great book

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0762109041/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&qid=1255757988&sr=8-4&condition=used

I just got a copy of Reader's Digest: Homemade: 702 Ways to Save Money and the Earth: How to Make Hundreds of Everyday Products (whew...long title).

So cool. Here are some of the categories: pantry staples, preserves, snacks, take-out, dry mixes, sauces (dressings, marinades, much more) beauty products, health remedies, cleaning products, home, gardens and pets.


I posted some recipes for homemade cleaning supplies on my group blog (Happy, Healthy, Frugal, Healthy) and you can see those on the link from this blog.

Here's one from the sauce category:
Butterscotch Sauce

1 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 t. vanilla extract

Melt the butter over low heat. Add sugar and cream and stir until sugar dissolves. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir over vanilla. Serve warm or cold. Can be refrigerated for one week.

My Second LIfe

I dreamed last night that I had the opportunity to live a second earthly life, a chance to learn and grow in ways that I didn't the first time, a chance to correct some errors, a chance to make the seemingly mundane tasks I do more meaningful.

When I woke up I realized that because of the Atonement and the ability we have to progress, I have that opportunity. I think the dream was just a manifestation of some goals I've set for myself recently. Although I don't literally have the opportunity to return to the earth and begin a second life, I already have a new outlook on the life I'm living.

Here are a few of the things I wished I'd remembered more often the first time around:

1) Homemaking can be an art form instead of a task, if you do it in the right frame of mind.

2) The bonds between a mother and child are sacred.

3) Pride bring more heartache than almost anything and it makes you a prisoner. Swallowing your pride brings freedom, not all of the awful things you might imagine.

4) Heavenly Father is active in my life.

5) Simple expressions of love or gratitude matter.

6) "Stuff" is a burden.


p.s. Atticus Finch is my hero.

p.p.s. Here are 3 things worth almost anybody's time. Take a look:

http://www.flylady.net/pages/welcome_main.asp

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/apronevangelism.htm (read the article called Apron Evangelism)

http://princessacademies.com/