Friday Fill Ins

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1. Apples are to oranges as mayonnaise is to corn on the cob.

2. Corrupt politics is all around and that's all I have to say about that.

3. I think I hear a pu'tty cat.

4. The American flag.

5. Do what you want to do, but in the end, you had better do what is right and just.

6. After the massive downpour, Little Joe headed for the back yard and behind him was a Radio Flyer wagon; in the wagon was a bucket filled with mud for the most record breaking mud pie ever.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to taking a friend some items she ordered, tomorrow my plans include spending some time with my extended family do to a sorrowful situation and Sunday, I want to finally recover from a very, very stressful week!

A Short Botany Lesson- Poison Ivy versus Virginia Creeper

Does this picture strike fear in you?

Well, it shouldn't. It's Virginia Creeper. Some people think, at first glance, that it is the infamous Poison Oak. Officially it's called Parthenocissus quinquefolia. It is not advisable that you rub it's leaves all over you as it can cause a rash in some people and it's berries are poisonous. The good thing is, it's not poison oak as poison oak doesn't grow in my area of the country.

This is Poison Ivy.

Unfortunately, this does grow in my part of the country and this little patch is in my backyard. Poison Ivy can cause rash and blisters and is difficult to get rid of (both the vines and the rash that is). In my opinion this little nuisance is almost as bad as fire ants- almost. Fortunately, you can squish fire ants. If you squished a poison ivy plant, the oil from the plant would stay on you and develop into that nasty rash I was talking about. You can even touch your shoes or clothing that came in contact with the plant and a rash will develop. The bottom line is, stay away from it- consider yourself warned.

Make sure and click on the links provided and you can read more about these two plants. Sorry that I couldn't think of something funny to say about poison ivy. It's just not funny especially when it is all over the back side of your son's knees and spreading frontward....Arghhhhh

A Wordless Wednesday- Spring Has Sprung

My Etsy SHE Challenge Entry for May

My entry to the SHE team's (Schooling at Home Etsians) May challenge on Etsy

This is another of my Saving For A Rainy Day Organizing Wallets


The only thing missing in the picture is a chocolate bar sticking out of that slot above that $20.00 bill. Hey, when I finally get around to making one of these for myself, I'm going to label one slot, "Chocolate".

Seriously, I will...don't put it past me - you know I'll do it.

Making Do Monday

What if all of the deodorant making factories around the world suddenly closed down? Even worse, what if it became illegal to buy deodorant? Naaaahhhh, You know as well as I do, those things will never happen (or at least I hope not). But, imagine you did run out of deodorant and couldn't get to the store. What would you do? I know what I would do. I'd make my own. Yep, you heard me. You can make your own deodorant.

I know you are probably thinking that I don't have all of those fancy smancy chemicals that are in regular store bought deodorant. You know what? I don't. I have a simpler, healthier version of chemicals in my kitchen. Plain and simple, I have a solid oil, cornstarch, and baking soda. Yes, that's it. I can make do with what I have and make my own deodorant.

Mind you I don't expect everyone to get really excited about this deodorant making prospect but at least if you ever needed some, you will know how to make your own when you get through reading this post.


This is the cast of characters: a recycled plastic tub, baking powder (yes mine is in a jar- yours is probably in a nice orange box), corn starch (yes, there again, mine is in a jar- I'm just weird that way), and a solid oil. In the picture you will see a coconut oil container and below it, a palm oil container. Both oils work. That coconut oil container is empty so I'm going to make my batch out of palm oil. If you can, it is best to use coconut oil as it has natural antiseptic properties. But hey, I'm making do with what I have here so palm oil will just have to do.




Start with equal amounts of both cornstarch and baking powder. In this case, I used 1/4 cup of each.



Next add a glop (technically I used 1/4 cup of palm oil) to the cornstarch/baking soda mixture. To be safe, I wouldn't use quite that much at first as you don't want the finished product to be too soft.




Now, take a spoon or what ever your favorite mixing utensil is and mix, mix, mix. Mix until you are absolutely positive that all three ingredients are thoroughly mixed together. If the mixture is too thick, add more oil, if it is too soupy, add more of equal parts of the cornstarch and baking soda.

You're done! Put the lid on that container and store in your bathroom cabinet. When you need to apply, you can stick a finger in and rub it on. If you have any empty deodorant container lying around, you can even fill those guys up with your mixture.

Now I know what you are asking. Does it work? You bet it does. I was skeptical when I first read about it too. Mind you it isn't a wetness fighter like a lot of deodorants are but it keeps the "stinkies" away for sure! Best of all, it doesn't contain a lot of chemicals that I can't pronounce and there is no aluminum added in either. That's a plus in my book!

As a side note, I totally grossed out my teenager when I stuck a finger in the container and tasted it. He freaked out. You know what, I haven't died yet from tasting it like I might if I ate store bought deodorant.

Just to let you know, it tasted nasty.

What's Outside My Windows- The "Emergency" edition

I heard a shriek from the laundry room. "Mom, I want to get on that!" "What?" I say as I turn around to see what's going. The picture above is what I snapped (minus the people that I edited out).

Remember the old television show called, "Emergency"? Truthfully, with three boys in the house, we have season one on DVD. (We girls watched it too) Can't you just hear, "Rampart, we need some saline!" Every illness or emergency known to man was treated with saline on that show. If life were only that simple.

Well, the fire truck only stayed around for a short while but those guys working on it sure did have fun sliding down it. Sometimes it's more fun watching grown ups playing on those things than it would be to play on it yourself!

Here's to you Squad 51

More Farming and Less Sunburn Please

Last Saturday, my family had this great idea to start planting something in the garden. If you have been following me, you will know that we have high hopes in planting a massive garden with my brother, Uncle Bubba.

The garden started off looking like this:



This little area off to the left of the garden is what I later named, "Tator Hill"


Then Uncle Bubba got on the tractor...




While he was busy, Scott and I got busy working on "Tator Hill" Tator Hill is this weird little hill stuck out in the middle of the field that was the remains of brush and a burn pile that was pushed up when Uncle Bubba logged his land some years back. Fortunately, there is a lot of rich soil on the top of that pile so we are going to take advantage of it. I got to learn how to use a rotor tiller that day too(we call it the roller tiller). Let's just say that between the sunburn and the muscle pain, it's going to be awhile before I rotor-till again. Needless to say, we got three small rows of potatoes planted. We planted "fingerling" potatoes by the way. We've got to get lots more seed potatoes in the next week or two. Scott got crafty and put up those nifty little orange flags to mark where the rows start and stop. (He's so crafty.)



This is what things looked like when we left that day. Hopefully the signs will be right to plant something other than potatoes next time. I have farming in my blood. That's why I'm going to say this, "Doesn't that dirt look good enough to eat?"

Friday Fill Ins

Is it Friday already?

Visit Friday Fill Ins to fill in your own!


1. The first rule of working in an office and getting along is to ignore all of the crazy stuff that is going on around you.

2. A thousand clams.

3. When I think of carnivals I think of cotton candy and broken down rides.


4. Lily of the Valley is my favorite spring flower.

5. Things on my desk include A green stuffed dragon, a bunch of chapstick without labels, some empty thread spools, my sewing machine, a purple stuffed pony with yarn for hair and some address labels.

6. Most of the time, looking out of my kitchen window makes me wanna laugh.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to running to the store to get a zipper (yeah, I get out of the house), tomorrow my plans include getting out of the house (and being around other grown ups) and Sunday, I want to get at least 7 hours of sleep!