Book Review

My Dearest Naomi

Jerry and Tina Eicher

When Eugene Mast leaves his Amish community in Worthington, Indiana, to teach in faraway Kalona, Iowa, he also must leave the love of his life, Naomi Miller.

For the next nine months of the school term, Eugene and Naomi keep their romance alive through love letters from his heart to hers, and from hers back to his.

Eugene writes of his concern that in his absence Naomi may find the attractions of another suitor to her liking. Naomi worries that Eugene may fall prey to the “liberal” Mennonite beliefs in the community where he now lives. Both can hardly wait until the school year is up and they’re finally reunited.

The format of this book is unlike any other that I have read. The majority of the book is in letter format from Eugene and Naomi. It is like reading a diary in letter form. The beginning of the book is a little slow but if you stick with it not only do you follow the lives of Eugene and Naomi but also the family of John and Millie Yoder, they are having marital difficulties and John begins attending an English church, there is talk of excommunication. Darrel Hooley is a englishman who is trying to join the Amish and of course you course you follow the families of Eugene and Naomi.

This is a touching book of  what it is like to have a long distance relationship and your only form of communication is through letter writing. I found it to be very descriptive and I encourage you all to  hang in until the end to find out what happens to John and Millie Yoder, Darrel, and Eugene and Naomi.

Pinterest Review

Homemade Ranch Dressing

Homemade Ranch Dressing Seasoning Mix

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried dill
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Directions

• Add each of the dried spices to a bowl and gently stir.
• Store in a resealable plastic baggie or small ball canning jar with tight fitting lid in your spice cabinet.
• To make the ranch dressing, whisk together 1/3 cup mayonaisse with 1/4 cup milk (more or less depending on the consistency you want) with 1 Tbsp of the homemade ranch dressing seasoning mix. Season with salt, to taste. Use immediately and can refrigerate for up to 3 days.
• Makes about 4 Tbsp worth of mix. Or use the ratios above and mix up however much you’ll need!

I just made this.....I can't tell you how good this was.......absolutely will not buy bottled Ranch dressing again.....so simple....took me about 5 min. ........this gets a big

Pinterest Review

Orange Vinegar

My first project was to spice up my cleaning solution. Angela suggests infusing the white vinegar with orange peels to make it smell better but also to harness the cleaning properties that citrus fruit oils contain. We already had oranges on hand (as we have started juicing them each morning) so all I had to do was collect the peels and soak them for a few weeks...super easy!!

I just used my first batch of orange infused vinegar......it smelled pretty good.....I used in in my own dusting rag (next review) it gets a

Pinterest review

DIY Dust Cloths

Materials
Water
White distilled vinegar
Olive Oil
Rags
Lemons
Airtight glass container

Instructions

1. Mix equal parts water and vinegar. Add a couple drops of olive oil.
2. Soak rags in the solution until fully saturated. I used old dishcloths that I cut into fourths with pinking shears.
3. Wring out the rags leaving them just damp.
4. Lay the rags, and place a couple lemon rinds on each cloth.
5. Roll or fold the rinds into each cloth, and place into your glass container. Add an extra lemon peel, and make sure lid is tight. Store until needed.
Additional notes: Once used, wash or boil the dust cloths and repeat the steps above for a new batch!

I've done this twice now.....I've taken pics to show how well this works.....

This is my computer table....and yes it was disgustingly dirty......look at this next pic....

As you can see....it worked great....really so happy with this recipe for making my own dusting solution.....I use it all the time now.....great big

Quick Hitter

Pinterest Review

The next time you have green onions, don't throw away the white ends. Simply submerge them in a glass of water and place them in a sunny window. Your onions will begin to grow almost immediately and can be harvested almost indefinitely. We just use kitchen scissors to cut what we need for meals. I periodically empty out the water, rinse the roots off and give them fresh water.

This totally works ......here is a pic of my onions growing in my kitchen window.......

I have trimmed this already once and you can see I need to do it again.........I don't think I will ever have to buy green onions again and that gives this a  big

Adventures in Couponing

This week there are some great sales around the Mid-Missouri area (where I live).  At Schnucks, they have Fritos/Cheetos 3/$5 but there is a coupon in the P/G circular for $1.50 off any 3 bags of the same so you can get them for 3/$3.50 which is a great deal!!  $1.17 a bag is a good way to stock up especially for any St. Patty's Day parties you might be going to. 


