Can You Use Fabric Softener as Detergent?

At our last apartment my husband and I noticed a smell. Over time we also noticed that our clothes had begun to pick up the smell, and to this day we have yet to get the smell out of our clothes. Over the summer I decided I would purchase some scented laundry detergent (since what we had was homemade and virtually unscented). I went to the store and looked through the various bottles and boxes and found Gain's Moonlight Breeze "detergent". It smells so good! I knew it was just what I needed. I took it home and used it all summer and probably would have continued to use it if it wouldn't have been for a friend exclaiming "I didn't know you could use fabric softener as detergent!" And that, my friends, is what caused me to look a little harder at the bottle and I faintly read the words "Fabric Softener". Well, of course, I was embarrassed. But this posed the question:

Can you use Fabric Softener as Detergent?

And here are my findings!

The short answer is no- Fabric softener and detergent ARE different. Detergent cleans your clothes, while fabric softener helps control static, soften your clothes and adds some yummy scent.

Fabric softener is also added by your machine during the rinse cycle so that it is diluted and doesn't make your clothes oily. 

Fabric softener will NOT clean your clothes, however it will mask your clothes in scent. This can either be good or bad. It could either be like a teenage boy drenching himself in cologne after gym class or it could be like showering at night versus showering in the morning- no one will really know. For us it was the former. Our clothes smelled good right out of the dryer, but after being worn throughout the day we always thought we stank (because we probably did). And we didn't stink like our old apartment anymore, we stank like body odor. Gross!

I read it put like this: "Think of it like shampoo and conditioner , detergent is shampoo [and cleans the clothes] and fabric softener is conditioner for your clothes." (http://www.todaysmodernwoman.com/cleaning-laundry/142207.htm )

In this article she also says that from her personal experience, she has had clothes stain from fabric softener being poured directly on them! 

Ultimately I wouldn't even recommend it when you are desperate, but you may decide otherwise. The big turn off for me was realizing my clothes weren't really getting clean. All that dirt, sweat and grime from the summer was only getting watered. And the mask of the fabric softener scent didn't really even last throughout the day. 

I would recommend reading your labels carefully before checking out and even looking up the brand and scent online if you are not 100% sure!

If the Lord Wills..

Well the summer has been FLYING by! I can't believe that we are almost half way through July.. That means we only have about a month left before we leave to go back to Rolla for the fall semester. Crazy, I know. Our internet history shows a lot of links to apartments and a lot of new bookmarks for listings. AND we've already scheduled a day to look at apartments in person. It feels like our summer hasn't even started. We've been running around so much it feels like more work than when he was in school. With that being said, we've gotten SO much done! I've refinished 3 pieces of furniture, made a dress, sewed several long overdue items, and spent a ton of time with family members who live in this area. But now it is time to start making plans! We are moving... AGAIN! Sooner than we think! Just today I started organizing some things and boxing new things up. We have been talking about what day Luke will end his internship, and what day I will end my summer job as well. We've been talking about what day we should move, or if we should leave our jobs a little earlier and gradually move things throughout our free time. We've been talking about my job. Where will I work? How will we live? Everyone asks us if we've considered that we could move down there and Luke could start school and I could not find a job for a really long time. Then what will our plan be? Well, of course we've considered this. In fact it's a very scary thing to think about. That's a huge possibility. But, we believe that the Lord will take care of us, and if He wills for us to live on the poor side for a while, then we'll live on the poor side for a while and cut costs and pinch pennies wherever we can. We are both very excited to live on our own again. Living with Grandma & Grandpa is fun, funny, interesting and always brings something new. We have definitely gained a lot from living with them, and are so thankful for their willingness to let us live with them and invade their personal space. There is just something different to living on your own. It's a lot easier. And anyone who has been in a similar position as us, knows that I don't mean that in a rude or ungrateful way. It really is strange to think how fast this summer has gone. Our summer in Texas really did not seem to go this fast! Ah... Texas... that was only one year ago?? We cannot wait until we can get back into a routine! Maybe the fall semester will bring a little more peace than the summer! Eh... probably not. At any rate, we hope and pray that we will be granted a smooth move to Rolla and a great fall semester without the stress of me finding a job and easy classes for Luke. If the Lord wills, then great! If not, great too. We will be happy with whatever He wills because we know He knows best. Rolla, here we come!

The Dirtiest things..

Working at the front desk in a credit union there are several things I see that get touched every day, and I’ve determined that they may possibly be some of the dirtiest things found either in an establishment, or everywhere. And here there are, in dirtiest to cleanest order:

    1)   Money – Almost every employee in this building is touching money at some point during the day. 4 people basically touch it for a living. And probably 90% of the traffic we get is either bringing in money, or wants to take it out. And the money that we have has only come from somewhere else where people had to handle it and count it.

