Tonsillectomy advice.

  As a child, I usually got strep throat at least 4 or 5 times a year. I usually got pneumonia once a year as well. I wasn't a "sickly" child, I had a high immunity to most things like dust, pollen, mold, etc. I grew up on a gravel road (always had dust blowing around), lived in the middle of the country surrounded by timber and fields, and my grandparents house (which was literally a football field away) was a hundred year old farmhouse. My dad smoked when I was a child, my grandma and grandpa smoked and we always had pets. But my frequent sickness wasn't due to any of the above. I don't ever remember a time when our family physician suggested I have my tonsils taken out, but it finally came up when I was 21.

  This is disgusting, but my tonsils were so big and scarred they looked like holey sponges and food would frequently get stuck in there. Eventually it would dislodge out of tonsil and it was nasty. An off white color

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I've been M.I.A...

   I haven't been writing any new posts lately, I really don't know how some people blog everyday. Anyway, I have a few legit excuses. Firstly, our internet died. Internet in Germany (at least in our little hidden valley countryside of Germany) is about as reliable as a screen door on a submarine. And people in Germany really respect their hours of work, holidays and take their sweet time doing every job so what could've taken a week has taken almost 3. 
   Secondly, we found out our water drain in the house is corroded and leaking. I was in the garage and noticed water dripping onto the floor and of course our landlords were on vacation. Then the busted drain caused a wet spot in the wall which is molded and bubbled. Agh. For some reason, Germans build all of their homes out of a cinder block foundation. Cinder blocks are very porous which absorb moisture which absorbs directly into the drywall causing mold. So it doesn't make any sense to use them, but they do.
   Thirdly, we were gifted a 95' BMW from a random stranger we met while at the auto hobby shop putting our new tires on the truck. What a nice gift eh?! It has a radiator leak, needs a new battery and a fluid flush but what a sweet deal! We've been spending all our free time on the weekends getting it registered and fixed up. 
   I have been busting my butt getting our yard work done while my hubby's at work. I have never seen more raspberry bushes and thorns out of control. I cut at least 20 thorn stems/roots that were about 2 inches in diameter, it was insane. Plus we have a large amount of ivy growing everywhere, I literally trip over the roots when I'm on the side of the house. It's definitely a work in progress. 
   So that's what I've been up to lately. Hopefully I'll have more for you all soon.


Beth Pin It

Soothing a Dry Scalp.

   My scalp has been driving me NUTS. I'm not sure if it's the weather change (going from hot, dry weather in Arizona to facing every season and lots of humidity here in Germany) but my scalp has been so dry. Don't confuse dry scalp with dandruff (seborrheic dermatitis). Through the years off suffering and trial and error, I've picked up on a few things. 
   
   Dry Scalp: 

• You know when you see a Head and Shoulders commercial where they have little white flakes on their shirt? More than likely that's dry scalp, not dandruff. And when you think you have dandruff, you'll use Head and Shoulders or Selsum Blue, which further dries out your scalp, making your flakes even worse.
•  If your water is heavily chlorinated or has a lot of minerals in it, it can also dry out your scalp. Instead of buying a ton of money for a water purifier, you can buy a filtered shower head. 
• Using your hair-dryer or flat iron daily can dehydrate your scalp and hair.
• Using too hot of water can dry out your scalp too, since that heavenly hot water strips the moisture and healthy oils straight out. 
• Not drinking enough water can dry your scalp out too, not to mention your nails and skin as well, so to stay hydrated take your body weight and divide that number by 2. The answer is the number of ounces of water you need to drink daily. 

   So for example your weight is 160. Take 160 divided by 2 = 80. You need to drink 80 ounces of water daily.


