Friday Things
1. Joseph turned 15 months old this week, what?! After spending most of his first year under the 10th percentile for height and under the 20th percentile for weight, he has skyrocketed to 52nd for height and 76th for weight! If someone had told me two years ago that I would find a little toddler so incredibly funny and so much fun, I would have never believed them. He’s the best :)
2. I’m still a ways out from this, but a great article on not raising bullies.
3. What’s your favorite store-bought salsa? GO!
4. I don’t think I have enough time to knock all of these off before I turn 40, but definitely saving this list! >> 50 Books Every Woman Should Read Before 40.
5. Talk to me about Swiffers! Our entire first floor is hardwood/tile and we run a Roomba every night when we go to bed, so that helps keep the dog hair and any random dirt/crumbs at bay. I also steam mop, but probably not as often as I need to – it’s takes awhile to keep reloading the water, moving the power cord, etc. and I don’t like doing it while Joseph’s awake because I don’t want him to slip on the wet floors. So I’m wondering if a Swiffer that I could use quickly would help with the dust and little smudges in between steam mop sessions? Thoughts? Regular/wet-jet?
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6. A question for those of you that use metric measurements… I’ve been trying to include metric measurements in my new recipes, but I’m curious how large amounts of liquids are typically reflected? For example, I have 1,183 mL – write it as is, round up/down, use liters, like 1.2 liters? Teach me :)
7. Cinco de Mayo is coming up in a couple of weeks! What’s your favorite Mexican food? I’ve been a sucker for tacos since I was super little, and always nachos, of course.
8. What recipes would you like to see for the summer? Lay ’em on me!
9. Hockey playoffs! Are you watching? The first round is always so much fun, so much hockey to see! I just hope we can get over the first round hurdle this year!
10. TGIF! Duke wishes you a sunshine-filled weekend!
I really didn’t care for the Swifter Wet Jet, floor felt tacky after using. I do like the dry one though for my hardwood floors. I do the steamer, but can see your point with Joseph slipping. I do not have little ones around so this is not a problem. My steamer has a rather long cord, so only need to switch out twice.
Karla
I have a Swiffer Wet Jet on standby with their hardwood floor cleaner, just for quick accidents (dog, kid, people). If I need to clean the entire floor between regular cleanings, I prefer to use Bruce’s hardwood cleaner. It’s the only one I’ve found that doesn’t leave streak marks on hardwood.
As far as favorite Mexican food, arroz con pollo and quesadillas are up there for me. Emiliano’s has a great arroz con pollo, and quesadillas are a once a week staple in my family. I make them with leftovers all of the time…just change up the cheeses and fillings (this week was leftover pulled pork and monterey jack cheese).
Giant Eagle Thick n Chunky salsa (Mild, Med, & Hot) when I don’t have a batch of your homemade version around!
Hubby is old school…vacuum first, mop after…no pets in the house (sigh) so no shedding issues. Thanks for the photo updates on Joseph, what a lovely boy! I am also so “heart-fed” by the pictures of your kind, gentle and wise doggies. You can just see the “old souls” in them, the caretakers.
Wild Oats Organic Salsa , found at Walmart
I’m a grandma of girls and I always look forward Joseph’s weekly pictures!! Can’t wait to meet the new baby too!! you have an adorable family!!
Look into 7 layer salad. I had it many years ago and loved it,great for a summer party, and serves many
I also dog sit and am a seamstress…so lots of fur and threads. I love a dust mop and My red devil stick vac. It weighs so little and pulls up hair and dust rapidly.Got it on Amazon for about $20 use it al most daily.
Hands down Tomatillo Salsa from Trader Joe’s.
Oy with the crumbs! I have used the Swiffer before, but we started using the Bona mop since we moved into this house, and I like it better. It has two mop pads that are machine washable, one for dust and crumbs (dry mop) and one terry cloth one for wet mopping. It has the same spray trigger like the Swiffer, but I like the washable pads.
Joseph is a charmer….his photos ooze happiness! I would love to see recipes this summer using fresh “from the garden” and using herbs to freshen up flavors. The last few years I started growing herbs in pots, and the flavors of fresh herbs change everything. Love your blog.
Oh my goodness! Joseph is adorable! There’s a salsa I buy and totally can’t remember the name of it, but it has habanero peppers in there so it’s super spicy and delish! That reminds me, I need to buy more salsa :) Have a great weekend!
I use the o-cedar line that I picked up at the grocery store (Publix). They have washable pads and different types. You can use them wet or dry.
My absolute favorite salsa is Paul Newman’s Peach Salsa.
Favorite salsa? – Jack’s in the refrigerated section at Wegmans, unbelievably delicious!!!!! Joseph is so adorable! He’s getting so big! Have a wonderful weekend!
I’m a metric girl myself used to converting recipes, and I find it easier to round up measurements :) 1.2L is way easier to measure than 1.18L and there is no difference in the resulting bake!
