Homemade Deodorant SUCCESS!!!!!

Okay, so everyone has seen all the posts on Facebook about how dangerous most commercially made antiperspirant/deodorants can be. I've always just assumed the risk because I don't want to be all sweaty and stinky. After my sister and sister-in-law had great success with making their own, I decided to give it a whirl. It was the simplest thing to make and everything I needed was already in my kitchen.

Here is the recipe that I used:

1/3 c. Cornstarch

1/3 c. Coconut Oil (I like Tropical Traditions)

1/4 c. Baking Soda

a few drops of essential oil, I used tea tree and grapefruit

I measured everything into a glass bowl and used my pastry cutter to mix it all together. Then I scraped it into a little glass jar to keep in the bathroom.

There is a shadow in the photo above, but I wanted to show the consistency with the spoon. It is staying pretty thick even though our air conditioner is set to 80 degrees and coconut oil is usually liquid at that temperature.  My oldest daughter is using it too (and loves it) so I split it with her.

So here's the nitty gritty stuff that no one tells you.  I spread it on with my fingers, not enough that it is visible but enough to cover. Don't rub it in too hard because the baking soda can irritate. Don't apply right after shaving for the same reason, wait a few hours.  I have literally rubbed my finger in my underarm to see if I could smell anything on them at all and NOTHING. I also ran tons of errands and went to both Costco and Sam's between 12 and 2 and thought for sure that I would have visible sweat spots and nothing there either. I line dry all of our laundry and am outside for a decent chunk of time, still nothing. I am completely impressed. Completely. Make it, try it. Let me know what you think.

When your baby turns 18...

    It's probably not the easiest thing to be the youngest child and the only boy.  I absolutely cherish the first glimpses of the man he is becoming but he will always be my baby. As our children became older, we only had big parties when they hit certain milestones like turning 13. Baby boy was turning 18 so it was time for something special to celebrate.   I'm not sure where the idea came from, but it seemed that no one could give him a better send off than his old friends Buzz and Woody. He was going to be gone to his Youth in Government State Assembly the three days before the party so I decided to keep the theme a secret and let him be surprised when he came home the night before the party.

   Maybe it's because he is the baby, but I saved a lot more of his childhood toys than I did his sisters'.  Lucky for me, I saved every Toy Story toy that the boy ever had.  This made it very easy to start planning decorations.  I used them in several areas.

Buzz Lightyears were perfect to hang up high from fishing line

Some of his favorites greeted friends in the entryway along with a page from his scrapbook we took at Disney with his Toy Story friends.

    Then I started thinking about the Little Green Men. We had to incorporate them.  So I cut white card stock into strips and hot glued the little soldiers onto the strips. Then I could use the strips  anywhere I chose.   For some reason, I couldn't find any on parachutes, and we HAD to have some hanging on parachutes.  White Dollar Tree plastic tablecloths cut into circles with the little soldiers tied to them with dental floss is what I decided to use.  They ended up being my favorite decorations of the night.

If you look closely you can find them in all sorts of places.

   We had to have party favors and I found these amazing Toy Story Pez Dispensers and ordered two boxes.  Then I decorated another area with more old toys and red bandanas for them to wait to be handed out.  By the way red bandanas are SO handy to have. I've used them for Independence Day and assorted other occasions in decorating.

FYI, the Pez Dispensers had random quantities of characters but I'm happy to report that everyone that wanted a Jessie got one.

    Because I couldn't leave well enough alone, we HAD to have a photo booth.  This was so much fun to put together. I used Dollar Tree plastic tablecloths again. The background was pale blue and I taped it with clouds cut from paper to make it look like Andy's room.  Then I used darker blue tablecloths to make the curtains.

There were Woody and Jessie hats, a Buzz Lightyear mask and assorted props for my son and his friends to use.

The Boy and Buddy the Boxer had their photos taken with the Etch A Sketch frame that I made from red poster board, foam board and a little gold paint.

At the end of the night, I'm pretty sure that I had the most fun of all. It was so much fun getting ready for this party. I've loved every minute of being this boy's mom. He is loves his family, is a hard worker, has an incredible sense of humor and the kindest heart. Believe it or not, throwing this party helped me start letting go of the little boy so that I could appreciate the grown man.  It was the first of the "lasts" that were soon to come with it also being his senior year of high school.  Later that night, when only a few of his friends were left, they decided to make a video. This was the "thing" when he turned 18 and it seemed the perfect way to end the evening.  The one in the Batman underpants belongs to me and I couldn't be prouder.

Ancestry.com DNA House Party Fun!

 

   Today we had an extra special House Party at our house. If you've never heard of House Party, you should definitely check them out. I've had the opportunity to host several over the years and have really enjoyed sharing products that I love. Today was no exception.  I had the amazing opportunity to participate in Ancestry.com DNA's testing service. Their technology is a great tool to enhance your family history project or connect with other relatives.  I received a testing kit in the mail and had my results within about six weeks.


