Updates on Homemade Mayo, Laundry Detergent and Mystery Plants

Sometimes I post about things I've made or use. Some of you have questions from time to time about whether or not I still use it or how it works for me.

This post will answer  some of those questions.

Homemade Mayonnaise:

We really like this and I've been whipping up a batch about once a week since. The flavor has not changed after setting for a few days so using half olive oil has worked ok.  Some of you have asked about how long this keeps in the fridge. The recipe says it will keep 2 weeks. We mostly use mayonnaise in things like chicken, egg, and tuna salad which uses a larger amount of mayo at a time. Because of this, we go through a small batch rather quickly so we haven't tested the 2 week thing out yet! I say, try it and see if you like it and whether or not it works for you!

Homemade Laundry Soap:

I really have liked my homemade powdered laundry detergent.  However, I've had a lot of trouble with some "build-up", especially towels and things where I've noticed the lack of absorbency. Stripping the laundry by using hot water, baking soda and vinegar has helped a lot  but while using the homemade soap, it seems that it continues to build up. I'm pretty sure this has to do with our hard water as we didn't notice an issue before moving here. Not sure if making homemade liquid detergent would have the same results. For now, I've switched to whatever liquid detergent is affordable and am happy with the results.

Mystery Plants:

My mystery plants turned out to be cantaloupe! The plants have long since died and we didn't actually get to eat any before they rotted but there were cute little cantaloupes on the vines.Good to know!

This 'n That

• This time change has messed me up. I don't know why it's been so rough but I have been exhausted! Maybe I need to get more sleep... I love the longer daylight though.
• We made a quick trip to Georgia last weekend to see Andy's great-aunt. She broke her hip a couple months ago and has been declining in health. It was a good visit although not very long!
• One of the other guests at a recent Pampered Chef party told me about a produce co-op in our area. We got our first basket this week and are very pleased with the selection and quality for the price. More on this later...
• Baby Boy is almost one! He crawls at lightening speed, is starting to climb and can take a few steps when he desires. 
• Toddler Girl is almost two! She has quite the personality and is talking a lot now. We understand a lot now but some days we find our interpreting skills lacking. "Wounded Cheerios" and Lego Fries" was the best we could come up with this week!  She is like a big sister to Baby Boy  and is quite the role model for him. ;-)
• Do you have any good ideas for organizing and hanging necklaces? I have a jewelry box for earrings and other small pieces but need a better system for necklaces. Any ideas--especially something that hangs on the wall--would be appreciated. I've looked at a few ideas on Pinterest but haven't found exactly what I want yet. 
• We've had 80 degree weather here for the past week or two. Time to switch out the clothing! My mom called me today and they had multiple inches of snow in Oregon where she lives. And it's spring!

What's going on in your life?

Friday Funnies

Hope your weekend is not boring!

Friday Funnies: Vacation Edition

Whenever we go to the mountains, we love to eat one meal at Rib Country. Yum!

On this trip, I was slightly amused to see this sign hanging out front:

Makes you wonder, doesn't it!?!

Have a great weekend!

Items Of Interest

In which she writes a bunch of random things...


**During our morning walk, the graceful Cherished Dog laid down in the grass beside the road to roll around and fell off the curb.

**Compared to Steve, these regular size squashes look like midgets. 

**It's been 6 months since we've changed our eating habits. I've lost somewhere in the 25 pound range and Andy has lost close to 40 pounds! We've both dropped several clothing sizes as well. This may be a fluke since women's clothing sizes vary so much, but I recently purchased a size 8 dress for myself. And it fit!!!

**There's a little progress on the little doll quilt that I'm making. I sewed the remaining triangles together into small squares. (Still need to trim them!) Next up-- sew the small squares into larger quilt blocks. My goal is to have this ready for quilting by the end of next week. 


What have you been up to?

Friday Funnies: The Adventures Of Steve The Squash

I just could not resist  bringing the 7 pound butternut squash home with me from the farmer's market last week.

No, I could not!

Then I couldn't understand why my husband thought the tote bag was so heavy to carry...

Once we got the squash home, we realized that this was no ordinary squash. This squash needed a name. And a photo shoot. A Facebook friend also suggested clothes.

Oh my!!!

My husband named him Steve. It seemed fitting.

If you've ever seen the movie Over The Hedge, you will understand the name Steve.

"O Great Steve, what do you want?"

So here we have...

The Adventures Of Steve the Squash!

Baby Steve- he's the size of a newborn!

 Steve, down home on the farm.

 Steve at work.

 Steve, Steve, quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?

Little Steve On The Prairie.

