DIY Laundry Soap

How does 64 loads for 55 cents AND earth-friendly sound? You only need these three things (plus some water):

1. Grate 1/3 bar of Dr. Bronner's soap. 
2. Dissolve soap in a quart of water over low heat while stirring.
3. Stir in half a cup of borax & half a cup of washing soda over low heat until powders are dissolved.
4. Pour mixture into three quarts of cool water (in a bucket or container of choice). Stir thoroughly. 

EASY.

Use 1/4 cup of this detergent per load and bask in your thriftiness!

I made this stuff today and also whipped up a batch of armpit/earth-friendly deodorant with a simple recipe from Abi's blog. I used orange essential oil in it and my pits are smellin' mighty fine!

Other things I've done today:
Sunday bike ride.
Started an embroidery project.
Planted five tomato plants in the alley.
Admired this

for a long time. 

Camping was great, with the exception of a whippoorwill that decided to camp ten feet from our tent and carry on all night. We rescued two turtles from the road, one water snake from the creek (well, Marvin did), and saw a tarantula and a baby beav! I had forgotten how good s'mores are and how nice it is to fall asleep looking at the stars. I also ate a hot dog, some bacon, and a hamburger this weekend. Holiday lapse in vegetarianism. It happens. My digestive tract pays for it.   

Now I must get back to the crafting challenge that Courtney has given me. And bea arthur mountains pizza.

Pineapple. Code word. Whatever.

I've convinced Marvin that we should have a nature-style getaway this weekend. I can't wait to get in the woods! Unfortunately, someone stole my camping chair. I kept it in the carport at work and would sit in it on my lunch break for optimal squirrel-watching and salad-eating. I hope the bandit who took it will get some good out of it. I could learn to stand a little discomfort, seating-wise.

Last Saturday was Annie's wedding reception/backyard bash. There were puppies and cookies and the weather was nice. I took this picture, which is possibly the greatest ever, based on organization and facial hair:

Matt did some photo-bombing, of course:

Then later he read us scary stories and five of us fell asleep on the bed.

It's funny to wake up surrounded by so much snoring.

The next day consisted of the first swim of the year and the last LOST episode of...ever. The Piney smelled like fish and was really murky, but totally likable. The LOST finale wasn't as epic or surprising as I had hoped. I guess I had wanted more battle and less warm fuzziness. I shouldn't complain though. It's still the greatest show I've ever seen and the only series I plan to buy a boxed set of and watch marathon-style. And I will sorely miss it.

By Monday Marvin and I had stopped being pissed about the finale and decided to go digging for crystals. It was sweaty and filthy and an incredibly satisfying experience...just digging. We found a few really nice little ones, and a few larger chunks of imperfection, and a whole bucket of miscellaneous pretty rocks to bring to my mama for her flower beds. New hobby, for sure.

As always, I didn't bring my camera to any of these fun-havings. All photos in this post are stolen from Courtney.

Time for pancakes, vampires, and crafts. Happy Thursday.

Bear cat.

There was no flood. Just a lot of dreariness, which the lettuce enjoyed just as much as I did.

Courtney suggested that I plant lettuce in an old shoe rack, which turned out to be the greatest container-gardening plan ever!

It gets a bit wilty during the hotter parts of the day, but perks back up in the evening.

Here is a photo of a dirty hippie preparing to eat a gigantic cake pop:

(The cake pops were fun to make...and a huge hit at Marvin's work.)

And here is our de-cluttered living room:

Tomorrow I'll try to post about all the great things that have happened this past week, but for now I'm going to leave you with a glimpse of Mr. Eko - the cat that most people have never met. He tends to hide behind the fridge or under the sofa when company comes over, but the rest of his time is spent talking a lot, annoying Derby, trying (but failing) to turn doorknobs to places he'd rather be, searching for the most comfortable lap available, "drinking" with his paws, and looking like a bear cat. He answers to both "Bear Cat"...and "Rain Man," God bless 'im.

P.S. - Here is a picture of a real bear cat for reference. I hear they like to eat bananas.

5.19.2010

I've been granted an extra day off of work each week. That day is Thursday. It will be devoted to gardening, letter-writing, cooking, reading, and crafts. Important things. Oh, and HAMMOCK.

I hear we're under a flash flood warning until Friday. I'll be really excited for paper boat races, even though the last one ended in tragedy:

The only thing that would make me happier than a good paper boat race would be the opportunity to float our inflatable raft in a ditch. I just hope those piranhas don't make their way to Russellville from Tennessee! 

