My Lot in Life

Day 16, Thursday: Something difficult about your “lot in life” and how you’re working to overcome it

I was diagnosed with Type I or Juvenile Diabetes at age 12. I've been taking insulin shots 2-4 times a day since. I've gone through my adolescence, young adult and pregnancies dealing with changing blood sugars and insulin amounts. With each pregnancy, I found it harder to manage and more dangerous for myself and my babies. I remember on my wedding day, not only was it crazy hot outside, but my blood sugar was really high and it made it hard to completely enjoy myself.

For the most part, my diabetes is controlled. There is a test called the A1C that essentially give you a picture of how your blood sugars have done over the past few months and mine is typically on the higher side of normal (I'm not sure why they call "7" normal if your doctor yells at you for being "7".) On a daily basis, I can go through the day and do activities and eat like everyone else without dipping too low or astronomically high.

I guess I deal with it all the way I always have; the best I can. If well I'm fifty or sixty and I start feeling the detrimental side effects of my long standing diabetes, so be it. All I can do it continue to live life and manage my diabetes as best I can!

A list of Happiness

Day 14, Tuesday: Ten things that make you really happy

In no particular order:

Looking out my windows and only seeing countryside.

Having a huge todo list and not only checking everything off, but adding things as the day goes and checking those things off too.

Me time with no "where are you" or "when are you going to be home" calls.

Being with Paul for 16 years and still feeling tingly when he brushes my arm or holds my hand.

When people tell me how well behaved and respectful my kids are.

Having nice, long talks with my Father-in-Law, Tom.

Facebook makes me happy because a lot of times it's my only chance for social time.

Good food.

Working outside makes me happier than working inside.

Deeply discounted sales. I don't care if it's a can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup for forty nine cents or a tank top for 90% off, I feel accomplished and happy.

Apology

Day 13, Monday: Issue a public apology. This can be as funny or as serious or as creative as you want it to be.

I'm sorry I don't make more time to spend with my brother, sisters mom and dad. I really should schedule or spontaneously visit and call them. Love you all so much!

Missing You

Day 12, Sunday: What do you miss? (a person, a thing, a place, a time of your life…)

I miss Betty. She was my mother-in-law who passed away three years ago in August.

Our lives have changed so much since her passing. I truly believe, whether this seems right or not to say, that God chose "her time" correctly. It was His grace that showed mercy on her. She lived over 20 years with paralyzingly effects of a stroke at the young age of 48 and as much as she overcame her disabilities (this woman could peel and apple or potato one handed like you wouldn't believe) her body could no longer sustain its demands. I'm not sure how well she could have emotionally handled Paul's cancer. She was a worrier by nature and to know that her youngest of nine kids, the one who was there to see her day in and day out, was sick would have been devastating to her.

I take comfort in the fact that she doesn't worry about Paul since she has the knowledge in Heaven to know our ultimate plan. I smile knowing she is walking again, running if she so chooses. She's got endless garage sales to attend with the best deals, countless babies to cuddle and coo at, family that have gone before to talk and reminisce with and she gets to eat all the fast food she wants without consequence.
I hope anyone else who is reading this right now and missing Betty can smile knowing these things are true.

Selling Myself

Day 11, Saturday: Sell yourself in 10 words or less

If you are in need, I will pray for you

Soooo Embarrassing!

Day 10, Friday: Most embarrassing moment (s). Spill.

My Life's most embrassing moments have probably occurred and the Water Reclamation Plant while emptying my outhouse truck. Seriously, if I were video taped, they'd probably make a blooper reel and play at their annual Christmas party. Try as I may, sometimes the hoses and the outlets don't line up together and something or someone (me) gets poopy (again, me. I get poopy.) And sometimes, I end up throwing a bit of a hissy fit. This may or may not include swearing at inanimate objects and beating things with a hammer.

I'm thinking I should start charging for ride alongs so others can witness these not so stellar moments....

Moment

Day 9, Thursday: A moment in your day (this can be just a photo or both a photo and words)

My 'take' from garage saling today. $140 spent and a second row plus cargo area full of stuff. Had it not been raining, the third row of the suburban probably would have been filled as well!

Free Advice! (To anyone willing to listen...)

Day 8, Wednesday: A piece of advice you have for others. Anything at all.

