Being The Person

My Last Meal

2009-01-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

There are times when, after eating something particularly delightful, I will declare the food item worthy of my last meal should I ever find myself on death row about to be executed.

But really, that's just a crazy thought because one can't have everything for their last meal. So I've chosen to narrow down the selection to a few of my favorite things. Here is my last meal should I ever find myself in the unfortunate predicament of being on death row:

Main course: Cheese tortellini in Alfredo sauce with sauteed mushrooms from Anzio Landing in Mesa, Arizona. My husband and I would often visit Anzio Landing for special occasions or whenever we felt we deserved a special treat. This is a beautiful restaurant on Falcon Field not far from the runway. Many times while dining there, if we were fortunate to get a window seat, we'd see people fly in then taxi their Cessna's or Piper's into the restaurant's parking lot designated for aircraft.

Only once did I ever try anything other than the cheese tortellini. It was my favorite dish and, so far, nothing at any other Italian restaurant has even come close to this delectable meal. It goes first on my list.

Side dish: Second on my list is a childhood favorite. Something I've enjoyed with simple lunches or while visiting my grandparents at their camper by the lake or, as in most cases, while on feeding frenzies during times of stress. I'm talking about my beloved Pringles. While I can and will enjoy an entire can alone, I really prefer them with French Onion dip. French Onion dip, in my opinion, is one way that God shows us He loves us. If the Warden (or whomever makes these decisions, I don't know) would allow, I would ask for two cans of Pringles since the good people at Dean's make such a large carton of dip. They are good people.

Side dish: Next, and I'm sure many of you would not only agree to this selection but I believe will add it to your own last meal list, is a side of onion rings from Sonic. Large, that is. Plenty of ketchup, if you please and, well...what the heck, some ranch sauce as well. Shake it up a bit, ya know? I love onion rings and will order them whenever I have the opportunity to either substitute or super-size but no one (okay, maybe Red Robin) comes close to Sonic's onion rings.

Don't forget to tip your carry-out.

Finally, for dessert: aaaahhh...I love spring. Spring brings us warm days dotted with cool breezes. Spring brings the sounds of newborn birds chirping, the thump-thump of baby bunnies hopping, longer days and colorful flowers. But most glorious of all, spring brings us the Cadbury egg. I am not lying when I say that I look forward to spring every year for this reason alone. This chocolate, creme-filled delight, thank the Lord, starts showing up in the days leading up to Valentine's Day and then go on sale when Easter is over allowing me to enjoy them for a solid 4 months or more! Have you had them frozen yet? Oh, you must! Hmm...I wonder if they have freezers in the state pen. You think they'd mind freezing one or two or fifteen for me? It is my last request after all.

What's on your list?

Decorating 101

2009-01-19T11:25:00.001-08:00

Welcome back to another installment of Decorating 101. In the last few installments I've gone over the impact color can have on a room as well as given example of three different types of color schemes: monochromatic, complementary and triadic.

This will be my last installment on color schemes though next week I'll briefly show you how the colors you choose to put on your walls can either make the room look smaller (advancing color) or give the illusion that the room is larger (receding color).

The last two color schemes I want to go over are Alternate Complementary and Analogous. This doesn't mean that there aren't other color schemes out there. I think it's safe to say that color combinations are endless. Simply do a search on the web and you'll be amazed at what you can put together in your own home.

Alternate Complementary Color Scheme

An alternate complementary color scheme is achieved through the use of a triad color scheme plus one complement. In the color wheel above we see the blue, red and yellow as the triad with the addition of yellow's direct complement, purple.

In the picture below we see a variation of this except instead of violet as the complement, green (red's complement) is used. In this example, red is represented by pink (a derivative of red).

Analogous Color Scheme

The analogous color scheme uses colors that sit adjacent to one another on the color wheel.

From Integrated Publishing:

typical analogous color scheme should not contain more than three or four colors
or you jeopardize harmony. Although analogous color schemes are easy to compose, they may become monotonous. Use a variety of values,
intensities, and arrangements to develop interest.

This room below demonstrates an analogous color scheme using hues from red, orange and yellow. The result is a calm and relaxing environment. Beautiful, isn't it?

As I've said before, because I'm not a professional and do not hold a degree in interior design, I'd love to hear from anyone with additional tips and advice on how to use color effectively in decorating. Also, if you have a post on your blog involving any decorating and would like to share it with the rest of us, please leave a link in the comments section.

2009-01-19T05:37:00.000-08:00

Head on over to Clueless Cooking and give Mary's Tangy Coleslaw a try. It's quick and easy and not your typical, everyday coleslaw.

Dear Grown Woman at Walmart,

2009-01-18T15:07:00.000-08:00

Please, I beg of you, for all that is decent in the world, stop wearing your pajama pants out in public. Enough already. I don't know at what point in your life you lost all self-respect but, please, try to get some of it back. You can start by putting a little bit of thought into what you wear out in public. How you represent yourself, that is. A pair of blue jeans and a simple white t-shirt go a long way. Not to mention a clean pair of shoes.

Which brings me to my next request: Please stop wearing those over-sized, extra fluffy pink and/or cheetah print slippers out in public as well. Return them to the 14 year old girl you borrowed them from and advise her not to wear them out either. They are referred to as "bedroom slippers" for a reason.

You're "relaxed" style of dress is not cute, trendy or at all endearing. No one is admiring you and saying, Gee, I wish I had the courage and self-confidence to go out in public looking like I just rolled out of bed after a hard night of drinking. Trust me.

I'm not talking about when you're walking the dog, getting the mail or picking the paper up from your front lawn. Those can easily be classified as "Oops! I didn't expect to run into anyone" moments. We all have them. What I'm talking about are the trips to the grocer, the bank or, Heaven forbid, the mall. Please, show some mercy!

Now go, dust off your self-respect, run a comb through your hair and put on a decent pair of pants and some real shoes. You will truly feel better about yourself and be glad you did.

Thank you!
Signed,
The General Public

P.S. And we would greatly appreciate it if you could inform your teenage daughter that her bra strap is showing. Thanks!

Super Savings Saturday

2009-01-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

It's Super Savings Saturday over at MoneySavingMom.com. Please go check it out! You will be so inspired to start saving money every time you shop!

This week I worked a couple of the Walgreen's deals. Can I just say that I am sooooo missing my CVS! I get so jealous every time I read the deals other have got. *sniff* I'm determined to make Walgreen's work for me though.

Here we go:

I got 4 boxes of cereal, the Palmolive (hey, I just realized that's palm & olive together! Who knew?), a 6 pack of kids toothbrushes and three candy bars (I have no idea what happened to the third one on the drive home. Honest!) all for $1.99 OOP. It would have been .99 OOP had I not forgotten to give the cashier one of the $1 off coupons.

Anyhoo, I used $2.25 in coupons, $3.00 in RR and $8.32 from my Walgreen's gift card (which was all money from previous rebates). Plus, I received $3.00 in RR's back.

Not bad. Not bad.

Also, I went to Walmart this week with my handful of Johnson's Buddies coupons thanks to Crystal! Go here and here to get these coupons yourself.

I ended up with 5 bars of soap FREE!

That's my week. I hope yours went just as well or even better!

Frugal Friday

2009-01-15T18:35:00.000-08:00

Inexpensive Wall Decor

You'll need as much material and as many different kinds of material as you prefer. Plus, picture frames of your choosing. It all depends on if you want to do one picture or several and the look you are going for.

After you have selected your fabric and picture frames, cut the fabric to fit the frame using the glass insert as your guide. You'll want to cut a little extra so as not to see the edges of the fabric in the picture:

Iron your fabric. No one wants wrinkly art!

Lay your fabric in the picture frame just as you would a regular picture:

Wah-la! Instant and inexpensive wall decor!

I bought my fabric in fat quarters for $2.50 each. I only used 1/4 of each fat quarter so I only used $2.50 worth of fabric. The picture frames I found at Walmart for $2.00 each. They are plastic, not wood. All total, my project cost me $10.50 plus tax.

Decorating Tip: Mix and match your patterns using florals with geometric shapes. Combine small print with large print for a more balanced look.

Join Crystal and many others over at BiblicalWomanhood.com for more fabulous frugal tips!

Also, check out my other Frugal Friday posts!

WFMW

2009-01-13T18:31:00.000-08:00

Sick Smoothies

recipe4living.com

I don't mean sick as in way cool, man. I mean sick as in my kids are sick and this is the only way I can get any nutrients into them.

My daughter is currently battling a chest cold and while this has nothing to do with her digestive system, for some reason or another, my kids always lose their appetites whenever they fall ill. It becomes a struggle to get any food into them and this worries the little Italian mother that lives inside me who can't bear to see someone go without food.

For the record, I'm German but the little Italian mother in me and I get along swimmingly.

Anyway, this is a trick I used to get food into my daughter between the age of 10 mos and 2 yrs when she wouldn't eat anything anyway. Smoothies, baby, smoothies.

You can hide all sort of magnificent, highly nutritious stuff in smoothies and the little rugrats (I say that with love) have no clue. Here's an easy one:

Fiber One vanilla yogurt (gets some fiber in there)

4-6 oz orange juice (Vitamin C)

baby food jar of pureed carrots (beta-carotene)

one medium banana (potassium)

flaxseed or flaxseed oil (omega-3's)

Mix it all together in a blender.

My kids think this is a treat! Next time your little ones are under a virus attack and you're having some difficulty getting some good, hearty nutrients in them, give a smoothie a try.

Sick Smoothies - they Work For Me!

My other WFMW posts:
From Ew! to New!
Butter For Your Feet
How to Correctly Fold A Towel
Organizational Bins, Boxes & More!
A Place for Necklaces

Decorating 101

2009-01-12T23:59:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to the third installment of Decorating 101. So far, we've gone over the impact color can have on a room, monochromatic color scheme and complementary color scheme. Continuing on that path, I'd like to introduce to you another no-fail color scheme:

The Triad Color Scheme

A Triad Color Scheme is created when you choose three colors that sit equally apart from one another (forming an equilateral triangle) on the color wheel. It is not necessary to use all three colors equally. For instance:

http://www.eleganceredefined.com/ photo

Blue dominates this room while red and yellow are used only as accent colors. You may notice there are two shades of blue in the room. This is okay and still counts as a Triad Color Scheme. As long as you stay within the same hue and do not lean towards the next color on the color wheel, in this case blue-green or blue-violet, you stay true to the color scheme.

