Pink Sugar Floating Blocks Soap

My first attempt at suspension soap. It was a lot of fun.

iPhone pic

I had some avocado cucumber melt and pour base and some olive oil soap base. I made two small thin batches of avocado cucumber soap. It was cloudy. I made them pink and blue. Cut them up into little squares. I then made enough olive oil soap to cover the bottom of my container/mold. I tinted it light purple and made it smell like pink sugar. I poked a few of the blocks in it. I would then do a few layers of more olive oil soap and put a few more blocks in it.

The most important part of layering I learned is to spray alcohol. Once you pour the soap, spray alcohol to pop the bubbles. Before you can add another layer, you need to spray with alcohol again. I read that if you don't have alcohol sprayed, that the layers won't stick and they may come apart.

Potatoes and Tomatoes Update

My little garden is doing pretty well. I have pulled all of my first crop of radishes out of the ground. I have replanted them as I was pulling them. I hope to get another cycle of radishes.

Some of my Potatoes

I added another bag of soil trying to hill up these potatoes. I bet I have to keep adding because they are tall.

4 Tomato Plants (Better Boy)

Believe this or not, but this is 4 tomato plants that have sprawled out and aren't staked or caged. I am not sure if I will have to stake them anytime soon. They have made one giant bush. Ha! They are starting to get little tomatoes all over them. I have hilled them and pulled off the lower branches. I am constantly pulling off the tomato suckers. I was going to cage them, but I waited too late. There is no way to force these into cages at this point.

I currently have this growing (not shown): radishes, crookneck squash, swiss chard, cucumber, bell pepper, some kind of pepper, jalapeno, spinach, onion, garlic, lettuce, purple beans, spaghetti squash, mint, cilantro, dill, rosemary, pineapple sage, and strawberry. Plus, 11 potato plants and 4 tomato plants.

I want to note that I do not have any of this planted in the ground. Our yard does not have topsoil so we have found other ways to grow.

Itsukushima Shrine, Japan

I ran the 5K in Itsukushima Shrine in Japan on my iFit Live yesterday.  This is on the Miyajima island. This place is so beautiful. Unfortunately, I could only run the terrain and could not see any sort of pictures or video. Beautiful!

I did it on an elliptical with iFit Live. The course mimics the inclined terrain of this beautiful place. Most of the time, the incline was on 20 and the resistance was from 11-15. That is pretty much about topped out. I am not a runner and have only started working out more about 6 months ago. I am trying to shed those baby pounds.

The winner of the race completed it in 57 minutes. Wow! I was much slower. 99 minutes. 1582 calories burned. Bam!!! I didn't really compete to win. I just wanted to finish. I was so excited that I didn't quit or fall off of the elliptical. Ha!

Here is a quick peaceful video of the Shrine that also shows the Otorii, the grand gate in the water.

Harvesting More Radishes

I have been able to get a few good radishes here and there, but this was probably my biggest harvest. I have a small area designated for radishes. I ended up using more space on potatoes than I wanted to. These radishes are not near as long as the first ones. The first ones were around an inch thick and 5 inches long.

I took my dad's advice and planted new radish seeds where I pulled them out. I also have another rotation of radishes growing in an old broke down swimming pool. Not sure if it will be deep enough for them to get so long. This time, I planted the small red round radishes. I think they were called Sparklers.

My dad said that my grandmother used to eat the green tops from radishes. They are known to have more vitamin C than the actual radish. I also heard you can juice it.

If you are interested in learning how to grow radishes, you can read about it on Mother Earth News.

Crafty Catchups

Over the last week, I have been so busy that I hadn't had a chance to catchup. So, here is some of the latest.

I tried my hand at some colorful bath bombs. They were fun.

I also made some more melt and pour soaps. I added some good stuff in these. One had chamomile and honey added and the other had some rose buds and green tea. I am getting up the nerve to try the lye soap making.

