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Making a gravel pathway with stepping stones was easier and faster than I thought it would be! Try it yourself!

I have been slowly (as the budget allows) making gravel pathways in the backyard....we just moved into this house about a year ago so I am slowly getting things how I want them.....I have two pathways and a firepit area which I am going to slowly fill with gravel between now and when it gets cold so I can have a nice place to chill on the winter evenings....previously i made a gravel area and used trash bags from the dollar store( see link other gravel area i did using trash bags)....since this was a long pathway I decided to use a plastic dropcloth which was cheaper/easier.....my stepson and I were finished in a little over an hour!! What I thought would be an arduous job was in actuality very easy!! I am relatively pleased with the results....unfortunately someone had taken most of the pegs that hold the edging in place out of the bag so I didn't have the full amount of pegs to hold the edging so it is a bit off here and there but I am not one for precision anyway so it fits me to a T....no need to kid you or myself....I wing it most of the time anyway so why should this be any different? I could have driven back to the store but I wanted to get it done after putting it off for several days.

I already had a walkway with stepping stones in place so that made it relatively easy to do. Just submerge some stepping stones if you do not have an existing path of stepping stones or just lay them flat on the ground if you want. Lay out some black edging and tamp it into place using the stakes that come with it. I was not that happy with the edging until we did the gravel then I was happy. However I probably should have bought the metal type you knock into the ground but I thought it would be a pain with roots,etc....this just laid on top of the existing ground and was held in place by little stakes ( but again I was working with less stakes than I should have been so there is a slight curve to it but that can be fixed later if I want to do so). I also am not finished b/c it merges with two other paths so that makes mine a bit complicated on each end which hopefully yours will not be. I am not finished in those ends yet so understand that this is not 100% complete.

Here is the process end to end.....so easy try it yourself sometime....it was relatively inexpensive as well...I got the edging at Lowes for $10 i think it was and the bags of gravel ( i used four in this section) was $3 plus for each bag so roughly $14 for some gravel and $1 plus change for a plastic drop cloth....so all in all, under $30 to have a nice walkway ( well plus the cost of stepping stones but they are under $2 per stone) so for $40 to be fair you could have a nice walkway for your home or office!--Tips

this is what I started with....the stepping stones seen to the left curve to the left in an arch and so I stopped my edging up higher so the two paths would combine at the intersection....in the grass you see the cut outs in brown where the stepping stones were but we moved them outside the area we would be laying plastic. we also had held the plastic edging in place with stakes already.

this was a dropcloth I used in lieu of the plastic trashbags which worked but were problematic at the intersections btw bags....this made it an easy thing to deal with the plastic and it was cheaper than the bags!

just seeing how long the drop cloth would go...notice the edging on the left stops before the plastic does

we spread it out but kept it folded in half so no weeds grow through it....that is what the plastic is for....to prevent weeds growing through the gravel.....

we then laid the stepping stones back where there were initially placed ( if you do not have an existing path just lay them directly on the ground but you will have to bring your gravel level up higher or be ok with a slight drop between the gravel and stepping stones)

here is an image of all the stepping stones back in place on top of the plastic....again....my walkway combines with another one besides it that goes to the left in an arch so yours won't be as complicated....)

we then laid the bags of gravel on top of the stones and cut them open....you don't want them too close to edge b/c if you lose rocks you are losing money

i emptied mine on top of the stepping stones then wiped them off of them and toward the edging....make sure no rocks go under the plastic but instead lay on top of the plastic and hold it down....cover all areas of plastic

we ended up with some plastic sticking up which is not a big deal....you can either trim it with scissors.....

or we just pushed it down and covered it with rocks....

this is what we ended up with after very little effort.....I am very pleased with the result....so easy and took very little time....under 2 hrs....I think it took about 1.5 hrs if that! Again there is a slight curve to the path on the left edge but I was without enough stakes and if it bothers me I can push it in and hold it in place using a stake from the next set of edging I buy. Again, the ends are not completed yet but overall I am very pleased! Try it sometime and beautify your home or office!! So simple and makes a nice pathway!--Tips

How easy is it to dye your hair using foam hair dye? You KNOW it is EASY if i am willing to do it!!...

How easy is it to dye your hair using foam hair dye? You KNOW it is EASY if i am willing to do it!!......So easy you will think twice about paying someone exorbitant amounts to dye your hair when you could do it yourself for under $10 and under an hour!

I remember as a child my parents saying they had blond hair and I thought "yeah right!" b/c they both had jet black hair with hints of grey that me and my siblings had probably caused....haha....then again, they had a propensity for trouble brought upon themselves so who knows who is to blame?

