Hontoon Island State Park: A Beautiful Island in the Middle of the St. Johns

Over the summer our cub scout master set a meeting for all of the den leaders to begin planning the new years scout activities. In this meeting he presented two new places as possible camping trips, Hontoon Island and Turkey Lake Park. One of them was designated as our December camping trip. The place was Turkey Lake Park. David and I being unsure of both of these places to explore what the had to offer. Turkey Lake turned out to be a big disappointment. Although it is a nice park nestled in the middle of Orlando, it didn't fit what we needed for scouts. So we took our next trip out to Deland, Florida. All we knew was Hontoon Island was in the middle of the St. Johns River. We didn't expect to find the beautiful natural wilderness that we ended up exploring.

We explored as much of the Island as we could. We took plenty of pictures, this included the youth site, nature trails, animals we spotted on our hike, the artifacts in the little museum and much more. This Island is free to visit for the day. Including the ferry. 

We took our findings back to our cub master and the camping trip was change. Needless to say we were not the only ones who fell in love with the place. Another camp out was scheduled for February. This place is peaceful, full of wildlife and beautiful. I will post some pictures with this post. If you are looking for a place to visit for the day or for a camping trip. They have tent sites and low cost cabins. In the front of the park they have [icnic tables, grills, and a playground. You can also fish. They only thing Hontoon island does not offer is swimming. My family will continue to go back to the island for day trips and for the weekend. Our cub scout pack will also make this an annual trip too.

Creative Clock: A Simple Way To Make A Clock Your Own

In our living room we had a clock hanging on the wall that we had gotten for free. It was a loony toons clock. Not something that fits our personality or decor in the room. As we were sitting on the couch My husband David got an idea while looking at the picture of our wedding bands that was on the wall. He turned to me and said what if we used this picture as the background in the clock. He said it would be easy to do. As he started to play around with it, he decided to try another picture (the ring picture was fitting quite right). He spotted a character picture that we had done of the 4 kids. David placed the face of clock over the picture. He adjusted the face as need to get the picture just right. The he trace around the face and cut the picture to size. He place the picture in the clock, reapplied the face and hung it back onto the wall.

So if you have a clock at home or you see a clock at the store that has the right shape and design that you like but doesn't have the background that you like. Then take it from David and add your own background. Or if after awhile you get bored of the same old background replace it. Choose a picture you like, print it out and measure it, cut it down to the size and shape you need, place it in the clock and hang it back on the wall.

Crab Ragoons

My husband and I love crab ragoons. Whenever we order Chinese we make sure to get at least one order of the crab ragoons. However with not having money to get Chinese all the time i decided to see how much it would cost to make the crab ragoons myself. $6 later I was home making crab ragoons. The recipe makes 24 compared to the 6 ragoons you get for around the same price. Not only was this recipe easy and cost effective they are only 41 calories. This recipe was created by a person on pintrest and I am so thankful that she shared her recipe and made it possible for me to pass it on. This recipe does have an optional ingredient of curry for those who like spicy. Also unlike the deep fried ones that come from the Chinese restaurant these are bake. This is part of the reason they are healthier. The combination of baking, addition of more crab meat and you choice in added spice these ragoons came out yummier than the ones from the Chinese restaurant. Below is the recipe for those who wish to try them out for yourselves. Bon Appetite!

Homemade Crab Ragoons


Makes 24 Crab Ragoons


A. 24 Won Ton Wrappers (found in the produce section next to the Tofu)
B.  1 Tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
C. 8 oz. of Crab meat
D. 1 tsp. Ginger
E. 2 ½ Tsp Curry (optional)
F.  ½ cup of cream cheese




Pre-Heat Oven to 375 degrees.  Spray muffin tin with cooking spray. Place one won ton wrapper in each miffin tin. In a bowl mix Cream cheese, crab meat, ginger and Worcestershire sauce. Note: I used a beater to mix but you can mix with hand until there is no clumps. Using a spoon add filling to each won ton. Then fold the corners of the wrappers over. You can use a little dab of water to get the wrappers to stick. Place in oven and cook until they are a light golden brown. After they are cool enough eat and enjoy:-)

A Cloudy Treat

Let's take a step away from the homemade cleaners and get to some homemade food. The first on I am going to talk about in this post is a fun treat for the kids. All you need is blue jell-o, whip cream and a wine glass. You make the jell-o the normal way. In the wine glass put a little bit of the jell-o. Then with a spoon place a small amount of whip cream, using the spoon you can make a cloud shape. then carefully place another layer of jell-o. You can repeat this as many times as you would like or until the glass is full. Then it is ready to serve. The kids will love it!