I hope the thought of decorating with color or more color is something that is becoming less intimidating to you. The great thing about paint is you can always repaint. But to avoid repainting, it's a good idea to get samples of the colors you are considering and paint large swatches of them on a wall. This way, you can see how the color changes with the lighting throughout the day and it will give you a chance to live with it for a little while before making the big jump.

Again, because I'm not a professional and do not hold a degree in interior design, I'd love to hear from anyone with additional tips and advice on how to use color effectively in decorating. Also, if you have a post on your blog involving any decorating and would like to share it with the rest of us, please leave a link in the comments section.

2009-01-11T17:03:00.000-08:00

Check out these oh-so-easy Peanut Butter Cookies on my Clueless Cooking Blog and then bake them today. You won't be sorry!

Allow Me To Introduce You To

2009-01-11T16:32:00.000-08:00

My father-in-law, Paul Sr.
He's the crazy one running on the treadmill:
No one is making him run, mind you. There isn't someone out of the camera's view with a .357 aimed at him. There are no "unfortunate" pictures of him and a woman-other-than-his-wife that someone is threatening him with. There are no Chicago goodfellas promising him a pair of fitted cement boots. No, he does this because he wants to. Go figure.

He runs 5 miles at a time, 3 times a week. When the weather is nice, he'll also go for walks with my MIL. They put in five miles at a time doing that as well. Except, with the walks, hills are included.

One day, since moving here, I witnessed my FIL run his usual 5 miles in the morning and then, because the weather was agreeable and my MIL wanted to, they went for a 5 mile walk that afternoon. He finished up the evening with lifting weights for 1 1/2 hrs with the neighbor.

Did you get that all took place ONE day? I haven't done anything similar all of 2007. He is definitely an inspiration. Not only because he keeps so active and keeping healthy and fit is important to him. No, it's because HE'S SEVENTY!!!

Yes, SEVENTY! Now I say to you, put down the Pepsi, get off the computer and go DO something.

I was speaking to myself by the way.

It's A New Year.

2009-01-07T12:53:00.000-08:00

2009 is off and running with a great start! I have decided not to make any New Year's Resolutions but that doesn't mean I'm not focusing on positive changes in my life. First and foremost making a more concerted effort to be the person God created me to be. She's in me somewhere I know it. Afterall, God created her and though I may be able to squish her down and smother her, I cannot banish her entirely. Whatever I or life's circumstances attempt to break down, God can always build back up!

Some specific areas in my life and in myself I'll be working on this year:

my relationship with God (we just don't seem to talk enough. That maybe my fault)
my health (that is to say improving it)
my finances (more like my attitude towards my finances)
my home skills (I hereby acknowledge I am domestically challenged)
my relationships with others (this is wide ranging)

I'm sure I'll come up with more as the year goes on. I hope you stay with me. Heck, I hope you join me. A journey travelled with others makes for better time and better memories.

Also, I'm working on a new and improved blog as well. As most bloggers, I am constantly coming up with ideas for my blog. I, however, don't always seem to make it a point to implement them or make them stick.

Sometimes, I just plain forget 'em.

I'm very excited about a few new things I'll be adding on (as in, additional pages). Please check back. I have a lot of work yet to do to get things up and running but it shouldn't be long.

I hope you all enjoyed your holidays and though Santa may not have brought you everything you wanted, I pray the Lord will provide for you this year everything you need.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T17:00:00.000-08:00

I'll be taking a blogging break through Christmas and New Year's. I won't be back until the first week of January.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and may you have a very blessed 2009. I pray the Lord rains down His blessings and abundance onto each and everyone of you. Also, that you open your hearts to all that He has to offer so that you may truly experience your life with Christ as it was meant to be.

God Bless!

Making Adjustments

2008-12-21T17:09:00.000-08:00

I knew when we moved here that there would be adjustments to make. I never underestimated the difficulty of these adjustments or the fact that a few of them would take quite a bit of time to get through.

I think, however, what I underestimated was the amount of adjustments there would be to make.

1) The weather: well, there's a no-brainer. It beautiful and warm and sunny and warm and crisp and WARM in Arizona. It is not warm in Nebraska. Not November through May anyway. I have found myself saying things like, Oh, what a nice day when the temperature reaches a whopping 30 degrees. Or, At least the wind isn't blowing today because then 10 degrees doesn't feel quite so bad. My thin and well-tanned Arizona blood has had to put down the sunscreen and pick up a parka. A neighbor said something to the effect that in a couple of years, I'll have acclimated. A couple of years?!?!

2) Being cold: Okay, this kind of goes hand-in-hand with the weather but, call me naive, I was expecting to at least be warm inside the house. Not so. My FIL keeps the heat at a sizzling (read the sarcasm) 64 degrees. I'm learning how to dress in layers. And, no, I don't mean the cute tank top layers all the hip chicks are wearing out the on the west coast. I mean turtle necks under sweaters under goose-down vests. I mean flannel-lined jeans and a double layer of fuzzy socks. I mean a hat AND earmuffs. Together. Okay, those last two I don't wear inside but a little exaggeration never hurt when trying to make a point. Especially when that point is I'M COLD!

3) Living in small quarters: My family and I moved from a 3100 sq. ft. home to the basement of my IL's home which is roughly 800 sq ft. Now don't get me wrong, I was more than happy to give up that much room. I'll be the first to say that that size of a house was just too much for me. I was overwhelmed and tired of trying (poorly) to maintain it. When I made the choice to stay home after having my daughter, I meant that I wanted to stay home for her not for the house so it truly was good riddance to all that square footage.

Moving into 800 sq ft has been a relief but not without it's challenges. There is one bedroom down here and since The Boy is a light sleeper and I'm hyper-protective of his naps, the kiddos get the room with the door. That means our bed is out in the open and has become a regular part of the everyday furniture. Not to mention, say good-bye to privacy.

We sold most of our belongings but still managed to, somehow, bring too much with us. It's been a challenge to my creativity to find a home for everything we use and need. The kids toys seem to be everywhere but I think that's because in a small space, clutter overwhelms quickly. The good news is it literally only takes mere minutes to clean up.

It's been a month, but I think, with the help of two storage rooms, rearranging the area three times and being diligent about picking up, I've found a place for everything and everything is in it's place. I've even carved out a little spot for scrapbooking. :)

4) Living in small quarters with my kids: Okay, don't get me wrong here. I love my kids but they are with me ALL THE TIME. I have no place to escape and I have no place to banish them for 1/2 an hour. I can't even force them outside like I could in Arizona. *sigh* Gone are the days of giving them the heave-ho and then locking the sliding glass door.

Oh, don't you Gasp at me. You've done it too! Or you at least dream about it.

Happily, I'm adjusting. We are doing more together like baking, reading and snuggling. Hubby has been off work so he's had more time with them as well. On the not-so-freezing-cold days, he takes them out to play and even took Punky sledding for the first time. She loved it! This was the whole point of slowing down, wasn't it?

5) Staying home: Because I had become involved in too much outside of the home while in Arizona, I had made the promise that I would not obligate myself to anything outside the home for one whole year. Also, because I have left all of my friends and family behind, including my beloved church and the fact that it's blazing cold outside, I tend to stay in most days. I probably only get out about twice a week. This is a big adjustment for someone who left their house almost daily. I found myself, about a week or two ago, feeling very down and unmotivated. I allowed myself to watch too much television and was slowly becoming a couch potato. It took about 4 solid days of this before I woke up and remembered that this slower pace of life was exactly what I was craving back home and that, really, the biggest adjustment I needed to make was one that included my attitude.

So the next day, instead of reaching for the remote, I reached for a new hobby and started working on improving my domestic skills. I can fill up my days indoors with a multitude of wonderful things if I only choose to do so. Spending time with my kids, reconnecting with my husband, baking yummy treats, knitting warm scarves, reading and getting to know my IL's a little better and, to be honest, learning to appreciate the beauty of a Nebraska winter all give me reason to get up in the morning and stay clear of the couch.

Yes, I knew adjustments were to be a part of my future here in the Midwest and I knew that some of them would be daunting. Some have been expected and some quite unexpected. Some easy to get through and some I'm still working on. Some still to come, I'm sure. But I am adjusting and I am making the most of it. I'm always amazed at what God has in store for me and just how He gets me through it.

What amazes me more is how He blesses me when all is said and done. And blessed I am. There may be no such thing as small change but there is also no such thing as small blessings.

I'm Addicted

2008-12-19T10:57:00.001-08:00

When I was a little girl, my mother taught me how to knit and crochet. I remember making several blankets for my Barbies but that's about it. I really don't remember being frustrated with the process.

A couple of years ago, I realized I really didn't have much in the homemaking skills department to hand down to my daughter. I remembered the fun of crocheting as a kid and attempted to pick up the craft once again.

I don't think I've ever done anything more aggravating in my life! For starters, my stitches were so tight they squeaked! Apparently, one cannot be stressed or uptight when crocheting. I may have been a tad stressed and uptight. The art of crochet was soon heaved out the window.

Fast forward to today: I have found a new best friend in the realm of yarn crafts: The Knifty Knitter!

These are the circular looms for hats, scarves, purses and whatnot. There are oblong looms as well for blankets. I don't have any of those yet (hint, hint, Sweetie).

These are so easy to use, I'm quite tickled with them. And knitting now actually calms and relaxes me! Who'da thought?

I've made a couple of projects I wanted to share. First, a warm scarf for those cold Nebraska days:

And a little hat (one of three) I've made for Punky's dolls. I highly recommend trying new techniques on smaller projects. You'll see results right away without spending too much time or materials in the event you make a few mistakes. Punky's doll clothes are my test items.

