Powdered Laundry Detergent

In the past I have made and used liquid homemade laundry soap. You can find the liquid recipe here. 

Recently I made a batch of the powdered laundry soap. The powder uses the same dry ingredients and amounts as the liquid, but takes up much less room to store. I haven't had any problems with it clumping on my clothes, even when washing in cold water. I use about 2 tablespoons for a large load. Even using coupons, I find this much cheaper than any store bought detergent and it works VERY well. Because it is non-sudsy, it works fine in regular and HE washers. :)

Cheese Cake Fried Pie

As requested by so many of my Facebook Friends, here is my recipe:

Cheese Cake Fried Pie

Filling (this is to easy!):
1 package of cream cheese, softened
1 jar of marshmallow cream

Mix well in a bowl.

Everyone has their own favorite pie crust, so I am not even going there!
Just roll out your crust and cut into circles. I didn't bother pulling out the biscuit cutter. I had a wide mouth mason jar sitting on the counter waiting to be put away so I used it.

Place a scant spoonful of filling in the middle of each circle. Dampen your finger with water and run it around the edges of the circle. Fold the circle in half and kind of redistribute the filling with your hands to even it out and get rid of the excess air. Use a fork to seal the edges nice and pretty.

I fried my pies in a heavy bottom skillet with about an inch or so of canola oil heated to about 375 degrees. It only take a few minutes. When the pie starts to float, flip it over and brown the other side. These will burn quick so watch carefully!

Drain on a wire rack and paper towel. For an even better time, dust the hot pie lightly with powder sugar. Enjoy!

Vegetable Juice Potluck

Vegetable Juice Potluck

1 tomato (I used a handful of tomatoes off my plant)
2 celery stalks
2 large carrots
5 large broccoli florets
1/2 cucumber

I only give this juice a 5 out of 10. It has an after taste that I find unpleasant. I do like getting my veggies in though. It made a decent lunch.

Juice #3 How Sweet It Is

Today's juice is all fruit and all sweet:
Sweet Surprise
3 spears pineapple
1 orange (peeled)
4 fresh strawberries
1 bunch of grapes

I give this juice a 10 out of 10! It is sweet and smooth and easy on the taste buds. Just know that it has a lot of fruit sugars so if you have blood sugar issues be cautious!

Sweet Potato Surprise

Today's featured juice is Sweet Potato Surprise:

1 pear
2 carrots
1 orange (peeled)
1 sweet potato

I give this juice an 8 out of 10. The taste is awesome and almost creamy. There was a slightly gritty coating left on my tongue and mouth after each swallow, but not enough to be really bothersome. I am pretty sure this was from the sweet potato.  This is almost a dessert juice as it is sweet. Give it a try. :)

Fruits and Veggies

I have been wanting to add more fruits and vegetables into our diet. My sister told me about a juicing program that she was doing and I thought I might incorporate some of the principles into our menu. We will still eat lean proteins and prepared foods while adding in fresh vegetable and fruit juice. I will probably drink juice for at least one meal and one snack a day.

So I give you today's lunch:

Mean Green Juice
1 bunch of kale
4 stalks of celery
1 cucumber
2 granny smith apples
1/2 lemon
1 inch cut of ginger

Wash the vegetables and put through a juice machine. Leave skins and peels on for this juice!

Once I got past the green color, it was delicious! And think about how many vegetables you can get in by juicing. There is no way I could have eaten all that whole!
I am excited to try different combinations in the coming weeks and I will share some of my favorites :)

He asked! I said yes!

Monday, July 9th was a very memorable day. It started off as just another Monday. Jason had to leave out headed to Indiana so I was going to carry him to the truck yard. I love getting to drop him off at work, although I hate to see him go. We decided to meet his mom and sister for lunch before he had to leave. I called my mom to see if she wanted to eat also. We made plans to meet at Chiles at noon. On the drive to Pine Bluff he was so cheerful and funny. We were singing and dancing to the 90s on 9 XM radio station. (some one remind me when the suspension goes out on the Pretty Prius that we shouldn't dance in the car). He didn't seem nervous or anything.

When we arrived his mom, sister, and niece were already seated on one side of the table. I took the seat nearest the wall, trying to be courteous to my mom and Jason. Jason likes to sit on the outside, so Mom took the middle seat. We ordered and got our drinks. Jason stood up and asked my mom to switch seats so I could sit by him. I thought it was kind of weird, but switched with her.
Then when he kept standing and looked nervous, I knew something was up. He pulled a ring box from his pocket, knelt on one knee, and melted my heart with the sweetest proposal. Of course I said YES! Then Taylor, who is 4, came around the table with a dozen long stem pink roses and asked if I would  be her aunt. I nearly started crying. Even if I could have said no to Jason, there was no way to say no to Taylor! :)

I was so happy that our moms and his sister got to see him propose! My mom was crying! And his mom and sister took pictures. A waiter came by and gave me a high five and people were awwing and smiling at us. A few clapped. It was fun :)

And then I dropped him off to go on a 3 day run to Indiana. The people in his office were laughing that we got engaged and then he left. But it didn't seem strange to me. He works hard for our little family of doggie kids and for our future big family. I feel so blessed to be marrying the sweetest, most thoughtful, doting, loving man in the world.



I was shocked!

The beautiful ring!



The beautiful roses that Taylor picked out



I gave Momma Debbie (Jason's mom), Ashley (Jason's sister), my Momma, and Taylor (Jason's niece) each a flower from my bouqet. Taylor loved playing with hers and used the long stem to pretend it was a magic wand. She is so cute!