Also, at Gerbes with the store card, they are having a buy 10 of the selected items, you get $5 back so that is like a 50 cent coupon on everything and then you can stack a manufactures coupon on as well for even better savings.  They also have Powerades on sale for 59 cents each!!  We go through alot of Powerades during the sports season( track now), so I will be stocking up!! Their milk is also reduced to $2.89/2.99 depending on the fat percent.  This is the cheapest I have seen it.  Just use the store card for the deal. 


Hy-Vee has their yellow corn and green beans on sale for 39 cents and there is NO limit in the ad or on the shelf.  This is a great deal too.  Last time they had this sale, there was a limit of 4 cans, so we are very excited that there is no limit this time.   I put corn in most of our casseroles and soups since I don't like it by itself unless it is on the cob!  This is a good way for me to eat my corn and get it into our meals.  You can also get the no salt variety and the french cut variety.  Since I used 4 cans of green beans each time I make green bean casserole (it's not just for the holiday season), we go through alot of them.  Last time it was on sale, there was a 4 can limit, so no limit this time is GREAT!!!!!  Stock up now!


Hope this helps with the family shopping and budgeting!!  Keep on the look out for great deals near you!!

Quick Hitter

Daily Shower Spray

• 2 cups white vinegar
• water
• 2 tablespoons generic dishwasher rinse agent

Directions:

1.  
   In a 32 oz bottle add the white vinegar and the generic dishwasher rinse agent. Fill the rest of the bottle with water. use after every shower.

This recipe is from www.food.com.....     I really love this .....all the work I put into cleaning my shower doors and I want to keep it all clean....so far this is working great....a big

Aromatherapy

Oh how I need aromatherapy today.......

Pinterest Review:

 from pleasantandhome.files.wordpress.com

This is my version:

French Vanilla Coffee Beans with a tea light candle.........this worked really well......the smell was present hours after I blew out the candle......this gets a

Next I had slept on my neck wrong........not very good range of motion in neck and can't get to chiropractor till Monday.........so I googled home remedy muscle relaxers and this is what I found:

Lavender

Lavender has been used for centuries as an important, essential oil to assist in relaxing muscles. It has properties which can help calm the body and reduce stress, thereby reducing muscular tension. Try rubbing lavender oil directly on the temples and then completely relaxing for a few minutes; the sense of peace that is felt will help to alleviate the pain. You can also add lavender oil to a warm bath. The warm water will heat the muscles, increasing blood flow; the lavender will help ease the tension, helping the warm water do its work

I did the rub on temples and idea and it really did work.........a big

 from ekwetzel.com

Use your favorite scent of essential oils dropped onto the toilet paper roll to freshen up the air after each use.

I have done this for a couple of weeks now........I highly recommend this........it is easy and your bathroom always smells clean...........a big

and

 I'm trying this from littlebrickranch.com

My first project was to spice up my cleaning solution. Angela suggests infusing the white vinegar with orange peels to make it smell better but also to harness the cleaning properties that citrus fruit oils contain. We already had oranges on hand (as we have started juicing them each morning) so all I had to do was collect the peels and soak them for a few weeks...super easy!! Since we weren't peeling our oranges before juicing them I simply juiced them and then scraped out the gook leftover to come up with just the peels. I was afraid if I left the gook then the sugars from the juice would make the solution sticky...no beuno for cleaning!!

 

I have to wait a couple of weeks for official ranking but I already know from other things I have tried (that you will see in another blog) that infusing citrus peeling with anything does work.......so I'm confident in giving this a

Adventures in Couponing

Gerbes Experience

I went to Gerbes tonight hoping to catch the milk on sale still for $2.99 a gallon-which it was!  I wanted to check out the Zatarain's Rice that was on sale for 50% off the regular price.  I had 3 coupons for 50 cents off of 2 boxes so I picked up 6 boxes.  When I got to the checkout, I got a very nice surprise when I found out they double manufacture coupons!!!  So instead of 25 cents off of each one, it was 50 cents!!  That means with the 50% off each box, it was either 84 cents or 94 cents (got different kinds) and then an extra 50 cents off of each box.  So I spent either 33 cents or 44 cents which works for me!!!!  Love it when you get a great surprise like that!

