DIY Dishwasher Detergent

So I have been making my own dishwasher detergent for about six months now.  And I love it!  It works better than any store bought cleaner I've ever used.  It gets my dishes clean, does not leave water spots and I believe that its cheaper than using store bought detergent (but I haven't done the math).

So I got my inspiration from a pin I found on Pinterest.  You can look at the original here.  My recipe varies slightly and I make a smaller portion at a time because I didn't want to buy a new container to put it in to.

So here are my ingredients:

• 2 cups of Borax
• 2 cups Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
• 3 packets lemonade drink mix (for citric acid)
• 1 bottle of LemiShine

I've heard from other blogs that a problem that many people have had is after everything is mixed together it tends to harden and then is difficult to use.  With my first batch I had the same problem.  The way I solved it was by mixing the borax and washing soda together in my food processor.  Ever since I started doing that I haven't has an issue with hardening.


So, go ahead and add borax and washing soda to food processor.  It takes less than a minute for it all to combine.

Pour it into the container you are using.  I use the last container that I had for store bought dishwasher detergent.  It came with a lid and seals.  It works perfect for me.

Add lemonade drink mix. 

Add LemiShine.

Mix together.  I know it's weird that I use a fork to do this.  It's what I use, use whatever you want, just mix it together.

And that's it, you're done.  To scoop I use an old tablespoon sized measuring spoon.  It's one tablespoon per load.  Sometimes I will put a little mix into the prewash as well.  It makes enough for around 64 loads.  Which if you do a load a day it will last over two months.  Sounds like a good deal to me!

Book Review: Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies?

That's right.... I've already finished my first baby/pregnancy centered book.  Do Chocolate Lovers have Sweeter Babies? by Jena Pincott.

This is one of those books that you pick up and can't put down.  It's full of information about the process from conception to birth and the months after.  It is not written in typical pregnancy book format, but instead it is laced with the authors thoughts, questions, troubles and triumphs.  I love the way that Pincott presented the information, though some of it went right over my head. (I'm not to sciencey)  But I did my best to follow along.

Some interesting parts:

The author insists that her husband will breastfeed there daughter.  It cracks me up!  Her husband says it's never going to happen.  It's because there have been cases in the world where men have had to pick up the slack because they mother is no longer around, the food is scarce and the baby is hungry.  The men would actually start lactating.  Medically it is possible, they have all the equipment necessary, just in smaller portions that what women usually have.  What they lack is the hormones that are needed to make it happen.  But their bodies are capable of producing these hormones in extreme situations. (I do not think this is something that Michael would ever consider and it kind of grosses me out.)

Will the foods that we eat the most of during pregnancy be a favorite food of the baby?  The studies show that it could really go either way, some will love and other hate.

White people tend to have longer pregnancies than other races as a whole.  According to the studies it seems that white children take their time to show their faces somewhere between 39-41 weeks.  Where children of other races may only need 37-38 weeks.  And if the baby is of mixed race it depends on the race of the father for gestation time.

And for the chocolate:  People who eat chocolate on a regular basis tend to have kids who have a better disposition.  They are calmer.  It could be because those who ate the chocolate tended to have less stress than those who didn't, and constant stress is not good on the baby.


I do recommend this book for others.  There is so much information and written in an easy to follow manner.

Book Review: The Serpent's Shadow

The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan is the final installment of the Kane Chronicles.  We follow Carter and Sadie Kane, brother and sister as they battle Apophis the serpent who is trying to swallow the sun and their drama that comes with their teen love lives.

I was glad to finally be finished with this series.  I didn't care for it as much as I did the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.  It may be that I don't really know a whole lot about the Egyptian Gods and their personalities and the stories behind them.  It made it hard at times to know who was who and what they did and where there place was in the world of the Egypt.  I think if I was more interested in the background the story would have been more enjoyable.

The beginning of the book started off slow, as they seem to do in this series, but as it came to a close it picked up and became more interesting.  I love Riordan's style of writing.  We listen to his books on audio with Sidda and MJ who love it also.  He is very creative and has away to make old myths come alive.  I would probably give this series another go around eventually since I've started to learn the basics about the Egyptian gods.

Book Review: The Power of Six

So what can I say about The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore?  Well,  it was not as good as I am Number Four which was actually a great book.