I've driven past a church that had a quote on it's marquee a few times and it said something to the effect of:

"A happy marriage is the effect of two good forgivers"

I'm not sure if these were the exact words, but this is a quote I found by Robert Quillen while searching for the phrase. When I read the church sign, I started thinking about how true it is. I definitely think a successful and long lasting marriage is made of two forgivers. Marriage, like life, cannot always be happy. There's ups and downs and the hopefully you realize the downs just make the ups seem better. Or at least they should make you more appreciative of them.

Along with that, we are all human. We make mistakes. A lot of times we hurt those closest to us. Whether it's because we take them for granted or they're convenient or we feel as if we don't have to put on airs in front them but we do others, the bottom line is sometimes we're not nice to the people who are around us most often.

The very people we have chosen as our life's mate.

So we forgive. And that is my advice. Be quick to forgive your husband or wife.

I got Paul the "Chief" CD by Eric Church last summer so we could listen to it on the motorcycle and his favorite song quickly became "She Loves Me Like Jesus Does" I cherish those memories. The meaning of the song, that we can both forgive each other and love one another to the point of sacrifice, is a powerful thing.

My favorite line in the song is-

She carries me when my sins make me heavy.

It reminds me of what Paul and I have done for one another over the 16 years we've been together. Haven't we all been burdened by our mistakes? Isn't it nice to have someone carry some of that load?
So work together, say "I'm sorry" more and when you say "I forgive you,"  mean it.

If you're not familiar with the song, here is the link to the beautiful rendition Eric Church did on the ACM's this year:

Desktop Link Eric Church-She Loves Me Like Jesus Does
Mobile  Link  Eric Church- She Loves Me Like Jesus Does

Fears

Day 7, Tuesday: The thing(s) you’re most afraid of

I'm not sure I have "a fear." If you asked me what my husband's are and I can instantly tell you spiders and snakes. I am, in fact, the spider killer in our house. And snakes are also not an issue for me.

I don't like scary movies. I'm not sure it's the content so much as it is the emotions scary movies evoke. I don't feel as if my adrenaline needs to be increased over a fictional situation.

My biggest fear, now that I'm actually thinking about it, is that "I'm doing it wrong" when it comes to parenting. At their very core as well as outwardly to those around them, I know my kids are good people. But for some reason, I fell like I'm screwing them up in some way. Like I should be complimenting them a little more, swearing a little less (admittedly, I do, I swear a lot), or "teaching" them things.

I just want my kids to be honest, successful, kind and happy.

What do you do?

Day 6, Monday: If you couldn’t answer with your job, how would you answer the question, ‘what do you do’?

What do I do....

Well, for starters, I was too busy to write this blog yesterday.

Here is what my day consisted of:

Wake up at 5:55
Make coffee
Wake Ella up
Go to Justin and Tyler's bedroom wake them up
Wake Ella up again
Mediate bathroom time
Wake Joey up
Tell Joey to be quiet because Dad's still sleeping
Clean up milk spills, dishes and cereal
Text KTTC for Wake up and Win *only* when they are giving away lottery tickets
Start laundry
Send the kids off to the bus
Eat my own breakfast
Watch a little TV, catch up on Facebook, check out Pinterest
Get Paul his breakfast (he will seriously not remember to eat if I don't remind him)
Pick up a couple outhouses from a weekend delivery
Hmmm... It is now 9am...
Dust the house
Scrub down the kitchen
Sweep and mop the floor
Fold Laundry
Go to Stewie with Paul to get pop
Go to the basement and start cleaning
Decide basement is too messy to clean
Wash outhouse towels
Fold more laundry
Go get the lawn mower and golf cart out of storage
Put the fishing boat and motorcycle out by the highway for sale
Eat lunch
Go back to Stewie with Paul to get For Sale signs for those items
List items on Craigslist
Start a fire in the backyard
Fold more laundry
Clean bathroom floor
Attend to fire
Burn lots of things. For hours.
Move 'the big pile' of scrap wood and rake under it
Let Ella read me country music lyrics off my phone for Action 100 while in front of the fire for half an hour
Take shower(fire duty is icky)
Make supper
Help Tyler with homework
Get the kids to pick up their shoes, socks, book bags, etc
Watch some TV
Go to bed

Yup, this sounds about like a typical day. So, that's what I do.

