Monthly Archives: January 2008

Soap Anyone!!!

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Yesterday a friend and I made our own laundry soap! I don’t have a picture yet but it’s coming. I got the idea and recipe from my friend Hilary. It was super easy and extremely inexpensive (ok, I think we can say it’s CHEAP) and only took 3 ingredients (well 4 if you include water). Here’s the recipe:
Liquid Laundry Detergent

6 cups of water
1/3 bar of Fels Naptha Soap, grated
1/2 cup washing soda (Arm & Hammer)
1/2 cup Borax
enough hot water to fill a 2 gallon bucket
[optional: you can add 1/2 to 1 oz of essential or fragrance oil.]
Mix grated soap in a saucepan with 6 cups of water. Heat on low until dissolved. Add washing soda and Borax. Stir until thickened and remove from heat. Add 4 cups of water to a 2 gallon bucket. Add the soap mixture and mix well. Fill the bucket with hot water (at least another gallon ( or 16 cups) and then some) and stir well. Set aside for 24 hours or until mixture thickens somewhat. Stir (or shake if you transfer it to a bottle.) before each use. *Use 1/2 cup per load*

I didn’t add a fragrance to it. I really like the smell just as it is. Very clean. So today I did my first loads with it and love it.

I haven’t tried the laundry rinse yet but I know vinegar works wonders in the washer. (along with many other uses)

Laundry Rinse (instead of fabric softener)
1 gal white vinegar 25-30 drops essential oil – optional (Straight vinegar works just fine though.) Use 1/4 c in the rinse cycle. I promise your clothes won’t smell like vinegar. The vinegar clears the last bit of soap remaining on all your clothes and reduces static.

Where have we been!

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Well, I haven’t felt much like blogging lately but since Trina keeps posting comments on the same one I figured its time for a new one :O) So, heres some random photos.

Zoe’s first lesson in paintball.

Killing snakes in the back yard.

This photo I love. As she was unloading the dishwasher Zoë decided it would be good to make a cup of coffee for Dad…unfortunately Dad was at work and not able to enjoy the treat. She had added a lot of creamer, coffee and what coffee would be complete without marshmallows! Even looking at this picute a few weeks later she said, “I made some coffee for Dad!”

Our first Adoption Problem :-(

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I just wanted to share with everyone that today we had our first let down in this quest to bring that someone that the Lord has picked for our family. 🙂 We got a email today stating that there is not enough room in the Pride training scheduled in Feb for us. So we are being scheduled for the class in July 😦

Why is the next class in July you say?

Because the training is a 30 hour weekend long training course. And the schedule one of them each quarter of the year.

So with all that said we are a little sad today but I guess we just have to remember that we are on God’s timeline and he has already picked the child for us. He will put him/her in our family when it is the right time for the child, us and most importantly when he is ready. So in that we are pleased, but still little sad.

~Greg T

Anyone Up for a Little Jog??

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I want to share with everyone that we are going to train and enter the 2008 Seattle Marathon. On a quest to improve our overall health and fitness, need for a big challenge for 2008, besides we are weird and strange (As if you didn’t know that already), and we don’t know any body that has ever done one! (Maybe there is a very good reason for this 🙂
You maybe wondering were did I get this hair brain idea from well I as many of you know that I am trying to loose about 30 pounds of myself. So have been working out but not loosing much weight and I was simply getting bored with my workout program. So I have been looking for a different program and couldn’t find anything that I liked. Then one late night or early morning at work I was looking around online when I came across a PBS program: Nova ~ Marathon Challenge (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/marathon/). Basically it was a program about how they took a assortment of very different individuals about 12 and trained them to run the Boston Marathon (the oldest and one of the hardest in the country). Well, I begin to asked myself over the next couple day was it possible for me to do this, and after talking to Merriann about it (and yes, she did look at me the as if I had lost my mind!!) She thought that we would do it together. (And for the record that is one of the many things I love about me wife, she wants to do big and small things together. What a Help Meet!!)
But Boston was a bit of a trip, so I thought that we would have to go to San Fran, or somewhere in Cal. to do this but much to my surprise Seattle has one. So it’s on November 29, 2008, God willing we will start and finish the 2008 Seattle Marathon. We are not trying to break any world speed records or anything. Just complete a great challenge and get fit. So over the last couple of days we got our training materials together and today is day one of the training. A simple 30 minute walk! I can do that!! And now that we are going to be hardcore athletes, can start using cheesy sports quotes like: “We are just going to train one day at a time.” “Champions keep playing until they get it right.” and other Blah, blah, blah 😉
Oh, before I forget to ask does anyone else want to join us? Just want to see if anyone else has also lost their minds. 🙂 But it would be so much more fun with more people. So just think about it.
~Greg T

Thank you TED!

