homemade laundry detergent in five minutes flat!

thanks to my dear friend victoria for gifting me The Naturally Clean Home for my birthday last year, i've been slowly trying out homemade cleaners.

here's one that i have been so impressed with the results.

Basic Laundry Soap Powder
*This recipe will wash six average loads, but you can easily double it*
1 cup washing soda
1 cup baking soda
1 cup soap flakes or finely grated pure bar soap (i use fels naptha brand)

Combine all ingredients and store in a heavy plastic container. Use 1/2 cup for an average laundry load.

A few tips... I have found all the ingredients at my nearby Winco and they are CHEAP too- this stuff is way more cost effective than any other store bought detergent. It smells so clean and fresh- not chemically at all. I bought an old box grater from my nearby thrift store and keep it separate, especially for grating the bar soap. I would recommend dissolving the powder in warm water in the washer before you turn the temp to cold and add the clothes.

Enjoy!

yesterday and today

yesterday it was 2012. today it's 2013! yesterday it was snowing and today we went bike riding!

to start the year off right, we took advantage of a spectacular day and headed out to the gorge to ride a trail we've wanted to for a long time. the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail is off i-84 east at exit 40 and goes for less than five miles in either direction. we saw bonneville dam and stopped in cascade locks for a burger and to warm our toes. the most spectacular sight was the places where water normally flows down freely are covered with ice and frost on the rock walls of the gorge. incredible!

besides getting the chance to be out in nature on day one of a new year, we were able to spend some time reflecting on the full year we had, as well as think ahead to the months coming. although i'm not a person who sets resolutions for myself, i would like to be mindful this year (LIVE WITH INTENTION). more on that later.

for now, i will rejoice that i flossed my teeth more in 2012 and went to the community center once a week to zumba. it's the small things, right? what's something you did in 2012 that you are proud of yourself for doing?

a week off... how wonderful!

i am grateful to my organization for a week off of work. it has been so refreshing! i was lamenting to luke yesterday that it's too bad we can't store up rest. me resting a lot this week does not equal me being any less tired when work starts up again. his retort: i guess we have to enjoy it while we can!

enjoy it we have done. here are some highlights.

the small, boring things like lots of sleeping in and cleaning all those things i never seem to get around to.

then, there are the things that only i would get excited about, like the REI used gear sale today or spending my Christmas money on an apple corer/peeler so i can dehydrate apples with ease! i have also been excited to try recipes from my new cookbook (homemade pantry by alana chernila). yesterday, i made strawberry peach fruit leather!

then, there have been the big things. luke played a jazz show with some of his out of town musician friends. we had our 4th annual ugly sweater party with friends, which was more fun than ever complete with our fried Evan dj-ing and a white elephant gift exchange.

we got to go visit some of luke's extended family at their house on the mckenzie river and enjoyed a dip at terwilliger hot springs in the SNOW! it was majestic and so sweet to spend time with family.

my parents are off in europe having a train adventure, so luke and i spent christmas eve with christian, church and soup- a sandor tradition! since all the nieces and nephews are far off in other countries, we spent christmas morning not opening presents, but snow shoeing with rusty and mary lou at trillium lake on mt. hood. the trees were heavy laden with snow and the silence of the woods was deafening. we are so lucky to live so close to such natural beauty.

side note: another tradition in the sandor family was the Pillsbury orange sweet rolls on Christmas morning. you know the kind- the ones in the can that pops open before you put them in the pan. this year, i tried my hand at a homemade version and they were delectable. never going back! look here for the recipe.

i have managed to squeeze the most out of this week off, and still have a few more days! plan to spend it reflecting on the year of 2012 and all that God has been doing in these months.

if i had to describe relaxation in one word...

it would have to be breitenbush.

the name of a retreat center out in the middle of the cascades where luke and i spent the weekend. we went to welcome winter, to celebrate his birthday a week early, and to RELAX! mission accomplished.

it was raining hard all weekend, and there was even a dusting of snow when we woke this morning. the perfect weather to enjoy many long soaks in the outdoor, natural hot spring-fed soaking pools. that plus an incredible vegetarian buffet at each meal, lots of rest, games, reading (just finished under wildwood by portland local colin meloy and i couldn't put it down!), exploring in the woods, prayer, mate, and down time with the one i love.

my body, mind, soul, and spirit feel refreshed. thank you abba for the creation of a place like that and for all the people who care for it.

a weekend, filled to the brim

three day weekends... the possibilities are endless.

luke and i managed to squeeze in lots of good things this weekend. a movie, caramel corn, roommates and good friends, bike rides, water aerobics. :)

we kicked it off with a work project with church, imago dei. we worked with a group of brothers and sisters from around the city to bless the local DHS office by remodeling the visitation rooms. we took down wallpaper, repainted, replaced toys and furniture and helped create a space that will hopefully be welcoming and help parents reconnect with their kids living in foster care during their weekly visits. i must say that one of my favorite things of being involved in a big church like imago is the reach that we are able to have in our city. my heart is beginning to swell for foster kids, especially as we get involved with Foster Parents Night Out (a monthly chance for us to hang out with foster kids as their parents get to have 4 hours of respite). i'm excited to continue to love on these kids in my community.

