michelejo

Starting a Garden in the Desert ~ Part 3 ~ My Complete Start Up Costs

September 26, 2016 by michelejo Leave a Comment

I recently overhauled my large side yard and installed all new raised beds for a total 112 square feet of gardening space. My complete start up expenses have been:

$160 wood and hardware for beds
$330 soil, delivery and spreading (this was a mistake…the soil I got was NOT good)
$120 on starts and seeds
$110 additional soil and worm castings
$90 drip system set up
$35 fertilizer and pest control
$125 fencing and gate

= $970

$970 is a lot, but we spread the project out over about two months, and had set money aside in the few months that we were getting the space ready, so we were able to spread it out over time.

Some of the expenses were optional, and some of the costs could easily be reduced depending on your situation.

I do feel like we paid too much for the bulk compost/soil based on how much we got and the quality, but live and learn. I think the price we paid would have been fair, had the soil been what it was sold as.

The starts are a luxury…that expense could be avoided. Seeds are cheap and you don’t need to spend a lot on special seed starting equipment if you plan well.

The drip system is optional and could also be avoided.

Beds can be built from less expensive (or even free lumber) but it was very important to my husband for our’s to be uniform.

Fencing is only needed if you have animals or kids that will mess up your hard work.

We’ll still need to spend around $100-200 to install supports and shade cloth next summer, because gardening through some of our hotter months is important to me.

Continue to Part 4 for ideas of what to plant if you live in the greater-Phoenix area like I do!

Starting a Garden in the Desert ~ Part 2 ~ Raised Beds

September 26, 2016 by michelejo Leave a Comment

As I mentioned in Part 1, I started out trying to amend in-ground beds in my own backyard, and had issues with plants dying and/or not growing. The previous owner had used pavers to outline a veggie garden area, but when we bought the house, everything she’d planted was very small and very dead. We ripped all that out, added dozens of bags of soil and compost over two years and still couldn’t get things going. I never had the “soil” officially tested but I concluded that there must be something in the ground that is not conducive to any sort of growth.

I decided to switch to 100% raised beds so I could have more control over the soil. I took a full spring/summer off to overhaul that area of the yard, and it was worth it, being able to implement the new plan slowly over several months. It’s a more costly option since you have to (1) build or buy the beds and (2) completely fill them with purchased soil. We started out by removing the paver border and then leveled the area (which is our side yard). We carefully chose a spot for the new beds, where they would get enough sun in the fall/winter and some decent shade in the spring/summer. We left room to plant fruit trees and some vining plants along the block fencing. We have a bay window in the our formal dining room that faces the side yard, and I really want to eventually look out into green space and not just crushed granite and block fencing!

We built six beds. They are four feet by four feet, and 8″ tall. Two of them have a two feet by four foot second tier, because I wanted some deeper areas for root veggies. We settled on pine common boards from Home Depot because they were cost effective. We chose the 2x10s and used 2x4s to anchor the corners to the ground, so leveling would be easier and so we would not have to worry about shifting. The beds are situated in our east side yard, which gets enough sun for a fall/winter garden, and some decent shade for spring/summer (we will be installing shade cloth for the hottest months). We put down several layers of cardboard on top of thick layers of crushed granite, in hopes that whatever IS in the soil would not leach into the new beds.

Filling the beds was a bit tricky. Not having a pick-up truck or a vehicle capable of driving a long distance with a trailer full of hundreds of pounds of dirt, we found someone to deliver what was touted as very high quality composted soil. Unfortunately, we were shorted on amount and also discoverd areas that are very sandy, loamy and just not that great. We began ammending with bagged compost and soil, and will likely need to continue amending for some time to come.

Watering is a consideration. I’ve always watered by hose, but especially in the summer, that is hard to keep up and can be wasteful and not-so-great for the plants. We set up drip irrigation to the hose bib near the garden. This included an inexpensive manual timer (I go outside, turn on the water and set the time, then return to shut off the water…the timer cuts it off but we have a couple leaks if we leave the faucet on) which I’d like to upgrade someday to a completely automatic one. My starts are doing very well so far with the drip set-up and while we’ve had kinks to work out, I think it’s worth the money to set it up and maintain it.

I purchased a lot of starts, because we finished a bit late for seeds for most of the plants I wanted. I’m glad I did plant starts because it helped me quickly discover some of the shortcomings of our soil blend.

The last major component has been a 42″ high picket fence, to keep our dogs out. Our 75# standard poodle can more than destroy a garden in moments…in years past I’ve tried smaller garden borders and they don’t work well ~ he’s destroyed a LOT of plants each year. Both dogs will dig in the richly-aromatic soils we use and they will poop near/on plants as well. We purchased three 8′ long picket fence panels, a gate hardware kit and a few posts, plus a bag of concrete to create the barrier. I still need to sand it a bit and paint it, but I’m not factoring paint into the cost.

Continue to Part 3, for a complete cost break down.

Starting a Garden in the Desert ~ Part 1 ~ Where/how to Plant?

September 26, 2016 by michelejo Leave a Comment

I love to garden. I’m not very good at it still, but I like the idea of being able to grow some of the fruits and veggies we eat. Especially our favorites. Organic is just too expensive typically, but I can grow organic in my backyard pretty easily and inexpensively. This series will chronical my experiences, successes and failures gardening near Phoenix, AZ.

