Time to Make the Laundry Soap

I wish I knew the last time I made my detergent...I can't say how long it lasted.  Yes, I could do some research and let you know exactly, but I really need to do other things.  ( I will make tags/labels so I can let you know next time.)

 This was just enough to get one more bottle out of it.  I am really glad this batch is finally done.  It was actually a fail.  I did not let my soap melt well enough and it made very clumpy soap.
I don't scent the whole bucket though because I am a bit fickle, only the bottles.   My new favorite flavor is peppermint, tea tree and sweet orange. I love the way that essential oil combination makes my clothes faintly smell.  I also will add eucalyptus in a bottle every now and again.  I am sorry, but I am tired of all things lavender smelling. I have always been a citrusy girl anyway.

 All the empty buckets, dippers, bottles and things need a good scrubbing to get rid of the soap buildup.  Not a hard chore at all.

I know I have showed this before and probably have better pictures.  I grated one laundry soap bar (the smaller the grate the better and faster) and melted in about 4 cups of water on the stove.  Once that was melted (about 30-45 minutes),  I add 1 cup of washing soda, a little over 1/2 a cup of borax and 8 cups of hot tap water to my bucket and start stirring.  I slowly add the melted soap into the bucket, trying to avoid making too many bubbles that will turn to a top layer of foam.  I get that all thick and pasty and then begin adding hot water (8 cups at a time and stirring) until the bucket is full.  Right now this is sitting and melding and gelling.  Tomorrow morning I will open the lid of the bucket and get my hands in there to break it up and get it as smooth and combined as possible and let it sit until I am ready for it.  It will actually be another week since I just made a fresh bottle this morning.  No more worries for months! Yay!!

To-Do Tuesday 4.25.17

This week's inside chores:  It's getting warmer and I have to sleep cool, so our room has a window unit, probably a bit overkill since we just had a new central air unit installed this fall.  Nonetheless, the window unit stays and I need to make sure the filter is clean and ready for night use.  This week I really want to get the sunroom area cleaned up so that we can continue to work in there: clean off scaffolding, move portable AC to kitchen, sweep and make sure hubby has everything he needs to mud and tape and prep for primer.  If it gets done I will prime the drywall this week.  I also need to clean up around the other side of the new wall to prep for insulation installation and hanging of the drywall-sounds like an Olympic event!  
I need to clean off my canned goods rack. We are down to a couple of tomatoes, a couple of sloppy joes, several canned chicken breasts and maybe even a taco sauce.  I think I have a strawberry jam left too.  I should probably consider making more since now is the season.  I need to declutter the empty jars that we have been using for milk storage.  I would like to make some goat milk yogurt this week as well, maybe add a little freshly picked strawberry to it.  Mmmm!  As mentioned Friday, I need to get some baked goods in the freezer.  My goal is a couple of extra batches of pancakes, 1 batch of buttermilk biscuits (which is about 20-22 biscuits), a couple of extra pizza doughs.  I also want to make sure hubby has his oats and everyone has trail mix for lunch boxes/bags. 

This week's outside chores:   It's that time of year where we need to be outside the most, so this list usually stays the longest.  Continue to work in the garden area: clean a section at a time, till as we go, lay black plastic in another area.  Sow a few more tomatoes and peppers for our extremely late garden.  Make sure the soaker hose is in good shape.  Repair the garden hose.  I will need to buy a repair kit at Home Depot (use my Christmas gift cards). We are going to start fencing an area that I originally planned to free range our chickens, but first we are going to let Mad Max clean it up a bit for us.  There is a lot of briers and honeysuckle vines and low hanging oak and cedar scrub that he will adore!  We have our corner posts in and need to purchase some T-posts and the 4x4 goat fence, 220 feet will work just fine, and we also need to install a gate.  How much of this can we accomplish this week in reality.  I am hoping that we can get the T-posts in and the gate purchased.  The bees need honey supers added NOW! As you know, the one chemical that I use on the place is fireant killer. We didn't get to this early and now we are paying the price, but it's time to get out the sprayer and poison and kill the little...Lord, forgive me my curse-word thoughts...