For instance, this little hat is riddled with mistakes. I won't point them out to you but they're there. It's just easier on one's crafting ego to make mistakes on smaller projects. Trust me.

If you're new to knitting or it's been awhile since you've hooked 1 and purled 2, I highly recommend the Knifty Knitter. You can pick one (or two or three or ten) up at your nearby craft store or Walmart.

WFMW

2008-12-16T10:52:00.000-08:00

From Ew! to New!

Re-purpose Thrift Store Finds for Fab Christmas Decorations

I got this idea from one of my many favorite HGTV shows. Remember how I said a few WFMW back that anything can be painted? Well, allow me to demonstrate.

After seeing this great Christmas decorating idea on HGTV I sped over to my nearest Goodwill and found these not-so-quite-beauties:

I loathe brass. It is soooo not my thing. But these candlestick holders are really diamonds in the rough. They just need a little TLC.

I found my spray paint and clear finish at Walmart. I had never tried this brand before but the fact that the paint can promised it would bond to plastic even without a primer is what sold me on it. On the back of the can, it states that it will also bond to metal. That's what I was looking for!

Since it is waaaay too cold to spray paint outside, I set up a tall box in the storage room downstairs. Since the box still had the top panels, I was able to spray a little then close the box up quickly to the "dust" wouldn't escape and cover the other items around me.

It took a few coats but I was really happy with the finish. The paint had a nice smooth feel to it and covered nicely with hardly any drips. The drips that were there (barely noticeable) were, I'm sure, caused by too much spraying at one time. So if you're going to do this project, remember: take your time and spray in small, short bursts. Don't hold the can over the item and spray continuously.

I then followed up with a coat of clear finish. I didn't like the clear finish because it made my smooth paint rough. So now, my candlestick holders aren't as smooth to the touch. I think it's a necessary step, however, to guard against chipping.

I then went to Walmart and purchased some very inexpensive Christmas tree ornaments and placed one on top of each candlestick holder. This one is my favorite.

Here they are all together. Much better, wouldn't you say? What I love about this project is the fact that the candlestick holders are not just for Christmas. Once the season is over, I'll top each of these with a pretty candle and place them at various places throughout my home. Come Easter, I may just top them each with a beautiful Easter egg. Wouldn't that be darling?!

So the next time you're at a thrift store or garage sale and you see something that has a great design or functionality but is aesthetically displeasing (a.k.a. ugly) just imagine it with a fresh coat of paint. You never know what beauty you may uncover!

Re-purposing thrift store items into something beautiful for the holidays - that Works For Me!

My other WFMW posts:

Butter For Your Feet

How To Correctly Fold A Towel

Organizational Bins, Boxes & More!

A Place For Necklaces

Decorating 101

2008-12-15T19:03:00.000-08:00

Welcome back for my second installment of Decorating 101. Last week, I talked about color and the impact it can have on a room, especially when painted on the walls. The first color scheme example I showed you was a monochromatic color scheme: the use of one color in variations of tints & shades to provide a simple yet stunning impact on a room.

Before I move on to the next color scheme, I'd like to just briefly go over hue, shade and tint. First, "hue" is just another name for color - pure color. A pure color is any color that has not been affected by the addition of white or black. Red, blue, yellow, green, violet and orange are pure colors.

A shade is created when black is added to a pure color. A tint is created when white is added. For instance, navy blue is a shade of blue while pink is a tint of red.

Now, I'd like to show you my favorite color scheme. It's my favorite because it's just so easy. There is really no messing this one up.

Complementary Color Scheme a.k.a Direct Complements.

Complementary colors are two colors that sit directly across from each other on the color wheel. The color wheel above is a great illustration. Blue sits directly across from orange. Red from green and violet from yellow. Though you are not limited to pure colors only. Again, any two colors that sit directly across from one another.

If you choose to decorate with direct complements and stay true to that color scheme, just remember not to add any additional colors into the room. White and black are not considered colors so, therefore, they don't count. You are also safe to add in neutrals.

See the two examples below:

www.furniturelandsouth.com

www.militaryavenue.com

Sticking to a definite color scheme helps considerably when shopping for decorative accessories for the room. You are limited, in a good way, to what you can purchase at the home decor stores and, therefore, eliminate many poor choices that probably wouldn't work in the room you're working on.

Again, because I'm not a professional and do not hold a degree in interior design, I'd love to hear from anyone with additional tips and advice on how to use color effectively in decorating. Also, if you have a post on your blog involving any decorating and would like to share it with the rest of us, please leave a link in the comments section.

Thank you and happy decorating!

WFMW

2008-12-09T17:54:00.000-08:00

Butter For Your Feet.

You know what doesn't work for me? Dry, cracked nasty feet.

The problem is, since I spend a great deal of time barefoot, I often end up with dry, cracked nasty feet.

The several weeks prior to the move, I spent very little (if any) time pampering myself. I certainly didn't have any time to give myself a pedicure. I also spent (because of the warm Arizona weather) the majority of time barefoot, even when outdoors. This, of course, resulted in some seriously nasty feet. The kind of feet that actually make noise when you put your socks on.
Yeah, that bad.

And when we moved to Nebraska, (because of the not-so-warm weather) I started wearing socks everyday. Well, I could no longer handle the "snags" my heels were causing so while at Target one afternoon I stumbled upon this:
I have to tell ya - if angels make a foot mask, this has got to be it! It's called Heel Genius Foot Mask by Soap & Glory. I'm not kidding when I say this: after just one use my disgusting dry & cracked heels felt like buddah!

And I'm not talking fat-free butter, but silky-smooth, creamy, luscious butter!

I have tried many things on my feet in the past and some of them worked quite well, but nothing compares to Heel Genius. I continue to put it on my feet about once a week if necessary.
I am in love with Heel Genius! It definitely works for me!

My other WFMW posts:
How To Correctly Fold A Towel.
Organization Bins, Boxes & More!
A Place For Necklaces.

Decorating 101

2008-12-08T14:10:00.000-08:00

Years ago, I took a Decorating 101 course through the local community college. I learned a great deal, much of it I still use to this day.

Still can't say that about high school algebra, however.

Our last assignment was to create a Design Elements and Principles Notebook. I have held onto this notebook and often times will pull it out for a little inspiration and refresher.

I thought it would be fun to go through parts of the notebook with you and share some of the things that I learned. I am NOT by any means a professional but I think I do a not-so-half-bad job of decorating my home. I would like to encourage anyone who is reading this to offer up additional advice in the comments and, if you are so inclined, even supply links to your own blog of posts you've done involving decorating. I'd love to hear from you and share ideas!

I thought I would start off with talking about color. The use of color, particularly the use of paint on walls, is one of the most important decisions you can make when it comes to decorating your home. Paint gives you the most bang for your buck. Plus, the wonderful thing about paint is that you can always repaint if you decide the color isn't right for you or you just want to change things up a bit down the road. Sure, repainting may be a bit of a pain in the you-know-what but it's nothing like laying down a new tile floor and then realizing you've made a terrible mistake.

I cannot recommend enough buying a color wheel. You can pick these up at any craft store for just a few bucks. These handy little tools come jam-packed with lots of info on color combinations. If you are planning on decorating with more than one color and you're not sure what colors work well together, a color wheel can literally walk you through this decision.

The DIY Maven has a great article on understanding the basics of the color wheel.

To start things off real easy, I wanted to talk to you about just one color. Or, I should say, the use of just one color. This is called a Monochromatic color scheme.

From About.com:

A monochromatic color scheme uses a single color on most every room surface. In this type of scheme, various darker shades, grayer tones, and paler tints of the main color may be included in the palette. In addition, the one color is often paired with white or another neutral.

The use of just one color may sound boring but, on the contrary, it can have a beautiful and dramatic effect:

This room is a great example of a monochromatic color scheme using only the color blue. A few different shades and tints of blue are used throughout the room with the addition of white and dark neutrals. No other color is used. Simple, isn't it? Yet, oh-so-beautiful!

If you're not comfortable with combining colors but want a professional look, try going the monochromatic route. I think you'll be please and surprised at just how easy it is to create a stand-out room using this simple color scheme.

As I'm coming to the end of this writing, it occurs to me that I should have probably gone over the definitions of hue, shade, tone & tint. I'll cover that in the next Decorating 101 post next week along with a lesson in Complementary color scheme. Until then...

Happy Decorating!

Super Savings Saturday

2008-12-05T18:51:00.000-08:00

It's Super Savings Saturday over at MoneySavingMom.com, please go check it out. You won't believe some of the awesome deals those mommy-bloggers get!

I did go grocery shopping but didn't save a whole lot as I am just now trying to get back into the coupon thing since the move. And as much as I wanted to take advantage of Walgreens full rebate on the Head Wipes for Bald Guys, I'm afraid I had to pass.

I'm mean really, Walgreens, is that the best rebate offer you could come up with this Christmas season?

However, I have had a great deal of fun checking out the nearby Goodwill. After getting several pairs of mittens and winter hats for the kids at only .99 cents each, I scored big-time for me when I found this lovely hanging on the rack:

That is a like-new, not-a-mark-on-it, beautifully-made J.G. Hook trench coat. I had no idea who J.G. Hook was until I came home and my MIL told me she gets his catalogs. I got online and checked out a couple of websites and, to my delight, discovered that J.G. Hook trench coats range anywhere from $80 - $120. How much did I pay for my Goodwill find?

Hang on to your hats, people....I paid a whopping .99 cents!!!

You can rub your eyes 'til the sun sets but you did read that right. It was Yellow Tag week meaning all items with yellow tags were .99 cents and this was the only coat with a yellow tag on it!

Nice! Sweet! Dandy!

I hope you all have found some great deals this week as well. I'd love to hear about them, especially your thrift store or garage sale finds! :)

A New Friend (for awhile, anyway)

2008-12-04T18:06:00.000-08:00

It had snowed enough here the other day for Punky and Daddy to make a new little friend.

Her name is Ima Coldspell and, despite the lack of smile on her face, she's a happy little camper.

Punky was most pleased to meet her acquaintance. It was her first official snow~~man~~girl on her first official day of snow. She has never seen snow, being a born and bred Arizona girl, and had only read about it in her Pooh books, so she was quite tickled with this new event in her life.