A week or two ago, I decided to try planting in some bags of soil. Can it be? No digging up my clay. This is what it looked like when I planted. I already have stuff coming up. I will get updated pics soon. I will have to show you a pic of the broke down baby pool I planted salad stuff in. Recycling at its best - redneck style!

My radishes have started getting big enough to eat for sure. The taste is great! I am going to attempt to cook some of these. I read that they are like an onion and will caramelize. You can grill them in some foil. Look it up.

Last weekend, I decided to get something on my baby's windows. We only had window blinds. I wanted to do something that looked like a toddler and less infant. I got 6 yards of a robot fabric, and I am on a mission to add it to everything in his room. I started with adding material trim to some valances. The sheers on the window really helped. I plan on making a comforter, and some pillows or throw animals. I should have enough material to go awhile.

Baby Haircut and Pleco

Baby D got his first full haircut. I was hesitant because I was afraid that all of his curls would get cut off. He still has small curls!!! He did really well getting his haircut. He didn't cry. He liked the cape and loved Laura. She gave him a certificate, too. This happened because some man at church called him a girl.

Blurry but oh well!

I snapped this picture of my huge Plecostomus. We have had him for a few years. We have to feed him 2 algae wafers a day. He looks like a dragon swimming in the water. To be so big, he is quick and agile.

Organic is Bigger

This is not trick photography. This lemon came in my biweekly organic shipment. It was grown in California. Compared to the shriveled small lemons we get from our stores, this lemon looks Huge to me. The cucumber that came in the shipment was at least a foot long.

I have to give credit for the awesome produce to Papa's Organic.

Six Little Hands' Giveaway

Six Little Hands - having a giveaway on Sampler Village. The details are here - Sampler Village.

The giveaway consists of Lavender and Honey Milk Bath Salts and Mom's Shea Lotion Bar. I have personally used all of my Lavender and Honey Milk Bath Salts. I loved them. They were the best salts I had ever tried.

Go enter this giveaway or go directly to her Etsy shop.

Vegetable Warrior - printout

I created this document to print out and put on our fridge for my kids. I think the fridge is a good place for the kids to read "good stuff." I home-school so this will be handy. It is just fun facts for fruits and vegetables. I have a problem with getting my 13 year old boy to eat anything that is healthy. Knowledge is Power.

You can download the pdf from here. It is a better quality for printing than this jpg used for viewing.

Go Steve Martin Go

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Spring Cleaning Outdoor Spaces

Saturday, I enlisted the help of my older kids to help me clean and watch my littlest one. Our back porch is almost as long as the house and has three distinct areas because of the odd shape. It has been the catch all for quite some time. Last summer I could hardly put the baby down to go outside and water or clean the porch. This summer, we are ready to enjoy the outdoors since it is Baby D's favorite place to be.

It took us over 5 hours to remove everything and clean it to a sparkly shine. One of our hunter cats tends to deliver dead animals at our doorstep and then by a few hours all you find are the yucky organs that even the cat won't eat. I felt the need to disinfect the porch. Yuck!

Baby D looks dangerous with brother's iPhone and the water.

Instead of buying some new patio furniture, I decided it was best to save money and clean up and oil my old wood furniture. I spent the money instead on a water fountain. Woohoo! Way better investment.

Quiche on the Fly

I am still using many great organic vegetables since I received my awesome biweekly combo box from Papa's Organic. I had to look up how to use Swiss Chard because I had never cooked it or ate it, that I know of. I received a bunch of red chard and a bunch of green chard.

Sauteed Veggies

I found this recipe on Food.com. It is for Crustless Swiss Chard Quiche. (I did not use the stems of the Chard) I changed it up a bit when it came to the vegetables because I have a ton to use right now. I sauteed 2 cups of Red Chard, handful of spinach, 1/2 small onion, 1/4 red bell pepper, 4 mushrooms, 1/2 yellow crooked neck squash, 1 clove of garlic, and about 12-15 little smokies cut in small pieces. I sauteed the veggies and smokies in olive oil and seasoned it with salt and pepper. I just used the kind of cheeses I had: Cheddar and Parmesan. I followed the rest of the directions.

