This is REALLY simple and saves a TON of $$$!
Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (Krogers)
20 Mule Team Borax (Krogers)
Ivory Soap (I got mine at Krogers as well)
In a bowl, pour in 1 cup of the washing soda & 1 cup of the borax. Next you will "shave" the soap with a grater into the bowl. (I actually put mine into a blender & blended it all up) Put into a container with a lid & you are done! You will use 1tablespoon per large load of laundry. Use 2 for extra soiled laundry.
*You can also make this in a liquid form, but it requires using a 5 gallon bucket to mix it in, and it tends to gel up. I just think the powdered kind is much easier and faster and works great!
*For savings on fabric softner--- buy your favorite liquid fabric softner, pour equal parts of it and water into a container with a lid. Take a clean sponge, dip it into the mixture, then throw it into the dryer with your clothes. This will work just as well as using the fabric softner in the washer, but will save a ton and last much, much longer!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
homemade bread
I just made this for the first time last week, and my family loves it!
What you'll need:
1/4 cup milk 1 1/2 tbsp. sugar 1 tsp. salt 1 1/2 tbsp. butter 1 package active dry yeast about 3 cups of flour nonstick cooking spray
large mixing bowl spoon measuring cup measuring spoon bread pan hand towel
Warm up the bowl. (just run some hot water in it) Mix the yeast with 1/2 cup warm water.
Melt the butter in the microwave, then add it, the milk, the sugar, and the salt to the yeast liquid and stir it up until everything looks the same (a very light tan liquid). Then add two cups of flour to the mix – don’t add the rest yet.
Start stirring, and then add the flour about 1/4 cup at a time every minute or so. It will stick to the spoon big time at first – don’t worry about it. Keep stirring and adding flour until the dough is still slightly sticky, but it doesn’t stick to your hands in any significant way.
Now comes the fun part: kneading. Take a bit of flour between your hands and then rub them together over the top of an area on the table where you’re going to knead the dough. Do this a few times until there’s an area on the table lightly covered in flour. Start kneading the dough. Do this for ten minutes.
When the ten minutes are up, shape it into a ball, then either clean up the bowl you were using before or get out another bowl. Coat the inside lightly with cooking spray then put the ball of dough inside the bowl.
Put a cloth over the bowl and sit it somewhere fairly warm for 1 hour. (I've been setting mine outside) If you have a warming area on your stove top, that’s a great place to put it – set the warming area on as low as it will go. This is a good time to clean everything else and put the stuff away, but leave the flour out and the floured area on your table untouched.
It should be roughly double the size that it was before, but don’t sweat it too much if it’s larger or smaller than that, as long as it rose at least some amount. Punch the dough down (three or four good whacks will cause it to shrink back down to normal), then lay the dough out on the floured area and spread it out in a rectangle shape, with one side being roughly the length of the bread pan and the other side being about a bread pan and a half long.
You may need to put a bit more flour on it and on the table to prevent sticking. Then, roll it up! The roll should be roughly the same size as the bread pan.
Tuck the ends of the roll underneath, with the “under” side being where the seam is. Then spray the bread pan down with nonstick cooking spray and put the loaf inside of the pan.
Cover that loaf up with the towel, put it back where it was before, for 1 more hour. This is a good time to clean everything up. The loaf should raise some more.
Put that loaf in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) for thirty minutes. When it’s done, pull it out and immediately remove it from the pan to cool. Let it cool down completely before slicing.
Enjoy!
What you'll need:
1/4 cup milk 1 1/2 tbsp. sugar 1 tsp. salt 1 1/2 tbsp. butter 1 package active dry yeast about 3 cups of flour nonstick cooking spray
large mixing bowl spoon measuring cup measuring spoon bread pan hand towel
Warm up the bowl. (just run some hot water in it) Mix the yeast with 1/2 cup warm water.
Melt the butter in the microwave, then add it, the milk, the sugar, and the salt to the yeast liquid and stir it up until everything looks the same (a very light tan liquid). Then add two cups of flour to the mix – don’t add the rest yet.
Start stirring, and then add the flour about 1/4 cup at a time every minute or so. It will stick to the spoon big time at first – don’t worry about it. Keep stirring and adding flour until the dough is still slightly sticky, but it doesn’t stick to your hands in any significant way.
Now comes the fun part: kneading. Take a bit of flour between your hands and then rub them together over the top of an area on the table where you’re going to knead the dough. Do this a few times until there’s an area on the table lightly covered in flour. Start kneading the dough. Do this for ten minutes.
When the ten minutes are up, shape it into a ball, then either clean up the bowl you were using before or get out another bowl. Coat the inside lightly with cooking spray then put the ball of dough inside the bowl.
Put a cloth over the bowl and sit it somewhere fairly warm for 1 hour. (I've been setting mine outside) If you have a warming area on your stove top, that’s a great place to put it – set the warming area on as low as it will go. This is a good time to clean everything else and put the stuff away, but leave the flour out and the floured area on your table untouched.
