36. Learn to make my own dish detergent.

After the success of making my own laundry detergent, I decided to take on making my own dish detergent.

Most of the ingredients are basically the same as laundry detergent with the addition of salt and citric acid (aka lemonade)

Homemade Dish Detergent:

1/2 cup washing soda

1/2 cup Borax

1/4 cup Salt

1/4 cup Citric Acid

Add all ingredients to a container.  Shake container.  Use 1 tablespoon per load. Enjoy!

I need to work on perfecting the perfect balance of ingredients as we have hard water, and it leaves a bit of firm on some of the dishes.  Other than that, I have noticed this mixture does not do a very good job of removing caked-on food, but I have found that pre-washing my dishes, or soaking them overnight takes care of this problem.

72. Bake 10 kinds of sweet treats.

One random Friday over the summer, I decided to make a treat to bring into work.  I ended up making strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese icing!  They were too good - and I must admit - fewer made it to work due to my appetite for sweets!

They were a big hit with the co-workers!

95. Watch fireworks with J.

While we were in Disney World - J and I attended the wedding of J's Stepbrother in Disney World.  We were so happy to be able to share in such a special event.  (Congrats JP + E!)

One of the most unique parts of the wedding reception was the private viewing area in which we watched Epcot's Illumination's fireworks.

We enjoyed coffee, cookies, and an ice cream bar while enjoying this...

What a magical trip!

The Fam!

71. Make 80 new recipes.

For our monthly potluck meeting at work - I broke out one of my Mom's favorite go-to's for entertaining.

Apple Cinnamon Dip

¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ tsp. cinnamon
2 cups finely chopped apples (usually about 2-3 apples depending on size)
8 oz. room temp cream cheese
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup sour cream
Chopped walnuts, pecans (optional)
Crackers for eating with dip

Preheat oven to 375.
Combine sugar, cinnamon, apples, nuts in a bowl.
In a separate bowl mix cream cheese, cheddar, and sour cream.

The original recipe has you put the cream cheese mixture on the bottom of the pan and topping it with the apple mixture for a more “apple pie” feel. Instead I…

Mix the two mixtures together then spoon to a 9 in. pie plate and smooth out. Top with chopped nuts. Bake @375 for 20 minutes. Serve with crackers.

My co-workers LOVED this one.  It will definitely be making an appearance at many more potlucks in the future.