Because we wanted to use Steve for both food and entertainment, we opted not to draw a face on him. Instead, we pretend he's an Amish doll.

We've been eating on Steve all week. He's delicious!

This might be similar to raising chickens as pets and then eating them.


Have a great weekend!

Friday Funnies: Texting For Seniors

 This list has been floating around on Facebook for a while and some of them always make me LOL. 

Even for me, some of these could be quite useful seeing as GHA and FWIW ,or maybe more accurately FWIWD (Forgot What I Was Doing) seem to find their way into my conversations. And wouldn't it be a hoot to put HGBM on the babies' daily schedules? 


Enjoy!


ATD: At The Doctor's
BTW: Bring The Wheelchair
BYOT: Bring Your Own Teeth
CBM: Covered By Medicare
CUATSC: See You At The Senior Center
FWB: Friend With Beta Blockers
FWIW: Forgot Where I Was
FYI: Found Your Insulin
GGPBL: Gotta Go, Pacemaker Battery Low!
GHA: Got Heartburn Again
HGBM: Had Good Bowel Movement
IMHO: Is My Hearing-Aid On?
LMDO: Laughing My Dentures Out
LOL: Living On Lipitor
LWO: Lawrence Welk's On
OMMR: On My Massage Recliner
ROFLCGU: Rolling On The Floor Laughing Can't Get Up
TTYL: Talk To You Louder
WAITT: Who Am I Talking To?
WTP: Where's The Prunes?
WWNO: Walker Wheels Need Oil


Have a great weekend!

Friday Funnies: Hallelujah!

I really love this video! We should all be so thankful when God answers our prayers.

Friday Funnies: The Difference Between Dogs and Cats

Christian comedian Ken Davis on the difference between dogs and cats:

The dog says, "You pet me. You feed me. You put a roof over my head. You must be God!"


The cat says, "You pet me. You feed me. You put a roof over my head. I must be God!"

**Right now, when you "Like" Ken Davis on Facebook, you will receive a free MP3 album download which includes this story. The free album is nearly an hour long and is very entertaining in addition to solid truth.

**Thanks to my husband's Facebook friend DeEtta who regularly posts these funny pictures of animals for our amusement!

Friday Funnies: Kidlet Quotes

Today, I share a collection of kid quotes. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!


This falls into the "Well, you asked!" category:

Big Brother sitting on the floor among the toys with a very concerned and concentrated expression on his face. Me: "Sweetie, what are you doing?" Him(without hesitation): "Thinking about Ghost busters!"

"Dude, What's That Smell?"
While preparing to do the Salt-Absorbing Fireworks project this week, I discovered that the only dropper I had was on a bottle of eucalyptus essential oil. Although I tried to clean it well, eucalyptus oil is still very strong  so we could still smell it.
Big Brother: "That smells ."
Me: "That's eucalyptus."
Big Brother: " Oh like, you-can-lift-this and it will smell bad! "


Other notable Big Brother Quotes:
"Can you see the taste bugs on my tongue?"
"Me and my dad are getting a fishing pool."
"Rock, stop bagging for food!"


Hmmm...
My nephew, who is also five years old, attended Vacation Bible School last week. Reflecting on his VBS snack, he said, "It was a jello and ham sandwich. The jello was white and tasted  like mayonnaise!"

Friday Funnies

Wishing you a cool weekend!



Disclaimer: This is not OUR Cherished Dog, nor is this our luxurious swimming pool.

Friday Funnies- You Don't Know How To Drive!

Now that I'm caring for a 2 month old in addition to a one year old, I'm often asked how I run errands and do my grocery shopping.

My reply? "I don't." 


Not while they're here, anyways.


This reminds me of a time several years ago when I had two toddler boys in the house during the week. At the time, my husband was leaving for work at 6: 30 in the morning and because we were a one-car family, unless I had an appointment or something where I needed the car, I was home most days without a car.

It is a bit of a hassle anyways to load toddlers and carseats to go anywhere so I happily kept them at home where we played and walked around the neighborhood and made regular trips to the park.

Come to think of it, I was quite productive at home in those days!

My husband returned home early enough to run errands to the bank or post office if needed.

Well, I never thought anything about this little set-up until after about 2 years, one of the boys (at about 3 years old) said to me one day:

Boy: "Mary, you don't know how to drive."
Me: "Yes, I do. I can drive."
Boy: "No, you don't."
Me: "Yes, I know how to drive."
Boy: "No you don't! You tell Andy go to store!"

:-)

Friday Funnies

A couple funnies for your Friday enjoyment:

Heard a splash the other day and discovered this--compliments of Toddler Girl.

