pregnant. And IF she was pregnant, she wouldn't be due until the middle of November. SO...
(back to the present)
After I seen the blood I assumed that the bloat had made the babies stillborn and that they were coming out. I ran to the store and bought anything and everything that I might need to help Nanny and her kids survive.( i.e. iodine, pads for the kids to be born on, floss for the umbilical cord...exc...) Then I read everything I could about delivering both live and stillborn kids for the next two days while running out there every hour to check on her....
That was last week.
Still no baby's.
She walks like they have dropped.( like she has a kid in her crotch), but she is getting around alright, and she has stopped bleeding.... I WISH I HAD MONEY FOR A VET...but I don't.
So I am just waiting. I don't know if , maybe she was just in heat...and I am dumb, or what???
But then why would she be walking like that? I just hope and pray that by some miracle that her kids are alright .
I dunno.
All that plus:
Getting my oldest boy glasses.
Getting my oldest girl to the dentist.
Getting a new niece...
Potty training
and trying to finally decide how to remodel our house. (with money we don't have)
I think I need a vacation! I guess that if life wasn't crazy we would get pretty bored though!
Thanks for checking on me! Still alive...Just need some ginseng....!!!! And a hot bath! :) One day when I finally find my long lost camera I will post some pics!
~That was french?~
We bought two clunker cars as our other newer van could not be registered without major overhaul.
My Darling Dearest has been working weekends for the last month. That means, that I get to do EVERYTHING around here myself, because he is working his guts out, and when he gets home he melts into the couch from exhaustion.
We also had(and still have) a goat issue....
*(Here comes the long winded story/explanation)*
She got into the chicken feed and got bloat. I spent the next two(or was it three?) days force feeding her tums, massaging her stomach, and walking her around the pasture. THEN when she started to look like she felt better I decided that I should milk her so she didn't dry up. As I was doing this I noticed that she was bleeding from her privates..... SO
(back in time)
When we got "Nanny" we got her for a milk goat, and she had just been freshened. But when we got there to pick her up she was in with (and under) a billy, who didn't want to see her go. So we knew she had been "exposed". I read that you can't tell with goats until about the last month( unless you get the vet) if they are pregnant. And IF she was pregnant, she wouldn't be due until the middle of November. SO...
(back to the present)
After I seen the blood I assumed that the bloat had made the babies stillborn and that they were coming out. I ran to the store and bought anything and everything that I might need to help Nanny and her kids survive.( i.e. iodine, pads for the kids to be born on, floss for the umbilical cord...exc...) Then I read everything I could about delivering both live and stillborn kids for the next two days while running out there every hour to check on her....
That was last week.
Still no baby's.
She walks like they have dropped.( like she has a kid in her crotch), but she is getting around alright, and she has stopped bleeding.... I WISH I HAD MONEY FOR A VET...but I don't.
So I am just waiting. I don't know if , maybe she was just in heat...and I am dumb, or what???
But then why would she be walking like that? I just hope and pray that by some miracle that her kids are alright .
I dunno.
All that plus:
Getting my oldest boy glasses.
Getting my oldest girl to the dentist.
Getting a new niece...
Potty training
and trying to finally decide how to remodel our house. (with money we don't have)
I think I need a vacation! I guess that if life wasn't crazy we would get pretty bored though!
Thanks for checking on me! Still alive...Just need some ginseng....!!!! And a hot bath! :) One day when I finally find my long lost camera I will post some pics!
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