Handy Dandy Tips

I was going through my email and deleting old ones that only God knows why I haven't deleted yet and I found this Handy Dandy Tip List.
The best part about these tips are it's every day solutions with every day products.

Enjoy.

Did You Know That?
Drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost immediately -- without the unpleasant side effects caused by traditional "pain relievers."

Did you know that
Colgate toothpaste makes an excellent salve for burns.
Before you head to the drugstore for a high-priced inhaler filled with mysterious chemicals, try chewing on a couple of curiously strong Altoids peppermints. They'll clear up your stuffed nose.

Achy muscles from a bout of the flu?Mix 1 Tablespoon of horseradish in 1 cup of olive oil. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, then apply it as a massage oil, for instant relief for aching muscles.

Sore throat?Just mix 1/4 cup of vinegar with 1/4 cup of honey and take 1 tablespoon six times a day. The vinegar kills the bacteria.

Cure urinary tract infections with Alka-Seltzer. Just dissolve two tablets in a glass of water and drink it at the onset of the symptoms. Alka-Seltzer begins eliminating urinary tract infections almost instantly -- even though the product was never been advertised for this use. (Note: Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine is not the same..and contains aspirin, which can cause stomach bleeding if you have ulcers.)

Honey remedy for skin blemishes...
Cover the blemish with a dab of honey and place a Band-Aid over it. Honey kills the bacteria, keeps the skin sterile, and speeds healing. Works overnight.

Listerine therapy for toenail fungus...
Get rid of unsightly toenail fungus by soaking your toes in Listerine mouthwash. The powerful antiseptic leaves your toenails looking healthy again.

Easy eyeglass protection...
To prevent the screws in eyeglasses from loosening, apply a small drop of Maybelline Crystal Clear nail polish to the threads of the screws before tightening them.

Coca-Cola cure for rust...
Forget those expensive rust removers. Just saturate an abrasive sponge with Coca Cola and scrub the rust stain. The phosphoric acid in the coke is what gets the job done.

Cleaning liquid that doubles as bug killer...
If menacing bees, wasps, hornets, or yellow jackets get in your home and you can't find the insecticide, try a spray of Formula409. Insects drop to the ground instantly.

Smart splinter remover...just pour a drop of Elmer's Glue-All over the splinter, let dry, and peel the dried glue off the skin. The splinter sticks to the dried glue.

Hunt's tomato paste boil cure....cover the boil with Hunt's tomato paste as a compress. The acids from the tomatoes soothe the pain and bring the boil to a head.

Balm for broken blisters...To disinfect a broken blister, dab on a few drops of Listerine .. a powerful antiseptic.

Heinz vinegar to heal bruises... Soak a cotton ball in white vinegar and apply it to the bruise for 1 hour. The vinegar reduces the blueness and speeds up the healing process.

Kills fleas instantly.
Dawn dish washing liquid does the trick. Add a few drops to your dog's bath and shampoo the animal thoroughly. Rinse well to avoid skin irritations. Goodbye fleas.
Rainy day cure for dog odor... Next time your dog comes in from the rain, simply wipe down the animal with Bounce or any dryer sheet, instantly making your dog smell springtime fresh.

Eliminate ear mites... All it takes is a few drops of Wesson corn oil in your cat's ear. Massage it in, then clean with a cotton ball. Repeat daily for 3 days. The oil soothes the cat's skin, smothers the mites, and accelerates healing.

Quaker Oats for fast pain relief....It's not for breakfast anymore! Mix 2 cups of QuakerOats and 1 cup of water in a bowl and warm in the microwave for 1 minute, cool slightly, and apply the mixture to your hands for soothing relief from arthritis pain.

Great Idea For Christmas Gifts!

A about a week or so ago I came acrossed a crafty idea of making little boxes and I thought they were the cutest and started thinking to myself how could I use these boxes?
Well, I'm going to be strapped for cash when the holidays come around and I figured I could make a gift bag/cute little boxes with homemade tags filled with yummy goodies for everyone.  I have a few recipes in mind but I'm going to keep them to myself until Christmas gets here because a few people that read my blog will be receiving these wonderful crafty and homemade goodness!

If you're just too curious or trying to think of a great gift idea, you can leave me a comment with away to contact you (web only) I'll be more then happy to inform you on which recipes I plan on filling my gift bags with.  :)

Have a great day everyone!

Crafty Up-cycle - Lamp.

A few months ago David and I went to his sisters house for a family get together and she had a lamp out by the road in a garbage pile and of course David saw it and thought we could use a lamp in the bedroom, which he was quite right, we did.  I personally didn't want it because it was SO ugly and when I decorate I like to use items that match in some way or in styles that I love.  This lamp was either of the two.  It still worked and we ended up taking it home and after looking at it and hating it every time I saw it I just HAD to do something with it so I decided that I was going to paint it and I did.  I used your typical acrylic crafting paint in your local craft department.

