When I was a kid I read all the time.

I remember reading in the car while we were travelling when I was about five. (Which always resulted in car-sickness. Still does; it’s one of the great unfairnesses of my life.)
I spent at least the next ten years reading everything I could get my hands on – from Grimm’s Fairy Tales to Hatchet to every Gilbert Morris novel ever written (or close).
I read the books my brother read (hence, Hatchet).
I read the (very mild) romances my mom had on her shelf.
I read Ang’s book. Yes, book, singular. Mole and Mouse Get a New House really enriched my life.

Going to the library was the best part of my week.  My poor mom, despite having ten zillion other things to do, always made time for me to run in and grab another armful of books.  Or two armfuls if I had time.

I read a lot of ridiculousness. Drivel. Stuff like Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley Twins.
I read ghost stories that I’m sure my parents didn’t know about. I read a lot of garbage disguised as young adult books.

I also read a lot of good books and quite a few great books.

I spent countless hours with Nancy Drew (the original books were the best) and Mandie (Lois Gladys Leppard) and Anne Shirley.

Here’s are a few of my favorites that no girl should grow up without reading.

• the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  I just finished these with my girls and they loved them so much that they begged me to start over when we finished the last one.  I have too many others that I want to introduce to them right now, but will definitely keep the set around for them to read themselves as they get older.  Classics.
• The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare.  My mom read this to me and my siblings and it was the highlight of our day.  It’s an excellent story with plenty of early American history and a brave heroine who isn’t afraid to make the right choices even when it makes her unpopular.  One of my all-time favorites.
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.  No girls reading list would be complete without it.  I’ve read it countless times over the years.
• The entire Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace.  These books aren’t as easy to find, but I read them over and over and over as an adolescent.    Set in the early 20th century, the series follows the lives of two (and then three) close friends as they grow up.  I adore them and am still trying to find copies of some of the originals.
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.  Just because I think this book should be on every to-read list that exists.
• The Wizard of Oz (and all the other Oz books) by L. Frank Baum.  I read these over and over, too.  They’re fun and highly entertaining.
• Anne of Green Gables (and the rest of the Anne series) by Lucy Maud Montgomery.  This is probably the best girl book ever written.  I can’t imagine my life without Anne.
• Narnia books by C.S. Lewis.  Somehow, someway, I missed these books for my entire childhood and just read them for the first time about five years ago.  They’re delightful and it makes me sad that I didn’t read them as a kid.  My girls will be introduced to Narnia much earlier than I was.
• Pippi Longstocking books by Astrid Lindgren.  This was another series from the library that spent a lot of time at my house.  Yes, they’re pretty much nonsense, but the good kind.  The kind you want your kids to read and experience like you did.
• Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott.  I read and re-read this as a girl.  It’s not as well-known as Little Women, but it will steal your heart just as quickly.

I can’t wait to share these titles (and many, many more) with my girls.

There’s just nothing quite like a good book.

All that aside, there are a few artists/groups that I follow pretty religiously, and Michael is at the top of the list.
Okay, he’s pretty much the list (along with Casting Crowns).

Obviously, when One to One Network offered a copy of his album for review I jumped at the chance, so here’s what I think about To Be Loved.

First of all, there are always a few songs on an album that drive me insane. Not a good insane, more like a smash-my-computer-against-the-desk-until-it-turns-off kind of insane.
Yes, even, you, Michael Buble.
(Sorry.)

For me, those songs were (Nevertheless) I’m In Love With You and Come Dance With Me.

(shudder)

Here’s the dealio (Gru voice).  Jerm mocks me because I like mainstream music, but it’s the truth.  I like stuff that doesn’t sound too different. (cough-Blackhawk-cough)

To me, being too different (in music, anyway) just sounds weird.
See? Mainstream.

So I’ve seen a ton of complaints that this album isn’t up to par with his other’s because it’s too – wait for it – yep, mainstream.

Basically all that gibberish was to say that I like most of the album a lot. It doesn’t grate on my nerves.

I don’t like Sinatra-sounding music. I just like his happy songs.