Mommy, not so much.

Punky is proud of her artistry and looking forward to making one more her size soon.

Mommy, not so much.

Ima Coldspell met with her demise as the temperature warmed up by the afternoon and "went to see Jesus" later that day. Punky missed her new little friend and was a little bummed when all the snow melted as soon as it had come.

Mommy, not so much.

WFMW

2008-12-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

How To Correctly Fold A Towel

(per Martha Stewart and my husband)

Years ago, my husband and I would have a reoccurring argument regarding how to properly fold a towel. Since I was the one who the majority of the time did the laundry, I felt that he should fold the towels my way. Yet I would often times find myself re-folding the towels he folded in order to make them fit with the towels I folded. Ugh!

Remember all the stupid stuff you would argue over when you first got married? Ahh, good times.

Well, lo and behold, there came a day when Martha Stewart did a segment on her show on how to properly fold a towel. You know, the department store way. I watched with rapt anticipation as I was sure to be vindicated!

Well, wouldn't you know, my long-time domestic heroin turned on me. Turns out Martha folds her towels the exact same way my husband does! I simply had no choice from that moment on to surrender my towel-folding technique and begin folding towels "correctly". Now, you can too!

Here's how to get your towels to stack nice & purdy like they do in the department stores:

First, you need a large enough surface to work on. Spread your towel out flat.

Fold, lengthwise, one-third of the towel in on itself.

Then fold the remaining one-third over the rest of the towel leaving the edge of the towel approx. 1"-2" from the opposite edge. Doing this helps to hide the unfolded edge inside the towel for a much neater appearance.

Next, from the side, fold the towel in one-third of the way.

Fold the remaining one-third over the rest of the towel.

Flip it over and as you can see, both sides show only folded edges.

Now, isn't that all soph-is-ta-macted? I knew you'd like it!

Stack your towels folded side out for a neater appearance. Just like they do in the department stores. Everybody say, "Yay!"

I do my hand towels almost the same way except after folding the hand towel in thirds, I then only fold it in half.

This makes going from the cabinet to the towel bar without any unfolding or re-folding.

And that's what Works For Me!

My other WFMW posts:

Organization Bins, Boxes & More!

A Place For Necklaces

To-Do List Tuesday

2008-12-02T10:01:00.000-08:00

1. ~~Grocery shop~~
2. ~~Give kids a bath~~
3. Organize the toys in the kids' room.
4. Call Ped for Punky's vax records.
5. ~~Laundry (towels)~~
6. ~~Call Brenda~~
7. Start a letter to my step-mom.

Whew! What's on your list today?!

Home Sweet Home

2008-11-27T16:58:00.000-08:00

For family, friends and followers, I thought you might like to see some pics of the warm & comfortable place the Lord saw fit to land us while we work through our financial difficulties. We have been blessed with a very loving & generous family who were more than happy to take us in.

This is the home we live in.

This is the street we live on. At the end of the street is farmland.

At the other end of the street is farmland also. This is the view from our driveway.

If you look in the middle of the picture, you'll see a small batch of evergreen trees - waaaaay back there.

That's the Arlington Cemetery. I love walking through cemeteries (in daylight) and reading the headstones. There is such a history on those blocks of stone. I'll be covering more on the Arlington Cemetery in a later post.

Punky playing in the side yard. She has no idea that it's COLD outside and she really should be wearing more appropriate outerwear. I mean, really, where is her mother?!

If I understand correctly, that green stuff covering the ground is called "grass". They say it's pretty easy to grow around here. Being an Arizona girl, I wouldn't know about these things.

Until next time...Love to you all!

WFMW

2008-11-25T12:01:00.000-08:00

Organization Bins, Boxes & More!

I could not survive without my organizational items. I about fainted the first time I walked into an Organized Living store. I thought for sure the Mother Ship had called me home. I won't tell you what happened when I first discovered IKEA. This is, afterall, a family friendly site.

I will use any excuse to go to the storage section of a store and snatch up the latest, cutest, handiest little square box, cloth bin or set of drawers. For instance, I am not a jewelry-kinda-girl. I'm probably one of five women on earth who actually tells my husband NOT to buy me jewelry. As a result, I do not have one of those sophisticated, grown-up, faux-velvet lined jewelry boxes. Instead, I have this:

And because my daughter has more-than-her-fair-share of hair, she also has more-than-her-fair-share of hair accessories (okay, I'm a bit addicted to the hair pretties). I have found those little compartment trays work perfectly for keeping her barrettes and smaller items neatly arranged. Another three-drawer unit works great for her larger hair ties and headbands.

Here's a tip: Go to a hardware store to look for these little bins first before heading out to your local craft or scrapbooking store. They sell the same exact thing to men for less! Go figure!

Since we have moved in with my IL's, all four of us are sharing one bathroom. Albeit a large bathroom, but still. In one closet I needed to find room for myself, hubby, two little ones, medicine cabinet items and cleaning supplies. Yikes!

I simply could not have all of these items just thrown in there willy-nilly. Walmart $2.50 bins to the rescue! This is only half the closet. The organized half!

Target has a nice selection of closet organizers, as does Lowes' and Home Depot. There is also as assortment of cute and colorful cloth bins to keep your stuff hidden yet easily accessible. The unit below is in the kids' room. The different bins hold a selection of various toys. This also helps to make clean-up easier for the kids.

Your organizational items needn't be just square or plastic. They can just as easily be decorative as well. I found these silver topped glass jars on the sale table at Pottery Barn years ago. They are perfect for my bath salts and cotton balls. The poodle bin holds yet another stash of my daughter's hair accessories as does the little crystal jar.

The three vintage soap dishes help designate a spot for a few of my pretty things while adding a bit of shabby style. You can easily find items like these at garage sales or thrift shops. The white one on the right (holding the butterfly clasp) I found at a thrift store and was originally brass. I simply spray-painted it white giving it new life! My brother taught me that anything, anything, can be painted. So give that dingy old thing a second look before you pass it by and simply envision a new coat of paint on it. You'll be glad you did!
And that's what Works For Me!

Check out a slew of other great ideas over at Rocks In My Dryer.

My other Works For Me Wednesday posts:

A Place for Necklaces

Playing Catch Up

2008-11-23T17:28:00.000-08:00

Wow! So much in the last week - I just can't even put it all in words. I thought I'd share a little of our last moments in Arizona and the first few minutes in our new home state.

We had several angels straight from heaven come to help us with the last minute details, packing and loading. I don't know how we'll ever be able to repay them for their generosity of spirit and friendship. This I do know - we will pay it forward. :)

My friend, Anita, helped on more than one occasion. She, along with my friend Katie and step-mom Jackie just took charge of the packing and had us ready to go in record time.

Anita's hubby, Leonard, was probably our biggest angel. He helped in so many ways even going so far as to help some of my relatives load some of our furniture they had purchased onto their vehicles. I'm not kidding when I say this, he had a smile on his face the entire time!

Originally, Paul rented a 16ft truck. It quickly became apparent when the boxes started piling up in the front room that 16 feet was not going to cut it. He called the rental place to order a 22ft only to find out they were out of them. The next size up was 26 feet. Don't you know, we filled that 26 footer to the edge!

Go Team Penske! Those bookcases ended up getting left behind because we were so packed!

The men set off for Nebraska on Wednesday night. My mother-in-law, myself and the kids were due to leave the next morning. We stayed the night at my IL's winter place. Punky, for reasons unknown to me, chose to sleep in between the bed and wall.

Here we are at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, AZ. Because I had lost my wallet the evening before (turns out, it was accidentally packed and loaded on the truck), I had to go through "extra" security at the airport. The people of Southwest Airlines at the ticket counter we so helpful, so considerate, so professional. I didn't expect such wonderful treatment. The wonderful treatment continued even through security where all of our bags were hand searched and I had to have a pat-down search. The TSA agents were courteous, respectful and friendly. Even during what was a hectic experience and the frustration of losing my wallet, God showed me His light through the people I encountered. My MIL and I both commented that we had the most enjoyable airport experience of our lives. Thank you, Lord!

On a funny note: because I carried The Boy through security (as opposed to my MIL carrying him), he had to be subjected to a pat-down search as well. There is nothing quite like seeing an almost-two-year-old standing shoulder-width apart, arms spread and getting frisked! He was not amused!

As a result, the little one was pretty tuckered an hour into the flight. Thankfully, so was his sister. They were both perfect angels on the plane.

Okay, that's not entirely true. The Boy did cry out a couple of times and kicked the heck out of the seat in front of us once waking the poor sleeping lady in front of us. But, other than that, perfect angels!

Our first glimpse of Omaha from the plane. We have begun settling in quite nicely and trying, as best we can, to get used to the cold. It's going to take a year or two for our thin Arizona blood to thicken up.

Well, The Boy is ready to go to bed so I must be off. I'll keep you posted on our new adventure. I hope you continue to keep up with me. We'll take this journey together, I hope. Afterall, you make great company!

Where We're Headed.

2008-11-08T18:48:00.000-08:00

In case some of you were wondering just where my family and I are headed, please allow me to show you:

View Larger Map

It's a darling little town roughly thirty minutes outside of Omaha, Nebraska called Arlington. Population 1,189.

I said little and I meant it.

I said darling and I meant that, too!

Arlington has one public school K-12 with a student body of just over 600 and was named one of BusinessWeek.com's 2007 Best Places in America to Raise Your Kids.

That's all I have for now. When I get there, I will show you around the place a little more and we'll get to know some of the fine folks in Arlington together. I hope you'll join me!

The Evidence is Mounting

2008-11-06T10:55:00.000-08:00

Closets being emptied:

Boxes beginning to pile up:

House in a complete disarray:

Preparations for yet another garage sale:

Yep, the evidence is clear. We are definitely moving!

Tuesday To-Do List

2008-11-04T07:20:00.000-08:00

1. ~~VOTE!!!~~
2. ~~Laundry~~
3. Clean out & pack spare bedroom upstairs.
4. Continue listing items on Craigslist.
5. ~~Pack game room closet.~~
6. Declutter counter in laundry room.