 Have you seen this video yet? It makes me laugh every time!

Follow Me On Facebook!

You can now follow Mary Ann's House on Facebook!

I'll be linking to new posts and sharing links, ideas and fun finds that may not otherwise get put into posts here. For those of you who are Facebook users, this will be another way to interact with me and my blog. 

I'd love it if you 'liked' my page and became a follower! :-)

A Five Year Old's Perspective

I see a riding toy, 

That converts into a push toy for Toddler Girl to ram into walls and furniture at an alarmingly high rate of speed.

But to Big Brother-- " Wow! It's a Transformer!"

Not Sure What This Means!

During a nap late this afternoon, I dreamed that Toppy Bailey, one of the Wind At My Back characters, was raving over my homemade vinaigrette dressing and begging for the recipe. 

Hmmm...

Has my addiction become an obsession to the place that I am now having conversations with the characters?

Is my homemade dressing that special to me? (I didn't think it was! I mean, it's good. But not that good!) 

Is this an indication that I need to get out more?

Or was I just overly tired?

Or maybe I really just needed blog fodder!

At any rate this really amused me. Definitely goes into the Funny and Weird Dreams file. Not that I have these on a regular basis or anything...

While I won't be taking a break from my homemade dressings anytime soon, it may be time for a Wind At My Back hiatus!

And for the record, here's the recipe for a basic vinaigrette dressing. It's so wonderful you'll dream about it!

Basic Vinaigrette Dressing
Makes 1 cup.

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup Dijon mustard (adjust to taste)
1 small clove garlic, chopped (adjust to taste; I used garlic powder instead.)
Salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in jar. Cover and shake well. Or blend in a blender for a longer emulsification.

**Keep at room temperature if using within 5 days. Otherwise, store in refrigerator. Bring to room temp and shake well before using.

Enjoy and sweet dreams!:-)

Question & Answer

I was tagged by the sweet Tea (Get it? Sweet tea?) to do this little question and answer thingy and it looked sort of fun so here goes...

There are two rules...
Rule 1: The tagged person must post answers to the questions on their blog and replace any question they dislike with a new one they've formulated themselves.
Rule 2: Tag 4 other people to do this quiz.


Here goes...
1. If you have pets, do you see them as merely animals or are they members of your family?
Definitely a member of the family but not quite as important as the human members!


2. If you could have a dream come true, what would it be?
To be a mom.


3. What would you do with a billion dollars?

I have never been one to dream about what I'd do with lots of money so to be honest, I really don't know! For starters: buy a house, a newer and larger vehicle, save for the future, adopt, give freely to several organizations and people that we believe in... Oh, and we hate yard work so I guess having a billion dollars would give us enough extra cash to afford the luxury of hiring someone else to do it for us!


4. What helps to pull you out of a bad mood?
Prayer, reading Psalms, singing, focusing on God and other people.


5. What is your bedtime routine?
Brush teeth, jammies on, get into bed. Sometimes read for a little while. I usually drop right off to sleep.


6. Name something that has surprised you this week about motherhood (or womanhood)...
Can't think of anything at the moment.


7. What kind of books do you read?
Mostly non-fiction, cookbooks, some self-help.


8. How do you see yourself in 10 years?
Tea answered this one the way I would've so I'm stealing her answer: I have no idea. If the last 10 years have taught me anything, I know I pretty much have no idea what the next 10 years will bring.


9. What’s your fear? 
 Honestly can't think of one right now. When I was a kid, I had this fear of the top and bottom of escalators. Thought I would get sucked in. Even now, I'll take wide steps to avoid this. LOL!!!


10. Would you give up all junk food for the rest of your life for the opportunity to see outer space?
No. I really don't care about seeing outer space. At least not as much as eating a few Cheetos every now and then.


11. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
Go potty.


12. If you could change one thing about your significant other, what would it be? Or, if you’re single - if you could choose a significant other who looked like anyone in the world, who would it be?
I'm changing this question...
What is one thing you love about your husband?
He's not a picky eater!


13. If you could pick a new name for yourself, what would it be?
Since I don't have an answer to this one, I'm changing it to:
What is a girl's name that you like?
Clara.


14. If you had to choose between six months of sun or six months of rain, what would you choose?
I do love a good rainy day! But 6 months of rain? In that case, I'd choose sun.


15. If you could only eat one thing for the next 6 months, what would it be?
Bacon.


16. What is the thing you enjoy about blogging the most?
Getting comments! Having details of our daily lives, recipes and how I do things all in one handy place to refer back to.


