I'm in love!

I know it wasn't that long ago I wrote about the wonders of the Kindle and told you how awesome it was and well, at the time it was. But I'm fickle when it comes to electronics and I've moved on to a new love.

Everything wonderful you've heard about the iPad... yeah... believe it. It's that good. The best apps so far...

Netflix: If you have a Netflix account (thanks Jill) with instant movie capabilities, just download the Netflix app to watch them instantly on your iPad. Seriously, how cool is that?

ABC: Same thing... most (any?) TV shows that come on ABC can be watched at your convenience on your iPad.

Zinio: Magazine subscriptions delivered digitally to your iPad. Cosmo for $15.00 for 12 issues, Oprah for $18.00 for 12 issues and the same for Martha Stewart Living I think. Good Housekeeping, 12 issues for $8.00. MY FAVORITE THING SO FAR!

USA Today: Download the headlines every morning in Sports, Tech, Lifestyle and Top News. Looks just like a newspaper without that yucky paper feel. Love this one, too!

Kindle App: All my Kindle books but can be accessed and read on the iPad. My poor Kindle. I'm sorry, baby. You were fun while you lasted but come on... you have to understand. We can still be friends. :)

I can't even do justice to how awesome this thing is but stop by... I'll give you the grand tour. Trust me on this one. (Really this time.)

Just say NO!...to Wal-Mart. :)

If you know me then you know how much I hate Wal-Mart. Of course, I've shopped at Wal-Mart consistently up until this year even though I've hated it. The convenience of getting groceries and other necessary items in one stop does have its appeal and that is why I continued to shop there. Chris and I decided to make an effort this year to only go there if we ABSOLUTELY have to and I'm proud to say we have spent less than $70 ($63.04 actually) there in 2010. That may seem like a lot but, in the past, we would have spent that much and more at least once per week. Blah.blah.blah. Long story short....

One of the more difficult things about not going to Wal-Mart is that buying things like Pine-Sol and Magic Erasers cost SO MUCH MORE in the grocery store than at Wal-Mart. Luckily, I've found a better solution: alice.com Alice.com sells exciting things like Tylenol and paper towels and dish detergent. You can order the products online and set up reminders to buy that product weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc. The products are delivered right to your door and as long as you order at least 6 items, the shipping is FREE!!!

Some products are probably still more expensive than buying them at Wal-Mart but they are definitely cheaper than buying them at the grocery store. In addition, if there is a manufacturer's coupon available, Alice will apply it to your order automatically. Sweet! I'm in.
I received my first order this week.



In addition to the products I ordered, I received free sample of laundry booster, a granola bar and a full size carpet cleaner.

SCORE!!!

Mom and I went "treasure" hunting this weekend. I found the best treasure for $19.95! After I got it home I looked it up on the Broyhill website. It retails for $389! Sweet! It goes perfectly in the master bedroom!

Homemade Laundry Detergent or as I like to call it...what you do on a Monday night for fun.

What better way to spend a Monday night than to make some homemade laundry detergent? I know, I know, just call us the Duggars. I've wanted to try it for a while now so I got the ingredients this evening after work. I was able to find everything at Food City. The ingredients are Washing Soda, Borax and Fels-Naptha laundry bar soap. I found the washing soda and Borax on the laundry aisle but for some reason the Laundry Bar Soap was with the regular bars of soap a couple of aisles over. It is definitely a laundry product though so check there first.
The recipe is:
1 Bar of Fels-Naptha soap finely grated
1 cup of Borax
1 cup of Washing Soda

If you are interested, there is also a liquid recipe that you can find online. Just Google it.

Grate up the bars of soap. Chris used the grater. I tried the food processor. Either way, the results were about the same.

Here are all four bars grated up. (we made a quadruple batch)

Add 4 cups of washing soda.

Mix well.

Add 4 cups of Borax and mix again.

The directions I read said to use one tablespoon per load for normal loads or two tablespoons for heavily soiled clothes.

We have a High Efficiency Front Load washer and since the detergent has a low suds content, it is safe for front load washers. Trying it for the first time tonight.

I'll let you know the results.

So here's the break down of cost per load as best as I can figure it.

4 bars of Fels-Naptha soap: $5.00

1 box of Borax: $4.29

1 box of washing soda: $2.99

I used all four bars of soap so add $5.00

+ half a box of Borax so add $2.15

+ 2/3 box of washing soda so add $2.00

+ tax of 46 cents for a grand total of: $9.61

For the sake of arguement, let's assume that all our loads are heavily soiled and we use 2 Tablespoons of detergent for every load. There are 16 tablespoons in a cup. There are a total of 16 cups in the recipe I made. Based on that, I made enough detergent to do 128 loads of laundry. $9.61 divided by 128 loads equals 7.5 cents per load.

As a comparison, I normally use Gain detergent. At Walgreens's, Gain costs $9.99 for 40 loads. The cost is 25 cents per load. Making your own will save you 17.5 cents per load.

Yes, I'm fully cognizant of the fact that I need a life.

Half way there...

My New Year's resolution for 2009 was to read 52 books. I got half way there with 26. June and July were my worst months and I didn't read anything. Also, packing and moving in September didn't help much either. Here they are. Yes, there is some smut, I am the first to admit, but there were a few classics, too.

January:
Eclipse - Stephanie Meyer - I admit, I got sucked into the whole Twilight Saga and it's all Maranda's fault.
The Rescue - Nicholas Sparks - I knew better than to read anything by him. I've hated everything I've ever read by him and this one was no different. I blame it on being a cheap download on the Kindle.
Breaking Dawn - Stephanie Meyer - What? I had to finish it up to see what happened.