     For me there were no surprises in my ethnicity. My results came back that I was 99% European, 82% of that being Europe East.  My mother's family is Polish, my paternal grandmother is Czech/Austrian so that was pretty much what I expected.  The most interesting and rewarding part of my results was a special match to a distant cousin that shares a relative on my dad's biological father's side of the family.  It's complicated, but that side doesn't really acknowledge him so that was especially rewarding. I have been a member of Ancestry.com for several years and would recommend that you take the time to make your own family tree, do some research and enjoy the incredible Ancestry DNA testing experience for yourself. Here are my ethnicity results:

   My party pack contained really nice party supplies to use during the House Party, as well as some nice little goodies for my guests. I was also emailed a coupon to forward to my guests so that they can have their own Ancestry.com DNA experience.

I broke out some old family photos to add to the decorations.

We had an assortment of foods from my family's heritage.

Just for fun I translated the word "Coffee" into other languages.

A couple of times we gathered around the computer so that I could walk my guests through the Ancestry.com website as well as review my Ancestry DNA results. 

Our guests were able to use the map and flags to show where their families came from.

I even found chocolate bars made in Poland for the goodie bags we gave to our guests.

    One extra special thing about this House Party is that my sister-in-law Lindsay was also chosen to be a host. We contacted House Party and got their permission to host our parties together. Her Ancestry.com DNA results weren't what she expected so it was awesome to have her take on the experience as well. I know that several of our guests are excited about sending off for their own tests soon. It will be so exciting to watch our friends go through the same awesome experience.

Homer Laughlin is my home boy....

If you have ever had dinner at my house, you've probably noticed that everyone almost always eats on a different colored plate. You might not have given those dishes a second thought, but they make me so very happy.  There is something special about Fiesta made by Homer Laughlin China for many, many years.  Right here in the USA.  Newell, WV to be exact. I love that they are made in the same styles as the 1930's, I love that American hands are hard at work making them, I love that they have never chipped and that they don't have to all be the same. My Fiesta is close to my heart and it makes me happy.

The first time that I ever laid eyes on Fiesta was in a Betty Crocker catalog. When I was a young wife I saved the tiny little white rectangles on Betty Crocker products to turn in for credit towards products that they sold. You still had to pay for the products, but it was at a very good price.  So I started ordering a few pieces here and there, including my lovely Plum colored "Betty Bowl". We definitely didn't have enough pieces to use every day but I was hooked. Then there was a scare regarding dishes made in China containing lead.  I purchased a test kit and to my horror, the test turned red and I had been feeding my family on dishes containing lead. Yikes.  My first thought was of Fiesta and how those lovely dishes would also be safer for my family.

Over the years I've become more of a collector than I thought I would. I had the opportunity to purchase a nice selection of factory seconds, so I did. After our years of military moving, my husband bought us our first dining room set with a china hutch. Guess what it is filled with?  I've purchased many items at thrift stores, made a visit to the Son's of Anarchy House (that's a story for another day) to buy some from a Craigslist ad, and shopped around for really good deals. I really prefer the pieces that have been made after 1986, (when Fiesta reintroduced their new lead free dishes after taking a long break) but there is something wonderful about stumbling upon something in "radioactive red" that was used for decades and still in fantastic condition. 

Here's a peek at some of my favorite Fiesta pieces:

Hanging above the china hutch is a painting by my late grandfather. When my grandma passed away last year, this was brought to me. Not only did the color of the walls match the painting exactly, but the colors of my Fiesta set the colors in the painting on fire. He would LOVE how good it looks here.

These are vintage salad plates made in the 50's and before. Missing is the "radioactive red". My husband needed a trip to the emergency room (I'm not kidding) after trying to save it from falling. Gotta love a man that will dive for vintage Fiesta.

Memorial Day through Independence Day I feel pretty patriotic. Here is my thrift store carafe and some other pieces sitting right next to my front door. I love the way the colors look mixed together. 

Fun and Games on a Sunday night

This Sunday night we managed to all sit at the kitchen table and enjoy a meal together.  We had grilled chicken, corn and cast iron roasted asparagus.  After we were finished eating, we broke out one of our old kitchen table games before everyone went their separate ways. When the kids were younger, that is something we'd do at least once a week after dinner. It was after one of those family dinners that ended with a few minutes of a game that I started this blog. That's where the title came from.

We played "Battle of the Sexes" . There is a full sized board game, but we have several card versions of board games that we keep on the table, and this is one of them.  It's played boys against the girls, and there are different cards with questions for either sex.  Tonight we learned that our son was able to identify Vera Wang and Donna Karan as popular designers and that the boys not being able to remember Harper Lee's last name was almost enough to reduce our oldest daughter to tears.  The point should also be made that the girls in this family know way too much about football to be stumped by any of those questions and that this mom knows the difference between a birdie and bogey. We only played for 15 minutes or so but it was fun reconnecting.  