Hand Soap/Body Wash

Ok so I tried and fell in love with the laundry soap and fabric softener recipe. So I decided to try my hand at hand soap. It was a very simple process and I was able to use the remaining bar of soap from the laundry soap recipe. It makes a full gallon of soap. When it was completed I poured some in an empty soap container. It worked exactly how I wanted it too. The kids love it. I am finding because it is homemade that the kids find it more "exciting." They are now properly washing their hands before they eat, when they come in from outdoors, after an art project or after the use the bathroom. I do not have to remind them. Also with this recipe you can make body wash. I love Dove but the liquid body wash for Dove can be so expensive. I can spend the same amount of money for Dove bar soap and get 4 gallons of body wash out of. This one you have to play with a bit more. If you want your body wash to be thicker or soapier I suggest using slightly less water. This is also a recipe you can have the kids help you with. They can help shave down the soap using a cheese shredder. Its a cool thing and again a money saver!

Hand Soap and Body Wash




Ingredients:


Empty Gallon Jug
1 Gallon of Water
2 Tablespoons of Glycerin  (you can find with the band aide aisles)
1 Bar of soap


Note: You can choose any bar of soap that you want to use as either the hand soap, body wash or both.


Shred down the bar of soap (you can use a cheese shredder, I used a peeler). In a pot put in the gallon of water, soap shavings and the glycerin. Heat on medium/high heat till the soap is fully dissolved. At this point it will look like soapy water. Cool for 10-12 hours until the mixture is completely cool. Mix the mixture with a beater.  When you mix it should be the consistency of hand soap/body wash. If it is to hard use a beater to mix the soap while adding a little bit of water at a time till it is the consistency that you want. Pour into soap containers and add the remaining soap to a storage container. You may need to add less water for the body wash to make it thicker.

Homemade Laundry Soap And Fabric Softener

With a family of 6 I am always looking for ways to save money. Our family spends about $40 a month on laundry soap (and that is the cheap kind). I would only spend about $5 a month on fabric softener but because of the cost I would only use fabric softener on my bed sheets and towels. That was also not the only headache I had, I had old towels that were a good condition but through constant use had the musty old water smell that just would not come out. So I did some searching and finally on pintrest.com I found a recipe for both. I decided what do I have to lose. It took about $20 total to make them. The laundry soap calls for fels-neptha or  zote soap. However I like my laundry soap to have fragrance and did not want to spend an additional $5+ for laundry crystals. So I modified the recipe and bar soap that I like the scent of. It does the same thing as Fels-Neptha and Zote soap. Yes it does dissolve Most of the bar soaps come in a 4 pack, and you only need 3. You can use the 4th bar to make either hand soap or body wash but that is another post;-) 

With the fabric softener the person who posted the recipe (again on pintrest) use suave rosemary mint conditioner. Here again you can use any conditioner that you like the scent of. Also a concern my husband had was the vinegar ingredient. He was afraid everything would smell like vinegar. For those who feel the same, no there is no scent of vinegar on the clothes after washing. The vinegar in the fabric softener takes the hard to get out smells out. So after I made the laundry soap and Fabric softener (which took roughly 20 minutes) I tried it out. My clothes came out so clean and they smelled so good and yes they were very soft. So I decided to do a load of towels. Well needless to say the musty old water smell that I could never get out with other laundry soap and fabric softener came out with this. I am a firm believer that it must be the vinegar. I do not know how long the laundry soap and fabric softener will last or how many loads as of yet. You will have to check back. I am guessing I have maybe 4 months worth of laundry soap (give or take) and may 1 - 2 months of fabric softener (and that is using it with every load) this is with a family of six. I am also taking a guess that this will save me over $60 a month. We shall see! Below are pictures, the laundry soap would not fit in one container so there is 2. Also below is the recipe! 

Homemade Laundry Soap and Fabric Softener




Laundry Soap


A. 1 Box of Borax (4lb 12oz )
B. 1 box of Armor Hammer Baking Soda (4lb)
C. I box of Super Washing Soda (55 oz)
D.  Oxy Clean ( 3.5 lbs)
E. 3 Bars of Soap ( you can use any bar if you would like to add fragrance, its cheaper than laundry crystals, or you can use zote soap or Fels-Naptha)


Note: all of these are in the laundry Aisles except for the regular bars of soap


Line a large pan with a garbage bag. Pour the entire box of borax, baking soda, super washing soda, and oxy clean into the garbage bag lined pot. Use a cheese grader and grade the bars of soap and add it to the pot. Mix all of the ingredients together. Add to any storage container of your choice and you are done. When you do laundry all you need is 2 tablespoons of the laundry soap. Note: Everything in the recipe does dissolve.


Fabric Softener


A. 6 Cups of water
B. 3 Cups Of White Vinegar
C. 2 Cups of Conditioner of your choice 
Note: I used Suave Aloe -Vera + Ginseng but any conditioner that has a scent you like works.


In a 1 gallon container add the water, vinegar, and conditioner.  Mix the ingredients together.
Note: Do Not Shake It Will Foam up. After it is well mixed it is set to use. All you need to do is add about ¼ cup to the rinse cycle.