   Dandruff:

• Dandruff is a little more of an issue than dry scalp, because it's the result of a bacterial or fungal overgrowth, kind of like a buildup. 
• If the flakes you have stick to your hair when you brush or comb it, or if they feel greasy or waxy then it's dandruff. Dry scalp is dry skin, almost translucent like a peeling sunburn. Dandruff is much different.
• If you use leave in conditioner or a lot of styling products like hair gel, hairspray, mousse, volumizer, etc. try to cut down as much as possible. This only aggravates dandruff because you're creating buildup with products, much like your scalp can't breathe.

   In my case, it's dry scalp. So today I used a half cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, warmed it in the microwave for 25 seconds and started applying it on my scalp with my fingertips. Working my way to the back of my head, I just kept applying more with my fingertips and massaging in circular motions. When your scalp is completely massaged and oily, use a soft bristle brush or a comb and brush it all back. After slicking it back, tie it up loosely on top of your head. I used a shower-cap to hold it all in and help retain heat (plus I hate the smell of Olive Oil) and let it sit for at least 20 minutes. You can let it sit longer if you'd like, it won't hurt you in any way. After you feel like it's sat long enough, so shampoo your head with a mild shampoo and warm water (not hot.) This conditions my hair so much I don't need to apply conditioner when I'm done. Towel dry your hair, then let it air dry. Your scalp should feel much more relief now that you put some moisture back into it. 
   I'm not a doctor, or hairstylist so if you have a scalp condition you're unsure about, check with your physician first before assuming anything. I can't guarantee this will work for you, but it works for me. Good luck, and if you have any questions or tips please let me know! :)

           Beth

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An All-Natural Ant Killer? Say whaaat?!

   Yeah I know, sounds too good to be true right? No... I called up my grandma (Grandmas know everything!) and asked her if there was a way to kill the ants on our patio, she said Borax and something sweet. I already use Borax religiously to get rid of grime on our drill, I use it in my homemade laundry soap and to clean our toilet. But to kill ants? At first she recommended boric acid, but I haven't the slightest clue where I'd find any over here. (Germans live VERY clean and don't like to use chemicals. I can't even use roundup on weeds.) 
   
   So I sped off to the kitchen to brew something up. I used REAL maple syrup (lots of sugar and very sweet) and the Borax. I used equal measurements (1 Tbsp. each) and mixed it together well. Then I used an old large size yogurt lid to keep it all in. 

   I haven't seen as many ants since I've set it out, and my dogs stay away from it. Maybe they don't like the smell of the Borax? Any way, it works! Sweet Grandma also told me to sprinkle some used coffee grounds around and it'll keep them away. Do you have any natural remedies for pesky ants?

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I've been SO busy!

   I have been SO busy, it's insane. Hubby's been working 12's AND weekends for an upcoming base event so I've been having to everything around the house. Mowing the yard, cleaning the garage and getting things together to sell. We have been selling and donating a few things we no longer need or have room for, and let me say there was a lot of it. I mentioned earlier our bed was ruined during our PCS over here. It was only 2 years old and we bought the mattress, boxspring and frame brand new off the floor, so to have it ruined kind of chapped my ass. It was a memory foam pillow-top that's like a latex foam material (which apparently retains moisture.) It was on the cargo ship for 3 months and when the movers unloaded everything they removed it from the cardboard box to bring it in the house which I'm assuming is when it got exposed to moisture. (Which I had no idea because that memory foam layer sucked up all the moisture, then released it later). 4 months later and we had black mold between our mattress and boxspring. Of course, we filed a claim so we could be reimbursed, and the moving company doesn't want to pay up. So I'm 99% positive it's going to be some time before we see that money. We went to the BX to buy a new mattress and boxspring set, and found one we really liked. We decided to upgrade from a queen size to a king, and of course they didn't have the model we wanted in stock.
 I asked the employee: "Well, how long will it take before you get more in?"
Employee: "Well, it can take anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks."
My reaction inside my head: "What the ffffffffffff!?!?!"
Me: "Um, okay well, I guess we'll just get whatever bed you DO have in stock, I mean we can't sleep on an air mattress for another 8 to 12 weeks."


