Weekend Update and a Laundry Day Recipe

Over the weekend, I joined Twitter, started an account on Pinterest, and started uploading to Instagram.  Oh, I started a Facebook page, too!  But I haven't really done anything with that yet.  ;)  This 21st Century social networking business is hard stuff.  You can connect with me through the icons on the left.

Speaking of social networking, I give you my weekend in Instagrammed pictures.  :)

1)  I had to take Hobie to the vet on Friday.  We've been having some behavioral and tummy issues with the kitties.  :(

2-4)  So they got lots of lovings this weekend.

5)  This is how my husband naps when he has gotten up at 11 to take a nap at 1.  *smh*

6)  We captured a sweat bee (by we, Zach), and we let the kitties watch it in the jar.  They were the ones who actually found it in the fireplace.

7)  Late in the afternoon, we headed out to take care of some business.

8)  We fought the tax-free-weekend crowds at Target and rewarded ourselves with some Starbucks.  I got an iced chai tea latte of course.  :)

9-10)  Then it was time for some Bliss!  Thanks, Living Social.

11)  I found some sandals on sale at Kohl's and fell in love.

12)  I've been drinking lots of hot tea this weekend because my allergies (thank you, vet/Hobie) have been acting up and giving me swollen lymph nodes.  (At least, I think it's my allergies...)

13)  Saturday night, I made a turkey pot pie.  YUMMY!

14)  And Sunday morning, we had biscuits and gravy.

And I can't forget my clothes.  It was a royal blue and orange weekend!

I decided to do something a bit different for Menu Monday.  Over a year and a half ago, I started making my own laundry detergent to save money.  It has worked well for us; two gallons last about four months, based on my calculations.  Keep in mind, there's only two of us.

We ran out this week, so I had to make some more.  First, however, I had to buy some more washing soda.  Then, once I got home with that, I realized I was out of bar soap.  Thankfully, Walgreens had Coast soap on sale (8 bars for $3.99) AND I had a coupon, so I got the soap for $3.49!  The coupon was from a few weeks ago, but Zest is also on sale, and there was a Zest coupon in the paper THIS week.  So this might be the perfect opportunity for you to try making your own soap!

HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT

1 bar soap
1 cup Borax
1 cup washing soda
2 gallons water
2 empty gallon jugs

-Shred bar of soap into a large stockpot.

-Add 1 gallon of water and boil until the soap is dissolved

-Add Borax and washing soda.

-Bring to a boil until it coagulates.  It will start to get foamy.

-But make sure you watch it very closely--or it will boil over!  Every. single. time. I turn my back for a second because it's not doing anything, and then it boils over onto my stove!

-Turn off the heat.  Add 1 gallon cold water; stir well.

-After it cools a bit, use a funnel and ladle to place detergent into jugs.

Sometimes it will get too thick; try using less soap next time.  Since this was my first time using Coast, I think I used too much, and I also overcooked it.  It was pretty solid by the time I began to funnel it!  *lol*  So I just heated it up for a bit until it started to melt again.  I really liked how easy it was to grate Coast; some of the other soaps have been near impossible!  You can choose what soap you want; I tend to add some of the Downy Unstopables to boost the fragrance anyway, and I have come to like much less fragrance than I used to.  (I also got my Downy beads as free samples; it said to add the whole pack, but I find ten or so increase the smell quite nicely.  :)

If we hadn't spilled our washing soda accidentally some months back, it would have lasted even longer.  I feel like the box of Borax and washing soda should last over 6 recipes' worth.  I believe Borax is a bit more, but the washing soda is only about $4.

I hope you will give it a try!  It only takes about thirty to forty minutes or so to cook from start to finish, but the funneling does add considerable time, especially if it is thick.  I think it is much more affordable than buying detergent.

What have you tried to make homemade?  Has it turned out?