Raw mixture ready to go in oven.

I popped it in the oven for 40 minutes, and it was super yummy to me. I am the only quiche lover in the house so I got plenty. :)

Garden Quiche - all browned!

Organic Delivery and Zuppa Toscana

I was so happy when I woke up. My bi-monthly delivery from Papa's Organic came in by FedEx on my doorstep. It was everything I hoped for and more. It was packed nicely with shredded paper and cold packs and sealed in an insulated foil bubble wrap.

This amount shown was a Medium sized box of Veggie and Fruit Combo. It contained: zucchini squash, 1 bunch kale, 1 bunch spinach, 1 bunch Red Chard, 1 bunch Green Chard, 4 bell peppers (3 red & 1 green), avocado, sack of new potatoes, 2 apples, 1 yellow grapefruit, 2 yellow onions, 3 red onions, bag of mushrooms, bananas, and pack of blueberries. Awesome! 40 Dollars and worth it to me.

This called for a cleaning of my fridge. I started gathering all of my old produce that needed to go. I even added the shredded paper that was with my veggie shipment in there. I got it ready for my compost tumbler. Today was the day I emptied my compost from last season in my garden bed and started a new batch. You can put almost anything in compost except for plastic, meat, and dairy. We have put everything in ours from food, hair, junk mail, paper from our shredder, dryer lint, and grass clippings. I also start mine with a little compost starter.

Here is what my dirt looked like when I removed it from the tumbler. Yep, I made that dirt.

Hard to believe it came from all of that junk I kept throwing in there. Tea bags and Coffee grounds and so much more!

Here is a picture of my tumbler I ordered from Amazon. It is called an Envirocycle Composter. It's pretty slick. The bottom can catch compost tea. It comes totally put together. It has rollers where it sits on so you can roll the tumbler to mix it. Sit it in the sun and it will make some dirt. I am going to get another one this year so I can have two batches during the summer time.

I added my compost to my little above ground planter that Danny and friends built for me. You can see in the background that Danny's office is coming along nicely.

I decided to make some of my favorite soup with some of my great organic veggies that came in. I made Zuppa Toscana. It is the one they sell at Olive Garden. You can get the recipe here.

This was a shot of my last ingredients to put in. The Kale was already chopped and the cream was waiting. I love that Pink Himalayan Salt. After it was all done, here is what my bowl of soup looked like. Hope yall enjoy!

Recreate Yourself

I have been listening to an audio book, "Throw Out Fifty Things, Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life" - Gail Blanke. The best surprise message from this book is Recreate Yourself. We tend to hold onto old ideas we have of ourselves because we need a kick in the pants. If you ever say to yourself that you wish you were more like another person because of their qualities then you need to make it so. Start becoming that person you want to be. It is just that easy. Throw out the old clothes that you don't like and start over. Isn't that a concept? It's just that easy.

The most important part of this book is to get rid of all of the stuff that you have latched onto that is weighing you down. It is a great motivational book to get you going. Sometimes that is all we need. Someone to say it out loud.

To go along with the book, you can download a workbook from her site. Even if you don't get this book, her site has some help.

Peppermint Hiccups

 My friend, Michelle, told me that Peppermint Essential Oil would cure hiccups because it stops spasms. I hope I said that right.

Anyway, the other day I had hiccups, I turned the bottle up and dropped a drop of oil on my tongue. In a few seconds, my tongue felt funny and my throat started feeling cold. ha ha It worked. My hiccups stopped immediately. Tonight, I got hiccups again and thought I would give it another try. It worked immediately. Not only do the hiccups stop, you get extra minty breath.

Thanks Michelle!

