Happy Valentine’s Day-an Homage

Today is Valentine’s Day-obviously. And, I wanted to give an homage, not just to my husband-but to all of the men that have stayed committed husbands to their wives and fathers to their children.

To all the men that are stand-ins for photo shoots, on a hot day-thank you.

Thank you to all the men that rise early to provide for their families-and do so happily.

For the men that stay longer than they want at a beach, a mall, or a girl movie because their wife isn’t quite ready to go-thank you.

Thank you men that have chosen a lifestyle of protecting and serving others.

Thank you men, that retrieve snacks and treats for your wives because she is already seated and “snuggled in”.

To the men that honor their mothers-thank you. We know you will in turn honor your wives.

Men-you have an important role in this society. Thank you to the men that stay strong, stay focused and stay committed. Your legacy is better than money, status or fame. Instead, you will boast of a solid family, a happy marriage and a good reputation.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you!

The Fireplace Incident

I was working away in my office (my office at home-what do you think-I leave the house? HA!) when I heard a distinct thump in the living room, cat claws skidding out on the hardwood floor, a rustling of some plastic substance and then–silence.

Curious, but not unaccustomed to such shenanigans, I made my way out to find the reason for the scuffle. Nothing in the house seemed to be destroyed, knocked over or out of place-this time.

That’s when my “cat-dar” went up. After much searching, I only located a very wigged out Max, hiding on the top ledge in the bathroom.

Look at the size of those pupils.

His tail was puffed out and upon further inspection, which I later regretted-was found to be sticky and wet.

Ew.

After several minutes of calling for Bianca, this little lady greeted me by the front door.

Ms. Perfect White Pants was covered in soot, head to toe.

Now, Ms. Bianca will vacate the house and hide in the dirty chimney in order to escape one of three things:

1. Kayle’s drumming
2. Small, Noisy Children
3. An unnamed source on this day in question

And the story began to unfold….

I decided to inspect the amount of soot she must have brought down with her from a romp in the chimney, and assess vacuuming vs sweeping.

If you’ll notice, in the upper left hand corner of the fireplace, there is something protruding from the chimney.

A Wal-mart bag was hanging out of, and partially stuck inside of the chimney. I had known one of my earlier grocery bags went mysteriously missing this morning.

I’m weird that way.

Secondly, the hearth was covered in wet, sticky residue-reminiscent of Max’s tail.

Upon removing the bag, one can easily see it had been ripped to shreds.

And Bianca returned to the scene, trying to cover up whatever it was she did with her little sooty paws.

Max would not join either of us for the rest of the day. He stayed perched on his ledge, with wigged out eyes if Bianca ever entered the room.

The Nancy Drew side of me wanted to know the full story. Someone knows something-but no one was talking-to me or to each other. I will just have to chalk this up to an unsolved case.

My 11 Year Valentine and a Question

Dear Readers-

Say this outloud-“Valentine’s Day“. How did that make you feel? Weird? Whimsical? Oddly Nostalgic?
Those two words can bring horror to men everywhere and extremely ridiculous expectations from women across the globe.
Because Biceps and I like to circumvent the traditional in almost every area of our lives-Valentine’s day is no exception. Instead of dressing up, waiting in line for hours only to be surrounded by several hundred other “romantic couples” and interrupted by the waiter, we usually participate in this ritual at home. We like to plan our time together and alleviate stress and expectations, which in turn-eliminates arguments.

I mean, why flaunt this around town when I can keep it to myself at home? Seriously.

Last year, we chose meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner from different cultures and required of ourselves to wear appropriate clothing. (I have photos, but they are way to incriminating of our weirdness…)
-For Breakfast-Egg Pancakes (German)-lederhosen for Biceps and a wool skirt for me.
-For Lunch-Tacos (Mexican)-top buttoned flannel shirt, tank top and jewelry for Biceps and a mexican dress for me.
-And for Dinner-Sushi (Asian)-ninja costume for Biceps and chopsticks and asian dress for me.

This year, Biceps will be doing this on Valentine’s Day.

And, he’ll be doing this the morning we’ve chosen to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

So, if you wanted to make Valentine’s Day special for this guy-my question is-what would you do?

And as always-keep it PG ladies….

Cheap, Organic Facial Moisturizer-Phase 1 of My Month Long Challenge

I’ve been challenging myself to slowly rid our house of anything with nasty chemicals and large price tags. As I begin to use the final drop of something off the shelf, I am concocting a replacement with little more than what I have on hand or what I can find at the organic market.

But the replacements must meet or exceed three important expectations for this frugal gal:
1. It must be easy to replace-no beakers or science lab experiments. Thank you.
2. It must be just as good or better than the current product I’m using and,
3. It must cost the same or less than the current product I’m using.

photo source unknown

If the product I create passes the final test-me using it for over two plus week to make sure it doesn’t stink-then I’ll be sharing it with you. I will break down the cost for you, provide you the recipe and give you my honest opinion of the final product.

Up on the docket for replacement over the next month or so is: mascara, dishwasher detergent, washing machine detergent, eye makeup remover and tortilla chips (I know-they don’t quite fit in but they are my weakness and I need to replace the hydrogenated and fried naughtiness with something healthier), along with anything else I can get rid of.

Fasten your seatbelt. Here’s Phase 1 of ridding my house of chemicals-Cheap, Organic Facial Moisturizer.

I am quite picky when it comes to my face. I have always had very sensitive skin that dries out if I even look at it wrong.
After several tries, I came up with a recipe that works wonderfully-without greasiness or smelliness.
And it costs $.75 per 2.5 oz. Yep. That’s right-seventy five freakin’ cents.
I’ve been spending $12-14 for 2.5 oz!

Here’s what you’ll need to make your very own Cheap, Organic Facial Moisturizer:

4 TBS Pure Aloe Vera (drinkable kind)
1 tsp Vegetable Glycerin
6 Drops Jojoba Oil
1/4 tsp Sweet Almond Oil

Container to keep the moisturizer in (I re-used my pricey lotion container).

If necessary, use the funnel to add the 4 TBS of Aloe Vera.

Next, add the 1 tsp Vegetable Glycerin.

Add 6 drops of the Jojoba Oil.

And the 1/4 tsp of Sweet Almond Oil.

Shake everything up in the container and before every use. The moisturizer will be watery-either apply by squirting into a cotton pad or into a cleansed hand and applying with clean fingertips. As it dries, it will be absorbed and leaves you with soft, silky skin.

That’s it. Simple as pie.

Here’s the financial breakdown:

$8.50 for 32 oz of Pure Aloe Vera (drinkable kind)
$9 for 16 oz of Vegetable Glycerin
$13.50 for 4 oz of Jojoba Oil
$5.75 for 16 oz of Sweet Almond Oil

Needed per 2.5 oz moisturizer:

4 TBS (2 oz ) Pure Aloe Vera= $.52
1 tsp (.16 oz) Vegetable Glycerin= $.09
6 Drops (.04 oz) Jojoba Oil= $.13
1/4 tsp (.04 oz) Sweet Almond Oil= $.01
TOTAL = $.75 per 2.5 oz

Click on the following to see more of my projects:
I’ve posted a Recipe for Facial Moisturizer, DIY Organic Dishwasher Detergent, Cheap, Organic Face Wash, DIY Household Green Cleaner and last week was my DIY Organic Eye Makeup Remover.

Linking up: The Thrifty Home