Now I just need to figure where we are going to get the time and money for all of these things-no problem, right? 
FINDING TIME:  First, everyone needs to walk away from the Netflix.  Put the remote down and back up slowly, hands up while I shut the TV cabinet (yes, I have one of those old-fashioned TV cabinets, okay!-you know I like to live in the past 100 years to about 1990 anyway).  TV is only for the winter!  Back, I say! Wait, not that far!  Put down that fishing pole!!  *sigh* 

Menu Monday 4.24.17

Last week (Friday), after getting back in the swing of things in the kitchen, I combined Menu Monday and Food Friday.  What is the difference?  Monday I am supposed to plan the menu and grocery list and make sure everything should fit into my budget.  Friday is the proof of what I REALLY did, including pictures, prices and changes I may have made.  

This week's prepping includes:  (This is a repeat of Food Friday this week, sorry!)
Peanut butter sandwiches.  I did get a loaf of bread to make PB&J to put in the freezer for their lunches.  
Trail mix.  I am running low on chocolate chips and will add it to my Sam's club shopping cart online so as not to forget. 
Hubby's oats.  Need to add powdered milk to my list. 
BAKING:  I need to make buttermilk biscuits to freeze and pizza.  Also need to make and bake a pie shell for my first strawberry pie. 

This week's supper menu, in no particular order:
Tacos/taco salad
Meatloaf, smashed potatoes, green beans, biscuits
Pork roast with carrots and potatoes, salad, leftover green beans
Grilled pork chops, mashed potatoes, leftover corn/green beans, homemade bread and butter
Crockpot roast with carrots and potatoes, salad, leftover bread
Spaghetti, broccoli, salad, cottage cheese
Eggs, bacon, blueberry muffins, milk


Lunches include: 
Frozen or fresh PB&J, banana or apple, trail mix
Sliced Turkey tenderloin and swiss sandwiches, fruit salad, trail mix
Meatloaf sandwiches, chips, cucumbers, orange or apple
Grilled BBQ chicken thighs, corn, homemade coleslaw, baked beans, lemonade
Tuna salad sandwich, apple, cucumber, trail mix OR tuna with rotel tomatoes, black beans, avocado, apple or orange
BBQ pork sandwiches, coleslaw, beans
Vegetable soup using all left over veggies and beef and grilled cheese

Aldi grocery list:
Oranges, 4lbs $1.79 (fruit salad, snack fruits)
Hamburger   $8.95 for 5lbs.  (Meatloaf, taco meat, freeze into patties for later)
Pineapple $1.29 (Fruit salad, smoothies)
Mini cucumbers $1.19 1lb bag (Lunches, salads)
Strawberries 1 lb $1.49 (fruit salad)
Cantaloupe $.99 each (fruit salad, snack fruit, freeze for smoothies)
Chicken thighs $.69 lb. (Grilled chicken thighs, bone broth, dog food)
Turkey tenderloin $5.99 (Bake and slice for lunch meat)
Pork loin $1.69 lb (Oven roast, grilled chops, BBQ sandwich)
Chuck roast $3.89 (Crockpot beef roast with potatoes, carrots)
Tortilla "scoops" $1.79 (Snack, taco night)
Salsa $1.49
Mexicorn $.89 (Taco night) Stock up on about 10 of these. 
Dry black beans $2.49 for 2lbs (taco night, tuna lunch, can in pint jars)
Diced tomatoes with chilies (Rotel) $.45 (taco night, tuna lunch)  Stock up on 10 of these.

Other things to find: 
Cheddar cheese, carrots, romaine, tomato sauce if no home-canned spaghetti sauce left,
butter, cottage cheese, jelly, apples, bananas, sandwich bread, baked beans(Publix deal), lemons, cabbage, tuna (Publix deal), avocado, american cheese.  

I will give the final results Friday! 

Have a blessed week! 

Quintuplet Update

They are doing well for the most part.  I do worry about the girl, Gypsy (short for Gypsophila).  She is smaller than the boys and does not seem to be able to digest as well. She is not as playful and never wags her tail when she is drinking her bottle of momma's milk.  Time will tell.

