I am proud to say that I think we may have done it. We're about two seconds away from being homeowners!
After a really long, drawn out process with Mr. and Mrs. Seller, we've finally come to the end. While I can appreciate that they wanted to be sure they had a place to call home, they really dragged it out as long as they could.
Our next hurdle will be to have the home inspection completed. It doesn't appear that there will be any issues but stranger things have been known to happen to us. ;) We'll know more after it's completed on Wednesday.
Hopefully we'll be able to call Maple Avenue home sweet home soon.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Recipes
In light of my last post, I wanted to share a few new recipes. I've tried several of these (the All-Purpose cleaner is great) already. Just sharing the wealth.
VINEGAR RINSE
8 oz. white vinegar
8 oz. water
10 drops of an essential oil (optional)
Here is a great site with TONS of uses for vinegar (alone and in combination with other ingredients).
AIR FRESHENER
8 oz. water
25 drops essential oil of your choice
ALL-PURPOSE CLEANER
1 T dish soap (plain Dawn is great)
20 oz distilled water
EARTH SHAKER
(This works great in an empty grated parmesan cheese container)
Baking soda
15 drops of essential oil per cup, if you'd like.
Yes, you read that correctly. Just baking soda.
EARTH SCRUB or PASTE
2 c baking soda
1/2 c liquid soap (Castile works nicely and so does plain old Dawn)
2 T distilled water IF you're storing it in a container with lid
OR
1/2 c distilled water IF you're using a squirt bottle
2 T white vinegar, added last
The last two recipes are from Karen Logan's book, Clean House Clean Planet. It's very informative and has tons of recipes. If you're in the local area, the Blasco Library has two copies.
VINEGAR RINSE
8 oz. white vinegar
8 oz. water
10 drops of an essential oil (optional)
Here is a great site with TONS of uses for vinegar (alone and in combination with other ingredients).
AIR FRESHENER
8 oz. water
25 drops essential oil of your choice
ALL-PURPOSE CLEANER
1 T dish soap (plain Dawn is great)
20 oz distilled water
EARTH SHAKER
(This works great in an empty grated parmesan cheese container)
Baking soda
15 drops of essential oil per cup, if you'd like.
Yes, you read that correctly. Just baking soda.
EARTH SCRUB or PASTE
2 c baking soda
1/2 c liquid soap (Castile works nicely and so does plain old Dawn)
2 T distilled water IF you're storing it in a container with lid
OR
1/2 c distilled water IF you're using a squirt bottle
2 T white vinegar, added last
The last two recipes are from Karen Logan's book, Clean House Clean Planet. It's very informative and has tons of recipes. If you're in the local area, the Blasco Library has two copies.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
I'm a Convert
I am a huge supporter of anything that claims (and actually is) to be more environmentally friendly. I've always been into the idea of reusing and re-purposing things but since becoming a mommy, I feel even more driven.
I've shared in an earlier post about a few of the things that we do around here to help our planet and our pocketbooks. I'd love to hear what you do so please feel free to share/comment!
Our impending move has made me think about the changes that I want to make in our home. Since I'm the lucky (lucky?) one that does most of the cleaning, I think I should get to decide what to clean with, right? I am committed to making the switch with ALL of our chemical cleaning products. I just don't want those things in our home, on our counters and floors and lingering on all of our fabrics. Call us the Green's because I'm going all the way. LOL
Quite some time ago, I happened upon Crunchy Clean detergents. You can save the "happening upon" and just click here. ; )
I can't say enough about this detergent. Really. I can't. My first order was for the diaper detergent. I was in a diaper detergent rut and I was willing to try just about anything. Crunchy Clean saved the day (and the diapers) for sure! After falling in love with the diaper detergent, I was sure the regular detergent would be a winner too.
I love that these detergents are prepared by a SAHM in her cozy little kitchen. I love that she gets to stay home with her beautiful children while running a successful business AND help the planet. I *love* supporting businesses like that!
Now, as much as I love Crunchy Clean, I have to say I'm about two seconds away from being a make-your-own detergent convert. (Although I'll definitely stick with C.C. for the diapers.)
A friend of mine once made her own liquid detergent. I was turned off by the idea after hearing about the process. I wasn't into gathering empty jugs and containers, grating endless bars of soap, melting them down and then lugging all of the filled buckets and bottles (to an undetermined location) to store them. I just couldn't bite on that whole deal. Sorry, Miriah. ; )
At a recent MOPS meeting we made green cleaners. There were things like all-purpose cleaners and scrubs to make and take. Then there was the dreaded laundry detergent station. I figured I'd give it a try since most of the work was already done for me. I figured, why not?
Let me tell you. I'm hooked. I'm going to gather the ingredients and have enough on hand in case I can't find what I need after we move. I'm sold. It smells wonderful, it cleans great and it's sooooo cheap!!