Bloggers

Day 5, Sunday: Publicly profess your love and devotion for one of your blogger friends. What makes them great? Why do you love them? If you don’t have blogger friends, talk about a real-life friend or even a family member.

Well... I don't really follow or read blogs on a daily basis.

Unless you consider Pinterest as a hoarder of blogs which is kinda the same as a blog?

I visit Pinterest Daily.

There are a few of my friends who have a blog in which I try to read regularly.

There's my friend, Amber, whom I was just acquaintances in high school but now Facebook with on a regular basis. Her blog is fun. http://pinupatheart.wordpress.com/ I find her smart, funny, and living the kind of life I wanted when I was growing up-Living in the Cities, getting dressed up and going to parties and just living a cool urban life. I love to read and see pictures of "the flip side" of how I live now :)

And then there's another high school acquaintance who has a parenting blog that I love to read. http://life-according-to-leah.blogspot.com/ She started it while her and her husband were in the process of adopting from overseas. As it happens, on top of receiving their blessing, they found out they were having one naturally as well!

My dirty little secret blog is http://starcasm.net/ I occasionally check it out to get the dish on celebrities.

An author I have read, has kept an almost daily blog since 2005. She's funny and her blogs are pretty short, so I like to pop over to her site to see what she's got cookin' http://shannonstacey.com

My sister has a blog! Yeah! I like to read it when she actually writes something! :)
http://whathappensinmyheadandhome.blogspot.com/

Happy Sunday!

Favorite Quote

Day 4, Saturday: Favorite Quote and why you love it

 

 

 

 

 

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered; Forgive them anyway.

 

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway.

 

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway.

 

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway.

 

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway.

 

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway.

 

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway.

 

 Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you've got anyway.

 

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God; It was never between you and them anyway.

 

- Blessed Mother Teresa

 

I love this because in its simplest form, people can be mean. You don't have to be one of those people and in the end, God is who we ultimately answer to and serve.

 

I also think happiness and kindness are infectious. So many people are easily swayed in attitude and personality, so why not put a positive spin on it?

Awkward!

Day 3, Friday: Things that make you uncomfortable.

Bras. Bras make me uncomfortable.

Girls who don't wear bras in public. Leash them puppies up, will ya?

Close talkers. I'm not sure why they need to stand in my personal space? But I don't need to smell your breakfast.

The pants I wore today. They make me uncomfortable. Actually, they fit well. They fit perfect when they were brand new. HOWEVER, they shrunk in length when I washed them and I didn't relize the severity of their shrinkage until I was sitting at the funeral I was attending and they rode half way up my stripper boots.

The fact that Paul calls my very cute tall black boots stripper boots in public.

Not really actually for sure knowing the balance of my checking account when I'm about to swipe my debit card after checking out a cart piled with groceries.

Derogatory comments made by people who have no life experience with the people in which they are referring to.

My contacts make me uncomfortable. I don't think they measured my eye correctly....

Girls who have what I call Bitch Switches. Like, you're all in public and talking to people and all of the sudden the girl next to you flips her Bitch Switch and starts chewing someone out. Calm the hell down and take your meds, girl.


That is all. Thank you all for reading!

Stuff I know...

Day 2, Thursday: Educate us on something you know a lot about or are good at. Take any approach you’d like (serious and educational or funny and sarcastic)

Stuff I know...


I know how to take care of a turtle. I can't remember how my children acquired Wally, but they got a painted turtle when he was the size of a quarter and he grew to  have a shell span of about 6 inches in the two years we had him.

Wally, the Turtle

 

I did a really good job of keeping that turtle alive! Until the day I was cleaning his cage and the dogs ate him. Yes, I said ate :( So maybe we should scratch this whole subject.... Keeping dogs away from turtles is a vital part of their livelihood.... Other than that, if you ever find yourself a proud owner of a pet turtle, talk to me. I can teach you things.

 

 

 

I know how to fold a fitted sheet well. How do I know that? My very first job was in the laundry department at a nursing home.... Also? I only worked weekends and often went out the nights prior, so I know I have a rock solid stomach that can handle just.... about.... anything......