What's on your list today?

Update: Well, I'm cutting myself some slack today since I woke up to find I had a sick daughter to take care of. Luckily, my MIL came over and spent the day helping out with her. I still got a considerable amount done, it just wasn't on my list. I ended up spending a couple of hours out in the garage helping my hubby sort out what we are keeping and what we are tossing out. Still lots to do and not a whole lot of time to do it in. We'll get there, I'm sure.

Onward And Upward!

2008-11-02T19:54:00.000-08:00

Well, I think it's high time I tell you what's been going on around here. Since I've told most all of my friends and family, it's time to let you in on it. We're moving.

The recession has come knocking on our door (barged right in, really) and our financial and employment situations are such that we can no longer afford to stay where we are. My in-laws, God bless 'em, have offered to let us move in with them for free until we get back up on our feet.

The only catch is: they live in Nebraska.

So we are Husker country bound in less than two short weeks.

I've been busy, as you know, getting rid of lots of excess stuff, deciding what furniture to keep and delicately telling friends and family. Everyone pretty much understands as the recession is knocking on a lot of doors.

I have complete confidence that the Lord is working in my life and not satan messing with it. And even if he was - so what? The enemy has nothing on me and cannot throw anything at me that the Lord cannot overcome.

No, the Lord clearly has His hands on the wheel and is steering us down what I know will be a wonderfully blessed path. Please, stay tuned as I will fill you in on more details later to come. I, at least, wanted to get this much out.

A Great Find!

2008-10-30T20:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I swear! I'm still around. I have lots to share with you, I'm just trying to get my thoughts in order. Not to mention my house in order!

In the meantime, check out these awesome blogs I've found:

Fun Crafts & More I could read this one for hours! Be sure to scroll down to the Pumpkin Rocks!

Poppy Lane I can't even sew on a button. Thankfully, she has an Etsy shop.

How About Orange An eclectic mix of wonderful ideas!

jcaroline Check out what she does with this Goodwill couch!

I will be back very soon, I promise!

I'm At It Again!

2008-10-23T21:34:00.000-07:00

Our garage sale was so huge last weekend that we've decided to do it all over again!

What's shocking is the insane amount of even more stuff I was able to dig out of closets, drawers, cupboards and the garage. Where does all this stuff come from?

Ahhh...it feels so good to get rid of old ~~crap~~ gently used, quality items. If you want, I'll come over to your house and get rid of your stuff too!

See you in a couple of days!
Have a great weekend!

Tuesday To-Do List

2008-10-20T22:22:00.001-07:00

1. Continue decluttering and adding to the garage sale pile for the second weekend.

2. ~~Finish the dishes for Pete's sake!~~

3. Laundry (whites)

4. ~~Deposit check in bank.~~

5. ~~Drop off mom's group funds to the church.~~

6. Pick up playroom (does this really ever end?)

7. ~~Help my friend set up her blog.~~

What's on your To-Do list today?

Sale'ing By

2008-10-18T21:41:00.001-07:00

Is sale'ing a word? Well, regardless, it's what I've been doing these last two days. Garage sale'ing, that is.

Some friends and I decided we had too much ~~crap~~ gently-used quality items cluttering up our homes so we banded together to pass along our treasures to some other fine folk in exchange for their hard-earned pocket change.

It was, by far, the largest garage sale I've personally ever been a part of. There were seven of us total participating in The Purge and that made for a lot of ~~crap~~ gently-used quality items strewn about the garage, drive-way, lawn and 1/3 of the neighbor's drive-way. There was so much stuff that when we started sorting through it the previous night we realized there was no way all of this was going to fit in the garage for the evening. We ended up leaving it out the entire night while Anita and I slept on her pull-out in the front room with the window open.

You never know when someone might come along at 2 a.m. to steal your case of 80's music cassettes, worn bowling shoes or Chicken Dance Elmo. Seriously, you never know.

Another view:
You can't see it, but the garage is full of ~~crap~~ gently-used quality items, too.

Our two junior entrepreneurs (ages 9 & 5) cooked themselves up a little sidewalk cafe with the help of their dad who handled the burrito making. After two days, the girls made $35.00. Not bad, huh?

Here's Friday morning crew taking in the morning sun along with the fresh scent of other people's cash and fresh breakfast burritos.

I don't know how they did it but all three of these women looked stinkin' cute at 6 a.m. It's not fair, I tell you. Not fair! I was at no time cute these last two days but "stinkin'" would sum me up pretty accurately. I had that garage sale "aroma" about me. You know the one.

All in all, we did excellent. Our entire garage sale pulled in over $900 with my take being a whopping $265! That's a lot of ~~crap~~ gently-used quality items I managed to pass off to some fine folks.

And that, my friends, does not stink!

What I'm Doing.

2008-10-15T19:50:00.001-07:00

Okay, I've been a little bit AWOL. Sorry about that. After my Savvy Mommies weekend where I volunteered for two 4-hour shifts, shopped more than once and manned the M.O.M.S group table for my church for two hours, I took a much needed break.

Check out the local news spot about Savvy Mommies here.

My dogs were barking! So much so that my dear, sweet, foot-phobic hubby actually gave me a foot massage. God bless that man!

Now I'm concentrating on the multi-family garage sale I'm having with a few friends this weekend. Since me, hubby and the real estate market have decided we need to down-size, there is a lot of stuff that won't be making the move with us.

A LOT:

That doesn't even show what's in the garage. What's in the garage you ask? Well, let's just say that it's a three-stall garage but only two cars fit in there.

I'll be taking pics of the event to blog about later because I know y'all are just dying to hear about it.

You know, like your dying to hear about how I clipped my toenails last night. Sorry, no pictures of that.

To-Do List Tuesday

2008-10-06T22:06:00.000-07:00

1. ~~All Savvy Mommies clothes into the wash!~~

2. ~~Hang up & tag Savvy Mommies clothes that don't need to be washed. (half-way done)~~

3. Church MOMS group paperwork/~~emails.~~

4. ~~Make arrangements for babysitter for Friday evening. (working on it)~~

5. ~~Clean playroom. (don't see this happening)~~

6. ~~Grocery shop.~~

Just a short list for me today since #1 & #2 are HUGE!!! Pray for me that I get it all done, would ya?

What's on your list today?

A Great Find!

2008-10-05T21:19:00.000-07:00

There's nothing quite like finding an awesome blog post somewhere and posting a link to it from your own blog. Makes this whole blogging thing much easier!

Here is a great craft that even the kiddos would enjoy!

Marble Magnets from NotMartha.org.

Check out her How To Make Stuff section while you're over there.

********************

Also, if you haven't had the pleasure of reading Ree's blog, Confessions of a Pioneer Woman, then you have been missing out. Easily one of the best blogs out there. I highly recommend reading her true life love story - Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. She's not kidding when she recommends having a cold shower handy. It's a hot one!

Oh, and she cooks, too!

********************

Looking for some great Halloween ideas? Check out this post over at TipNut.com

********************

My friend, Andrea, has something going on in Sedona, AZ this week but you have to leave a comment on her blog to find out what it is. Check her out at Yoga For You!

Have a great Monday everyone! And don't forget about those To-Do Lists tomorrow!

Super Savings Saturday

2008-10-03T20:45:00.001-07:00

I didn't do much shopping this week but still managed to grab a few deals.

CVS clearance:
Hannah Montana umbrella: 90% off. Paid .69 cents!
Pink paisley purse: 75% off. Paid $3.25
Celine Dion perfume: 50% off. Paid $5.99

Goodwill find:

I found the Cars racetrack tower at Goodwill for $1.99. I saw it in Walmart a few days later for $21.00! What a steal!

Garage Sale goodies:

Cute cottage chic rose print pillow: $1.00. I'm wondering what I could get for this on ebay.

My snowman addiction:

I love snowman and I love decorative boxes so I was thrilled to find this set in excellent condition for $10.00. The lady was asking $15.00 but took my offer because her friend (who was actually selling the boxes) wasn't there to say otherwise. Yay!

See how everyone else scored this week at MoneySavingMom.com!

Don't Worry, Pee Happy

2008-10-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

Awhile back someone asked me if I was worried that my son, who was running around naked at the time, would pee on the floor. No, I wasn't worried about it. I expected it. That's not to say I was looking forward to it or enjoyed the clean-up after. No, it's just that when you let an otherwise diapered child run around naked, you should really expect the undesirable to happen.

So why not just avoid the hassle and slap a diaper on the boy? Well, in all honesty, he simply enjoys being naked. I mean, really, who doesn't? There's nothing quite like a cool breeze across a pair of naked buns, wouldn't you say?

Oh, that's just me then, is it? Ah-huh, riiiiight. Don't admit it then, that's okay.

Chicken.

The reality is, moral standards and current decency laws only allow running around "nakey" (as we like to call it) for a very short period of time in one's life. I say, let 'em enjoy it while they can. There are so few freedoms allotted to those under the age of three, why not let them have this one harmless, though sometimes messy, freedom?

I've even made up a song for The Boy's "Nakey Time":

sung to the tune of Mr. Sandman

Mr. Nakey-man

Those buns I adore

But don't you, please, pee on my floor

Not on the tile

Or on the carpet

'Cause Mommy doesn't like it

When you get her things wet.

Mr. Nakey-man

Go ahead and toot

But don't let nothin' else

Come out of that chute

Nothing icky, black or brown

'Cause poop on the floor

Makes Mommy frown

Have You Seen This?

2008-10-02T10:30:00.000-07:00

To-Do List Recap

2008-10-02T10:23:00.000-07:00

Although I didn't clear everything off my list yesterday I still have to say not half bad.

In addition to the items on my list, I also hosted a 3 hr Bible study and started organizing a possible six family garage sale for the weekend after next. So, like I said, not half bad.

Today, however, getting the mattress set on Craigslist and getting London to make a thank you card top the list. As well as continuing work on my Savvy Mommies stuff.

I hope the rest of you have a productive day as well!

