Frankenstorm...aka Hurricane Sandy

As Halloween is creeping on us so is a horrible storm. A storm worth of the holiday and its adopted name Frankenstorm. It is due to hit NJ, NYC and make its way inland. It is such a large storm that we will even feel its effects. We should have around 6 inches of rain and winds of at least 40 miles and hour and some gusts up to 70. To prepare I made sure I baked plenty of goodies, made soups, purchased beans and other dry goods, and bought some fruits for snacking.  We got enough gas to last us several days for our generator. The husband and my oldest son brought in all the lawn chairs and other possible projectiles into the shed. We have plenty of batteries, flash lights, and candles. Our home is pretty well insulated. Even though we have had nights falling in the 30's we still have not had to put on our heat so we are praying it stays that way.

But what does this mean for Halloween? I am not sure. I would assume the two parties we were planning on attending will be rescheduled. I am certain there will be no door to door trick or treating this year. This horrible weather is going to last all week. It certainly will be spooky with little lighting and a lot of time on our hands.


Let's all pray for those on the coast. Let's all pray for those who are in the surge areas. And let's all pray people are prepared! We have had plenty of warning. I hope everyone stays warm, healthy, and safe!

Who knew ?

Who knew that some day I would be making my own laundry soap.  The scene went something like this; Isaiah and I are in the kitchen grating soap. My dad walks in and asks what we are doing. I tell him that we are making laundry soap and he looks at me like I am crazy. I respond with a "hey its much cheaper this way"  he laughs and says, ok whatever.  Below  are the step by step directions on how Isaiah and I made soap.

First we grated a bar of soap. I did use the Fels-Napa soap because it is for laundry stains but really you can use any bar soap.

Put your grated soap in a large pot. Fill a gallon jug with water and add that to the pot as well. Cook until the soap dissolves.

Add one cup of washing soda and (If you do not have washing soda here is a link that will show you how to turn baking soda into washing soda http://naturesnurtureblog.com/2012/05/08/ttt-turn-baking-soda-into-washing-soda/.) add one cup of Borax to the soap mixture you have in the pot.

Bring this to a boil. It should start to thicken up a bit. Once it does turn off your heat and add one gallon jug of COLD water.

Using a funnel makes it easier. I did start with a ladle but that was taking forever. I used a small saucepan instead, that worked much faster.

There is your final product! It has worked wonderfully.It smells great! I will warn you the texture is totally different than what you are used to. Its not a nice pouring liquid. It is like the texture of slime that your kids would make. But it works and its cheap, that's what matters. I spent around 8 dollars for my soap, borax and washing soda and I can use those about 4 more times (I am guessing).

Get in the kitchen!

Every day I try to make some thing new. The other day I tried to make pretzels and well, it was not pretty. So I wanted to try again and success!!

Here is a link http://www.fifteenspatulas.com/2011/12/12/hot-buttered-fluffy-pretzels/ if you would like to try and make them.

I also made some caramel and chocolate popcorn last night. The kids were very pleased! This week I want to attempt to make my own laundry soap with the hope it will save us money.

Who would plant that tree with the prickly things?

Fall has shown itself here in the Northwest and there are changes happening every where. Our pond that is usually hopping with excitement is now quiet. Our green full trees are now orange, red, yellow, and thinning. 

One of those trees really caught my eye last week. Falling from this tree were these round, prickly, balls. I am a city girl so I of course had no idea what these nasty little balls were, until I cracked one open. It is a chestnut tree!!! I love roasted chestnuts and now they are FREE! This tells me there is so much on this land that I can use. As a city girl I never thought twice about where those chestnuts came from and I was happy to pay the price to buy them. Now they are priceless.

Getting in the Groove

Although I have only been in this house a month I feel like I have been here my whole life. Everything is coming into place. I am home caring and tending to my family. My sons are both home learning, living, and enjoying the opportunities that are out there without school (We are now cyber schooling Caden, the new school was not working and we had to make it right). My husband has never been happier in his life and my dad sleeps better here then he has slept in a long time. This tells me we made the right choice.

I am a constant eye sore on facebook. I have been told I can be a little annoying with my political post, comments on education, and my constant need to inform my viewers what I am making for dinner. However there is a group of people who really enjoy my rants and have been asking for my recipes. I recently made some amazing cupcakes this week. I found the recipe on Pinterest. I will give the link here so you can make these tasty little creations yourself. http://www.bakedperfection.com/search/label/Caramel.

I will try post every now and then homemaking ideas, recipes, and other things I learn along the way.

Enjoy!