 

 

I'm good at garage saling. I used to take Paul's mom, who was wheelchair bound post stroke plus Joey and Ella when they were both less than three years old. In less than 5 hours, we could hit two different parts of town, load and unload the wheelchair and the kids in carseats, fill up the van with goodies, spend less than $50 and have lunch. We were the power team of misfit garage salers.

 

We're not exactly garage saling here, but this is my power team. And the four of us were out hitting the sales the day after this picture was taken.

 

 

I know I can make people laugh.

 

 This is an example of a text message between myself and my friend Anne, formally known as Annie-Banannie, now Travis VanFartstinkle. Only because she entered me into her phone as Rusty McFuzzlebutt.

 

 

And in turn, I sent her this:

 

My washer did not, as it turns out, want a hooker. It was broken. I called for service instead of calling a call service. Anne's dryer remains temperamental to this day.

I know there is always, alwAYS, ALWAYS something to be thankful for. Even when Paul has been stuck in the hospital for over a week and we were told he could go home two days ago, I have been able to find positives. I just think finding positive things in bad situations is a key to getting through life.

I know sometimes you have to be someone else's light. I try really hard to give a random compliment or share a memory or even give a little pep talk to a different person everyday. Sometimes turning someone's outlook around maybe for a little bit means a lot.

I know here are too may negative people in this world.

I know it takes all kinds to make this world go 'round. That person who treated you as if you were scum between their toes? Well, I hope it reminds you to be nicer to the person you think you're better than. That weird guy who talks to you in the grocery store line or laughs at things that are random or completely dumb? Well, they're probably generally happier than you. Think about it, the simpler an person thinks, the less complicated their life probably is....

I hope I'm good at encouraging people to look towards God in times of trouble. His word calms me and strengthens me. We are His glorious creation, so be grateful for the big and little things He has given us. Ultimately, though we may not achieve or have what we think we should in this life, He will provide in our everlasting life. Until that fateful day, live this day with Godliness and happiness!

My first 24 Years (Okay, so I cheated a little on my first "assignment")

Day 1, Wednesday: The story of your life in 250 words or less (or one paragraph… no one will be counting your words… probably)

I was born the summer of 1980. My parents already had my 11 1/2 month old sister, Jaime, and then my sister, Melissa, came 18 months after me. (Jeez, Mom and Dad!)
We lived on a farm near Dover, Mn (One of those "We've got churches and bars." kind of towns.) and I was a complete farm girl. My sisters and I, and eventually my brother, made some of my favorite lifetime memories playing places we weren't supposed to be on the farm :)
When I was 12, we moved into St. Charles. It was a life changing transition. Not only did we have neighbors living close, we changed schools. I was also diagnosed with Diabetes that year.
Eventually, we went back to our original school, Dover-Eyota.
In about 10th grade, I started going to an alternative school, not because I was "bad" or couldn't get good grades, I just found it hard to juggle my health and teenage emotions and well, whatever. As with the previous two schools, I met people who continue to be large parts of my life today.
It was also there, my dear friend Heidi introduced me to her uncle, Paul on July 18, 1997. We have literally been together everyday since.
A year later, we had Justin. A year and a half after that, we had Tyler, followed by Joey 3 1/2 years after that and finally Ella a mere 14 months later. (Jeez, Me and Paul!)
Paul and I got married, I graduated nursing school and he started a trucking business in between having our kids as well.

Random Thoughts

I having been slipping on writing my blog. Life has completely gotten in the way! I'm also having a hard time coming up with topics and I'm not sure why. Maybe I don't want this to be too "Dear Diary?" So I'm going to throw you some random thoughts of mine:

1. Hey, guess what, Taylor Swift? Your song 22? Yeah, we all did that shiz when we were 15. Grow up a little faster will ya?

2. Ella is convinced she sounds JUST LIKE Carrie underwood when she sings. Yeah... um, no.

3. Speaking of American Idols, doesn't these results night past Idols flashbacks and performances just solidify the fact that we are completely vain and once you leave our TVs we forget about most of you? Let's face it America, we've made poor choices based on emotion and not what music we actually want to hear.

