Oil and Shine

When Dan and I got married, as we put away gifts that we received from our wedding, we would go through items that he already had. I love to organize things and purge my house of stuff I do not use to simplify life, so when I came across a lettuce crisper I thought, I have never used one before, why do I need one of these? I may or may not have tossed it. Years later we were putting away groceries, including iceberg lettuce, and Dan wondered where the lettuce crisper was, and I was like-yes that would be nice to put our lettuce in. We could not find it anywhere. Then I remembered seeing it when we first were married and told him that I might have donated it. I honestly was not sure what had happened to it. My husband did not understand why I would want to get rid of a lettuce crisper. We then ended up buying another one-which we do not use very much I might add, but I have not donated this one....yet. I have tried to donate items in my kitchen that I don't use oft

I started writing a post about enjoying s'mores in the summer and then it turned into so much more! When the weather starts to warm up, my family and I like to cook s'mores using our fire pit in the backyard.  One thing I have learned is the marshmallows roast the best if you wait for the flames to go down and you are left with hot coals-unless you like to catch them on fire! My goal is to have them turn a nice brown color.  If you do not have a fire pit, another method would be to use your BBQ to roast them. I had never tried this before, so I had my son roast a marshmallow over the grill. The marshmallow melted, but it did not turn brown. We sometimes get a craving in the winter for a s'more, and the oven works in a pinch: Put a marshmallow and piece of chocolate between two graham crackers.   Wrap in a piece of foil (engrave your initials in the foil if you don't want anyone stealing your creation).  Place in a 300 degree oven for 5-10 minutes. Be car

I have a sign in my house that says "Relax". It is a reminder for me to take a deep breath and enjoy life. I have been on a journey to simplify different areas of my life, because removing distractions helps me to relax. You would think simplifying your life would be easy, but it can take time and you have to be intentional about it, but the outcome is worth it. One area that I have worked hard to simplify is in the home. Organizing is part of that process and de-cluttering is the first step. Clutter can be a joy sucker. I think better and relax in an uncluttered environment, with a bonus of having an easier time keeping my home clean! Taking baby steps helps me tackle different jobs I need to do. Focus on one area of your home at a time and make small goals that you would like to accomplish. I have used all sorts of tools to help me stay focused. Books and blogs have helped me, but I pick and choose what works best and adapt it to my needs, because everyone is diff

I spoke a little about emergency funds in an earlier post .  What exactly is one and why do you need one?  In our family we have a lot of “emergencies” that arise. Just last month we had an unexpected bill and had to tap into our emergency fund. In my mind, an emergency is something you did not plan on in your budget, but needs to done. For example, an unexpected medical bill or unplanned repairs to your car.  My husband and I started using a budget with an emergency fund after we had a lot of debt from credit cards. If something unexpected happened, we would just use the credit card and we went further and further into debt. We knew something needed to change, and using a budget has greatly helped us stay out of debt.   One emergency we've dealt with happened when we lived in Portland. We had a snow storm close to Christmas.  There was over two feet of snow with drifts over four feet tall in places. In our front yard it almost came to the top of our front porch. We could li

In my first post I asked what kinds of things your family likes to do together. It might be playing games or shopping.  Some families like spending time outdoors fishing, hunting or camping.  Even if it is something that isn't a top priority to all of you, like say hiking, be open to give it a try. Remember you are creating memories. My family and I have tried to go on a few hikes.  They have been memorable for different reasons.  Two years ago I had an inspiration to go hiking.  My dear husband looked online and found a place about an hour away.  We all jumped in the car and headed to our destination.  On our way, I noticed we were getting low on gas.  I told my husband that we should get some gas and he said no we will be fine. We head to where this hike is supposed to be, driving on gravel roads and it went on and on-the whole time I am in the front passenger seat sweating it out, fearing that we were going to run out of gas in the middle of nowhere. After what s

I love warm sunny weather.  Summer is one of my favorite times of the year, but one thing I don’t like about  summer is the increased bug activity. One time I even gave myself a minor concussion because I thought a wasp was flying at my head.  Since my kids were napping,  I decided to do some work in our backyard when we were living in California.  I had a large piece of ceramic tile in my hand that I was going to put in the ground, and a “wasp” (actually a box elder bug) flew at my head. I then tried to swish it away with the hand that held the tile.  A moment of fear caused me to forget what was in my hand and I ended up smacking myself in the head! I now have a way to keep some of those pesky bugs at bay. I love learning about the benefits of Young Living essential oils and how I can incorporate them into my everyday living.  One way I use them is to ward off insects.  I keep a small 4 oz spray bottle filled with 1/2 cup distilled water and 8-9 drops of peppermint oil handy to