You have a few options starting out in backyard/urban gardening.

The first is to create garden beds in your native soil, right in the ground. Depending on where you live, and what’s been happening in your yard pre-garden, you might not even have to amend the soil much. Near Phoenix, we typically need to amend at about 2/3…i.e. 1/3 native soil, 1/3 ‘good’ soil and 1/3 worm castings/compost/coconut coir and other amendments. The second option is raised beds, which can be more costly, since you have to buy/build the beds and then purchase all of the soil/compost to fill them. A third option is small containers, which is a great option for apartment dwellers and can be kept on patios and moved in and out of the sun (you might even have success growing inside near windows). Our first summer in our home, I grew all my peppers and tomatoes in 5 gallon buckets outside and moved them around as needed. I had trouble keeping them moist during the hottest parts of the summer, but overall I had decent yields, even if birds stole a lot of them. I also spent over two years trying to grow a garden in heavily amended native soil, to no avail, so I switched to 100% raised beds in the fall of 2016.

For more details and cost break-downs for different methods of getting started, see part 2.

Pain and Panic: Dog Biscuits

March 30, 2016 by michelejo Leave a Comment

There really isn’t a lot about my childhood that I can write chronologically. Snippets and details flood back randomly, and out of order. I’m hoping that after I’ve written a lot of this out, I can sort it into some semblance of order. Today’s story is an early one though.

I know that I was three or four years old, because we lived in our home in Putnam Valley, NY and I hadn’t started Kindergarten yet. We moved there when I was three and left shortly before I turned six, but after my Kindergarten year.

On this sort of day, my mom was going through one of her things…she was sitting under the pool table, basically in a catatonic state. She just stared at me when I tried to speak to her, and no matter what I said or did, she didn’t really respond. She had a blank, vacant look on her face and even crawling into her lap and crying didn’t snap her out of whatever hell she was in.

During this time, I was left largely to fend for myself. Occasionally I would call my father, crying hysterically, about Mommy being “sick” and not talking to me. Or feeding me. Or taking care of me. He would always assure me he was coming home soon. But he worked long hours as a sales manager at a car dealership, and we lived in the boonies. He left early in the morning and came home late at night, and he rarely took a day off. Looking back, I’m not sure how I didn’t end up getting seriously hurt, between our steep basement steps, our rural location and our unattended kitchen. I was extremely obedient and knew not to touch the stove or anything sharp. I was afraid to even get into the pantry or refrigerator for food, milk or juice.

During times like these, I dined on Milk Bones, which my mother kept underneath the kitchen sink. Occasionally she’d put out a cup of milk or orange juice or even better yet, a bowl of cereal, and I’d excitedly discover it upon waking up. Most mornings, it was the Milk Bones. I would sit underneath the kitchen sink, with the cupboard doors open. Jacques, the chocolate poodle, would sit with me and we’d share our breakfast. I preferred the plain, light tan ones…I imagined they were milk-flavored. The colored ones weren’t as good and I avoided them, usually handing them over to Jacques. I think they were beef, liver, chicken and so-on. I’m not sure what the green ones were supposed to be, but those were my second-favorite. I’d lean my head against the pipes and count the dog biscuits, making sure I rationed some for future meals and snacks.

I’m not sure exactly how many times this happened or exactly how often, but I do know it’s one of my most prominent memories. I also remember getting caught under that cabinet, nibbling on a Milk Bone, and my mother acting appalled that I would do such a thing, as though she had no memory of her days lost in some sort of vacant fog. Those days I had real food and a mother who would let me curl up in her lap. I’d ask her to rock me, and she’d oblige.

Roasted Radishes

March 29, 2016 by michelejo Leave a Comment

Roasted radishes…raw they were hot and bitter…roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper and they are actually kind of sweet! They taste similar to other roasted veggies. I’m trying to eat a greater variety of veggies and this was easy, and is very yummy. Turnips turn out similarly, but I much prefer the texture of radishes.

Pain and Panic: Abuse and survival.

March 23, 2016 by michelejo Leave a Comment

Part 1

Phobos and Deimos…terror/dread and fear/panic. Mars’ two moons. Cool names for things…like my pair of Instant Pots or a couple of pet rats. I was at the Arizona Science Center with the family, enjoying a planetarium show of our galaxy when the narrator mentioned Mars’ two moons and their names. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard those names, but for some reason, something clicked. He said Deimos and Phobos mean pain and panic…and I’d never heard pain mentioned in the definition before, but I realized that terror and dread ARE pain. So it made sense, even if he wasn’t quite right. It made me think of my childhood and how sad it makes me that even in my 40’s, “pain and panic” are two really good words to describe how I grew up.

I have epiphanies almost daily, still. I have flashbacks, and memories surface several times a week. I find myself seeking answers and asking my husband, and now my oldest daughter, “that isn’t normal, is it?” and “do things like this happen to everyone?” I have questions that will never be answered. I don’t know why my parents were verbally, emotionally and physically abusive. I don’t know why my father didn’t protect me from my mother, even though he knew everything (for years I thought he hadn’t, or didn’t believe me). I’ve been asked for forgiveness and I can’t give it, as much as I’ve been told it would be healing to forgive.

