Laundry Detergent...

Stella I'm sorry I didn't give directions, here they are.....some recipes say
6 cups Borax
6 cups Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
4 Bars Fels Naptha
And nothing else.....

I am one of those people that believe more is better, so I just put it all together ( You only have a cup and half of Borax left over anyway). Oxy-Clean or the Clorox Stain Fighter and Color Booster don't hurt at all...I really like having it in there..And the Clorox Stain Fighter and Color Booster was only $2.00 at the Dollar General..

My Fellow Americans.........

Due to the tough economic times ( sounds so political, doesn't it) and the fact that I can't use cheap laundry detergent...I have grown tired of paying over $15.00 for a bottle of Tide every time I go to the grocery store (A.K.A. Walmart). So, about two months ago I was looking at different soap recipes and I came across the recipe for your own laundry detergent.....This made me both curious and nervous (I break out in hives with certain laundry products)....This product boast the ability to clean, neutralize odors, cut grease, make my whites whiter and my brights brighter and all using only 1/8 cup, and it comes down to about .7 cents per load......Am I the only person who is thinking," Wow there's no way".....Alas, bloggie people that I love and respect there is a way.....And I'm going to show you how...That's right.....I crossed over..........To the frugal side..............(on somethings).

I promise you this stuff works great......Here's what you will need, and about 30 minutes of your time. personally I thought 30 minutes was worth it if I didn't have to buy laundry detergent for months (that's right, months)

First, gather these items
Before you add these together you must grate the soap....I choose to put mine in a blender, it comes out very powdery....If you choose to do this, you MUST brake up the bars of soap into tiny pieces (I put them in a zip lock bag and hit them with a hammer, did the job)


The Fels Naptha Soap bar is hardest to find but I have found it at our local Ace Hardware Store and also Kroger ( it's not in the soap section, it's in the laundry detergent section).
The first time I made mine I altered it a little and added 2cups of Oxy-clean to the mix..It worked great...This time I found the box of Clorox color booster and stain remover for $2.00 and added it......Total cost for all products.....under $8.00

Here's the final product...(Looks Pretty Good...Right)

The Fels Naptha Soap bar is a heavy duty stain remover
Arm and Hammer washing soda works on grease and neutralizes odors
The Borax cleans disinfects and softens the water
And the Clorox is a Stain Fighter and Color Booster
I've been chatting with Jennifer over at Through The Storms Of Life, and she has some really great homemade cleaning recipes....."Hey Jenn, the mold and mildew remover is awesome"...If anybody has some old family cleaning recipes they use....I would love to hear them.....

Soap, Soap And More Soap............

So my obsession with organic soap making hasn't slowed down, I eat and breath soap and lotion ideas... I look at cake pans in a different light....If I can mold soap in it I use it...If Procter and Gamble goes out of business, I'm set for life.....Thanks to my daughters persuasion I've started selling them on etsy on a site she has...You can check it out if you like...loviessongbird.etsy.com

and look under Organically Yours

I know a lot of people make their own soaps and lotions, but it's something that I've never done before,and to be able to do it natural and organic is something I'm pretty proud of...And beside......it's a lot of hard work...

Thought I would share a few pictures with you....Just a few

Strawberries and Cream- Full of Strawberry seeds and ground Almonds, I want to eat this bar

Wild Berry Bliss- Full of Strawberry, Raspberry and Blueberry, a great exfoliating bar with a wonderful scent

Lavender and Chamomile-Need I say more

Sweetest Touch- Contains Moroccan Red (Super good for your skin) and a little touch of Plumeria

Tangerine Dream- Lots of creamy milk and tangerine zest...

A Cupcake Freaks Fantasy And A Birthday Celebration......

I had a great day with my "little girl" on her 28th birthday..... It was a beautiful winters day, sunny and 65 degrees, we did a little shopping and a lot of eating....We had lunch at an absolutely wonderful French bistro called Douceur De France, the waitress spoke about as much southern as we did french...But give me the right mix of pastries and butter, and I can speak any language.....And that's exactly what they did...."Magnifique"....We got a little pampered with a relaxing manicure and then went to get her a big cookie for after supper. What happen next was pretty much a blur, we walked past this little shop to my vehicle and the most angelic cupcakes you have ever seen were displayed in the window....We both stopped right in our tracks....Next thing we knew we were standing at the counter.....I honestly believe I heard the Lord speak to me when I entered this shop saying, "Angie, go forth and buy many cupcakes". All I can say is..... I obeyed the Lord.....And bought ten.....Instead of cookie or cake for her birthday we had these babies.....

We topped the night off with some spicy Cuban food (talk about a day of culture)...If any body out there has a birthday this week let me know, I'll be glad to go and buy one of these wonderful sinful cupcakes and eat it in your honor.....

I love y'all that much.....

Happy Birthday Princess..............

