laundry detergent

I try my hardest to ball on a budget. Some things I do to cut out the chemicals, somethings I do to cut out the middle man. Sometimes I just like being frugal. I wanted to share some things I did for my family to save money, just little tricks, and if someone can use it out there somewhere, then I guess that would make me feel better.

I started making my own laundry detergent. I have been reading about all the harmful chemicals that are added to most laundry soap on the market. Its amazing what additives companies can put in. I did my research and most of the stuff added, causes cancer. Well, so they say. I also found out you can make yours for half the cost and half the chemicals.

I made my first batch in the beginning of February. It cost about 24 dollars to make. I had to buy containers at the dollar store to store it, which took three dollars. two to hold the bulk because the dollar tree around me didn't have huge ones, so I bought two of the biggest ones, and then one that I could put on my laundry shelf.

1 box Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda

1 box Borax

1 bigger ( I say this because its not the small sizes you're used to getting to put in the fridge) box of baking soda

1 bottle of smell good scent blasters, I used purex, there are downy and tide, and gain ones out now, whatever you chose is  up to you. 

3 bars Fels-Naptha

2 dollar tree containers of oxyclean or one regular oxyclean

these are the items you will need.

Everything I found at walmart and dollar tree. I chose to use the dollar tree brand of "oxyclean". but you can use the regular kind, it will make your 24 dollar total go up. I find that the dollar tree brand works just the same.

The next thing you're going to do is grate the cheese! I mean the Fels-Naptha. My kid wanted to help do it, its not a chore apparently when youre young! 

What I did was put a new bag in the trash can and just used that as my container for the time being. I grated, I mean Ethan grated the soap. We also tried using the food processor, but it took FOREVER and kind of almost ruined it. This soap is super soft and takes about 15 minutes for all three bars of soap, so I just bought my own grater for laundry from the dollar store.

After that is done, mix everything into the bag. Just open it up and pour it in!

The best part about it being in a bag, is then you can lift the bag and shake it and turn it around to really mix  up the contents.

next put it in the containers you want to store it in.

ALSO IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE!!! Keep the oxy clean scoop, because that's about how much you will use per load!

and PRESTO! there is laundry soap that will last you up to 9 months

I did about three loads on average per week, if not more and I had three boys in the house, So it lasted me a long time. I also havent had any issues with it like some people think it runs your washer.

I have a top loading washer. I have no idea if that makes a difference.

I was worried about it leaving residue on my clothes, but I just simply put the little scoop in (if you dont have a scoop its two tablespoons per load, I would add more if they were really dirty) then turned on the water, let it fill up a little bit, then I stuck my hand in and mixed it up to make all the soap dissolve. 

I have not had an issue with anything with this method.

If you try it let me know how it goes and how you like it! 

Our Love Story

Do you ever look at your partner, boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever you want to call your significant other and think, what the hell did I get myself into?
I do that quite often, because I'm seriously dating, myself.

Wait, let me rephrase that, I'm not making out with my hand, nor do I have multiple personality disorder and dating another personality in my head.
I just mean that the man I am set to marry, is exactly like me, in male form.
Chris and I met on a very popular, and kind of sketchy website called Plenty of Fish. I know, believe me I know what you're thinking, most of the time I don't even admit that to myself, or to other people. Normally I tell people we met through a friend of a friend of a mutual friend. A little white lie never hurt anyone ;)

On my profile I wrote out in big bold letters, "I AM NOT HERE TO HOOK UP, I AM ON HERE TO SEE IF THIS WORKS OUT IN MY FAVOR, PLEASE DO NOT MESSAGE ME ASKING ME FOR MY PHONE NUMBER OR TRYING TO HAVE A FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS"

I had been on the site previously, just searching around and no matter what the guys would ask me for my number within the first two messages or would want to bone. sorry player playa, but no.

One day, as I usually am, I was bored and browsing profiles and came across Chris. Funny enough plenty of fish has this awesome feature were you can basically view anyone that stalked your page and he had viewed mine so i went to take a look. I thought "he's out of my league" and moved on. He then saw that I viewed him and took that initiative to message me. He was very nice but only talked about music and concerts. FOR THREE WEEKS. He tried to connect with me through music, but I was very confused as if someone was on a dating website why they chose to use it as a music forum.  Eventually we moved our convos to Facebook.

We talked for a while and then Chris started asking me to hang out, ever the shy one i refused at first, then eventually gave in, after a couple of episodes where I stood him up out of fear.

On the night that we met, I literally had the nervous poops lol, I was in the bathroom like every 15 mins til he came, when he walked in, it literally took my breathe away. We went dancing with a group of my friends and he danced and didnt care, which was a major turn on for me.