I used a color on the base called Celery Green, and for the shade I used Light Slate Gray...  Or something like that.  I painted it with crumby paint brushes that I got in a kids craft department.

Not much else to say really.

Life has been...  Interesting in many different ways lately.  Some good and some bad but I don't have the energy to write about it.  Nothing special at all, I promise.  Cooking, cleaning... blah blah blah.  Still wanna hear about it?  Didn't think so. :)
Well...  I do have one interesting thing that I will share that's not completely boring to the core.
David and I have been talking about painting our sons nursery and today we finally went out and bought the paint for it so I'll be digging into that here shortly.  Time line?  Not sure but it's going to get done one way or another.

Now for the before and after pictures of the lamp I up-cycled.  I think it looks great!  It's still not the perfect style for my liking but with a tight budget it'll have to do for now, either way it looks 100% better.

What is your opinion?  I would love to hear your input!

Before:

After:

Recipe for Sugar Cookies.

Today has been a great day!  I got to sleep in because David woke up with Milo this morning.  He's actually been getting up with him for the past week.  I'm so lucky to have such a great man in my life!
I hung around the house for about an hour when I woke up then played on the computer while feeding Milo.  Afterwards it was nap time for David and baby so they laid on the couch while I started making homemade sugar cookies!  I made the dough and put it in the fridge to chill.  David left for work early because he wanted to get his hair cut and I started on the dishes.  About 3 or so hours later I got the dough out and started rolling it out on the table and used my Halloween cookies cutters that I got at a Liquidation Outlet for a whooping $0.50!!!
I only had 2 mishaps today.  The first crumby thing that happened was, when I was washing dishes my cell phone was on the counter next to the sink and it got wet and died on me.  I didn't even know till hours later but it dried out and started right up! :) Yay!
The second crumby thing was, Milo and I were playing in the bedroom and he grabbed my face and stuck one of his fingers in my left nostril and ripped it out really fast and of course scratching the inside of it and gave me a bloody nose.  I didn't even realize that he had scratched me that hard until my nose was dripping blood.  I've never had a bloody nose in my life and the first time I get one it was giving to me by a baby!  Really now?  The up side to this story is that it didn't bleed very long and I didn't get blood on anything!  Yay again!
I warn all new mothers though, just because your baby is cute and cuddly like a puppy don't be fooled because they have retractable claws like kitty cats!

Did anyone know that tonight is a Harvest Moon?
Once my phone came back on I got a million voice mails and text messages and one of the messages was David telling me to go outside and look at it.  Isn't he the sweetest?  Don't be jealous you know he is!
It was weird turning my phone on earlier and getting all those missed calls and texts.  The reason for being so weird is because I NEVER get calls and messages unless they're from David when he's at work.  Just figures I become so popular when my phone is off on a fritz.  hahaha Oh well it was like a big surprise of love all at once.

I feel like I'm forgetting to mention something else but I can't remember so I'll get on with the cookie recipe.

I found a recipe online and made some adjustments to it so yes... I am going to claim it as my own.
This was the first time I've ever made homemade sugar cookies and I think they turned out wonderfully!


Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Margarine (Country Crock)
1 Cup Sugar
2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Large Egg
2 1/4 Cup Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Powder

Directions:

• 1) In a medium bowl, mix the butter and margarine together.  Don't melt it!  Mix it at room tempature or slightly chilled.  (Mine was slightly chilled.)
• 2) Add sugar, mix together.  
• 3) Add vanilla and egg, mix together.  
• 4) Add your baking soda and baking powder and mix.  
• 5) Slowly add your flour and mix well each time you add more. (I hand mix everything.)
• 6) Chill your dough for 3 - 4 hours. (I chilled mine 2 hours in the fridge and 1 hour in the freezer.)
• 7) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• 8) Oil your cookie sheet, (I take a paper towel and rub margarine all over it.)
• 9) Take your flour and dust your flat surface that you'll be using to roll out the dough, (I use my kitchen table because the bigger your space the easier it'll be.)
• 10) Grab a big blob of dough, mush it together into a ball (doesn't have to be perfect, remember the more you work your dough the warm/softer it'll be and you want it to remain as chilled as possible.)
• 11) Lightly dust your dough with flour, (helps it from sticking to your surface.)
• 12) Dust your rolling pin, (same reason, it helps it from sticking.)
• 13)Start in the middle of your dough and lightly push the dough in all directions, (don't "push" down on the dough, you'll be surprised how well it flattens it's self.)
• 14) Take your desired cookie cutter and cut out your shapes and bake them in the oven for 10 minutes.
• 15) When you take out the cookies let them set for about 6 or so minutes (until they feel cool enough to touch.)

