Making my own laundry detergent

I haven't run out of my current laundry detergent yet, but when I do, instead going and buying more, I'm going to experiment and make my own.

I wish you could have seen my fiance's face when I told him this. Classic. I'm sure you have the same expression right now too.

I found a tutorial on Team Eco Etsy on how to make your own detergent. I have the soda and borax (my fiance said the name sounds like a disease), but I do not yet have the Kirks Castile Soap. I'm not even sure if there's any place in town that sells it. I'm sure there's an alternative out there anyway.

I'll be sure to let you know how it goes...and whether the clothes come out so fresh and so clean.

Another wrench thrown in the gears

INVITATIONS

So OF COURSE, after we figure out what we're going to do regarding the invitations AND bought all the materials, the print shop guy stopped by my fiance's office and said he hadn't forgotten about us and will give him the mock ups tomorrow via his son. WHAT?! Aagh...it's so aggravating. What's even more aggravating is that I doubt we'll get any kind of pricing information from him tomorrow. So if they're kick-ass and we re-think doing it ourselves, we still can't make a decision until he tells us how much they'll cost. No telling when that will be.

PRE-HONEYMOON

On a lighter note, I think we've picked out where we'll stay on our pre-honeymoon (we'll spend the major bucks at a ski resort later). We'd like a cabin/cottage with a hot tub for a reasonable price for two days. The Cranmore Cottages is the only site I've been able to find that fulfills those requirements. I actually hadn't planned on reserving anything--just planned on going home after the wedding--but was talked into it by some family members.

30 DAY SHRED

I realized something today: this is never going to get easier because when my strength and endurance increases, I'll just work harder.

THESIS

My $3200 imagery that I got for free came in the mail today. Sweet.



Have a wonderful Friday everyone!

I'm a winner!

I frequent a lot of blogs and some of them periodically offer contests to win free items. So just for posting a comment on futuregirl's blog, I won a white Martha Stewart pom-pom kit! I'm so excited about this, it's ridiculous.

I think it'll be perfect for the wedding!

Father - daughter dance

I didn't think this decision would be so difficult--then again, every decision is difficult with me. Maybe I should just go with my dad's original suggestion of the Hokey Pokey.

Wedding invitations

The bane of my existence.

It's just paper Nicole! Yeah, but...no!

Let's contact the campus print shop. Yeah! Great idea! This is what we want, blah blah blah. And several non-responses to emails later, we're back at square one.

After much research, it will cost the same to make our invitations as it would to buy something from a store. SOOOOOOO...we've decided to make our own.

They won't be as involved as some of the invitations I've seen online, but they'll definitely be from the heart and include all the elements we're looking for.

Related to that, I bought a bunch of crafty things yesterday to make the invites. Let me ask you, have you seen the prices of the Martha Stewart Crafts products?!?! Oh. My. Gosh. I had a conversation with the cashier about how expensive they are. She told me she was wondering who would buy a $9 stamp set (me). I then explained my predicament and she feigned understanding. I spent $75 on that stuff. Can you believe it?? I should add a disclaimer: I didn't know what all we would like or what would work, so I just bought it all. I'm returning about $41 of it.

And then I get home and find out that all of her craft products are on sale at Michael's this week in honor of the MSCrafts anniversary. Oh well. I'd have to drive into Asheville to buy them anyway--I'd probably just make it up in gas to get out there.

Happy crafting!

Bean and macaroni soup

I made this recipe from Sparkpeople for dinner tonight. Pretty good for being relatively healthy, so I thought I'd pass it along. I didn't use mushrooms or the bay leaf, I used canned petite tomatoes, and I used marjoram instead of sage (didn't have any sage--but yet I had marjoram...weird). I didn't realize it would make so much, so I decided to freeze a bunch. I love freezing leftovers--dinner suddenly becomes so easy!

Bean and Macaroni Soup

Serves: 16

This cholesterol-free tasty dish is virtually fat free and is prepared with only 1 tablespoon of oil for 16 servings.

INGREDIENTS

2 cans (16 oz. each) great northern beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup onion, coarsely chopped
2 cup carrots, sliced
1 cup celery, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups peeled fresh tomatoes, diced, or 1-1/2 lbs. canned diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Black pepper to taste
1 bay leaf, crumbled
4 cups cooked elbow macaroni

DIRECTIONS
1. Drain beans and reserve liquid. Rinse beans.
2. Heat oil in a 6-quart kettle; add mushrooms, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes, sage, thyme, oregano, pepper, and bay leaf.
4. Cover and cook over medium heat 20 minutes. Cook macaroni according to directions on package using unsalted water. Drain when cooked. Do not overcook.
5. Combine reserved bean liquid with water to make 4 cups.
6. Add liquid, beans, and cooked macaroni to vegetable mixture.
7. Bring to a boil; cover and simmer until soup is thoroughly heated. Stir occasionally.

NUTRITION INFO (per 1-cup serving)
Calories: 148.4
Fat: 2.1 g
Carbohydrates: 26.6 g
Protein: 7.0 g