I’ve wanted to write this series for many years, but I knew I probably couldn’t. When my mother passed away in 2011, I realized that I actually could. I still wasn’t sure I should. Today is the fifth anniversary of her death and I come to realize that five years marks a good turning point and a good starting place from which I could really move on. Unwilling to continue to be stuck in the past, I’ve decided that perhaps sharing my experiences beyond with those beyond my closest friends (both of them LOL) and most immediate family might be the step I need to take to really begin to put things behind me.

Light Mountain Naturals + Red Food Coloring

March 1, 2016 by michelejo Leave a Comment

About a year ago I decided I wanted to stop using chemical dyes on my hair. I had been bleaching highlights and coloring with Manic Panic or Ion Brights for many years, but I finally decided I wanted my whole head to be a deep, dark crimson. I tried a few drugstore boxed dyes. When those didn’t last long I would do Manic Panic over the fading dye and I also tried some salon quality dyes with 20 vol. or 10 vol. developer (hoping to just deposit color) but nothing lasted very long, making this ll an exercise in wasted time, money and disappointment (well that and the fact that our shower pan seemed to be permanently stained red/pink/purple).

Looking for an alternative, I was drawn to Henna but had been told for years that Henna would not work well over chemically treated hair. That and the fact that once you use Henna, you can never bleach another strand again before growing out your hair and cutting it off.

Thanks to Google, I was able to clarify some of these myths. You can Henna over previously chemically treated hair, but your result might be inconsistent or unexpected. And you can bleach/highlight/dye over Henna, but your result might be inconsistent or unexpected. I’m ok with that and willing to cut length from my hair if I damage it too much (been there, done that).

Armed with those factoids and tired of my dry, frizzy and faded hair, I bought my first box of Henna, Light Mountain Naturals Light Brown, after reading that my faded but very reddish hair might go too red or too orange if I went with a straight red Henna. This turned out to be a mistake for me because Hennas that are designed to turn out shades of brown or burgundy often have Indigo added to them (blue/black). My hair grabbed more Indigo than Henna, leaving it an odd greenish-black. I wasn’t too worried because it takes two days to see the final color result. It stayed too dark, and too greenish for me, but to the non nit-picky observer, it was an ash brown. (Note: I didn’t bother strand testing because I have too many different conditions of hair on my head to make it worth my time…and I’m not afraid of an unexpected result.)

I was ultimately going for Burgundy, so I tried that next. Again, same mistake choosing a color with Indigo in the formula! I just hadn’t realized that until after doing the Burgundy. Again, my hair seemed to want to hold onto the black more than the red and my hair was a darker ash brown. I then learned that if you re-apply Henna frequently or over a long period of time (particularly if it has not faded much), the color builds and gets darker each time. I wasn’t thrilled with how dark my hair was, but the condition felt AMAZING and I was happy overall because it did lose most of the green tinge after trying Burgundy. I wanted it more red but didn’t want to keep going darker.

After this, I made a discovery…you can use Manic Panic or Ion Brights or other semi-permanent vegtetable-based dyes over Henna! For insurance, I washed my hair with dawn and did a lemon juice rinse to strip out as much of the Indigo as possible and used Manic Panic’s Rock ‘n’ Roll red. It showed up very nicely and lasted a good 3-4 weeks before it began to fade. After that, I decided I would alternate Henna and Manic Panic (or similar) every 4-6 weeks or so to keep the reds brighter and the condition very silky. I switched to plain old Red from Light Mountain at that point as well, since I was clearly in no danger of my hair going too orange and at this point, if it were to do that, I know I can use a vegetable-based semi-permanent to tone it down.

Fast forward to today…I hadn’t done any Henna or color in over four months…was just too busy with the holidays and new year. Now there’s a lot of outgrowth that is virgin hair, or has only been Henna’d once. I had a pot of Manic Panic and a box of Light Mountain Red. I contemplated mixing them together so I would avoid Henna’ing today and having to do the MP in a few days. I researched and the consensus seemed to be that it didn’t really work well to do this, but that people have had success with red Kool-Aid in Henna. No red Kool-Aid on hand, I found a box of Ameri-Color Gel Food Coloring that I know is at least five years old and have been meaning to replace. I hadn’t ever even opened the Super Red. Bam! I used the half-ounce bottle in my Henna after developing it for an hour, and slapped the mixture into my freshly washed twice, non-conditioned hair.

My hair is about bra-strap length but layered and very fine…so I only need half a box of Light Mountain, however, I just can’t seem to remember to mix up only half. I have a lot leftover and can’t help but keep eyeing the dogs. 😉 If only they’d sit still.

I only left it on an hour…that’s about my limit although I know some people swear by leaving it on 4+ hours or even overnight. I can’t even sleep with a pair of socks on, so a head full of goop wrapped in plastic and a towel would be a no-go for me! I shampoo’d and condition (I know some people don’t wash right away)) and it turned out really nice…a little coppery but that definitely toned down after 48 hours. My hair feels like silk and is so smooth and healthy-looking. Unfortunately, the red food dye seems to have had no effect on my hair, but when I have time, I’ll probably give it additional oomph with some Red Passion Manic Panic. (Picture taken about one month after applying henna and after a 4″ haircut; yes, I’m at the range but it’s the only picture I have of the back of my head! You can see light red highlights close to the ends…that is where my hair had bleached highlights previously. Overall I’m very happy with the color and dimension henna has on my hair!)

