Tates At Sea: April 2014

May

3:00 PM

Well well! I've been neglecting this little space of mine for a bit and all I left off with was a post about my impending doom due to the worst sickness I've had since I had mono more than a decade ago.

Totally not an exaggeration.

I have recovered with no help from the non existent medicine I was prescribed and I'm here to tell you that nothing has changed aside from my healthier body.

And I am really really really okay with that. Life is steadily moving along and I am certainly okay with this season of settling in and pushing forward. 2014 will be the first year that we don't move (at all, but especially not multiple times) and 2014 will also be a year of thankfulness.

Is it too late to reflect on this upcoming year that's already a third of the way over? I was still in survival mode for the beginning of it, in that we moved to a new place and Chris was finally done with school and we sort of realized quite late that we breezed through the beginning of a new year without much of a thought.

So here is to the new beautiful year we have been blessed to be a part of. We know it will be one of continued restoration and growth. And hopefully one of more joy than we can possibly fit into our hearts!

I am happy to be here.

Pray for sick jordo

8:51 AM

So I got sick a while ago and totally can't shake it. It's just a cold but it's such an annoyance!

I finally went to the doctor only to be prescribed a medication that is no longer being made..…?

Urg-town.

One 25 dollar copay later (waste) I was home and back to the basics: salt water gargling, hot tea, and cough drops.

I am unfortunately not a huge fan of over the counter meds for viruses (antibiotics don't treat viral infections) because I find that they mostly treat the symtpoms and then I do too much because I think I'm better and then I relapse.

Pray for me, people!

Love!

Homemade Laundry Detergent Review & more!

11:37 AM

Okay, so you guys have been asking me all about the laundry detergent and so I'm here as your personal guinea pig to give you all the goods and the info so you can decide for yourself if you want to join the inner circle of the homemade detergent hippie cult.

Does it work!?
Yes.

No, but I mean, does it really get your clothes clean?
Yes.

No, but like, I have a (toddler)(teenager)(pet)(insert other grimey things here).
And I have a Chris Tate and I am a painter who works outside.

Does it work with H.E. washers?
YES, and you still just use the one tablespoon.

You guys, in all seriousness. It works. You'll just have to try it for yourself! It's worth the 18.26 you'll pay to test it out, and if you don't like it..you can gift it away to someone you really like! I can't be the only one who would be super pumped to get 2 gallons of homemade laundry detergent as a gift.

So far, I've washed everything with just one tablespoon (even two sheet sets at once) and it comes out clean and smelling GOOD, but it's a mild, "fresh" kind of good, not like a whatever-fragrancey good. Make sense?

Trust me, people.

___________________________________

In other news: Jesus.
I love the spring. I love Lent. I love Easter. This time of the year is so sweet and bloom-y(?) and life-y(?) and just good for the soul.

I have found this quote to be true:
"If you don't leave room for the unexpected to express itself in your life, you close yourself off from the possibility of miracles."

Our lives are filled with miracles and just sweet blessings and I truly believe it's because, as a family, we wait in expectation for God to move. And He is and He does! In our lives and in the lives of those around us.

Praise!

Homemade Laundry Soap, 'cause duh.

11:12 AM

I saw this recipe a good while ago from one of the, I don't know, three bloggers that I actually follow (Raising Colorado) because I get overwhelmed easily but that's besides the point. I knew I wanted to start making our own laundry detergent because it's cheaper and greener and better for life BUT we had a HEAPING stack of laundry detergent that we somehow happened upon over the months and Chris said we had to wait until we used it all before we made some so it didn't look like we were stockpiling laundry detergent for the apocalypse.

So alas..our stock has run dry. Against my better judgment and my will, I was sucked into the vortex of Wal-mart because it's a half mile and one stop light away from my house. I should have assumed going into it that I would have to travel to more than one store...but if your luck is better than mine and you can escape Wal-mart with your sanity in tact, you should be able to find all the ingredients there. I had to make an additional trip to Target to find Borax since ~~hell~~-mart was out.

Here's what you need:
[ONE EACH]
4lb. 12 oz. box of Borax
4 lb. box Arm and Hammer Baking Soda
3 lb. box Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda
3 lb. box Oxi Clean
1 bar of Zote Soap

(1) Pour all of the dry ingredients into a huge container/bucket/pot and stir really really well. I poured all of mine into a 2 gallon glass container that I planned to store the detergent in. I found that the stick end of a wooden spoon worked well to mix it all up...and I also used my hand.

(2) Grate your bar of Zote soap into the already mixed jar of goodness. (I used the smallest grate size on my hand held grater and it took me about 10 minutes to grate the whole bar.) I love the way this stuff smells but I can't pin-point what it reminds me of. Hotel laundry? College laundry rooms? I'll figure it out eventually.

(3) Mix the grated soap until it's well incorporated throughout the mixture and applaud your inner hippie.

BONUS: The Oxi Clean container comes with a laundry scoop marked in tablespoons. You only need ONE tablespoon per laundry load, and TWO if your laundry is extra dirty.

Raising Colorado says this mixture should last them (a family of four) at least six months. I'll let you know how long it lasts our family of two. We technically do more laundry than the average couple, I think, since I paint and Chris has to wash his grosshospitalgerm scrubs after every shift.