My favorite tracks on this album are:

• It’s a Beautiful Day (See?  Happy, happy.)
• I’ve Got it Easy (yes, he certainly does) – he co-wrote this one
• Close Your Eyes (another he co-wrote)
• After All – duet with Bryan Adams (Summer of ’69, yeah! — just for you, Papa Bear)

So basically, four awesome songs, a few okay songs, and only two smash-the-computer-till-it-switches-to-something-better duds.  And that’s just because of the a-fore-mentioned Sinatra hate.

Here’s another picture to make this post worthwhile.

If you want to hear the songs yourself, get all the details on Amazon

I participated in this campaign for One2One Network. I received a free copy of the album to facilitate my review. All opinions stated are my own.

Here we are again.
The tenth seems to come quicker every month.

Ten hours.
Ten photos.
On the tenth.

Breakfast – eggs and lemon loaf

They look like they get along, don’t they?

Friday = library day

The girls made these during story-time. Sweet.

My first peony bloom!

Lunchtime Reading

One of Jeremy’s experiments.

The wild child strikes again

Baby grapes

But I do have a super delicious banana bread recipe to share.  I loooove this banana bread; it’s dense and moist and coconut-y, and is the perfect way to use up the over-ripe bananas we always seem to have lying around.

Coconut Banana Bread
(found here)

• 1/2 cup oil (I used coconut)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 over-ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 cup shredded coconut

Mix the oil and sugar together, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
Stir in vanilla and almond extract.
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.
Combine banana and coconut milk in another bowl.
Add to batter, alternating dry and wet ingredients until well mixed. Add in the coconut.
Pour batter into greased 9×5 loaf pan and bake for 1 hour at 350.

Parties I link to: Craft-O-Maniac, Sew Can Do, Sew Chatty, C.R.A.F.T., Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Chef In Training, Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Sugar Bee Crafts, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Todays Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, Mandy’s Recipe Box, My Girlish Whims, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Sew Much Ado, Ginger Snap Crafts, Southern Lovely, House of Hepworths,  The Crafty Blog Stalker, A Glimpse Inside, Delicate Construction, Tidy Mom, Thirty Handmade Days, Tatertots and Jello, Flamingo Toes, Six Sisters Stuff, Naptime Creations, I Heart Naptime

I had these grand plans to tackle my (horrendous) craft space for this last week of Project Simplify.
But I didn’t realize just how big of a job doing a once-a-month menu plan and shopping trip was.
And then I’m doing a little experimenting with freezer meals so Wednesday was tied up with that.

So by yesterday afternoon I had given up all hope of working on the craft area since it’s going to require painting and hanging shelves and massive re-organization to make it workable.

Instead I decided to try something a little different with my pantry since the whole stockpiling for an entire month thing had made it difficult to fit everything in.

I’d been tossing the idea around of switching up my kitchen storage for a few weeks so I finally decided to just give it a try.
Pulled everything out of the pantry, one shelf at a time, and soaped the shelves really well (how do they get so gross when the food is mostly closed/sealed?!), added some shelf liner, and instead of putting the food back in filled the shelves with the items from my kitchen cabinets.

It’s going to take some getting used to, but I think it’s going to work out quite well. I can actually see all the food I have and the dishes are all in one place. Plus, now the girls can reach their own cups. Score!

Maybe next year I’ll get to the craft room….

My month of spring cleaning is officially over, although I didn’t get to a couple of items that really need it (ahem….wretched oven), so I’ll still tackling a few more tasks in the next couple of weeks.
Overall, I feel the month was moderately successful. I always hope to get more done, and then life gets in the way, so I suppose I’ll just have to accept that I’ll never get everything on my list accomplished. Just to make myself happy (because lists always make me happy), here’s what I did manage to get done:

• Cleaned all baseboards
• Washed most of the walls
• Cleaned all electrical outlets/light switches (how do they get SO gross?!)
• Washed all the doors
• Washed all windows (except the girls on the inside, which I just remembered)
• Cleaned ceiling fans
• Organized/de-cluttered stockpile
• Organized/de-cluttered fabric storage shelves
• Organized/de-cluttered garage
• Deep cleaned the bathrooms
• Organized/de-cluttered girls closets
• Purged/organized toys in girls rooms
• Organized/de-cluttered front room closet
• Organized and took inventory of school supplies
• Removed everything from kitchen cabinets, cleaned, organized
• Re-organized pantry (more on this later today)
• Deep cleaned the kitchen
• Made Swiffer sweeper cloths
• Made UN-paper towels
• Made wool dryer balls
• Made dishwasher tabs (see below)
• Made trash deodorizing tabs (see below)

Still on the list:

• Clean oven (grrrrr….)
• Clean out refrigerator
• Organize craft nook (it’s a disaster area)

So anyways, enough of that.  I’ve wanted to make my own dishwasher tabs ever since I started making laundry detergent, and I finally got around to it this past week.

My main concern was that I’ve never had much luck with powdered dishwasher detergent, it just doesn’t seem to clean as well as the gel tabs, but so far these bad boys seem to be doing okay.  I’ve only run about three loads though, so I’ll just have to wait and see if they continue working long-term.

DIY DISHWASHER DETERGENT TABS
(idea found here)

• 2 cups washing soda
• 2 cups borax
• 1/2 cup epsom salt
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 15 drops essential oil

Mix everything together.  It’ll start clumping right away.  Press into ice-cube trays.  Let dry for 24-48 hours.

Store in a dry place.

To use, add 1 tab and a small squirt of Dawn to each load of dirty dishes.

 So far my dishes have all come out clean and sparkling!

I also made some deodorizing disks for my trash can.  One of the worst things about the Texas summers is how stinky the trash gets and I’m constantly dumping baking soda into the bottom of the can.  Hopefully these disks will help keep the bad odors down.

DIY DEODORIZING DISKS
(idea found here)

• 2 cups baking soda
• 1-2 cup distilled water (I just boiled tap water for about 10 minutes)
• Silicone mold (or muffin tin or ice-cube tray)
• Essential oil of your choice (I used peppermint)

Add 4-5 drops of essential oil to 1/2 cup of water.  Mix the water into the baking soda, and continue to add water until it forms a thick paste.  It only took about 1 cup for me.  

Divide the paste into the silicone mold and let dry for 24-48 hours.

When they’re totally dry, pop out of mold and dump in the bottom of your trashcan.  They’re supposed to last about 30 days.  Here’s hoping.

This week has been wild.  I’m a few days behind on my last task for Project Simplify, but I should (fingers crossed) have it finished by this afternoon.

I’m excited to get it done and move on to this month’s projects – skirts!         I desperately need some skirts and I’m going to try my hand and making at least one a week during the month of May.  I hope to share my first one next week, so be sure come back for it! :)

Parties I link to: Craft-O-Maniac, Sew Can Do, Sew Chatty, C.R.A.F.T., Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Chef In Training, Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Sugar Bee Crafts, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Todays Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, Mandy’s Recipe Box, My Girlish Whims, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Sew Much Ado, Ginger Snap Crafts, Southern Lovely, House of Hepworths,  The Crafty Blog Stalker, A Glimpse Inside, Delicate Construction, Tidy Mom, Thirty Handmade Days, Tatertots and Jello, Flamingo Toes, Six Sisters Stuff, Naptime Creations, I Heart Naptime

So I’ve been following this girl for a while now, and as soon as I saw her recipe for pretzel pizza bites I knew I had to give them a try myself.  I don’t even care that I’m a copycat, because her recipe is so awesome there was nothing to change about it.  Plus she loves Star Wars so she’s pretty much my hero.

They turned out just as yummy as I imagined, although my photos don’t even come close to doing them justice.  (If you want to be awed, just click over to the original post and prepare to drool.  Her photos make you want to eat the screen.)