Photo a Day in September #2

2.  Above

Today was a busy but great day.  :)

We got up early, loaded up the car with my mama's luggage, and headed to Lonoke County!  Unfortunately, we were running almost an hour behind and then had to stop at Walgreens...and wait for the pharmacy to open.  Argh.  We finally arrived at my brother's church at 11:30ish and visited for a bit, letting my nephew Will open his birthday present.  (He turns TEN on the 25th!  We got him some LEGO bricks, of course.)  But I didn't get any pictures because we were rushing to meet Monica and Rob at Nick's for lunch!  (I'll get some with them when we go pick my mama up in three weeks!)

Awww, how I have missed Monica and Nick's!  Monica was one of my best friends in college, and we used to spend many nights going to local shows, talking about our books, classes, and teachers to the chagrin of my roommates, and overanalyzing our current romantic predicaments all. of. the. time.  I spent many weekends in LoCo at Monica's mom's house, and we would always go to Nick's for catfish, fried pickles, and fried pies.  (It's just about the only place to eat in town, so thank goodness, it's GOOD.  Too bad I forgot they brought back the corn fritters!  ;)

Monica is expecting a little girl named Autumn Gabrielle Elizabeth in November, and this is the first time for me to see her since she found out she was pregnant!  It was also my first time to meet Rob!  The last time I saw Monica, my Pearl (I'm her Ruby), was last summer when she came up to see HP 7.2 with me.  She had just started dating Rob at that point, so she was filling me in on all the details.  I have to say that I can now give my stamp of approval!  He's no longer a Snuffy but a nice guy.  :)

I also brought Monica her birthday present (honeysuckle lotion--her favorite) and some things for Baby A:  a blue dress with roses, pink ballet slippers, and...

Yep.  She's pretty much gonna be the coolest witch at Hogwarts when the time comes.  After all, she will have spit up on a DA bib!!  The day Monica found out she was having a girl, I ordered this.  It looked like the Etsy seller only had white and blue left, but THANKFULLY, she still had pink, too.  I was panicking until she emailed me back.  ;) Monica would only indulge me with a picture like this.  *lol*  And I HAD to get Zach to take a picture of us together, which he took while towering over us (hence, above).  Ah, how I have missed this lady!

Then we rushed back to Little Rock to make a 3 p.m. showing of The Dark Knight Rises at the IMAX theatre.  We had already seen it, but Zach wanted to see it in IMAX, and as his parents hadn't seen it, they joined us.  It was just as good this time around.

Good day, folks!

Photo a Day in July #23

23.  Mirror

Zach and I had a lovely little shopping trip today.  :)  We both slept in, but I got up a bit earlier to finish his cake.  After he got up, showered, and dressed, we head to Arby's for 64 CENTS roast beef sandwiches!  Over the weekend, they sent out a coupon for cheap sandwiches to celebrate their anniversary.  (I guess the business was founded in 1964?)  We split a large fries, and it was more than enough because these were the full-sized sandwiches.  I like Arby's every now and then.  :)

Then we headed over to the Promenade, stopping in for some serious cereal sales at Target and for some iTunes gift cards that were on sale at Bed, Bath, and Beyond before going to Old Navy.  When I went on my shopping frenzy a few weeks ago, I got some Super Cash--$10 off $25.  Zach has needed some more shorts for awhile, so he looked for them while I tried on their colorful skinnies.  I have been in the market for some for awhile now, but I missed them when they were at F21.  I really want some RED ones.  I think they will be perfect for the fall!  I tried on one size larger than I usually get since they are Super Skinnies, but those were too small.  So I tried the next two sizes; thankfully, the next one up fit.  My only concern is they may shrink awfully fast with my Skinny Long Legs (this was my cousin's nickname for me in college).  I have seen some at Walmart (L.E.I) that I am going to try, too, and I may see if F21 has them in store again since both theirs and Walmart's are around $15.  Old Navy's is $30-ish, but they have 31 (THIRTY-ONE!) different colors online.  I had to try on the emerald green ones because they didn't have the size I needed in red.  I did like these a lot, too, but since I am out of fun money for the month, I will have to wait until August to buy.  That's why I want to make sure I have the right ones because we only get $30 each in fun money, so I could get two pairs instead of one depending on where I go.  *lol*  I also found two dresses (one purple striped one and one pink buttery one), a cute grey and yellow flowered shirt, and some yellow polka-dotted leggings for Briley's fifth birthday.  (This is my best friend's little girl, so she is my best niece. :)  I'll probably add another thing or two to her present--some kind of toy or book.