Happy 28th Birthday Hippie Chick!!!!!

Just wanted to say how happy I am and how lucky I feel to have you for a daughter...My one greatest accomplishment.....The day I first held you in my arms, you put an eternal hold on my heart....The passing years have only increased my love for you...You've become a woman that is more beautiful and wonderful than ever I imagined you'd be....I look at you with such pride...I'm amazed that I created you....It's so much fun to be with you and share the happenings in your life (thank you for letting me be apart of that)...........

Now, let's go have some Birthday fun

Seriously.........

This morning physical fitness Barbie, A.K.A. She-ra Princess of power shows up at my door, fresh from the gym, where she had no doubt been tormenting some poor soul ( she had that look of a fresh kill on her face...It's so scary). Carrying her recycled grocery bag full of mixed berries and a few other things I wasn't familiar with...She asked if she could use my blender and make us a protein drink.....The berries looked great, so I thought how bad can it be.

I was good until she put spinach into the blender and it came out looking like this.....

I'm pretty sure, this is one thing that doesn't need to bother with the digestive system....because it's going to go in and come out the same way.....and my guess is pretty quickly.....And then she thought that I would want to share a glass with her..........How can she do that to fruit....How can she do that to herself...Just go eat a salad...Forget that, go eat some chocolate....Seriously!

Just The Facts......

I thought I would start the New Year off with a few facts about me (it's not like I keep many things a secret, if I think it I say it) here's a few things you may or may not care to know about ....

1. Some of you may think I joke when I say I'm an Obsessive Compulsive Person, I'm Not....I am big time OCD....My husband has learned to tolerate me over the years....He just raises his feet when he sees me coming, because it usually means I have a vacuum cleaner or dust buster in my hands.

2.I really do love to clean....I could vacuum and dust every day....A dirty mirror or window drives me insane....And I am constantly cleaning my oven.....I know, I have issues.

If I could make it stop I would....Why couldn't I be an obsessive compulsive ballerina or ball room dancer....Maybe because there aren't any ballerinas who wear an F-cup in a bra....Oh Yea! those are called strippers.....I think I will stick to cleaning.

3. I hate to fold and hang laundry, but I love to smell my clean clothes.


4.I love to can and preserve fruits and vegetable's...I think there's an art to doing it...I love what it looks like in the jars when your finished....My Grandmother and Mama taught me these skills. And I still cherish them.

5. My life would be nothing without God and my family...I have two favorite bible verses.
Gen 50:20
But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
And Psalm 103:12
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

6. I love photography, and can't wait to start my lessons...

7. I am knocking on fifty and my daughter just taught me how to knit...I am making a scarf...It's very crocked but I'm going wear it anyway...

But, I cant sew...........Really.....I once sewed all the buttons on the inside of the wrong shirt....The dress I Had to make in home economics class wasn't suitable to wear for my grade....I failed that class.......

8.I am obsessed with organic soap making, I've also started making lotion and kitchen soap...

9. I live with a lot of regrets, I still let my past haunt me.

10. There's a lot of my childhood I want to remember forever, and some I wish I could forget.

11. I am a sleepwalker and talker...I have woke my husband up trying to get the chickens out of the house....He has also got me off the front porch....Just to name a few.

12. I am very proud of my mountain heritage and being a Coal Miners daughters.

13. I believe our house is haunted...We bought the property and built the house four years ago and have always heard little things. About a year ago things got really crazy, voices, televisions, lights and digital photo frames coming on. lots and lots of footsteps and things in my kitchen banging when we aren't in there...I could go on.....Not sure what we will do about this situation....We were woke up during the night with banging on our bedroom wall about three weeks ago and this has happened several times since then....Anyone have the number for a good Ghost Hunter???

14. Summer is my favorite season, But my favorite time to cook is during the fall and winter.

15. I love to read.

16. I've never seen a picture of myself that I thought was good.

17. I've been a "big girl" before, as a matter of fact for several years....At my heaviest I weighed 287lbs......That's only skinny if your seven foot tall...........I'm not..............I don't weigh that now, but I'm sure if I keep sneaking cupcakes I might..

18. I'm not shy....I'm very out spoken and a bit of a flirt.

19. For the past twenty years I have worked in the Operating Room (who don't love a blood and guts girl) Now, I am trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.

20. I love to, and can sing.

21. I almost drown when I was a little girl...I was terrified of the water and never went near it until I was in my early twenties...I taught myself how to swim, and now I love and respect the water.

22. I was thirty years old before I got my ears pierced....So sad...I pierced them myself...Big Mistake...

23. I hate seafood.

24. I love a good purse...."Boy do I love good purses"....And they like me!!!

24. I believe being a middle child is a punishment....It has made me crazy!!! And after reading this post you will realize just how boring and sad my existence is.....I shall now go eat a cupcake and wallow in the misery that is my life....