Make your own candles; avoid common household toxins.

December 9, 2015 by michelejo Leave a Comment

I have known for a long time that my beloved Glade, Gold Canyon, Bath and Body Works, Goose Creek and Yankee Candles would give me terrible headaches and exacerbate my asthma symptoms. And forgot burning them if any one of us in the house was sick, getting sick or had recently been sick. According to this article, some of these candles are as bad for you as breathing cigarette smoke!!! What???

They also seemed to lose their scent very quickly…after the first few burns there didn’t seem to be much left. I thought that it just somehow evaporated out but I realized after doing some research that it’s not uncommon for commercial candle manufacturers to scent only the top 25% of the candle, or at least scent it more than the remainder. That seems unfair, doesn’t it, when you can pay upwards of $25-30 or more for a large candle?

I set out to create my own candles that would have fewer toxic substances and perhaps not make me wheeze and give me headaches. And maybe they’d last longer and smell better in the process! It took a year altogether of testing, and to be honest, I have invested over $1000 in this process. I’ve been able to sell some candles along the way and am in the process of placing them in small, local boutiques, so I think it’s worth the investment I’ve had to make to get here. I have yet to meet a soul who does not LOVE my candles.

Commercial candles, if they don’t say otherwise, are paraffin. Some companies have begun making soy blends or beeswax blends. There is currently no regulation, so it’s common that your store-bought “soy” or “beeswax” candle could have no more than FIVE perfect soy or beeswax and the rest would still be paraffin! It might be labeled like it’s pure! Isn’t that terrible?

And why do they do it? Beeswax is expensive, especially now while we’re having problems with diminishing bee populations. It’s also hard to scent and wick. Soy is plentiful here in the US, so that’s nice…but soy/paraffin blends are easier to scent and wick properly. They are quicker and easier to mass produce. And it’s easier to make them look perfect and be tolerant of temperature changes in shipping and storage. 100% soy candles often do NOT look perfect. They are prone to “frosting” and sometimes get sink holes even when made well. Neither affects their use or scent throw in any way and while I’ve minimized these issues with lengthy (and expensive) testing, it still happens sometimes. The candles still burn a long time and smell amazing, so I’m ok with it. They ARE handmade, after all.

And have you noticed how awful some commercial beeswax or soy candles smell? Awful!! The Burt’s Bees candles at Walmart come to mind. OMG…they cost the same as mine and the scent makes me want to gag. Truly. I feel bad that people are spending their hard-earned dollars on those, thinking they’re making a better choice. There are some very nice beeswax and soy candles out there, that smell great, but I’ve seen prices starting at $12 for a 3oz candle! Oh my…I love to earn money for my work just as much as the next guy, but that’s insane to me and not something the average American can afford to buy regularly (and in the quantity some of us use!). I don’t mean to bash but I’m seriously still in awe over what I’ve learned about the candle industry.

Soy and beeswax burn longer than paraffin. As least twice as long. My handmade soy candles burn a minimum of 10 hours per ounce. I made one 24oz candle (in a recycled food jar) that lasted over 300 hours ~ yes, I kept a log of that one!! I even forgot about the sucker and few times and it burned overnight after having burned all day. It just kept going and going.

So back to making candles! I sell mine through local boutiques and hope to get them into an online storefront in 2016. I sold them briefly on Etsy but shipping is high since candles are heavy, and Etsy’s fees are insanely high…I just wasn’t making enough money to make it worth the effort. Locally, I wholesale or consign them and that works for me. I figured I could sell them online in my own shop but sell them in four-packs, so the shipping cost makes more sense.

I do want to share, however, how to make your own in case you are so inclined. You don’t need 60+ bottles of professional candle scents (I only buy paraben-free, phthalate-free, petroleum-free, benzene-free fragrance oils), a dozen bottles of professional candle colorant, hundreds of wicks in different sizes or 100 pounds of wax to get started! You don’t need cutesy lids or special jars ~ you *can* make candles in jars recycled from foods but always make sure to burn them supervised, on a heat-proof surface and don’t use a huge wick in a small jar. There is always a chance for breakage and this chance is greater with a recycled jar. Mason jars are a nice safe bet, as are special candle jars. But always keep in mind that a jar can be defective and CAN break. Soy wax cleans up easy-peasy (but is oily, so can stain textiles) and beeswax does not clean up so easily! Mason jars on Amazon are overpriced usually, even with Prime. Check Walmart or your grocery store. If you catch a sale, you’re especially lucky!