17. Do you prefer salty or sweet foods?
Definitely salty.

18. What items are in your purse right now?
Cash envelopes, diaper and wipes, calculator,inhaler, gum, checkbook, phone, drivers license, keys, measuring tape, comb, feminine products, inhaler, coin purse, pen, used Kleenex...


19. If you had to choose between vacationing at the beach or in the mountains where would you go?
I love the mountains but lately we've had the hankering to go to the beach! Maybe because other than a quick day trip with family to the Oregon Coast, Andy and I have never been to the beach together?


20. What do you watch on television that you know you shouldn't?
 Nothing that I can think of -- except for Wind At My Back and a few things my husband watches, I don't watch much TV.


Now I have to tag four people. No pressure, but if you're willing to play along...
Abbie
Wendi
Rhonda
Debbie J.

This & That

*Has Daylight Savings Time messed everyone else up as much as it has me? I've been tired and just feeling "off" all week!

*Mowed the lawn for the first time of the season this week.

*God is doing so many awesome things in our lives. So much to share but waiting for the proper timing.

*Soaking hard red wheat berries to use for growing pots of grass for spring.

*Gardening? Should I or shouldn't I? Our yard doesn't seem to be well suited to any major gardening plans. But I may do some pots of this and that like I've done in previous years. Then hit up the local farmer's market for the rest.

*We're transitioning to a different way of eating. We're doing what we can with what we have right now and hope to start completely the first full week of April. This will be a major change but we're looking forward to weight loss and general wellness. I'll share more details as we really get into this but basically we'll be eating protein, vegetables, fruit, some beans and legumes and limited amounts of grains such as brown rice. No bread, pasta, sweets, etc on a regular basis. I've been jotting down all the ideas that have been swarming through my head this week and hope to put together a binder with these meal ideas and recipes so that everything is in one place. Planning and being prepared will be key.

*If you're joining me in drinking plenty of water, how are you doing? In the almost two weeks that I've been aiming for three quarts a day, I'm noticing that I feel great! On weekends or days we are gone a lot, I aim for two quart instead of  three. This seems to work better and I'm still able to be successful!  Since starting regular exercise and drinking plenty of water, I've lost three pounds! Not sure exactly when I lost it, since we just got a new scales but I'm three pounds lighter than a few months ago. I'll take it!:-)

*Temperatures are to be in the upper 80's today or tomorrow. I really need to change out my seasonal clothing.

*Which means I also need to do some mending.

*We're trying to establish  regular weekly date nights.  So far, we typically stay home, eat pizza and watch a movie but it's still something we've begun to look forward to and being intentional about spending time together is good for our marriage.

*Having a yard sale with a friend in a couple of weeks. I keep finding more to get rid of. Yard sales are a lot of work but I do enjoy having one a year, sometimes two if I'm doing it in another location with someone else. It helps to keep things decluttered as well as earn a little extra cash. All leftovers go straight to the thrift store after the sales are over.

*Which reminds me that I will need to clean out my pantry and remove all items we will no longer be eating. Thankfully, my pantry isn't too full! Anyone think I could sell boxes of pasta at a yard sale? Haha! Just kidding! ;-) I'll probably give it away to friends or donate it; maybe both.

*Sun is shining. Birds are singing. Baby Girl is talking. Have a great weekend!

Reader Question: What Is Your Favorite Season?

Another reader question:

This is another question from Tea, who asks: 

"What is your favorite season of the year and why?"

Fall is most definitely my favorite season! It's not as hot as summer but the weather is still very pleasant and not as cold as winter. A good in between season without the pollen of spring!

The changing colors of leaves are so pretty. I enjoy cooking with pumpkins, apples and all kinds of squash. As the days turn a bit cooler, my attention turns to my home and I have this nesting instinct to make my home cozy and welcoming. In fall, I love having  the scents of cinnamon  and other spices wafting through my home.

Fall always makes me think of harvest and the many blessings that God has given us. Fall is when I finish up the year's canning and preserving, usually ending with applesauce and apple butter. It is the perfect time of year to begin cooking large pots of soup again.

There is something romantic about the fall season. Maybe it's the coziness of it all! We were married in October because I love fall so much and thought it to be ( and still do) the perfect time of year to honeymoon!

What is your favorite season and why?

Slow Day In The Baggage Department?

As I got settled in my seat, getting ready to fly out of Phoenix, I noticed this interesting sight outside the plane window.

This guy is propped up all comfy-like and reading a book!

My guess is that  he was on break or else since they charge to check baggage anymore, work is reallly slow.

The blogger in me couldn't resist digging in my backpack for the camera and shooting this picture. This is just not something you see everyday!