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It's So Cool

Well, today is the day. Our new fridge arrives. We ended up getting the side by side, my wish to get one made in the USA did not happen - we got a Samsung. There are so many choices out there one could get bogged down in the search. Let me begin by praising my dear sweet hubby, in that he spent the WHOLE day with me looking at refrigerators. We had such a good time. No, REALLY!!!! What a blessing it was, my mom & dad kept the kids and we just had the whole day to shop and be together. He took me out to lunch to a place that has been in operation in my hometown since 1958. It was a place I had never been before - he could not believe it, especially since he did not grow up in my hometown - just his college dayz :o}. Maybe , that is why I had never been there - my folks were VERY protective - thanks Mom & Dad!!!! But anyway, it is a neat place - I would not go there after 3:00 PM - it is a bit of a pool hall --- BUT, it had the best cheeseburgers & the most incredible french fries. You could tell the FF were home made because, they were wedge cut and not in a regular, cookie cutter style and deep fried to their crispy perfection. I felt like we were dating again :o} You know me, I am all about the food.


We ended up going to 5 different stores and yes, we went back to the first store and bought the fridge. I will say there were some really cool fridges out there. Sears had one that had the temperature gauges on the outside of the door - which looked really cool and I thought would be handy. It kinda looked like you were in an airplane or on a submarine, but that is not the one we got. The Maytag French Door style looked good BUT (Behold the Underlying Truth) the metal slider supports for the pullout freezer drawer had little rusty spots on it, in every store - I would stay clear of those. While we are on the subject of French Door styles, let me just say, I do not think that they are all that they are cracked up to be. Don't get me wrong, they look way cool, but I think that the freezer drawer will end up like your sock drawer - what is really at the bottom of it??? And, they do not have adequate lighting. I was impressed with the Electrolux side by side - it was like waiting for a show to begin - the lights come on dim at first and then get brighter - maybe takes 3-4 seconds, these also had pull out bins in the freezer for easy access - a feature that the one we purchased has - but is was not worth the extra $500.00 for the bins to be on slide out arms (like some kitchen cabinet drawers) for the Electrolux. All in all, most are the same (probably made by the same manufacturer under different names). We stayed clear of GE since they are getting out of the appliance business and replacement parts would be difficult to procure.


Some say that Samsung is a new company to the appliance world and have not proven themselves, but hubby said that they have received the JD Power & Assoc. award for excellence and he thought that it was a good model (I liked the pull out bins). The best thing of all is that it is a shinny black fridge and it is like looking into a mirror when standing in front of it - and it makes you look 10 sizes smaller!!!!! Yes, I looked like I was a size 6 instead of a 16 - Woo Hoo!!! Can I still justify getting the ice cream, since I look so much slimmer? Nah!!


Now, I am cleaning out the old one and prepping the spot where the new one will go - who knew that you are suppose to clean out behind the fridge every 6 months or so - behind our fridge had not seen the light of day in 4 years --- EEEWWWW!!!!! Hey, there are lots of GEO-MAGS back here - my son will be thrilled!!!!!

Will post later on how well we like it.

A Motocycle Meets the Crazy Cycle

Let me share a bit of background, when I first met "That Man" I knew that his parents had gotten him a dirt bike when he was 12 and he had ridden something that was motorized and only two wheeled ever since. Even after a 16 yr old pulled out in front of him and he slid under that station wagon and was dragged 100 yards and spent 10 days in ICU, he got one of his buddies to take him to buy a new bike ---

THE SAME STINKING DAY HE GOT OUT OF THE HOSPITAL.

BUT (remember : "Behold the Underlying Truth")

After we were engaged, he sold his bike. (Imagine soft serene music playing) Naturally, I took this as a sign of maturity, love and devotion to family -------but what did I know. Now 20 years later he has gotten another one.

Hoo, boy! What can I say??? I was shocked? Surprised? Stunned?

One week from today I will have been married to "That Man" for 18 years. I am not surprised at anything he does, but this one got me. Not so much as that he actually got a motorcycle, but that I did not HIT THE ROOF!!!!! Normally, I am quite --uummm, opinionated and this time I just quietly sat back, did not say much and accepted the fact that my first husband has just bought a motorcycle. (Renae & Missy, you are setting the bar REALLY high for us to follow along behind you :o}) Now, I must admit he got a GREAT deal on it and it is a sweet ride. And, I must admit we really had a great time ridding together when he had one while we were dating (My dad now tells me that ignorance was bliss - in that he did not know I rode with "That Man" because ------- Daddy told me not to).

