Frugal Franny Friday

I'm thinking of making this a weekly feature...is that something you are interested in, my dear readers? (This would be a great time to de-lurk & let me know who you are, you lurkers you. In other words, comments comments comments, I love me some comments :))
I would post a frugal recipe or tip & maybe a question every now & then...might put mr linky to work (if I can figure him out) if y'all like the idea.

So today's Frugal Franny recipe is my first frugal recipe find. Laundry soap is soooo expensive & not so great for the environment. I searched online to see if there was a cheaper alternative & found several. Most of them made liquid detergent, but I've always used powder so I went that route. Plus to make the liquid stuff you need a five gallon bucket to store it & I just don't want that much detergent sitting around (Eli is just waaaay to good at opening things he shouldn't, if you know what I mean.)
So I tweaked the original recipe to suit my tastes & it's what I've used for about the last year.

1 bar '>Fels Naphta soap
1/2 heaping Cup Borax
1/2 heaping cup Super Washing Soda
Grate the Fels Naphta, discarding the last bit of the bar (which, if you do grate it, might make you loose a fingertip or 2. Not that I know anything about how that could happen...nope, not me!)
If it grates into little curls, smoosh them up so they will dissolve better. (a food processor would be very handy here, unfortunately I don't own one so I have to do it the manual way.)
Add Borax & Washing Soda & stir.
Use 1 tbsp per load, for heavily soiled clothes use 1- 1/2 to 2 tbsp.

You could use other kinds of soap if you have sensitive skin or anything, just your usual bar soap works just dandy. However, my hubby is convinced those would gunk up the pipes over time so we don't go that route. I could find nothing on the Internet about anybody having this problem though.
I wash most of my clothes in cold water to save energy & this mixture works fine for me. I do run just a little hot water to dissolve the soap before I switch to cold & add the clothes.
If you are interested in the liquid recipe just Google homemade laundry detergent & you should find it pretty quick.

Who?

I found this over on My Little Corner of the World, who got it from Diary of a Stay at Home Mom & I thought I'd join in the fun.

1. Who is your man? My fabulous hubby Chris that I love sooooooo much.
2. How long have you been together? We met almost 11 years ago & have been married for 10.
3. How long did you date before you got married? 5 months.
4. How old is your man? 33.
5. Who eats more? Usually Chris.
6. Who said "I love you" first? Chris.
7. Who is taller? Chris by 3 inches.
8. Who sings better? Me - he's not got a horrible voice or anything but sometimes he makes me wince cos he's so off key. (Sorry honey, I love you but it's true.)
9. Who is smarter? Useless knowledge - Chris. Practical common sense - me...but don't ask Chris what his opinion is :)
10. Whose temper is worse? Oh mine by far!
11. Who does the laundry? Mostly me.
12. Who takes out the garbage? Mostly me but I try hard to get him to do it.
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me.
14. Who pays the bills? Right now Chris does it.
15. Who is better with the computer? Chris.
16. Who mows the lawn? Usually Chris but I do part of it sometimes.
17. Who cooks dinner? Mostly me but Chris is a fantastic cook when the mood strikes him.
18. Who drives when you are together? Me but only because he has to drive so far to work & he's sick of it.
19. Who pays when you go out? Whoever has their wallet handy.
20. Who is the most stubborn? That's pretty equal which makes for some dandy fights!
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? We are equally bad at this, I'd say it's about 50/50.
22. Whose parents do you see most? Mine but only cos they live closer & they can visit us a lot. Chris' mom can't travel much & we can't afford to.
23. Who kissed who first? It was kinda mutual but he pulled the "do you want a neck rub?" move on me - totally knew where that was heading!
24. Who asked who out? He drove a very long way to take me out...one of these days I'm gonna blog about how we met.
25. Who proposed? He did.
26. Who is most sensitive? He is e.x.t.r.e.m.e.l.y sensitive & I'm e.x.t.r.e.m.e.l.y sarcastic - not a great combo sometimes!
27. Who has the most friends? Me - definitely me.
28. Who has more siblings? Chris.
29. Who wears the pants in the family? Chris cos he's the head of the family...but I'm the neck that turns the head, woo-hoo!
30. How did you meet? On the internet.

Spellcheck is my friend

Your Common Spelling Mistake Score: 65% Correct

Your spelling is decent, but you do make quite a few mistakes. Let's just say you won't be winning a spelling bee anytime soon!

Do You Make Common Spelling Mistakes?

Oh yeah, this is so me. I'm always spelling things wrong, there's just some words I can't keep in my head right. Yup, I love my spellcheck I do.

Weekend events

Hey y'all, hope ya had a good & restful labor day weekend.

We went for a brief visit to my sister M, who lives in the tri-cities - about a 2 hour drive South of us. It was a fun time, we arrived Sunday afternoon so M could watch the kids while we went to a party hosted by the foreman on Chris's current job site.

Their house was insane - big, beautiful & perfect for entertaining. We were waaaaay out of our element! They throw a party like this every year & invite co-workers, friends & their kids friends. The booze was flowing freely & a live band was set to play later in the evening.

But back to the house. 3 br 2 ba, huge kitchen with all stainless steel appliances, double oven, ceramic cook top...pretty much anything you could ask for in a kitchen, they had it. The house also had a great room, office, formal dining & living rooms, 2 car garage & a 2 car/RV garage/shop with all the toys big boys want. They had parking for about 100 cars (extended their driveway across the front of the shop & combined with the neighbor.) The patio was flawlessly landscaped with 2 fountains flowing down rocky mounds, a gazebo with a koi pond inhabited by 2 huge koi & beyond that a ginormous lawn.

We had fun but knew few people there. Actually only Chris knew any of them, I didn't know anyone until after we arrived. Bricklayers are an interesting bunch & Chris told me our host (a very charming & friendly guy) has a completely different vocabulary when he's on the job. I got ticked off at one of the guys. Chris really likes working with him & says he makes his kids top priority & all, but he was wearing this shirt. This shirt with a big-breasted-perfect-body model on the back, wearing a barely-there string bikini. Every time he turned around I cringed & what really got me was there were little kids there!!! Maybe I'm judgemental but I don't think that's appropriate attire around children. Luckily I was able to keep my big mouth shut & I was very glad our kids weren't around to see it!

We didn't stay long, just enough to mingle a bit & eat dinner - we aren't into watching a bunch of drunk people try to dance -been there, done that & over it thankyouverymuch!

After we got back to M's house we hung out with her boys & watched a movie. Monday morning M made positively sinful Cinnamon rolls for breakfast - we each had 2 & paid for it with tummy aches later - can't eat that much butter without repercussions! Then M took me over to the salon she works at & cut my hair - we took about 4 inches off & gave me bangs again. I'm not used to it yet but I like it. My hair has been growing for too long & it was time to chop! Next time I'll go shorter...have to take it gradually for the hubby's sake, he's a die-hard long hair lover & does not like change. I'll post a pic in a few days...gatta get the hang of drying & styling again.

The kids were all mad we had to leave, as they always are. They think M hung the moon & have a great time playing with their older cousins & uncle. But once they calmed down we had a nice drive home & got there in plenty of time to get ready for the week ahead.

Chris only has 2 days left at this job site & the next one should be closer to home. Only 1 hour away instead of 2+. He might have some energy left for us at the end of the day - amazing!!

Well, I hope you all had a great weekend...I'll be around to visit everyone later today or tomorrow.

Don't forget about the kids!