Tuesday To-Do List

2008-09-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd start something new today. Not original, mind you, just new. New to me, that is. You probably already have one of these.

A To-Do List.

I've always had a To-Do List. It's just that it's usually been scribbled on a crumpled up piece of grey matter and tossed into the dust-bunnied corners of my cerebral cortex. Keeping a To-Do list in your head is a quick and easy route to Nutsville. It's hard to scratch items off the list when the pencil will only go so far into your ear before causing considerable amounts of pain. As a result, you have to remember what's been taken care of and what remains left to do. This is where I fall short. Remembering.

Now, knowing me and my ability to start new good habits, I'm taking this one slow. I'll just be To-Do'ing on Tuesdays.

Baby steps.

And, yes, I know it's 9 p.m. on Tuesday so, really, this is more of Wednesday's To-Do list. I'll just have to remember to start this earlier next Tuesday. I don't suppose one of you would be willing to remind me?

TO-DO:

1. ~~Begin work on~~ ~~Savvy Mommies stuff.~~
2. Buy scrap paper for August & September pages.
3. ~~Check out new Bissell steamer on HSN.~~
4. Craigslist mattress set.
5. Read several chapters of "40 Days of Community" Bible study.
6. ~~Deliver Tupperware.~~
7. ~~Email Athena.~~
8. Have London draw a "Thank you" picture to the sweet couple who sent her a book.
9. ~~Take Kettleball out of box!~~

Okay, now the fun of this is to see how much I can actually get done! WooHoo! I'm like so excited I'm almost not falling asleep in my chair anymore. Yeah!

Oh, and while googling the To-Do list picture above, I came across this little gem:

Now you may laugh but years ago when I worked at the sheriff's office I found it quite handy to write things down on my hand so as not to forget. It works, people! Try it! Just ask Fred.

What's on your list today?

19 Minutes, huh?

2008-09-26T13:03:00.000-07:00

I came across this article from Shine.Yahoo.com that details how to clean your house in just 19 minutes a day.

The article gives a lot of great advice. Basically, just keep up on the basic stuff before it gets out of hand. When I'm on my game, I'm pretty good at doing just that. The only problem is I haven't been on my game in so long I'm missing a few pieces and the instruction booklet.

Plus, no one else really wants to play with me.

Then there's the fact that I can take a 20 minute catnap and be completely refreshed for the rest of the day, so if I've got 19 minutes on my hands you can guess what I'm going to do with it!

A Mom's Gotta Do What A Mom's Gotta Do.

2008-09-24T20:43:00.000-07:00

This little comic strip was cut out by my beloved several years ago and has remained posted either on the refrigerator or a bulletin board ever since. Never in the history of comic strips has one nailed a real person more accurately than this. They even got my name right.

Though I just have to say, is there anyone out there that actually likes brussell sprouts? I mean really?

I'm really more anti-peas to tell you the truth. Why some people eat these grotesque little balls of green goo is beyond me. Yet, for some reason I have yet to fully examine, I insist upon forcing my daugther to eat them. Why would I do that?

Because they're good for you is the refrain often sung by parents around the globe. But, really, they aren't that good. Two-thirds of a cup of peas only nets a body 10% of their daily Vitamin C, 8% of their Vitamin A and 6% of their necessary daily iron. I'm just not impressed. And though while I admit, the little buggers pack a mighty 4 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein, I must say, I can get that from a Zone bar and actually enjoy the experience of eating.

But as a committed and dedicated parent, I will willingly continue to follow the rules set down in the Official Guide to Parenting The Way Everyone Else Does It But We're Not Sure Why handbook and periodically threaten my child with the loss of her bedtime snack if she doesn't choke down at least two spoonfuls of peas every now & then. The only problem is, I'm supposed to be setting an example. Yep, says so right there in Chapter 7, They See Hypocritical People of the official handbook.

So that means I'm choking down at least two spoonfuls of peas every now & then. Yuck. The good news is, I know how to disquise the taste and I'm here to share my secrets with you.

Secret #1: Alfredo sauce. The next time you make pasta with alfredo sauce, dump a small can of peas in with the sauce. I'm not kidding - you can't even taste them!

Secret #2: Cream of chicken soup. Add a can of mixed vegetables to a can of cream of chicken soup and heat through. Not only am I not kidding about this but, truth be told, this is actually pretty yummy!

Secret #3: Get a dog and hope that he likes peas. Kidding!

Any other tips on choking down peas or any other vegetable for that matter would be greatly appreciated. I'd hate to lose my bedtime snack.

My New Favorite Blog

2008-09-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

It's A Shabby Thing

Check out Erika over at www.itsashabbything.blogspot.com She's just getting started on this blog and is already off to a great start!

She's got some great craft ideas you're sure to love. Go check her out!

If I Tell You About It, Then I'll Have To Do It.

2008-09-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

You may remember my previous post about taking my friend, Katie, up on her weightloss challenge. Katie challenged anyone who had 35 lbs or more to lose to a little bet. Everyone had to ante up $20 and the first to lose 35 lbs won the pot. I was so excited because I just knew I was going to win big!

I already had a scale but the dang thing was not very reliable so I couldn't trust it to give me an accurate reading. After I realized that popping in on my neighbor 2 - 3 times a week to check my weight on her scale would probably be bothersome to us both, I decided to fork over the money for a new one.

Turns out this was a very good idea. I was rather shocked, yet very pleased, when I discovered from my new scale that I actually don't have 35 lbs to lose! I wondered why I was feeling as though I had plumped up yet I can still get my jeans on. Okay, so it's a funny sight to watch me get my jeans on but, hey, at least I can still get them on!

That's not to say that I don't have some extra padding around the mid-section or various other sections. I most certainly do and it needs to go! But I can't participate in Katie's challenge because for me to lose 35 lbs would just not be healthy and I think I've done the unhealthy thing long enough. So I've decided that it's just 20 lbs that I need to lose.

A little infomercial caught my eye awhile back so I decided to go ahead and put my order in for this thing:
It's a kettleball and it promises to be my new best friend. We'll see. I ordered it through GetKBells.com and it came in last week. We have yet to formally introduce ourselves to each other. I am a bit shy around new work-out equipment having been burned in previous relationships with other work-out equipment so I'm taking it slow. Maybe next week, I'll take it out of the box and ask it if it wants to share an Oreo Blizzard with me. That should get us off to a good start.

Then, after that, I'll have to find the time to actually use it! And, from what I understand, working out isn't really effective unless you do it multiple times a week so I suppose I'll have to find the time to use it more than once. Oi!

So I've decided to challenge myself by putting my weightloss goals and progress up on this blog for everyone to see and sit in judgement against me. No, I'm kidding! I know you wouldn't do that. But I am hoping that you'll offer me up a bit of encouragement now and again and also include me on your weightloss endeavors if you so have them. We can get healthy together and together become the people God created us to be! Sound good?

Okay, so know that I've told you about it I have to actually DO IT, huh? Okay.

Bye-bye Oreo blizzard. Hello Kettleball!

I'm Amazed At What He Understands.

2008-09-18T21:08:00.001-07:00

The Boy after getting ahold of my

make-up once before.

The other day, I walked into my bathroom and caught The Boy, as I often do, red-handed getting into my make-up drawer. He gave me that sweet, hard-to-resist, innocent smile and willingly handed over two of the three items he had commandeered but then quickly turned and made a run for it with the last remaining item.

His escape plans are not yet to that "thinking it through" stage as The Boy ran straight into the closet and found himself up against a wall. Burrowing his still smiling face into the wall and clutching his prize possession tightly to his chest, I gave him the opportunity to make the right choice and hand over my jar of mineral foundation.

I prefer to only use brute force to pry something out of a child's hand when absolutely necessary - like when one of them grabs the remote and changes the channel during the last few minutes of Lost - otherwise, I prefer to use these times to teach about making good decisions.

He chose not to make a good decision and continued to hold tight to the make-up jar. I asked him two more times to give me the make-up jar but he was having none of it. Because he's so stinkin' cute, I find it difficult to get mad at him. To be honest, I find it hard not to laugh sometimes.

So I resigned myself to sit on the floor and cross my legs at which point The Boy promptly sat down in my lap. I wrapped my arms around him and spoke gently in his ear, "You know, a mother shouldn't have to fight with her son over make-up".

He quickly hopped up, turned around and gleefully handed me the jar. I think he was afraid word might get out.

Please Help This Willy-Nillier!

2008-09-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

I have come to the conclusion that in order to be the person God created me to be, I must get my act together! I'm a pretty go-about-my-day-willy-nilly kind of a gal but, as it turns out, one really doesn't accomplish all that one must when they willy-nilly about. Go figure.

I have wonderful ideas about getting myself organized: start a load of laundry each morning, run the dishwasher each night, groceries on Wednesdays, clean the floors on Fridays, bathrooms on Saturdays - you get the idea. It's just that sometimes, okay a lot of times, I find myself not realizing what day it is, running out of milk long before Wednesday comes along or making certain things a priority (like reading a really good series right now) over other things that really are a priority.

I'm in awe of people who have a schedule or solid routine and wonder how they do it. So I'm asking you - how do you do it? Do you have a written schedule posted up on the wall SuperNanny style? Do you designate certain days for certain tasks? Or are you a willy-nillier too but somehow manage to get it all done? Does anyone get it all done?

I'd love to hear your tips and trademark secrets. Please share them with me. Of course, I am beginning to think motivation has a bit to do with it. I'll have to work on that aspect of it.

I know! I'll put it on the schedule!

Photo courtesy of sonoma.edu

Follow Me!

2008-09-15T06:44:00.000-07:00

Did you know you can follow this blog? Yep, sure can! Just click on the left and add yourself to my list of loyal followers. Then, go back to your blog, add this handy-dandy gadget to your blog and I'll follow you in return.

It's the beginning of a beautiful relationship!

