KEEP THE SCALE GOING DOWNTON CHALLENGE

[DebbyL]

Originally Posted by CarolynF

I do like the homemade detergent mainly because it is sooooo cheap...and it does a fine job. Of course, if you have a stain, you have to pre-treat like most detergents.

Let me find the complete instructions for you.


No-grate homemade laundry detergent:

3 Tablespoons Borax
3 Tablespoons Washing Soda
2 Tablespoons Dawn Dish soap

Put these ingredients in a one gallon jug. Pour 4 cups boiling water into the jug. Swirl until ingredients are dissolved in the liquid. Let liquid cool. Then fill almost to the top with cold water. The bubbles will overflow out of the bottle.

I haven't tried this but the reviews are pretty good. It is very watery so some folks have used 1/3 cup of each ingredient. If you have issues with the Dawn you can use Dr. Bonner's. Use one cup in regular washer, 1/2 cup in HE.

Wow, so its liquid detergent. What is washing soda? where do you buy it?
Thanks!

[DebbyL]

Originally Posted by Buffy45

Good Morning!
I am going to lunch with a friend today, first time since I have been sick except to go eat with family. I am looking forward to it.
Debby, too bad the men at your church haven't been to the Dr. on this flu, my friends and family that got in immediately and got the tami flu were over it within 3 days. I was amazed.
My sodium level is running low, has been slowly getting lower over the past several years to where now it is showing up on my blood tests as low. They took blood again yesterday as 2 weeks ago it came back low. Wonder what they will do if it continues to be low?

Have fun on your lunch!
That's very interesting about the tami flu. Will try to remember that, if my dh gets flu.
I didn't know they checked sodium levels. Is that something they do for your bp? I bet mine are really low.

[CarolynF]

Hi ladies..

You know, I saw the Woolite today and thought about it. My mother's friend used it for everything and her clothes always looked great..I should buy a bottle for my nice things..Most of my stuff is casual, but sometimes I am worried about fading..

Men are stubborn..

Just delivered a lasagne to my pregnant neighbor (diabetic). Her little boy is due on
Thursday via a C-section. Praying everything goes okay. She will freeze the lasagne.
Freezer meals are the new things for the younger crowd...LOL..

[CindyCRNA]

[JMCM1]

Hi all!

Yes Carolyn, what is washing soda? That is interesting.

I tried making big drop dumplings out of that fantastic flour mix of Ouizoid's -- they disintegrated. I had made Peggy's little dumplings with great success earlier, so I might do that today and give it to the kids. I gave them such a giant stock pot of chicken and broth, I'm not going to cook much today.

Well, I'll make them some "buns" out of that fantastic flour mix, as DH is out grilling hamburgers for all of us to have on-hand for a meal here & there.

Buffy, DDBP was given tamiflu. She said she already felt a little better yesterday, just a little weak. We are both hoping she could avoid the awful cough that goes with the flu.

I have a great deal of house-tidying to do. These things happen. LOL

[CarolynF]

Hi Cindy!!!!!

Washing soda is by arm and hammer and is near the laundry stuff at Wallies. In fact it is right next to the Borax.

I made some stuffed eggplant for dinner. Stuffed with onion, yellow pepper,hamburger , spaghetti sauce, and cheese.

[Buffy45]

Carolyn, I really like woolite and I get both the regular and the one for darks, it really does keep clothing newer looking, especially is used with cool water, gentle cycle, hanging to dry, etc. like I said sometimes I wish my clothes would wear out, lol.

Enjoyed lunch out with my friend, then was going to go to the movie identify theft but she said she would like to see it, but, couldn't today, so maybe another day.

Maybe next week I will get back to cooking some more.

Hi Cindy, good to C ya

Going to DDs tomorrow to have lunch with her and see little Bobby and Ava. Missing my little ones, so next I need to feel up to a trip to Austin.

[JMCM1]

Originally Posted by Buffy45

Carolyn, I really like woolite and I get both the regular and the one for darks, it really does keep clothing newer looking, especially is used with cool water, gentle cycle, hanging to dry, etc. like I said sometimes I wish my clothes would wear out, lol.