Either way, as I have gotten older my hair has gone from light blond ( so light I had this one boyfriend who swore I dyed my hair b/c my eyebrows were so dark....whatever!) to dark blond/light brown and you and I both know what is coming next....jet black with grey....HELP....in comes the foam dye into play....the dye covers grey too for the record.

I am a cheapskate at best. Call me frugal call me cheap call me stingy ( no idea about the spelling? i am half asleep as i type this so it is staying....)....call me miserly.....whatever you want to call me that is fine but I am not payin' somebody to do something I can  EASILY do myself !! Foam dye makes it so simple I didn't even look at the directions this last time.....I knew the deal....you will too!

The hardest part involves driving your fanny to Walmart or wherever they sell foam hair dye in your desired color. Now do not fret too much b/c if your hair is fine like mine the color will not come out as light as they claim....I keep using light blonde and believe me, it only takes my hair down a notch....nothing drastic....so don't be too worried and agonize over the hair color selection too much....in fact if you are worried get a little bit darker dye than you want your hair and ease into it....it's fine, we all have to start somewhere and if that is what it takes to build up your courage so be it!

Ok so pick out your hair color....drive home....whew....that's the hardest part. Can you stand in front of a mirror? Can you sit in front of a mirror if you are in a wheelchair? Good. That's really all you need besides access to a shower....ok I will get to the point of this post....how to dye your hair using foam dye....

First you open the box. Try not to break a nail....i know it is hard work but you can do it.....haha

This is what I started with....you can use any brand you want....I just got the cheapest one....see above....I am a cheapskate even when it comes to something as important as my hair.....haha....I think it was all of $4

These are the box contents....in fact, it is best to open it before leaving the store because believe it or not people steal things out of the boxes and if you come home and don't see all the parts you are in trouble..that happened to me once....good thing I had not poured anything and wasted it or I would have been hot under the collar and had to drive to walmart AGAIN.....what you have here in the pic is a big bottle of chemicals, a little bottle of the dye, a pump nozzle and a tube of conditioner and a packet of instructions with gloves folded inside the paper.....

this is really all you will need to start the dyeing process......

See the big bottle....it says developer.....the little bottle is the dye color you chose....just pour the little bottle into the big bottle....oh SO hard....you may want to go lay down after all that exertion....haha

Ok once you pour the little bottle into the big bottle screw the nozzle into the big bottle....you are almost done....do not shake or swirl around or anything before you put the nozzle on as it will foam up....not the end of the world but you are dealing with chemicals....so use caution....and think of your eyes...you like your eyes don't cha?

Ok open that little paper packet and you will find two gloves....put them on.....chemicals and hands are not friends.....eyes and chemicals are not friends so if you have some sunglasses you can see in or safety glasses or just glasses it might not be a terrible idea to put them on....yes I said sunglasses....you don't have to be precise with this stuff....the main objective is protecting your eyes....don't worry....just don't be slinging the foam around and you will be fine.

Ok see that little plastic covering on the foam dispenser? Take it off and use it for something else....shake the bottle with the foam dispenser gently to activate the foam and depress the foam into your gloved hand. I use a towel around my neck held in place by a hair clip to protect my clothes or you could go naked on top if you prefer....but again, think chemicals....wear that old tshirt you sleep in you hope nobody ever sees you in....who cares if it gets another hole in it?....

You might want to section your hair into three sections and clip them in place to hold them out of the way....a towel and three clips is all I failed to mention above....sorry for omitting them from the items needed. Surely you have an old towel somewhere.

....I usually just pump some foam into my palm and start smearing onto the  hair part area first....I really get that part wet then I clip my hair into three sections and just start smearing the foam from end to end and I even get it underneath....but make sure you get all three sections at least once before you go overboard on the foam.....then come back around and get the underside,etc....just do what comes naturally....there is no right or wrong way to do this....really it IS foolproof....

So smear away and make sure and get the back too....just cover all your hair before the foam runs out is what I am trying to say.....the foam will turn greyish when you get near the bottom....just a headsup for your

fountain of knowledge and so you don't freak when you see it....haha

So cover your hair with the foam and I leave mine clipped up in a pile on top of my head. Leave on for whatever the package says.....mine says 30 min but some friends of mine leave it on for an hour which I did once but I was afraid my hair was gonna fall out.....I didn't see any noticeable difference.

After thirty minutes step into a shower that is warm not hot and rinse the dye out and put the conditioner in a tube on your hair for 2 min and then rinse ( the instructions will tell you all this so doublecheck )

That's it. Really was simple wasn't it? I TOLD YOU SO!!!--Tips

PS. Now go spend the money you saved on an outfit to go with your new look....you look FABULOUS!!

We made some cute red/blue biscuits and red/blue grits for Labor Day!

