This simple housewifes contribution to the world

3:48:35 PM EDT
Feeling Frustrated

I'm going to take a break from here for a bit while I try to get the business going a bit more and try to straighten some other things out.

Jill Marie

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12:46:06 PM EDT
Feeling Happy

Four and a half years ago, just about the time I found out I was pregnant with Rylie, my Mother was diagnosed with rectal cancer.  My Mom is a beautiful and amazingly strong woman.  Shortly after her treatment ended my father died unexpectedly.

She survived the cancer and the sudden loss of her husband.  She has been free of the cancer for 4 years now.  I am so proud of my Mom.  Once again she is participating in the Relay for Life.  Please visit her Relay Page and make a donation, if possible.  You can also see a picture of the quilt she made to raffle off for the Cancer Society.  I'm not sure of the dimension's...hmm, but I think it is like a crib size or lap quilt.  I think.

She had it up here at Rylie's birthday party and it is really pretty.  I am sure if you live out of state and contact her to buy a raffle ticket for $1, or 6 for $5, that she will fill it out and mail you the other half of the ticket.  Then if you win she can just pop it in the mail, or you could donate it to me...lol.

Okay, gonna go pop a couple Excedrin Migraine and lie down for a bit.
Later.

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10:40:47 PM EDT
Feeling Happy

She dances, she sings, she makes me smile and now she's an artist too!  LOL  Here is just one of the watercolors Rylie did tonight.

                        

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8:39:59 AM EDT
Feeling Happy

Here is a home remedy for whitening your teeth you can try if you don't feel like spending $20+ for a box of those little strips.

Yellow Teeth

• Brush your teeth with baking soda. Or a mixture of baking soda and crushed strawberries. Just be sure to brush with a flouride toothpaste afterwards to clean off the natural sugars from the berries.
• Mix salt with finely powdered rind of lime. Use this as toothpowder frequently.
• Some people recommend using lemon juice and baking soda.  

I have heard that the only reason it seems to make your teeth look whiter is that it is citric acid and you may lose some of the calcium of your teeth.  So be very careful if you are using any remedy that includes citric acid.

I also rinse with hydrogen peroxide after I brush my teeth. It's not the most pleasant taste but it seems to work for me.  It doesn't make my teeth glow in the dark white like some people like.  But I think it helps with some of the staining.

It was so beautiful yesterday, so I packed a lunch and took Rylie back to Wildwood Park.  (more pictures) She had so much fun.  She even made a little friend, Ivy, who is just 6 months younger than Rylie.  Her mom and I exchanged numbers, so maybe we can set up some playdates for the park.  I think it would be very benefitial to Rylie's speech to spend more time with children her own age.

Mammogram today.  Ugh!  It doesn't help with all the horror stories I've been hearing.  Yes Kentucky Kat!  I mean you!  LOL  Oh well, I'll just try to get through this one time and take it from there.  Oh, by the way...I want to thank all of you who go and click on the Click to Give Free Mammograms button at the Breast Cancer site.  Without people like ya'll, this mother of 4 without insurance, would not be able to get a mammogram.  So I want to say a big THANK YOU to all of you! 

And if you haven't heard about the Free Mammograms, please visit the site and click on the little box.  It doesn't cost you anything and they really, really do give free mammograms to women who wouldn't be able to get them otherwise.  All I had to do was get the order from my doctor, call the number of the Northwest Ohio Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention (BCCP) Program and they helped me set up the appointment with a participating hospital.  Thank you to Tamara at BCCP and St. Anne's Hospital.

Have a beautiful spring day and thanks for stopping by!

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8:51:07 AM EDT
Feeling Happy

Good Tuesday Morning!  Here's a few quick bathroom cleaning tips.

General Bathroom Cleaning:
Bathrooms can be a source for all sorts of cleaning problems. Keeping mildew under control in the bathroom can be a challenge. Try spraying a mixture of 50% hydrogen peroxide and 50% water on the walls every six months to prevent mildew. Cut the seam off of the bottom of the plastic shower curtain to keep mold from growing there. Also, put a couple cups of bleach in the back of the toilet every few weeks to help control germs. Be careful that children and pets don’t come into contact with this water.

Bathroom Odors: Place an opened box of baking soda behind the toilet to absorb bathroom odors. Also put baking soda in the bottom of the trash cans to absorb odors.   Bathroom odors can be controlled by putting cotton balls filled with vanilla extract in bowls or under the sink.