We also have hard wood floors. We use a Swiffer in between using the steam cleaner which we also don’t do enough. Life is too short to constantly steam clean. We just use a regular Swiffer dust mop. You would be shocked at how much it picks uplease.
As for salsa, do you have Garden Fresh Gormet near you? It is made near me so I am familiar with it. Very high quality and fresh. The smell alone is intoxicating.
I love my swiffer, I use both wet and dry on our tile and wood floors in between deep cleans. Great price at Costco.
My husband and I are wimps and don’t like spicy so we like Jack’s salsa which we used to get the big one at Costco and they don’t have it anymore :( so now we have to buy it weekly at Kroger. I like Swiffer for in between or quick clean up of the dog hair it sticks to them great. The wet ones are also good for quick clean up on the tile but I mostly use them for our hardwoods. We have one dog with black hair that doesn’t seem to shed its our Chihuahua with golden hair that is EVERYWHERE! I saw a sign yesterday that sums it up, Our dogs hair sticks to everything but the dog!!!! And my husband is a Dallas Stars fan so ya….hockey is on! I sent him to a game as a surprise with his brother for his birthday in December, so glad they made the playoffs! BRISKET TACOS! YUM!!
I’ve always found the Swiffer products to be junk. They’re pretty cheaply made and do a very spotty job, plus the cleaning chemicals leave residue on every floor I’ve used them on — wood, laminate, and tile. I bought a Wet Jet years ago, and right out of the box only 1 of the spray nozzles worked. xD That went right back to the store, and I swear by my Shark Steam Mop now. To be honest, my go-to in between floor moppings (which are sadly few and far between, LOL) is just to take a sponge or Lysol wipe and spot clean the floor. Or at least, whatever the dog doesn’t take care of. ;) No one wants to break out the mop for a small spill, so I just end up cleaning 1 square foot at a time, though often it’s the same square foot in front of the sink or stove or fridge over and over again, haha.
Pace salsa! Always and forever <3
I have two dogs and use no chemicals on my floors. My favorite mop is Rubbermaid reveal. Washable heads and I use 1/2 & 1/2 vinegar and water in
the dispenser. My other floor saver is my Soggy Doggy mats. Amazing how much dirt they trap even off sneakers.
Joseph is so adorable. Don’t they grow up way too fast?
As for this summer, I just found out I have gastritis so I would love some recipes that would be kind of bland. I can’t have spicy or tomatoes. Is this a challenge or what!!!?
Love your recipes.
Joseph is so cute and adorable !!!!!
Just remember the Derby is coming up and there might be some parties
out there but then it might be an occasion to have a get together !!!
Happy Day everyone !!!!!
Tell me about your steam mop. What brand, do you like it, is it effective, is it heavy, etc. I have 3 pets and my house is tile throughout.
I have a Bissell PowerFresh steam mop. I think it does an amazing job and like it a lot. My only issue is that since our downstairs has so much hardwood, I need to refill the water a couple of times and switch outlets more than a handful of times to get the job done and it’s become increasingly difficult to get it finished while Joseph naps. If I weren’t trying to clean around a toddler’s sleep schedule I would have no issues with it whatsoever! :)
Joseph is just precious! He will be a loving big brother! His smile tells me that, it’s priceless! I like Top Crop salsa. It’s delicious and fresh. Have a good weekend!
Joseph looks so grown up!
For the metric measurements, I would always use litres and round it to the nearest 25 or 50 ml, so 1183ml would be 1.175L or 1.2L.
Great answer, Alice! I ditto this comment all the way. I cook with metric measurements all the time and was trying to figure out how to answer Michelle’s really good question. (Thanks, Michelle, for going to task so earnestly on this for us on the other side of the Atlantic! :-)
This is a great solution, and one that is easy to implement with metric measuring cups.
You take such adorable pictures of your family! My granddaughter is 3 months older then your son and remember when she was his age. Speaking of 3 months older, we are expecting another grandchild 3 months before you.
As far as recipes, I enjoy one pot/pan meals and salads that are meals.
OMG those shorts,that shirt, that smile and those little feet!!! He’s looks like a little man :) I could squish him.
I have 2 cats and one small Boston Terrier. I recommend a regular swifter. I use that after I mop to remove cats hairs moslty and a few dog hairs. I noticed my cats are the ones that she’d the most. I’ve been using them on my floor ever since I got my 3 fur babies. Seems to do the trick.
Although I’m Latina, not a fan of Tacos. More of a rice and beans kinda of girl.
Hugs and kisses to your fur babies. Enjoy your day.
Transitioning kitties to a wet food diet instead of dry kibble helps a bunch on the shedding issue.
Oh those precious feet. Nothing like baby toes! Your baby is adorable.
Mateo’s! So good and different!
My favorite store-bought salsa is Trader Joe’s Black Bean and Roasted Corn Salsa.