Monday, June 25, 2012

Happy Homemaker Monday #24

Good morning :)

I'm a little on the frustrated side right now, nothing like waking up to a sea of ants in your kitchen and living room.  If there is one thing I can't stand, it's ants....they honestly gross me out.  Blech!
Anyway, ant problem taken care of, though I had to throw out a new bag of dog food that I just opened last night because it was infested with the ants.  Waste of money.

So now I have a cup of coffee that is wavering between lukewarm and cold, and before I go warm it up, I figured I would get this post up.

BTW, I removed the *Something fun to share* category, I just feel like there really isn't much to add to that one.  If there is something else you would like to see featured, let me know :)


Happy Homemaker Monday
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The Weather:::
Hot!  That's it....just Hot!  Lots of promises of rain over the weekend and then more rain today and tomorrow but not a single cloud in sight and just plain, HOT.  I can't tell you how much I dislike Arizona and miss a really good rain shower.


On my reading pile:::
Nothing at the moment, have a few library books and a few to review but haven't really had the chance to get much reading done, maybe later today.


On my tv:::
The new episode of Starlings
My Portuguese soap opera
Eureka tonight


On the menu for this week:::
Still doing easy quick meals with the kids, though I really miss cooking for my husband.

Monday -  Banana Pancakes
Tuesday -  BLT Pitas
Wednesday - Tacos
Thursday - Pizza
Friday -  Chili Dogs

Saturday - Clam Chowder
Sunday  - Pepperoni & Mozzarella Crescent Rolls


On my to do list:::
Laundry
Mop
Clean bathrooms


What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::
Finished a few projects.
Have two potholders to make the backs for.
Little crochet boats
Work on my big beast of a ripple blanket


Homemaking Tips:::
Keeping Your Sponge Clean
1. Dishwasher Put your sponge in the utensil compartment of your dishwasher for the entire wash and heat dry cycle. This should rid your sponge of 99.9998% of the germs.

2. Microwave For an even faster fix wet your sponge and squeeze and place in your microwave for two minutes with a cup of water. Some sponges have plastics that can melt so please put your sponge on a paper towel the first time you try this! This is my preferred method of cleaning my sponge as its fast and kills 99.9999% of the bacteria present on the sponge. (According to the WebMD!) Note: It can take up to five minutes to kill mold spores however you must make sure the sponge stays wet or it can be a fire hazard.

3. Bleach This is actually a statistically less effective way to clean your sponges but some people just don't feel something is clean if it hasn't been bleached, so if that's you here's the best way to bleach your sponge: Make a 10% bleach solution with HOT water. Soak your sponge between 5-10 minutes squeezing every so often to help the solution penetrate the sponge. (Please wear rubber gloves for this.) After soaking rinse thoroughly under running water. Be aware that this has been shown to kill less than 94% of the germs.



Looking around the house:::
Smells like lavender vinegar right now....it's what I use to throw the ant scent off. I still have my vacuum out from battling the ants this morning. My coffee cup is sitting next to me and I just took a very nasty sip of cold coffee, GROSS.
House is clean, so not much to tidy up.


From the camera:::
Pretty flowers

Day 26


On my prayer list:::
Friends and Family going through some hard times right now


Bible verse, Devotional:::
Oh, to be like Him, tender and kind,
Gentle in spirit, lowly in mind;
More like to Jesus, day after day,
Filled with His Spirit now and alway. —Ellsworth







10 comments:

Heather Ortega said...

I used to have the worst problem with ants. My mom taught me to go around the entire outside of the house with comet (the scrubbing cleaner-don't substitute anything else) and then the ants won't come in. Just sprinkle it around the entire perimeter. I don't know how or why it works but it does.

Heather Ortega said...

My link is not working- it's here- http://dinner1dayatatime.blogspot.com/2012/06/happy-homemaker-monday.html

Andrea said...

I like your simple meal plans. I love to cook but summer time is so hot that I don't like to spend too much time in the kitchen.

Sweet Tea said...

YUK! I sure hope the ants are history now and your Monday has taken a turn for the better...I'm having a very slow-starting Monday, but all is well.

Liz said...

Ants are awful! I luckily (knock on wood) haven't had an issue with ants at this new house, but we have these ugly beetles with a pincher on the front.

I'm with Andrea. I love the big nice meals, but it's so hot in the summer that I tend to go to quick and easy meals that are less likely to heat up my kitchen.

Aunt Nita said...

Not all Aunts are awful...some are great to have around...and both are invading your house cause of your cooking!!! <3

Katie B. of HousewifeHowTos.com said...

Glad the ants are gone. We get them when the ground gets saturated with rain. I think they're looking for a dry place to vacation!

Chalk works to keep them out. (That's why Comet works... it has the same abrasive powder that slices open ant exoskeletons, so they won't cross where chalk or Comet have been.) A dab of petroleum jelly where they're coming in will turn them away, too!

Then again, the lavender vinegar sounds like it's going to smell great in there once the vinegar evaporates!

Heather @cultivatedbygrace said...

Love the idea of BLT pitas! Sounds great!

Anonymous said...

I know you don't like Arizona. If you want rain move to the Pacific NW. We have already had the second most rain in June since they have been keeping records. My plants need sunshine. They are drowning.

xoxoxo
Debbi

Kathy Skinner (Kat) said...

I missed the Happy Homemaker Monday:( Oh well, next week! We have found the best way to get rid of ants (permanently) is to plant mint around the base of your house where they seem to come in (kitchen?). It is pretty, smells good, you can use it for cooking/tea and ants hate it!!! Sounds good to me. We used to have a terrible ant problem but after planting mint, they went away:)