Super Savings Saturday

2008-09-12T17:30:00.001-07:00

I haven't really been in the CVS game for quiet sometime except for a few trips here & there. I have found myself getting low in supplies so it's time to crank it up a notch. Starting over with CVS is not very fun when you have to start out with ZERO ECB's but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

CVS this week:

I got $98.56 worth of stuff for $40.84 OOP. Not the best I've done but, again, I'm starting over.
$17.32 saved with coupons
$40.40 saved with sales prices & clearance markdowns.
Received $16.00 in ECB's for next time!
Baby, I'm back!

Walgreen's:Head & Shoulders: $9.00 minus $2.00 mfg coupon, rec'd $3.00 in RR.
Garnier Conditioner: $16.98 minus $6.00 mfg coupons will receive $10.00 back in rebates. (I actually have to buy one more bottle of Garnier to qualify for the rebate. Luckily, I have more coupons).
Crest Toothpaste: $2.99 minus $.75 mfg coupon, will receive $2.99 back in rebate.

The best part was I paid for everything with my Walgreen's gift card loaded with $$$ from my previous rebate purchases. Nothing like using the same money over & over again to buy more necessities!

Garage Sale:

I stopped by a couple of garage sales last Saturday. One happened to be at a friend of a friend's house. I got there just as she was ready to close up. I ended up with this Little People garage for FREE because she knew me and she just wanted to get rid of it! The Boy LOVES it! At another, I found several little cars for him for $2.00. Eight of them actually but he made off with a few before I could snap a picture.

Head over to MoneySavingMom.com for more great Super Savings Saturday!

Frugal Friday - Fabric Softener

2008-09-11T21:03:00.001-07:00

This week, for Frugal Friday, I'd like to share a few tips for saving money on fabric softener.

1. Dryer sheets: For starters, you simply do NOT have to buy the name brand dryer sheets. The store brands work just as well for less money. You can also stretch your pennies by cutting your dryer sheets in half thereby doubling the amount in your standard box. You won't notice a difference, trust me!

2. Liquid fabric softener: Here's how to get the most out of a bottle. You'll need a container, liquid fabric softener, water, and a couple of sponges.
In the container, mix together 1 part liquid fabric softener with 2 parts water. Drop in your sponges and store this way. Each time you run your dryer, toss in a sponge (squeeze out the excess first). I've been doing this a couple of months now and it works wonderfully!
3. Dryer Balls: I bought a pair of these at CVS months ago. I'll admit, at first I was a bit skeptical but I have to say, I've been rather impressed with these things. I go back and forth using these and the liquid fabric softener. They run about $9.99 but worth the investment especially if you're interested in getting rid of fabric softener altogether.

4. White Vinegar: I haven't tried this one yet. A friend of mine told me it's a natural fabric softener and to add it to your wash water. Anyone tried this? I'd love to hear your experience with it. I also understand it's a great rinsing agent for the dishwasher.

Well, that's it for my contribution to Frugal Friday. Head on over to Crytal's place at BiblicalWomanhood.com for more great ideas on stretching your dollars!

9/11

2008-09-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

Words cannot express what this day means to the American people. My heart goes out to all those who lost a loved one on this tragic day. My prayers are with you and also with those of you who survived and still live with the horror of it all in one way or another.

My eternal gratitude to the brave men and women who, without hesitation, rushed in to save those they could and continue to mourn those they could not - including their own.

My heart, before this day but especially after, belongs to The United States of America and all of the genuine souls that make up this great country.

May God Bless you all!

Pumpkin Pancakes

2008-09-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of flickr.com

Awhile back, I was in the grocery store having a conniption fit about the cost of a very small box of Bisquick when it suddenly dawned on me that the pioneers crossed this rugged land in covered wagons and making flapjacks for breakfast all along the way.

They didn't need Bisquick back then I decided and I don't need it now!

So home I went, and much like a modern-day pioneer, I crossed the internet looking for a scratch pancake recipe. There are TONS, by the way!

I picked one out and I'm happy to say that me and the kid-folk are mighty happy with it.

Then, a few days ago, I remembered that my husband has a recipe for chocolate chip cookies that calls for a packet of Jell-O Instant Pumpkin Spice Pudding mix. If you could add it to chocolate chip cookies, I pondered, why not pancakes?

And, for the record, my husband is indeed the chocolate chip cookie baker in the house.

So, I gave it a shot and the result was a yummy one. Here's the recipe I used:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 1/2 Tsp baking powder
1 Tsp salt (I actually don't use this much)
1 Tblsp white sugar
1 1/4 C. milk
1 egg
3 Tblsp butter, melted

I then added one box Jell-O Instant Pumpkin Spice Pudding mix and an additional egg. I also added more milk until I liked the consistancy.

I was very happy with the result and will continue to make these through the fall. I hope you enjoy them as well!

Frugal Friday - Decorating Tip

2008-09-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

Today, I'd like to share a frugal decorating tip with you. This one I discovered out of frustration. I had an idea to do a floral arrangement using colored sand in the base of a clear glass vase. When I went to the craft store to buy the colored sand, I couldn't believe they wanted over $3.00 for a tiny bag of sand! This was just NOT going to do.

So I came up with the idea to buy a large bag of sandbox sand from Home Depot (I can't remember exactly but I think it was a 25lb bag) for a little more than $5.00. I scooped a little of the sand into a large Tupperware container, added several drops of food coloring and mixed it together.

Wah-la!

Pretty and practical. It worked like a charm. I still had a ton of sand left-over for other projects.

Here's what the entire floral arrangement looks like:

I bought the vase using Michael's 40% off coupon. The sunflowers were on sale for $1.00 each and the rocks I bought at the Dollar Store. The only thing I paid full price for were the twiggy things in the back. If I had a little more patience, I would've waited for another 40% off coupon.

Head over to BiblicalWomanhood.com for more great ideas this Frugal Friday!

Like The New Header?

2008-09-04T21:37:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to snazzy up my blog for quite sometime now but I just don't have the technical know-how to do it. It's a good thing I follow some of the links on other people's really cute blogs. As a matter of fact, some of those blogs happen to be the cutest blogs on their block.

But there is only ONE Cutest Blog On The Block and I highly suggest you skip on over there to check out just what Ashley and Becky can do for you.

www.thecutestblogontheblock.com

I'll Be Back...

2008-09-03T22:33:00.000-07:00

Whew!! Words cannot express how mega-swamped I am right now with all things home & church. I don't know how some of you mommy-bloggers do it!

Next week, all should be settled down and I'll be back to posting just about everyday. I so appreciate your patience!

I'm hoping to get to CVS and Walgreen's this week so I'll at least have something to write about this Saturday. Oh! And I do have something for Frugal Fridays, too!

Here's something to wet your whistle - today I got to make my very first 911 call! Yes! You read that correctly. But don't worry, it didn't involve me or my kids, really. I'll tell you about it later.

I just wanted to let you know - I'll be back.

Get it? I'll be back? Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Get it? *sigh* Okay, maybe it's not really that funny but it's the only picture I could find. So sue me.

Super Savings Saturday

2008-08-29T17:18:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe it's been a week already. Where does all my time go?

It's Super Savings Saturday time again. I don't have much this week but I'll show you what I got anyway. First up: my mailbox has gone crazy with all the free samples of stuff I'm getting. It's been a real treat going to get the mail these days. Here are just some of the goodies I've received lately. Notice the free Swiffer Sweeper there it the back. Sweet!

My only shopping trip this week was a short dash to CVS. Since I won't be treating myself to a professional color anymore and I'm not about to "grow old gracefully" at the ripe ol' age of 39 by letting the grays run amuck, I'm doing my own color out of the box. Lucky for me, CVS had a special this week.
The Garnier was buy $15 get $5 ECB's back.
The children's Advil was $5.49 with $5.49 ECB's back making that a wash.
I threw on a candy bar (which mysteriously disappeared before the picture was taken) bringing my total to $22.60 (approx).

I had $20.00 in ECB's to pay with but before I could, the extremely nice manager tells me he has a $3/$15 coupon and asks if I'd like to use it. Umm...yeah!

Well, I'm just .40 cents short of $3.00 so he asks me if I want to throw another candy bar on so he could run the coupon. So I add another candy bar (which also mysteriously disappeared before the picture was taken) bringing my total to $3.10.

After he swipes the coupon my total OOP ends up being just .10 cents and I walked out the door with another $10.49 in ECB's. WooHoo!

For more examples of the great deals you can find out there, check out MoneySavingMom.com!

Now where did those candy bars go?

Frugal Friday

2008-08-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

I am participating in my first ever Frugal Fridays over at BiblicalWomanhood.com. Head on over there to get some great tips on saving money and stretching a dollar.

I am on task this year to find Christmas gifts for under $10.00. I've been doing pretty well with this and want to share with you one of my favorites.

I found this plain, metal cd holder at the dollar store and decided I could easily fancy it up with left-over scrap pieces from my scrapbooking stash. This gift is designated for my 7 year old niece.

Here's how it turned out. The front:

The back:

Everything I used to decorate the cd holder I already had. Heck, I have enough scrapbooking stuff to do probably 20 cd holders! Mmm...maybe I'll sell one or two on ebay and see how it goes.

Not a bad Christmas gift for a seven-year-old girl if I do say so myself. All I spent was .99 cents and made great use of my scrapbooking left-overs.

What do you think?

I'm Going To Lose It To Win It!

2008-08-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, here goes.

The reason behind this new blog was to challenge myself to be the person God created me to be. There are so many areas in my life where I could be so much more if I just did a better job of following His lead and was more obedient to His word.

My health is one of those areas. I am overweight and, if you've read my story, you know that I have issues with food.

I, like many of us, have known for quite sometime that I need to take control of this area and treat my body as God intended. It's so easy to put off something like this until tomorrow, next Monday, after the holidays, etc., etc. Can anyone relate?

The truth is I'm scared to make this commitment. I'm just sure I'll be miserable and ultimately fail, so why put myself through it and start the process to begin with? Again, can anyone relate?

It seems though that my good friend, Katie, has been feeling something similar. Just a few days ago, Katie put out the challenge to her friends and family that if anyone had more than 35 lbs to lose why not do it together? She made the challenge extra spicy when she said that anyone wanting to participate had to ante up $20 that would go into a pool. Whoever lost the 35 lbs first would win all the money.