 First of all I am no health nut by any stretch of the imagination. But even I found myself wincing about the food coloring and chemicals in the dye....I ate around it truth be told and barely touched my grits....next time I would probably add less dye and maybe just dots of color on top of the biscuits or something....I didn't add that much overall and it really retained it's color I am happy to report....I used the food coloring gel not food coloring drops. Either one will work.

Yes I know. Bad for you. Bad for your kid. Even bad for the dog. However if you knew what was in half of what you ate you wouldn't eat it. I don't think it is too bad in very limited doses. So keep your opinions to yourself. Eat what you want. Feed your family what you feel is best for them and I will do the same. The point here was to experiment and do a fun little thing to jazz up our Labor Day breakfast. You could also cut toast into star shapes using a cookie cutter as well.

Here are some pics of how things turned out. Visually excited about it but realistically afraid to eat them. Haha. However, my daughter loved hers so a success in my book. Yes I fed it to her and even to the dogs. Poor things under my care. If hubby was home would have fed it to him too. I am an awful beast what can I say?

Happy Labor Day Everyone.....hope you have a great one! Spend it with family and friends and fill their food with dye....it's an American tradition! :)---Tips

Gnocchi Supreme

Well if you have been following my blog you know I fly by the seat of my pants whenever I am cooking usually....at least that first time....after that it goes something like this...." now what did I put in this or that? I can't remember....Oh well" and I push and pull together various ingredients in the kinda sorta same way.....so in other words....extreme precision is the way I roll. Should be a surgeon....hardy har har. :)

In fact, the hardest part for me is usually coming up with a recipe title. The rest is easy. Just imagine what items you think would taste good together and combine them. Easy enough right?

So it was a late night for dinner ( i had taken a nap and woke up to find all the men helplessly waiting for me to cook....sigh....they can operate all kinds of heavy duty machinery but not a can opener....haha....seriously, I say that but if they go in my food I complain they used this or that of mine that I didn't want eaten so it 's a double edged sword....)

Am I ever gonna get to the point here and spit out the recipe?....I can read your thoughts apparently ;)

So anyway, it was late for dinner I needed something quick....I scrounged around and found 2 things of gnocchi in the shelves....hmm....2 thing gnocchi for 5 people....not happening....

so I opened fridge saw where I had some diced ham....ok....meat and potatoes is supposed to calm the men folk down and open the key to their heart or something....haha

Found some alfredo sauce in the cupboard. Don't eat it much. Too artery clogging and my friend's mom who was a nurse called it "a heart attack on a plate" and ruined it for me ( just as well my legs and butt don't need any more help growing) ....but hey I was desperate for some kind of sauce and didn't want red sauce....

Asked my daughter for some peas....Nothing doing. Would have been good but such is life. And you thought men did the hunting for food....haha....apparently I was in need of some camouflage clothing that night

Thought of using broccoli but didn't have any....but my stepson did find some cauliflower in the freezer and I found some broccoli stirfry in a bag and as usual broccoli was in short supply but stalks were plentiful....haha

Man am I full of myself this morning or what? ( oh that's every sec of every day....you are right! hahah)

Ok so I was content with the concept of gnocchi, white sauce, ham,cauliflower and one broccoli stalk.  So I began to assemble said ingredients.

I had that  alfredo sauce for a long time before using it.....you could use a half or another cream based sauce if you prefer....I just had it on hand....alfredo is not my first choice....to packs of gnocchi ( my dollar store has it but seen it in grocery stores as well) and some cubed ham leftover from another culinary adventure

Two bags of veggies.....my only regret with this is only one broccoli stalk....but I did find some mushrooms, some carrots and some onion I added to the water along with the gnocchi

water with cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms, onions and carrots boiling

once I added gnocchi water level rose....

I didn't add meat to the boiling water as it makes it tough

Boiled gnocchi til it rose to the top and stirred it gently since potato dumplings more or less

Decided probably needed a little something so added some seasoning to my drained gnocchi mixture

Dumped in sauce and about a half cup to a cup of ham ( about a 1/3 of the bag) and stirred very gently since potato dumplings are fragile in my mind at least.....again, it would have been much prettier with some more green broccoli stalks in there to add color ( hard to see the cauliflower that's for sure)....It was very yummy and when you use cubed ham you don't need alot of meat when feeding large groups of people....I tend to use little bits of meat dispersed over a casserole to feed my crew....couldn't possibly afford individual meat for each person....even if I could afford it too frugal to do it.....haha

I bet this would be good cold too.... can't you just taste those creamy little potato puffs now? You could use mayo if you were doing it cold.....Either way hot or cold yummy for your tummy!--Tips