Some days

Some days just stink. Yesterday evening was the pretty rank...nasty.  Started off fairly productive- Mr. FixIt put new rotors and brakes on his car- which pretty much ensures I'll fling myself through the windshield next time I drive it.  Then he worked on the mountain of leaves around the yard while I cleaned up the kitchen, and finally washed the downstairs windows...who KNEW sun existed outside!! Holy cow those windows were horrible!! Now hopefully sometime this week I'll wash/swap curtains. I knocked down a few slopes of Mt. WashMore in between chorse. Having been sick the prior week I'd completely neglected laundry...and it showed, ACK!  Mr. FixIt getting ready to head out of town and Monster Man on the hunt for clean underwear had me down to the wire on clean laundry. RED ALERT laundry stage stresses me out, but I was just too sick last week to move, let alone drag myself to the dungeon and lug baskets back up.  Oh, can't forget, I even worked on my coupons yesterday morning, getting all the new ones cut out, nicely stacked according to type, cleaning the old flyers out of my binder with new ones ready to insert.  Cool! Color me a happy camper!

   Since I was caught up a bit on housework and no longer hacking my head off quite so severely, I figured I'd get on the elliptical for a bit. Lord knows I hadn't been on it for a week- sneaking Halloween candy before the sinus/allergies hit didn't do me much good either.  One thing that helps me stick to working out is my tunes!  On my phone I use Pandora radio with stations for Pink, Christina, and misc dance music that keep me moving.  Once in a while I have to 'thumbs down' a slow song, but not often-  the majority of songs are great for pacing a workout.  Except yesterday.  No idea WTH was going on with Pandora but every flippin' song was heart break or lost love or cheating...  Hey Pandora,  sobbing like an idiot doesn't do much for my workout, so spare me the deep emotional mushy stuff!!!  Thirty minutes and 40 kleenex later,  I'm back to hacking up layers of my esophagus, plus my head is pounding. Great.  So I get cleaned up to get ready for dinner. Mr. FixIt tries to make me feel better... for a bit. Then I'm back to sobbing again, recent events and the end of this marriage as I always thought it was supposed to be filling my head.  Told him I didn't know if I want this to be over. As much as I still don't understand how/why regarding the cheating... He puts up a strong face to not seem bothered- no emotion. Hugs me and blames himself out loud, but nothing more. Seemed almost chipper. And I'm a total blob on the floor?? What gives?? Maybe all these years of hanging in there, giving him the benefit of the doubt and second/third/ fourth chances...he REALLY didn't deserve those. Maybe he always has wanted 'out' -who knows?   I guess loving someone so much it physically hurts doesn't mean much if they DON'T love you back in the same way.   Now my head was REALLY throbbing.  Life sucks.  

I made it through dinner that Mr. FixIt made (yummy ribs were AWESOME) but shortly after...that horrid pain behind the eyes started to settle in and light made me cringe.  Just what I need- a migraine! Oh joy!!  Tried to keep up on a bit of the football games was painful.  Then Dad called- if you know my dad, he's horribly L O U D on the phone, worse than in person.  It was true torture to talk to him for 8 minutes. Mr. F could tell I was in serious pain, he brought me a pain pill and muscle relaxer while I was on the phone.  Then I realized I hadn't taken my depression medicine- oh crap! I don't think I took it Saturday either. No wonder I'm like a pathetic basket case!  Ugh. What a LOVELY evening!

Today has been a slight better- no crying thank goodness, but head still pounding. I went back to bed for a while this morning which helped a bit. After being up a while and taking some medicine it subsided just to the verge of a dull throb. Second nap seemed to be working until some nitwit decided to bang on my door and ring the bell about 4 times.  Ugh.  Dogs barking, bell ringing. Loud & painful. That really helped.  Since I was 'awake' I drank another round of water just in case dehydration had a part in this throbbing head, then cleaned the kitchen and restarted Monster Man on lessons.  Dinner will have to be something quick and easy tonight...or maybe I can talk B into cooking. :-D  I'll figure something out, always do I guess. Just wish I could figure out life as easily as dinner.  I'll probably never really understand the last couple decades, but if someone could give me a clue about the next few, I'd appreciate it!  It HAS to get better!!

