Taking a Risk

Normally I love plain old brownies. I don't like all the "fancy" versions--mint, fudge, nuts, whatever. I love plain old brownies. No frosting, nothing. But I saw this recipe and am very intrigued. I think I should take a risk. I think we will have to try this for some special occasion...or maybe we'll make a normal day special by making them!

Daily Uplift

You've probably already seen this video by now. But I wanted to post it anyway. I think I need to hear stories like this frequently to help me remember how blessed I am, how wonderful it is to be a mother, how special life is. I love being a mother. It is so easy to be distracted by all the new, trendy things, or feeling like I need more "me" time or whatever. But really those things don't matter.
All that is not eternal is too short, and all that is not infinite is too small.

Gak

Did you ever play with Gak as a child? I never did, my mom thought it was too messy. She barely let us play with silly putty. But this looks like so much fun! My little honey and I would have so much fun with this! Find the "recipe" at Make It and Love it here.

Which is your fav?

I like to crochet...and I think that these little hats are so darling! My favorite is the frog. This reminds me of these cute hats...maybe I could make one of those? You can purchase the pattern to these hats by going here.

Beginning Photography Class!!!

I'm sure if you read this blog, or my personal family blog, you could guess that I really, really, really want to become a photographer. And as you can see from the above picture, I need some help. But I have been hesitant to take any classes because I don't have a fancy camera...just a point and shoot. Well, I came across a blog...and the author is teaching a beginning photography class--like really beginning! Even for people like me, with only a point and shoot camera! I really want to go. You should come with me! Find out the deets here. And if you decide to take it, I would appreciate it if you would tell her I referred you! Then go spread the word to your friends, so you can refer them and get a discount off the price too!

Upcoming

My birthday is this month, and I love birthdays! I really get so excited! How fun would this wreath be to make and put up only on birthdays? I know I would feel special to have a special wreath up for my birthday. So easy to make, and so cute! Find it here!.

5 Minutes Away

I came across this recipe on facebook...it sounds really yummy... Really, only 5 minutes? I'm going to have to remember this recipe.

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous). And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

*I finally tried this. It was good, but not great. It was fun that it only took a few minutes and fun to eat cake out of a mug. We put chocolate syrup on ours because it wasn't that great and needed something else. If you try this, you should definitely put chocolate chips in it or something!

Art Prompt

I liked this little video about encouraging art in children! I want to do this when my honey is a little older! Find out more info here.

Happy Thought

I love sewing. I often feel like it is something people just don't do anymore--unless it is something really simple. But it really brings me so much joy to create something beautiful, with dimension and shape, out of a flat piece of fabric, needle and thread. I really enjoyed this article from the local news. Now I want to go sew something!

Laundry Soap

Lately I have been discovering all these things you can make from home that I never knew you could make from home before! It is definitely a lot easier on your pocketbook to do so. This is one of those things I never would have thought about making myself. Laundry soap. Here are two recipes, I can't wait to try! You can also watch a video about it here.
Image found here.
GEL LAUNDRY SOAP

• 1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap.
• ½ cup washing soda
• ½ cup borax powder
• You will also need a small bucket (about 2-gallon size)

Grate the soap and put it in a saucepan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

Tips:

• The finished soap will not be a solid gel. It will be more of a watery gel that has been accurately described as an "egg noodle soup" look.

• The soap is a low-suds soap. So, if you don't see suds, that is okay. Suds do not do the cleaning, it is the ingredients in the soap.

Optional: If you want your soap to have some sort of scent, you can scent this with ½ to 1 oz. of essential oil or fragrance oil of your choice. My favorite scent is orange essential oil.

(Source: ww.thefamilyhomestead.com)

POWDERED LAUNDRY DETERGENT

• 2 cups Fels Naptha Soap (finely grated - you could also try the other bar soap—Zote, etc.)
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax

• Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container.

• Use 2 tablespoons per full load.

(Source: ww.tipnut.com)

Commonly Asked Questions:

Can these two be used on colored clothes as well as whites?

Yes, if you are careful…I have found that my bright colored cotton fabrics do seem to fade color faster with these detergents, to make them more mild for bright colors, back off the soap amount used in the original recipe.