preparing for Lent - part one

i was raised roman catholic.

i went to catholic elementary and high school.

i got my teaching certification from a catholic college.

 

i taught in a catholic school.

do i consider myself religious?  no

i am now a lutheran and my children go to public school.  we don't pray before meals or even before bed.  i was amazed when my son recited the Our Father during mass b/c i never taught him it.  i teach high school sunday school - but i'd hardly call it teaching.  i'm lucky if 2 kids show up and we just sit and talk.  my boys go to sunday school - but not regularly.  they are there to receive their sacraments - but i think its mainly to satisfy my catholic parents.  the other day my oldest son told me he didn't believe there really was an adam and an eve that started civilization.  i told him he was right. 

i teach my boys to respect differences and to help others.

i believe in sitting quietly and looking inward for answers.

i think a lot of problems can be solved by simply being nice.

do i consider myself spiritual? yes

but i will admit - i really miss the "religious" part of holy days.  i have very fond memories of all the rituals and excitement leading up to Christmas and Easter.  don't get me wrong - at the time it was a nitemare - weekly mass, confession, incense so thick you thought you'd faint (and often pretended to just so you could leave mass and go outside), constant prayers and endless songs, and so much kneeling!!

but when Christmas came - it meant something. 

and so did Easter.

and honestly i miss that.

Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent.    Lent starts on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter.  Lent runs for 40 days.  it is that long to symbolize the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness before he began his public ministry.  during that time Jesus prayed and fasted and was tempted by Satan. 

i remember Lent being a time to give up something.  it was like the opposite of a new year's resolution.  on new years day you came up with a list of stuff you were going to do - like work out and eat right.  during Lent you gave up stuff - like candy and soda.    what they do have in common though is that they are both usually broken after a couple of weeks.  i remember not eating meat on friday and stations of the cross every thursday.

as i got older i didnt like the idea of giving up something.  i became a vegetarian so giving up meat was hardly a sacrifice.  so i decided i would DO something good instead during those 40 days.  but lets face it - i'm really a good person anyway - so that didn't work either.  i found myself searching for the meaning of Lent.

and that is where i still find myself searching for what Lent means to me.  i've been thinking about this for a couple weeks now.  i figure i have 2 more days to figure it out..................

 

turn an old kid's t-shirt into a dog shirt!

this is our yorkie-poo.  he is about 13 years old and missing a LOT of the hair on his body.  its such a shame too b/c his face and legs are still nice and fluffy.  poor guy looks like a total mess.

i really want him to try and keep his core warm b/c its cold both inside and outside our home!  but i didn't want to spend $20 or more dollars on something i wasn't even sure he'd keep on (he can be quite finicky in his old age) so i found an old t-shirt of my sons and played around with cutting and sewing........

 

and now our dear old morty has a new shirt to wear!  he even looks like he is pleased with it!

i kept taking it on and off making adjustments.  i cut out a section underneath for his little peepee.  the next one i make will be alittle longer on his back.  i must warn you though - they are quite addicting to make.  he may just have a new wardrobe by the end of the weekend!

a proper birthday and homemade fire starters

well we did it.  last nite the boys and i got the belated birthday celebration ready for this morning.  we made a photo book, a banner and cards....

plus we made some brownies from martha stewart's baking book and honestly - blech..........but still we made them from scratch

they got up early, snuck downstairs and brought up breakfast in bed

the boys had fun and daddy was very happy.

now in keeping with my desire to make products i normally buy - i made some firestarters for our fireplace.  we just ran out of a box of stick things we had and i didn't want to burn tons of paper since our fireplace is double sides and the ashes are a nitemare..........so i googled and found some that were easy to make and didn't require me to go and buy anything! 

what you need:

cardboard egg cartons

old candles (or any old wax you have)

dryer lint

some household string

very simply stuff the egg carton with lint

melt the candles in a double boiler

                                               

pour the wax into the carton

i cut some string into about 3 inch pieces and just kinda squished them in there.

when they are cooled just break them apart!

each one should burn for 6 minutes and can be used for camping or your fireplace

i have been trying to find a good mold/mildew cleaner and all purpose cleaner and hope to have something soon!

i don't even know where to start!

what a crazy couple of days!  we had a major snow storm last week - and another one yesterday....so we are a bit nuts trying to dig out and stay sane around here.

don't get me wrong - the snow looks beautiful when you are looking at it through a picture window

but its not so pretty when your plow gets stuck, the tractor can't make it up the hill, and a neighbor's tree falls onto your property and blocks your driveway - further hindering the snow cleaning.