Finally, we popped into Petsmart to get Dinah a birthday present--she's ONE today!  We got her a Martha Stewart catnip mouse that rattles; it's in the cutest purple plaid material.  We didn't get it just because it's cute though; she is TOUGH on her toys, and we needed something she wouldn't chew through.  We also grabbed some Sunchips on sale at Walgreens, stopped by the credit union, went through the carwash, and came home for a piece of cake (I did promise a picture, so here's a few!):

This was right after I started assembling the cake--I had unwrapped my Kit Kat's and gathered everything I would need (except for the homemade whipped cream that was in the fridge).

 side view of the ice cream cake

I didn't do a very good job of leveling the ice cream in the cake pan.  *lol*  Thank goodness for icing/whipped cream to hide that!

 I had him close his eyes for the big reveal.  I needed to touch it up a bit because somehow it melted a bit in the freezer after I decorated it!  He was so surprised by how I decorated it! He is a HUGE fan of Kit Kat's!

 up close

Here, you can see that it is a little rough around the edges.

Happy birthday cake day, Baby!  I love you!  Now let's go collapse into a sugar coma!  (We quickly learned that a two-wafer-wide piece is the limit.)

Bathing at The Owlery

Hey, folks, today I'm linking up with Kelly's Korner to show you our bathrooms!  (Yes, we have THREE for two people--there's a half bath upstairs for guests.  :)

Aren't bathrooms hard to decorate?  I've always found that to be so...  I feel like the bathroom is typically the forgotten room, but there is so much you can do with it once you get started, and a lot of it is really simple.  I've been working really hard to finish decorating our bathrooms, so let's get started, shall we?

First up, we have our half bath:

 I got the little green birdie panels (on clearance at Target--where else?)  when I was in grad school.  I love the different fabrics and textures on them!  I also got the mini vases at Walmart to decorate my grad school appartment as well.  (I broke a red one.)  I love this green towel!  It was one of my Twelve Days of Christmas presents from my mother-in-law.

I got the owl nightlight when I was in grad school, too.  *lol*  Can you tell I was very excited to decorate my first off-campus apartment?  That picture is of Zach and me--it is the first one ever of us, and I love it.  We had been dating about a month and a half, I think, when it was taken.  The fabric giraffe, which is hard to see, complements the colors in the bathroom; it was a get well gift from our friend Holly; she sent it after my surgery along with some other goodies.

And I promise I straightened that one panel several times today!  Geez...

Remember how I said I have been working hard on finishing our bathrooms?  Here is the BEFORE:

 

And the AFTER!  I hate how this picture turned out, but I'm too lazy to take another.  I designed this custom curtain to hide our clutter.  Now I just need a basket for the paper towels...

Up next is my bathroom.  Since we had so many bathrooms, we decided to have separate ones.  I think this is great for marriage.  :)  Plus, my bathroom is in the hallway and stays warmer because it is below the heater; Zach's bathroom is on the outside wall of the house and is freezing in the winter.  Actually, the whole bottom floor stays freezing in the winter, so we have to use a space heater AND a heated mattress pad.  It's true what your science teacher says:  heat rises.  (That also means our upper floor is toasting us right now.  ;)

 I have three collages I made after my study abroad trip--one each of Ireland, Scotland, and England.  (This is the England one.)  I want to find two more gold frames that are different from this one to hang up the other two collages.  I paid nothing for the collages because I got them over time with Walgreens free collage coupons.  (Look out for them, folks!  I pay next to nothing for photos with Walgreens, Shutterfly, and Snapfish.  ;)  And I got the frame half-off from Hobby Lobby!

