Did you know? Get to know Potholes….

You may be a relatively new reader here at Potholes and Pantyhose. Or, you may have suffered with me through the Iweb times. Or, you may be here for the first time and wondered what the heck you were doing here.

You may have decided you wanted to create me…

…married me, grew up with me, go to church with me or have never met me (much to your benefit, I’m sure). But, here you are, reading about me, learning who this weirdo is, as if I matter.

But, there are a few things you may not know about me or my life. And, maybe after this post, wished you didn’t know. Just in case you want to feel a little more normal today, did you know that:

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The sound of a crow cawing makes me sad.

Click on the “Photo Source” to hear the sound for yourself. You be the judge. Happy or sad?

My husband has an altar ego on myspace (of all ridiculous places) named “KrunkTymeK“.

We had a house that blew up.

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If attending a large function, I tend to color coordinate people-meaning I rearrange people in my mind so that they “match” their surroundings. Thus the reason I tend to sit on the first or second row in order to not be distracted by my freakishness.

I am licensed to drive one of these, and did so for David Copperfield (yes, the magician with gigantic eyebows), the Flaming Lips and other “famous” people. They all still have morning breath just like the rest of us.

We were told that Cowboy was a “Cowgirl” until we went to get “her” fixed. God rest his/her soul.

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I almost died choking on one of these when I was a stupid kid.

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And last, but certainly not least, clowns freak me out for obvious reasons. I mean, seriously. Come on.

Simple Sunday Love

Dear Readers:
We receive glossy ads on Tuesday’s, which usually go straight from the mailbox and into the recycling bin. However, every once in awhile, I browse through the ads-“just to see what’s on sale”-or so I tell myself.
I see that the latest stainless steel grill is 25% off making my seven year old grill look pretty gross and old. The blooming hydrangea’s are only $6 a gallon and I immediately picture them already planted out front, with plenty of cuttings for inside my home. And the fancy lawn furniture now comes in bright yellow-which would compliment my retro metal lawn furniture perfectly.

And that’s when I wonder if I need these things and a new patio. And maybe I also need some new solar lanterns (complete with remote control) for all of our get togethers in our backyard.

It’s marketing at its best.

I’ve lived with very little while growing up-parents as ministers don’t make very much. And, as an adult, Biceps and I adopted a frugal lifestyle in order to achieve long-term goals. And, I’ve talked about our plans to pay off our rental houses and our home in less than six years.

But, I’m still human and enjoy buying new things. New things are fun. New things are…new.

I remind myself that there was a time when a fountain soda from Quik Trip was a splurge for us-and when that was considered a “date night”. We have had to, and are still learning to, find simple ways to enjoy our life.

I’ve learned that flowers from my backyard are more beautiful to me than store bought ones. And, it means infinitely more to me to see Biceps cutting off a few blooms and try to arrange them himself, rather than see him spending a bundle on a bouquet from the local florist.

Dinners out have been replaced with picnics at the park, usually after a long run. And movies out have been replaced with online streaming-which also offers the availability for wine drinkage and frequent potty breaks. Our quality of life isn’t less, but it is different and definitely not the status quo.

So, the ads go to the recycling bin, my wallet stays shut and our plan to be debt free is still in action. I am tempted to spend when I see sparkly things-after all, it is the American way.

I am telling you all of this to not only keep it real, but to keep myself accountable. You have my permission that if you ever see me in a store buying something that is definitely not a necessity, you have every right to karate chop it out of my hand and scream, “Do you really need that?”.

And then remind me of what I’ve said here today about the simple ways to enjoy life. So, what are the simple ways you enjoy life-besides karate chopping your blogger friends?

Simple, Healthy Salad Dressing

In March, I gave myself a month long challenge of ridding my house of nasty chemicals and high priced products that I can make myself. Here are a few of the things that I’ve been able to replace around the house:

Recipe for Facial Moisturizer
Cheap, Organic Face Wash
DIY Household Green Cleaners
DIY Organic Eye Makeup Remover
Simple, Organic Lip Balm

But the replacements must meet or exceed three important expectations for this frugal gal:
1. It must be easy to replace-no beakers or science lab experiments. Thank you.
2. It must be just as good or better than the current product I’m using and,
3. It must cost the same or less than the current product I’m using.

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If the product I create passes the final test-me using it for over two plus weeks to make sure it does its job-then I’ll be sharing it with you. I will break down the cost for you, provide you the recipe and give you my honest opinion of the final product.

Today, I have a recipe for Simple, Healthy Salad Dressing via my sweet mother-in-law. I tweaked the recipe a little and I subtracted the salt and pepper. I enjoy lots of pepper on my salad, but just a pinch of salt. (I figured I could add my own accoutrements expo facto.)

All that is needed to make this Simple, Healthy Salad Dressing is:
1 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 Cup All Fruit, No Sugar Strawberry Jam

In a liquid measuring cup, pour 1 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

In the same measuring cup, add the 1/3 Cup of Balsamic Vinegar. Watch the cool little bubbles float around for a minute and pretend you are in a CSI lab.

Measure out 1/4 Cup of Strawberry Jam. Lick your fingers.

If necessary, use a funnel to transfer the measured jam into the chosen dressing jar.

Next, pour the olive oil and balsamic mixture into the jar. This will get all the last little bits of jam left in the funnel, into the jar.

Place the lid on the dressing jar and shake vigorously. Pour a small amount on top of your favorite salad, grab a fork and dig in.

Add salt and pepper if desired. Enjoy!

Note-this dressing must be stored in the fridge and it will settle and separate. Shake the bottle before each use.

Linking up here, along with other parties:

The Laundry Helper

I try to keep cat posts to a minimum. But, like a brand new parent with endless pictures of their infant-that will bore even the grandparents, my iPhone is full of: cute cat poses, cat videos and evidentiary cat pictures of their naughtiness-to “show Biceps later on”.

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It seems as if I might be a crazy cat lady. But, I call it: “Cat Supporter”. There are the few of us cat supporters out there that aren’t recluses and don’t don housecoats 24/7.

If you fall into that category (every pun intended), this is for you.

Stripping the bed has become one of Maxwell’s major playtimes. There is the attack of the sheet as it is being pulled from each corner by me.

 

Then, there is the burrowing underneath if I happen to leave for a moment.

 

And finally, the ultimate cute stare down that I cannot resist. And so, I leave him there to enjoy himself a minute longer while I find something else to do.

I suppose that is a little crazy. At least I took off my housecoat hours ago.