BCheeky Lemonade Recipe

The eBay design group B*Cheeky that I belong to has started a blog.
Each week different members of the group will post.

For my first post I am sharing an
Oh So Tangy and Sweet Recipe for Fresh Lemonade


Sweeten your 4th of July Festivities with a glass ;)
Click on over to the B*Cheeky Blog for the Recipe
~Patricia

My Peeps have arrived!!

We ordered 12 baby chicks 2 months ago from My Pet Chicken.
Of course I wanted them right away, but I chose 6 different varieties
(Australorp, White Leghorn, Plymouth Rock, Buff Orpington, Red Star & Rhode Island Reds) it took some time to get hatch dates close together. 2 months is long time to wait (well, for me), you'd think a person waiting that long would be more then prepared for the arrival.
Not me, I'm never ready for anything.
Luck for me the people in my life know this and expect nothing more ;)

My chicks were due to arrive in the mail today.
Yesterday, I planned to run errands gathering a few supplies I was missing.
That was the plan, but here's what happened...

Picked Bella up from preschool at Noon, came home to make her lunch before heading out to run errands.
12:30 the phone rings...United States Gov...hmmm, guess I should answer that.
The man on the phone said my box of chicks just arrived at the PO.
While he was saying some non important things or at least I wasn't paying attention, I could hear Chirping in the background.
My stomach started feeling sick, I hung up so fast I have no idea what I said to him.
Except the obvious, I'm on my way!

I ran around the house freaking out, in panic mode that the brooder wasn't setup, I didn't have the right heat lamp and what I thought was a chick waterer, wasn't!

I called Dave at work rambling about having to go to the pet store, get to the PO asap to get the chicks home to give them water before they DIE!
(This post is going to have lots of "!")

During all the chaos Bella was following behind me telling me not to worry because the chicks weren't coming until tomorrow.
(children, like animals instinctively know when you are loosing your mind and they need to step in and comfort you...don't you love that)

Bella helped me set up the brooder, prepare sugar water and fill the feeder.
We jumped in the car and raced to the PO, while Dave kindly ran my errands.
(he could have saved me some stress by doing that days ago, LOL)

We cut in front of the Huge line at the PO and excitedly told the clerk that baby chicks were waiting for us. Bella was jumping up and down, clapping and squealing with delight.
The people in line were laughing, either out of excitement for us or that we must be crazy.

No lie, I was giddy when I saw the box.
We carefully carried our precious babies to the car.
Took a second to snap a quick pic, of course

Bella made the calls to announce the arrival of grand babies/nieces to our family.
I concentrated on safely driving the chicks home.

We opened the box to lively chirping chicks eager to get out.
What a relief all 12 were alive!

(look Dave saved the day, just in time with the right waterer, but that long feeder had to go!)
I carefully took each one out of the box and dipped there beaks in the water.
The chicks were much larger and hardier than I thought they would be.
Really what do I know, I had never seen a baby chick before.

Proud Papa and Chick Sis admiring our new additions to the family


Crazy Chicken Brother!
This kid has loved and talked about chickens his entire life.
Why, I don't know?
The speech he did a few weeks ago was even about Chickens!
That turned out to be a great way for us to research chicken care.
(I'll have to post his fabulous speech)


Cat introductions
(btw, that is our new kitten, Honey)


Sleeping fluff balls or are they dead!
No they aren't, just looks that way ;)

Brooder setup
I can't maintain a high enough temperature for the chicks in our house.
It's 85-90 degrees outside, so during the day the brooder will be on the porch with the heat lamps.

121 pictures later, the chicks have made it through their first day/night at home :)

We are all chicken smitten
~Patricia

Homemade Topsy Turvy

I mentioned in my previous post that you don't need a special "sold on TV" pot to grow tomato plants upside down.

