Bright Lights in the Big City

Lately with work, I have ended up on some late night flights.  If you know me as a traveler, you know I am a window seat traveler - even though I am 6 feet tall.  What can I say, I like to look out the window at everything below.

Getting in this late at night is a newer experience for me.  My first thoughts when I saw Atlanta lit up in the black sky was of the Nazca Lines in Peru.  The Nazca people created these geoglyphs (think ground sculptures) that could be viewed by the gods above.  This was nearly over 1500 years ago.

 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazca_Lines

What they created was so amazing - no airplanes or satellite imaging.  And I look from my airplane window at what we, modern society have created.  While it is also amazing, it is also a bit disheartening.  The bright lights go on forever, but they are strictly for our utility - not for the beautification of our plant or in honor of anything.  I can see subdivisions - planned to maximize land space.  Roads that carve into the landscape.  Clusters of shopping centers and parking lots.

I am not by any means saying we should have focused our building and planning so that God above or airplane passengers would have had a pretty scene to gaze down on...  but maybe as we move forward we should think more than the local impact of our usage of this place.  The simple lines that the Nazca put on the ground are here over a thousand years later and are still beautiful.  Can we say the same about what we are creating today?  Will people still care a thousand years from now?  Will our cities one day be considered a wonder of the world or just ruins to clean up?

As far as my home relates, know I have been replacing my "bright" lights with the newer compact light bulbs that require less energy.  I have also strove to keep the lights off when possible.  I may not be able to change the hardscape of our city, but at least I can be more conscious of the resources I am using.

And as far a beautification - people from a plane can't see this and it will not stand the test of time -but I have decorated my fireplace with my 'bright lights', which I think are beautiful.  I thought this candelabra was a great addition for the house since the fireplaces are no longer functional.

 I am Suzy Homemaker - see me shine!

Can't Escape the Snakes!

Okay - I really am believing I live on a snake bed at this point.

I raked up leaves a month or 3 ago, but never quite got around to bagging them - we still had leaves falling and blowing around - so what was the point?  Then we got rain so I didn't want to bag wet leaves... and let me honest with myself here - I just didn't want to bag them but was unwilling to pay someone else to do it.

So finally, the weather has gotten nicer and I was going to start having spring cookouts - so the leaves had to go.  Now, if you recall, the last time I raked leaves, I raked up a snake - still alive.  It gives you this paranoia about raking leaves.  But, I had on my big girl panties and my thick gloves, so I was committed.

Tim opted for the manly way, bare hands and elbows deep into the leaf piles.  I cautioned him about snakes and he informed them that they would be hibernating and that they generally hibernated in large groups - so we would know by the first scoop.  I am still not sure if that was true... and I don't know if it was more calming to think we would definitely know if there were snakes or more terrifying to think that there could be multiple to deal with if they were hibernating in my piles.

So we approach the last pile.  He start scooping and I spot one.  That is right - there is a snake in my leaf pile again! It looks dead, but then again I have never seen a hibernating snake and I don't want to take chances.  We scoop it onto the rake and take it to the sidewalk.  As much as I am not cool with snakes, I wanted to see it more closely.  It didn't seem to move - but was in perfect condition - no indication of death.

We poked at it like little kids on the beach with a jellyfish.  Maybe it slightly moved.  Maybe it was my mind playing tricks.  Either way, it got a brick to the head.

We tossed it and I went back to bagging leaves with my gloved hands.  Tim opted to use the rake.

I am Suzy Homemaker, snake wrangler.

So Fresh and So Cheap Clean!

Pinterest fever has struck the nation and I have a bad case of it!  It is a DIYer's dreamland.  I mainly started with recipes because it was around the holidays.  I made amazing homemade Almond Joys and an awesome Butterfinger pie.  Breakfast casseroles, salads, you name it - there is a recipe for it.

Then, I moved over to the DIY/crafts page - and hit the jackpot!  First, I made my own Febreze.  With the real stuff costing around $5 a bottle, I was ready and willing for a cheaper alternative.

You need 4 things:
1.  a big spray bottle (I used my latest empty Febreze bottle)
2. 1/8 cup of liquid fabric softener
3. 2 tbsp of baking soda
4. hot water

Just add the fabric softener and baking soda then fill the rest of the bottle with hot water and shake.  I have used this on my curtains, furniture and clothes.  No residue, no damage - only freshness!  Besides how cheap this stuff is to make - I love that you can decide what scent you want - you get to pick out the fabric softener.

