{ Cooking Thursday - August 23rd }

Ohhhh I'm so sick.....summer colds are the pits. There's been a whole lot of tea and vicks and tissues around this house, just hoping this feeling of awfulness goes away so I can get back to normal blogging.

In the meantime, here's the Cooking Thursday!


Won't you join me and share with us one of your new recipes, or an old family favorite, you can even throw in a recipe for homemade soaps or detergents (just remember to specify).

For the guidelines, you can go here.

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Microwave Caramel Pudding

For the caramel sauce:
1 cup of white sugar 1/3 cup of water

Pour into a microwave safe dish or bowl. Stir together and place in the microwave.

Cook for 10 minutes. If need by, cook one minute more at a time until it's nice and brown but be careful not to burn.....if you cook it too long it will become really bitter, you don't want that.


For the pudding:
3 eggs 1 can of condensed milk 1 can measurement of milk (just use the same can)

Pour into a blender and mix until well incorporated. Pour onto the caramel in the bowl and pop back in the microwave for 5 minutes on HIGH.

Cook for another 1 to 3 minutes on 70% POWER.

To test if done, use a toothpick, if it comes out clean it's done. Cover with a kitchen towel and let sit for 10 minutes.

When cold, turn out onto a clean plate.

Do NOT try to turn it out before it's completely cool or you will end up with a huge mess, it will still taste great but it will look no so appetizing LOL

Enjoy!

{ I love my dogs, but...... }

I really despise the hair that seems to infiltrate into every nook and cranny in my house.

If I could have shaved hairless dogs and get away with it, I would. But I don't think they would appreciate it and let's face it, I love them furry and sweet.

It's a constant struggle in the house to keep it fur free, and I don't think you ever really do, but other than having to vacuum my floors and furniture every single day, I was really at a loss of how to get rid of it.

It's not that I mind the vacuuming but it does get a little annoying and tiring after a while.

I had been looking for the right tool for this job and I remember seeing a couple different things here and there, I tried the tape method, I tried the dryer sheets but really, it wasn't working for me.

Then one day we were at Walmart and Jasmine found this cheap little rubber brush in the pet department, it was under $3 (though now they're going for $6, but still inexpensive) and I thought, well why not, I've tried everything else I may as well try this.

Oh boy, I LOVE it and if you're a dog lover minus the fur, you'll love it too.

I honestly didn't think it would work that well, it doesn't look like it does much but, it does, and since we're all about sharing and helping each other out here in blogland, I just knew that I had to tell you about it.

It's called the Pet Select 3-in-1 Pet Hair Remover and it works on your pet or on furniture or carpets. I've tried it on all 3 and it works wonders.

Let me show you what my couch looks like every single morning because the pugs have been sleeping on it.

It may not look like it, but that hair is EVERYWHERE, including the back cushions and arms, it's annoying and with my allergies I don't even dare sit on it.

It doesn't take much effort at all, it's like magic, that hair comes right off and you end up with a huge ball.

I love love love this brush and I couldn't wait to tell you all.

You would be surprised just how much pet hair you'll find laying around. I've also used it on the bedspreads because the girls tend to jump on there during the night to sleep, it also works brilliantly.

I've used it on the area rugs and same thing, pulls that hair right off.

So, if you've been looking for the right brush to help keep all that pet fur under control, this may just be what you're looking for. Give a try, I bought mine at my local Walmart Store but the link I'm giving you says it's only available online, not sure why. I would have a look first at your Walmart.

And if you do try it, let me know what you think.

EDIT: After reading Mari's comment, I realize that I forgot to add that it DOES work really well for cat hair too :)

{ Happy Homemaker Monday - August 23}

New HHM banner

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Still really warm here, it's around this time of the year that I start missing Idaho and the cooler temps.


Things that make me happy:
Being an Aunt


Book I'm reading:
Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harries


What I'm enjoying on TV:
Haven on SyFy
True Blood on HBO
Pillars of the Earth


On the menu for dinner:
Beef and Cheese Empanadas


On my To Do List:
Ironing
Put away clean laundry
Sweep and Mop


New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
Fried Zucchini....yum.

In the craft basket:

Granny Stripe Crochet Blanket.

Looking forward to this week:
New Ghost Hunters Season starting on Wednesday.....does that count?


Tips and Tricks:
MOSQUITO BITES: Apply lime juice diluted with water on bites with cotton ball.


My favorite blog post this week:
I just hit Mark All as Read on my Google Reader, I have fallen behind on reading and there's no way I'll get through 1000 + posts.


Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):
^^^^^^^ Read post above


No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):

Lesson learned the past few days:
Same thing I learn every year when the kids start school.....that I can't protect them from the germs no matter how much I try. They've only been at school for two weeks and already I have one with sore throat, sniffles and cough. BLECH!


On my mind:
My kids not feeling too good, they're well enough to go to school but I just hope they get better soon. I hate seeing them not well.


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

James 4:1-3

{ Sunday through the Lens }

I'm a firm believer that a picture is worth a thousand words, and so I thought it would be easier to show you what my Sunday has consisted of so far.

I love Sundays, matter of fact I just love weekends in general, I like the whole vibe, the easy going, no schedule and no planned activities, wake up late, ponytail, no make up, flip flops kinda day.

It's all about eating whenever you're hungry, having ice cream sundaes for dinner or watching a movie or two or three.

What is your favorite day of the week?

The cookie jar has been replenished, with chunky yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Dishwasher has been emptied and refilled and it will be emptied AND refilled again tonight. It's never ending is it?

Healthy snacks abound

And NOT so healthy lunches are devoured

Laundry abounds, piles and piles on the laundry room floor....the cycle of pop in the washer, pop in the dryer, pull out and fold, put away....and restart all over again.

And while I fold and iron the numerous baskets of laundry, I watch a movie on Netflix

When all is said and done, for the time being, I plop on the bed with a good book and restore my soul, for I know that within an hour we're back to the same routine and the same activities.

But I do it with a smile on my face because it's Sunday, and if I don't feel like repeating the same chores, guess what?

I don't have to, because there's always tomorrow!

Things I've learned by age 36

#1- Contentedness and complacency are two completely different words and it actually took me quite a while to find the difference.

#2- Moms don't know everything, it's a constant learning experience and I'll never be perfect, but I'll always strive to do my best, it's all that matters.

#3- Being brave enough to love and trust is one of the scariest things in the world, but also one of the most rewarding.

#4- Worrying is a fact of life, it doesn't make me weak, it makes me human.

#5- Even when everything feels as if it's falling apart, we can and we WILL get through it because things always do get better.

#6- There's nothing more satisfying than time alone, it's not a big "no no", it doesn't mean you are unsocial, it means you need a break and as a mother it's always hard to take time alone without feeling guilty.

#7- You're only as old as you feel.

#8- Don't envy others, it's not worth it because we don't and can't know what their lives are and what they're going through and when we think that someone may have it all, they may just be missing the most important aspects of life, like God and love.

#9- I am not my hair or my weight or my eyeliner. I am my smile, I am my sense of humor and I am ME.

#10- I can and do strive towards living a life of simplicity.

#11- Not everyone is the friend you want them to be, but every single person I've met is someone who has impacted my life in one way or another.

#12- It's alright to cry, it's alright to have a bad day, it's alright to wish for your childhood and for things to be the way they were, to not have responsibility or to have to be the one to make the hard decisions. It's alright.

#13- Tastes change as you get older. I used to love tomatoes and now I can't stand them. I used to love socializing and now I'm a home body. I used to love talking on the phone and now I cringe when it rings. The kind of music I like, the kind of shows I used to watch, they all change and come and go, and I am fine with it.

#14- Take time to tell those you love how you feel, life is too short and you don't want to one day regret not saying it.

#15- People don't change, no matter how much you want them to, so you either learn to accept them for who they are, or you move on.

#16- It's all in the journey and how you get there.

#17- Love yourself, laugh at yourself and accept that you're not perfect....I've learned to embrace my flaws and be ok with them.

#18- Not everyone is going to like you and that's ok.

#19- It's ok to outgrow things, likes and even people, it doesn't make you a bad person.

#20- It's ok to have doubt as long as you don't let it dictate your life.

#21- I have learned that every single thing I've gone through in my past, all the "failures", have become the road map to my life.

#22- I have learned that you either do it, or don't, there is no middle ground.

#23- I have learned to take care of myself, because if I'm not well I can't take care of anyone else.

#24- Laughing is more fun when it’s really, really loud.

#25- Sometimes the love and support you need comes from the most unexpected places.

#26- I have learned that when I married my husband, I married the whole Air Force.

#27- As hard as it is to accept, I've learned that I'm my children's mother above all and not their best friend.

#28- You really can sleep on an air mattress for an indefinite period of time, regardless of how uncomfortable it is. (military moves have taught me that)

#29- We are never alone, even when it may seem we are.

#30- Dancing in the living room is just as fun as dancing in a club.


What have you learned?