    2)  Door handle – coming in and going out, this isn’t something you can avoid touching (unless someone holds the door open for you or you open it with something other than your hand). If you expect to get in or out of the building, you better be expecting to touch a dirty door handle too.

    3)  Coffee pot/machine – Again, almost every employee touches this at some point during the day, and a lot of the members do, too. And not only do they touch it in the mornings when they are just waking up, it’s all throughout the day, every day.

    4)  Pens – Need to fill out a transaction slip? Chances are you don’t have a pen easily accessible at that moment, so grab one from the jar! Need to sign the document I just placed in front of you? I have a jar of pens just waiting! :)

    5)  The computer, mouse and keyboard – No employee can escape the daily task of starting up your computer and working on it all day. Banking doesn’t work that way. We even have a desktop in the lobby for our members to use, so computer germs are everywhere.

    6)  The phone – No need to go into the details on how many breakouts I’ve had because of the phone rubbing all over the side of my face. Think of how oily and germy this gets. Spit, breath, oil, it all gets on the phone!

    7)  Hands – You never know who has and who has not washed their hands after touching all the things mentioned above. Shaking hands could be the scariest thing of all!

Obviously I’m not trying to make anyone a germ phobic, but sometimes things just aren’t as “clean” as they appear.

Catching up with life

Getting married and becoming an "adult" I thought "this isn't so hard! I'm not nearly as busy as I thought I would be!" But then... came the move! The third move in our marriage. I think this move was even harder than the first one, even though the first move was when we first brought all of our belongings under the same roof. But this move is different. This move was to my Grandparent's house for the summer, where they are letting us use all their things and invade their personal space. So hardly anything of ours is getting unpacked. And that is a lot harder than I thought it would be. When someone asks you to find something in your unorganized mess. Or when your husband gets sick and needs a thermometer, essential oils, and Tylenol. This is also the first time we've moved and both of us started working right away. That makes things very difficult. Since we are so unorganized this summer, and with both of us working, it gives us very little time to get our lives in order. Which causes mass chaos around our home. We also love living so close to our friends and family, but it does make things much busier! Our social calendar is constantly full. Seriously, I got a planner and started writing down everything we did every evening and every day had something written on it for weeks! We have been running ourselves ragged. And just when I think we are starting to get on track, someone gets sick or we start catching up on things we've been putting off so we could be social and spend time with people, and we are just as busy as ever! Stress is something that has been sneaking up on me. I don't feel stressed, until I start to become unstressed and I realize how I was before. Kind of like the saying "You never know a good thing until it's gone" except this was a bad thing! It doesn't help that I also have planned projects for this summer, and they are *trying* to be in full swing. They are a little overwhelming, but they have deadlines, so they cannot be put off!
So here's what I've learned so far this summer:
1) Don't start planning social events with people until you're a little more on track and organized after moving. It has become really hard to turn people down and say 'no' because after being away from everyone for a year, I want to catch up with them and spend as much time with them as possible. But we are going to be here for the whole summer so waiting a week won't hurt!
2) Don't stress about the details! Things are going to happen without your "permission" but if you really let those things get to you, then you'll always be miserable!
3) How to pack! I should be an expert packer by the time we finally settle down somewhere!
4) It is rejuvenating to have so many people to help us and encourage us. We've truly missed our friends and family here!

Typing Errors can Make you Think!

There is a subject that most people don’t understand… lobe. The ear-lobe in particular.

Haha, just kidding. But really.. how many of us really do understand the earlobe? Not me! Why is it so squishy and soft? Why does it bend without hurting and without bones? How is it made to be pierced and not grow back together over time? What other body parts do we have like that? Our lip.. The lip is almost the same. It bends and squishes almost as far as we want. It can make funny faces and brighten people’s day. Isn’t that weird? That we can control our body like that? But then, we have body parts like the finger. The finger is made up of bones and muscles. It can bend and it can wiggle. Some people can twist their fingers into crazy shapes. Isn’t that something? Our arm, a most beloved limb, branches off into other tiny limbs (tiny arms) called fingers. They are built so similar! I don’t know how they’re built underneath, but from what I can see the finger has one joint at the base of the hand (like the shoulder), a joint in the middle (like the elbow), and a joint at the end (like the wrist). I often overlook that last joint, because most of us can’t command that joint the way we can the other joints. But… that last joint is busy going to work every time we grab something. A soda can, a pencil or a book to read. Even typing this now. Watching my fingers I notice that the tips of my fingers are angled so that I can hit the buttons easier. Imagine typing with straight fingers. It would be much more difficult! And another thing… what would it be like without fingernails? I know some people have short short fingernails to where they aren’t too useful, but they still do serve some purpose. They can still be something solid and hard at the end of your fingers to use when trying to open things up. Or peel things off. Try peeling off a sticker with just a little nub at the end of your finger. It’s not really going to work very well. God has made us with everything that we need to survive. To live and thrive and with resources. It’s the little things we have, that make it worth it. It’s the little things that we’d miss the most if we didn’t have them. 