In the Power of Six we are again following the story of John Smith or Number Four after he has left Paradise, Ohio along with his friend Sam and Number Six.  They are wounded and on the run.  It's what to be expected considering the ending of the previous book.  And while we follow them around as they wander around the U.S. we are introduced to Seven, who is also called Marina.

Marina lives in an orphanage with her Cepan, Adelina.  Adelina has abandoned her duites to train and teach Marina and has essentially become a nun.  So Marina is left to her own devices to discover her legacies for herself.

I really enjoyed the "idea" behind the story since I really like I am Number Four but I really felt that The Power of Six was lacking in the story telling area.  Things were never really serious and the battles in the story could almost be overlooked even though that it what the story is mainly about.  When describing these scenes Pittacus Lore (James Frey) was obviously rushed to finish the story.  It seemed like he was trying so hard to create cool stuff that was going on he forgot how to tell the story.  When reading through it I felt as if someone was telling me about these battles in a very boring monotone voice.  There was no excitement.  There could have been a lot more.

There was also an attempt at a love triangle that failed.  It didn't seem worth the effort to add it in.  John was supposed to be in love with Sarah and now he wants Six and Sam also wants Six who wants John and Sam.  It's too complicated.  I know that they are teenagers in the story but, come on, enough with the raging hormones, there are two planets that need saving and it can't get done if all our main characters are worried about is if they'll have a girlfriend or not.

Oh and a slight spoiler, we also get to briefly meet, Nine and Ten.  That's right... I said Ten.  Even though there were only supposed to be Nine there is a Tenth Lorien walking on earth.

The next book in the series The Rise of Nine is due out in August.  I'll have to check it out and hopefully we will see the return of great story telling to make it worth continuing on.

What's for Dinner? Roast Beef Sandwiches

I haven't made roast beef for sandwiches in forever!  But I knew that last night I needed something easy to make that I wouldn't have to worry about.  I knew that we wouldn't be home until after 6pm because Sidda was in her first school play last night!  It was so much fun to watch and I loved every  moment of it!

So back to dinner, roast beef.  This is something I make in the crock pot, and its made similar to how you would make a pot roast, but I don't really like pot roast in the crock pot.  I personally cannot stand mushy carrots and the potatoes never seem to come out quite right.  But the meat cooking by itself always turns out great!

In the pot I put 2 cans of cream of mushroom, a 2.5lb beef round and topped it off with onion dip mix.  Make sure to turn the round to coat in the cream of mushroom.  Then cover, set to low and cook for 8-10 hours.

When it's done all you will need to do is shred to beef with two forks, and stir in the gravy that the soup created.  The beef will soak it right up.

Then you put the roast beef on a bun and enjoy!  Put any fixins on that you might like.  Tastes great and super easy!

Book Review: Second Chance

 Second Chance by Jane Green is a story about how four friends are brought back together after a terrorist attack kills one of their friends, Tom.  It started off well enough, I guess.  With an introduction of the friends, their first time seeing each other all together in about twenty years.  The we follow the stories of the lives of Holly, Olivia, Saffron and Paul for the next few months after being brought back together.  How even after all the time apart they find that they still feel comfortable with each other and close.

Holly is unhappily married and was in love Tom from the time she was very young.  They never were able to want each other at the same time, so their love just never happened.  After Tom's death and reuniting with Tom's brother Will, she begins to have an emotional affair with him, because her husband Marcus is not giving her what she feels she needs.

Olivia has just gotten out of a relationship with George and finds it hard to be single and having to date again after seven years.  Before Tom's death he set her up with Fred whom she has been emailing back and forth with and will soon meet.

Saffron is an actress who has performed on stage and screen and is considered B list.  She is having a discreet affair with a very popular married actor, who will not leave his wife, because it would be bad for his career.

Paul is married to Anna and very much in love.  All they want in the world is to have a baby and are getting no where.

I found the story predictable and I really just kept reading because I thought there might be a twist somewhere that I didn't see coming.  I at least hoped there would be.  I have liked Jane Green's novels in the past but this one just seemed not her style, maybe even rushed.

Banana Bread with Kisses

My bananas were ready to make some banana bread, and I was in the mood to make it a little differently.  This time I took my basic banana bread recipe and added some Hershey Kisses that I had on hand.  After it cooked I got it out of the oven and after it had cooled enough to eat my family devoured it so quickly I did not get a picture of the inside with the melted kisses.  But believe me, it was good!