Like homemade? Try this.

If you like to save money, here's an easy home recipe to try...for laundry soap.  Yup. I've always been one for bargains and hate to pay big bucks for detergent.  I was always super happy to get Arm& H@mmer or Pur#x depending on whichever one was on sale with a coupon to lower the price even more. About a year ago, I came across a site with information how to make your own laundry detergent for super cheap!!  So why not, I already had two of the three ingredients anyway.  All you need is a bar of Fels-Naptha soap (or Ivory or Castile soap), a box of 20 Mule Team Borax and a box of Arm & H@ammer Washing Soda (not baking soda, WASHING soda).  The Mule Team Borax and the washing soda are located in the laundry aisle at the grocery, usually top shelf.  The Fels-Naptha may be there, though in Giant Eagle you have to look in the hand soap aisle, bottom shelf between lotions and hand soaps.  You can make the detergent either a powder or liquid.  I've made both, and I prefer powder.  Faster and easier to make; easier to measure out. Easier for the kids to use (since you have to remember to stir or shake the liquid before use). Google  will find you a multitude of recipes all over the place. This one is from The Frugal Shopper Site. This page also has links to other homemade items- check it out.


Powdered Laundry Detergent (aprx. 32 loads)
1 Cup grated Fels-Naptha Soap
1/2 Cup Arm & Hammer WASHING Soda
1/2 Cup 20 Mule Team Borax

 












Grate the bar of soap, nearly one entire bar grated = 1 cup. If you want to work out your forearms and hands, use a hand grater as I have here. If you'd rather do this in 30 seconds instead of 15 minutes and don't care about your forearms...use your food processor. :-D  

You can leave the soap grated as is or you can further reduce it down to powder. It does mix better as a powder, but I've made it both ways. Takes about three whirrrs in the Magic Bullet to make a powder out of the grated shavings,  or if you already have your food processor out, change the blade and give it a whirl in there.  You can see the difference below.

Put the grated/powdered soap into a container, add the washing soda and borax. Mix thoroughly.  *Great science lesson about measuring and mixtures here. :-D If you make the liquid version (see link), more lessons about solutions-solute, solvent, suspension, etc.  FUN stuff!! 

I use a plastic coffee container with a snap lid (pic above). Works well. Easy for even the kids to pick up and scoop out of. Oh and that's the best part...note the measuring utensil in the container: a tablespoon. Only ONE Tablespoon per load. This is low sudsing and great for front loaders. If I had a top load washer, I'd probably use 2 TB.  A double batch of this recipe will about half fill a large coffee container and gives you aprx 64 loads of detergent. 


The cost breakdown: 
1 Bar Fels-Naptha - $1.50 to $1.75

1 Box Arm & Hammer Washing soda- about $4 bucks depending on where you get it. (aprx 7 cups)

1 Box 20 Mule Team Borax - $5 to $7 depending on where you buy it. (aprx 9 cups)


You can get at least 14 batches out of washing soda and 18 batches of borax per box. When you do the math it equals to just slightly over $2 per batch (32 loads). Cheaper if you find any of the above on sale or have coupons.  Not to bad, eh?  It cleans clothes really well -trust me I have THOROUGHLY tested it out! Two, get down in the mud and grass kids, who also like to help hunt (blood and guts), and work on bikes with daddy (grease). All comes clean with this stuff. 


You will also find hints of using white vinegar as a laundry softener and I have used that. Yes, it does work, and no, it doesn't make your clothes smell like a salad! :-D  I do like nice scents to my clothes but have yet to go get the essential oils to make my own (by adding them to vinegar)...so until I get motivated in that department I'll keep my bargain store-bought with coupon softener. Though it is good to know if you run out of softener, you can use vinegar in a pinch! 


There you go. Cheap laundry detergent that can be made in less than 5 minutes and WORKS!!
Enjoy!