How to Clean and Charge your Car Battery

Car Battery Tune Up

After getting both my kids buckled in the car, I went to start my car and to my disappointment it wouldn't start.  My battery was dead.  With my husband always gone at medical school, I called my dad to figure out what I should do.  My dad walked me through, step by step, on how to freshen up my battery and recharge it so my car will work again.  It was not difficult and every girl out there should know the basics of a car battery tune up.

First of all it is important to invest in some sort of tool set.  When I first moved out to the country I realized I needed two things to survive: a gun and some tools.  The gun is for protection and the tools have saved me so much time and money!

When I first popped my hood and found my battery, it was not looking too good.  The first thing you should do is clean it off.  I always take a cup of water and add baking soda to it and stir up.  Then slowly dump the mixture all over your battery.  There should be foam where ever the baking soda hits the dried battery acid. You may need to repeat this several times.  Once the foaming stops, pour one more glass of water to clean everything off. 

 

Once the you have cleaned the battery, it is important to clean off the terminals.  Loosen and remove the bracket around the terminals.  Take sand paper and rub all around both terminals.  After this, hook up and tighten the terminals.

The last thing you need to check is the battery acid level.  Take an old rag and a flat head screw driver and slowly pop open the battery lid.  Be careful because anything you get battery acid on will be destroyed.  The acid level should be about 1/2 inch from the top.  If the fluid level is low, add some distilled water and put the lid back on. 

Once the battery has been cleaned, hook up a battery charger.  Depending on your charger, it could take several hours or over night to charge your battery.  Once your battery is charged you should be ready to go and you can pat yourself on the back because you just took tuned up your battery without the help of your husband...heck yeah!

How to Create Freezer Meals

Crock Pot Mania

I have been struggling with deciding what to cook and being motivated to cook each night.  Some days I am just simply too tired and I just want to eat with out putting in the effort to cook!  I decided to make some freezer meals that just need to be thrown in the crock pot at noon and voila dinner is served that night.  It took me two days, but in the end I had 18 dinners in the freezer!  Here is how I pulled it off:

Day 1

Organize your shopping list to make getting groceries simple and quick.  I always organize my food list in order of the store I shop at.  List all the categories:

Produce

Dry

Meat

Dairy

Frozen

Other

List all the items needed under each section.  Print it out and you are ready to go. 

Buying the groceries can seem like a daunting process, but if you follow your list you can hit each section in the grocery store, get what you need, and get out before hours go by.  I am all about efficiency!  Then come home, unload everything and relax!  If you feel up to it start cooking, but if you are like me, going food shopping with two kids under the age of 4 is draining and I need to be fresh if I am going to attempt to make 18 meals!

Day 2

Prepare and assemble.  Label each ziploc bag with name of dinner and directions on how to cook it.

Begin cutting up all vegetable that go into the dinners.  I had to take a break cutting the onions, but other than that cut everything up and place in bowls.  This makes assembling easier. 

After about 4 hours of cooking and assembling this is what I had to show:

Potato Soup

Chicken Dumplings

Bow Tie Casserole

Tin Foil Dinner - Chicken style

Tin Foil Dinner - Hamburger style

Teriyaki Chicken

BBQ Chicken

Spaghetti and Meat sauce

Lasagna

(2 Dinners for each)

Some of the dinners

Not a crock pot meal, but a must have for freezer meals!

I opened up a dance studio to help support our family while my husband attends medical school.  I will use 3 meals each week (the nights that I teach) and I will have meals for 6 weeks!  At least my husband can't complain about me not cooking for a little while :)

How to Create Fresh Peach Cobbler

I just got back from the farm, and my father-in-law sent us home with a basket of fresh South Carolina peaches.  These are freestone Elberta peaches, and they are amazing!  Here is my new favorite Peach Cobbler recipe.

Fresh Peach Cobbler

Ingredients:

- 6-8 fresh peaches, pitted and sliced

- 1 cup water

- 1 yellow cake mix

- 8 oz of cream cheese (softened)

- 1/2 cup of butter (melted)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F

2. Spread peach slices evenly into a 9x13 inch baking dish.  Pour 1 cup of water over the peach slices. 

3.  Combine cream cheese and yellow cake mix.  Mix until crumbly.  Spread mixture over peaches.  Pour melted butter over everything.

4.  Bake for 45 minutes, until golden.

Enjoy!

How to Create a Wall Display of Pictures

Supplies you will need:

-  Chain

- Paper Clips

- Pictures

- 4 Nails 

- Hammer

I bought about 4 yards of black chain to match the black furniture in my daughter's room.  I cut my chain into 2 equal pieces.  Measure and mark where your nail holes need to go on the wall.  Then nail the ends of each chain into the wall.  Do one chain at a time so you can decide how much you want your chain to sag and then match the second one.  Once the chains are hung, start hanging your pictures with paper clips.  That's it your done!  This is super easy and a great way to display a lot of pictures without having to pay for expensive frames.  

You can also use ribbon, rope, or whatever you want.  Be creative!