ALO Awaken with a side of Ginger

My friend, Michelle, told me about the health food store in Texarkana called Granary Street Discount Store. It is pretty awesome! I grabbed a few different drinks while I was there and popped them in the fridge.

My favorite so far is a drink called ALO Awaken. ALO's official website here. It has chunks of aloe in it with wheatgrass. It is surprisingly good to me. I already juice and have been drinking aloe juice almost daily so the flavor was not weird for me. My normal aloe juice does not have a taste. It can be put beside water, and I couldn't tell it apart. This drink has 2 servings in it. One serving is supposed to be equivalent to a cup of coffee, naturally.

A review of the ALO drink here: BEVNET. The user reviews outweigh the site's review. :)

The other night while I was working out, I tried another drink called Ginger enerGizer. It is put out by the Ginger People. It really is an energizing drink. It has triple the Ginger with a splash of apple. You can feel your body start to heat up when drinking it. It is said to improve digestion and metabolism. Woohoo! I usually add ginger to my juices when juicing, but I had never had this much at one time. It did its job. The taste was a little strong for me, but I would probably grow used to it quickly. It can be served hot or cold.

Baby Shower Basket

I went to a baby shower today for a beautiful young mother. It was my friend's daughter. It wasn't that long ago that I was attending my own shower. It really puts a perspective on how time flies.

I made this gift basket pictured above. I got everything at Target. I built up the inside with paper and added the crinkled purple paper strips inside so it would be pretty. I packed it with diapers, wipes, lavender bath, lavender candle, infant gowns, infant bodysuit, socks, toy, diaper sacks, diaper cream, clothes hangers, pacifiers, a toy, bathtub temperature duck, and a little blanket baby.

This is the back shown above. I shrink wrapped it. I don't do things like this often so it was fun. Usually, I crochet a baby blanket. No time lately.

After I got back, I made some Lavender Milk Bath Salts. They smell awesome, and I can't wait to try them. I was experimenting with a new recipe.

Organic Produce via the Internet

A few years back, getting produce in the mail from online ordering was hopeful for some but not likely for those of us in the sticks. Now, more websites are offering delivery to us secluded Texans. Since my closest organic health food store that serves produce is around 1 1/2 hours away, I found somebody on the internet to try out.

I decided to give Papa's Organic an order. I was able to select a bi-weekly fruit and veggie combo box. Since the shipping will be higher to come to my part of Texas from California, I chose bi-weekly. I can cancel at anytime. Worth a shot.

I am supposed to be on the next bi-weekly shipment so in a few weeks, I will let you know how it all goes.

Splinter Be Gone

Yesterday, I got a splinter in my big toe. Wasn't sure if it was a small fine splinter or a piece of glass. Yesterday was also the first day that D (14 month old) broke something - a glass charger plate to hold candles. So, I did sweep up some small shards of glass.

Before I got out my tweezers, I grabbed my Epsom Salt. I put 2 cups in a bucket of hot water (gallon). I soaked my foot while the baby played in his bath (maybe 15 minutes). Surprise! The Epsom Salt drew the splinter out of my foot. It is gone, no pain, and no tweezers.

Something that I didn't realize before was that when you put this in your bath water, your body absorbs the Magnesium Sulfate. I read somewhere this can even help with osteoporosis. Wow! I put 2 cups in my bath as well. It make you feel kind of floaty in the water. I also put a dropper full of tea tree oil in there, too. That is also good for your skin and hair.

I made a quick salad today for lunch, and it looks great. It tasted even yummier. Grilled chicken salad. Mmm

Sniffing Oils on Friday Night

Yep, that is what I am doing. I am trying to put together a blend of oils for a fragrance that I may want to use on some of my household cleaners or salts. I took the advice of a book I was reading that said to dip some test strips just barely in the oil. Put only 2 or 3 scents together and make one strip higher than the rest (dominant). I wondered if this would really work as well as it sounded. It did. I would take turns holding each strip higher than the rest and then fan them in front of my face. I was breathing in the coffee bean aroma between smells so my nose would be clear. I read that there should never be equal portion of dominant smells. The smells just compete too much.