6 Things That Probably Annoy you if you Work at a Credit Union!



If you work at a credit union, chances are you hear some interesting stereo-types. Here are a complied list of some of the most common things I experience working at a credit union

 1.   “I have accounts at the bank because credit unions just aren’t as good”
Where did you get that logic? I have this feeling that for some reason credit unions are viewed as the lesser fortunate of financial institutions. But there isn’t a good reason why. Credit unions have things to offer that big banks could NEVER offer. For instance? Less fees. We don’t charge for the small, everyday tasks of banking like a lot of banks do. Most credit unions won’t charge you to ask a question over the phone. Most credit unions won’t charge you for checking accounts (or require a minimum balance) and so many other things!!
  2.  “Credit unions can’t offer the same services that my bank can”  

     While that may be partially true, for the most part that is false. Credit unions, like banks, need funds so they can expand. If a credit union, or bank, has the money to expand their services and options for their customers/members, they are going to expand! There is a great deal of need to make sure each financial institution is competing with the newest and greatest technology, therefore a lot of credit unions have options just like banks do. Including phone apps, competitive credit card and loan rates, annuities and much more!

3. Crumpled up checks and cash.

     Branch capture (or the machine you run your work or checks through at the end of the day) won’t read those crumply checks! You have to constantly smooth them out on the edge of the counter. Seriously, how hard is it to just put the check or money in your wallet when you get it? ;)

 4.   Those that think that, because you’re a credit union, you must be desperate for business. 

      Trust me, banks and credit unions alike can be operating in the red. But they could both just as easily be operating in the black. Just because the word “credit union” is not as common as the word “bank” doesn’t mean that they are always tiny, inoperable institutions who never have more than a handful of employees because they don’t generate enough business.

      5.  People don’t understand that credit unions can almost always offer better member service than a bank. 

      Credit unions everywhere carry the logo “people helping people”. Almost all credit unions will not treat you like you are just another number, because to them, you aren’t! You are a valued MEMBER not customer! You are a member of the credit union in the way that you own a share when you open a savings account at a credit union.

      6.  “You only have one branch, how could I bank on vacation??” 

      Credit unions have thought of that too! It’s something that is very obvious to a lot of the smaller credit unions. That’s why they’ve created something called the ‘shared branch network’. It’s a very simple process. Say you open an account at a credit union in Illinois but you are traveling in Missouri for the day. But, you forgot to grab some cash before you left. No big deal! Some specific credit unions nationwide have teamed up to combine their networks so you can make deposits and withdrawals at other credit unions. It may even be more convenient than baking at a larger bank. For more information on the coop network you can go to http://www.co-opfs.org/solutions/locations/shared-branching/

 

Credit unions want and deserve your business than big banks in the same way that small businesses need your business more than the local supermarkets. They will treat you like you would treat you!

In the Moment..

In the moment everything seems so pressing. It isn’t until days, weeks, months or even years later that we realize that the things we were so stressed and bothered over truly didn’t matter. One thing I see this the most with is work. Everyone thinks their work is so important. They think they have to be there for their coworkers and work the long hours to be successful, or make the overtime bonuses. But then in the long run they realize something: I worked for two measly, extra hours, and for what? For an extra $50 and to miss my wife’s birthday. Or my child’s ball game. Or my brothers BBQ dinner. Is it really worth it? Does that money actually make you as happy as the memories you could’ve gotten from those activities? How could it? Money can make you happy. It can make you happy in many ways. But five years down the road, you aren’t going to think back and smile thinking about the time you worked extra hours for some paper bills. Money is not what truly makes people happy. Have you ever really had more fun counting your money than being out doing something you love with someone you love? How much more do those little things mean when you can truly enjoy them in the end.