Sparkle Sparkle little star.............I mean.........Shower Door

Pinterest Review: Sparkling Shower doors

Now I have been working on this one for a while now.........about month to be exact.....I figured out my shower doors were really dirty.....actually I'm finding that out about a lot of things in my house......I tries 5 different remedies that I found on Pinterest.......I'll start with my least favorite......Pics were hard to take too........my shower doors have a frosted look to them so its not clear like other doors I've seen.....you can rest assured I marched my whole family in and looked at the different "
circles" on the shower doors to determine which worked best ......I'm going to start with # 5 and work my way down.........

5.   Grapefruit with salt

1. Halve Grapefruit: 1 medium to large grapefruit will clean your entire bath or shower from top to bottom, including all the fixtures. Simply cut it in half with a knife and you'll be all set.
2. Sprinkle With Salt: Using 1 grapefruit half at a time, sprinkle liberally with salt. Wet your bathtub and sprinkle the remaining salt around the bottom.
3. Take That Scrubbing Bubbles!Scrub your grapefruit around your shower or tub, making sure to slightly "juice" the citrus over each fixture and lifting it every few seconds to pick up fresh salt from around the tub instead of just pushing it around.
4. Rinse: When all is said and done, simply rinse away the pulpy bits and the salt and your shower is as good as new. Not only is it clean, it will smell so fantastic you'll want to curl up in it and read a book. Ok, probably not, but you get the idea!
Additional Notes:
This technique will get thick grime and dirt rings off your shower area and does amazing work on cast iron tubs especially. You can also use this method to clean your sinks, toilets, tile and more — it just depends on how grapefruit crazy you want to get!


I did this on some of the shower but focused mostly on the shower doors........I was after getting that soap scum off and get a sparkly clean shower door.........I was not impressed with this.........on the shower doors........I may give it another try when I do my bathtub in the other bathroom.........I found the bits of pulp left everywhere a nuisance because i used it on both sides of shower doors......I give this a

4. Lemon Scented Pledge

spray on shower door........let it sit about 30 mins.    come back with a little brush and scrub and clean.....it will also have an oil barrier that allows water to run down shower door........

Now the pics that went along with this was impressive....that's why I decided to try it......I sprayed and went away and came back with scrub brush......I found that if you didn't spray every square inch this method didn't work..........I wasn't crazy about spending 3.00 dollars on the smallest can I could find and I definetely wasn't crazy about inhaling the fumes after spraying on the shower door in a small area...........I wasn't crazy about the result and even if I was this method doesn't follow my "green" philosophy......sorry Pledge but you get a

3. Martha Stewart Magic Cleaning Solution

Here's a nontoxic but effective way to clean your tub: Add one teaspoon of liquid soap and several drops of an antibacterial essential oil (such as tea tree, eucalyptus, rosemary, or peppermint) to one cup of baking soda. Add just enough water to form a paste, and use it with a sponge or brush to scour bathtub surfaces.

This was the winner for awhile........it does what it says it does ......i bought a pretty cute little thing that made cleaning the doors pretty easy......

Pretty Pleased with this......Martha knows what she's talkin bout.......it gets a

2. Bounce dryer sheets

So extremely surprised this works........amazed at how well it works..........it doesn't get any easier that grabbing a dryer sheet and starting in small circles.....just a little water to the sheet and start cleaning.......its gets pasty and one sheet will do a lot.........I was very impressed with this one.......this one was close to being #1.......it gets a big

1. Dawn + vinegar= soap scum gone

Equal parts of vinegar and Dawn........one site was pretty adament about getting blue dawn..... but I got Power Control in gray bottle......the secret here is to heat the vinegar.......I didn't have a spare spray bottle so I used an empty dawn bottle......I think a spray bottle would work better but the way I did worked also.... anyway....spray on the doors and let sit about two hours......go back and scrub and then rinse........this one was really pretty easy to do and worked really good..........I was pleased with it.......If I didn't have the time or the ingredients I would also use the Bounce dryer sheets and non brand will work as well but for Go Green and homemade.....this one gets a big

This is the best pic I could get with my phone to show you the end result..........

