Just for Fun

David taped this short video of Lilly the other day. She acts just like my childhood dog Sparkey did with the sprinkler.

Over The Threshold

Our eighty year old house had an eighty year old front door threshold until my handy husband replaced it recently. The project was fairly simple and cost less than $20,  I can't believe we let the threshold look so bad for over a year! The original wood was rotted and had peeling gray paint on it and the metal threshold itself was a beautiful copper piece that had seen better days. I wanted to keep the copper threshold looking like copper but it had old paint caked on it as well as many dings that just wouldn't come out.

We cleaned the copper with ketchup (this works amazingly well!) and spray painted it with an anodized bronze paint. The new wood got a few coats and stain and we soon had a new entryway. Now, time to paint the porch and front door!

Hinman Dental Conference

David and I spent a wonderful weekend in Atlanta last month at the Hinman Dental Conference where he and top students from across the Southeast were awarded a scholarship by the Hinman Dental Society. They put us up in the Westin in downtown Atlanta, paid for our gas to get there and our meals. We even had our car valeted at the hotel which was a first for both of us. David attended a few lectures and we walked around the exhibit hall together, I even got to drill on a fake tooth. We went home with enough free toothpaste for the next two years!

Westin Peachtree Plaza

 Hawks Game

 World of Coke

We had a wonderful mini vacation in Atlanta, hitting the zoo, World of Coke and a Hawks basketball game. The zoo was free thanks to a partnership with the Georgia PINES library system. Check out the zoo DVD, return it and get a voucher valid for zoo admission for two adults and two children. 

Baby Panda "Po"

Meal Plan Monday

Once again, I've been seriously slacking off on the menu planning! I went to the grocery store last night for dairy and produce but now that I've taken a look at my freezer, I realized I am almost totally out of meat! I will be cooking up the five pounds of ground turkey I bought last month and making meatballs, tacos and spaghetti sauce.

Monday
Oven roasted split chicken breasts with okra and corn on the cob

Tuesday
I work late and David eats dinner with his bible study

Wednesday
Pork fried brown rice with carrots

Thursday 
Spiral sliced ham I had divided into portions and frozen. Bread and green beans

Friday 
Tacos


Saturday
Church dinner


Sunday 
Marinated chicken breasts, salad and bread

Homemade Shower Spray

I can't stand the chemically smell of household cleaners so I have taken to making most of my own. I still buy toilet bowl cleaner, it seems to be the only thing to get rid of the toilet ring and keep the bowl clean all week.  I recently made two bottles of shower daily spray shower for each of our bathrooms. Tip: DO NOT buy spray bottles from the Dollar Store. They are totally junk and don't work. Walmart carries much  better  bottles for the same cheap price of one dollar. 

So far, this seems to be working great and I don't see the normal pink buildup around the shower head anymore. 

Recipe from Frugal Upstate. She has two other versions on her website. 

Fabric Softener Daily Shower Cleaner

1C Vinegar 

2TBS Dish Detergent 

2TBS Liquid Fabric Softener

3 1/2 C Water

Mix and spray daily

Some sources suggested that since vinegar is acidic it can eat into your tub’s caulk, while others say they’ve used it for years with no issues.  

Two Dollar Happiness

There's nothing like the look and smell of fresh flowers in your home. Every time I'm at Kroger I make a quick pass through the floral department to see if they have any flowers with bright orange "Manager's Special" stickers screaming at me to buy them.

 I lucked out the other day and got these alstroemeria for 99 cents a bouquet! They didn't have any flower food on them however so I made my own using two tablespoons of sugar, two tablespoons of white vinegar and a quart of water. The sugar feeds the plants and the vinegar wards off bacterial growth.

They didn't last as long as I would have liked because we went out of town for four days and I couldn't change the water and plant food. But they were perfect while they lasted!