Had a good day today. I juiced earlier and shared with my husband and friend. Apple, Tangelo, Celery, Cabbage and Carrot! I am celebrating today. I have lost 11 pounds in the lat 3 weeks. Woohoo for the Elliptical.

Lavender Love

I have been hearing everyone talk about essential oils lately and posting all the good uses. I am already a big fan of anything homemade and natural. 

I have made everything from bath salts to green tea facials although I am just learning and love trying all of my favorite vendors' products. This morning I made a backup supply of bath salts for when my new favorite stash runs out.  My child hood friend, Melanie, creates an amazing bath salt from her family business - SixLittleHands. You can view it on Etsy here. I put this in my whirpool tub and RELAX. The water just fizzes and feels all tingly. I love it.

I tried to use some of my oil to freshen my clothes. I put a few drops on a damp rag and put in the dryer. It does not fight against static, but it does make the clothes and utility room smell wonderful.

My biggest fun today was adding 5-6 drops of my Lavender Essential Oil to my homemade Window/Glass Surface Cleaner. It was 5:1 of Vinegar & Water. The reason I quit using it before was because it didn't smell that good to me. Before today, I never thought of adding a smell to it. I had recently purchased Watkins Natural Lavender All Purpose Cleaner for $5.99 and loved it. I made it myself for much cheaper - probably less than $1.  My homemade cleaner smelled amazing. Lavender is supposed to relax you so there is another plus. Make a cute label, and it will make you smile.

I am most impressed with the homemade surface cleaner. My appliances wiped up nicely. I wiped off my shiny chrome on my washer and dryer, faucets, appliances, marble counter tops, mirrors, glass, tv, and most important - Flat Top Surface Stove!!! Just buff it off with a dry cloth if you want it to be streak-free.

The cleaner that I made today was the best smelling cleaner I have ever used. Also, I won't worry that my baby is touching everything. No toxic chemicals today. And it is okay if it goes down your drain and into your aerobic septic system.

Taking Crocheting Too Far

I love to crochet and search for new patterns sometimes. I saw this on the Lion Brand Yarn site.

 Crocheted Cheese Burger

I wonder why does someone spend all this time crocheting fake food? For decoration?

Beef Tips and Rice Pressure Cooker

I was in a hurry for dinner and didn't know what to make. I had already cooked up a big batch of Jasmine rice today in my rice cooker, and it was being kept warm. I had almost 2 lbs of stew meat thawed so I decided to make some Beef Tips and Rice in my pressure cooker.

Everything looks better in Fiesta!

Although I use a large pressure cooker for canning, I have smaller nicer ones that I use for my everyday cooking. You can cook chicken in no time, and the meat will fall off of the bones. That takes 10 minutes under pressure. You can cook pinto beans in around 55 minutes. Roast is done in less than an hour. Boiled Peanuts!!! I could go on forever.

Fagor Splendid 6 quart Pressure Cooker. This is the best sized pressure cooker for everyday cooking I have found. It has more than one safety feature and will not allow you to open with pressure. Not all are created this nice.

Beef Tips & Rice

Ingredients: Cooked rice, 2 lbs stew meat (cubed), 1 onion (chopped), brown gravy mix, 3 cups water, salt, garlic powder, pepper, soy sauce, Worcestershire.