Happiness Is Not Always Where You Think It Should Be

We think so many things in this world will make us happy. Enough money in the bank, movie night, that new car or maybe good grades. But it wasn't until my Husband and I started gradually moving our furniture to storage that I've felt really, really happy. We eat on stacks of blankets at the hope chest instead of the kitchen table. We aren't even high enough up to see into serving bowls that rest on the hope chest. I thought that would irritate me, but it really is fun. It's a surprise every time you dip back into the bowl, never knowing what you may come out with. Or coming up with new ways to sit so that you get a little bit taller. We have only two pieces of furniture in our entire living room right now, which makes it look so lonely in the day time. But what people don't know is: with all this empty, open space, it's perfect for nighttime pillow fights. We can be so serious at times, we forget how to let loose. How to let it all go and relax. Be ourselves! Act childish! Having fun doesn't have to be mature all the time. It's the little things indeed. The little things that make us smile the most, the little things that we never realize we need so much. They contribute so much to our long days, our busy lives and our hectic lifestyles. We need those little things so much! And I'm very glad I get a good chance to have them.

5 Signs You Know You're Married to an Engineer!

There are some things about my hubby that is different from any other kind of man! He has a personality that is shaped very uniquely. And I believe it's because of his engineer/science background. So I have thought up some of the things he does "differently", compared to other guys, and made them into a list. You may enjoy this if you, too, are married to an engineer!

1. He Thinks About Every Decision He Makes For a Long Time

          You ask a simple question, maybe expecting a quick reply, but you may as well forget that! Engineers analyse everything they do-big or small- and they won't give you a true answer until they have thought up every pro and con there is to the situation.

2. You Can Get as Emotional as You Want But He'll Still Remain Logical

         "What are the problems you are facing right now?" "How could a different choice have affected your current feelings?" "What could we do differently in the future?" These are all things your husband might come out and ask you when you have the blues, or are angry about something. Logic is their specialty. No need to get emotional when you can solve the problem with math!

3. The Computer is Part of Your Budget

         I had never even heard of a graphics card before we got married. Not until one broke and not having a new one was not an option. If only I would have known that a new tablet or an upgraded computer would take so much attention! ;) I never did like video games a whole lot, but I think I may need to start learning..

4. He Can and Will Make Tons of Things Himself

        Need a front airdam(??) on the car? How about some black garden edging! Feeling too warm at work? How about a makeshift "air director" on your fan! I never knew the possibilities were so endless! But he always did. Not to mention, never is he ever embarrassed about his homemade inventions... even when the garden edging scrapes any driveway you ever back off of.

5. You May Feel that His Introvert Mindset is Slowly Becoming More Appealing than Being Extroverted

       At times I have to remind myself that being outgoing and social really is more fun to me than sitting alone and not talking to anyone. But this point can go two ways. If you are talented enough, you may find your engineer love being more and more outgoing just because you are! Also, even when two really good friends, who are both engineers, get together they don't even need to talk! Most of the time they get together just to play video games anyway!

There are definitely things I have not covered here, but who has time for an extensive list? If you still don't understand the cute habits of our dear engineers, I would recommend this video. Even if you aren't looking for dating tips, he names a lot of the quirky habits of the men with the calculators!-- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mUFXFe765I

Time to Get a Move on!

On May 23rd, 2014 I married my awesome hubby! On May 30th, we moved to Texas. On August 16th, we moved again. Now, on May 16th, 2015 we are moving for the third time in less than one year of marriage. Yikes! This was definitely something I definitely did not think would happen when I agreed to marry a man still in college. But it is something that I'm getting sort of used to! Since our first move to Texas was only for one summer (to a fully furnished apartment), it really was an easy move and we didn't have to take too much. It was more of a long honeymoon than a move. But our move from Texas to the city where the university was... well, let's just say that was a bit more stressful. ALL of our things from before we were married were now finally coming together as one. We had two cars, a conversion van without seats and a moving truck filled with stuff. Who knew we had so much junk just starting out?? With this move came all the problems. Since we were several states away, we only could rely pictures of apartments near the university, and word of mouth. Once we picked an apartment, we couldn't see it in person! It was really challenging. With this being said, came our first problem. When we got to the apartment, every placement of furniture I had thought up suddenly went out the window. The rooms were not as big as I thought, and the spot where we thought the desk would fit perfectly was cut in half by a water heater! I sulked and whined for days about the desk being in the living room. I had no desire to keep it there (I was being totally unreasonable). Finally, that's just where it had to stay. There was no other spot in our tiny, one bedroom apartment. The other problems came as the move started to turn more into "settling in". I realized that my loving husband packed his dishes dirty! (his claim is that he washed them in the dishwasher and they didn't get cleaned, but by my standards they would still be dirty!) And there was also a lot of things at his Momma's house that he hadn't brought down yet. He complained about me having too many clothes, I complained about him having too many tools! It was a merry-go-round. That move was so stressful, I thought I never wanted to move again until he was done with school! Well.. here we are 9 months later, with another move! Back to our home town for a summer internship. However, this move, I have determined, will be smoother! I have made a list of every box, and its contents. And we have been gradually moving boxes to our new summer abode. Now, we are 2 weeks from moving day and I am thrilled! But also a little nervous. Will it be less stressful? What will the move back in the Fall be like? Will we ever stop moving?? Time will tell. All I can say is, at least I have someone with me who will make a house, apartment, mansion or shack a home wherever we go! :)

