As I was washing dishes, I realized that I am turning 30 in less than 1 1/2 years…time flies by soooo fast….I don't even know what I have accomplished. Anyways here is my 30 by 30
1. Buy a home (hopefully….if not by 30, then definitely by 31)
2. Pay off school loan
3. Go to Disneyland/World with JUST mi familia
4. Travel up the east coast
5. Take a trip to Myrtle Beach
6. Visit New York
7.
8. Goal…..have my now 3 year old reading before I am 30
9. Do something spectacular
10. Go on a mini vaca (no kids allowed)
11. Read a GOOD book (novel)---not a decorating book either
12. Wear some Box Braids
13. Purge some of my clothes and shoes and just let go (my goal at least 100)
14. Sew something for myself
15. Reupholster my couch
16. Try African food
17. Start a garden
18. Take an interior decorating class to freshen my skills
19. Do something WILD and unexpected (Don't know yet…but I have some ideas)
20. This is something never-ending but hopefully, I will have my rental fully decorated
21. Wear at least 30 not so everyday shoes that I own (just to say I at least wore it)
22. Wear every single article of clothing in my closet at least once (I have a plethora of clothes with tags still on them that I have not worn…but are oh so cute)
23. Go to Disney on Ice with my family
24. Go to a broadway production at an actual theatre with my daughter (s)
25. Do a "ME" day and do whatever I wanna do
26. Go on a shopping spree just for me
27. Go to the movies either with just the mister or as a family (y'all know how it is when you have kids)
28. Dance
29. Take nice family photos (maybe even professional ones)
30. Stay home for a few hours all by myself (and do nothing)…just once
My family has been using homemade laundry detergent for almost a year…and well…we love it. Our first batch lasted us 8 months, our second one (made with zote) lasted us well…2 months. Now, I know a lot of people love their zote, but for some reason it was not getting our clothes clean enough we had to either double up on detergent or rewash clothes that were already washed.
Our first batch of laundry detergent was made with Fels-Naptha, Ivory bar soap, borax, and washing suds. Recipe below:
1 bar of Fels-Naptha (or Ivory soap)
2c of Twenty Mule Team Borax
2c of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Suds
We use one tablespoon per load depending on size and dirtiness
Basically all you do is grate the bar(s) of soap in a mixing bowl and mix in the other ingredients and transfer it over to a container or jar.
I used the recipe above but I did it X4 and I used both Fels-Naptha and Ivory soap…so it can last a while.
In the zote recipe I solely used the zote as my soap (+ borax and washing suds), I did not mix in ivory soap with it nor did I double, triple, or quadruple my recipe…hence, that is probably why it did not last that long…but that aside…it was not getting the clothes clean.
All in all I just want to share my experience with all of you. We have sensitive skin, we are on a budget so this works for our family…literally we spend less than $10 on the supplies alone and it last us about 8 months….PLUS it truly gets our clothes clean and fresh.
This Thursday I am thankful for…(here we go)….I already stated I was thankful for family, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, clothes, food, heat, my car, a bed, and so much more….but I have not stated that I am super thankful that….I do NOT cook on Thanksgiving…or any other holiday….So thankful to have a day off! I get to sit back and relax….yeah…and probably do dishes…but hey, I get to tune in every year and watch the parade and dog show….whoop whoop! So thankful to have a husband who loves to cook….honestly, no joke…I do not cook on Thanksgiving….okay, maybe I make the corn. LOL.
9. Listen (sometimes I don't take time to listen to their needs because all I hear in whining)
10. Take a mommy time-out
*11. Say a prayer
You see this little sweet girl, yeah this girl (in the pic above)…although she does not look very happy, this is my 3 year old baby girl…who thinks she is grown. First let me address, this photo was taken when she was throwing a fit, because she had an accident on herself (hence, the diaper). Second, doesn't she still look adorable. Anyways, this sweet, fun, adrenaline running little girl…thinks with every ounce of her itty bitty body that she is grown. One of her favorite things to tell me or her daddy when she does not get her way is, "we ruin her life"….honestly? Let me start off by saying, we (her father and I) do NOT, absolutely, do NOT entertain that type of attitude….It has been corrected and we let her know that, that is not something you should say to anyone because it is not nice…we absolutely do not talk like that in our household, so we expect our kids to have a clean mouths as well. sometimes it slips out of her mouth which she is fast to correct. Let me say, she did not get that saying from me or her father…I 100% think she got it from her barbie movies…which I might give away…I just think it is way too grown for my kids and as of right now not one of my favorite wholesome family get-ups…if ya know what I mean.
