Welcome to my World

I always get a kick out of the pictures my kids take with my camera's phone... Some days I find pictures of the dog scratching himself, or of matchbox cars, or dollies or random things like me cooking dinner, or the kids doing somersaults!  Here are a few of my current favorites:  

    Back on October 29 I posted about the Laundry soap that I made from this recipe .  I originally started out with about 16 cups of Soap (the above container plus the below container.)   Today I still have the above container that I haven't touched, and this much(below) left of the original container!   When I added them together I have this much (below) left of my original batch that I made TWO MONTHS ago!   As you can see, I have been keeping track of the scoops I've used. (the black marks on the lid) Conclusion After 2 Months of Use: I have used a little over half of the soap and gotten 125 scoops out of it.   Which translates to 250 Tablespoons or 125 potential loads.  I say 125 "potential" because I sometimes used a scoop and a half for really dirty loads. How did it work: I have not really noticed any difference in the way it cleans.  It seems to work great!   What would I do differently next time: 1.I would cut up ...

  So, this is Christmas, Nolt-Style...  Today Joanna "helped" me make some apple pies and then she had to sit and watch them bake (this only lasted a few minutes).  Her dolly and kitty had to watch too.  Here is a sneak peak at our pies.   And here is a sneak peak at some Christmas decorations around the house...  The banner above, was a pinterest idea, as was the front-door wreath...  The primitive wood nativity, that i love(above) and the Little People nativity that joanna loves(below)  Another pinterest idea (above)...chalkboard nametags...!  Ritz PB Crackers!(above) and Puppy Chow(below)  Monster Cookies (above) and Molasses Cookies (below) (Not pictured:Frosted Sugar and Andes mint) lol  Oh, and these buttery Press Cookies!  MMMM So, that is a little of Christmas with the Nolts....(Disclaimer: I could not have made all those cookies without Mom Nolt's help!!)  Can't wait to get together with Family and share...

We were gone most of last week and weekend at a Prison Crusade.  We had 6 services and were left feeling emotionally and physically drained while feeling spiritually charged.  We got home Sunday nite and spent the next day and a half getting laundry done and preparing to leave again! Tuesday afternoon my honey and I went on an excursion to St. Pete Beach, we found an awesome deal for a beachfront hotel on Priceline ($49!) We had a wonderful time relaxing in the 75 degree weather!  (This is why people flock to FL in the winter)   That evening we went to see Celtic Woman in Clearwater (Ruth Eckerd Hall).  Brendan had bought me tickets for my birthday (in October).  They sang Christmas music and it was FABULOUS!  They had a complete orchestra with them and I thought everything was HEAVENLY!   They only have three ladies right now, plus the violinist but it was still lovely.   They also sang this one...  Probably my fav...

Before After  I discovered textures!

Before  After

Don't you love the sense of accomplishment you feel after you complete a project or task that took some effort?  I am feeling pretty good about myself right now because I just accomplished the project of making laundry soap!  I saw this idea and recipe on Twila's blog and thought "I really need to try this!"  It was really simple to do but it feels good knowing that I saved some money and I can't wait to see how it works for me!  Another sense of accomplishment comes from the painting of this chest of drawers.  I have been needing to replace the old chest of drawers that I kept in the kitchen to hold cookbooks, stationery, tools, batteries, etc.  It was so bad it was giving me splinters!  So I found this vintage beauty at GW for a steal, only it was a speckled light green!  Straight form the 70's!  So my dear husband spray-painted it for me.  Can't believe how nice it turned out.  I am considering painting a design on it like the...