There's no gathering of empty buckets and jugs or the ruining of your favorite stock pot. The powdered version of homemade detergent really is simple. Here's what you need:
*A container of your choice. You can use an old Cool Whip bowl for a small batch, a large ice cream bucket or even a gallon size Ziploc bag.
I happen to already have two glass jars that I use for detergents. One is for diaper detergent
and the other for "regular". They have air tight lids and looks really cute on a shelf in your
laundry room too. Really though, anything that is air tight will work great.
*A grater. I found that my Pampered Chef Rotary Grater works great. I'm also fortunate to have two of these so I can dedicate one completely to the world of soap grating. It sure pays to be a consultant, huh?
*Measuring cup (1 cup size)
*2 bars of Fels Naptha soap
*A box of Washing Soda
*A box of 20 Mule Team Borax
(I included links in case you can't familiar with these items. This way, you'll know what they look like when you go hunting for them. You can usually find all three of these things in the laundry aisle of your local grocery store.)
For a small batch: Large batch in ( )
Grate 2 bars Fels Naptha (6 bars)
1 c Borax (3 c)
1 c Washing Soda (3 c)
Mix together and store in container
Use 1 T for a small load, 2 for a medium and 3 for a very large or very dirty load.
I encourage you to give this a try. Really, what have you got to lose? At the very least, if you don't like the detergent, you'll have some great multi-purpose cleaning products on your hands. It won't go to waste either way.
Now go find something to wash. : D
I've shared in an earlier post about a few of the things that we do around here to help our planet and our pocketbooks. I'd love to hear what you do so please feel free to share/comment!
Our impending move has made me think about the changes that I want to make in our home. Since I'm the lucky (lucky?) one that does most of the cleaning, I think I should get to decide what to clean with, right? I am committed to making the switch with ALL of our chemical cleaning products. I just don't want those things in our home, on our counters and floors and lingering on all of our fabrics. Call us the Green's because I'm going all the way. LOL
Quite some time ago, I happened upon Crunchy Clean detergents. You can save the "happening upon" and just click here. ; )
I can't say enough about this detergent. Really. I can't. My first order was for the diaper detergent. I was in a diaper detergent rut and I was willing to try just about anything. Crunchy Clean saved the day (and the diapers) for sure! After falling in love with the diaper detergent, I was sure the regular detergent would be a winner too.
I love that these detergents are prepared by a SAHM in her cozy little kitchen. I love that she gets to stay home with her beautiful children while running a successful business AND help the planet. I *love* supporting businesses like that!
Now, as much as I love Crunchy Clean, I have to say I'm about two seconds away from being a make-your-own detergent convert. (Although I'll definitely stick with C.C. for the diapers.)
A friend of mine once made her own liquid detergent. I was turned off by the idea after hearing about the process. I wasn't into gathering empty jugs and containers, grating endless bars of soap, melting them down and then lugging all of the filled buckets and bottles (to an undetermined location) to store them. I just couldn't bite on that whole deal. Sorry, Miriah. ; )
At a recent MOPS meeting we made green cleaners. There were things like all-purpose cleaners and scrubs to make and take. Then there was the dreaded laundry detergent station. I figured I'd give it a try since most of the work was already done for me. I figured, why not?
Let me tell you. I'm hooked. I'm going to gather the ingredients and have enough on hand in case I can't find what I need after we move. I'm sold. It smells wonderful, it cleans great and it's sooooo cheap!!
There's no gathering of empty buckets and jugs or the ruining of your favorite stock pot. The powdered version of homemade detergent really is simple. Here's what you need:
*A container of your choice. You can use an old Cool Whip bowl for a small batch, a large ice cream bucket or even a gallon size Ziploc bag.
I happen to already have two glass jars that I use for detergents. One is for diaper detergent
and the other for "regular". They have air tight lids and looks really cute on a shelf in your
laundry room too. Really though, anything that is air tight will work great.
*A grater. I found that my Pampered Chef Rotary Grater works great. I'm also fortunate to have two of these so I can dedicate one completely to the world of soap grating. It sure pays to be a consultant, huh?
*Measuring cup (1 cup size)
*2 bars of Fels Naptha soap
*A box of Washing Soda
*A box of 20 Mule Team Borax
(I included links in case you can't familiar with these items. This way, you'll know what they look like when you go hunting for them. You can usually find all three of these things in the laundry aisle of your local grocery store.)
For a small batch: Large batch in ( )
Grate 2 bars Fels Naptha (6 bars)
1 c Borax (3 c)
1 c Washing Soda (3 c)
Mix together and store in container
Use 1 T for a small load, 2 for a medium and 3 for a very large or very dirty load.
I encourage you to give this a try. Really, what have you got to lose? At the very least, if you don't like the detergent, you'll have some great multi-purpose cleaning products on your hands. It won't go to waste either way.