Why I Decide Not to Show off My Body

Why shouldn't we 'flaunt what we got', and let the men turn their eyes away? Is it our fault if, when we show a little cleavage, a guy is staring? Shouldn't they be responsible for looking away and let us dress how we please?
Every female wants to look cute, attractive, and wear clothes that flatter her body. But what is too much skin, and where do you draw the line for "modest" clothing? Is there even a need to be "modest"?

1 Timothy 2:9-10 says: In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
This verse clearly states that we are to have some form of modesty. And by the context of the rest of the verse, it is easy to see that here Paul is talking about outward modesty. The only problem is... there is nothing in the Bible that says "Don't wear leggings that show off your figure." or "3 inches above the knee is okay." It isn't that easy to tell what's modest!
We do have a good reference on how much skin is okay and not okay from Genesis 3:21. It says: 21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. This verse here says the LORD Himself clothed Adam and Eve, right? So by implication, obviously, these coats He made for them were modest, because He is the LORD. The Hebrew word here for coats is KUTTONETH which means 'meaning to cover; a shirt, coat, garment or robe' this Hebrew word is also translated as KATHEPH which means to clothe; the shoulder (proper, that is, upper end of the arm; as being the spot where the garments hang); figuratively side piece or lateral projection or anything: - arm, corner, shoulder (-piece), side, undersetter. From this passage I would say it is safe to assume that we should be wearing something that will cover our bodies as much as up to our shoulder.
It is not made perfectly clear in the scriptures how long our shorts and skirts are to be but if we look at the word "shamefacedness" in 1 Timothy 2:9 is also translated as 'bashfulness'. If you were to replace the word shamefacedness with bashfulness in that scripture it would make it more understandable as saying "Don't be so bold when you dress" in other words, keep yourself hidden. How much are we to keep hidden? In Exodus 28:42 Aaron and his sons were to cover their thighs to be pleasing to the LORD. While there is nothing said about women covering their thighs, I believe the passage here is a good reference point. Why should we show off the parts of our legs that are the most appealing to men? The idea here is that we shouldn't look for what the minimum amount of clothing is that we need to wear, it's that we need to make sure that we are always dressing in bashfulness when we get dressed, and pick out our wardrobes.
Hebrews 13:4 says "Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." We should never lead anyone to think sexually inappropriate thoughts by the way we dress. We should never assume it is the mans "job" to turn his eyes away, or control his thoughts and actions. We should WANT to help them not have that trouble. "And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." Mark 12:31. We should always act in love by dressing in a manner that will not cause our brothers to stumble.
When the Bible says that the Devil is a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, do we automatically think of ways that we can get as close to that lion as possible, without being devoured? In other words, do we push the envelope? We must make sure that we are always clothing ourselves with Christ (Romans 13:13-14) and showing that we care about our bodies and are acting with love towards our brethren.
Our adorable wardrobe isn't going to matter on judgement day, but it will matter how we dressed ourselves with that wardrobe.

10 Random Phrases of North America

Why the weird phrases?
Have you ever noticed that we use the weirdest phrases? "He's just the spitting image of you!" What? What does that even mean? How did someone actually come up with that phrase? It's almost like an inside joke that spread. Inside jokes are hilarious to the people that are actually in on them, but then they spread and everyone else thinks those jokes are nuts because they don't understand them. Here are some of the weirdest phrases that I came up with that are common in the United States. They may or may not make sense!

1. Spitting image
Seriously, how does this make sense?
2. Jumping the gun
If I was hearing this for the first time I would think it was referencing someone getting out of a sticky situation.
3. Bee's Knees
No Bee has any knees.
4. Costs an arm and a leg
How much IS that?..
5. On cloud nine
Personally, I prefer cloud 10
6. Piece of cake
Yum!
7. B-line
I think I don't know where that goes..
8.  The whole kit and caboodle
I've always wanted a caboodle.
9. Coin a phrase
Huh.. Ironic...
10. Happy as a clam
So, how happy is a clam?