4. I burned my hand on a motorcycle exhaust a few weeks ago and my hand looks nasty, burned and diseased. Until..... My wonderful, loving mama gave me some Band-Aid looking burn strips, but I don't know what they're called.... I guess I'll just go to her house if I ever need more. They are fabulous!

5. We are now providing outhouses Jenny's Greenhouse at Crossroads in Rochester! Woooo-Hoooo!

6. Speaking of outhouses, one of my customers was going to go get his skid loader with forks to unload his delivered toilet off my truck. Super nice guy and very sweet of him, but how does he suppose I get them off the truck when I don't have a skid loader handy???

7. I have 925 Facebook friends.

8. I owe you all a Duck Dynasty post.

9. I'm glad my family has a show like Duck Dynasty that's appropriate and we can all enjoy. It's hard to find things like that anymore.

10. When I was little, our dog, Laddie, would stand on the straw bails that surrounded our farmhouse during the winter and look in the living room window. It would make me cry. Even if I liked him while I was outside, the fact that he was looking in our living room window from the outside freaked me out.

11. I still consider myself a farm girl.

12. I've had Type I Diabetes since I was 12. My friend, Tonya, brought me a stuffed bear when I was in the hospital. I still have it. She was also one of the first people to visit me when I had Justin. I'm glad we're still friends :)

13. I drive a dark blue VW Beetle named Herbie. Herbie used to embarrass me, now I don't want to get rid of him.

14. I've never named another car. Unless you count several previous cars I called "You Piece of Shit."

15. I buy the same style Harley boots every time I buy new ones. I've owned 5 pairs.

16. Ella's random thought is "Spanky is stupid. And Chase is annoying."

17. Someday, I'm going to learn Spanish. I really am.

18. I think the concept of Amish Tours are terrible. I've never been on one, but it seems wrong to be in line to observe them, like one would view zoo animals.

19. When I was little, I LOVED going to the Sales Barn in Lewiston with my dad. Their little diner served the BEST food.

20.  If I were to start any other business, it would have something to do with weddings or babies.... Not because I have a passion for either one, but think about it, they are both big deals in people's lives and happen to almost everyone eventually, so there's always a market for whatever one you'd choose.

21. Them new little Heinz Ketchup squeeze or dip packets? Genius!

22. If I won the lottery, there are two indulgences off hand I would have right away- A new razor every time I shaved and a fountain pop machine at my house. With crunchy ice like they have at Del's or Methodist.

23. My sister, Melissa? Hers would be a brand new pair of socks everyday.

24. I'd like to know how most of the actors on Disney Channel got famous. They suck.

25. Miranda Lambert brings a knife on stage with her and keeps it in the drums so she can pop beach balls that get thrown around during concerts. She finds them annoying and was hit in the face with one once while she was performing. That's why we'd be friends. Our love of hunting and passive aggressive rage.

Best of Pinterest Humor

I thought I was going to get away with a fast post today, but I just spent half an hour looking through my "Things That Make Me Laugh Out Loud" Pinterest board. So... yeah... notsoquick....

Anyways.... Here's some good ones:  

(Then I just wasted more time changing those words to different colors :/)

 

 

I agree. Big ones.

 

 

Yeah, what do you know, phone?

Although, this reminds me of a texting conversation I had with my sister, Jaime, last week. Her phone turned a regular word INTO a swear word.  

 

 

I want me a cape so I can be SUPER LAZY.

Speaking of capes:

 

 

I love this bib.

 

 

Sometimes, even that stuff is half assed, because I'm the:

 

 

And, again, because I'm lazy (and old):

 

 

I wonder what lies my kids' teachers tell them now?

 

 

Seriously, I said this three times before I got it.

 

 

 

 

HA! Gotcha twice!

 





 

Sounds like something my husband would say... He thinks he's funny.

 



Could you imagine saying that to some little old wheelchair bound grandma? :)

 

Here's one from actual people I know:

 

Thanks, Ryan and Gwen, for sharing this. I know I didn't ask permission, but you put it on Facebook, therefore, we all own it :)

 

 

Clever :) But if it were a baby:

 

 

And THIS baby makes me laugh. This may be the funniest thing on Pinterest:

 



 

 

 

One Dish Chicken & Stuffing

As I was walking around Walmart yesterday, I thought some things. The first was, why the ham was I there on a Sunday??? I have options, you know. As in because of our lovely weather, I don't work. Hardly at all. So I could attend Walmart at 7:30 on a Tuesday morning or 1pm on a Thursday. But when do I go? On a weekend. During a break in the inclimate weather. It went from snowflakes the size of goose down feathers (If you are reading this as an archieve, check the date I posted this April-freaking-twenty-first) at 8am to all melted by noon and raining and 50 degrees by 6pm.

