Pinterest Bloggers Lied.

Yup, I said it.

Not Pinterest itself so much, but the DIY bloggers that blogged about grout cleaners that I just so happened to try on our kitchen floors this morning...

I feel that I have wasted an hour and a half of a perfectly good Sunday.

First, I tried: -- (water, baking soda, ammonia, vinegar)

http://aprrilsopinion.blogspot.com/2012/06/amazing-grout-cleaner.html

I used her Halved formula. I sprayed it on generously and let it sit for 10+ minutes. Came back and SCRUBBED with a toothbrush, like I have never scrubbed before. Yes, I saw some dirt coming up.But did it look like her flawless picture?! NOT IN THE SLIGHTEST. 

So I moved on to option number 2: -- (clorox bleach and baking soda)

http://accessorizeandorganize.blogspot.com/2011/05/diy-homemade-grout-cleaner.html

I made the paste... I spread it on scrubbed again with said toothbrush, all the while, trying to retain my gag reflex and the clorox from burning my nostrils... and I even let it sit 10+ minutes and then wipes clean with a hot, wet rag... did THOSE squares look better? Sure. Did it look like her pictures?! HECK NO!

But I pressed on. Between my two mixtures, I proceeded to scrub our kitchen floor. On my hands and knees, dripping sweat, tryin not to gag and burn my nose hairs, all at the same time. It was a sight, I'm sure. Our cat was looking at me like "You're doin too much".... 

I took about an hour. Do our floors like shiny, sparkly white like Pinterest DIY boards? NO. Do they look a little better. I guess. Will I attempt to clean them more with a different remedy, you bet!

I have two options at this point:

1: Purchase a dozen plus magic erasers... those seem to do the bright and shiny trick. But they fall apart quite easily after scrubbing a single square.

2. Opt for more DIY recipes.

So I ask you now... do you have a home remedy for cleaning your grout?  If you do, PLEASE, I beg of you share! I promise I will give you ALL the credit! :)

That's all I have for now on MY home front.

In Danny news... he's doing well! I sent him his package with his "52 reasons" deck of cards that I previously made, so he should get it this week! Even though he already knows about it, because.. SURPRISE!! He reads my blog!! I didn't think he would, but he does and that made my heart love him even more than it already does! (I love you, baby!)

Please continue to keep us in your prayers! Sometimes this deployment can get to me, but I'm doing my best to hold it together. And bless Danny's heart, he puts up with me! He said his schedule is about to get crazy busy, which is good to make time for him fly by, but I know he is exhausted... as are all our men over there!

Much love to you all!

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...” 
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Look at me blogging on the regular now!

See! I told you I would! -- More than likely though, it won't be everyday. It just so happens to be the weekend, so I have some extra minutes cause the gym isn't open yet..!

I have already tackled a DIY Pinterest craft! Have you seen the "52 reasons why I love you"?! No?! Here's the link --

http://www.papervinenz.com/2012/01/52-reasons-i-love-you-cards-tutorial.html

Seriously! Check it out!

I decided that I was going to make that for my husband. He may not tell me outright right away how much he loves them, but I'm sure in conversation in the future, he'll tell me how much they meant to him! I think it will go something like this:

WHEN HE GETS THEM (in the mail):
Me: Did you like the craft I made you, baby?
Him: Yea, thanks. It was cute. Oh, today we had to do..... (blah blah blah, more army talk)

-That will be the end of that ---for now!--

WHEN HE IS HOME (and someone asks his favorite thing I sent him);
Him: One time, she made this really sweet 52 reasons thing.... I looked at it every night.
Me: (mouth hung open, no words able to form....)

This is usually how things go. (By the way, he'll deny it if you ask him).. but it's been the pattern! It's okay! I accept it! And I know that when he says he likes it, he really does. He doesn't lie to me. Sometimes I just don't HOW much he likes it till he is telling someone else how much his wife ROCKS! Go me!

Anywho, here is MY finished product. May not look EXACTLY like the tutorial, but I think I did a pretty darn good job, especially since I started with a BRAND NEW deck of cards, cause lets face it... I wasn't paying for "an older" version plus shipping and handling. I simply drug a wet tea bag across the cards and tossed them in the dryer for a few minutes. If you do this, watch them! They can start to burn up around the edges. I let mine do that, but once they start to burn up, they do so fast!

Tah Dah!!! My "52 reasons why I love you!" card deck! Now... get to thinking of those 52 reasons ladies! And no, you can't duplicate reasons, hoping they don't notice -- cause they will! :)

Happy Sunday y'all!

“Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!” 
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Apparently I'm a HORRIBLE blogger!

I admit it. I suck at this blogging thing. Part of me feels like if you want to know what's going on with our lives, pick up the darn phone!! But at the same time, sometimes I don't want to answer the phone and have a two hour long convo while trying to get dinner ready after just walking in the door from work!

Let's see... lets catch everyone up...

We've been living in the south now for a year and a half... REAL QUICK sum up of a year and a half... Lots of drives to Atlanta. Family visits. Destin, Florida beaches. Breanne got a job at Wells Fargo. Danny deployed. (There's much more, feel free to ask, but I'm focusing on the future!)

Is everyone on the same page now?! :)

I think since it's almost the end of July and Danny is deployed (did you catch that part?!), I'll start being faithful to this blog from here on out. (bear with me and wish me luck!)... Going forward, I want to share what I'm doing to keep busy to pass deployment time and I'll fill ya'll in on how Danny is doing overseas!

These are some of the things I would like to do while he is away...

* Get crafty... you know all those DIY's you see on Pinterest?! I'm attempting to tackle some of those!
* Experiment with new recipes! We all know I love to cook! (Thanks for that, mom!)
*... and as we all know, the DREADED 3-0 is approaching... I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT. I want to do something about it... so I'm going to drop some LB's...

And along the way, I'll be posting pics of my successful (and not so successful) crafts, recipes and gym progress!! And of course, as I get them, I'll be posting pics of my beloved husband who is so bravely defending his country and our freedom!

 Wish me luck! Here's to knockin out these next 8 months....

“You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!” 
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!