Shower Doors: 1)Try using Resolve® carpet cleaner on clear shower doors to remove soap scum.

2) Make ammonia solution of 1/2 C. ammonia in 1 gal. water.  Pour solution into a spray bottle.  Spray the shower door.  Use a sponge or stiff bristle brush to scrub.  Rinse well.

Warning:  Keep room well ventilated while working!  Ammonia can irritate your skin, so wear gloves while cleaning with this solution.  Ammonia and bleach form a toxic gas when mixed together.  Do NOT mix the two cleaners!

3) Vinegar works well on soap scum, especially hot vinegar. Try heating up vinegar in the microwave, clean the microwave (as the vinegar will have loosened any stuck on food) and take the vinegar to the bathroom to clean the soap scum from the shower curtain and walls.

Shower soap scum:  Ifpossible change to liquid soap it is a better alternative over bar soap.  Liquid soap doesn't have any talc and talc is responsible for the build up of soap scum.  Talc only adds volume to the soap without adding any value to it.  Changing to liquid soap will reduce the frequency of needing to remove soap scum.

I'm going to go and upload some pictures to my photo journal now.  I had fun playing around with those last night.  I can't wait until things start to get a wee bit more green outside and I can get some more pictures. 

Have a good day and thanks for stopping by!

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5:22:59 PM EDT
Feeling Happy

Here are 2 pictures from our trip to Wildwood Metro Park.

Have a good evening!

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8:15:50 AM EDT
Feeling Frustrated

Good Monday morning!  I can't remember exactly where I got the chicken  recipe, I think it was from Better Homes & Gardens. 

Chicken Breasts with Herbs
Ingredients
1/3  cup chopped Italian (flat leaf )parsley
1  Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
1  Tbsp. finely shredded lemon peel
1  Tbsp. finely chopped garlic (about 3 cloves)
3  Tbsp. butter
4  skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4  cup chicken broth

Directions

1. In small bowl stir together parsley, oregano, lemon peel, and garlic. Set aside. Season chicken with salt and pepper.

2. In 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat cook chicken in butter for 6 minutes or until browned, turning once. Transfer to plate. Remove skillet from heat; stir in half herb mixture. Return to heat. Add broth; bring to boiling, stirring to scrape up browned bits. Return chicken to skillet; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 8 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

3. Serve with pan sauce; sprinkle with remaining herb mixture. Makes 4 servings.

Make some chicken flavored rice, I can buy a package for about 69 cents at Aldi's.  I'd probably also make some broccoli too.  Broccoli is one of the few veggies Rylie will eat.  Weird...a 4 year old who loves broccoli.  Oh, and she likes to dip it in ketchup.  Yeah, I don't think she will ever work in Ramsey's kitchen, lol.

I found this recipe over at the Kraft website.  Sounds kind of yummy.

Strawberry Swirl Cake
Prep:  35 min.   Total:  1 hour 35 min. (incl. cooling)  Makes 16 servings, one slice each

1 pkg. (2-layer size) white cake mix
1 pkg. (4-serving size) Jell-O Strawberry Flavor
Gelatin
2/3 cup Breakstone's or Knudsen Sour Cream
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip Whipped Topping, thawed
1-1/2 cups sliced strawberries

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans; set aside. Prepare cake batter as directed on package. Pour half of the batter into medium bowl. Add dry gelatin mix; stir
until well blended. Spoon half of the white batter and half of the pink batter, side-by-side, into each prepared pan. Swirl batters together using a teaspoon.
BAKE 30 min. Cool 30 min. in pans. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
MIX sour cream and powdered sugar in medium bowl until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping. Place one of the cake
layers on serving plate; spread top with 1 cup of the whipped
topping mixture. Top with 1 cup of the strawberries and remaining cake layer. Spread top and side of cake with remaining whipped topping mixture. Top with remaining 1/2 cup strawberries just before serving. Store any leftover cake in refrigerator.

Frosting tip: For a great looking cake, try using a "crumb coat".  Basically it's a thin layer of frosting applied to a completely cooled cake. Allow this layer to set before you frost and decorate the cake. When the final frosting is applied, it is virtually crumb-free, since any loose crumbs have been already sealed in the crumb coat.  Give it a try the next time you make this cake, for professional-looking results!

