Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Ornament Exchange!
Hi sweet friends!! I know I have abandoned you lately but I promise it won't be forever! For now I just wanted to do a quick post about an Ornament Exchange hosted by Webbisodes and Karen at Home. If you want to join in, hurry and enter because sign up ends at 9pm EST on December 1st!! Click here for more information.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Strengthen your mind!
Do you sometimes wonder if you're "losing it"? I know I do more often than not. It's happening much quicker than I expected!! LOL Doctors say that in most cases mindless hours in front of the television, avoiding intellectual stimulation and exertion, result in the shrinking of our mind's capacity, including our memory.
When you let your mind "veg" and don't stretch it with thoughtful reading, rational thinking, intelligent analysis and conversation, it loses plasticity and becomes old at any age. On the other hand, if you challenge your mind regularly, your brain gets younger as you get older.
God promises that if you meditate on His word daily you'll become "like a tree planted by streams of water...which yields it's fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." (Ps 1:3) Don't let your mind "wither", exercise and strengthen it by studying the Scriptures!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Princess Cupcakes
I don't know if y'all remember me talking about how I had a princess party to do cupcakes for...? Anyway, it turned into a soccer princess party and it turned out to be really fun!!! Not the party...just making the cupcakes...well I'm sure the party was a blast too. Hahaha. The cupcakes were chocolate chip and the frosting was vanilla buttercream. The cupcakes taste just like chocolate chip cookies!!! Delicious with a glass of cold milk! :)
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Put on the smell good!
Okay...so if you read my post Pretty Is As Pretty Does then you know I'm slightly obsessed with Gone With The Wind. In the book, Scarlett's mother Ellen always smells like Lemon Verbena. She uses lemon verbena sachet and the smell always reminds Scarlett of her mother. Welllllll I couldn't place that smell right off so I wanted to find out what it smelled like. Interestingly it's way harder than I expected!! L'Occitane makes a lemon verbena lotion, cologne...etc. but it's way overpriced. However, once I smelled it I fell in love with the scent. It's very fresh and clean.
So instead of paying close to $50 for it...I decided to make my own! I know...it sounds crazy but it was actually very easy and inexpensive!! You can choose to make a light alcohol based perfume or a heavier oil based. First step is to find lemon verbena essential oil. As it turns out, no place within a 50 mile radius to me has lemon verbena oil. They have lemon...and lemongrass...but no lemon verbena. It has it's own distinct scent and I was not substituting. So I went online. Now, if you want real deal lemon verbena oil straight from the leaves you are going to pay a LOT of money for it. I was very surprised at how much it costs. But you can get lemon verbena fragrance oil for a reasonable price. I paid $9.99 for a small bottle.
Now that you have your oil (you can use any oil you want for this and you can mix a few oils together to make your own scent too!) it's time to make perfume! Grab a spritzer bottle (I bought a glass one from the health food store but you can get a plastic one from Target if you wish) and a medicine dropper.
Alcohol-Based Perfume
For a lighter perfume, make an alcohol-based perfume. Add about 24 drops of your essential oil with two teaspoons of distilled water and two teaspoons of vodka in your spritzer bottle. Shake well and allow to sit in a cool, dark place for at least 48 hours to allow the scent to infuse itself into the water and alcohol. Shake well again before using.
Oil-Based Perfume
Add 10 to 12 drops of your essential oil and about two teaspoons of grape seed or jojoba oil in your spritzer bottle. Shake the bottle to mix thoroughly. Let sit for at least 72 hours to allow the scent to penetrate the grape seed or jojoba oil, and then shake to mix thoroughly again before using.
I made the lighter alcohol based perfume. I used lemon verbena fragrance oil, mineral water and vanilla vodka. I love the little hint of vanilla in it. It smells heavenly!!!!!! Now it's your turn!! What kind of mixture would you make??
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
How Often??
Good morning friends!!! Hope you are all doing well! It's starting to get chilly here in NC! Woohoo!!! Now I can wear my boots and sweaters without looking like a goober considering I was wearing them as soon as Fall hit. Hahaha.
So, a couple of weeks ago I did something I've never ever done before. Made a chore list. I make lists for EVERYTHING! Things to do today, gifts I want, books to read, etc. But I had never felt the need for a chore list. Until I got lazy. I decided that if it was wrote down and I had to check it off, I would be more likely to do it. (Oh and make sure to take it off of your refrigerator before a party...people are way more interested in it than they should be. LOL)
I've done pretty good with the chores lately...but last night I got to wondering HOW OFTEN are certain things really needed. Taking in account health issues and such. Like should we be washing our sheets once a week? How often should we really have to mop? Well, I've done some research for you guys and here's a list I came up with!
1. Changing bed sheets
There is considerable debate on how often you should change your bed sheets. Several surveys conducted over the years suggests that the majority of people change their sheets anywhere from once a week to once a month. Most people recommend changing the sheets at least every two weeks, and some people may need to change them more often, depending on certain needs.