Enjoyed lunch out with my friend, then was going to go to the movie identify theft but she said she would like to see it, but, couldn't today, so maybe another day.

Maybe next week I will get back to cooking some more.

Hi Cindy, good to C ya

Going to DDs tomorrow to have lunch with her and see little Bobby and Ava. Missing my little ones, so next I need to feel up to a trip to Austin.

I believe you might be feeling a little better!!
I sure hope so - I think about you every day.

Carolyn your dinner sounds delicious!
And I do believe I've seen the arm & hammer soda in the washing aisle. I guess I thought it was a full detergent by itself. It must be an additive.

[Buffy45]

I am feeling better, really feel like I have turned the corner

[CindyCRNA]

Originally Posted by Buffy45

I am feeling better, really feel like I have turned the corner

YEAH!!! Thats what the literature says. Tough out the first 2-6 weeks and you can get over the hump!!!

My BF is in bed sick. Here our household goes!!

[JMCM1]

OH NO Cindy.
Stay 6' away in air space, wash your hands, and don't touch your hands to your face.
I am saying that FULL of irony knowing you are a nurse....

Hope you can stay OK and hope BF has something minor, and short-lasting.

[Shalbrihil]

Good evening ladies. We just finished dinner of spaghetti squash spaghetti. It sure hit the spot. I have sauce left over so may make up some zucchini noodles for the rest of it.

Carolyn stuffed eggplant sounds like a great idea too. We use eggplant a lot here but never tried it stuffed.

Waving to Cindy sorry bf is under the weather. Was your trip a nice one?

Buffy it's so good to see you becoming yourself again.

Judy you're sure cooking up a storm. What a lucky DDBP to have such a sweet little cook like you .

Sure hoping the frost stays away in the morning now that storm we had has past us. All in all it was really nice today.

See you all tomorrow. Have a nice evening.

[Buffy45]

24 hours until 2 hours of Downton Abbey

[DebbyL]

Originally Posted by Buffy45

I am feeling better, really feel like I have turned the corner

Awesome!

Originally Posted by Shalbrihil

Good evening ladies. We just finished dinner of spaghetti squash spaghetti. It sure hit the spot. I have sauce left over so may make up some zucchini noodles for the rest of it.
Carolyn stuffed eggplant sounds like a great idea too. We use eggplant a lot here but never tried it stuffed.
Waving to Cindy sorry bf is under the weather. Was your trip a nice one?
Buffy it's so good to see you becoming yourself again.
Judy you're sure cooking up a storm. What a lucky DDBP to have such a sweet little cook like you .
Sure hoping the frost stays away in the morning now that storm we had has past us. All in all it was really nice today.
See you all tomorrow. Have a nice evening.

Yum, love Spaghetti squash.
Hope your weather straightens up too. Big mess to clean up, hey?

Hi all,
I did most of the day in office. Made some headway. Ski'd with dh, that was fun.
My poor dd is very concerned for her dh, causing extreme anxiety in her. He's been going to meetings at a church teaching a different religion & is close to making a decision to follow their teachings. She's so upset, please pray for them, if you think of them. DH is going to talk with him tonight, pray that God breaks through to him.
Thanks friends.

[JMCM1]

Originally Posted by DebbyL

My poor dd is very concerned for her dh, causing extreme anxiety in her. He's been going to meetings at a church teaching a different religion & is close to making a decision to follow their teachings. She's so upset, please pray for them, if you think of them. DH is going to talk with him tonight, pray that God breaks through to him.
Thanks friends.

Oh dear - that is very worrisome.
How long have they been married? How old is he? Stopping myself from asking how did this happen because I'm sure it's a long story...

You're all in my prayers.

[DebbyL]

Originally Posted by JMCM1

Oh dear - that is very worrisome.
How long have they been married? How old is he? Stopping myself from asking how did this happen because I'm sure it's a long story...
You're all in my prayers.