 My bathroom is travel-themed (at least when it comes to pictures).  The one on the counter is the first picture I had taken of me in Ireland--isn't it sooo green?  The one on the wall is from Oxford, Mississippi, when we visited our friends when they worked there and went to William Faulkner's house, Rowan Oak.  Can you spot the LEGO jeep?  I built it!  I like to imagine it is for our imaginary trips around the world.

This is another of my decorating projects.  I changed out the shower curtain for something that better matches our decor.  :)  I love how it looks now!  The BELIEVE artwork was from my roommate Emily for Christmas one year--it reminds me that nothing is impossible with God!  For example, I had dreamed of going to Europe since third grade, and I never thought I would make it after many failed trips.  And there is the whole saving-my-life-and-my-soul thing.  ;)

The pictures on the wall are also from my study abroad trip, but I am going to trade them out for other travel pictures once I get my collages framed.

Finally, Zach's bathroom is left.  I won't show much of it (even though it's clean--we just cleaned them yesterday).

 The Paris frame came from my roommate Monica; it would probably be more appropriate for my bathroom, but I felt the pictures of Zach's "groomsmen" looked great in it.  There is a picture of us in the heart-shaped frame; it was taken right before we walked down the aisle after Zach's Momo passed out and scared us to death; it's hard to see, but our foreheads are pressed together and our eyes are closed because we were trying to collect our thoughts.  It was "a momentary stay against confusion."

Of course, there are lots of LEGO pieces in Zach's bathroom.  I tried to class it up with some Chinese cat figures and a ceramic box in blue and white, but they got ousted by the Star Wars.

I hope you enjoyed viewing our toilets (pronounced in the FRAHNS-SAY way) and got a few ideas to decorate your own water closet.  :)

Insurance Rant

You just can't win in this country when it comes to medical coverage!

*sigh*

But I'll just try to limit my rant to what happened to me today. I have been on a medicine for the past two months. It's called Entocort, and it's super expensive: we have been paying a $50 co-pay each month, and our receipt from Walgreen's says my insurance (BCBS) saved me $1,186.79 for ONE month!!! That's INSANE!

I was first put on this medicine for two months back in January along with another, and, when we got the first month's prescriptions filled, our insurance saved us somewhere over $4,000 (yes, THOUSAND) dollars. (Don't you find this utterly ridiculous? I know insurance companies are theoretically able to write off these costs because of the premiums we pay into the company...but I just find this system to be so unfair for someone who can't afford these insanely high insurance premiums and deductibles in the first place, much less a medicine or treatment without insurance.)

Anyway, once I finished up those two months, I went on a different (and cheaper) maintenance medicine of which I discovered I was allergic after breaking out in hives and getting terrible achy knees...all the while my usual stomach symptoms worsening. (I have Crohn's disease.) So I went back on the Entocort to get things under control.

For two months, I have been taking three pills a day. For each prescription each month, we pay $50, so, thus far, we have paid $100. The third month (starting tomorrow), I am supposed to start taking just two pills a day, and then one pill a day during the fourth month to wean myself off of this medicine (since it's a steroid) without the need for any maintenance meds afterward. We assumed this meant our co-pay would consequently go down each month--or, rather, it would equal $50 for both months--as I was continuing to take the same quantity of pills over twice as much time. (You know what they say about someone who assumes anything...)

I tried to call in my refill yesterday, but the bottle informed me, "No refills--doctor authorization required." Huh? Say what? When I was issued my prescription and went to fill it the first month, I clearly remember that each month's dosage was spelled out on the prescription form. Rather than calling the pharmacy and ending up in another tangled web, I went directly to the source to get it straightened out. Thankfully my doctor's nurse is AMAZING (even if their billing office is not) and agreed the prescription had each month's quantity listed; she notified me this morning she was calling in the remaining prescription.

Zach went to pick it up since he was off today.

The co-pay was still $50!

Say what?