They have been moved around because of overfeeding, bullying, underfeeding.  I have learned a lot about having a herd set up and we are continuing to make improvements through trial and error.

As of right now they are in the fenced garden area.  (No, I do not have my garden going yet this year-oh the woes of the working wanna be farmgirl!!)

The boys being lazy while Gypsy keeps guard.

Free mineral and baking soda for all

New places in the garden to explore; good thing nobody cleaned up this winter!

The abandoned asparagus patch

The old rooster house in the garden will be an excellent shelter for the babies
until a more permanent home is made

I am hoping the babies will help clean up the grass and briers that the roosters did not.  Shelter, sun, shade, food and water.  Hopefully everything they need until they are sold!  So, any takers?  Just let me know if we need to band them/castrate them for you!

Food Friday 4/21/17

Time to get back to menu planning!  I am finding that the animals are eating better than we are.  Why is that?  We have all done it and I am slipping back into it.  Create a menu, buy a menu, however you get your menu, you have it.  You buy all the things to make the menu.  Then, by Tuesday, the menu isn't appealing or you have missed something and have to make something else.  I can honestly say when I was home full-time, this wasn't as big of a problem.  Having a full-time job outside of the home, this is harder for me.  I do NOT want to get back in the car and get something.  I do NOT want to try and cook a huge meal or "homemade" meal that takes more than 30 minutes-and that seems extreme!  I will send the boy to get something unhealthy, or call hubby to pick something up on the way home, or we have an incomplete meal.  Just meat and potatoes, just meat, just salad, sandwich.  Who knows!  As I said a couple of years ago.  I get sales ads on Wednesday and Aldi starts sales on Sunday.  I have notebooks full of various menus, frugal, busy, clean eating, vegetarian, and let's not even talk about the cookbooks, pinterest recipes, etc.!  I am a little angry at myself for falling off the wagon on this. Yes, I can't, well, I won't,  make a glorious homemade meal every night with fresh baked bread, grass-fed meats and slow-roasted veggies with a fresh salad out of the garden.  But, I can do this once in a while with planning, can't I?  
So, what is going on this coming week? 
Well, I let my son pick out a menu...bless him. *sigh* It is an old "Frugal Mom" menu from Menus4moms website a few years ago.  I will do it though. So, what is planned? 

Saturday-STRAWBERRY PICKING DAY
       Lunch-vegetable soup using up any of the veggies that are getting a little old, as well as opened boxes of broth.
       Supper-Swedish meatballs, green beans
      Considering strawberry pie as hubby wants and strawberry cake maybe

Sunday-
       Brunch-pancakes, bacon, milk.  Freeze some extra pancakes
       Supper-Orange and Chili pork, long grain and wild rice, peas (new recipe)
       IF time and inclination, I would like to make a pizza to take for lunches tomorrow, as well as make some biscuits to freeze for later in the week.

Monday-
       Lunch-hopefully pizza from last night
       Supper-Baked ravioli, broccoli
Sounds like a heartburn kinda night, doesn't it? 

Tuesday-
       Lunch-leftover ravioli and broccoli
       Supper-Creamed beef over biscuits, fruit of choice (fresh strawberries are in season right now and hopefully have some picked from Saturday, organic apples are on sale, so it might be a bit impulsive fruit choic)

Wednesday-
       Lunch-frozen PB&J, bananas, trail mix
       Supper-Crockpot Orange chicken, rice, stir-fry vegetables

Thursday-
       Lunch-Leftover orange chicken or another PB&J sandwich 
       Supper-Sloppy joes that I have canned, cottage cheese, salad

Friday-
      To Be Determined.  I will try to get back into the swing of things and have it covered next week!

My To-Do List for the menu
1. Cook and freeze extra pancakes
2. Make biscuits to freeze
3. Make pizza dough if none in freezer
4. U-pick berry patch Saturday! 
5. Freeze 2 bread loaves worth of PB&J; consider getting sliced turkey breast for frozen turkey sandwiches too.
6. Make and bag trail mix
7. Make hubby's morning oats and bag. 

