My Bathroom Just Keeps Getting Cheaper!!

I can't believe how much money I'm saving in the bathroom. I'm going to have to work out exactly how much I am actually saving on a fortnightly basis and start actively SAVING that money by putting it into my land account.
Since I moved here to Arno Bay I have:
* used a crystal deodorant for an initial outlay of $7 and it looks hardly gone at all.......will last years I reckon
* been using cornflour as talcum powder for an initial outlay of $6 for 5kg and $2.50 for shaker..................again, will last years & years, don't reckon I will EVER have to buy it again
* using microfibre cloth as cleanser and exfoliater for an initial outlay of $1.50 for 2...........I bought spares but keep giving them away LOL
* using witchazel as a toner for an initial outlay of $4 for 250ml.........I put it into an old Dermalogica atomiser and it just keeps going on & on & on
* ditched all my exxy moisturisers and now use Cetaphyl exclusively for an initial outlay of $20 for 500 ml.........bottle is only about 2 cm down, I reckon it'll be good for at least a year
* Emjoi for hair removal for an initial outlay of $120............a smooth finish identical to waxing from the beautician (not that there are any around here anyway so also factor in the fuel to get to town for the waxing!!)
* cutting and colouring my own hair for a cost of about $30 every 2 months

This weekend I have made shower gel. I found a cake of Body Shop pink grapefruit soap. So I grated it in the food processor, then added it to just a bit less than 1 litre of water and 2 tablespoons of glycerine and melted it altogether over low heat. I also added some sorbolene cream and a tiny drop of red food colour. Then I put it into my 1 litre pumppack and VOILA!! Shower Gel!!
I looked it all up on line and the cake of soap costs $4.95 from the body shop and for 250mls of pink grapefruit showergel they want $12.95 I made 1 litre for a hair over $5
WOOHOO
I also made a body scrub. 1 cup of olive oil, 1 cup of cooking salt, 1/2 cup of lemon juice and some food colouring. Just step out from under the direct flow of the water and appy, then rinse off. Luscious! Am going to add some essential oil when I get some nice ones.
AND I made some vanilla oil .......... just added some vanilla pods to baby oil.... flick as much water off your body as possible then apply a small amount, then blot yourself dry with a towel. Skin feels so soft
A-A-AND I also added some vanilla pods to a bottle of sorbolene cream and the smell is absolutely divine.
So these are all tried and tested money savers that really do work. You can all go ahead and try any of these tips with absolute confidence. Enjoy the extra cash you will have in your pocket!
Next time I'll tell you all about my laundry
Cheers

A Decision Has Been Made!

Phew!!!
What a busy week!
Have done 72 hours. Wish I could again too because next week I'm back to a boring 30 hours for the week.
I'm really lucky to have 2 jobs that I enjoy doing and 2 bosses that I really like and respect and admire. Not many people can say that about ONE job, let alone two.

Busy Days - Quiet Nights

Nothing to blog about.
Boss is away again so am "minding the store".......... Literally! LOL
Long days.
Strangely tho, am having a lot of trouble sleeping, despite being exhausted at night. Hmmmm, don't know what's going on there.
Till next week

my current hairdo

I just realised I haven't put up any pics of my new head.

Am so sick of straightening every day, I've decided to go 'au naturale' and rock the curls for a while

I can't believe how old and matronly I look

I know I'm 47, but Jeez........... Do I hafta look it?!?!?!?

Go the Vego!!!!

In my never ending quest for the ultimate diet food I have come up with -
Soynuts
1 cup soya beans soaked in at least 3 cups water for 8 - 12 hours
Drain & rinse, then blot with paper towel to remove excess moisture
Put into large freezer bag and add
1 tsp oil
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
salt 'n' pepper
Combine
Poor onto baking sheet in a single layer and bake at moderately high (375 - 390 degrees) for 15 minutes then stir
Bake for 5 more minutes then stir again.
Continue baking and stirring at 5 minute intervals for up to 45 minutes or so.
The length of cooking time depends on the amount of fluid the bean absorbs, this is all very variable, just make sure you mind the 5 minute intervals and don't let the beans burn.
Cool, divide into 40g servings and enjoy!!
A Warning
Be sure to cook the beans till they are crunchy as they are not very nice if they are under-done and chewy
This is NOT a warning!!
I bought several 1kg bags of soya beans for $2 a bag
Not taking into account the beans I wasted while experimenting to get this recipe right - a really, REALLY cheap and EXTREMELY healthy snack
Tomorrow.............. My cheap equivalent to weightwatchers 'Roasties'
Cya

Sunday Drive

I went for a little drive today. Did you know that May Gibbs (author of the Gumnut Babies) lived around here? The Gibbs family migrated here from England in June, 1881, when May was 4 years old. They settled on a property near Franklin River. Times were hard though, with the area being in the grip of a crippling drought. In 1885, when May was 8, the family walked off their property and moved to Norwood in Adelaide, then later that same year they moved to Harvey in Western Australia; then when she was 10, to Perth. It was during these formative years that the Gumnut Babies were starting to born.

A memorial cairn is on the Birdseye Highway just outside of Cowell, on the way to Cleve.

This is the cairn

and this is the area surrounding the memorial -

A bit further along, still heading towards Cleve, you can see the Mount Millar Wind Farm

The wind farm, previously called Yabmana, is between Cowell and Cleve, with 35 turbines covering a stretch of hilltops about 7km's in length. The farm can generate enough electricity to meet the needs of 36,000 average households. The turbines at Mt Millar are different to other windfarms because they don't have gearboxes and that is why they are larger than at other farms.

I love this stuff - it's so interesting!

Next weekend I might go to Darke Peakand see if I can get to the top of Carrapee Hill (aka Crappy Hill LOL). There is a fair bit to see around here, so I guess I better get my skates on and start looking at it!!