This little metal basket sits on our kitchen table. We keep our salt and pepper (cayenne too), cloth napkins and games in it. We have a couple little boxes of conversation starters too just in case we want to be serious (which honestly doesn't happen too often). By keeping the games on the table, it's been easy for one of us to grab one and start a game.  I hope one day my kids play games at the kitchen table too. Here's a photo, torn boxes miss-matched napkins and all.

After dinner, I loaded the dishwasher (by the way, does anyone know how to keep a dog from trying to "help" with the pre washing?) and everyone scattered.  As a mom of three adult children I can't help but be thankful that our kids still like our silly little family traditions. I hope that one day they keep games on their kitchen table too.

Happy Little Top Ten List

For a while now I've been feeling the need to do more living of the life that I have.  The heartbreaking tragedies that have befallen so many this week only serve to reinforce that sentiment.  I have been blessed with so much but I really seldom take the time to appreciate what I am thankful for.  It's really easy for me to dwell on the negative, but I'm making a deliberate choice to live a happier, more joyful life.  This week's top ten that make me happy (in no particular order):

1. My husband. Married this man going on 24 years ago, love him like crazy and I'm so thankful that we get to spend more time with each other now that the kids are getting older.  We started this week off on a double date with our awesome friends. That alone made me happy, but then I found this photo, which made me extra happy.

2. This has been a very good week in the worlds of our children.  Our oldest is getting very close to meeting some personal goals. Our middle child had a week filled with more good days than bad, one less injection and a visit with a friend. Our baby went to his senior prom and starts a new job tomorrow after his soccer game.

3. Shopping for a new tie for the senior prom with my baby boy definitely makes the happy list.  How about the fact that he wouldn't let his sister come with us because he wanted his mom all to himself?  Try not to ugly cry when you hear your almost grown son say something like that.

4. My fingernails are painted in a lovely wet cement shade called Slate by Sinful Colors. I adore this inexpensive nail polish that comes in colors that are off the beaten path. Today I found another fun muddy green shade called Leapfrog while I was at the Walgreens. I can't wait to try it out.

5. We had a wonderful, long burst of rain one evening this week.  I loved that our grass was watered for free and some of the pollen that is harassing us was washed away.

6. I love my coffee, but this week a new variety of tea has made me extra happy. My friend B brought me some to try on our double date with our husbands. Harney and Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea is my new favorite. Let it steep for ten minutes and it's just like drinking an Atomic Fireball. I love it.

7. So I sort of gave my baby sister the pep talk that I needed myself.  She is going through a really busy time, running on empty working so hard and going to school.  She is so smart and determined. I love that girl so much and just called her to remind her what she's made of and that she can do this. I ended up saying words to her that I probably needed to hear myself. I don't know if she was at all encouraged but that conversation put some things in perspective for me.

8. My butler's pantry is clean. I can see the floor and find things.  That feels really good even if Mr. Carson never comes to visit.

9. There are times that I don't appreciate living in the land of heat and humidity (especially in July and August), but there are things about being here that I wouldn't trade for the world.  We live ten minutes from my parents and twenty from my husband's. Four out of my seven siblings live here not to mention my husband's large extended family.  This week, I'm feeling especially happy that we live so close to them.

10. This week the fact that I went to sleep every night this week with my husband and babies safe and sound under the same roof is a true blessing. The fact that God blessed me with them and kept us all safe has to be the very thing that has made me the happiest of all.

Disney Dinner Series (Part One)

So my girls and I have these lovely, lovely friends.  There are so many things about them that are wonderful, but the one crazy fun thing we have in common is our love for all things Disney.  I'm not sure of the exact moment, but we decided to get together once a month or so to have a themed dinner and to watch a favorite Disney movie.  Our girls also found a blog called Disney Bound, with outfits planned around a Disney theme but using every day type clothing instead of costumes. Dressing up was a perfect idea, and made the experience complete.

Our friends were kind enough to host the first dinner party. They chose a French theme, based around the movies The Aristocats and Beauty and the Beast.  We decided that we would each dress as an Aristocat. At dinner we had Thomas O'Malley, two Maries, Scat Cat, Toulouse and Berloiz. That was fun.  We arrived to be greeted by beautifully decorated theme tables and were served a wonderful four course French meal.  We dined on a lovely salad with pears, beautifully prepared French onion soup with the most amazing smoked guyere crouton, followed by an amazing fresh quiche.  We talked and enjoyed our lovely meal.  Our friends put so much effort into making the evening a very special experience. It was an evening that I will reflect on for many years to come.

After dinner, we watched our movies. It was wonderful to share our memories of first seeing the movies. The Aristocats is one of the first I recall seeing in a theater in my childhood. Our girls all grew up with Beauty and the Beast and had an assortment of sweet stories that they shared with us of their childhood memories as well.  In between movies, we enjoyed my favorite dessert ever - Creme Brûlée. What a perfect ending to a really wonderful evening.