February:
The Hour I First Believed - Wally Lamb - I found three or four good stopping points in this book, unfortunately, the author missed them.
Outlander - Diana Gabaldon - This was the first book club book I've ever participated in. Being part of the book club made the book much more interesting to me because other readers brought out a lot of things that I missed while I was reading. I got Maranda hooked on this series and I quit after the first one. Payback to her for the Twilight thing.
Being Martha - Lloyd Allen - I've always liked reading biographies and this one about Martha Stewart was no different. It was a quick and easy read about an interesting, if not controversial, lady.

March:
The Shack - William Paul Young - While it was eye opening and made me look at things a little differently, I don't think it lived up to all the hype it received.
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini - The best book I've read this year and in the Top 3 of my all time favorite books. The movie did not compare, but they rarely do.
The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery - A short and sweet little book. I read it and marked it off of the list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. Actually, I worked quite a few off that list this year. You can find the list online if you care to search for it. Use Google.
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte - I'm glad I read it but it was just so-so. I would have enjoyed the book much better if ole Emily Bronte could have come up with different names for the characters. It was confusing that the mother and daughter had the same name and half the time I didn't know who I was reading about.

April:
The Reader - Berhard Schlink - Not the best book, not the worst, but a quick read with a decent story, just not enough plot.
A Walk in the Woods - Bill Bryson - One of the only books this year that literally made me laugh out loud.
P.S. I Love You - Cecelia Ahern - Super sad, but I have to say, the movie was better than the book.
Sex and the City - Candace Bushnell - I thought I would really enjoy this book because I loved the HBO series so much. Worst book of the year, by far!
My Best Friend's Girl - Dorothy Koomson - Good book, interesting story line, quick read. Would read more from this author.
Taking Heat - Ari Fleischer - Another autobiography of Fleischer's life as Press Secretary in the Bush White House. I dig autobiographies. What an interesting and stressful job!

May:
Handle with Care - Jodi Picoult - For some reason I can't even remember what this book was about. Obviously it left no impression on me at all. Seriously, I have to go look at it now to see.
Confessions of a Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella - I read this because I saw there was a movie coming out. I never made it to see the movie so I'm not sure which is better but the book was cute. Easy read.
The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver - I struggled, A LOT.
It's All about Him - Denise Jackson - An autobiography from Denise Jackson about her struggles in her marriage to country singer, Alan Jackson and her struggle to find her identity.

August:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer - Odd name, good book. My second favorite of the year. Totally charming.
The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown - I know I'm a little late on this one. Couldn't put it down once I started it though.

October:
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen - Why haven't I read this before now? Wonderful book! I want to be Elizabeth Bennett so badly! Seriously deserves its "classic" status!
(I read the majority of Freakenomics this month too but I don't count it because I didn't quite finish it. I lost interest.)

December:
Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris - I blame this one on Jill. I think I've had enough vampire books to last me a while.
The Christmas Bus - Melody Carlson - A free Kindle download. Nice story, not much depth.
Little Women - Louisa May Alcott - I really like this book and like the story but for some reason, I've struggled to get it finished.

So there you have it. What did you read this year? What do I need to put on my 2010 list? Have you read any of these? What are your thoughts?

There's a New Kid in Town!

We got a new puppy! Bridget came to live with us on Thursday night. Dr. Burnop and his wife were fostering her for the Humane Society. Her mother and three puppies were found abandoned in a barn. We're not sure what kind of dog she is but we really don't care. She's sweet as she can be, but she's definitely a PUPPY! There's a lot of training to do and Chris and I are totally worn out, but she's a lot of fun and will live a happy life here. I think she will help us heal from missing Brady. She will never replace him but she has her own special personality. We love her already and we'll love her even more when she is housebroken!

Chris gave her two rules. No sitting on the furniture and no sleeping in the bed. Neither rule lasted long and it wasn't me or Bridget who broke them.

Pictures soon!

As promised (a month late)...A Virtual Open House

127 Magnolia Lane

We've moved! Still getting settled, as you'll be able to tell from the pictures. Please ignore the fact that all the walls are white and there are virtually no curtains.

Patio in between the carport and back porch. Great place for a hot tub, don't ya think?

Back porch. These doors go into the living room.

View from office, front of the house. NEED CURTAINS. :)

Here is where my sweet guests will lay their heads when they come to visit. BYOC! (Bring your own curtains) :)

Basement.

Computer center. This is right at the back door when you come in off the carport. A nice place to collect all that junk you bring in with you.

Laundry room.

View of dining room from kitchen.

View of dining room from living room. NEED Curtains. (Notice a pattern here?)

Note to self.... clean black smoke dust off of bricks.

Another note to self... read stack of magazines and throw away.

Quite possibly the ugliest mantle ever.

What would you all put on these shelves?

Foyer

Living room

Opposite side of living room

Master bedroom

Ahhh... my reading chair!

Back in May I flew to my sister's house in St. Louis for my niece's high school graduation. Thankfully, my sister Sharon asked me to stay with her. This was the first time I had stayed in her new house and I felt very comfortable immediately when I walked in the door. Sharon is one of those people that just have a knack for decorating. I want my house to look just like hers. I, not unlike her, can't stand clutter. She has the neatest house but at the same time it feels comfortable and welcoming. Mine? Not so much. It's looking pretty sterile around here at the moment. All the walls are contractor beige and I've only got curtains in two rooms. Sharon's coming to spend Thanksgiving with me and I hope she gets bored while she's here, takes pity on me, and helps me fix this place up. (Hint, hint.) ;)

My friend Sarah is the same way. She has the best ideas and best paint colors ever! (You can see for yourself if you follow her blog link on my page.) When we moved into our last house, Sarah picked out all my curtains. I hate curtains. Sarah's coming to spend a weekend with me in December and I hope she gets bored while she's here, takes pity on me, and helps me fix this place up. (Hint, hint.) ;)