Sporadic Blogger

That's me! So extremely sporadic, and I don't mind. :) I don't like feeling like my blog is something I HAVE to do. Then it would just get shelved on the list of things that I ignore just for spite. haha!
But, I was inspired to make a post, because we are cutting waaay back on our grocery budget in order to help with finances and so that we can be at peace doing what God wants us to do, following His path for us, and still not making any stupid financial decisions.
I've tried several things over this past year that we've lived here in Florida to make money including ChaCha advisor (<-----BOOO!!!! Don't EVER do this!!!) waiting tables AGAIN despite my hate for the food industry, blogging (which I have since stopped doing for the money), hubpages, and now I am happy, at peace, but still struggling to make things work smoothly as I undertake building a new career teaching piano lessons.
I've played classical piano since I was five years old, so teaching beginning students is a breeze. Piano students are an entirely different breed, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE them!!! I have never found any work that brings me more joy, that is more fulfilling, that allows me to come home happy and rested, excited for another day of teaching! This, of course, excludes everything I do at home with my own children. I'm talking strictly career-choice, here.
Now, it IS kind of tough, because just starting out I don't have very many students, which makes the money part of it a tiny bit stressful. So I just keep hanging on to God's promises that He will provide, rest in the fact that I know now that I am following His will and give thanks for the opportunity to spread the love of music wherever I can.
However, this doesn't really help with the fact that we are still living on (mostly) and airman's budget. Yikes. That can get tough. We have found ways, here and there, to live a little more simply, and then there are ways to live more cheaply that actually require more up-front money.
Take, for instance, my projects of the next month and my inspiration for this blog post.
I am about to undertake (drum roll)
Homemade deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, and cleaner to replace ALL cleaners that we use in this house (surface, laundry detergent, dishwasher soap, etc.) Now, this is going to require quite a bit of up-front cost unless, you know, you just wanted to bring me a gallon of castile soap and some essential oils in gratitude of my wonderful and inspiring blog. :o) However, the cost over time is going to be PENNIES! Do you hear me? PENNIES!!!
Even cheaper than buying the 97 cent bottle of uber-cheap shampoo from Walmart that DESTROYS your hair (AND you won't be buying from Walmart!!!) you can make your own homemade shampoo with some up-front cost and massive long-term savings.
This: http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-Shampoo/ is the link I am using, but I'm kind of mashing a few together to get what I want. We love tea tree oil in our house, so I will be using peppermint castile soap and grapeseed oil, which I will purchase from amazon.com and tea tree oil from my local health food store. They, surprisingly, have an even better price than amazon does.
It is so super easy, and so super cheap, and so super healthy for your hair to make your own shampoo, and you don't have to spend time clipping coupons to get a whole bunch of chemicals that are doing damage to your scalp for a few cents cheaper than retail price. Save MORE money, and have BETTER hair with a little more upfront cost, and a few minutes of your time.
Second project: homemade deodorant.
This http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/03/quick-stick-deodorant.html is the link I will use, and I imagine it will be cheaper, but a little messier and probably a bit more time consuming than the shampoo. I like stick deodorant. I don't want to sprinkle my armpits with powder, and I already rub coconut oil in my pits to help with my body odor. What can I say? It's in my genes, aggravated by the intense workouts I do. So what. ;)
So, I have an almost empty stick of herbal deodorant in my drawer, which costs me about $4 even at the commissary. Making my own, again, PENNIES!!! And maybe...what...a half hour of my time? Totally worth it!
Which brings me to my third and final project for this month: toothpaste.
I HATE HATE HATE having to shell out big bucks for natural toothpaste when most of us have the two most effective teeth-cleaning ingredients right in our own cupboards: baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. I will probably try adding a smidge of xanthan gum to get a nice consistency, and some cinnamon and peppermint essential oils for flavor and nice, fresh breath. Once again, no chemicals, pennies to make it, but my problem is...what the heck do I put it in??? I want something squeezable, 'cuz I'm weird like that. Maybe some leftover, rinsed out glue containers? I don't know. Someone help me out with this one.
So, my local readers, if any of you would like to watch me and see how all these experiments work for me, and if you want to try it yourself - maybe for an adventure, maybe to save a little money, let me know! We can have a fun project day and save some money, and treat ourselves better while we're doing it!

Much love to you all, and may the grace and peace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be in and upon you as you consciously live in this world and not of it.