I'm pretty excited about Annie & Josh's backyard wedding reception. And the series finale of LOST. And still contemplating a (really tiny) Hurley tattoo:

It's more likely to happen than those Xanga bro tatts we were all discussing last fall, as likely to happen as the anatomical diagram of a uterus I've been wanting, and not nearly as likely to happen as the tally marks Marvin and I plan to get for each year that we're married.

I'm off to finish my first-ever batch of cake pops. Mmmm.

5.17.10

We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden
-Joni Mitchell

Monday is for movies. Good documentaries. Boring black & whites with the volume turned down, supplying my own soundtrack and making up my own plot, but still admiring the cinematography. This particular Monday is also for sweet tea with peppermint and hoping for another charming walk like the one we took last night. South Denver is our favorite avenue.

I like it when things are on the border of magic.

Bargains.

I've been channeling the spirit of Nori this week and taking advantage of every coupon I can get my hands on. Best deals include free frappes from McDonald's, free Tom's toothpaste and body cream from drugstore.com, and a whopping 30% off of everything purchased at American Apparel, thanks to Marvin teaching my non-internet-savvy behind about the perks of searching for online coupons. It's the greatest thing I've found on the web since hamsterdance back in '98. This means we're getting new sheets that aren't made by children...but at a child-labor price. Fantastic!

Today when we went to feed my boss's cat while she's on vacation, we saw the tiniest tadpoles in her pond! Then we went thrifting in the rainstorm. Marvin found some army surplus clothes and we each got a pack of A-team trading cards. I opened mine and tried to chew the stick of gum inside that was twenty-seven years old. Disastrous. I also found a necklace that would make Ebony Bones proud

and an M.I.A.-worthy pair of pants, which are a perfect fit. Pants involving spandex are not normally considered a perfect fit in my book...but these are. Now I wait for Halloween, an appropriately themed costume party, or the guts to wear these ridiculous items in public for no justifiable reason.

A few nights ago I was too exhausted to read or focus on a movie and too lazy to ride my bike, so I promised myself an early bedtime after just ten minutes of cleaning. Apparently I not only cleaned in zombie mode, but also downsized our cluttered living room, rearranged some furniture, and even painted a shelf. Sleep deprivation is occasionally a beautiful thing.

Mama's Day.

My dad and I baked a pretty bumpin' roasted veggie pot pie for my mama. I did most of the cooking, but I give him full credit for peeling the parsnips!

So it looks like a typical over-glazed pie...but on the inside you'll find cauliflower, parsnips, carrots, sweet red pepper and lots of other delicious things.

Mama's heart cath results came back mostly flawless. She has a gnarly bruise that I would love to post a picture of on here because it's THAT impressive, but my sweet mother would be mortified to find a picture of her inner thigh (amazingly bruised or not) floating around the internet. Just take my word for it. It's far worse than anything Marvin has ever acquired from skateboarding.

Speaking of Marvin, look at this picture I came across today:

Six years later, I still have a huge crush on that boy.

Our anniversary vacation plans have changed a good deal due to the oil spill and visit from the Reilly clan. No more New Orleans, and now a four day mini-vacation to plan instead of a seven day trip. I was thinking Hot Springs...the Al Capone suite at the Arlington...but since we tied the knot near the 4th of July it might be hard to get reservations with such short notice around that date. Any suggestions?

It's 10:30. That means French toast time. Happy Wednesday.

My Makeup

on my cheeks I wear
the flush of two beers


on my eyes I use
the dark circles of sleepless nights
to great advantage


for lipstick
I wear my lips

- one of the world's best poems according to me, by Rochelle Kraut

This week I vowed to always be true to the following things: hammocks, meteors, returning phonecalls. I am no longer true to housekeeping. I also attended a non-house-church for the first time in probably six years. What did I get from the experience? The desire for trendier hair and a collarbone tattoo. No, really I just prayed a lot that God would help me to not judge hipsters so doggone much. Especially nice ones in a house of worship. The commute to and from Little Rock was nice though, and confirmed that I need to get out of the house and workplace more often. A cheerful heart is good medicine.

Derby just yowled and carried on like cats do when when they've caught you a "dinner" of dead mouse or bird. The Derbs, however, was proud to present us with a wadded up paper napkin. Quite the hunter.