but with the help of a cousin and my mom (who at 62 really shouldn't have to help!!) - we shoveled the driveway enough for the tractor to make it up to our house.  unfortunately the truck is still stuck.......... 

with the driveway cleared and the sun shining brightly - we finally had a chance to enjoy the snow.

we made a snowman

and created some snow art w/food coloring filled bottles (what i didn't take a picture of was the butt and penis my youngest son painted on our snowman LOL)

we even took a mini-hike down the driveway to see the stream completely filled in with snow - and gather some much needed twigs for our fireplace

if you notice - most of my outdoor pics are of my youngest son - that is b/c out of my 2 boys - he is the one who likes to hang with me outside and actually DO things...the oldest - not so much.  he bailed within 30 minutes...

but sadly - what got completely overshadowed by the blizzard

was my hubby's birthday

there was no birthday cake (he desperately wanted to eat it the nite before - so we did)

no singing happy birthday

no decorations, or cards or presents......

no favorite dinner

and he didn't complain about that at all

but that is going to change today. 

he was able to pick up some hours of work so he'll be gone all day and most of the evening.  so while he's gone we will decorate

and make some cards

and make a present of some sort........

and find some type of cake to make that only requires one stick of butter.......b/c that is all i have......

then tomorrow we'll make his favorite dinner

and sing happy birthday

b/c he is great husband, dad, uncle, brother-in-law, brother, son and cousin to many

and he deserves a special day

stained glass heart banner

i needed a quick craft to do to add some valentine cheer to our home.  this one was easy and fun to do.

grab some crayons and sharpen them over wax paper

cover with another sheet of wax paper.  carefully place them between larger pieces of paper to catch the wax in case it oozes out the edges.

carefully iron the paper.  if you run the iron along the paper you will smear the colors together.  if you lightly press up and down you'll melt the colors but they will stay mostly individualized.

cut out heart shapes once the wax paper has cooled.

punch a hole in the tops and string them on some yarn.  we hung our largest one in the middle - then on either side we strung our hearts from largest to smallest.

easy peasy and beautiful!

homemade cleaning products......................laundry detergent

having a green household is important to me. i've managed to either completely eliminate some cleaning products (like bleach and fabric softener) or replace others with natural alternatives.  now my goal is to take it one step further and make all (or at least as many as i realistically can) of my own products.  i do use baking soda and vinegar, dr bronners and microfiber clothes for most of my cleaning - but there are 2 specific products i always buy that i am wanting to try and make....dishwasher tablets and laundry detergent. 

yesterday i made my first batch of laundry detergent and it was super easy.  this time around it cost me next to nothing b/c i already had the soap and washing soda.

ingredients:
1/2 cup borax
1/2 cup washing soda
1 bar soap (i used fels naptha. but you can use any pure soap like ivory)

    first grate the bar of soap

next add the borax and washing soda

finally mix well!

and that's it. i use just about 1/4 cup per load.  i'm thinking about adding some essential oils for some fragrance.  this was a powdered detergent and i want to try an make a liquid detergent too.  not sure why though - b/c this worked perfectly (i tried it with whites too!).  maybe i just want to try it simply to try? 

so my advice is give it a try.  it took me 10 minutes tops and works just fine!

did my pre-nor'easter prep help?

we actually did get the predicted snowfall.  (this photo was taken while it was still snowing pretty heavily so i am sure we got a few inches more) this has been a very weird winter for us.  the areas south of us - the ones that rarely get snow - have gotten huge amounts of snow.  the area north of us usually gets large amounts of snow - and they have been pretty much spared.  my area is usually hit or miss.  this winter its been hit.  but then it is winter afterall - and we should get snow - but after years of not really getting much...when it comes it is almost an annoyance! (well once you get past the initial beauty of it!!)    so when we woke up this morning - there was a lot of snow around.

as for my prep last nite?  well, i guess my intentions were good

the firewood was covered with snow

(and this was under a covered porch!)

the birds did have plenty of food

they just had to wait until it stopped snowing to find it!

luckily the sleds weren't completely covered with the snow

so after a quick brushing off - they got plenty of usage

even our tiniest family member ventured out

that is after we cleaned the walkway for him

i will admit - i didn't bother putting my snowpants on

so i just hung around and watched

and took lots of pictures

then it was back inside for hot showers and hot chocolate

its all good.......