So anyway, there I am at Walmart fighting holiday season like crowds, wondering why I was there. Then I wondered what I wanted to make for supper. The everlasting question. So I went for a classic in my house. 

*Warning- I took pictures of my food* Anyone who knows me, knows I can't stand it when people post their food on Facebook, but in this case, it's necessary. 

One Dish Chicken & Stuffing

Here's your ingredients-

(Plus milk and butter)

Put your chicken breasts in a glass baking dish. I then put the dish in the microwave and defrosted the chicken. It doesn't make the chicken cook a whole lot faster, but I was in a hurry.

Then I mixed 2 cans of Cream of Chicken Soup and a can of milk right in the dish, covered it with foil and put it in the oven for 20 minutes on (whatever my stove says in the picture there. I forgot already.)

This is where I get even more lazy and a little bit creative- The package of Stove Top is lined, so you can put your hot water right in the pouch and mix. Add enough hot water to moisten the stuffing.

 Take the chicken out of the oven after it's cooked for twenty minutes, uncover and spread the stuffing over the chicken.

Slice cold butter and put on top. Cover and put back in the oven for 15 minutes.

And you're done! You've used on baking dish and a few utensils.

Because I was feeding seven people, I added mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans.

Before you say, but Sarah, that takes more dishes and time, it's really not too much. This is my family's preferred form of potato:

Laugh all you want, but my family loves powdered mashed potatoes in a can. Think KFC. they taste a lot like that. And they're $7.99 at Fareway. And last forever. Then I microwaved the gravy right in the jar I bought it in and microwaved the green beans as well. So that's only two more dishes.

So there you go. One Dish Chicken Bake.  

A Day in Pictures

Today I will be posting a photo every hour on my blog. I wasn't feeling too inspired today, so I asked Facebookland for help and my friend, Amber, gave me this idea. So, here goes:

8 o'clock Hour

There seems to be a lot of winter gear still in our entryway. Coats, boots, boot dryer, baskets of hats and gloves.....

9 o'clock Hour

Do, do, do, lookin' out my backdoor... We didn't get near the snow my friends to the West, North and East, but it's still hard to wake up to a world of white.

10 o'clock Hour

How we spend our Tuesdays and Fridays...

11 o'clock Hour

This, Friends, is what a bag of Platelets look like.

12 o'clock Hour 

Done at the Clinic, it's time to do a part run on Car Row in Rochester

1 o'clock Hour



Traveling South through Stewartville on Hwy 63

 

2 o'clock Hour



The snow starts coming down in Spring Valley, looking like broken up pieces of Styrofoam.

3 o'clock Hour 

The Basset Hound is hiding the remote.

4 o'clock Hour 

Perhaps I'm jinxing us all by keeping my snowflake crystals hung on the kitchen chandelier.....

5 o'clock Hour





The other two dogs....

 

6 o'clock Hour

 

 

 

The blanket my mom made for me when I was a toddler. Joey uses it every night.

 

 

7 o'clock Hour

 

 

Part of an arrangement I'm working on for a shelf....

 

 





Thanks for coming along on our journey today!

Pinterest Hits and Misses

Wow. It's Thursday. Which means I skipped lots of days! What have I been doing? Not much. That's what. It's just been so cold and rainy, that it's hard to find motivation. Today, I'm going to boogy up a few Pinterest Hits and Misses.

Let's face it, we will never cook, wear, go to, actually install or even read half the things we pin. Pinterest allows us to live in a world where time, money and space run infinite. I'm happy to say I've done some of my pins.... Some equals maybe 18%. It's a darn good thing I'm a 'good enough' kind of girl!

I just have to hop on over to Pinterest and review the things I have tried. (This just took me 12 minutes.)

I've seen that you can use vinegar and baking soda as a natural drain cleaner. 

