Hello all

Sorry to have been away so long  . Summer just got busy. Our garden did quite well  we had a lovely harvest . and will be eatting our produce well into the winter with all the hard work and canning my honey  did.  Yuchen (our exchange student ) made it here and is setteling into  life in our home.  DUncan has  started another semester at  Tri-C  and is doing well . Me on the other hand  I get depressed on Tuesdays & Thursdays  because I am home alone  go figure.

A chance  for you to win a wonderful prize .

My job situation has changed and I am leaving the TOS part of my job and moving over to Econobusters, which is a sister site to TOS. They are still affiliated, but yet different in what they bring to the homemaking table.

To celebrate my new job change, I am going to host a giveaway right here. One lucky winner will win all 7 past Molly's Money-Saving digests! Yes you read that right. I am going to give away to one winner the January-July digests. Here is a recap of each issue:

January: Let's Get Organized For Fiscal Fitness:

February: Garden Basics and Natural Cleaners:
March: Making Money From Home
April: Making a Frugal Fresh Start:
May: Learning For Life: Your Child's Education
June: Frugal Family Vacations:
July: Frugal Fashion
Here is what you need to do to enter this contest. There are several ways for you to get more than one entry. Be sure to come back each time leaving me a comment letting me know what you did to enter.

1) Follow my blog Jennifer's http://www.belikeesther.blogspot.com/
2) Twitter about this giveaway ( Be sure to link to giveaway post)
3) Post this giveaway on Facebook (Be sure to link to giveaway post)

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=105296020058&ref=nf#/note.php?note_id=105296020058&id=1639326929&ref=nf

4) Post this giveaway on your own blog (Be sure to link to giveaway post)
5) Leave me a comment letting me know which Molly's Money Saving Digest is your favorite and why.

You will have all week from Monday through Saturday to enter this contest. On Sunday evening I will choose a winner. Please be sure to leave your email address in your entry so that I have a way to contact you with the winning prize.

Good luck!

Remember to  Let Jennifer know !

Blessings and HAVE  A Great  Day!

Joyce

 I have started to figure the cost of things and looked at our budget in these tightening times and have decided to follow in some back to home basics. I have started  Making  Home made items  home made  Soaps , Laundry Soap, Tooth Paste ( since I am allergic to Fluoride this works well for me ) DOES NOT CONTAIN FLUORIDE  I have the recipe for shampoo but I haven't gotten there yet .  And Deodorant  I am going to post the recipes here  I did get them from another Home schooler and friend Kim Wolf  in Columbus  I will link to her Blog  because she has cool pictures  with the directions  to show what it is suppose to look like at each step.Here are Kim's Blogs yes BLOG"S  I can hardly keep one up  any way she has great  ideas and recipes on them  . So take your time when you look around them .

 http://www.homesteadblogger.com/wannabeone

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Buckeyeblog

homemade glycerin bar soap!

First, you will need a few basic items...

You will need: glycerin soap chunks, glass measuring cup, whisk, rubber spatula, water, extra virgin olive oil, fragrance/essential oils, botanicals/herbs.

Place several glycerin chunks in the glass measuring cup...

 Melt chunks in microwave at 20 SECOND intervals until melted...

 While your soap is melting, crush any botanicals/herbs you may want to add to your soap. In this case, I am crushing dried rosemary leaves; later I crushed a few lavender buds from some I grew last year & had hanging in my kitchen...

 When soap is melted, pour into a mixing bowl and add your botanicals/herbs, any coloring you may want (I usually don't add coloring), 1-2 TB extra virgin olive oil, 1-2 TB cold water and fragrance/essential oils...

( you can see the breaks where  Kim's  pictures are like here)

In this batch I'm also adding about 10-15 drops of rosemary essential oil and 10-15 drops of tea tree oil. Mix QUICKLY w/a whisk until soap is somewhat thick & frothy.

Pour into soap molds...

Remember...your soaps will not be the 'prettiest' at this point. The bottoms are a little 'rough' but you will trim the 'uglies' off when your soap has cured. Below, I have made 2 bars of lavender (upper left), 2 bars of gragefruit (my husband's shower favorite; lower left) & 4 bars of rosemary/tea tree (my shower favorite & what I sometimes put on the bathroom soap dish; right side).

After your soap has set in the molds for at least 30 minutes, turn them out onto a wire cooling rack to cure for 2 weeks.

You will notice that they are not 'pretty' on the edges. As I said before, you will trim the excess off the edges when they are cured and you are ready use or store them. Until I use them (or give them away) I wrap them in colored plasic wrap or brown paper gift wrap and tie w/raffia or brown or colored twine.

