Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

I bought a package of Mr. Clean Magic Erasers and didn't like them. At all. But I have found a place in my heart for them now. See DH had an important golf game with some people from work and it is hard to brownnose when your golf shoes look like they have been sitting in your garage for, oh 6 months. So being the sweet, loving, (those dirty shoes are not coming in this house, Mister!)wife that I am, I cleaned them. Mr Clean, I think I love you.
The Left is before and the Right is after.

P.S. Why are $200 Foot Joy golf shoes so ugly?? And why in the name of Sam Rayburn were $200 shoes sitting in the garage? I don't even own a pair of shoes that expensive!

Jammin'

I recently started making jam. I had an old water bath canner from who knows where in my storage room and thought I would give it a try. I have now made several successful batches of jam. Wanna try?

The most important thing is to gather ALL the ingrediants and tools that you will need. Once things get rolling there isn't time to hunt for anything.


- A jar lifter is essential for picking up and moving hot jars as well as lowering them into the boiling water.
- The lid wand has a magnetic end and is used for picking up lids from the hot water and keeping them sterile. Lids should be kept in hot, but not boiling, water until ready to use. This helps to prepare the sealant on the jar lid to adhere to the jar as well as helps keep the lids clean.
- The measuring tool lets you easily measure the head space. Head space is the distance from the food level to the top of the jar. It is very important to have the correct head space when perserving food. I also use this to removed trapped air from the sides of my jars.
- The wide mouth funnel helps when packing the food into the jar. It is VERY IMPORTANT to keep the top and sides of the jars clean. Otherwise the lids will no seal properly.

You must start with clean jars. Place your clean jars into a boiling water bath for at least 10 minutes. I leave mine in until I am ready to pack them. You always want to pack hot jam into hot jars.

For this jam you will need:
3 pints of strawberries


1/2 tsp butter
If you don't know what a 1/2 tsp of butter looks like then I can't help ya :)

1 package of powered pectin (1.75 ounces)


7 cups of sugar



Wash, drain, and hull your berries. I use a food processer to crush mine, but if you like chunks of fruit in your jam then you can use a potato masher. You will need about 5 cups of crushed berries. Put these in a large, heavy bottomed pot on the stove. Add the butter and pectin.
Heat on high heat, stirring constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. Add the sugar all at once. Contiue stirring until the mixture come to a full rolling boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim the foam off with a spoon.


Using the wide mouth funnel, pack the hot jam into your hot jars, leaving a 1/4 inch headspace. Be certain to wipe any drips of the tops and sides of your jars.

Using the lid wand, remove a lid from your hot (but not boiling) water and place it on the jar.

Screw a band to just hand tight on top of the jar and add to your boiling water bath. Continue until you have filled all jars.
Process the jars for 5 minutes in boiling water. Start timing ONLY after the water has returned to a full boil. The entire jar and lid must be under water. It is important to use a wire rack so keep the jars off the bottom of the bath so that water can circulate all the way around the jar.

Remove the jars from the bath and place right side up on a towel to cool for 24 hours. After 24 hours remove the bands and check the lid for a good seal. Push down on the middle of the lid. It shouldn't give. Try a gentle pull on the lid. It should not come off easily with your finers.
Save your bands and jars for reuse. DO NOT TRY TO REUSE YOUR LIDS. They are made for single use only and may not seal properly a second time. No need to sicken or kill your family for a 10 cent lid.
Enjoy your Strawberry Jam. This recipe makes about 10 half pints.

I plan on making cute jar toppers and labels for my jam. I will post a tutorial on that later on.

Back to school....

As of today, I am officially a student of the UALR College of Engineering and Technology. I know what you are thinking...how many majors have you had now? BUT, this is the one I will finish. My manager at work wants me to do this program, my DH wants me to do this program, HotRod wants the money I will make after I finish this program, and I like the security that an engineering degree provides.

So I pulled out my trusty backpack and am filling it with school supplies. I know I am a nut, but I think school supplies are so much fun to buy. Those new pencils and notebooks just SCREAM with promise and ambition



I am VERY ashamed to show the current state of my desk in my home office, but maybe it will shame me into cleaning up this MESS. I think it is VERY important to have a clean desk to start the semester off right.