Thanks so much Judy, Means a lot.
Her dh likes learning & felt he could help "them" so was going to their meetings to see what they believed... & has now apparently been sucked in. DH is talking with him now. and as suspected, its a doctrinal discussion. To me, its more about what he's doing to his wife & family... good its not me talking.

[Buffy45]

Sorry to hear that Debby, some of those groups are so controlling and can easily sway people to their beliefs. Hope he will listen and be open to what your DH has to say.

[DebbyL]

Thanks Buffy,
It seemed to go well. Praying he makes things right with dd. She is so upset. Thanks for you prayers! God will make a way.

[CarolynF]

Good morning ladies..

Cindy must home now...Sorry about your BF..Doctors make the worse patients..He is lucky he has a nurse to help him along.

Identity theft looks like a fun movie..Glad you are feeling better, Buffy...

Oh, Debby, that is heartbreaking about your soninlaw. I have a friend whose soninlaw just starting preaching in a church that is off on their theology. She has tried to talk to him, but he truly believes that stuff..Just praying that God would reveal the truth to him.
It might take a while, but God is the best teacher of all..Glad your dh made some headway.

Anyone have folks in New England? My 2 brothers live there..One said they had a foot of snow in their driveway, but the drifts are the problem.

Have a good day..We have been getting some rain, so that is good, but we need more for the farmers to be happy. Plus, if the city bans watering this summer, no one will buy flowers or plants.

[CindyCRNA]

Originally Posted by JMCM1

OH NO Cindy.
Stay 6' away in air space, wash your hands, and don't touch your hands to your face.
I am saying that FULL of irony knowing you are a nurse....

Hope you can stay OK and hope BF has something minor, and short-lasting.

Too late! Anyway, you know when you have a sick one in the house, you've already touched everything they have . He passed out leaning over the toilet thinking he was going to throw up but fell over instead. I didn't hear it but when he woke he called me and I found him wedged between the toilet and the wall, white as a ghost. It hit him quick. Strangely, he is better today, never threw up or had diarrhea, but ran a fever and body aches. Weird.

[DebbyL]

Originally Posted by CarolynF

Good morning ladies..
Oh, Debby, that is heartbreaking about your soninlaw. I have a friend whose soninlaw just starting preaching in a church that is off on their theology. She has tried to talk to him, but he truly believes that stuff..Just praying that God would reveal the truth to him.
It might take a while, but God is the best teacher of all..Glad your dh made some headway.

Good morning!
Ah, that's sad too Carolyn (about your friend's sil). We didn't hear from dd yet, so not sure how things went. "Hoping" & praying.

Originally Posted by CindyCRNA

Too late! Anyway, you know when you have a sick one in the house, you've already touched everything they have . He passed out leaning over the toilet thinking he was going to throw up but fell over instead. I didn't hear it but when he woke he called me and I found him wedged between the toilet and the wall, white as a ghost. It hit him quick. Strangely, he is better today, never threw up or had diarrhea, but ran a fever and body aches. Weird.

Oh my Cindy! Wow, he must really be sick. Hope he gets well soon.

Hi y'all!
We have a beautiful sunny day here in British Columbia. Looking forward to worship & fellowship today, and spending time with ds & his family.
Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!

[CarolynF]

Hi

Two of my friends passed out with this illness, too not to mention Hillary. Hope you bf is on the mend and that you don't get it...

Mexican for lunch, but took half of it home. No dinner for me tonight. Can't wait for DA and Bates' return.

[Buffy45]

What's with the passing out from the flu? Odd symptom, don't think any of my family had that. That is never good, you never know what will be in your way, one time I got a concussion from passing out and hitting my head on the tub.

Had lunch with 2 of my DD's and little Bobby and Ava, fun as always.

[CindyCRNA]

Originally Posted by Buffy45

What's with the passing out from the flu? Odd symptom, don't think any of my family had that. That is never good, you never know what will be in your way, one time I got a concussion from passing out and hitting my head on the tub.

Had lunch with 2 of my DD's and little Bobby and Ava, fun as always.