We shed skin cells at all times, and at night we shed these in our beds. Unfortunately these cells are the food of dust mites, and if you have allergies to dust mites, it may make sense to keep skins cells in bed at a minimum. Some people have extreme allergies and really need to change their bed sheets once a day. Most others can get by with changing sheets once a week, which is about the average rate of sheet change if you employ a housecleaner.
http://www.wisegeek.com/how-often-should-i-change-my-bed-sheets.htm
2. Mop Floors
Depending on the traffic of your floors, you may need to mop weekly, biweekly or in some areas only monthly. However, it's best to wipe up obvious dirt as it happens to prevent you from scrubbing on your mopping day.
http://housekeeping.about.com/od/surfacefloors/f/mopfrequency.htm
3. Dusting
If no one in your household suffers from allergies, you won't have to worry about the health effects of dust as often as other families do. You'll still need to dust electronics and furniture weekly to prevent buildup that can scratch, damage, and clog surfaces in your home. More out of the way spots like ceilings, corners, and door frames will only need to be dusted as needed, and may only require your attention every couple of months.
http://housekeeping.about.com/od/cleaning101/f/frequencydust.htm
4. Washing the dog
It depends mainly on the dog breed. Though most dogs do not like water, it is necessary to wash them frequently, not to make them look extremely clean but to protect them from skin diseases. The washing interval also depends on the coat of the dog. Dogs with coarse or wiry coat, like Schnauzers and Terriers need to bathed every 4-6 weeks. Double coat dogs need to be washed every 4-8 weeks, dogs like Cocker Spaniel and Pekingese fall in double coat category. If you have a smooth coat dog like Chihuahua you will need to wash it only once in 8 weeks. The last category of dogs, the non-shedding dogs like poodles need to be washed every 6-8 weeks.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-often-should-you-wash-your-dog.html
5. Vaccuming carpets
It’s best to vacuum your carpet at least twice a week, if you can’t vacuum your entire house this often, at least vacuum the high traffic areas at least twice a week. (Yikes!)
http://www.carpet-rug.org/about-cri/what-is-cri/frequently-asked-questions.cfm#38
6. Cleaning the bathroom
The bathroom should be cleaned once a week, and even more frequently if it gets heavy use from a large family.
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/how-to-clean-bathroom.htm
7. Replacing kitchen sponge
Replace your sponge every month. Signs that your sponge should be replaced immediately, regardless of the time elapsed since the last replacement, include musty or unpleasant odors and a sponge that is beginning to disintegrate.
http://www.ehow.com/facts_7413831_should-replace-kitchen-sponge_.html#ixzz14E9mM63d
Dust is just a country accent. ~Author Unknown
So, a couple of weeks ago I did something I've never ever done before. Made a chore list. I make lists for EVERYTHING! Things to do today, gifts I want, books to read, etc. But I had never felt the need for a chore list. Until I got lazy. I decided that if it was wrote down and I had to check it off, I would be more likely to do it. (Oh and make sure to take it off of your refrigerator before a party...people are way more interested in it than they should be. LOL)
I've done pretty good with the chores lately...but last night I got to wondering HOW OFTEN are certain things really needed. Taking in account health issues and such. Like should we be washing our sheets once a week? How often should we really have to mop? Well, I've done some research for you guys and here's a list I came up with!
1. Changing bed sheets
There is considerable debate on how often you should change your bed sheets. Several surveys conducted over the years suggests that the majority of people change their sheets anywhere from once a week to once a month. Most people recommend changing the sheets at least every two weeks, and some people may need to change them more often, depending on certain needs.
We shed skin cells at all times, and at night we shed these in our beds. Unfortunately these cells are the food of dust mites, and if you have allergies to dust mites, it may make sense to keep skins cells in bed at a minimum. Some people have extreme allergies and really need to change their bed sheets once a day. Most others can get by with changing sheets once a week, which is about the average rate of sheet change if you employ a housecleaner.
http://www.wisegeek.com/how-often-should-i-change-my-bed-sheets.htm
2. Mop Floors
Depending on the traffic of your floors, you may need to mop weekly, biweekly or in some areas only monthly. However, it's best to wipe up obvious dirt as it happens to prevent you from scrubbing on your mopping day.
http://housekeeping.about.com/od/surfacefloors/f/mopfrequency.htm
3. Dusting
If no one in your household suffers from allergies, you won't have to worry about the health effects of dust as often as other families do. You'll still need to dust electronics and furniture weekly to prevent buildup that can scratch, damage, and clog surfaces in your home. More out of the way spots like ceilings, corners, and door frames will only need to be dusted as needed, and may only require your attention every couple of months.
http://housekeeping.about.com/od/cleaning101/f/frequencydust.htm
4. Washing the dog
It depends mainly on the dog breed. Though most dogs do not like water, it is necessary to wash them frequently, not to make them look extremely clean but to protect them from skin diseases. The washing interval also depends on the coat of the dog. Dogs with coarse or wiry coat, like Schnauzers and Terriers need to bathed every 4-6 weeks. Double coat dogs need to be washed every 4-8 weeks, dogs like Cocker Spaniel and Pekingese fall in double coat category. If you have a smooth coat dog like Chihuahua you will need to wash it only once in 8 weeks. The last category of dogs, the non-shedding dogs like poodles need to be washed every 6-8 weeks.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-often-should-you-wash-your-dog.html
5. Vaccuming carpets
It’s best to vacuum your carpet at least twice a week, if you can’t vacuum your entire house this often, at least vacuum the high traffic areas at least twice a week. (Yikes!)
http://www.carpet-rug.org/about-cri/what-is-cri/frequently-asked-questions.cfm#38
6. Cleaning the bathroom
The bathroom should be cleaned once a week, and even more frequently if it gets heavy use from a large family.
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/how-to-clean-bathroom.htm
7. Replacing kitchen sponge
Replace your sponge every month. Signs that your sponge should be replaced immediately, regardless of the time elapsed since the last replacement, include musty or unpleasant odors and a sponge that is beginning to disintegrate.
http://www.ehow.com/facts_7413831_should-replace-kitchen-sponge_.html#ixzz14E9mM63d
Dust is just a country accent. ~Author Unknown
A clean house is the sign of a boring person. ~Author Unknown
Our house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy. ~Author Unknown
I'm not going to vacuum until Sears makes one you can ride on. ~Roseanne Barr
My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint. ~Erma Bombeck
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