On a side note: I am sooooo NOT ready for her to grow up….
Although we should be thankful all the time, everyday, every single moment of the day, I am dedicating my thursday blogs to what I am thankful for in lieu of thanksgiving. To kick it off, I am most utterly grateful for…(drum roll….) : My Family
My Family is so special because it is made up of special people…lol…We have the mister, who works super hard and is an excellent daddy. We have my children who inspire me to be better and who make me laugh on a daily basis.
Facebook...face NOT... I was asked a couple of months ago by my aunt...why I don't have a faceboook...basically....I have NEVER cared for it...I feel like it was invented for nosey people. lol. Sometimes I can be nosey, but shhhhshshh who isn't?....but honestly, I first created back in 2003, never used it in college but had the account anyways...never logged in while in college...I did not see the point. It was not until 2008 that I actually started using it...I guess I figure, I had so many distant but close family and I was a new mom and I wanted to share my world with them. I was not a facebook junkie, I did not post stuff just to get someone to "like it or comment it or to say look at me"--that is not me! Anyways, during that time I pondered alot about deleting my facebook account the only things holding me back were my cousins, aunts, uncles, my sister, my mom, etc...Now that I am older and wiser...I could honestly care less about the dang thing. I have deactivated my account...I tried to delete it but could not figure it out and while in that process I deleted a handful of people. So now my account is deactivated...the ONLY time I go on to facebook is to check up on my cousins, new births in the family, and to wish my relative and GOOD friends a happy birthday or even just to write them a short email saying, "hello, I miss you, how are you?"...that is it. nothing more. Lets just say facebook may be for some people, but it is not for this chick.
Hello All! I know I have been AWOL...honestly, I have been on strike and the mister has been hogging the laptop....I know I know it has been a long time. Anyways...we originally started this blog to be a "lifestyle our journey blog"...I don't know right now what direction it is going on...but let me bring it back home....since I have been gone let me update y'all on what's going on...
Well, well, well....hmmm...we are a pretty busy family. I have been spending a lot of time decorating and Diy-ing trying to get some necessary things done before it gets cold. My oldest started school....my middle gives me a run for my money...my youngest follows me everywhere.....hmmmm what can I say....I have been busy...if ya know what I mean...
It is that time again....start digging through your closets and get rid of what you are not using....Don't hoard it, consign it! A fast way to make easy cash is to consign children clothes, your clothes, your spouses clothes, shoes, household goods, etc...
Topic #16 from the Baby Making Machine playlist
Hello again Urbanites. Here is a Saturday "sneak peek" at what I have been working on recently (now that my Janome MC1100 is FINALLY out of the shop- YAY! LOVE my machine.).
This dress is for my soon to be four year old and is meant to be a dress with "room to grow". Unfortunately, I don't have any before and after pics, but the bottom half is easy to visualize as it was EXACTLY as you see it now. It was an old skirt of mine, I think from high school or college, and as I never throw a useful scrap of cloth away...this has been just sitting in my craft closet, waiting for it's debut..
So I pinned the two pieces together and sized them to my daughter. Whenever I do this, I am really a "just get in there and do it person" rather than a "lets measure and make a pattern" person. My daughter was brave enough to allow me to do all this while she was wearing the dress, and that was the discerning factor in whether or not I could get away with no measuring this time.
But after fitting and then sewing together, there was a new problem. I wanted this to be a dress that had "room to grow", but it was already a little on the tight side- not when it was on, but when it was being pulled on. So because the arm hole on one side was already aligned with the skirts side zipper, I could just open up the sleeve and re-sew it on each side of the zipper. So now the zipper will close up the under arm after dressing and then a bow will be tied at the top.
Here is a close-up of the pleat in the back.
Here is a look at how full the skirt is.
SO, I will have to see how the front on the dress turns out. As soon as that is done, the dress will be complete. :)