If you want to scent your candles, avoid those expensive small bottles of scents at the craft stores. You’re better off buying an inexpensive essential oil on Amazon. Don’t use your pricey MLM oils though! Not worth it! Don’t use crayons to color…or the expensive colorants at craft stores. It’s better to go natural. You’re making healthier candles and who knows what’s in the crayons, craft store colors and craft store scents and if you want to breathe any of it?! If you must have color, buy one bottle of a neutral color like “honey” from Candle Science or another supplier on Amazon…especially if you have Prime. (I only buy additives and wax made in the US!) Same if you’d rather go with a synthetic fragrance blend (choose a “safer” one) but honestly, the less-expensive essential oils work well! There are brands on Amazon where you can get a 4oz bottle for around $15 and that will go a long way, as you want to use 1 ounce of EO per pound of wax. That’s right, an ounce. I’ve seen how-to’s instructing to use something like 12 drops for a pound of wax…you’re not going to get any throw with that. This is why you want cheap EOs, not the $10-115 for a 5ml or 15ml bottle kind!

For wax, again, avoid the craft store. You can get soy container candle wax on Amazon for a decent price, free shipping if you have Prime. They are a good source for beeswax too. A pound of wax makes about five 4oz candles if you don’t overfill them. Don’t be tempted by cheap paraffin…again…it’s not going to be healthier than the store-bought candles we talked about are are trying to avoid.

Let’s talk wicks now! Again, avoid the craft stores and their over-priced crap! For 4oz or 8oz mason jars, I’d recommend the “medium” sized pre-tabbed ECO wicks Candle Science sells on Amazon. It’s a 50 pack for about $10 shipped and that size works well in soy wax in the smaller mason jars. If your jars are significantly wider, go with “large,” If you’re making votives (or using baby food jars, which is a nice idea and makes cute little candles that still burn 20 hours) then you will want the “small” version.

Here’s a cost breakdown (assumes you have free shipping through Amazon Prime):

10 pounds golden brands soy container wax ~ $22
1 package wicks ~ $10
12 4oz mason jars ~ $7-9
1 20z bottle liquid colorant ~ $7
1 4oz bottle essential oil ~ $15
pour pitcher ~ $12
candy thermometer ~ $3-15 depending on type
TOTAL: $75-80ish and you will be able to make 12 forty hour candles, with enough supplies leftover to make at least three dozen more just for the cost of more jars, or you can recycle the ones you used in the first batch once you’ve used them! It seems like a lot but it really is only going to be about $2 per 4oz candle once you make them all…and they make great gifts! Glade candles are a around 3.5oz and sell for $3-4 plus tax and they’re not healthy, only burn about 20 hours and don’t have as good of a scent throw, so keep that in mind!

When you’ve gathered your supplies and you’re ready to start, you’ll need a hot glue gun (high temp) and glue sticks to glue the pre-tabbed wicks into the jars. Center as best you can with your fingers (careful, it’s HOT) or a skewer.

Melt your wax in a pour pitcher in a pan of simmering water or on a hot plate. You want your wax to hit 185 degrees, but don’t let it boil. At 185, add any color and then any scent you’re using. Stir thoroughly but not briskly because you don’t want to introduce air. Let the mixture cool to 130-150. 140 is a good pour temp, but the best temp will vary based on colorant, fragrance and the environment in your work area. It’s a good idea to hold back a couple ounces of wax so that if you get sinkholes, you can do a second pour and fill them in. Not necessary but looks better. After the candles are fully hardened (I wait at least 4 hours, overnight is even better), trim the wicks to 1/4″. They burn best if you cure for 5-7 days before burning. They will burn longer and have a better throw. Rule of thumb when burning soy is that it’s ideal to always trim the wick to 1/4″ and let the candle burn around 4 hours each burn time, but 4 hours is especially important the first time.

And that’s it! If you make a dozen candles and reuse the jars (pour super hot tap water into them after the wax is gone, clean out the residue and pry off the wick tabs) you will have made a minimum of four dozen candles, each burning 40+ hours for around $80. That could last you a year or two. Ever come away from Bath and Body Works with $40 worth of candles that only last a couple of months if you burn them even semi-regularly? That’s what I’m talking about…and these are safer and healthier in your environment.

For beeswax, the breakdown changes a little. A 1 pound bag will run you around $10-12 on Amazon with free shipping. Procedures are similar, but I prefer to leave them uncolored and unscented. They smell like honey when they burn and they clean the air by giving off negatively charged ions that bind with the positively charged ions of dander, dust and pollen. They cost more to make but they are beautiful and I enjoy them a lot as well as my soy candles! You can use essential oils in them at the same rate as in soy, and you probably will have to upsize the wick compared to soy. But they’re also easy and fun to make!

Happy candle making!!

{post contains my affiliate link to Amazon, where I make a couple cents on the dollar if you purchase supplies using my links}

Kid-Friendly Instant Pot Macaroni & Cheese

December 9, 2015 by michelejo Leave a Comment

I’ve decided to start a new series of Instant Pot recipes, particularly kid-friendly ones that you can teach your kids to make! Let’s kick it off with one of the easiest ones of all! Kraft recently took much of the junk out of their traditional blue box mac ‘n’ cheese, thanks largely to Food Babe, I’m sure. I feel ok serving it occasionally now, but you could also use another brand, like Annie’s. Of course General Mills now owns Annie’s, so you’ll have to decide which company to support if you want to go the quick-and-easy route. (Yes, I know, homemade can be quick and easy too but since I don’t always have the “right” noodles and the “right” cheese on hand, this will have to do because I do have a couple blue boxes stashed for emergencies!)