on sunday, we loaded our bikes on the bolt bus and headed up to seattle. we got to explore pike's place market, and met up with my cousin scott who goes to UW. the bus ride and the bustling market brought back sweet memories of south america. we even revisted a favorite latin american import store that has all things central and south american, including our favorite kind of yerba mate. scott rode the 30 miles with us to my grandparents in redmond, where my mom and brother met us. we enjoyed some good stories at dinner and then got to shake my grandma's world up a bit when christian, luke and i joined her for water aerobics this morning. my grandparents are beginning to show signs of aging and it sure does make me cherish the time i get with them, each time it happens.

feeling ready and refreshed for the week ahead. thursday is the last day of after school classes in my new school, so i'm looking forward to some down time and montana next week for thanksgiving with luke's family.

hope your long weekend was joyful.

one of portland's best kept secrets...

you know those things that make you absolutely love where you live? not like the weather or the distance to the mountains, but the little things.

like the people you always ride by on your way to work. or the mexican store across the street where the ladies know you by name because you're in there so much. i could go on and on.

for me, there are so many things like that here in portland, more particularly in SE portland. and one of those is BARLEAN's HONEY.

luke's sister leah stumbled upon this and now i want to pass it onto you. for $10.50, you can get a quart (pictured here) of local, raw delicious honey from bees that either enjoy the flowers right in their neighborhood or the wildflowers up in sandy by mt hood or the blackberry bushes along the springwater. that price is unreal! just today at the farmer's market, i saw another local vendor selling a quart for $18.

the best part of their honey is that it is sold at their house. there is a cabinet in front, kept unlocked. you get to pick your honey and just drop the money in a slot in their garage. i love their faith in humanity. :)

i won't buy honey anywhere else. and once you experience the "honey house", i guarantee you won't either!

what's one of those little things that you LOVE about where you live?

Happy 2nd anniversary to us!

to celebrate our second wedding anniversary, we took advantage of the three day weekend. we backpacked in the tillamook state forest at gales creek, spent the night at a little spot by the creek, and hiked out the next day. we took a quick detour to (the very crowded) tillamook cheese factory for cheese curds and ice cream before heading to the mcmenamins grand lodge, blackberry picking along the way. what a restful weekend with lots of reflecting, mate drinking, and just enjoying each other. after starting my new job last week (more on that later), it was so wonderful to be free of responsibility and clear my mind. i am constantly surprised by how well luke knows me :)

since we were backpacking and packing light, i didn't carry our camera along but took many mental pictures along the way. wish there was a way to share them with you.

as we were hiking, i was struck by some of the ways that backpacking is similar to marriage. in both,
*you share the load. individually, there are often too many things to carry and juggle, but when there is another, it quickly becomes manageable. i am especially experiencing this right now as i just began my new job and the hours are long. luke is quick to step up and do what needs to be done, where at different times over the last couple years, those things might have been ones i took care of.
*your partner can help you see the beauty you might otherwise miss. while hiking, luke was constantly pointing out different things that i was walking right past. plants, sounds, sights. with an extra set of eyes, our vision is increased.
*the other person can lend a hand to help you when you've fallen down. obviously, i fell while we were hiking. heck, i fall a lot even when i don't have a heavy pack strapped to my back. and luke is always there to get me back on my feet. in our marriage, he is one of the biggest sources of joy and helps lift my spirits when i am down.
*your partner can help you remember where you've been. if you're like me, who is directionally challenged sometimes, all trees and trails quickly begin to look the same. luke helped me remember which trail and direction we came from, guiding me to make sure we headed in the right direction. in our life, he is quick to remind me of the past, experiences we've had and how they shape us as we move forward.
*you take turns leading. depending on skills of each person and the situation, it is not always the same one ahead, setting the pace. although luke is the head of our family, that doesn't mean that there aren't times where i am leading.
*it's ok to admit that you made a mistake. on our hike, together we decided to go one way and quickly realized that it wasn't where we wanted to go. i am grateful that we were able to change direction with blaming each other or holding a grudge. rather, extending grace to each other is one of the most tangible ways we can be christ in our marriage.
*there is encouragement and opportunities to push the other person to challenge themselves. it is in the presence of a safe person that one feels comfortable to try new things and stretch themselves.

but the most striking thing to me was THE JOY OF THE JOURNEY IS MULTIPLIED WHEN SHARED WITH SOMEONE ELSE. i am thankful daily for the companion that God gave me to journey alongside.

not surprisingly, rick mckinley at imago dei is currently walking through a series on god, sex, love. listen to the podcasts here.

oh yes and one last thing. rusty and marylou came and joined us this weekend at grand lodge. little did they know that while they were relaxing in the soaking pools with us, their community Springwater was busy building them a deck at their house as a way to thank them for five years of leadership. click here to see their reaction to their new deck!