Rave: Vinegar

Did you know that this bottle can be your one stop shop for many of your household needs? You know, the big bottle that can be purchased for mere dollars at the grocery store? The bottle that you may even have right now in your cupboards?

I started using vinegar for cleaning purposes about a year ago. Why, you ask? It does the job. It isn't a harsh chemical. It is very inexpensive. I keep a spray bottle of vinegar diluted with water for most of my cleaning jobs. I use vinegar to clean counters, the bathroom, it can even be used to clean windows and mirrors. Ever since I started using vinegar, I have come across many other uses for this wonder product.

Have you heard the latest? Vinegar may even help you to lose weight. Really! Google it.

Tomorrow I will share with you how I use vinegar to clean the hard floors in my house.

Saturday Smiles

Little Peachy has found her voice. It is so cute watching her try to make the sounds after she gets a response.

I hope this brings a smile to your face!

Foodie Friday: Strawberry Cream Freeze

Since I didn't grab a picture of my completed dessert, you get a picture of the picture on the Nilla Wafer box. (I am resourceful, aren't I?!!)

Company was coming. You know what that means. Time to find a brand new recipe to try out on the unsuspecting victims. As I sat holding Peachy, I clicked over to the Kraft Foods website and did a quick dessert search. I found the recipe for Strawberry Cream Freeze. what do you know? I had already tore this recipe from a magazine thinking that it looked yummy, so Strawberry Cream Freeze it would be. (And when I went to purchase the ingredients, the Nilla Wafer box also had the recipe. This recipe was screaming to be made by me.)

Ingredients:

-8 oz cream cheese, softened

-1 c. cold milk

-1 pkg. instant vanilla puddin'

-1 1/2 c. Cool Whip, thawed

-20 Nilla Wafers, coarsely broken

-1 c. fresh strawberries, sliced

-1/2 c. strawberry ice cream topping

-1 pre-made Oreo pie crust**

What to do:

Beat cream cheese in large mixing bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in milk. Add dry pudding mix and beat for two minutes. Stir in Cool Whip, Wafers, and berries. Swirl in topping. Spoon into pie crust and freeze for 6 hours.

**The recipe offers two additional serving methods. You can just freeze the mix and serve it in waffle bowls. Or you can spoon the mix into 12 cupcake liners, freeze for four hours and remove from liners.

No One Better

Today marks M and my fourth year of marriage. (It is our sixth year of couple-hood if you wanted to know.) As cliche as it sounds, I find myself more in love with this man everyday. What started as a fun love blossomed into romance from which has grown the kind of love that brings us ever more dependant on each other everyday into our old age, the good Lord willing.

If you will permit me, I am going to be quite honest with you today. Ever since our little one was born I have been deeply humbled. Something--motherhood--that I thought would come quite naturally and easily to me has been more challenging than I could have ever thought. The excess hormones, lack of sleep, and seeming loss of independence has taken its toll on me. Yet through all of this M has been there for me, an understanding pillar by my side. It has really made me realize how much I have come to depend on this man--this wonderfully perfect for me man--the Lord placed in my life. I have always known what a great husband M was for me, but this life event really brought that point home. I know there is no one better suited for me than my M.

Thanks for four wonderful years, M. May the Lord grant us many more to come!!

A New Woman

Now that Little Peachy is here I can do all of the naughty things I couldn't when I was pregnant. Now I can eat cold cut sandwiches and color my hair!! (You don't know how much you will miss deli meat until you can't have it.)

**Not all sources forbid these practices when you are pregnant. In the end, you have to decide for yourself what you are and are not comfortable with.**

I decided to try my hand at coloring and highlighting my hair at home rather than in the salon. I ended up choosing Loreal Colour Experte Express. This is a two-step process. The first step is color and the second is highlights. I did the color here at home and took the highlighting portion along with me to M's parents' home this weekend so my sister-in-law/bff could help me apply them.

Step one, color:

Step two, highlight:

Step three, haircut:

Sorry, these aren't the best pictures. I am happy with the results. I think that next time I will leave the highlighting solution a bit longer. (I didn't want to overdo it.)