It works! Not only does it fizz up and unclog things stuck in your drains (I've used for both kitchen and bathroom) but the two ingredients are natural deodorizers. This is a Win Pin with an added bonus. 

Here's one I did yesterday from So Not Betty: Cheap Homemade Stovetop Cleaner

I mixed the stuff up: 

(Equal parts of salt, baking soda and water. I used an ice cream scoop as a measuring unit.) 

Disregard the butter in the picture. It is not an ingredient in this. That is just where my butter dish goes.

And this is what my stovetop looked like:

Obviously, I char the crap out of my stove and don't care so much that it rests like this. 

 

The mixture only did about this well:

I'm pretty sure So Not Betty has a newer stove and doesn't let hers stay incrusted as I do. Sooooo... I decided to use a little kapow power and replaced the water with vinegar. 

Vinegar fizzes when mixed with baking soda, making energy to help break down the solids. Or something like that. I sucked at Science.
After using my recipe and a little elbow grease, these were my results: 

Almost perfect! But not quite. So then I got really tough: 

Actually pretty gentle but with a tough looking tool- the blade from my carpenter knife. I held it at a 45 degree angle and gently scraped the few remainng pieces of crust. Shiny and done! 

I'm going to rate this as a Moderate Fail because my way is better. 

Cup Control

We go through lots of dishes in a day. Lots. Throughout the day, the kids will take a cups out of the cupboard or dish rack for one tiny drink and put it in the dirties- More often than not, they take from the dish rack because after doing all those dishes, I hardly ever have to put them away before they're used again. So I saw this from Bee in our Bonnet:

And though it was great. This is my version....

Fancy, right? Wood Shims with their names drawn in marker?

Yeah.... It's a good thing I didn't emboss coasters and affix them to a cute tray. This lasted one measily day. BUT for that one day? It was glorious. SO many less dishes to wash!!! 

So this is not a Pinterest Fail, this is a Sexton Fail. 

You can't tell this by reading, but I'm taking a super long time finding things I've actually done....

Recipes! 

First of all, this is me:

 

Because when I tried this Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole from Organize and Decorate Everything

and read her directions: 

Coat 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Spread 2 cups cooked rice in bottom of baking dish.

Arrange 3 cups cooked chicken pieces over top of rice.

Layer 6 slices of Swiss cheese on top of chicken.

Then layer 10 slices of cut-up ham on top of the Swiss cheese.

Mix 2 cans cream of chicken soup, 1/2 cup milk, and 1/2 cup sour cream together.

Spread on top of ham.

Crush 10 saltine crackers then add 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt, and 1/2 teaspoon parsleyand mix together.

Sprinkle on top of soup mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Enjoy!
 

I ended up with these notes and modifications: 

Try#1 Notes-Used hashbrown potatoes and was too breakfasty. Baked the chicken, them cut it up. Didn't care for the sour cream taste.Chicken was bland. Next time, I'll try frying the chicken and the ham a while before adding. crescent roll crust. cream cheese instead of sour scream to add more cheesy texture. And Sarah? LESS IS MORE WHEN SEASONING with garlic. Oh yeah, and add some melted butter to the cracker crumbs or toast the top under the broiler

So pretty much I changed a lot of it and ended up with not so great. 

I'm not a big recipe person, by the way. I typically make the smae things over and over and eyeball everything. That's the way cooking should be! Unless you want new things to actually turn out. You should follow the directions perfectly and THEN figure out what you like and what you don't.That was a Sarah Fail

Sopaopilla Cheescake from My Yellow Umbrella

It looks absolutely devine. Like if a mini donut and cheese danish got married. My thoughts? Eh. It tasted a lot like a souped up crescent roll.  

This: 

Do this! It is soooo helpful. But take a Sarah Hint: Slap a level on that biotch prior to drilling. 

WIN! 

Learned this little thing from Pinterest: 

Store you folded sheets inside their accompanying pillow cases. It's smart and makes my linnens look so much more organized and put together. Not to mention, you don't disrupt your piles pulling coordinated sheets from three different places. 

Win some more!

 

Well, thanks for checking out my Pinterest Hits and Misses! I'll try to be more on the ball with my postings! If you want some really funny posts about messed up pins, check out

 

Pintester

 

or

 

Pinstrosity