   Well, as expected the only one they had that wasn't a Trump or Vera Wang bed set (seriously what military family with a small income can/will pay 3,000 for a mattress?!) was the most expensive Serta mattress. We had to take it. The BX is the only place that we can shop for an American mattress overseas. We could buy a German sized mattress, but they're not as thick and  are smaller, so you have to buy German sized sheets, etc. 

   Here she is!

   Since we had a queen sized bed before, we had to sell our frame and get a standard metal king sized frame. (The BX only had 2 king bed frames that included a headboard and footboard. Aghhhh.)

   I love having the extra room, I still wake up and realize I have about a foot of space before I hit the edge of the bed :)

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In a funky rut lately.

   I'm in a sad mood today. I'm not sure if it's the rainy weather we've been having or me realizing we've been here since September and I still haven't made any friends. I get REALLY pissed annoyed when people tell me "get out and explore" or "you just need to get out and meet people." IT'S NOT THAT EASY. In case you haven't noticed, not everyone likes Americans. So do go on a walk with my dogs and strike up a conversation and hit it off isn't realistic. I live in a small village outside the base. Mostly Germans, a good percentage are a lot older than me. Also take in account the language barrier.
    I don't mind making friends with someone who has kids, I love kids but I need a friend that can be my friend, not me be their on call babysitter. (It's happened before.) I know what I was getting into when I married my husband, I knew we would have to move around a lot. I just didn't know that our first PCS would be overseas, and I didn't realize how expensive it is to fly home with two dogs. Eeeek!
    It's hard for me to grasp my new outlook on life. I've had 3 best friends my whole life: Jenn and Chelsea who I've known since preschool, and Jayce who I met in third grade. We all played softball together, was in Cheerleading together, had countless sleepovers together, went to proms together, graduated high school together. It's hard not to have them in my life anymore. I regularly talk to them on Facebook, but not being able to see someone for years changes things. It's hard not to see my family either, I've always lived in a 20 mile radius of my entire family. All my grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, my parents and brother so it's hard not being around them. I literally feel like half of my heart is 5,000 miles away.
   I'm hoping things will get better for me (that's what everyone says will happen) but it's hard to stay positive. Until it does I'm just going to keep throwing myself into this blog and trying to make someone else's day :) If you live near your family and have friends that you love like family, hug them tight and appreciate everyday you do have with them. 

               

               

{source}

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YUMMY Baked Doughnuts

   I spend about an hour a day on Pinterest (I have no life) and I have a TON of to-do recipes and crafts. Most of them sit on my boards and are never to be seen again. However, since starting this blog and still having no followers or comments (can ya'll see me or what?!) I decided to start doing my to-do's in hopes of attracting at least one person. Make me happy and love me and my random craftiness/blogginess? I don't take rejection well! Back to the original subject... DOUGHNUTS. YUM.
I found the recipe here at Whisk Together by Mary Ellen. The recipe and directions were very easy to follow, which was great because I'm a bread newbie. I've recently been baking my own bread and our house is so cold my yeast sometimes fails me. Luckily it worked out for me :)

Here's our doughnuts fresh out of the oven and naked!

And here they are frosted, glazed and powdered.

If there's one thing I can say about this recipe, it's that they were DELICIOUS. 

I've never had homemade doughnuts that weren't fried, but these were even better

than store bought. They weren't sickly sweet like some can be, and they were

as soft as a cloud. We ate them all. And I have no regrets :)