Anyway, here is how I cooked my Beef Tips. I heated up a few tbsp of olive oil in the pressure cooker saucepan with lid off. I seasoned my meat with garlic powder, salt, pepper. 1/2 tsp is a good amount if you are unsure how much to put of each season. Brown your meat. I dropped a chopped onion to cook over my beef cubes. After the onions started cooking down,  I added 1/4 cup or a few good shakes of Soy Sauce, and 1/4 cup (few shakes) of Worcestershire, 2 cups of water, and mixed up one packet of gravy mix with a cup of water. Most people add brown gravy mix. I had some Cajun red gravy mix so I used that. I added the gravy mixture in and stirred well. Locked on the lid. I cooked on med-high until I reached pressure. Then, I lower my burner but kept hot enough to remain under pressure. I cooked for 20 minutes and then released the pressure. You may need to thicken your gravy a little bit. I have a container of brown gravy mix that shakes out. It is Tony Chachere. Sometimes I add it to stuff I want to thicken instead of flour or corn starch. Learning to cook with pressure cookers on an electric stove is an art. Learning to cook with one on a flat top stove is a tricky skill!!! I also can on my flat top stove.

The Beef Tips and gravy tasted like it had simmered for 2 hours just like most recipes call for. If you are a busy mom, get a rice cooker and a pressure cooker. No more boiling stuff for hours in the kitchen. Soups don't have to cook all day. I think of it as Cooking Smart with your time.

This got my little 13 month old baby boy's approval. The meat fell apart and was easy for him to eat. This is him after eating, bathing, and now brushing his teeth.

Snow again... Ugh

Living close to Texarkana, we don't usually get too much snow. We get little bits of flurries and occasionally it will stick. This year has been different. This is our third time to get snow. We had it for around 4 days the first time. Then, shortly after, we got it again. The day we got snowed in the second time, my son developed an abscessed tooth. Oh, the feeling of helplessness. Now, it did it again. I think it may have only been one week or less since the last one.

This is a view from my back porch into our back yard. Our backyard drops off and is two different levels. Alex said this was really soft snow and wasn't able to snowboard as good down the back hill. haha

 

We didn't get it very heavy this time, but it is just enough to become annoying.

I Can Can

Last week, I canned twice. Ground Beef and Potatoes. Last Friday night, I decided to can ground beef. Here is how I did it.

This was my first time to can strictly a meat. This was kind of a test. Ground beef is cheap, so that is why I canned ground beef.

Update: I have tasted the ground beef, and I would probably not can this again. Although it preserved it, the texture of the ground beef was not good to me. It changed the taste and texture. If I was broke and hungry, I would eat it.

I bought a 10 lb tube of ground beef because it was on sale for $10. Kaching! I cooked it with some onions and seasoning. I also put water in it while I was cooking it because I wanted to help get some of the grease off of it. It is important to not can foods that are too greasy because that can mess up the sealing process. (so I have heard) I then drained the meat after it was cooked. I tasted it and made sure that it tasted good with seasoning.

While I was cooking the meat, I got all of my equipment ready for pressure canning. I got my quart jars ready as well. I spooned ground beef in the jars and topped off with beef broth. I left 1 inch headroom. 

I processed for 90 minutes and was able to fill 3 quart jars. These jars will be great the next time I make spaghetti sauce, tacos, or casseroles. Once the jars came out of the pressure cooker, they looked the same as when I put them in but bubbling.

As they cooled overnight, the grease rose to the top and created a ring around the top. This is normal. I saw this in other people's pictures. When I reheat this, I will do as always (bring to boil for a few minutes or really hot in skillet).

Wednesday night, I canned potatoes. I saw a video where people were cooking mashed potatoes from canned potatoes. Looked easy on the fly. So, I had to try.

I bought a 10 lb bag of potatoes for cheap (a little over $3). I peeled, quartered, and chunked all of the potatoes. I covered them in water in a large stockpot and brought to a boil for 10 minutes. Then, I packed my jars to an inch of headroom left. I added 1 tsp of salt in each quart and covered with hot/boiling water. I sealed and then cooked under pressure for 40 minutes (quarts). A 10 lb bag of potatoes will yield 6 quarts of potatoes. I made 2 pints instead of one of my quarts. One of my pints did not seal so I used them the next day.

These potatoes will come in handy next time I am making soups, mashed potatoes, or casseroles.