Okay - now my current obsession - Homemade Laundry Detergent!!  Now, this one takes a bit more effort than Febreze.  You will need the following:

Required: 1 box of Borax, I box of Washing Soda, 4 lbs of Baking Soda, 25-30 oz of Fels Naptha bar soap
Optional: 3 lbs of Oxy clean or the like, 1-2 bottles of dry fabric softener (Purex Crystals)
Tools and et cetera: Grader, huge bucket - preferably with a lid

Attention all shoppers - I could only find all of these ingredients at the grocery store - I could not find the soap or washing soda at Target.  That being said, if you are going to add Purex and the Oxy Clean - unless they are on sale, it is usually a dollar or two cheaper to get these at Target or Walmart.  And as you see from the photo - I don't care about brands - so I often use the generic if possible.

Once you have everything - grade your cheese soap - it definitely looks like cheese, but is more of a pain to grade.  Use the fine grader to keep the soap pieces small.  It took me about an hour to grade all of the soaps.  This is the hardest part.

Next (and finally) mix everything together.  2 notes about this - I would mix it outside if possible - there will be dust and I can't imagine that it is good to inhale that stuff.  Next - I would layer - pouring parts of everything in so that mixing is easier.  Once everything is in - mix it up.  I found having a lid and just shaking the bucket was easier than trying to mix it by spoon.

You are done.  Start washing your clothes - they are going to smell wonderful and be just as clean as the stuff you pay an arm and a leg for.

It only takes about 2 tbsp of this stuff to wash a load of clothes.  I have washed it with all blacks in cold/cold and it left no residue.  Now, I will start the water and add the detergent then add the clothes - but I have always started laundry this way.

You will see that this recipe makes several pounds of detergent.  Cost-wise, I spent less than $20 on everything to make it.  At 2 tbsp a load and 1-3 loads a week - this stuff could last me nearly a year (if I wasn't giving out samples to all of my friends to try).

So, if you are interested but want to try it out first - let me know - I will give you a "sample"!

I am Suzy Homemaker - keepin' it clean!

New Appreciation for My Maid

Okay, so I don't have a maid.  At times I definitely wish I had one.  Keeping my apartment clean when I had one was not a huge deal, so I didn't think my small house would be much more.  I was very wrong.

As a child, my mom would constantly tell my brother and I that "she was not our maid".  Every weekend we would have certain chores so that the house could be cleaned every week.  I never understood this - the house was not constantly dirty - why were we always cleaning?!

Now I know.  The house was dirty - but I didn't see it as a child or as a teenager.  Maybe I didn't see it in my apartment because it wasn't my own.  Now that I have a place that I am responsible, I see every piece of dirt, every speck of dust, every blemish on and within my house. 

Even when I travel all week, I still have to clean my house on the weekend.  How does it get dirty when nothing is happening?  No children, no parties, yet dust and dirty accumulate everywhere!  Now, I am my own maid.

Life can be messy at times- it is only fitting that my house is too. 

Coming Home

I often travel for work.  I enjoy "coming home" now that I actually get to come to my own home - not some apartment - where I always felt like a visitor waiting on the next place to move to or struggling to find a real home to call my own. 

It is great to drive up and see "my house" - I guess the newness hasn't worn off even after a few mortgage payments, a lockout, a busted pipe and a few wild snakes.

This has been an especially long week (traveling coast to coast every week has begun to wear on me) and I was especially eager to get home tonight - and especially since it was midnight.  Instead of whipping into my driveway - I get cars - cars everywhere - cars blocking my house and my drive and no sign of anyone. 

I always try to be sensitive when I street park - to make sure that I don't park illegally - including blocking driving or by fire hydrants.  Apparently, this is not a concern everyone has.

Unfortunately, this story does not have a fun ending - there was no surprise welcome home party for me (which would have made a better story).  Instead I got to park up the street, haul my luggage into the house and be greeted only by my 2 cats and you get to read my complaints.  Coming home is still leagues better than going to the hotel!

Welcome home and welcome to city living. 

Houston, We have a Problem!

I am a consultant - which either has me working from home or working from my current client site during the week.  I have been lucky that I have not had to travel since I bought my house - as it makes settling in much easier.

