Tuesday 22 January 2013

Success! (sort of)

Greetings!
Today I'm going to fill you in with a few updates in the areas of the Garden Patch, No More Cosmetics, and Sandwiches all the way.  We'll begin with a makeup update.
I have been researching home-made makeup recipes on the internet and came across one yesterday morning that I knew I had to try.  It was just so simple, and it's made from ingredients that I already had in the house. I couldn't resist!  The recipe is for a Non-toxic, Vegan, tinted creme eyeshadow in brown, a colour I use regularly anyway.  Here's the whole thing:
One drop extra virgin olive oil
One teaspoon cocoa powder
One half teaspoon cornstarch
So you take these ingredients and mix them all together to a paste-like consistency and apply with your fingertip to the lid or with an angle brush below your bottom lash-line and you're all set.  I have been collecting sample size cosmetic and ointment containers to use to store my home-made cosmetics in, so I simply sterilized one by boiling in hot water and put my new shadow in there.  The cost of this venture was get this - 7 cents!  The makeup goes on exactly like a very expensive creme shadow that I purchased last year, and the site I found the recipe on had other recipes for making mauves, reds, blues, and peach shades, and for making lip gloss as well.  Stay tuned! 


This is a picture of me wearing only my new homemade cocoa eyeshadow for makeup.  I also have no product in my hair, and it's getting softer every day. 

The Garden Patch
Unfortunately I have nothing to report on the strawberry seeds.  I am still keeping their soil moist and hoping everyday to see some shoots, but nothing yet.  I have had some luck with two other types of seeds, however.  The first is asparagras.  My mom has a very nice patch of asparagras at her place, and the best thing about it is it reseeds itself each year so that you have a renewable, perrennial crop with no replanting.  This past september, I picked an asparagras seed from one of her fronds.  I brought it home, dried it out, and then on breaking it open, found nine seeds inside.  These I stored in the freezer for a couple of weeks (to simulate winter) and then I got them out and sowed them in a pot.  I'm pleased to report that five of the nine have sprouted.


Another type of seed I'm having some sucess with is from a flower called day flox, which grows very vibrant fuschia flowers and is a perrennial.  I purchased one this year from a nursery, and at the end of the summer I collected what seeds I could.  Don't ask me how, but one of them seems to have gotten in with my asparagras shoots.  Oops!  Another one, though, is doing very well in my bathroom windowsill.  I have been reading up on the next steps on the internet, and it appears that the thing to do is harden these off by bringing them outdoors in small intervals once all danger of frost has passed, and then transfer them into the garden.  Wish me luck! 




Sandwiches All the Way              

Groceries purchased:                                             2012's lunch purchases
deli meat         6.55                                               Grocery Store lunch counter   10.24
garlic pickles   2.99                                               Grocery Store lunch counter   11.19
cheese              5.97                                               Coffee Shop                              3.59
bread                3.19                                               Pub                                         17.22
Lettuce            1.98                                                Pub                                         21.50
Total               20.68                                               Total                                      63.74

Savings   63.74 - 20.68 = 43.06
So for this week, I was able to track our family's purchases for the items I will be using in my husband's work lunches by adding the total up from the reciept.  (I will also be using margerine and mustard, but since I already had these items I did not have to purchase them).  I have arrived at a total of around twenty bucks to provide him with food for his work week, or in other words, four dollars per  day.  I send him with two sandwiches a day, which translates into $2 each.  As you can see above, last year around this time my husband was spending quite a bit more than that, about $12.75/day.  This results in a savings of $43.06 for our family for this week, and when added to the total savings that  we have been accumulating so far, it makes $123.22  See ya next week!

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