I'll be back...until then, check out the Archives!

Hello my invisible audience!
I am excited to share that I will be taking some time away from Just Plain Joy for the next few months...Why am I excited? Because I'm going to be practicing some of the tried-and-true words of wisdom that I try to advocate for on this blog...family time, "me" time, simplicity, organization, and green living.

As I have shared, I have been recovering from a broken foot for the past four months. I am facing another month (or more) of recovery time and have decided to release myself from some of my commitments until I have fully recovered (including this blog). Also, my mom finally has a date for her kidney transplant (July 15) which our family has been looking forward to for several years. Finally, I am approaching the last stretch of my maternity leave before I return to work full time, and I hope to enjoy every minute with my daughter (who is much more active these days).

So, when will I be back? I plan to return to Just Plain Joy at the end of the summer. I know I'll be refreshed and have tons of great content, so I hope you will keep me on your blogroll! If you are new here, please continue to take a look around through the archives!

Sunday's Super Simple Solution: Dawn Dish Soap

My husband recently returned with our dog from the beach, and the dog had stepped in a big ball of tar. A quick google search recommended Dawn Dish Soap. Amazingly, it took the tar right off!

Other interesting uses for Dawn are:

1. Face wash.

2. Ant killer.

3. Flea shampoo.

4. Stain remover.

5. Soap scum.

6. Oil on driveways.

7. Cleans floors.

8. Cleans refrigerators.

9. Cleans leather furniture.

10.Spray down your lawn with soapy water and allow the grass to absorb more sunlight and fertilizer.

Have you tried using Dawn?

Friday's Fun Find: Photo Fiddle

Now that I have perfected my photo archiving system, I can't wait to try Photo Fiddle. I heard about it first from one of my favorite blogs Berrie Sweet Picks.

At Photo Fiddle, they transform your photo into a framed piece of art. You can upload the photo of your choice and make it into a photo collage, oil painting, charcoal sketch, or one of the other dozens of options they provide.

Now, the hard part is deciding which photo to choose!

Sunday's Super Simple Solutions: Rolled Magazines in Knee-High Boots

I've been doing this for years, and I found this great photo from an article in The Sun Chronicle on how to get the most out of your wardrobe in these economic times.

The secret to keeping your knee-high boots in great shape is to stuff them with rolled magazines. A nice thick magazines works best, so pick In Style over Newsweek.

Friday's Fun Find: Future Me

FutureMe.org lets you write your (future) self a letter to be delivered via email. The site has very few bells and whistles. Simply draft an email to your (future) self, provide your email address, and enter the date you want to receive it. This is not a reminder service, and they do require that you send your letter 90 days in the future. If you think this is a cool idea, check out their new book of public (but anonymous) letters.

photo by Inoteboom

Tuesday's Top Pick: Crunchy Chicken

Today's Top Pick is the Animal, Vegetable, Miracle series from Crunchy Chicken. My sister's book club is reading the book, and she turned me on to the Crunchy Chicken blog. This is one of my favorite books, and Crunchy Chicken gives a great synopsis with thought provoking editorial comments.

This environmental blogger has been around awhile, and I am still finding new interesting posts on her blog. She claims to put the mental in environmental.

Click here to purchase a copy of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

My Favorite Things: MOXI

MOXI helps me watch less t.v.

Back in October 2008, I wrote about paying for cable. At the time, I signed up for a six month promotion which recently ended. I called my cable company to find out what promotion I could sign up for next and decided to upgrade to MOXI.

Typically, upgrading my cable would go against my general philosophy of simple living and minimizing television. But, I'm loving MOXI because it actually helps me watch less t.v.

I have programmed it to record all my favorite shows, which I am able to watch at my convenience and fast-forward through commercials. I also like the fact that if my husband and I want to have a conversation, I can pause what I'm watching and pay full attention to him.

Have you tried MOXI (or another digital recorder)?