Dear Readers-I need your input

Dearest Readers:

I am a little hesitant to ask this question. But I need to know the reality of the situation. Biceps and I are wanting to “owe no man anything”; thus the frugal lifestyle, the re-invention of home products, the biking to and fro, and the hope of making extra income on the side.

We want to be debt free and we live below our means. However, the pay cut we took for Biceps to become a firefighter is making the goal of owing no man anything difficult.

So, I have a question that I’m almost scared to ask you–because then it requires me to take a leap of faith.

I know I have posted these recipes on my site and shown you how to make all of these things. But, I also know many of you don’t have the time or energy to make this on your own-however, you still like the idea of organic products without unnecessary chemicals and additives.

So, if I offered to sell things like my Homemade Organic Lip Balm…

…my Homemade Laundry Detergent…

…my Organic Face Wash…

…my Organic Facial Moisturizer…

…and my Organic Eye Make-up Remover…

…is there a market out there for them? If I came up with much cuter packaging and the right price points to be competitive with what’s on the market today, do you think this is something worth pursuing?

My heart’s on my sleeve here, readers. But, please-tell me what you think.

“Crafting with Cat Hair”-Weirdest Present Ever

You all know that I’m weird. That’s no surprise. But, did you know that my weirdness attracts more weirdness?

I have this lovely friend Jennifer–pictured here on the left (which you can read all about her in my article: Together in Tulsa in This Land Press) that gave me the weirdest present ever. And for an unseen bonus-it was wrapped in Christmas paper, but yet given to me in April.

Now, you may say, “Weirdest present ever? Come on, Rebekah. Surely being a part of your family, you’ve received weirder.”

You have a good point. And it’s obvious you don’t believe me. Let me prove it.

Weirdest Present Ever

Yep, a book called “Crafting with Cat Hair”.

Jennifer claimed that she “saw the book and thought of me”.

Funny, Jennifer-real funny.

Now, I may be fully into my cats, but am I a crazy cat lady? I think that I have proven that I am not.

The concept behind the book is recycling your pet’s hair and turning it into crafty “everyday” items. Like picture framed images made from cat hair of your cat.

That’s pretty “everyday”, don’t you think?

Maybe something a little more “everyday” are felt book covers, embellished with cat images made from you cat’s hair. I wouldn’t give it a second thought to pull this out at my local coffee shop.

The book also teaches you how to make fun toys for your cat from their own hair. Hm…

Not weird at all.

It offers patterns, step-by-step guides and instructions, as well as…

…how to harvest your cat’s hair and store it properly until you are ready to craft with it.

I suppose if the kittens in your house are just going to upchuck it anyways, you might as well get green and recycle that cat hair. I mean, what could be wrong about that?

Absolutely nothing.

By the way, Jennifer-you are in big trouble. And paybacks are…well, you know what they are….

Sweet ‘n Salty-Neighbor Presents

Pretzel rods will please even the pickiest pallet-or the neighbor you don’t know very well-but would like to. I know this idea isn’t new and you’ve probably either made, consumed or purchased pretzels rod sometime in your life.

They look so pretty all lined up and ready to be eaten.
For this decadent looking but simple to make treat is:
white and chocolate almond bark
a hammer
wax paper
peppermint candies
pretzel rods.

 

I wanted each household/neighbor to have 8 pretzel rods each. That meant that I needed 88 rods total. I picked out all the full rods from my bag, setting aside the broken nubs to be consumed by yours truly.

 

Next, I hammered all of the peppermints while they were inside of a thick waxed bag (cereal bag or something similar works great).

 

By microwaving the almond bark in a tall glass, the pretzel rods were easy to cover in chocolate, leaving about 2 inches at the bottom for a finger hold.

 

While the chocolate was still warm, I rolled half of my rods in the crushed peppermint.

The other half I drizzled with alternating types of chocolate.
Yum.

 

The leftover chocolate was used on my reject pretzel nubs, or eaten with a spoon by a certain Biceps and the mother of a certain Biceps.
So simple, so pretty and oh, so good.
Merry Christmas neighbor’s!

Makin’ a mess for the Neighbors

Biceps and I enjoy making food-type gifts for the neighbors and our tenants each year. Even some of our friends make the cut, and perhaps a few family members that insist on having a loaf of my “Beautiful Banana Bread“.

When they receive their nice little food package from us, they have no idea what a mess I had created in my kitchen.

 

40 Bananas-mushed.

 

To a pulp.

 

That’s forty banana peels. The recipe was octopled – scientifically, that means the recipe was made 8 times. Every bowl, measuring cup, spatula and bread tin was implemented in this all out food-fest.

After wrapping each gift, I added a card and our crazy Christmas Picture and delivered them one by one to my neighbor’s and tenants. This made it feel like Christmas.
So, Merry Christmas, everyone. Hope you enjoy tasty foods and seeing my mug standing on your front porch.