These are low-lather soaps and are particularly good for oilier skins w/o being drying to dry skin-types. Adding oatmeal makes them great for drier skins or even exfoliating normal skin-types. Adding coffee grounds that have been ground again (by you) is great as a gardener's or mechanic's soap. Adding a few drops of tea tree, rosemary & lavender makes a great soap for oily skin (if you prefer a bar soap instead of the face wash I made earlier from liquid Castile soap). Adding simply Vitamin E or extra virgin olive oil or a honey-almond fragrance is excellent for a bath soap for the whole family - good for the skin and even though it has a nice fragrance, it's not too girlie for the man of the house.

Deodorant

 ~An air-tight container ~ either a pretty dusting powder jar w/lid (I'm hunting antique shops for one!) OR some other container, I use a small Rubbermaid container.
~1/2c. Baking Soda
~1/2c. Corn Starch
~5 drops of an anti-bacterial essential oil; I use Lavender
~A whisk

Add Baking Soda to container...

Add Corn Starch...

Add about 5 drops of Lavender essential oil...

Whisk thoroughly.

To apply use either a powder puff OR gently fluff a large cottonball, press into the mixture and apply.

REMEMBER: 1) This IS a DEODORANT, NOT an anit-perspirant; 2) this IS a powder so be careful when applying it while wearing dark colors and sleeveless shirts. At times, in the summer, I have been known to first apply a little bit of Tom's Lavender deodorant stick and THEN quickly applying the powder over it when I know it's going to be very hot or I'm going to be in a stressful situation.

 Toothpaste

First, you need a good air-tight container. I use an old Burt's Bees Almond Milk Hand Cream jar. It is the perfect size. Next you will need Baking Powder (NOT SODA!!), Hydrogen Peroxide and a flavored oil (peppermint, spearmint, or wintergreen). I used peppermint for this batch.

 Put 3 slightly heaping ts. of Baking Powder in the jar. (Sorry for the poor quality photo.) Next...

 Add 1-1/2 ts. Peroxide

 Then... Add about 4-5 drops of flavored oil. Mix WELL, sraping the sides where you need to.

This mixture will fiz and bubble. When it stops it will be nearly even w/the top of the jar. Perfect. Wait a few minutes after the fizzing stops, when it dries to a somewhat hard powder and then it's ready to use.
To use, simply wet your toothbrush and then dip/rub off as much of the toothpaste as you need and brush as usual. Close lid tightly when finished.

homemade laundry detergent

Here is one of the simplest and most effective recipes for homemade laundry detergent. Our family has used this for quite some time and we love it. Once the initial purchases are made my laundry only costs about 3-5 cents per load! It's my understanding that you CAN use this in front-loading machines b/c it's a gel and not a liquid; plus it is low suds.



First, you must to collect the things you'll need to make your soap:

A large pot and a WOODEN spoon DEDICATED to ONLY making soap;  You also need a box of Arm & Hammer WASHING Soda and 20 Mule Team Borax, along w/a bar of Fels Naptha Soap - these items are found in the laundry isle of your grocery - and Lavender essential oil - it's antibacterial AND it smells SO good! And while you're in your kitchen, grab a hand grater and med-sized dessert-type plate.

And don't forget a container w/a good lid to keep your finished product in! This is what I use - an old popcorn bucket - so it doesn't have to be anything fancy.

Pour 8 c. of water into your pot and let it be warming on MEDIUM heat while your are preparing your other ingredients.

Grate 1/4 of the Fels Naptha bar...

Add 1/4 c. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda...

Then 1/4 c. 20 Mule Team Borax...

Mix them together a little...

And w/the wooden spoon, scoop the ingredients into the warm water...

Bring heat up to MED-HIGH and...

 Add 1ts. Lavender essential oil, stir until soap bits are dissolved and then stir occasionally while this heats up for about 20 minutes...

 After it has all dissolved and is well stirred, remove from heat and let sit for 1 hour.

 You can see that after if has sat for 1 hour that it is starting to gell-up.

Then just pour the partially gelled detergent into your storage container, top w/the lid and let it finish gelling. If you made your detergent in the morning it should be ready to use by the evening, other-wise, just wait until the next morning.

Use a 1/2 c. or so in each load - if I'm doing a large load I will add a little more.

This has gotten out all sorts of stains for me. If the stain is really bad - and if 'someone forgot' to tell me that their favorite shirt has some sort of stain on it and it has set in - I take an old toothbrush, get a little detergent on it and brush WELL across the stain and then let it sit for an hour or so, after that I wash it as usual and the stain is generally gone.

Yes I have been busy  checking out KEWL  free  fun stuff to do  here in Northern Ohio  . Okay some some there is a small fee for but  for the most part  We like FREE!!!!