It should be roughly double the size that it was before, but don’t sweat it too much if it’s larger or smaller than that, as long as it rose at least some amount. Punch the dough down (three or four good whacks will cause it to shrink back down to normal), then lay the dough out on the floured area and spread it out in a rectangle shape, with one side being roughly the length of the bread pan and the other side being about a bread pan and a half long.
You may need to put a bit more flour on it and on the table to prevent sticking. Then, roll it up! The roll should be roughly the same size as the bread pan.
Tuck the ends of the roll underneath, with the “under” side being where the seam is. Then spray the bread pan down with nonstick cooking spray and put the loaf inside of the pan.
Cover that loaf up with the towel, put it back where it was before, for 1 more hour. This is a good time to clean everything up. The loaf should raise some more.
Put that loaf in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) for thirty minutes. When it’s done, pull it out and immediately remove it from the pan to cool. Let it cool down completely before slicing.
Enjoy!
Temptations
Everyone of us have temptations in our lives. Not a single one of us is perfect. With Gods help, we can overcome anything.
Paul Says that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to resist and he will give us a way to escape. So when we are tempted we should say, "Thank you God, for trusting me that much. You know I can handle this temptation. Now, what do you wnat me to do?"
1 Cor. 10:13
"But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you away out so that you will not give into it." Paul Says that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to resist and he will give us a way to escape. So when we are tempted we should say, "Thank you God, for trusting me that much. You know I can handle this temptation. Now, what do you wnat me to do?"
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Thoughts & Bible Verse
Tonight I write with mixed emotions. We started the morning off on a very sad note, with my Nanny in ICU, on life support. However, by this evening she was somewhat responsive (even with sedation) and taking some breaths on her own, which was very encouraging.
I was thinking about what kind of bible verse I wanted to post, and at first I thought about sorrow. I looked for a moment, but didn't see one. Then I thought, that's because I shouldn't post a verse on sorrow. I should post one on joy. I am joyful for my grandmother and for her life. For the fact that she is still here with us and was showing improvement. The verse I found fit perfectly with how I felt.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Always be joyful. Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
We might wonder how someone can rejoice or be joyful all the time, especially during painful or difficult experiences. But unlike happiness, which is based on circumstances, joy is a positive and confident outlook on life, despite our circumstances. Knowing that God is in control and that his love surrounds us gives security and confidence. No matter what happens, we should delight in God and praise him for his goodness.
I was thinking about what kind of bible verse I wanted to post, and at first I thought about sorrow. I looked for a moment, but didn't see one. Then I thought, that's because I shouldn't post a verse on sorrow. I should post one on joy. I am joyful for my grandmother and for her life. For the fact that she is still here with us and was showing improvement. The verse I found fit perfectly with how I felt.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Always be joyful. Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
We might wonder how someone can rejoice or be joyful all the time, especially during painful or difficult experiences. But unlike happiness, which is based on circumstances, joy is a positive and confident outlook on life, despite our circumstances. Knowing that God is in control and that his love surrounds us gives security and confidence. No matter what happens, we should delight in God and praise him for his goodness.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Bible verse of the day ... Isaiah 53:6
All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the quilt and sins of us all...
Sheep stray away from the flock without thinking about it. They are only following their nature to eat and wander away. So sheep stray, one blade of grass at a time. God, through Isaiah, says that we are just like that. Our sinful nature causes us to chase after our own desires and go our own way. We don't have to work at sinning or even think about it....it comes naturally. We shouldn't think we can turn our life around on our own or that we can do what is right by determination and courage. We need supernatural help. We need the power of God in our life!
Sheep stray away from the flock without thinking about it. They are only following their nature to eat and wander away. So sheep stray, one blade of grass at a time. God, through Isaiah, says that we are just like that. Our sinful nature causes us to chase after our own desires and go our own way. We don't have to work at sinning or even think about it....it comes naturally. We shouldn't think we can turn our life around on our own or that we can do what is right by determination and courage. We need supernatural help. We need the power of God in our life!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
The Simple Life
So I found this on the net, & I loved it so much that I had to re-post! I totally agree with this and I feel like it fits me to a T!
"Living a simple life is appreciating everything you have and being able to see the abundance and beauty in small things. It is living your life for now and today. Not allowing stressful things to clutter your life and having only the things you need and love around you."
A little about me & my blog
I will start by telling about myself. I am Carrie. I'm 30 yrs old. I live in TN with my husband, my 3 sons (12, 10, & 8) and my daughter (5). My hopes of this blog are to 1.) to be a blessing to/ to help others 2.) to encourage myself &/or others to live a more simple life. I love God & my family very much. They are my top priorities.
![]()
MY FAMILY, 11/10
I will strive to live the way that I know God wants me to. Such as ... putting him first. Not letting material things have so much value in my life. Focusing on things that do matter. Instilling in my family the values that God has laid out for us.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)