I’ve tested this doubled and I think it turns out better.

Instant Pot Blue Box Mac ‘n’ Cheese

2 blue boxes
water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup milk

Place macaroni in the stainless steel insert of your Instant Pot. Add cold water to *just* cover. Pour in cold milk and cheese sauce powder and stir until there are no big lumps of powder. Add butter last. Some people melt it, but I find it unnecessary. Place insert in pot and seat the lid, valve to sealed. Set the IP on manual for 7 minutes, high pressure. Once finished, shut off “keep warm” if activated and use quick release. It will look funky and too watery but do not fear. Stir carefully for a moment and the extra water absorbs and everything mixes in nicely. You may need to adjust the time for your altitude, environment or preference but 7 minutes is a good starting point. Enjoy!

An Upcycled Gift

December 9, 2015 by michelejo Leave a Comment

Being the diverse people we are, we observe Chanukah, Yule/Solstice and Christmas. We still do most of our gifting on Christmas, because that’s how hubby and I both were raised…and in this case, that’s a good thing because I need as much time as possible to finish this project.

Katie really wants a desk badly and I really hoped to get her one for Christmas, but even Ikea, Walmart and Target didn’t have anything very workable for under $125 or so. I wasn’t having luck finding anything used in a style that would go well in her room that was not upwards of $100 as well. I don’t want her desk to be her only large gift because I know she also desperately wants the Our Generation 18″ doll bistro from Target that’s a $119 knock-off of AG’s $495 one (I got one for $73 out the door with coupons and discounts, yay!) among a few other doll accessories, and we’d already purchased a Blackberry Pi so she can build her own computer. I just couldn’t find room in the budget to buy the desk *and* the other stuff. I could have waited till January for the desk but I’d rather take her to high tea at the Phoenician again and buy her another AG doll for her birthday.

Finally the other night, a friend of a friend posted a desk for sale on Facebook. 54″ wide (plenty of space for her TV/monitor, new Blackberry Pi and room to draw, etc.) for a mere $15! And by some miracle, I was the first person to see it and respond! (I never seem to get the steals!) It has two drawers and is in excellent condition. It’s mission style which will go well with her somewhat rustic style bunkbed AND we just happen to have a mission style end table in the garage that I never got around to moving inside…so we’re going to switch that out with her current nightstand. Both are dark oak stain, just begging to be repainted to look pretty in a girl’s room. We’re currently redoing her room in black, white and hot pink (she loves playing piano so that was the inspiration…piano keys!). I’m going to paint the legs white and the tops and drawers black! I just need to get both pieces painted before Christmas! (Her bunkbed set has been half-painted for over a year, so I need to finish that too, but it will be okay if I don’t get to it by the big day…that one will be white with black drawer fronts.)

I normally make my own chalkpaint but for a project like this, I really didn’t want to experiment with the best formulation as I usually do, but I didn’t want to sink another nearly $100 into two quarts of commercially made chalkpaint. I ended up purchasing the Waverly chalkpaint from Walmart instead, which is $6 for 8oz and not really more expensive that making my own. I got two white and two black and hopefully will have enough for the desk, end table AND to finish her bunkbed. Since we need to finish painting her walls as well, I’m hoping to at least get the wall the desk will go on painted before Christmas, so we can sneak the desk in there while she’s sleeping early in the AM!

I can’t wait to see her face when we reveal this all on Christmas morning!! 😀

Instant Pot Insanity

December 8, 2015 by michelejo Leave a Comment

Have I professed my love and adoration for my Instant Pot lately? I have the IP Duo 60 7-in-1. It’s the six quart model with the low pressure and yogurt functions. After wanting one for nearly nine months, I scored one on Prime day last July for $99. And I have loved it from the first time I used it! After having it for just a few weeks, I decided I needed another. I really wanted to be able to confidently give away more small appliances, like my rice cooker and some and all of my slow cookers (I do have a couple used exclusively for hot process soap-making, so I have to keep those). I had already sold my Yogourmet yogurt maker. It was great, but no longer needed. Black Friday finally came and the price dropped to $78.50. BOOM! Second IP was incoming. It has since arrived and I’ve used both pots simultaneously multiple times in the week or so I’ve had the second one. I am ready now to part with most of those slow cookers and that pesky rice cooker now. And the vegetable steamer. I’m eyeing my huge Chantal stock pot and my Le Creuset dutch oven now. Of course, I could never part with them…one was my mother’s and one was a gift from my mother. They are timeless. But I’m seriously considering moving them to the tops of my cabinets to use them as décor…that’s how infrequently I use them now!

