A Jelly Ol' good time...

Yesterday my friend LaRee and I made pomegranate jelly and pomegranate/pepper jelly sweetened with honey and apple juice using this awesome recipe.  We have made jams/jellies with this recipe before and felt that this was going to be as successful as our past attempts...ummmmm, not so.

I woke up this morning and to my chagrin...the jelly did not set up.  NONE of it!  Oh well, I thought to myself...I guess we'll just have to use it as syrup or marinade or something like that.  Then LaRee calls me later in the morning, "Did your jelly set up?", she asks.  "No, it didn't.", I reply.  She then proceeds to tell me that she went looking around online and found a "fix it" recipe for jam/jelly that did not set up.

So I rush my happy little self over to her house, jelly and Luke in tow and we set about to re-do our jelly.  It was a funny experience (as all our endeavors together have been).  Now, we'll just have to wait until tomorrow morning to see if it worked...if not...does anyone need pomegranate syrup??  LOL!!

Wish me luck!

Just stuff

My friend Erin gave birth to twin boys last week.  They were in the NICU for a number of days and she was finally able to bring them home just a couple days ago.  I was sooooooo looking forward to getting to see her and the boys today.  Luke woke up with a 101 fever this morning.  Poor guy.  But that pretty much doomed my visit to see Erin and her family.  Oh well...later in the week will be just as fun.

Also, our church was having one service (all 3 services all together) today and announcing the church's new name.  I really wanted to go to that service as well...oh well.  I guess I can get the Cliff's Notes from some friends.

It definitely feels like fall here now in CA.  All the leaves are turning color and falling.  The weather has started to really cool off.  I love fall.  It is one of my favorite seasons here in CA.  But, with fall comes cold and flu season.  Yay?!?!?!?!?  All you moms and or medical staff out there know what I mean.  LOL!

My morning sickness has really subsided and now I only occasionally become nauseous.  I am so thankful for that!  I am now 14 weeks along.  I got to hear the baby's heart at my last Dr. appointment last week.  That is always the highlight of my Dr. visits.  I LOVE it!  Darren wasn't able to come with me to this last appointment...perhaps the next one.  It's nice when he is able to attend with me.

Luke's birthday is coming up quick.  His actual birthDAY is December 5th.  That falls on a Sunday and Darren works Sundays so we will be celebrating on Saturday.  I cannot believe he will be 3 in just a couple weeks.  Where oh where does the time go?  Will I wake up one morning and he is a teenager???  It feels like that sometimes.

I am so grateful for my friends and family here in blogland.  You have all been so supportive of me and whatever efforts or trials I seem to be going through.  Thank you.

May God bless you and yours this Thanksgiving.

Back to basics: Cleaning supplies

As most of you are aware, I am very active in ridding my house of as many toxins as possible.  In this day and age, this quest is proving to be daunting to say the least, but a quest worth endeavoring upon.  One of the ways I have chosen to prevent my house from becoming a dangerous toxic waste dump is to thin out my cleaning supplies.

Not only do I believe it is good for safety, (as most of the cleaning supplies I use are benign and would not harm my son if he were to ingest them) I also believe it is health promoting to limit the use of toxic chemicals as much as possible in day to day cleaning.  

Much of the toxins we have in our bodies have been absorbed by our skin by simply touching surfaces, believe it or not.  When you wipe off that Windex or Comet, it does not magically disappear.  It is still on the surface and being abosorbed by your (or your children's) body upon contact.  Scary...

Below is a list of cleaning supplies I keep on hand for day to day use:

Borax

Washing Soda (baking soda that has not been finely processed for consumption)

White Vinegar

Lemon juice

Olive Oil

Castille Soap

Tea Tree oil

I use a mixture of 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar to clean most kitchen and dining room surfaces and appliances (including the floor) as well as clean my windows, mirrors and other glass surfaces.

For a "disinfectant" cleaning for the bathroom surfaces and kitchen surfaces when needed, I use a combination of water, castille soap and tea tree oil.  This also cleans polished brass and blinds or shutters.

For dusting my wood furniture I use olive oil I have scented with lemon essential oil (the essential oil is not necessary, it just makes it smell good).

