Smart Sheep! (My post about balls….)

Wool Dryer Balls…. You dirty minded people!

Here comes my initial review on my “Smart Sheep” Wool Dryer Balls.  One in the first of many little project designed to get my house and life a little more “natural” and less coated in chemicals!  I purchased my dryer balls from Amazon:

I started using these dryer balls a couple of days ago in lieu of fabric softener.  There are a lot of claims made about dryer balls that I have to admit I was pretty skeptical.  Since I’ve only been using them a couple days, this is just an initial assessment, we’ll see how I like them in the long run!

Initial Opinion: I LOVE them!

Some things I have noticed right off in the last few days:

1- These really do soften laundry without chemicals.  In fact, it may just be my imagination, but I really think the laundry is coming out of the dryer SOFTER than it was with fabric softeners.

2- I love that these have no chemicals and they don’t leave a funky residue on the dryer like fabric softeners and fabric sheets. My family has VERY sensitive skin and there is nothing to react to with these dryer balls.  I love that I don’t have to use the “natural fabric softener sheets” with my baby’s laundry and even though it’s a small thing, that’s less stuff going into a landfill.

3- I can scent these with whatever essential oils I choose or none at all.  I haven’t found the best ratio of drops of oils to dryer balls yet as I don’t seem to be putting enough on them to catch a discernible scent when clothes come out of the dryer, but I’m working on it.  =)  I’m shooting for just a light whiff.

4- There seems to be a lot less static with these, if there’s even static at all.  Usually when doing my husband’s white undershirts they’re always sticking together.  I just folded a load of these and there was no sticking at all!

5- LESS WRINKLES! So I’ll (shamefully) admit, both my husband and I usually cram a ton of clothes into the washer, which then equals a ton of clothes in the dryer, and we always usually have some wrinkles.  There are a LOT LESS WRINKLES per load than before.  Side Note: Must learn to put less laundry in the wash at a time.

5- Drying time is greatly reduced.  Again, because we (shamefully) cram a ton of clothes into the wash, we generally have to tumble a load 2-3 times to get completely dry.  My clothes are getting dry in one tumble, and that’s not only less time doing laundry, but less electricity used running the dryer!

So far, I LOVE THESE DRYER BALLS.  Supposedly they also knock pet hair off clothes really well, but I haven’t really put that to the test yet.  They also supposedly last up to a year, so we’ll see if they continue to perform as well in the long run.

Next up (hopefully soon!):

Handmade Essential Oil Diffusing Jewelry!

Wish me luck!

Going Green(er)…..

This year I thought I’d do something a little different. I’m not going to make resolutions (because I never keep them anyway) and why set myself up for failure. Instead, I’m going to try to make several small changes that will hopefully set me up to make bigger changes throughout the year as my small changes build on themselves. Confused? Me too =)

One of the things I started to work on last year (and to be honest the year before as we were trying to get pregnant) was to go a little more natural in my everyday life. Use more natural products, eat more natural and less processed foods. Purchase organic where I can.

This year I’m hoping to expand on that. Especially with a new baby in the house! There are so many natural baby products out there, and so many more good options for household items that the prices seem to be getting more reasonable and easier on the pocketbook for the average family.

My two new things this week are I’m starting to learn about essential oils and all the different uses and different oils available. I think it’s going to take me forever to learn, but so far what I HAVE learned and put into practice has been really awesome and seemingly has been working! It’s really exciting!

I also got some organic wool dryer balls that I’m going to try out (if I can ever find time to get some laundry done now that I’m back at work and done with maternity leave) and I’m looking forward to “reviewing” those!

I’ve also added a recycle “bin” to the kitchen so it’s more accessible and easier for me to make the commitment to saving things to be recycled. So far that’s going really well too!

My other small change that I’m going to try to make over the next couple months is healthier/cleaner eating and also to start adding in some weekly exercise to my routine. I have some other mom’s locally wanting to do a walking group, so as soon as it warms up a tad I’m ready to get started on that a couple times a week!

Thankful for… Day 27

Thankful for the opportunity to be with family today, and of course thankful for all the food!!! Gobble till ya wobble!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thankful… Day 26

Thankful today for the cool hobby that I seem to have a talent for! Making custom jewelry is a nice stress reliever for me, and I love working with all the different materials to make that special piece for someone. It’s not fancy jewelry like silver or gold, but it makes people smile and that makes me happy! My current favorite to work with is Czech glass, I just love the look and feeling and the bold beautiful colors and designs.

If you’d like, give me a visit at:

Vintages Texas Facebook

Vintages Texas Etsy

Thankful for…. Days 24-25

Day 24-

Thankful that a month of thanks is almost over *grin* I know that’s something terrible to be thankful for, but I have total newborn baby brain and remembering to do this every day is killing me. *grin*

Day 25-

Thankful that Tatum SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT last night! I am so ridiculously excited about this, 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep for both of us! I feel like I won the lottery, truly. =) She is totally spoiling me for any other babies we may have *grin*

Totally failing at being Thankful…

This trying to do something every day with a baby in the house is a total fail *grin*

Day 20-

Thankful for the opportunities we have had to travel.  We’ve been a lot of places and experienced a ton of cool things and I have a lot of memories that I wouldn’t have had.  I’m looking forward to traveling with Tatum and giving her the same experiences we’ve been fortunate enough to have!  ❤