Not quite done........I put all this work into my shower doors I decided to try one finishing touch

I decided to spray Rain X on the doors...the thought is that is will work like when you put it on your car windows.......I will have to get back with you on this but I thought it was worth a try........and since you're still here you get a bonus:

Showerhead Cleaner -1/3 cup baking soda -1 cup white vinegar -1 plastic bag -1 large bag twisty tie Let sit several hours or overnight.

Color me Beautiful

Pinterest Review -  Soft Hands

This comes from motherhuddle.com.............As dry skins happens every winter this is a good one to do all year round............Very simple...........2- 3 Tbls. of SUGAR and the same amount of OLIVE OIL............. start scrubbing............small circular motions around hand and up your arm.

It really works.............2 ingredients everyone has in your kitchen......... you can also use it as a body scrub in the shower and you can substitute the olive oil with coconut oil............this is one gets a

Pinterest Review - Face scrub

Make your skin glow with an easy home remedy in 5 min. here’s the recipe: 3 TBSP baking soda 1 TBSP water mix together well. apply to face in circular motion. let sit for five minutes. rinse off with warm water. say hello to healthy, glowing skin! Do this once a week :)wihousewifeconfessions.wordpress.com

Ok...........I did this with girls on spa night at my house...the boys made a mistake by coming in so I slapped it on their face too.................This really does work..................while its on you feel a tingling feeling............quite frankly you can't get a cheaper face scrub..................baking soda and water.............just make sure you rinse really good and I think I would recommend follow it by some moisturizer on your face and then it would be perfect. This gets a

Pinterest Review- Conditioner as Shaving Cream

You know how you always have tons of conditioner left after you're already out of shampoo.............Have you ever wondered what to do with it?.............. Here's the answer.............use it as shaving cream..............this works great...........it leaves your skin feeling soft and moisturized..............I like it better than shaving cream............a lot better........this is gets a

Adventures in Couponing

I saw on the Krazy Koupon Lady(KKL) facebook post that there are going to be great Staples rebates coming out this Sunday.  Be sure to check you Sunday paper for the ads!  I know we go through alot of printer paper and you can score 2 reams free using the easy rebate at Staple.  The easy rebate is just like it sounds-easy to do and quick AND convenient.  I have used it multiple times and have had no problems.  Make sure to check it out.  There are other "free" after rebate items also!

Adventures in Couponing

Walgren's experience

Today was a good day to buy Osteo Bi-Flex.  Walgrens is having a BOGO free on it and I had 2-$7 coupons for it.  The original price is $19.99 X 2=$39.98 if everything was full price.  Subtract one of the 19.99-down 50% already and then subtract $14 to equal $5.99.  So I only paid $6.45 including tax for over $40 worth of meds.  That is a 85% savings!! I found the coupons in the paper and have been saving them for just such a deal. I love it when a plan works out. 

I See Green

No...........not for St.Patricks Day..........its make your own

Laundry Soap, Fabric Softener , and Febreeze day


Laundry Soap-From Tipnut

 We would like to share our homemade laundry soap, fabric softener and febreeze recipes with you. There are many recipes for each of these and you need to decide which will work best for you. We both use the powder laundry soap vs. the liquid laundry soap.

The recipe I use is the 4 ingredients one:
3 cups Borax-found in the laundry aisle
2 cups Washing soda-found in the laundry aisle
2 cups Laundry Baking soda-found in the laundry aisle
2 cups grated Fels Naptha bas soap-I used this when my son was a baby to treat stains on his baby clothes.  1 bar equals to basically 1 cup.

I use my Magic Bullet to grate up the Fels Naptha and it makes it ALOT easier to mix then to hand grate it.

I store it in an old ice cream bucket and just use 2 tblsp. per load.  I have made this a few times and it cost about $15 for the initial cost but with this recipe, it will make 3 batches which lasts our family of 4 for at least 6 months.  I have started hunting for coupons for some of the ingredients which will just make it cheaper!!  I haven't had any luck finding them yet, but will continue to keep investigating. 





Fabric Softener- Pinterest Review

You may already be making Homemade Laundry Detergent and other DIY Cleaners… but if you’ve been wanting to cut costs on Fabric Softener… try making Homemade Fabric Softener!