Last week was like most any other week.  During many days, I will host conference calls and lead WebEx meetings for hours at a time.  Wednesday was no different.  I had ended a call a few minutes early, and I heard something.  It sounded like air or heat was on full force, except nothing was on.  So quickly walked around the house and everything seemed fine - but I knew it wasn't.  I walked outside to make sure the facet wasn't on - still nothing.

Then, I walk around to my crawl space.  Water was seeping out from under the door - and when I opened it - it was several inches deep already.  I freaked out.  I was suppose to be leading a meeting for 2 hours - but I could not let my house sail away on the rising flood waters under my house.

I knew I need to cut the water off, but I didn't know where the shut off was.  I called a plumber that had serviced the house before - he was across town.  So, I had Tim go under the house while I tried to turn it off at the road.  After wading through my snake-invested waterlogged crawl space, Tim was able to find the valve and turn it off.

Okay - so my house was not gushing water, it actually didn't have any water.  My dad thought he could probably fix the problem - but he was traveling out of state.  So, I could try to find a plumber - or wait until 2 days without water.  Plumbers are very expensive - so I opted for the wait.

I survived with some gallons of  fresh water and the rainwater from my rain-barrel.  (If you don't have a rain-barrel, I highly recommend getting one.)  Friday, Dad shows up and has everything fixed in under an hour.  The problem?  The connector of 2 pipes broke off.  So now, my pipes are reconnected, my crawl space is all dried up, I got a lesson on how to turn off the water at my house and road, and I didn't have to pay an expensive plumber - thanks to the best dad in the world!

I am Suzy Homemaker - hear my broken pipes gush!

All the Rage in Christmas Decorating

As this will be my first Christmas in my new house - so I wanted to do it right. I was shocked to see Christmas stuff go up as soon as Halloween cleared out - maybe I shouldn't be as commercial as all holidays have become.  As soon as I put away my skeletons and pumpkins, I started researching different Christmas tree themes since I would be starting from scratch.

While I grew up with a traditional tree filled with decorations made and bought over many years, I really had a desire to do something different.   I started with lights - I decided that I would invest in LED.  They have “Cool White” – which is more blue than the “Warm White” which is more yellow.  I immediately loved the LED Cool White lights.  Going with white would allow me to change around ornaments, but not have to reinvest in lights.  So, I got 2 boxes – thinking that I would have a smaller tree and that would be good.

Then, I moved to ornaments.  Almost immediately, I found a set of ornaments and I had my theme - red, lime, blue, and purple/pink.  I have stars, bulbs, onion-shaped, balls and snow flakes - all in the themed colors.   

Okay, lights and ornaments, check; now onto the tree.   I knew right off that I wanted a live tree - preferably one that I cut down myself.  So I ordered this really awesome stand that holds the tree up with a cable – you just set the tree in the base and then use the foot pump to tighten the cable.  One person set up – the base is all hard plastic – so no metal feet to scratch my hardwoods!

Unfortunately, with a full holiday schedule, the dream of cutting my own tree died - especially since you have to go OTP to find a tree farm.  I settled for a pre-cut one.  Once it was home and in the stand – I knew exactly why my mother used an artificial tree.  This tree is definitely not straight, has random holes, and sheds worse than my cats.  On the bright side, it is no Charlie Brown tree and it smells nice.

After waiting a day for the limbs to relax into place, I put on my Christmas music and started decorating.  I got nearly ½ way up the tree and ran out of lights.  Typical.  So I run to Target to get 3 more boxes.  Only they don’t have ANY – and I mean ANY white lights.  Typical.  So I go next door to Lowe’s – they do not have ANY white lights either.  Great. 

I go home.  I go online – this is why you have free next day shipping – right?  Can’t find any Cool White LED lights online either.  Are you kidding me, all of the internet doesn’t have lights for me?  LED White lights must be the new black.

Target said that they had a “limited” stock of them at a store across town – so I risked it.  The very nice stock boy helped me go through every box – we found 2 pre-opened boxes stuffed in the wrong place.  I took them and told myself that I would make due.

Reading back over this I realize that I have not expressed this hunt for LED lights as I truly experienced it – but then as I think of ways to covey it – my blood pressure rises.  I will keep it PG and say that I have learned my lesson at Christmas shopping and smile because hopefully I will not need lights for many years.