Here's what you need to make your own:
Coconut Fiber Hanging Basket (I used 14"x6")
Tomato Plant
Garden Soil

Choose a strong wire basket.
I lucked out that this one had an open circle on the bottom creating the perfect place for the tomato plant to rest.

Cut a cross in the bottom center of the basket.

A small tomato plant will be easiest to fit through the hole.
Gather the branches, gently push them through the hole while turning the plant upside down.

Super easy and none of the branches broke!

Aww, how cute ;)


If your plant comes with a peat pot and you leave it on, I suggest breaking apart the bottom to help the roots spread.
Fill with Garden Soil and Your done.
OR
You can take it a step further and add to it's function.
Add Flowers or Herbs on top to make an extra attractive Homemade Topsy Turvy!

~Patricia

Garden = Savings

Like all network news/talk shows that are jumping on the "home garden" bandwagon,
GMA had a short segment this morning.

They touched on the basics of planting seeds, hanging tomato plants upside down (and you don't need a special "sold on TV" pot for that) and composting.

The show also stated that a $70.00 investment in a veggie garden
can save you $600 p/yr on groceries.

How much could you save if you garden year round?

Any way you look at it, it's a Savings and it's Healthy!

My first tomato and pepper harvest for 2009 :)
Yummy!
~Patricia

Patriotic Bling Tees

Currently Listed on eBay
(will be uploaded to the OBOGB website next week)

Do you know a little girl that is
Fun, Spirited and Independent ;)

Let your little Firecracker show her Patriotism with this Sparkly Bling Tee

Back my popular demand...
Made in the USA Bling Tee
(on the website and at auction)

So cute for a Boy or Girl!
~Patricia

Upcycle ~ T-Shirt Bag

Earth Day Upcycle Craft

How to make a Bag from an old T-Shirt

I chose an old dingy shirt that does not fit my son anymore.

Lay the shirt out flat, seams together
Cut the sleeves off using a rotary cutter or scissors
Depending on the size of your shirt cut a 7-8 inch circle around the neck
I used this helpful circle cut ruler but you could also lay a large bowl on the shirt to use as a guide.

Turn the shirt inside out, pin along the hem
Sew the bottom of the shirt closed...I went back over it a second time to reinforce the stitch.

Turn right side out.


You're done!

It was so quick and easy I made one for my daughter ;)
~Patricia

Reduce Reuse Recycle & Upcycle

Happy Earth Day!
To celebrate the day I have a couple Environment Friendly projects.

Going Green for me is not just about helping the environment, it's also about saving money.
I thought a good way to start is making my own laundry detergent.

Of course I can't find my receipt so I don't have the numbers on this.
The last time I bought "regular" commercial laundry detergent I think it cost me around $15.00-17.00 and I bought the HE kind for 64 loads.

The ingredients to make this detergent only cost a few dollars.
The recipe it self would be under $2.00 for approx. 40 loads (maybe less if I knew the numbers LOL).

Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent

What you need:
1 Bar Soap (Pure & Natural, Kirk's, Fels-Naptha or one you prefer)
1 Cup Washing Soda (not baking soda)
1/2 Cup Borax

You can Grate or Chop the bar soap.
If you Grate you do not need to use a Food Processor.
Since I am making a Powder Detergent I wanted it really fine, so I chopped and put it in a Food Processor.

If using a Processor, put all your ingredients in...

Pulse until well mixed and fine.

I recycled a plastic container to store the powder.

If you didn't use a Food Processor, just Grate the bar and mix the ingredients.

You can mix a few drops of essential oil in as well, perhaps orange, lavender or tea tree.

To Use:
1 TBS or 2 TBS for heavily soiled loads

There is also a recipe to make this a liquid detergent. I haven't tried it yet.
When I do, I'll post it.

additional info:
Why I chose Kirk's Soap
No Animal By-Products, Never Tested on Animals, Hypoallergenic, Biodegradable, No Synthetic Detergents

Check back later for a fun Upcycle project!
~Patricia