My BF (a doctor so he can sort of rationalize it out) thought he had a vagal response which is when your heart rate drops really low do to a cause such as pain (I've done that) or nausea/vomiting. You pass out due to your super low heart rate which leads to super low blood pressure.

[JMCM1]

Originally Posted by CindyCRNA

My BF (a doctor so he can sort of rationalize it out) thought he had a vagal response which is when your heart rate drops really low due to a cause such as pain (I've done that) or nausea/vomiting. You pass out due to your super low heart rate which leads to super low blood pressure.

And there are many many viruses/illnesses going around - not even necessarily the flu. It's a hard winter for the illnesses - or a good winter for them, now that I'm confusing myself.

Debby I bet it will take a long while to get that SIL sorted out. So glad your DH made some headway - or hope he did.

I realize any number of people can read these boards, and I hardly ever put my real birthday on any signup forms, but today is my day. I sat next to my mother in choir and then we had lunch. Saw my DSS (dear skinny sister) and most of her family.

Then, for some reason, I agreed to be on a church committee. I think they tried their best to let me know how much NOT fun it was and to never agree to such a thing again. Mission accomplished!

[TuscanGirl]

Judy!!!

[DebbyL]

I'm going to echo Mary Kay...
Happy birthday Judy!!!

Thanks everyone for your prayers. I called dd this afternoon. She's feeling a bit better, but quite wiped out. SIL called her last night, & acknowledged the hurt/worry she is feeling, which is a good step, since before he just dismissed it, when she tried to talk with him. Apparently she also called his parents & his Dad had called just before my dh called. He said he felt bombarded. So we keep praying. God has been very present to dd today, comforting & speaking to her through everything at her church. God is good. We will continue to pray & trust that Jesus gets them both through this. HE is able. Thanks again for all your prayers.

We had a very good day today, great service & fellowship, and nice relaxing time at home. DH & I went for a more challenging ski this afternoon too, following a horse-trail in 3 ft of snow... quite the work... felt like we were snow-shoeing instead of skiing, except when we went down the too-steep part!

Wow, we get tomorrow off too!

Good night friends!

[Buffy45]

Judy

[JMCM1]

AAAAAAAH!!! You darling friends!!

Thank you so much!

I made my own birthday cake from Ouizoid's Fantastic Flour Mix - if any of you need the basics, let me know and I'll post it with my own tweaks and you can decide for yourself.

I have a couple of personal casserole dishes - 4-1/2" in diameter and that is what I make my little cakes and hamburger buns/bread in.

Ouizoid posted a cake pop recipe I'll probably try soon (since I borrowed my mother's cake pop baker) but tonight I just used her recipe (cut in 1/2) to make my cake:

1/4 cup Ouizoid's flour
1 heaping tbsp. Hershey's special dark cocoa
1 Tbsp. softened butter
2 packets Truvia (I used the generic Wal-Mart brand)<-- added by Judy
(added by Judy) 1 Tbsp. HWC
(added by Judy) 2 Tbsp. Hood CC milk
Sugar-free chocolate Torani's or DaVinci's - enough to make it look slightly thicker than cake batter

Microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds in high-wattage microwave.

I topped it with an ounce of cream cheese, softened, plus 1 Tbsp. butter and a large splash of vanilla DaVinci.

This was so good!!!

[JMCM1]

Hello, good morning, good day.

Hope you are all well.

Doing some paperwork today, then giving blood later this afternoon.
Will remember to take my own snack - theirs are carbs.

I stopped weighing and measuring and charting my food a little before Thanksgiving.
My lowest low was 152, but I was at 154 when I stopped charting, etc.
Christmas, travels, birthday, etc. etc. etc.
I knew I'd have to give my weight when I gave blood today.
I weigh 154!

I think If I would work out a little, I might be able to get into the 140s. I know that's not skinny for me, but it would be sufficient for my purposes. I could live well and healthfully, I think, in the 140s. I'm not a tiny person frame-wise.

Kind of calling this a success because I feel like I've eaten very well and I feel in no way deprived.