Recycle: Tissue Box

We've accumulated lots of empty boxes of these lately - because I've been crying lots. But really it's actually my nose that's been "crying" lots. Icky! I know.

And then Matt discovered the joys of tissue shredding playing.

So anyway, this put me into wondering what I'm going to do with them.

Few maneuvers with a pair of scissors and ...

...I turned one into my son's socks box/dispenser.

As for the rest of the boxes, I'm still trying to figure out what to do with them. :-D.

I Love You, Honey

Honey. Awwwww. What a sweet endearment! So sweet, I am imagining ants crawling on the screen now. But really, I can very well understand why we use “honey” to refer to our loved ones; I use it, too. When I’m not mad, that is.

I love you, honey. (No, Honey, it’s not you this time.) I’m actually paying homage to something Winnie the Pooh cannot live without. And something I definitely love, too. Honey. That nourishing honey. The one we add in our tea. The one we drip on our pancakes. The one that’s rich in nutrients –vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

It wouldn’t be called the nectar of god for nothing. But other than its usual uses – as natural sweetener or oomph-and-zing multiplier, honey has other uses –for me, for us. And next to baking soda, honey is something I do not want to run out of supply of (and that’s why I’m trying to make the 2 700L bottles of all-natural honey last until my brother’s visit; he gets it cheap from where he is assigned).

Ø Diarrhea treatment. I am not really a big fan of medicines. If I can find a cheap, economical and natural alternative, I use that. Even for diarrhea, I rarely pop a pill because I don’t want to keep the toxin from coming out of me. Unless if I need to, like when I’m traveling or when attending an event that makes running to the bathroom every minute or so impossible or difficult. But when I’m home, it’s nothing or honey. Or ginger tea with honey. Really. And because honey is natural, I will not worry about side-effects. The last time I pooped liquid, all I took was a spoonful of honey and some water. And that’s that. I must be lucky because I didn’t make any trip to the CR after that.

(Word of caution: Not to be given to babies below 1yo, as their digestive system may not be able to tolerate it.)

Ø Scrub. For a homemade foot scrub, an ample amount of honey plus a spoonful of sugar is good enough. For the face, I make a paste out of an ample amount of honey and a dash of baking soda.

Ø Moisturizer. Plain honey can be used to moisturize the lips and skin, including the face. When I’m home, I use it as an alternative to commercial lip balms. It’s just lick-ably purr-fect for my cracked, dry lips. BTW, I’ve tried it with my son, countless of times, and he’s just so uncomplaining when it hit his lips.

Ø Bed sore treatment. Apart from its nutritional benefits, honey has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory components and is known to hasten healing of wounds. When my cousin’s grandmother (whom I also call Mama) got sick and got those nasty bed sores, honey was the only thing we applied on her until the sores were all gone.

Ø Facial treatment. I used to have facial sessions (before Matt, when I was still the master of my time :D) and one product given to me was honey mixed with some unknown medicines. And in my recent all-expense-paid (by the company) spa trip, the all-natural facial treatment I was given was composed of other ingredients and honey.

We -my hub, my sister and I- is using a honey-based soap. And my sister also applies pure honey to help contain her occasional breakouts.

(Word of caution: Make sure to wash thoroughly afterwards or you might find yourself in the company of tiny crawlers also known as ants. :D)

Oh, by the way, I read before that honey is also used as aphrodisiac. C'mon now, don’t look at me like that! I can just imagine what you’re thinking now. “She loves it because…” Do I sound guilty of that? Wink. But really, I am the last person who can validate that and I have not honestly used it like that. I have heard though that other people use it as an aphrodisiac.

For more of honey, visit the ff: MotherEarthNews; Life Positive; Billy Bee; and Food Reference.

***

Compelled to write this after a-blink-of-an-eye moment with my dear son, who accidentally broke one half-full bottle of all-natural honey just few days ago. Now, we're down to the last bottle (in the picture).

Bookmark It!

I'm cooking up a kiddie party and rather than letting a party coordinator do the dirty job, I've decided to handle most of that myself. This way I can trim down the cost. So that's what's keeping me busy these days.

And with my sister's help, I tackled my son's birthday invitations few days ago.


There are lots of free designs we found in the Net but we chose this one. To save on printing cost, we agreed that it's going to be just a bookmark size.

Printed on photo paper, the actual size of each invitation is only 11cm X 6cm.

For 20 invitations, we were able to use only 4 pieces of A4 photopaper.