What You’ll Need:

• 6 cups HOT water
• 3 cups white vinegar
• 2 cups Suave Refreshing Waterfall Conditioner {or other favorite scent}

What You’ll Do:

• Mix conditioner & hot water well, until conditioner is dissolved completely.
• Add the vinegar, and mix well.
• Store in a large container {empty fabric softener container, empty large vinegar bottle, etc}
• Pour into a downy ball… or use approx. 2 tbsp. in the fabric softener spot in your laundry machine… then wash!

Where Jenneth and I have been making our own laundry soap for about a year, I just found this recipe on Pinterest. Before I would just put vinegar in my downy ball and throw it in the wash. Now I'm using this and must say it does add a nice smell to the laundry. Below is a picture of what I keep it in. I find this container nice because it has a little pour spicket ( actually a container I bought for the cucumber/lemon/water that I wasn't crazy about). This recipe comes from http://www.frugalgirls.com/

Homemade Febreeze - Pinterest Review

Credit

1/8 Cup of Your Favorite Fabric Softener
2 Tablespoons Baking Soda
Hot Tap Water - To Fill the Bottle to the Top

So I made the Fabric Softener recipe first. Then I put it together with BS and Water. I had an old spray bottle so in it went and then around the house I went spraying. I used Ocean Breeze conditioner for fabric softener. It's not overpowering in the smell, it's a subtle clean smell. I find that this works fine for the occassional spray around the house to get a fresh smell. It doesn't have chemicals in it so you're not going to get that powerful smell like the real febreeze.

What Are We Doing Blogging......

Welcome Welcome Welcome.....This Theresa (Amish Wannabe) and Jenneth (Country Stockpiler). Have you ever wished someone would do all the work and just say "Hey" this works, or this doesn't work. That's why we have started this blog.  The number one thing we asked ourselves is " What can we offer that isn't already out there?" We are planning on reviewing books, items on pinterest-things that work and things that don't, and let you know how to live a little cheaper, easier and more creative life. Chances are we won't be coming up with anything new, just sharing our perspective on how things work here in good ole Mid Missouri.  

Our vision for this blog is to share our desire to live a simple, frugal, stress free lifestyle. We know by our lifestyle and those around us how hectic life has become. We are going to share tips, tricks , ideas that ease the pace of the non stop world we live in.  We are avid Go Green fanatics. We strive to find ways to make our own household cleaners, preparing and eating foods that do not add additives, chemicals, and preservatives into our bodies. Reuse, Recycle, Restore before we throw out and sharing our faith about what a great life we all get to live.

Amish Wannabe
 This is Theresa. I'm so happy Jenneth and I decided to start our blog. We have been coworkers for many years and it seems we have so much in common and the desire to live a more peaceful lifestyle. I've been married to my husband for 22 years and we have an 18 year old son and 15 year old boy/girl twins. Our lives are bustling with activity. My desire is to share my tips on providing your family with healthy food choices amidst the chaos, living a more simple , peaceful life, and everything in between. I am currently fascinated with the Amish lifestyle. No one can deny that the Amish have a simple, slower pace lifestyle than the rest of us.We are lucky enough to have an Amish community close by and Jenneth and I go and visit them ever four weeks. We'll be sharing with you why we go there so often and what we gain by going to the Amish community. If you are  seeking this slower paced lifestyle there are two books that I highly recommend: Amish Values and Amish Peace.  Suzanne Woods Fisher is author of these books. I just find they are great reads no matter how many times you read them. Welcome to our blog, we hope you enjoy it.

Country Stockpiler
 This is Jenneth. I am excited to share ideas that we are working on to make our lives more manageable, organized and simpler.   I am married to a wonderful man and have a 14 yr. old son and a 26 yr. old step-son. I am hoping to simplify my life on many different levels-spiritual, physical, mental, and financial.  I have always liked to find bargains and deals.  I'm new at couponing so we can learn together. As I learn I hope to share some ideas and thoughts on what is working for me and my adventures into the couponing and bargain shopping world. In addition to building up my stockpile of bargains, I'm eagerly learning ways to organize those finds.  I will share with you  great ways to simplify your life to create more time to spend with those you love.  

Welcome to our blog. As we begin this adventure we want you all to feel at home here. Leave us a comment or two. Share with us your experience and knowledge.

Yet many have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, I have believed , and therefore have I spoken. We too believe, and therefore we speak.

Corinthians 4:13