Grocery List:
sour cream     cheese ravioli (refrigerated section)     frozen o.j.     frozen peas
ribs                 frozen stir-fry veggies                           dried beef?   egg noodles
grn pepper     long grain/wild rice mix                         chili sauce    balasamic vinegar
flour               bananas                                                oatmeal        pepperoni
buttermilk      cottage cheese                                      romaine        salad ingredients
jelly                peanut butter                                         bread           

I think that may be all.  I will see what it adds up to and let you know.  I have gone over Publix sales ad and found a few things that I want from there.  Particularly because of the $10 off a $50 gas card if I spend $50 on groceries.  For example, frozen family entrees are $3 off and those come in handy on those I CANT COOK TONIGHT days.  Kiwi for hubby, organic gala or pink lady apples, 8 cans of tuna for $3.83, baked beans for quick side dishes when we grill, Wishbone dressings are BOGO, Kerrygold grass-fed butter is on sale, Hunt's tomatoes are BOGO, there is a good deal on papertowels.  AND yes, I am even considering things that are horrible!!! even besides the papertowels, Klondike Ice Cream (it would keep me from eating a whole pint of Ben&Jerry's and then eating whoever hasn't finished theirs by the morrow!, and BOGO Eggo waffles for either easy supper sandwiches or lazy breakfast days.  I haven't got these things yet, maybe I will meet my $50 minimum with just the organic fruit and tuna...but I have a contingency plan, as horrible as it may be.  

I will post some pics, if only for the accountability of it!  

DIY Healthcare

I had a blood pressure scare last week.  It was 180-188/124-115 over the course of the day that I missed work.  I went to the local urgent care as my regular doctor was on spring break.  It's lowering slowly.  Luckily, as you know, I work at a hospital and have access to lots of wonderful nurses who are willing to help me check it. It's still not close enough to normal for me, but I feel confident that things will turn around.

This event made me 1)wonder why it shot up so badly and 2) how can "fix" this as naturally as I can.  The answer to why is because of the stress.  Right now, I have stress at home, with the farm, at work; I really have no area of serenity.  At home, we are still trying to remodel and I have been so tired lately that I feel I live in a hoarder's house and don't have the energy to change anything.  On the farm, we are in week 6 of our quintuplet baby goats.  They have gone from adorable to annoying!  Feeding, wading through the little bodies, trying to configure areas where everyone can get feed they need but not too much, roosters that crow all hours of the night and just the weight of farm chores that never end.  Work...is work...

How can I "fix" hypertension that has a strong genetic background?  Probably can't, but I can do a lot of things to lower it and help it.  First, I have to be a better patient.  Nothing like being called non-compliant.  We all know that healthcare workers are the worst patients though, right?  Secondly, get down to a normal weight.  As hubby would say, totes obs. Then comes a better diet.  I have been doing fairly well at avoiding all sugar, flour and processed foods.  For a few days, I went totally whole-food vegan, but eventually you can think salad and taste it without eating anything!  I am a little nervous about doing too much extra exercise except for walking.  Time to charge that fitbit!  I have an appointment and will talk to my doctor about how far to take the exercise, as well as listen to my body.  The last thing I am trying, as well as for the hubby, is to make my own supplements.  I have decided to start with the hottest new "super-supplement" turmeric.

First I bought a capsule machine, a pure, organic turmeric powder, black pepper and capsules.

I mixed the turmeric and black pepper (4 Tb turmeric, 2 tsp pepper) in a bowl, filled the machine with the capsules and filled them up.  

I followed the instructions and it did pretty good.  I did have one that did not close right for me, but all in all it was fairly simple.  I put them in a jar after hubby and I took one for good measure.  

And then I washed my hands.  NOTE TO SELF: USE GLOVES!!  I knew this but was so excited to try and make them that I just did it! 

Now I am ready to 1) see what Mountain Rose Herbs have on sale next month and 2) buy some organic oranges to dehydrate and make my own vitamin C capsules! 