Day 21-

Thankful for my job.  It’s a really good fit for me, and even though it has its stressful days (ahem…. the holidays) it has been a really huge blessing for me.  I love my boss, I love my coworkers, I love MOST of the customers *grin*, and I love not being stuck in an office staring at the same thing day after day.  I really love what I do, and I hope it shows in my interactions with my customers.  ❤

Day 22-

Thankful for good neighbors!  We are really fortunate in that we have some really great neighbors.  We love getting together and socializing with them, and they’re always happy to lend a helping hand.  Plus we have a cutie patootie baby two doors down that’s a few month older than Tatum that will be great for her to play with when she’s older.  =)

Day 23-

Thankful for my jewelry making hobby. I really enjoy the creative outlet, and it’s always a huge pleasure when others find delight in my work.  I know Wade is not thankful for the huge glut of beads that have taken over my side of the office, but I love all the materials I work with.  There’s nothing better than Handmade, I’m a huge believer in that!

Thankful for… Days 18,19

Is it Wednesday already?

Day 18- so thankful that Tatum is such a good, calm baby!! She’s really spoiling us in parenthood with how easy she is!!

Day 19- thankful for the crockpot potato soup recipe I found on Facebook. Made that today and it was absolutely delicious and a great dinner choice for a winter day ❤

Easy Crock Pot Potato Soup

Ingredients:
1 30oz. bag of frozen diced hash browns
1 32 oz box of chicken broth
1 can of cream of chicken soup (10 oz)
1 pkg. cream cheese (8 oz, not fat free)
3 oz bacon bits
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Put the potatoes in the crockpot. Add in the chicken broth, cream of chicken soup and half of the bacon bits. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
Cook on low for 8 hours or until potatoes are tender.
An hour before serving, cut the cream cheese into small cubes. Place the cubes in the crock pot. Mix a few times throughout the hour before serving.
Once the cream cheese is completely mixed in, it's ready to serve.
Top with cheddar cheese and some additional bacon bits.

Behind yet again, Thankful for… Days 15, 16, 17

Whew! It’s been kind of a crazy weekend, which is funny because being on maternity leave I don’t really do anything but play with Tatum and keep her fed and happy, and also carve out a few hours a day for working from home and chores. =)

Day 15…

Thankful for the time I had with my dog Aspen, who passed away a couple weeks ago at the age of 14. Her passing was (and still is) really hard on me, as I’ve had her since she was six weeks old and she’s been with me through a good portion of my life. I’m really thankful for the awesome memories I have with her and that she managed to touch so many lives and introduce me to so many awesome people during her short time here on earth. True story, if I didn’t have Aspen, I would never have met Wade and never would have the amazing family we have right now. I owe her so much, and I hope she’s at peace. RIP Aspen. ❤

Day 16…

Thankful for really patient photographers who take the time to happily take family photos that include TWO six week old babies and a 3 year old toddler (Not to mention the 63 year old man who acts like a toddler….DAD!) *grin* I’m really looking forward to our Christmas cards this year, I think they’re going to be amazing, and I’m really excited to have a picture of our entire family together, as I know my mom is too. ❤ Thanks to Mary Cyrus Photography here in Dallas, TX!

Day 17…

Thankful for this contraption:

It’s called a MamaRoo swing, and while they normally sell for $300 in stores, I scored one on a local Facebook garage sale group for $50 in like new condition. This thing is saving my life a couple hours at a time and it’s absolutely amazing. THANK YOU MAMAROO!! ❤

Thankful for… Day 14

We had a little bit of a scare yesterday that Derby was sick. He’d gone in 2 weeks ago for a urinary tract infection and seemed to be doing well. Yesterday was his recheck, and after doing the urinalysis the vet tech said something was wrong with the dilution of his urine and the vet wanted to run bloodwork. Could be nothing, could be kidneys shitting down, cushings, thyroid, liver, anything, but she wanted to be sure.

Having just lost Aspen a few weeks back my mind immediately went to the worst case scenario and I was trying to keep myself from getting upset. He’s only 8 and a half but he’s had a lot of health problems and has been on medication most of his life.

Luckily we got the call this morning that his bloodwork is perfect. “I’m just not sure why his urine is so dilute”, the vet said.

“Dilute? So too much water?” I responded. “Yes”

Well hell, I can tell you why. He eats Honest Kitchen, which is a dehydrated food. I add a cup and a half of warm water to that every day. For a 20lb dog. And that’s on top of what he drinks from his water bowl.

“Oh” she said. “That’s very possible”

So today I’m very thankful that there’s nothing wrong with my Derby-Dog. I just couldn’t stand it if there was something serious this close to Aspen’s passing. Thank you thank you thank you. ❤

Thankful for… Day 13

Even though it sometimes Mars me crazy I’m thankful for technology. I am one of those people who would shrivel up and die without my iPhone. There. I admitted it, and I’m not ashamed.

It connects me to my friends and family. If I have a question I can google the answer on the spot. Bored? There’s an app or surfing the web. And my very favorite thing? The camera on my personal all times, especially now that we have a daughter. She does something cute (which is pretty much 24/7) and I can whip that thing out and snap a picture. Woot!!

❤