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Traveling Around

    Because of my husband's crazy work hours, we haven't got to travel a whole lot. We could easily hop on an ICE train and be in a different country within a couple hours. France, Belgium, Switzerland, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Poland, ALL surround Germany. Since we don't have any little ones yet, now would be the prime time to go, but my husband's working 12's and there's always some issue going on during a long weekend. Actually, every long holiday weekend we've had there's been at least one military involved DUI/ARI and in Germany they don't take it lightly. The last time we went to visit my Uncle in Heidelberg, my hubby got a phone call saying there was a ARI and he had to come into his shop (like an in-person recall to make sure everyone is accounted for). So we had to leave my Uncle's house immediately and get to his shop (about an hour drive, I was PISSED). I wouldn't want to be on my way to the train station and have this happen again, and we can't take leave right now either because they're undermanned. So basically it sucks. LUCKILY my Uncle has been helping us venture out. He took us out to explore Heidelberg and drove us to Bavaria and through Austria. It was breathtaking, I've never seen mountains like the Alps or the charming hotel we stayed at. 

The Madonna.

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My Guilty Pleasure

   One day while reading the daily drama news on Facebook, I saw that one of my good friends, Tamara, had posted a link to something called Diamond Candles. Ahhh, the day my life changed forever. See, I'm a sucker for anything smelly-good. Instantly intrigued I went to their website and as soon as my eyes hit that screen, I felt like Charlie entering the Chocolate Factory. In case you haven't heard about Diamond Candles, they're all natural soy candles that burn clean and are made in the USA. So what's so great about em' you ask? EVERY candle has a ring inside. That ring could be worth anywhere from $10 to $5,000!!! The candles are $24.95 + $ 5 shipping. You basically pay that for any other name brand candle at the store, but in these you get a free ring! I have ordered one for my mom, one for myself, and my husband bought me one as a surprise. 
    I've have Chocolate Truffle, and Cinnamon Roll. Chocolate Truffle smells like brownies baking in the oven, so if it's lit when hubby comes home he gets a little sad since it's just the candle he's smelling. Cinnamon Roll smells just like a warm gooey Cinnabon. I've had the Chocolate candle for a little over 3 months and I still have half left. I don't burn it everyday but when I do light it, I burn it for 3 to 4 hours. I know I probably sound like a salesperson, but I'm not affiliated with them in anyway. I just LOVE them. If you would like to see some of the rings people have found in their candles, you can click here. Here is a picture of mine:

I actually really like the rings I got in mine, and they fit too which is

rare because I have really long fingers and big knuckles. 

(I have man hands!)

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My Breakfast Made Over.

   I am so excited about this! We've all heard about Green Smoothies/Green Monster/Green Goo right? Basically some kind of smoothie with something green in it, whether it be spinach, kale, etc. When I first heard about it, I thought "Eww". But as I started to think about it, at some point we ALL tend to lack on the 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day. I won't lie, usually the only time I get veggies in my belly is during lunch and dinner (maybe 2 or 3 servings combined) My breakfasts on the weekdays are usually Cheerios or Shredded Mini-Wheats and a piece of fruit. On the weekends, we feast at breakfast. Pancakes and Bacon. YUM. 
  So hear me out... we could all use more veggies. 2 weeks ago I started drinking this smoothie, and since then I've LOST 4 pounds with no change in exercise. Wahoooo!




Healthy Breakfast Smoothie

• 2 handfuls of baby spinach or if you'd like, kale. 
• 1 medium sized banana.
• 1 cup pineapple, peaches, apricots, pears, or whatever fruit you'd like. (If using canned, it MUST be in 100% juice, no light syrup or heavy syrup). 
• 1/2 cup Nonfat Plain Yogurt. I use Stonyfield since that's really the only brand they have at our commissary. If I'm out of yogurt (which happens a lot, for some reason it takes the commissary forever to restock the shelf) I will use 1/2 c. skim milk.
• 1 cup cold water. 

This morning it was 1 banana, 1 c. peaches, 2 handfuls b.spinach, 1 c. water, 1/2 c. skim milk.

Blend well until smooth.

Voila! This will make a BIG glass, but drink it all, it's SO good. You won't taste 

the spinach at all. If you want your kids to give this a try,

call it a "Shrek Smoothie" :)

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Cleaning your Grout Made Simple. Crazy right?