When I asked him how much it was, I assumed they must have gone ahead and given me both month's pills.

How many pills were in my bottle?

60--two per day for thirty days.

Also, "No refills--doctor authorization required."

Huh?

So I call up the pharmacy, and the tech explains that this is a top-tier medicine, so the co-pay remains the same. Okay, fine, I understand that: it means it's too expensive to drop the co-pay. Then I asked if I would have to have my doctor's nurse call in another prescription once this month's ran out. He tells me that I just have to call the pharmacy. Oh, okay, fine. (Still doesn't explain the, "No refills-doctor authorization required" on my medicine bottles.)

I hang up the phone and explain to Zach about the medicine and prescription and assume the issue is over.

Well, my brilliant and money-conscious husband asks, "Does that mean we will have to pay another $50 next month?"

I jump back on the horn with the pharmacy and ask if we will have to pay a co-pay since I will only be getting 30 pills, which, when combined with the 60 I get this month, equals 90...that cost $50 total when I received them together.

"Yes, ma'am, you will [have to pay another $50 co-pay]. It's not us; it's the insurance company."

HUH? SAY WHAT?!?!

I'm not trying to cheat the system. I understand the whole "top-tier" issue; as I said, this is a very expensive medication. Apparently, such a prescription as mine is not entered as one prescription, but as four separate prescriptions, so I have to pay the same co-pay each time even if I am receiving half or a third of the original amount of pills. Say what? This does not add up. I understand their policy, but it is the principle of the matter. I am a rational person and can not accept that it is fair for them to charge the same amount when I am not receiving the same amount of pills.

So I ask if it would be possible for the doctor to call in both months' prescription as just one...so we only have to pay $50 once.

"I doubt it. You can try to call the insurance company."

I hang up the phone completely stunned.

*cue tears*

Sweets for the Sweet, OR How Baking Taught Me to Love Christmas

Until Zach and I celebrated our first Christmas together, I used to loathe the holiday. That's not to say I didn't look forward to Christmas: I love the lights and decorated trees, music and treats, Santa and the Nativity, peace on earth and goodwill toward men. But when the day arrived, I was left feeling glum and sad and lonely. I would be dying to get outside...but everything would be closed. Except for Walgreen's. I remember buying a two-liter of Coca-Cola there one Christmas Day Eve. The place was packed.

This is not to say I never had a happy, blessed holiday before a few years ago. I have had many a season of joy with family and friends in the twenty-five Christmases I have celebrated. But Christmas Day always came as a disappointment. I suppose I felt that way because there was too much pressure leading up to the day. I know that several brides suffer a period of depression following their weddings, so I suppose the Christmas Blues is somehow akin to that effect. When you start hearing "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" and seeing It's A Wonderful Life weeks (or months) before, you start to feel overwhelmed. (By the way, we're actually watching that film now. It's so sweet. ;) Just like Clark Griswold, I wanted a fun, old-fashioned, family Christmas (as pictured on a vintage postcard because I have a thing for vintage decorations). Then everything would seem to go wrong.

In reality, my Christmases were normal--full of ups and downs. One year we were iced in, and another I reveled in the snow. Four years ago I got locked in the bathroom at my aunt's house and cried while her neighbor busted the lock. In high school, I spent the day with Stephanie's family, and I climbed Pinnacle Mountain in a skirt and wedges as far as I could go, which wasn't very far because I am not athletic and somewhat afraid of heights. When I was in elementary school, I received a baby doll from Santa I still have at my mama's house.

But I would have a picture in my mind of how things were supposed to go, and it never quite met my expectations. So I wrote off Christmas.