Five Yummy Essential Oil Blends for Autumn

October 12, 2015 by michelejo Leave a Comment

Essential oils are great for cleansing our air and boosting our bodies’ immune systems! Here are some yummy combinations that are WONDERFUL in the diffuser this time of year. Can you imagine how wonderful they’d be in candles? I might have to make some…

Warm & Cozy

2 drops of Wild Orange
2 drops of Cassia (or Cinnamon)
2 drops of Cedarwood (or another Woodsy oil)

Trick or Treat

2 drops of Wild Orange
2 drops of Frankincense
2 drops of Cassia (or Cinnamon)

Thanksgiving Wonder

2 drops of Cypress
2 drops of Sandalwood
2 drops of White Fir

Spicy Holiday

2 drops of Cardamon
2 drops of Cinnamon or Cassia
2 drops of Clove
2 drop Ginger

Spicy Citrus Holiday

2 drops of Cardamon
2 drops of Cinnamon or Cassia
2 drops of Clove
2 drop Ginger
2 drops Wild Orange or Bergamot

Why I started doing product reviews!

August 29, 2015 by michelejo Leave a Comment

I’ve been buying from Amazon since Amazon.com only carried books! I signed up for Prime in 2006, not long after it became available, and I’ve been a member since. I buy most of my photographic gear and accessories from Amazon. I buy tons of toys, books (and e-books) and games. Sometimes I buy clothing or shoes and I often buy household supplies, beauty, drug and food items. And craft supplies, galore.

I have often written views just for the heck of it. I’d written about 40 over the years. I always hoped to someday “monetize” my blog and start reviewing for free products, or at least for discounts. Especially since I’m a craft supply and photo gear whore. Seriously, I love this stuff and would love to do more detailed reviews, particularly of camera lenses and accessories, but I can’t afford to buy everything I’d like to get my hands on. Recently, a friend introduced me to several websites for Amazon reviewers. Finally I had a way to weed out the legit ones from the non-legit, so I got started.

After a month of joining several review programs, I’ve spent $129.81 out of pocket, accumulated $95 in ebook/music/video and prime pantry credits and I’ve received $1977.19 worth of merchandise. I have not paid for anything I wouldn’t have purchased anyway. For instance, I got a selfie-stick for my selfie-holic oldest daughter, but it was free with a $1 credit for a future purchase, so I got it anyway. I’ve also stocked up on supplements we take regularly (L-Theanine, 5-HTP, Magnesium, L-Trypophan, L-Arginine, Co Q 10, Glucosamine, etc. etc. etc.) for pennies on the dollar compared to what we usually pay.

My most expensive purchase was $24.99 for a $50 package of ten bully sticks. They are huge and I usually pay $26.xx for a package of 10 skinny bully sticks at Costco, so I decided to fork over the $25. And they did not disappoint! My dogs love them and they last twice as long as Costco’s. Score.

Aside from this purchase, most of my purchases have been for $1 or less…often I will score free items or items that cost $.10 to $.50 or so. I’ve picked up a couple $3-ish items that were things I really needed and was about to spend much more on (silicone baking mat, for instance).

For a while I was choosing “no rush” shipping in exchange for a $5 Prime Pantry credit. Then I quit that because my items were taking a while and I wasn’t sure I’d use THAT many Pantry credits because most of the items are priced higher than I’d pay online versus going to Sam’s, Costco or Walmart. Then Amazon brought back the $1 ebook, video and music credits and since that point, I’m choosing “no rush” for about 75% of my purchases. We rent movies and buy music/ebooks a lot, so this is very helpful to our family budget.

When I first started this, I had my forty previously-written reviews and was ranked 1.3 million. A month later I have 140 reviews and am ranked 81k (the lower, the better). And I have made “Top Reviewer” status. I try to write about a dozen reviews per day, and I make sure to review my normal purchases as well. When reviewing items received at a discount or for free, you MUST include a disclosure, so I like my reviews to be a mix of “paid” reviews and organic reviews.

I’ve decided to put a little more into my reviews and begin doing photo or video reviews, and then also adding some of them to this blog. I’m not going to post my three different L-Theanine reviews (I try various brands to compare sizes and side effects) but I will post reviews that aren’t repetitive. 😀

If you’re interested in getting started reviewing, check back because I’m putting together a simple guide and FAQ that will answer a lot of the questions I had when I was brand new!!

Chime Candles Galore!

July 1, 2015 by michelejo

One of the biggest sellers in my Etsy shop are chime candles, or spell candles as some call them. What they actually are? These are 4′ tall little taper candles (but straight-sided) that many Pagans like to use ~ they are our prayer candles! The original use for these is Angel Chimes and other similar chimes that are popular around the holidays (whether you celebrate Yule, Christmas, Chanukah, etc.) Yes, a lot of people use larger tapers or votives or even tealights. Personally I love these little candles since they burn down in less than an hour, come in lots of brilliant colors and are relatively inexpensive. I also love the little holders you can get for them! I carry any and all colors I can find and I sell them in different packages. I also enjoy using them myself ~ much like other traditions, I light candles frequently with prayers and during holidays/celebrations.

Be the healer in your home with essential oils!

July 1, 2015 by michelejo

I’ve been using essential oils since the late-1990’s, but I didn’t really learn much about them until a friend introduced me to my favorite brand back in 2012. While I’m not a huge salesperson, I have done quite a bit of training and have discovered I enjoy teaching classes on essential oil use! I realized through research that the only oils I trust to ingest or use full-strength topically or aromatically are the ones I use, because they are tested. I still use other brands in my homemade hot-processed soaps (since the hot cook will degrade the oil quite a bit) but I only will use doTERRA if I’m going to be inhaling it, wearing it or swallowing it!