   Yes, you heard me. Cleaning your grout simply. Our German house is ALL tile. Both stories which means a lot of work. I was googling around trying to find an easy solution because nothing I've tried has actually brightened and cleaned the grout. I found a product called "Stain Solver". When I went to their website and read customer reviews and saw their pictures I was absolutely floored at how great it worked. So I add the 4.5 pound tub to my cart and proceed to checkout. Sadly, they won't ship to APO addresses. Our APO address is our mailbox on base where all of our mail comes to. I can't use our actual house address because the German post has much different regulations. Most companies do ship to APO, this is actually the first time I've encounter this problem. 
    Anyway, I was pretty crushed but determined to find an alternative. Stain Solver is oxygen bleach. So I went to the mall on base to find another oxygen bleach brand. They had Oxi-Clean and Oxi-Magic. I settled on the powdered Oxi-Magic by Clorox. As soon as I got home I tried it out. 

• Start by sweeping or vacuuming your floor so there isn't any hair, dust, crumbs, etc.
• The package says to use 2 scoops and 2 Tablespoons of hot water which would create a thick paste, so instead I use 2 scoops and a gallon of HOT water. Swish it or stir it around until all of the powder dissolves.
• Work in a 3 x 3 area at a time. Pour the mixture straight onto the tile making sure it gets in the grout. Let the mixture sit for at least 15 minutes. You might hear little hissing sounds, that's the oxygen bleach working. The longer you let it sit the better it will work.
• After 15-30 minutes use a stiff grout brush and scrub the grout. Right away you'll notice how much lighter the grout is. After you've scrubbed the entire 3 x 3 area, use an old towel or suction up the dirty water. (I use my Bissell QuickSteamer to suction it all up.) 

Before

After

  After cleaning the whole floor, you might want to consider sealing the grout so dirt and other debris can't stain and dirty the grout. I wanted to add that if your grout is very old and chipped, it may not be a good idea to use this since it can further weaken your grout. Another side note is that this will not bleach or stain your clothes or towels. I actually pour a scoop in my laundry to brighten our clothes. Also, I'm not affiliated with Clorox in any way, I just love this stuff. It's very versatile and basically does the scrubbing for me.

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Clean and Organize Your Fridge

   Most of you are probably scratching your head wondering "why in the world someone create a tutorial on how to clean and organize a fridge?!" Well, obviously we all know how to clean, but choosing a cleaner safe for your fridge and food to be exposed to can be questionable. Organization? I think we all have our own version of "organized". I thought my fridge was pretty clean and somewhat organized until 2 days ago when I opened it and the foulest smell ever hit me right in the face. Ok... time to get this baby clean.

Fridge Before. 

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First Hand Experience for a Successful Overseas PCS Move (will be a LONG post)

    So, you just found out you have orders overseas? First of all, DON'T PANIC :) I know it's easier said and done, but there's not much you can do until you actually get your "hard copy orders". That's what makes it official, and your hard orders usually come 3 to 1 months before your departure date, which yeah I know... doesn't seem like a lot of time.  The military member will receive a big long checklist in their government email that he/she needs to check off as they go. Once you get your hard orders, make 20 copies. The one big important thing to do first it to go buy an accordion style binder/file and keep EVERY receipt and paper pertaining to this PCS in it. Keep it with you at all times, even on the plane. Very important!  

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Being born into the Blogging world.

Well, if you know me personally, you will know that this is a big deal to me. Everyone says blogs are no big deal, it's not a life commitment, blah, blah, blah. I'm a Gemini, therefore I basically have two sides to me. A wild side and a more tranquil side. I'm pretty indecisive, well kind of. If my hubby asks me what movie I want to watch, I say "Ehh, I don't care, you pick," I do care. I mean, I don't care what he picks as long as it's not Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom for the 20th time :) So all in all, this was a big decision for me. I don't like to disappoint, so wish me luck. Pin It