Now go find something to wash. : D
Monday, February 15, 2010
Playing the Game
As I said in an earlier post, our move to Civilian Job Land is set. We are now in the process of negotiating an offer on a house. This, I didn't bargain for.
What a stressful time! I feel like I'm in the middle of a huge poker game. The only bad thing is that I don't have a clue how to play poker! This house isn't our dream home by far but, somehow, we've both fallen in love with it. It's hard to stop myself from imagining how this or that would look. I'm a dreamer. I like to pick out paint colors and make things my own. It's really hard NOT to do that yet.
We've had the seller's agent tell our agent that they intend to accept our counter offer. That was yesterday. I understand that the sellers are trying to find a home too. They didn't want to put in an offer on a home until they had one in our their current home. That, I get. It's just so hard to wait. I wanted to be in this house yesterday, not a month and a half from now.
So we wait. We play The Game and hope that it all turns out well. If not, I know there is another home out there for us. It'll just be hard to stop dreaming about this one.
What a stressful time! I feel like I'm in the middle of a huge poker game. The only bad thing is that I don't have a clue how to play poker! This house isn't our dream home by far but, somehow, we've both fallen in love with it. It's hard to stop myself from imagining how this or that would look. I'm a dreamer. I like to pick out paint colors and make things my own. It's really hard NOT to do that yet.
We've had the seller's agent tell our agent that they intend to accept our counter offer. That was yesterday. I understand that the sellers are trying to find a home too. They didn't want to put in an offer on a home until they had one in our their current home. That, I get. It's just so hard to wait. I wanted to be in this house yesterday, not a month and a half from now.
So we wait. We play The Game and hope that it all turns out well. If not, I know there is another home out there for us. It'll just be hard to stop dreaming about this one.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Figures
So, guess who called today? Yep. Mr. Reserve Guy!
We've been waiting for *months* for a phone call with a recruiting positing. A terrific civilian job opportunity arises, Chris takes it and then a little more than two weeks later we get the phone call that we've been waiting for since September. That, right there, is our life story. Things like that happen to us all of the freaking time!
We've weighed the pros and cons of each position and each area. As much as Chris has always wanted to be stationed there (literally since day one of active duty), the civilian job is a better opportunity for us right now.
Civilian works means...
*Chris can gain some valuable work experience and further his career in a much more efficient way. He can stay current on all things computer easier when he's doing the job daily and not just one weekend a month. (Though he'll still do one weekend a month too.)
*The hours won't be as long or as stressful so we'll be able to catch up on all of the lost couple and family time.
*One state is six hours away, the other is about twelve. The probability of house guests drops dramatically after the eight hour mark. (Wait. Is that a pro or a con?)
*We know several people in the area and have family less than two hours away in two directions.
I think the biggest reason I'm so upset about not accepting the recruiting offer is because I was actually looking forward to going back to military life. It's the only thing we've known and the thought of being adults without it scares me a little bit.
The other reason is that I just feel bad for Chris. I know how much he's always wanted to be stationed there. Sure, we can always visit. It's just wont be the same.
So the move to Civilian Job Land is set. I'm excited about what's in store for us and will do my best to focus on the good things that will come our way. Dwelling on what could have been won't do any good. I know we've made the best decision for our family, but I can't help but wonder...What if...?
We've been waiting for *months* for a phone call with a recruiting positing. A terrific civilian job opportunity arises, Chris takes it and then a little more than two weeks later we get the phone call that we've been waiting for since September. That, right there, is our life story. Things like that happen to us all of the freaking time!
We've weighed the pros and cons of each position and each area. As much as Chris has always wanted to be stationed there (literally since day one of active duty), the civilian job is a better opportunity for us right now.
Civilian works means...
*Chris can gain some valuable work experience and further his career in a much more efficient way. He can stay current on all things computer easier when he's doing the job daily and not just one weekend a month. (Though he'll still do one weekend a month too.)
*The hours won't be as long or as stressful so we'll be able to catch up on all of the lost couple and family time.
*One state is six hours away, the other is about twelve. The probability of house guests drops dramatically after the eight hour mark. (Wait. Is that a pro or a con?)
*We know several people in the area and have family less than two hours away in two directions.
I think the biggest reason I'm so upset about not accepting the recruiting offer is because I was actually looking forward to going back to military life. It's the only thing we've known and the thought of being adults without it scares me a little bit.
The other reason is that I just feel bad for Chris. I know how much he's always wanted to be stationed there. Sure, we can always visit. It's just wont be the same.
So the move to Civilian Job Land is set. I'm excited about what's in store for us and will do my best to focus on the good things that will come our way. Dwelling on what could have been won't do any good. I know we've made the best decision for our family, but I can't help but wonder...What if...?
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