Warning: Woman without fear

Does anyone find this label insulting?  I would prefer a warning that was a little more honest.  For example, Danger: if you are stupid enough to fall off of this 3 foot ladder and die, do not sue the maker of this product.  It will be a tragic accident that will no doubt make the paper, but it is certainly not our fault. 

There are warning, danger, and caution signs all around preaching to us that this world is not safe, that in this world you are going to die.  Duh?!   Most of these signs teach us to worry, be anxious, and live cautiously.  I say, how boring!  I sometimes wish there were warning signs reminding us that we are living. 

Caution:  This is the last time you will see your mother; hug her. 
Warning: Stop complaining about your jeans being tight because someday you'll wish they still fit. 
Stop!  Working so hard and play with your kids.  Some day you will want them to play with you and they will be 'too busy'. 

I don't really know where this is coming from today.  Probably because I see so many of my friends making poor decisions in their lives based on fear and it just looks like slavery to me.  I want to shake them awake! (in love of course)  So I say practice living without fear, take (healthy) risks, be brave, draw outside the lines, think outside the box, trust God.   He reminds us to 'fear not' over 62 times in the book He wrote for us.

40% Grateful

This is my tub.  Lately I've been feeling a little whiny about my current bathroom situation.  We are almost finished remodeling our bedroom and soon will be moving on to the bathrooms.  Soon but not soon enough.  I hate that my mood is affected by my surroundings. In an attempt to adjust my attitude, I did a little Bing search on indoor plumbing.  Did you know that 40% of the world's population does not have the luxury of indoor plumbing?  They don't even have an ugly tub to come home to at the end of a hard day.  So today, I am choosing to be grateful for running water and a toilet that still flushes.  Tomorrow I may still curse my crooked toilet but today I'm gonna choose to love my ugly bathroom.

The Never Ending Pile

I have 3 beautiful daughters.  That being said, I also have a mountain of laundry that never seems to disappear despite my constant pecking through it.  The sad truth is, as their jeans get longer and the sports uniforms multiple, the mountain is sure to grow right along with them.  Being frugal (1/4 dutch), with frugal (probably more than 1/4 dutch) friends, I've been given several recipes for home made laundry soap over the years.  This week, after staring at a bottle of $13 sensitive skin, dye free laundry soap, I decided to give the < $3.00 stuff a try.  What's the worst thing that could happen?  After all, most of the clothes in my mountain I know for a fact were only worn for a couple of non-stinky hours. 

I know that some day my girls will be gone and so will their laundry and my lint will turn from pink to gray, and the mountain will look more like a mole hill, but until that day comes... 

Home made Laundry soap:
1 cup of Borax,
1 cup of Baking Soda,
1 bar of fragrance free, dye free soap (Dial works just fine) 
Grate the bar of soap with a cheese grater and mix the 3 ingredients together.  You'll need an empty ice cream bucket (with lid) for storage.
Use 1 1/2 Tb per load and use the extra cash you saved to buy more clothes... so they can end up in the neverending pile.