Repeat steps 8 thru 15 until your dough is all used up.
(I like to take a paper towel and wipe off the cookie crumbs that are left behide once you take them off the cookie sheet and re-oil your cookie sheet each and everytime.)

Icing:
I cheated on the icing, I bought vanilla cake icing and spooned it out into a small pot and warmed it on the stove until it was liquid.  I used a non-stick pot and the lowest setting on the stove top because if it gets to hot to fast it clums up and hardens.  Very gross and hard to clean!)  When your icing is melted pour it into a small bowl and use food coloring to dye it your desired color.  Then I used a teaspoon to scoop a little bit of the icing and spread it over the cookies.
Well there that is  I hope ya'll enjoy! :)

Here's my mini.

Well, even though I've been sick and feeling like crap.
Even though I'm annoyed by the situation from yesterday, I still would like to share the little mini I made.
I think it's really cute and atleast I made something worth looking at. :)

Left side, inside cover - Right side, Page 1.

Left side, Page 2. - Right side Page 3.

Right side, Page 4. - Left side, Page 5.

Left side, Page 6. (Blessed) - Right side, Page 7.

Left side, Page 8. - Right side, Page 9.

Left side, Page 10. - Right side, Inside back cover.

Outside covers.

Hope ya'll enjoy.
P.S.  I'm sorry that a few of the pages have smudged out words.  (personal information)  I'm sure all of you understand. :)

Not feeling so well.

Last night before David and I went to my parents house for dinner I started feeling a little crumby but I didn't think I was "sick".  It seemed like every minute I was there I kept feeling worst and worst so we left.  Late last night I knew I was sick, I couldn't stop coughing my throat was getting sore and my whole body was one huge ache.  This morning I woke up and I had NO voice, I could barely mumble a word.  David went to the store and got me lots and lots of orange juice so I've been drinking that all day and luckily it's helped!  I still feel like crap but I can talk and move around enough to help out with our 5 month old son.  I'm so glad that our son isn't sick! I really thought he was going to be because I nurse him but he's been doing wonderful all day.  I thank God for that one!

I hate being under the weather, David had today off and we had a big day planned of getting earns taking care of and out of the way, cleaning house, laundry and none of it got done.  I've also felt my creative juices following since last night and I want to dig into a few different projects but for one I know it's best if I stay in bed and rest to whip this cold as soon as possible and two, if I can't bring myself to do the dishes and laundry then I don't need to be crafting.

I'm really hoping tomorrow, well...  Considering the time of night (today) I'll feel a whole heck of a lot better so the earns, cleaning and crafting can be done!!

First Crochet Project Completed

I've taught myself to quilt so I figured I could teach myself how to crochet.  I probably practiced a total of 3 or 4 hours before starting my little project.  I have to say, at first I thought it was super hard because I couldn't hold my yarn firm enough around my fingers but that didn't last long.  I just finished up making a tiny pair of baby crochet mittens and they are too cute!  The only thing that I'm very disappointed in is that one of the mittens is smaller then the other.  I think I made the smaller one too tight and that's why it's not the same size.  The smaller one is also the first one that I completed and the second one turned out so wonderful. (practice makes perfect). Well, I like them anyhow...  I want to keep making them and also learn how to make cute little baby beanies to match.  I really would like to stock up on an inventory and start up a business on esty.  I would highly enjoy making a few extra bucks to help out with our household income!  So fingers crossed.

So now my hobbies included, scrap booking, quilting, crocheting...  I wonder what my next learning task will be.  ???  

Crafty Girl

As sad as it may be I'm just now starting to finish decorating Milo's Baby Room.
When David and I first moved into our apartment I set his room up but I never finished decorating the walls and such.  A couple reasons being, 1) We didn't have the money to go crazy and make it perfect.  2) After I had him I lost all motivation.
I still don't have my mojo back but I'm so tired of looking in there and seeing boxes and crap everywhere and I really just want it to be perfect for him.  Especially before he's up crawling around and playing in there.  (Before we start taking pictures of him in there.)
It's very popular when decorating a nursery to spell your babies name in wooden letters from a craft store and paint them the themed colors of the baby room.  I knew I definitely wanted Milo's name above his crib but I wanted to do something a little different with the letters.  Instead of just painting them the themed room colors I figured I would get some scrapbook paper and cover the front face of the letters to match his room.  So I Did It! :)

I did paint the edges of all the letters so you wouldn't just see the wood and paper.  The paint softens the look and brings the whole idea together.  You can't really tell in the photo but if you were looking at them in hand you would see what I mean.  I have yet to hang them on the wall (obviously) because I need to find little hangers to put onto the backs of the letters.  I'm so happy with the way that they turned out!  My first initial thought was to wait to post pictures of it until I had the room all done but I can't wait, I'm too excited to show them off and I later on figured I could just blog about my progress.  How fun!  :)