Friday, November 6, 2009

old fashioned goodness

"Don't spent two dollars to dry clean a shirt. Donate it to the Salvation Army instead. They'll clean it and put it on a hanger. Next morning buy it back for seventy-five cents." - unknown

I clearly remember one Christmas opening up a gift my aunt gave me. It was from my eighty-something year old aunt from Texas. The gift was a bar of Fels-Naptha soap! Now, I was not married at the time and had no children. What the heck was I going to do with a bar of "heavy duty laundry bar soap"? That bar of soap sat dormant for many years. It moved from apartment, to house, to yet another house and so on. Perfectly intact in the wrapper, unused and really forgotten about.
Many years (and three children) I found that bar of soap. I believe I was washing something stained and was desperate to try anything! I unwrapped it and noticed the odd color. Golden-brown. I quickly began to rub the stain with the soap and was amazed at what happened next. The stain began to go away!! After that I became hooked. If you have never tried Fels-Naptha soap I think you should. It can be found in the laundry aisle at your local store. Some stores though, like Meijer, has is by the bar soap aisle.
Have you used Fels-Naptha soap? Tell me what you think.

-Poison Ivy Treatment: Fels Naptha has been used for over 100 years in the treatment and pervention of poison ivy, sumac and oak. If you are exposed to poison ivy and you have a reaction, simply shower with Fels Naptha to remove any resin left on the skin and it will help to dry up the rash as well.
-To clean your shower, rub a non-abrasive scouring sponge with a wet bar of Fels Naptha and start cleaning. It will take a little hard work the first time you use it but it will be a breeze after that.
-Washing with Fels Naptha can greatly reduce the itching and discomfort from bug bites.
-Though it is NOT a hand soap, it can cut even the grimiest of messes. Wash hands with Fels
Naptha to remove ink, grease, or a variety of other nasty stains. Again, remember that this can be a skin irritant and should be used carefully and only after reading the warning label on the soap.
-To clean paint brushes, simply drag the wet brush through a lathered bar of Fels Naptha and work in. Rinse well with warm water. The brushes stay soft and supple using this method.

-Fels Naptha Soap is a fantastic stain remover and pre-treater. It works especially well on oil-based stains. Just rub the stain with a wet bar of Fels Naptha Soap. Let it sit for a while and launder as usual. It works great on baby clothes which have formula stains.

* For chocolate smudge on clothes, rub the stain with Fels Naptha Soap and let sit in your filled washer with 20 Mule Team Borax for 30 minutes. Launder as usual.

* To remove Halloween makeup from clothing, simply work a little Fels Naptha into the stain and launder as usual. It may take a repeat washing to completely remove the stain.

* To clean white canvas tennis shoes, simply work the Fels Naptha Soap into a lather and use a soft brush to work into the canvas. Launder as usual without chlorine bleach.

* To remove old stains on colored clothes, make a solution of 2 cups warm water and 1/2 cup white vinegar. Pour on stain. Let soak for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse well and work in Fels Naptha Soap. Launder as usual.


Powdered Laundry Detergent 1 cup grated Fels Naptha Soap 1/2 cup washing soda 1/2 cup 20 mule team borax Mix and store in airtight container or bag. For normal loads, use 2 tablespoon. For heavy loads, use 3 tablespoons.



Wednesday, November 4, 2009

i need my MORNING MAMA TIME!

"My mother's menu consisted of two choices: Take it or leave it." ~ Buddy Hackett



The kids have a day off of school tomorrow. This means only one thing... no Morning Mama Time! Don't get me wrong! I love having them home. We get to sleep in (maybe). We get to have a fun day to do whatever we want to. The pj's can stay on until whenever. The clock can go on and tick away. BUT! Mama does not get her morning (alone time) coffee! This may sound like such a trivial thing to the vast majority of people. But I know that other moms out there could totally and completely relate to my story here! Right?

There is something so important, so relaxing, and so necessary about morning mama time to me. First of all it means I am, well, alone! No kids. No fighting! I can sit in my quiet, dark, and messy kitchen and let it all just go away. No worries and definitely NO cleaning until after my coffee is finished! I have time to reflect, ponder or pray. Plan the day or just doing nothing at all. The time I have for me seems to vanish in no time at all. The phone will ring, the sight of all of those dirty dishes will become too much, the cats need to be fed. Somehow, though, all of those tasks that need to be conquered become more obtainable. I am more calm. That itsy-bitsy bit of morning alone time seems to be the trick. All I seem to need to recharge my battery. Give me an old fashioned kick in the seat of my pants.

So I don't get my MMT tomorrow. So what! I know I will survive. But,when Monday morning rolls around though, I will savor "my mama time" all that more (and maybe have an extra cup of coffee!!)




time to make the DONUTS!




Today as I was driving around town I passed our local Dunkin' Donuts. I pass it regularly and everytime I do the place is jammed! Why? Well, I know they have good coffee, but aren't those sugary donuts supposed to be bad for us??


I remember when I was young my mom would take us to Dunkin' Donuts to pick out our "dozen". My favorite was always a toss-up between the pink frosted with colorful sprinkles, or the cream filled long john. Yummy! It always seemed, too, that one was just not enough! Also, I remember going their for Halloween and getting a plastic Halloween bucket filled with munchkins. Does anyone else remember that?


So, many years later what is the "still strong attachment" to DD's? Is it a comfort food? Is it just a treat? Or, is there really some hidden nutritional value bit that I was not made aware of!?


Well anyway you put it, America "still" runs on Dunkin'!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Today is Monday and "Mom's Taxi" is ready to roll. Actually, it has been running since shortly after 7am this morning. The "Dad Taxi" is in the shop getting some work done. It should be up and ready to rock again, hopefully, by Wednesday!

Here is a breakdown of the stops the MT needs to make today.

7:20 drop husband off at work.

7:40 drop kids off at school...stay and help in my youngest's classroom.

9:30 drive home.

11:00 back to school...bringing cat in for youngest daughters show/tell.

11:10 leave school, run some errands.

2:50 back to school (again) to pick kids up.

3:00 rush to dentist for three kids dental exams.

4:30 rush home, get some homework done, kids change clothes.

5:45 hop in taxi again and take son to his basketball game.

? try to find time to pick husband up at work.

? home.
So, there it is. My Monday in a nutshell. Gee, I wonder how my Tuesday is shaping up?

Sunday, November 1, 2009

super HONEY



“No bees, no honey; no work, no money”
- Proverb quote
I can remember as I child, one of my favorite sandwiches I made was a honey sandwich. I would take 2 pieces of bread (not toasted) and slather on a heavy dose of butter and then squeeze on a ton of honey! Yummy! I can still taste how good that was.
Recently I have been reading about all the health benefits of eating honey. I had no idea there were so many! From burns and cuts, to coughs and insomnia, honey is a cure-all, of sorts.

Here is a great article with some of the many benefits of honey. Sweet!