Check out what I have set so far :Bat Farm tour Auburn Twp  
Hello All I am setting a date  for a twilight  fieldtrip  to the bat farm in Auburn Twp.  I was thinking  July 10th  it is a friday  evening although we can go any evening  of the week  I felt Firday evening would be more family friendly  so Dads can attend. Yes this is an EVENING only field trip . if we want to see PUPs (young bats ) we would need to set the date for the next few weeks but I felt that might rush some of us .this is a free tour  with a lecture and Q&A before  the "time" of the trip depends on when the sun sets  so  Right now I am saying this trip will start at 7pm  please  e mail me directly with  number of people who would like to join us .  tberra@yahoo.com

I am attaching a  link to the story that was run in the Herald about the farm last year.
http://news-herald.com/articles/2008/08/10/life/community/doc489d1b2a96eff589332159.txt

2. field trip opportunity  Friday, September 18
I have contacted Zoar about this We are welcome to attend 6 & under are free We must be registered as a group and paid for no later than Sept .9th If you would like to attend please e mail me ASAP at tberra@yahoo. com price is $4 per person please list # of people attending , # of Adults ,# of Students , # of any 6 or under do not count 6& under in with Students ! All money is due to me no later than Aug.20Th make checks payable to me Joyce McNutt in memo line be sure to write Zoar civil war what a way to see not only Ohio history but civil war history !

Zoar, Ohio - A one day school field program is being offered at Zoar Village on Friday, September 18 for school students to learn more about the American Civil War era. The Blue and Gray Trail program is a planned route students will travel throughout the village visiting stations manned by Civil War
reenactors or experts on early American history. Stations will offer discussions or provide demonstrations on topics about the war, the people of the time and various aspects of their lives. Students will be able to visit and explore
encampments, talk with soldiers and officers or find out more about the cavalry and watch as artillery is demonstrated. They might even happen upon Able Lincoln as he tells a story about his life.
Pre-registration is required as attendance is limited. The program is open to school-aged students only and not the general public. Admission is $4.00 for students, (home school & public) home school teachers and chaperones. . Home schooled students are encouraged to attend but must register and pay admission in advance prior to arrival.
The general public is invited to attend the Battle on the Ohio & Erie Canal weekend event. Both programs are sponsored by the Zoar Community
Association and hosted by the 51st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Co. B., Inc.
and the 6th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, Co. B., Inc.
Zoar is located on State Route 212, 3 miles southeast of Exit 93 off I-77,
20 minutes south of Canton.

3. Fieldtrip in Oct.
   okay I am on a roll
>  I am looking at Oct 21st  at 11 am  for a tour
> of Schwebel's Bakery in Cuyahoga Falls  We are limited
> to a Max of 30 people per tour  I will plan for 2
> groups ( don't ask to be in a certain group I'll divide
> groups up according to sign ups )  No one under 6 
> is allowed on the tour    No Camera's on the
> tours.  If you have  children under 6  and
> older children there will be a room for a parent  and
> the younger child to wait  until the tour is over so
> the older children can attend (as long as an adult takes
> responsibility for the older children)   This
> is a free tour 
> please  e mail me directly  at  tberra@yahoo.com 
> if you would like to sign up for this tour  please let
> me know how many adults and how many students  and
> remember no one under 6 (sorry)
> last date to sign up will be Sept 20th .  we will have
> a max.of 60 spots
> so sign up early .
> Joyce

SO do ya think ya wanna join us ?  e mail me  and sign up if your in the area .

Got Your Permit To Study the Bible?

by  Chuck Norris

06/02/2009

Recently a California pastor and his wife were required by San Diego County officials to obtain a permit to hold a Bible study in their home.
   
"What?! Is this a joke?" I wondered as I heard the news for the first time. It was no joke. Rather, it's a First Amendment nightmare and possibly a foreshadowing of what's to come.
    Are you prepared for a future in which you hear, "Got your permit to study the Bible?" On April 10 (Good Friday), a county code enforcement officer visited the home of David and Mary Jones after receiving a complaint about their Christian gatherings. The Jones' attorney, Dean Broyles, president of The Western Center for Law & Policy, conveyed in disbelief, "The county asked (Mrs. Jones), 'Do you have a regular meeting in your home?' She said, 'Yes.' 'Do you say "amen"?' 'Yes.' 'Do you pray?' 'Yes.' 'Do you say "praise the Lord"?' 'Yes.'"
   
The officer then warned the family to "cease and desist" the "religious gathering" or they would face weekly fines. A few days later, the county delivered a citation claiming that the Joneses were guilty of "unlawful use of land" and mandating them to "stop religious assembly or apply for a major use permit."
   