Good health to everyone!  

Battle of the Bulge Prep Day

Let's get ready to battle!!!  At my workplace, which is a hospital, they have some great incentives to keep their employees healthy.  And I have decided I had better take advantage of it.  I have had some crummy lab results the last couple of times, not to mention feeling crummy way too often.  So, tomorrow is the start of a 10-week challenge called the Battle of the Bulge. It is a weight loss competition; I am planning to use it as a jumpstart to some healthier habits and if weight loss is a side effect, more the better.  And if I win any of the prizes that is great, but there are over 4000 employees, so I am not pushing that hard for a fit bit and $100.  Sorry y'all.
 
When I was at home and we had one income, I had to be as frugal as possible.  That came down to lots of flour and baked goods, which is not good for one's blood sugar.  I had to supplement our meat supply with cheaper meats and processed meats like bologna or hot dogs occasionally.  Yes, we had our "pasture-raised" chickens, our rabbit meat, our eggs and goat milk.  We had some produce from the garden.  But for that first year, there wasn't really enough to sustain us.  It may have been my lack of confidence to produce more or just the luck of the draw with the weather.  So the chemically-laden additions did my body no good, nor anyone else's for that matter.

Now that I have a small income and less time for making buttermilk biscuits and homemade breads, I can afford to be a little more loose with my grocery budget for the sake of quality.

Another incentive, is getting my lab work and going to my "wellness checks" which allow me to get all my labs done for free and go to their little gym for free.  They have a few classes after work and a few weight machines.  There are dumbbells and balance balls.  There are lots of cardio machines.  It was initially a cardiac rehab facility so there are lots of low impact machines, such as stationary bikes.

The hospital also offers a $15 produce box every two weeks.  Pay on Monday and pick up on Wednesday. I got one box last week.  It contained:  6 red delicious apples, 6 oranges, 2 heads of broccoli, 1 pineapple, 1 pound of fresh green beans, 1 personal watermelon, celery, cherry tomatoes and 4 ears of corn.

I spent several hours today doing some meal prep.  I have told the family that I am taking these next 10 weeks off from cooking supper for them.  (The daughter cooks Tuesday, son Wednesday and hubby is supposed to on Thursday, but that never seems to pan out for him. So it won't be a huge change for them.)  I have offered that they can have anything that I prep and put in "my" refrigerator but MUST let me know if they take the last one of anything, or the second to last would be even better.  Today I prepped:
Brown rice, aldi blend of grains (red quinoa, jasmine rice, brown rice and farro), baked salmon, boiled eggs, cut watermelon, pineapple, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes,and broccoli.  I  roasted green beans with garlic and coconut oil.
I made a large batch of Detox soup. I used the recipe from Clean&Delicious on YouTube found here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu-hUHYTv00   The soup is in several jars in the fridge that will last me all week.  Daughter did take some with her to work last night, but she and I will probably be the only ones to eat it, which is fine by me.  I made some chocolate chia pudding.  I made some salsa-ranch chicken in the crockpot for the family to eat throughout the week-see, I am cooking for them, dern it! I made my oat jars that I always make with the yogurt granola topping for breakfast.  I will be making smoothies twice a week to make use of my Omega juicer (awesome!).  I will be stopping at the store and getting some romaine and feta so that I can make my greek-style salads to use up the red onion and black olives I have opened.  I might make up some salad jars.

As I said, I am not really in this challenge for the prize other than healthier habits and feeling better.  I am allowing myself a cheat day.  This cheat day is going to be pretty consistent.  Sunday will be Farmer's breakfast and homemade pizza day.  I am not going to go crazy such as having 6 biscuits with gravy or 12 pieces of buffalo chicken pizza, but a pizza and a side salad for supper shouldn't cause me to revert back to old habits, should it?  However, I am going to remain strict with my sugar intake, particularly table sugar and other added sugars in boxed and bagged foods.  Those are the devil!

I will update you on how this goes, successes and failures, lessons learned, etc.

Well...let the games begin.