Over the past few years, I've learned to let a lot of things go, though it is a constant struggle for me. I'm a idealistic perfectionist--or a perfectionist idealist--who always plans too much and never delegates tasks and has control issues. (I'm a joy to live with. Seriously.) For example, we are supposed to have a special meal, drink cocoa while watching all of the cartoon specials, exchange presents, build our Lego Winter Bakery, make this year's ornament, and attend a service on Christmas Eve. After we drop off some more goodies all over NWA. And we. will. do. it. I promise. Last year I remember having a minor meltdown over "Our First Christmas" ornament, but, looking at it this minute, I can say it turned out beautifully. Before Thanksgiving, I made a Christmas collage of photos from our past two Christmases together that showcases the fun and destruction we had decorating our tree, making a gingerbread house after the holidays were over, and baking bad cookies. Even though things were not perfect, I have picture-perfect memories (and some damn good photos, too).

This year, I had a meltdown over our sugar cookies. Again. For the second year in a row. I don't know if it's because the cookie cutters' nooks and crannies are just that, nooks and crannies, or that we always seem to use the wrong kind of sugar cookie...but we can never seem to get our A Christmas Story cookie cutters to work properly.

But this time, after squealing about the dough tearing and sticking to my fingers, I took a breath, laughed..and shook my flour-and-cookie-coated hands at Zach.

For your viewing pleasure:

This sugar cookie dough sat in the fridge overnight, and, as it was Linda Adams' recipe, I felt confident in it. Upon rolling it out, it seemed to live up to my expectations...

...and then tearing and sticking began.
This is a reenactment of me having a meltdown.

I finally had to admit the cookie cutters were not going to work. But I improvised, and rolled the dough into ornament balls. :)

Zach helps. When we cook together at Christmas, I let him wear this apron, and I wear my everyday floral one. The rest of the time I don it!

traditional cookie-baking photo

Zach helped to frost some of the backgrounds and then he went to bed.
I really need to get some red and green gel food coloring. The usual bottles in the baking aisle creates these pastel shades of Christmas, which was part of my childhood baking. But I have become a more advanced decorator. Part of my problem lied in the fact I used most of the red food coloring in my dark velvet bites. When I ran out while dying the buttercream frosting, I tried to add neon purple and neon blue to darken it, but those colors only turned the icing a violet shade. So I had to add neon pink to make it into a "dusty rose." I think it turned out pretty after all. ;)

I decided to try to incorporate the A Christmas Story cookie cutters somehow. The result: deranged icing images of the infamous leg lamp, bunny suit, turkey (or Peking duck), and the family's house. (That last one is kind of lame.)

They also included a star cookie cutter, which is also lame and the only one that comes close to working.

After baking all day, I needed a glass of wine. However, I stayed so busy decorating what I baked, I didn't drink it!

red rosebuds livened things up

The next day I packaged everything, which spelled another L-O-N-G day in the kitchen.

goodies, goodies everywhere, and only a star to eat:

(This is the sugar cookie I saved for myself. Zach got the house.)

Our microwave does not glow like that, although, by this time, I was so worn out that it probably looked as if a nuclear bomb had gone off.

My homemade peppermint marshmallows were a smash hit!

wrapping up a dark velvet bite

dark velvet bites--Zach's office loved them!

Thursday I baked, and Friday I wrapped up the goodies. And I spent a good chunk of Friday morning making tags to attach to the sweets. I even used the Frosty font I have! It's so wintry. :) As a page designer, I tweaked it until it was just so. Then I went to print it on Zach's computer. Guess who doesn't have the Frosty font? Yep. Zach (well, his computer doesn't). So I spent another good hour or so redesigning my tag. I couldn't include what we actually sent on here because it is a .doc file, not a .jpg one. So I copied the text into Photoshop and saved it as a .jpg to give you an idea. There was a little love note from Hobie, Zach, and I after the marshmallows' listing...along with a warning from Santa, or a disclaimer from me. This is also missing the candy cane border I used, but, since I printed them on green paper, I had to make the background green at least. C'est la vie.

Tonight I burned out the motor in the mixer making cookies, and we started another holiday movie we didn't finish, and Zach is only starting to wrap his presents. There is a chance for frozen precipitation tomorrow, which means we may not be able to get out after all. What-e-ver will we do?! ;)

What kind of Christmas goodies do you and your family make each year?
Did you try anything new in 2010?