Pretzel Pizza Rolls

1 cup milk
1 TBSP  yeast
3 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP butter, melted
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 TBSP Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp fine salt
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup chopped pepperoni
1/3 cup baking soda
3 cups warm water
Coarse salt
5 TBSP butter, melted

Warm the milk in the microwave for 1.5 minutes, stir in the yeast, and let sit for a couple of minutes.  Add the butter and sugar, then the flour a little at a time.  Add salt, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder and knead for 10 minutes.

Put in a greased bowl and let it rise until doubled in size (about an hour).

Combine the baking soda and warm water in a large bowl.

Divide dough in half and roll into a thick, long rope.

Flatten, top with cheese and pepperoni, then pinch the edges together, sealing completely (as much as possible).

Dunk the entire thing in the baking soda/water mixture for a couple of seconds, then slice into (small) pieces and place on greased baking sheet.  My pieces turned out gigantic, so slice smaller than I did if you want them to be all pretty and stuff.

Sprinkle with the kosher salt and bake for 8-10 minutes at 400.

Brush melted butter right out of the oven and enjoy these puppies.

So, so good.

Parties I link to: Craft-O-Maniac, Sew Can Do, Sew Chatty, C.R.A.F.T., Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Chef In Training, Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Sugar Bee Crafts, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Todays Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, Mandy’s Recipe Box, My Girlish Whims, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Sew Much Ado, Ginger Snap Crafts, Southern Lovely, House of Hepworths,  The Crafty Blog Stalker, A Glimpse Inside, Delicate Construction, Tidy Mom, Thirty Handmade Days, Tatertots and Jello, Flamingo Toes, Six Sisters Stuff, Naptime Creations, I Heart Naptime

• Crisco sticks.  I don’t use much shortening, but I’ve always, ALWAYS hated getting that greasy goop on my hands, and it’s pretty much impossible to not get on your hands when scooping it out of the can.  Bless you, Crisco, for thinking of shortening sticks.  I don’t care if it costs me triple, I’ll still buy them just for the convenience of it.    
• Clinique mascara.  I don’t buy this because of allergic reactions or brand loyalty or anything.  I buy it purely out of vanity because my eyelashes are ridiculously pathetic and this is the only stuff that even halfway works.  I make a bottle last about six months, though, so I don’t feel too guilty about it.  
• B&BW Wallflower refills.  Love these bad boys, and they make my house smell so good.  I just make sure to stock up when they’re on a really good sale. 
• Mod Podge.  Nothing works quite like it.  I’ve seen DIY “recipes” for it, but I don’t see how they could possibly work as well, especially as a sealant.  I’m not quite sure how I lived without this stuff for so long. 
• Puffs with Vicks.  Not exactly a huge splurge, but when I’m sick my nose wants Vicks-infused tissue.  :)   
• Dove Dark Chocolate with Raspberry.   I don’t buy this very often because of my perpetual diet (that does me no good), and also because I find it ridiculous to pay over $4 for a bag of chocolates, but they’re so stinkin good that I occasionally give in during a moment of weakness.  And it’s so worth it when I do…    
• Johnson’s Bedtime Bath.  Because it makes my stinky little kids smell angelic again.  For a little while.  
• Earthbound Farms baby carrots.  I’ve probably eaten my body weight several times over in baby carrots the last few years, and no matter how much Jerm doesn’t believe me, the organic carrots dooo (Nacho!) taste better.  
• Dawn dish soap.  I stockpiled about ninety bottles of Gain dish soap when it first came out, because (A) I had coupons, (B) it smelled good, and (C) it was made by the same company so I figured it would work just as well.  WRONG!  But it does smell good.  They should just combine the smell of Gain and the de-greasing abilities of Dawn to make the perfect dish soap. (P.S. Anybody need some Gain?)  ;)
•  Neutrogena Acne Control Scrub.  Hello, wasn’t this supposed to be a teenager thing?  I have more skin problems now that I’ve had kids than I ever had as an adolescent.  I’ve used several high-end cleansers, tried the oil-cleansing method (gross!), and quit scrubbing my face completely, none of which did anything except convince me to go back to Neutrogena.  Love this stuff.  

So there you go; sometimes it’s worth it to pay just a little more.

Are there any items/brands that you’re willing to splurge on?  Share.