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(This picture has nothing to do with the post but it is one of my favorites. Greg took it)

Our friend “TED” reminded me that I should post about the awesome prize I won from Hilary! Hilary recently celebrated her 1 year blogiversary. Congratulation Hilary! To celebrate she had a giveaway on her site and I won! I was very surprised and excited. A big thank you to Trina who encouraged me to post a comment to be entered into the drawing. And a BIG thank you to Hilary for the fun and (some) unusual prizes and to her children who drew my name last. :o)

So, want to know what I got. I won a few of Hilary’s favorite things.

1) Potato Soup at Black Angus
2) Alfredo Dipping Sauce at The Olive Garden
3) Treasury of Memories gift card
4) Starbucks Grande Breve Vanilla Mocha with 1/2 pump mocha and 1/2 pump vanilla, with whip.
5) 409 Glass and Surface. (this one made me laugh but I am excited to try it)
6) Lindt Lindor Truffle Bar.

The food places are obviously gift cards but, in honor of Hilary and her blogiversary I will be ordering the items on her list. You never know…I may discover a new favorite.

Thanks again Hilary! What a fun way to celebrate.

~ Merriann

Adoption Update

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Wow, two posts in one day! Things are getting crazy around here. I realized we haven’t posted about the adoption in a while. Right now we are waiting until the PRIDE weekend in February. PRIDE is a 32 hour training program we have to complete before we can become foster parents for the foster to adopt program through Antioch. Antioch does it all in one action packed weekend. OK, maybe not action packed but definitely busy. After that weekend we have another 7 or so classes we have to take. We will be well trained. :O) Good news though, a friend told me about an organization that does local CPR/First Aid classes for FREE! Way better than paying $40-$50 per person. And they cover infant and adult CPR/First Aid as well as blood born pathogens (we need all of that). So there you have it. Our update and a photo ’cause that’s the way its done.

Random Pictures

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This whole blog thing is new to me. It seems the only time I post something is when we actually do something outside the “normal” day to day things. I look at other blogs and love reading the little stories and things but I seem to come up with a blank when I sit down to post. I may regret asking this but, if any of my loyal readers have something specific they want to hear about let me know. For now here are some pictures Zoe took with her camera.
It is so funny to go through her picture folder on the computer and see all her photos. She has 152 pictures all together. Of course there are at least 25 pictures of the cat alone. This last one is one of my favorite photos of Zoe. Click on the picture to fully appreciate her attire. (BTW…that’s a knee pad on her stomach)
~Merriann

Happy New Year!!!

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Our family wishes you and your family a “Happy New Year”. We spent some time with new and old friends to bring in 2008. Our friends Lorenzo and Nancy opened their home and hosted a New year’s party.

It was awesome, it was our first visit to their place. They have a beautiful home.
Of course the Trinty sister’s were there!
You know the Mother, the Daughter and the Girlly Ghost!
AKA. Trina, Monica and Merriann 🙂

Nancy didn’t want to be left out or out done of the crazy pictures for the night! So here she is in all her glory!

The ladies mostly played the Taebo card game and the guys just sat around talking about the old Navy days (Meaning Lorenzo and I talked all night). And since there was a brand new baby there the ladies all wanted to hold the pretty baby, Ruby!

Aunt Heida had her most of the night. She even took the nights group picture with Ruby.
You would think that is was her baby. 😉

We watched the count down of the Space Needle in which fireworks didn’t go off for about 2 minutes after the new year started. What a way to start the New Year in the Northwest.

Well we ended the night sharing what are hopes and prayers we had for the future year. While I can’t share with you what others there that night shared. But I will share with you what mine was and is. I pray that “I could keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing!” Meaning be more fruitful for Jesus the Christ and the kingdom of God. (And oh, loose 30 pounds by May but that is not as important as the Main Thing.)

~Greg T.