We ended up going to Wildwood metro park yesterday, after having breakfast with David and Jill.  We had a blast walking the trails with Rylie.  I really want to take her back there this summer (with the stroller) so I can spend some time walking the trails and getting a bit of a work out.  Then we can pack a lunch and picnic over by the kids playground.  I took a bunch of pictures, I'll have to re-size them and post a few. 

Rylie  rode around on daddys shoulders.  He finally got tired and put her down telling her his shoulders hurt and he needed to take a break.  Well, she took about 4steps, sat down on the trail and said "My legs hurt, I can't walk" and gave daddy this real sad face.  LOL  Let me tell you...that girl can work it.  Daddy turned around picked her up and continued carrying that 35 pound child.  To which she said..."you're the BEST daddy!"  Is she good or what? 

I was suppose to take Rylie to the park this week.  However, Ray took my car to work again today, which leaves me car-less.  His car is here, but I don't have a car seat for Rylie as it is in my vehicle that he took.  Grrrr!  I can't take her on Tuesday because she has a dentist appointment that day.  Wednesday the weather is suppose to get wet.  Thursday I have my breast squashing (mammogram).  And I think the weekend is suppose to be yucky.  So it looks like another week stuck here at home...again.

Have a beautiful week!

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8:02:57 AM EDT
Feeling Happy

Good morning!  If you thought I was talking about hardware when I said Nine Inch Nails, this is not your type of music, lol.  Anyway, I came across this information where you can go and download free music from NIN.  It's something new, totally instrumental.  I like some of the NIN, however I clicked to listen to some of this...maybe it's just the connection, but it soulded real "scratchy" or something.

Well, here's the link if you want to go check it out.  Click to listen and then there is a link to "download".   Nine Inch Nails download

Have a happy day!

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9:24:31 AM EDT
Feeling Chillin'

Ahhh, life's lessons learned the hard way.  Rylie loves gum.  Most importantly she loves the gum that her Aunt Cathy chews...Freedent.  I've tried buying her other gum when they don't have Freedent at the store.  She will stick out her tongue, lick it and then say "I don't like this.  I like Aunt Caffy's gum." 

Well, this past week Rylie and Ray made a trip to the conveinence store.  While there Rylie saw this "tape" gum.  It's bubble gum in what looks like a tape dispenser.  She just HAD to have and Daddy bought it for her.  Hm.  So she comes home, we open it and give her a slice.  She licks it..."Ohhhh, I like this gum!"  Okay.

About 15 minutes later I hear "What are you doing?  Moooooommmmmmy, you better come see what this baby has done."  (Yep, she's 4 and we still call her our baby.  lol)  So I go and look and what do I find?   My child has decided to put her gum...are you ready for this?  Nope...not in her hair.  She has taken it out of her mouth and patted it allllllll over her face.  We're talking sticky bubble gum here.

Grrrrrr...now what?  So I take her in the kitchen, thinking about how your suppose to take an ice cube and freeze the gum it to get it out of carpet.  Well sheesh, I can't freeze my kids face.  So I grab a wash rag and put cold water on it, hoping to get it stiff enough to pick off her face.  Ick!  That stuff was soooooo gooey!  That didn't work.

So I start to think about the trick for getting it out of hair.  Peanut butter, which works really good by the way (creamy not crunchy).  Well, I certainly wasn't going to smear PB all over the kids face.  Although how much worse was that than sticky gum all over her face?  So I grabbed the vegetable oil.  I put some on my finger tips and started rubbing it into her lil' face.  Thank goodness it started to come off.

So...got a strange and curious child like mine?  If they ever stick gum all over their lil' body go for the vegetable oil.  Send one pack of Freedent to me if you appreciated this information.  LOL

Have a wonderful weekend!

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7:53:11 AM EDT
Feeling Surprised

Good morning!  Here are a few home remedies for your skin.

Wrinkles & Skin Freshener

• Combine 2 Tbls. vodka, 1 Tbls. fennel seeds, and 1 1/2 tsp. honey. Stir well and allow to sit for 3 days. Strain mixture. Use full strength or add 2 Tbls. water to dilute. Use a cotton ball to apply to face as a toner.
• Apply coconut oil on the portions of skin and face where wrinkles set in and gently massage every night at bed time.
• Banana is wonderful as an anti-wrinkle treatment. Mash 1/4 banana until very creamy.  Spread all over face and leave for 15-20 minutes before rinsing off with warm water followed by a dash of cold. Gently pat dry.

Have a happy day and thanks for stopping by!

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