For my bathtub, shower, kitchen and bathroom sinks, to shine my stainless steel pots and pans and to rid my coffee cups of stains I use Borax and/or washing soda.  

For laundry detergent, a mixture of a shredded bar of Fels Naptha soap, water and Borax can be used.  This will make about 5 gallons of laundry detergent for under $3.00.

Borax can also be substituted for 1/2 of your laundry detergent to minimize cost.

I use white vinegar in the rinse cycle of my washing machine for fabric softener.  No, my clothes do not smell like vinegar, the smell dissipates once your clothes are dry.  : P

It is not to be said that I do not use harsh chemicals on rare occasions.  When we moved into this house it needed some SERIOUS scrubbing attention and we found ourselves resorting to the more harsh cleansers.  However, once we dropped the chemical bomb (this statement used in jest) on our home to 'deep clean' we have maintained as much as possible the non-toxic cleaning route.

It's not only safer and healthier, it is also MUCH cheaper than purchasing the other cleaners and I can use one cleaner for multiple things.

It's not for everyone, I know.  But you could always pick one and give it a try.  In my opinion...it is worth the peace of mind to know that if my son got into my cleaning cabinet, a trip to the emergency room would not be necessary.

Do you have any additional suggestions?  I hope you have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!!!

Homemade yummy smellies for the home

It's that time of the year again ladies and gents!   Time to start making the house smell yummy is what I mean of course!!  ; )

There are any number of store bought smellies you can purchase at the store, most all of which are toxic.  They smell REALLY yummy, I agree.  But the toxicity is not worth it to me.  I have a couple of simple and inexpensive ways to make your home smell pleasant and you can make them at home!

My favorite of the two I will be talking about today is taking orange or apple or tangarine or lime or lemon (you get the picture) peel and putting them in a small saucepan.  You can mix them up or just use one type of peel at a time...whatever tickles your fancy at the moment.  Then you fill up the pan about 3/4 of the way full of water.  You can then add some yummy spices if you'd like.  My personal favorites are cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger.  Then bring the mixture to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce heat and keep at a low simmer.  Be sure you watch for the water level in about an hour (depending on the size of your saucepan).  I LOVE the way it makes my house smell!!

My next suggestion is equally inexpensive and easy.  Purchase your favorite smelling flower or herb (dried).  Bruise about 1/2 cup of the dried flower or herb in a pestle and mortar, or just put them in a ziploc bag and rub between your hands for about 30 seconds.  Take the dried flowers/herbs and mix with 1 cup of baking soda.  Spread the mixture on your carpets.  Leave for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes.  Then vacuum.  It works!!  My favorite is lavender.  This mixture also looks nice in a glass container and can be given away as a gift!!

Do you have any additional suggestions?  I would love to hear them and try them out for myself!!

Morning/All Day sickness

Believe it or not, it actually makes me sick to read right now.  I can't read a book for more than a couple of paragraphs at a time.  This is KILLING me as I usually read ALL THE TIME!  Can't read blogs all in one sitting (unless they are short).  Going to have to take a break in the middle of this blog probably to finish it, or I will just cut it short.

So, to deal with my morning/all day sickness, I have been eating every hour or two, eating protein, wearing Sea Bands and avoiding too much reading or riding in cars.  Fun huh?  Most of the day I feel ok enough to go out and about in this world for short periods of time.  Come 4:00 or 5:00 pm though, I am all but housebound.  I get so sick.  Ugh!

As many of my friends and family have said to me on multiple occassions.  I DO know that having morning sickness is a good sign.  I KNOW this...but that knowledge doesn't always help in the throes of nausea and vomiting.

It IS getting better, I am not just horrifically sick ALL day like a was a couple of weeks ago.  I am hoping this is a good sign and I will be rid of this by the end of my first tri-mester.  Wish me luck!

I'm PREGNANT!!

I am 10 weeks pregnant!  We were trying to wait until 12 weeks to announce, but alas, my belly just will not cooperate!  I am showing already and my morning/all day sickness is HORRENDOUS.  My due date is May 18.