The night we first met

Then afterwards we sat in my car til the sun came up just talking. He would lean in and try to kiss but I really am a prude.

Eventually we were inseparable, spending every day we could together. He lived about an hour away from me and had planned to moved two hours away back to his home town to fix some family problems with his mother, but paid an extra month in his apartment with only a bed and some other stuff to survive for a month, just so he could see if this was going anywhere, because he had a feeling I would say forget about it cause it was a long distance relationship.

Chris and I fell fast, and were pretty much saying I love you within a months time, and have spent as much time as we could together. I went to stay with him in his home town for a while and eventually moved back in with my family once my mom got sick.


We also merged two families, because I have a son who lives with us full time and he has a daughter that he only gets in the summers. We are engaged and planning out our future and I wouldn't trade anything for our life.

Our family 

We have been through a lot together, and believe me, we fight. WE FIGHT ALL THE TIME. over everything, I am completely stubborn and selfish, but Chris is the EXACT same. Its literally like fighting with myself. We literally just got into it because I drank his grape Powerade after he drank one of my sodas. We get on each others nerves all the time, and I would describe us like Allie and Noah from the Notebook. But I love him, and sometimes when you're not looking, love does find you, but you cant be really guarded and afraid of the unknown, or unable to do something you would look down upon *like me with the website plenty of fish* Just be one who knows themselves, and who loves themselves, who is able and ready for a relationship, and this whole "if you look for it you wont find it" I think its crap. I looked, I wasn't actively trying to find it for days on end and getting upset but I did put myself out there. Which I think is all anyone really can do and let fate take its course!

The latest picture of us taken 8/3/14

Relay for life

This weekend I had the pleasure of walking for Relay for Life. Being incredibly busy I forgot about it until only two days before the event. Since my mother unlikely death with cancer, I try to get involved twice a year, in the fall I get sponsors to for Frocktober, and in the spring, I walk in relay for life.

If you don't know what it is, in a nutshell, you basically sign up as one person, or form a team, and it costs ten dollars per person. Then you ask people to donate or sponsor you to do it. The night of the event you walk at whatever event you sign up for. There are usually great activities and very family oriented. A bunch of tents full of vendors trying to raise money themselves for cancer set up on the side. After opening ceremony, there is a survivors lap, and then a caregivers lap. Then everyone gets to walk, they have different things going on throughout the night, and there is a lot of food and fun. I got to meet several survivors and its nice to talk about my mom and just talk to them about what they went through, I find it very therapeutic.

So I had two days to try to earn as much money as I could, luckily I have some amazing friends and family who donated over 200 dollars in 24 hours, and next year I plan on doing even more and won't forget about it! It was nice that my team even got a special shout out for raising so much money in a little amount of time. It just feels good to be able to help give back and if it saves one life, I am happy. It will always be bitter sweet, but sometimes you just have to swallow your pride and do what is best.

If you're looking to get involved, go to relayforlife.com  and look for an event in your area, around here, there are several that go into June so its not to late!

opening ceremony where my team got a special shout out for raising 200 dollars in less than 24 hours

survivors walk

Me and my girl Marypat taking selfies while walking

pounding the pavement

the luminaries that people could buy for 5 dollars, for in memory of, and in honor of the people who have fought cancer.

at the very end of the walk.

So happy to be done, while it was a fun night, and there were a ton of things to do, by the end of the night, my feet were killing me!

Blood Moon.

Did you get a chance to check out the 'blood moon' aka the lunar eclipse that appeared on the night of April 14 into the 15th? I am a total night-owl and I stay up late anyways, and taking an Astronomy  so I decided to bust out the tripod and take pictures. My finace kept telling me you cant look directly at it. I told him, that's a Solar Eclipse, and he proceeded to debate with me for a good 10 mins until I had the good fortune of proving it via Google. I took a bunch of pictures, and spent a long time looking into my view finder on my camera, because its the closest thing to a telescope I have. Only North America could see it, so here are some of the pictures I took. Many people tried to tell me the dot on the bottom was Mars, which can be seen really good in our atmosphere right now. The bottom lighter white dot is a star called Spica, the top left red dot, is Mars.

For those of you that do not know, a lunar eclipse is when the Earth Sun and Moon align and the Earth passes through the shadow of the others, depending on the type of Lunar Eclipse it is.

This is the actual "blood moon" taking about 245 am

This is the moon slowly orbiting and moving half way out of the shadow.

This is about 4am, with the moon almost completely out of the shadow.

 The next three blood moon eclipses will occur on October 8th of this year, and then on April 4th and September 28th in 2015, so mark your calenders!



I took these pictures with my Nike D3000