Submission has never been my strong suit. (Reference the last sentence in the previous paragraph!!!) When we went to pre-marriage counselling (a 12 week course - 13 for us), our pastor had to go over the chapter in submission TWICE, because I said I was not going to be some limp dish rag and let "That Man" make all of my decisions for me. Yes, can't you tell, I came of age in the '80s. That generation where we were told that we could have it all. We could bring home the bacon & fry it up in a pan --- remember the song & commercial???? We did not need a "federal head", we did not need to answer to anyone, we could be who we wanted to be, and YES I had bought into it - Hook, Line & Stinker. But, now I am twice the age I was then, I have had some lumps served to me on a less than silver platters and I have learned a thing or two from that. Who am I to question my hubby's decisions? Well, I guess I CAN question them - but, now I accept them. God gifted "That Man" to me and I can rest in that God wants me to honor Him by letting my hubby make those decisions. It has taken me 18 years to learn it - I must admit I am a slow learner.

Please, take the time to go see the Families against Feminism blog. Once there click on her BRILLIANT "Ruby Rebel" button and read that article. I tried to link to it ---- but, like I said, I am a slow learner. She says it so much more eloquently than I can.

God, thank you so much for my hubby. He has been such a blessing to me. Please, keep him safe as he rides the open road. Lord, thank you for showing me how important it is to submit to my husband's authority. How that boosts his spirit and encourages him to be a leader in our home. I heartily apologize for every time I have failed him in not honoring his decisions or questioning his authority. I never thought about it as not honoring or questioning Your authority - but that is precisely what I have done. Create in me a submissive and loving heart, one that will follow You.

Words of Encouragement

"Trust on thou brave, noble heart! Faint not, though

the cross burden thee to the earth. God notes thy

patience and "labor of love". The mansion and the

crown await thee. Look up, and press on!"

"Mary Bunyan, the Dreamer's Blind Daughter

A Tale of Religious Persecution"

By: Sallie Rochester Ford

Feeling Out of Touch

How long has it been? I feel like I've been out of touch for a year, but in reality it has only been 3 weeks. How refreshing it has been to be away from the ever present internet. I will say that there are loads of things that I have wanted to look up, blogs I've wanted to read and emails to peruse, but the time off has been good.

Amy, if you wish to "out" me it's OK.

There were questions left unanswered from my last post and I will take this opportunity to clear the air (get it??? :o}) on the whole deodorant/hydro-baking soda thang. I have learned a lot from simple trial and error and will enlighten you now.

1. Be sure to wash under your arms EVERY DAY!!
2. You only need to use a little bit of Hydrogen peroxide and just a wee bit of baking soda.
3. You may "swab" with whatever you like. I just pour 1 tsp. of hydro-p in my finger tips, rub my hands together and apply, then while fingertips are still damp I will touch 1/4 of a fingertip (from each hand) into baking soda and apply a very small amount under each arm. Yes, that works - just that little bit!!!

DD & I have both experienced some breaking out under our arms. This is largely due to using too much baking soda, but problem solved by just applying liberal amounts of Pure Shea Butter before bed time and in a couple of days it was gone. Learn from our mistakes. Less is more.

I am working on my post for the "Happy Pads". More info on that will be forth coming.

Another way we are saving money these days is using our homemade liquid hand soap. This is made by simply using a box grater from the kitchen and grating up some all natural soap and boiling it in some water. This also took a bit of trial and error - that is the best way I learn, to do things wrong first. The first time I did this I used twice as much water as soap, I ended up adding more and more water, the soap was too thick to go through the soap dispenser. Perhaps I ended up used 4 cups of water to 1 cup of grated soap. The grated soap WAS NOT packed down. I use this for more than just hands, I use it for shampoo. Using only 2 pumps, scrubbing it into my hair, then add a little bit of Borax, yes-Borax. At first the liquid soap does not lather up, but when the Borax is added you get lather, big time!!!!! I was pleasantly surprised. Now, you must know that I was not happy with the results of just the shampooing this way. My hair was greasy feeling, yet full, you must know that there is another step. You need to make your own conditioner. This is not as difficult as you think, it just takes a little fore thought. Some people use just a combo of 2 cups water and 3 Tbs. Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)- I read an article on herbs and how certain ones are beneficial to different hair types and colors, so I thought why not steep some herbs in the water first, then add the ACV. The herbs I used were best for dark hair: rosemary, sage, mint and lemon balm. If you have light hair you may use herbs like chamomile, sage, and/or thyme. Now, instead of my hair smelling of salad dressing it smells like mint jelly :o} The conditioner last me for about a week maybe 10 days, if I wash my hair often. My hair is short so I do not have to use much. I think that it may cost me about half a cent (if even that) now to wash AND condition my hair.

Now, I need some help. We are going to have to replace our refrigerator and am asking advice from others on their purchases. Which is best, side by side, bottom freezer, french door with water & ice dispenser on door??? There are so many choices. I have read too many bad reviews on purchases from Sears and we have had a really bad experience with HomeDepot so those two are out. Any advice or info would be helpful. Also, we are looking into purchasing an outdoor wood heater, even possibly sharing it with my parents - is there anyone who has used them or knows someone who uses it, or knows of a reliable dealer.