It was a housekeeping disaster. After finally realizing the sources of my pitiful dishes- the spots, the film- it comes down to the lack of phosphates. I’m admittedly not a true eco-minded individual so I’m probably the last person to know that you can’t get phosphates in anything anymore. But hey, I’m recycling. Baby steps! The discovery was incredibly frustrating (I checked the garden aisle too) but it did get my dishwasher off the hook because I thought it had totally crapped out of me. And a dishwasher was half the reason we bought this house! Well not really, but it was a big selling point.

So onto the interwebs to find a new dishwasher solution, because the only other option is to start handwashing the dishes again and I would rather be shot in the head just rather not. I was going to make my own automatic dishwasher detergent (everybody is doing it right?) and I was sure I had Borax in the basement. But newsflash, Borax will kill you. So there goes my homemade detergent idea.

Next up, Googling non-Borax homemade automatic dishwasher detergent and the results were a little overwhelming… But, I stumbled onto a forum that was discussing it, and after doing some Amazon review reading, I bought the stuff they were discussing and tried it- the results are in, Lemi Shine and Biokleen are the dynamic duo, my dishes are spotless. SPOTless I tell you.

So in case you were also feeling like you would like to bash your head against your disgustingly spotted dishes, here is a lifeline. The price isn’t horrible, which only perpetuates my joy. I’ve found that Lemi Shine is cheapest at Walmart, and Biokleen is about the same price on Amazon as it is in our local natural food store. So there, the housekeeping tip of the week!

~HB

I’m on my way home from grad school orientation and I just watched my friend, who happens to wear a headcovering and be from the Middle East, get an extra body search at the airport.

I’ve flown eight times in the last three months, and have never had an extra body scan. I asked my friend how often the extra search happens? She says that she didn’t get searched on the last flight, but did the four flights she had before that.

The security woman said passengers are chosen entirely at random. I’m not sure I believe that.

Five Things I’m Grateful For:

1. Being done with school! This weekend I was able to clean out all the kitchen cupboards and get rid of stuff that had gotten shoved into the back, sort out the spare bedroom and put up the Ikea bedframe, and sort out all the books/magazines/crap that has been littered in the sunroom. Amazing feeling!

2. Beautiful flowers from my husband- or the flowers that I buy and my husband takes credit for.

3. A big back yard in which we can plant things…I can see the beginnings of the lettuce, and I’m in love with my little herb garden.

4. And not having school means I can spend more time in the backyard, with dogs who love their new pool.

Brewer playing with the sprayer hose in the pool...

5. Books!! Not being in school means I get to read, and omg I have missed books. My little Kindle has had more action in the past week than it has in the past six months. The current read is this, soon to be followed by this, this and this.

Four Things I Can’t Stop Thinking About:

4. Weight loss. I’m in the LEARN program, and its going really well- I’ve lost 5 pounds in the 5 weeks I’ve been doing it. While that isn’t stellar weight loss, my weigh loss had stagnated and I needed a new boost. This has been a long journey for me, and its a continuation of medical intervention which has some perks- the biggest is that if I’m successful over a three month period (I see my MD on July 28th) I can start some different meds, which is serious motivation!

2. Getting pregnant. I’ve been on planning overload, so we’ve decided to just ‘not prevent’ (or in my case, ‘not obsess’) and see what happens. The above mentioned meds are contraindicated, so it will be interesting to see if I get pregnant before my appointment, or if pregnancy gets put on hold again? Ahhh, too many possibilities!

3. I want so very badly to take an online photography class. Has anyone taken a good one? My camera is so much fun, and I love what I can take just with the basics, but really would like to take it up a notch.

Lillacs, my favorite picture of all the ones I've taken lately...

4. I’m starting this on June 18th. Holy eff.

Three Things I Want to Accomplish This Week:

1. Get a service visit for our fridge- there is a lot of water that literally melts from the freezer (there is a hole from the freezer to fridge, and it appears to be intentional) and water leaks down into the bottom of the fridge, which in turn occasionally builds up and leaks onto the kitchen floor. Don’t ask how long we’ve had the issue, the important part is that we’re getting help!

2. Finish my graduation essays. Nothing huge, but they take time and they seem like school, so I’ve been avoiding them. I have to get them done this week.

3. I’m leaving for the orientation to my Master’s program on Monday, and I’m excited! But it means I need to pack, again. This time I would like to complete the majority of my packing earlier than the hour prior to leaving for the airport.

Two Things I am Working to be Positive About:

1. Irritating people on Facebook. I’m about this close to saying something snarky if I see one more person alk about their marriage or stupid husband on Facebook. Nobody needs or wants to know that level of detail! But then again nobody wants snark either, so working on just being quiet.

2. Work. Not a happy employee right now, and really struggling. Poo on everyone.

One Random Thing:

1. I have a post I wrote about how Mom’s seem to almost be trying to convince themselves how great motherhood is. I wonder how many followers I would lose if I posted it??