With some ribbons, which are leftovers from my wedding 44 months ago, I decided to make it look like a bookmark all the way. Thus, eliminating the additional cost of need for envelopes.

Here's a sample of the finished bookmark-cum-invitation.

And here are the rest of the invitations.

(Note: Pictures are edited and blurred on purpose)

*******

Few days back, an officemate and friend paid me a compliment. No big thing really. He only said I’m frugal.

"Oh, yeah?" My other officemate, who was with us, playfully joined.

"Go ask my husband," I was quick to reply.

No big deal. But okay, granting there’s no undertone of sorts there, I consider it as a compliment; a feather to my bonnet. Actually, I’d much rather think of it as that, because if I analyze too much, I would begin to wonder if my friend thinks I'm Scrooge-ing! Heavens forbid! :D (Chuckle)

A Confession

I have a confession to make. I am having an affair, and not just any affair. I am having a love affair. Shush.

Does my husband know? Shrug. He’ll definitely know when he reads this.

The object of my affection is totally dependable and strong. He goes by the name of Superman – a life saver. My life saver.

He helps me with my responsibilities at home. He handles the housework efficiently. He is an expert.

He keeps the dishes, the pots and pans sparkling. The bathroom and the kitchen, spotless. The air, light and clean. The floor, tidy. The laundry, immaculate.

I don’t think I could have done that all in a jiffy.

He stands by me and carries me through rough times. The mother’s tough times. Like he nurses my son’s skinned knees and pesky itches with the gentleness of a mother’s touch. Oh, I love him.

He takes care of me. He makes sure my set of teeth is well-polished. My skin -my feet, my face, every nook and cranny of me, squeaky clean. My breath, fresh.

I feel so loved. I’m all aglow because of him.

Baking soda. I don’t think I can live without it.

Home solutions

Am so grateful for this thing called baking soda (yes, the one we use when we would bake cakes, pastries…).

Especially on these days when I am constantly doing some yard work. There's just no chance of getting myself unscathed (but thanks God, not really in a major way) before I strip off my pair of trusty gloves. Scrapes. Cuts. Skinned elbow.

But even if some scrapes are reaped, I can still heave a sigh of relief and be happy for the day's small achievement. Thanks to this white powder wonder.

The solution made by putting together baking soda powder and water, can be used as disinfectant. And it doesn’t sting one bit. And because of that, I always prefer adding a dash of it to a bucket of water to wash scrapes, cuts and wounds (than just water alone). So ideal to use with the kids, like my dear buddy Matt.

Can be used as a deodorizer too. And It can also be used as feminine wash (my OB Gyne’s advice).

Part of..

I am a mother. And being one plus oh, the unexpected part of mothering requires me to be a wanna-be nurse like today. No, my son is not ill, thanks God.

I just spent the entire afternoon (being my day off), bandaging and stitching up the wounded.. uhmm, books of my son with the ever reliable Scotch tape.

In their worn-out and tattered state, it is almost unbelievable that they are only in my son’s possession for nearly a year, some a little over a year. And looks even more impossible to salvage them. The oldest acquisition of them all was the Nursery Rhyme Book I used to read to Matt long before I have given birth to him, that was nearly 2 years ago. And looking at its hideously over-used pages (that one would probably think I have it with me for ages), brings memories of my pregnancy. Oh forgive me dear for getting melodramatic but it really is my favorite as well as my son's.

So here comes Mama with a Scotch tape in hand and a pair of scissors in the other, and a dash of resolute determination to boot. A trick here and there and I might just improve their state.

Hours later, after doing everything that I could, I believe I repaired most of them to almost mint condition, some to their functional state.

Kitchen Solutions: How to remove sediments from a kettle/electric airpots (stainless steel-made)

I use cane vinegar (any brand will do) to remove sediments from our electric airpot. Here’s how:

1. Empty contents of your airpots/kettle.

2. Pour water in the pot and add a dose of vinegar.

(Proportion: ¼ vinegar for every 1 liter of water)

3. Set airpots/kettle to boil. Simmer for a few minutes.

4. Let it cool. You may also leave the solution overnight.

5. Pour out the mixture. Wash and rinse your kettle/airpot repeatedly to your satisfaction.


Viola! Gone are the whitish mineral deposits that has gahered in the surface.

Works wonders. Try this and you’ll see.

I have also read somewhere that calamansi or lemon will do the trick but I have yet to try this. You may opt for this and then let’s compare notes.