While I love to talk about essential oils and how they’ve changed my life (and my family’s lives) there is just too much information to cover in one post, or even a few. I’ve decided to share a weekly testimony about how a particular essential oil or product has affected me personally, or someone I’m close to.

This week’s highlight is…drum roll…OnGuard+ Softgels. While OnGuard also comes in an oil blend form that can be taken orally (more on that later) I much prefer to purchase my blends in softgel form if I plan to ingest. OnGuard+ is just one of several softgels available and I do love them all! But back to OnGuard+…

It’s July 1st and I haven’t been sick since February! That’s a big deal for me, especially since I traveled out of state in April. (I used OnGuard+ softgels religiously before, during and after my trip to stay well!) I just finished doing a play for our local community theater and the rehearsal schedule was very intense the last week (several nights we were out till 11pm or later) and I started feeling run down. I started taking OnGuard+ softgels twice a day and made sure not to forget to take my LLV vitamins as well. I also used some Breathe on my chest and diffused it alternating with OG at night. Other than being a little fatigued, I am good…whatever was trying to get to me is gone.

So there you have it, one testimony of many I have and will share in due time. 🙂

A fairy garden…

March 16, 2015 by michelejo

[pinterest]

Fairy Garden in a rusty Radio Flyer wagon. — This is how the wagon looked right after we added potting soil, polished river rocks and a 6-pack of snapdragons. 😀

I love plants, I love gardening and I love gardening with my children.

I am just getting over being sick for the better part of a month. It started with the flu, progressed to pneumonia, then I got another virus and then a horrible sinus infection. When I finally started to feel a [clear_floats] better, I’d spent two entire weeks mostly in bed.

My little boy was fine ~ he is a bit of a loner and happy (and old enough at eight and a half) to do his own thing nearby. My little girl (ten and a bit clingy sometimes) was definitely feeling like she needed some time with me, doing something more than lying around and watching TV. Her eyes lit up when I told her I needed help planning out a fairy garden. We did some online research and she drew up a plan.

I started looking for the right container or planter on our local resale groups. I had a rusty old radio flyer wagon in mind, but they usually sell for quite a bit when they’re in tact, so I was thrilled when a large one came up for sale for $30 less than a week later! I knew I could have found one for less if I took a couple weeks or more to scout the flea markets and garage sales, but I didn’t want to waste the time. We drove out to get it and we picked up a six-cell pack of snapdragons to start planting. We had a large amount of little river rocks from Dollar Tree and Ikea, so we made a river. We got everything settled in and made plans to go shopping for the garden accessories ~ and then my little girl got really sick!

I had a 25% off coupon and while shopping for something unrelated, hubby and I noticed that JoAnn had a great selection of fairy garden decorations (I guess I’m not the only one with this idea!) at 40% off, so I went shopping alone and brought back a huge bag of goodies to cheer her up! She was so thrilled! She didn’t feel well enough to go outside that evening, so we made plans for the following day. That morning I was at Home Depot shopping for our veggie garden and I grabbed a bunch more flowers to finish up.

We spent about an hour planting and arranging. We had a little disagreement over the placement of the wheel barrel (tee hee) but when all was said and done, we’re quite happy with it. We added some sheet moss for color as well. I still want a little fairy house, so we’re going to check Hobby Lobby (although I find the company a bit loathsome, I still can’t resist) or At Home (formerly Garden Ridge) to see what we might find. JoAnn does stock them online but in-person is more fun! 😀

[slideshow_deploy id=’2442′]

Carnitas in the pressure cooker!

March 13, 2015 by michelejo

Shredded Pork — This is the pressure-cooked pork after shredding. It literally just falls apart.

This is a simple and pretty-authentic recipe that is quick and easy to make in the pressure cooker. I STILL have not ordered my Instant Pot so this was made in my shallow 6 qt Fagor stovetop model. Still easy-peasy.

Ingredients:

1 pork shoulder (or butt) or pork loin (about 4-5 pounds)
Mexican seasoning/spice
cooking liquid ~ I used organic chicken broth
fat for browning
lemon or lime juice

1. brown all sides of meat WELL in pressure cooker; the goal here is a golden, thick brown crust
2. season all sides of browned meat with spices/rub; I use a mixture of Adobo powder and chipotle powder, plus some Lime-Chili Mrs. Dash
3. add a few inches of the cooking liquid
4. bring up to high pressure and cook for around 90 minutes (or however long it should take based on the size of your roast)
5. release pressure, shred with fork (should fall apart) and cook off extra liquid, add some citrus juice
6. heat more fat for frying and fry small amounts of the shredded pork in the fat till crisp, turning as needed…this is not something to walk away from
7. drain on paper towel; squeeze more fresh lime juice over meat and serve!

We like this with salsa, tomatoes, cheese and sour cream or crema ~ served with any type of tortilla or taco shell (low-carb, paleo works well since the meat is so tasty it masks these substitutes easily!)

Carnitas — This is the pork after frying it up; yum!

This is probably one of the worst pictures I’ve ever taken, but this is how I ate mine ~ in a low-carb tortilla with a generous side of diced tomatoes…