So if I seem a bit stressed the next few months, please forgive me. Between working full time, going to school nearly full time, and keeping a home, I might be a bit frazzled.

On June 5, 2010 I took the 5 hour American Society for Quality Certified Quality Auditor Exam. As you can see from the nifty logo up top, I PASSED! I am pretty excited about earning my first ASQ certification. I am trying to decide if I should test for my Certified Quality Engineer exam in December, or wait for a year. Since I am going back to UALR in the fall to continue my Mechanical Engineering Degree, it may be better to wait. We shall see... But in the mean time, I PASSED! :)

Hair Cut Time

I really like DH with short hair. Mr. Al (DH's barber) doesn't always get it short enough. So I often save him the $8 and do it myself. DH wasn't to thrilled about getting his hair cut today. The college world series was on and he didn't understand why I wouldn't do the cut in the living room, on my rug! So he was pouty!
And for some reason, he thought his hair looked just fine!

So I promised him an ice cream cone and he agreed. Now he kinda looks like Gomer Pile. Maybe a number 4 blade instead of a number 2 blade next time?? :)

Home Made Laundry Soap

I NEVER buy laundry detergent anymore. Thanks to the AWESOME Duggar family, and a friend who introduced me to recipe, I can now make 10 gallons of laundry soap at a time, for around $2.
Here is the link to the Duggar family recipe:
www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html
I am posting pictures of myself making this tonight just as a visual aid.



The basic materials are borax, washing soda, and Fels-Naptha bar soap. I bought my Fels-Naptha at the Kroger on Geyer Springs. You can also order it online. I haven't found it at Wal-Mart, yet.



You grate the soap using a food grater, or you could probably use a food processor. I like getting my arm workout though.



Heat your 4 cups of water in a heavy bottom pot and then add your grated soap. Stir until all melted.




Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of water. Add your melted soap, 1/2 cup of borax, and 1 cup of washing soda. Stir until all powder is dissolved.



Then you fill the bucket to the top with hot water, stir, cover, and allow to sit overnight to gel.
When you are ready to use, take a clean empty container and mix half of the mix and half water and then shake it up. Use 5/8 of a cup per load. My big bucket lasted almost 6 months, and I do a lot of laundry!
I will be happy to provide a sample to anyone who lives close to try!

Amanda's Zoo

So my husband has a slight issue with the fact that I have pets. He thinks animals are meant for the wild. He often refers to my "zoo". So please allow me to introduce the wild beasts of our home:
Harley is my lab/basset mix. He is a very sweet dog and loves his Mommy! He follows me all over the house. But once he gets outside, he just wants to RUN! He is a big baby and HATES thunderstorms. He will wake me up by putting his paws on the bed and 'patting' me. I usually get up and come sleep on the couch with him. DH will not let him up on the bed, which I support, I guess :) Simon is my cat. He came to live with me shortly after I bought this house in 2005. I rescued him from the mobile adoption center for the North Little Rock Animal Control. I hadn't planned on getting a cat that day, but it happened. It was really love at first sight. Simon is a really cool cat. He acts like a dog, just with a cat attitude. When he first came home, my neighbors all thought that I had lost my marbles. I would put him in a harness and leash and walk him up and down the road. It paid off, because he never goes farther than I ever took him walking. If I am outside and walk to a neighbor's house, he will follow along behind me and wait on the porch for me. He is really more loyal than the dog. He doesn't take any bull from the dog either. He kinda has a rep as a bully with other animals, but is super gentle with kids! HotRod used to play football with him and Simon would just look up at me as if to say, "Mom, do I really have to tolerate this??"!

So seeing as how I have a zoo in the house, DH decided he needed a pet of his very own. So I bought this vase for $1.99, added some clippings from Sparky (my really awesome, long, Golden Pothos plant), some marbles that I already had, and bought his fish at Wal-Mart tonight.

Meet Spike (DH said his fish was a bad butt and needed a fierce name. Yeah, ok!)

Now if I can just get a harness and leash for the fish....:)