At first, I thought, "They must have a large congregation meeting in their home to warrant this type of citation and prompt this type of commotion, right?" Actually, according to their lawyer, the Joneses have been hosting weekly Bible studies in their home for about five years, with an average attendance of only about 15 people.
   
Broyles appropriately responded, "If the county thinks they can shut down groups of 10 or 15 Christians meeting in a home, what about people who meet regularly at home for poker night? What about people who meet for Tupperware parties? What about people who are meeting to watch baseball games on a regular basis and support the Chargers?"
   
Well, this past weekend, barraged by hundreds of complaints after WorldNetDaily broke the news to the international community, San Diego County officials informed the world that they'd backed down from requiring the Joneses to obtain a permit. Despite their retraction (based solely upon public pressure, I might add), however, I am appalled at how far the county's enforcement and encroachment crossed the constitutional line and became a flagrant disregard for Americans' right to exercise their religious faiths. And I'm concerned that we will see far more of these overreaching governmental actions in years to come.
   
As Mary Jones shared with Fox News: "The implications are great because it's not only us that's involved. There are thousands and thousands of Bible studies that are held all across the country. What we're interested in is setting a precedent here -- before it goes any further -- and that we have it settled for the future."
   
I'm not expecting county officials to be constitutional lawyers, but they should be aware of these basic precepts of America's makeup. For example, prior to the San Diego officials' recanting their position regarding the Joneses' Bible study, Chandra Waller, the general manager of the county's Land Use and Environment Group, declared, "The Bible studies are one that's probably in a very gray area."
   
"Very gray area"? Is there anything "very gray" about the First Amendment?
   
I agree again with Broyles, who explained further to Fox News: "The government may not prohibit the free exercise of religion. I believe that our Founding Fathers would roll over in their grave if they saw that here in the year 2009, a pastor and his wife are being told that they cannot hold a simple Bible study in their own home."
   
Part of the genius of America's Founding Fathers was to provide and secure a foundation for our freedom of religious belief. The First Amendment simply reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
   
Could it be any clearer that government may not prohibit "the free exercise thereof"?
   
Now more than ever, we need to be like the Joneses! Fight for the First Amendment and your freedom to exercise your religion.

https://secure.realchocolate.com/WhyRealChocolate.aspx

SO the big wigs in D.C. are  giving companys bail outs  for their bad spending practices and as our economy slowly trickels down the drain who is helping the  everyday man,woman or child ?  Well aparently M&M Mars  They are giving away Free Chocolate every Friday until Sept. Click the above link to see how  you can add to your short supply.   I know Chocolate won't  pay your bills  but it does release endorphins into your blood  create happy feel good feelings . Kinda like a natural uppper. So kick back and have a bar on M&M Mars  and smile .

I am working for three days at our local Scholastic warehouse sale. Today was day 1 I worked from 2pm-8pm.  We volunteer to work so we don’t get paid however we earn vouchers at the rate of $10 per hour to purchase books. So today I earned  $60 in books and I can use a fast pass so I really earned $70 in books  today and I will earn another $80 in my next 2 days which will really be $95 because of bounce back coupon  so I will earn $165 in Books in three days . I am using $20 to purchase journals to give away at my women’s retreat at the end of this month.  I have a cook book pulled to purchase as a wedding gift for friends in Oct. a few new fiction books for me and a final book in a series for my niece Katie as a B.Day gift in June. I am concerned I won’t be able to spend all of my credit. (Ha-ha) I LOVE BOOKS so this really shouldn’t be an issue for me but I am trying to clear out the clutter so the last thing I need is more books. There are several cookbooks I have been looking at I found some last May that have been quite helpful.  If I run short on books for me I had intended to donate books to the children’s hospital  yet when I have spoken to them they said they didn’t need them they had just received a large donation.  We will see maybe I’ll just get gifts for all the nephews and nieces. I know not everyone is excited over books but maybe I can instill in them a love for books too.

I  Must announce  for I am bubbling over with Pride and Joy the arrival of our new Neice  Cecilia

She made her grand  entrance into this world this morning at 2:37 am and has made an impression already . She had added a little  7lbs worth of beauty to this world .  Her Mom & Dad are doing fine and are proud as peacocks .