I have to admit, I am not only elated with the news of our new little one, I am terrified as well.  As many of you know, my son Daniel was still born in January of this year.  Most all women have at least some level of anxiety with pregnancy...it's normal.  My anxiety level, at times, is off the charts.  God has given me much peace about this pregnancy...however I am still human and sometimes scared to death.

I will be posting belly pictures soon, for those who are interested.  I would venture to say that many of my posts for the next several months will be about pregnancy, so I hope I don't annoy any of you!  ; )

I am starting to see a little, very small and faint light at the end of the morning sickness tunnel.  Now, I am usually only sick from about 4:00pm til I go to sleep.  I have nausea all day, but not the kind where I am afraid to leave the house, not until late afternoon anyway.  I am hoping my morning sickness will not last much past the first trimester.  PLEASE!?!?!?!!?

I had an ultrasound at 6 weeks to ensure that the pregnancy is only a singleton (as originally with Daniel I was pregnant with twins until about week 9).  The ultrasound showed only one little heartbeat, so that's good.  Not that I wouldn't want twins, but this pregnancy is high risk enough without the addition of another "bundle of joy". 

I am excited for the weeks and months to come and invite you (when and if you want) to join in my joy, fear and pregnancy brain mishaps!  Here goes nothing!

Homemade chicken broth: Why and How?

Homemade chicken broth.  Why in the  world would someone want to make homemade chicken broth when it only costs me about $3.50 for 32oz. of the stuff at the store?  And doesn't it take FOREVER to make?  Well, I am glad you asked.  If you are anything like me, you want to know WHY first.  Without the WHY,  the how is irrelevant right?

Well, the reason I make my own chicken broth is the same reason I make most all of my food from scratch:  it's healthier and cheaper.  No deep philosophical reason...just plain and simple.

Here's a breakdown of the WHY:

Here is a list of ingredients in Swanson's "No MSG" Chicken Broth:  

Chicken Stock, contains Less than 2% of: Salt, Flavoring*, Dextrose, Autolyzed Yeast Extract*, Celery Juice Concentrate, Carrot Juice Concentrate, Onion Juice Concentrate.

*For those of you who don't know...there is MSG in Autolyzed Yeast Extract and possibly in the "Flavoring" as the FDA does not require the disclosure of what constitutes "Flavoring".  They can put a certain amount of MSG in the flavoring category and still label it "No MSG", I'm not making this up!!

Here is a list of ingredients in my homemade chicken broth:

chicken

water

salt

celery

onion

garlic

carrot

apple cider vinegar

As I mentioned earlier, the cost of Swanson's 32oz. chicken broth is about $3.50 (on average).  My recipe will provide approx. 6 quarts of chicken broth and enough cooked chicken for about 3 dinners.  Average  cost of 32oz of my chicken broth is $.75 not including the cost savings of the chicken meat.  If we were to factor in the meat cost savings (compared with boneless skinless chicken breasts) the broth is all but free. 

It's simple to make...I make mine overnight while I am sleeping (doesn't get much easier than that).  

Here is the recipe I use:

In your largest stock pot, put in 1 whole chicken, a couple carrots roughly chopped, 1 onion roughly chopped, 2 celery stalks roughly chopped, a couple garlic cloves chopped in half, 2 tablespoons of apple cinder vinegar.  Then fill the rest of the pot up with water.  Bring all this to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer (covered).  Let simmer for 8-12 hours.  (Here is where I go to bed for the night).  (In the morning I...)Take out the chicken and remove the veggies with a large slotted spoon.  Bring the liquid back to a rolling boil for about 1 hour uncovered (this will reduce the stock and give it more flavor).  Let cool.  Add salt to taste.  Pour the liquid through a strainer into canning jars (only the wide mouth jars as we will be freezing them).  Leave 1 inch head space.  Put the lids on and put in your freezer.  Voila!!

This was one of the first "old school" recipes I ever made due to it's simplicity, health benefits and cost savings.  In my opinion it's well worth the time and effort.  

**Disclaimer** Regardless of how "reduced" the sodium in a store bought chicken broth, you will be surprised to note how much salt you will have to add to your broth or dishes made with the homemade chicken broth to make it taste like that which you are accustomed.  It was definitely a shock for me!!

Have you ever made your own chicken stock?  If so...was it worth it?  Did it turn out like you thought it would?