I have been cleaning out the basement my area, the class room I have so much stuff just to be rid of. I will be bringing some to my support group meeting on Monday. But for now I have some just to give away. I have a set off books the Hobbit and the Lord of the rings all 4 books plus a Scholastic LOTR Oracle game. I will give to the first person who e mails me and says they read my post about it.  Or how about a Dinosaur pack what kid doesn't love dinos send me an e mail and get the dino pac books balloon dino instructions and some toy dinos for fun.  tberra@yahoo.com

Today while reading my e mail I came across my TOS newsletter and found they are looking for new Crew members to “review” products being sold in the Schoolhouse store. So I said what the hay I spend lots of time looking at new products trying them out and suggesting them to friends or fellow co-op members who have several children and may not have the time to look around at all the options. Since I only have one child who is now a teen and I am active in both our Support group and Co-op often teaching two classes per session why not apply to the Crew. So I ordered my We E books Choosing “Me Time Myth”,

“A Light Unto My Path” as well as “Transcripts, CLEPs and Other ways to get into College”. I thought a nice covering of topics would work well for a first review.

I’d like to start with the “Me time Myth” Who amongst us has not ran screaming from our houses or speeding out of the drive way to refresh after a tough day or week? I know I am guilty of it. Usually while I am out enjoying my me time my brain is busy revolving around what I should be doing at home or missing my Boys (yes that includes my hubby)  this wonderful little booklet   brings it all into focus {“Me time,” by its very

name, suggests that who we are during the daily grind is not who

we truly are. It begs us to search for fulfillment outside of the

titles of “wife” and “mother.”} For me this one little statement hit it all home. I have been so concerned lately when my son goes off to college to try to figure out who I am what I am. I am WIFE and MOTHER and FUTURE (way off future) GRAND Mother. I am who God made me and as Amy Roberts so aptly puts it Only God can fill in the empty spaces we have only he has the answers for our questions it is up to us to seek and ask the questions. I found much wisdom in this Wee book and it is a wonderful value for the price $1.95  you’d spend that much or more at the coffee shop trying to relax and have your “ME” time so why not  invest in yourself instead .  With over 30 We E books all only $1.95 each there is a lot to learn  small in price  but big on learning these E books are a blessing that proves good things come in small or Wee packages .  Check back tomorrow for my review on Transcripts, CLEPs and Other ways to get into College”.

 Blessings Joyce

Oh My April all ready. I’m quite sure how but I missed most of March I remember thinking of getting ready for St. Patrick’s day  and wishing various family members Happy birthday I have several with March Birthdays and 3 all on the same day . I drove to Mi. to see my SIL and her hubby for their baby shower .Yet the rest of the month is a complete blur. We cleared our front yard over the past 2 weeks of dead debris and got to preparing it for warm weather. I don’t want to “have to “mess with it too much this year since our main focus will be on our garden. We started our starters over the past week we planted 144 + peat pots of seeds to start our garden. 26 types of little veggies with God’s help they will all grow and thrive this year to provide food for us through out the summer and hopefully into next spring providing I learn how to can them. Yet this is Cleveland so today it is snowing. So my thoughts run to other things besides gardening. Like my son who is doing early enrollment at the local community college, come fall he will be able to take 2 classes at the college (he is after all only 15 a high school sophomore come fall) he is planning on taking Drawing II to continue his drawing class and  Basic Japanese  for a total of 6 credit hours.  I decided last week to enroll in college too so I can take classes while he is in class. I received my letter of acceptance on Saturday and plan to start slow only one class for now to get my feet wet again after all it has only been 16 yrs since I was in a classroom as a student and not the teacher. I am going to get my associates degree in Veterinary Technology. Since I LOVE animals as much as I do and I wanted to take classes that amount to some type of degree, even though my honey said I could take classes just to take classes and keep my brain sharp, I decided to go for Vet Tech so I could go out and “get a job” more than just retail if I needed one. I also have been thinking about cooking and lunch how they can be more than just leftovers or Bologna Sandwiches. Today I used the leftover roast chicken to make chicken and dumplings with carrots for lunch. It was hot and filling on this cold April afternoon. Soon I will be heading off to Cincinnati my Hometown for the Midwest Home school convention April 16-19 I will be staying with Family to avoid the cost of the hotel so Like March I may not get to post much this month hopefully I’ll be better than I was last month. Gotta keep this going it is a good creative outlet for me. See y’all real soon.

http://www.kimonoexhibit.com/

If you click the link above it will take you to the site for this wonderful exhibit we visited this past Saturday at the Canton Museum of Art. They didn't allow pictures to be taking and I can understand why the Kimonos were not in glass cases but out where their colors and beauty could be best seen. Photos over time would cause the colors to fade. If you are anywhere near Ohio I would strongly suggest you make the trip to see this exhibit. It is well worth the cost and time. This is only the second time and the only place these items can be seen in the US once they are gone they are gone. Please take the time to look at the web site even if you are unable to come to the show.