That, my friends, is hard to pass up. Currently, I have the chance to win $100! Technically, I could both win and lose at the same time!

Since now is as good of a time to start as any, I might as well. I thought I'd blog about it as I went along. I don't know my starting weight yet as I somehow "misplaced" my scale. Once I find that out, I will post each week my progress and will happily take any encouragement or weightloss tips from my readers.

Also, if you would like to lose some weight and want someone to cheer you on, let me know. We can blog about it together.

Well, I'm off to begin being the person God created me to be. Carrot stick, anyone?

A Great Find!

2008-08-27T13:46:00.000-07:00

I just found something I just had to share with you!

Well, to be honest, Kaye over at MrsNespysWorld found it first. I was just lucky enough to find Kaye!

It's a blog dedicated to crockpot cooking. Since I know how to make all of three things in the crockpot, I'm all a'tizzy about this!

Check out: A Year of Crockpotting

Scroll down to the Crockpot Peanut (not brittle) Candy. Will I be the only one trying this recipe first? YUM!

Works For Me Wednesday.

2008-08-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

It's Works For Me Wednesday over at RocksInMyDryer.net. You won't believe all the handy-dandy tips you'll pick up over there. Go check it out!

My contribution this week is pretty simple. I do not have a jewelry box. One reason that I'm lacking in this traditional piece of mini-furniture is because the jewelry box I want is the size of an actual piece of furniture and runs about $400. Since it's going to be awhile before I have one like that, I need a place to hang my necklaces. I'm not a huge clothes-horse, so I have lots of room left over in my closet. See?

An added bonus is that my necklaces are out of the reach of my darling four-year-old who likes to get into mommy's things regardless of how many times she's told not to.

And that's what Works For Me!

Meyer Monday

2008-08-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

Self-Acceptance Allows Change

Perhaps you have been struggling with accepting yourself. You see the areas in yourself that need to be changed. You desire to be like Jesus. Yet it is very difficult for you to think or say, "I accept myself." You feel that to do so would be to accept all that is wrong with you, but that is not the case.

We cannot even begin the process of change until this issue of self-acceptance is settled in our individual lives. When we truly believe that God loves us unconditionally just as we are, then we will be willing to receive His correction.

Change requires correction - people who do not know they are loved have a very difficult time receiving correction. In order for God to change us, He must correct us. We may hear His correction and even agree with it, but it will only make us feel angry or condemned unless we know it is ultimately going to bring about the change that is needed in our life.

To grow up in God and be changed, we must trust Him. Often He will lead us in ways that we cannot understand, and during those times we must have a tight grip on His love for us.

~ Joyce Meyer, Being The Person God Made You To Be.

**********************************************

For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes. You must submit to and endure [correction] for discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons. for what son is there whom his father does not [thus] train and correct and discipline? ~ Hebrews 12:6-7

Super Savings Saturday

2008-08-22T21:03:00.001-07:00

Woohoo, it's Saturday! And you know what that means - party at Crystal's place! Check out the Super Savings Saturday posts over at MoneySavingMom.com.

My trip to Albertson's:
I don't remember my totals and I have no idea where my receipt is because this shopping trip is actually from last week. What I do remember is paying, on average, .79 cents each for the items above. Albertson's was having a great sale on General Mills products, plus I had coupons for every box of Cheerios. In addition to that, Albertson's takes the $5.00 coupon from Fresh & Easy. Yippee!

My trip to Saver's:

I love, love, love the look of chenille! I've been wanting to do my Punky's bed in pink chenille for quite sometime now but have not had any luck in finding anything at a decent price. I was strolling through Saver's Thrift Store when my eye caught a glimpse of pink chenille. I pulled the above bedskirt out from under a pile, inspected every inch of it and found it to be flawless and the right size! I was thrilled but the best part is the price was marked only $4.99!!

Happy day!

Now head on over to Crystal's for more great finds!

Answered Prayers

2008-08-20T22:08:00.000-07:00

I originally wrote this for my first blog back in October of '07. I thought I'd print it again for those of you who missed it.

The Story I Can't Wait To Tell My Children.

When I was 22, I was terribly upset one evening because some guy (I can't even remember who) had broken my heart. This was, like, the 147th time my heart had been broken (at least it felt that way). I was so tired of dating jerks. I KNEW I had something good to offer and couldn't figure out why no one could see that.

That night, I broke down and cried my eyes out to God. I said I was sick of being my own match-maker and I wanted Him to do it. I literally said, "I done! You do it!" I told God that I knew He had someone picked out just for me and that I felt He was just waiting on ME not the other way around. I knew I had to get mentally and emotionally healthy before God introduced me to my soulmate. Up to this point, I had terrible insecurities and low self-esteem.

I had decided that I was going to take a year off from dating. I would not accept any dates from anyone. I needed a break. I said to God, "I know you will make it clear to me who he is when I meet him". I prayed this because I didn't want to turn down a date and then worry that I had just turned down "the one". That would've been defeating the purpose of my year off.

I also had a list of things I was looking for in a guy and I literally gave God the list. I wanted him to be tall, dark and handsome. I wanted him to have a sense of humor and love animals. I wanted him to have either a rugged "manly" job or rugged hobbies. I wanted him to be the type of guy that was always looking to improve himself in some way, either physically, intellectually, financially or spiritually. I "put my order" in to God that night.

I took the year off and it was WONDERFUL. So freeing! It was such a release to come home and NOT worry if there were messages on my machine or if some guy called. I spent more time with family, friends and myself. I learned how to be independent and my confidence soared! I had so much fun the first year, that I decided to go for year two.

About 4 months into year two, I was at work one morning when I saw two guys walk out of the employee lounge. I couldn't even make out his face but suddenly it came upon me - this overwhelming feeling of "that's him!". I frantically starting hitting the shoulder of the guy next to me saying, "Who's that guy? Who's that guy?" He told me his name and I knew I would be marrying him. I still hadn't even really seen his face. I swear, it was just like in the movies - it was like everything darkened around me and a spotlight shown on him. I like to joke that I even heard music! I knew God would make it clear to me and He did!

After MUCH flirting for a few weeks, we finally had our first date. It was wonderful! The next day, I was at my brother's house and my SIL asked what I had done the night before. I said, "I went on a date with the guy I'm going to marry".

Last Thursday we marked our 10 yr anniversary!

The list I gave to God? He hit every one! Paul is tall, dark and handsome. He has a fabulous sense of humor, loves animals and has "rugged" hobbies (shooting, four-wheeling, flying). He is always trying to improve his mind, always wanting to learn more. Right now, he's out riding his bike to improve his health.

We have our troubles just like any marriage but it's comforting to know that no matter what, we will be together. He may not be God's gift to women but he's definitely God's gift to me! This is my example to people that you can pray specifically and God will answer your prayer. You have to be willing to do your part, too, though - as I had to do.

Everybody say, "Awwwww"

The Naturally Clean Home

2008-08-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

One of my goals in being the person God created me to be is to be a better steward of my money. Having enough money to live as comfortably as I do is a blessing straight from God and I need to show my appreciation for this blessing by making more sensible choices about how I spend it.

One way I've chosen to save money is to stop spending it on unnecessary (and toxic) cleaning supplies. Not to mention, I'm starting to get a little sick thinking about all the harmful chemicals I'm bringing into my home and exposing my children to. I'll be honest, I haven't done all the research on it but you can read a couple of articles on the subject here and here.

I think it's safe to say, however, that cleaning your home with more natural products and ingredients is just an all-around better way to go. Not to mention, cheaper!

I recently purchased The Naturally Clean Home by Karyn Siegel-Maier from Amazon a couple of weeks ago. I have not yet tried any of the recipes but will be doing so today. My kitchen sink is in need of some love so I'm going to try out the basic sink cleanser recipe. Care to go on this adventure with me? Great!

Okay, according to The Naturally Clean Home, this cleanser is safe for porcelain or stainless steel sinks. The author recommends using a vinegar rinse before the final hot water rinse to prevent residue from the baking soda. From the book:

Basic Sink Cleanser

1/4 cup baking soda

1/2 cup vinegar

3 drops lavendar, rosemary, lemon, lime or orange essential oil

Combine all ingredients. Rinse sink well with hot water.

Pour the cleanser in the sink and wipe with a sponge or cloth.

Rinse again with hot water.

I don't have any of the essential oils listed but I do have peppermint. That ought to wake me up, wouldn't you say! I'll let you know how my sink turns out. If you are willing to give this natural cleanser a try, I'd love to hear how you liked it. Also, if you have a tip for cleaning your home naturally, please let me know. I'd love to highlight it in an upcoming post! Thanks!

Update: I used the cleanser above and, I have to say, I really like it! I completely forgot about the essential oils but that was okay. And it was nice being able to clean something without breathing any fumes. It worked fast, was easy and rinsed very nicely. I didn't need to do the vinegar rinse at the end. The hot water rinse worked just fine. I'll definitely be using this again!

Thus It Has Begun

2008-08-18T19:25:00.000-07:00

Last week, the kids and I were in Wal-mart (again) cruising the clearance toy aisle when a little girl a tad bit older than Punky chatted her up. This little girl (bless her heart) began extolling the virtues of Hannah Montana to my blissfully unknowing daughter. Within the time it takes a US swim team to steal gold from the French (HA!), my daughter began asking for everything Hannah Montana.

Bye-bye Strawberry Shortcake. Bye-bye Dora the Explorer. Bye-bye Backyardigans. It was fun while it lasted.

Though I did fully expect it to last much longer. Like until my Punky was at least twenty-one. Was that really too much to hope for?

Currently on the list is a Hannah Montana t-shirt, shoes, microphone and doll. I guess I should count my blessings - at least Punky hasn't figured out there's Hannah Montana bedding, lamps, sleeping bags, cookware, dental implants and space shuttle.

*sigh*

Minimizing Monday

2008-08-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

This week over at Handprints on the Wall, Kendra challenges us to get rid of those stacks of magazines that have a way of piling up around the house. Not to pat myself on the back too hard but I'm actually pretty good at keeping the magazine piles at bay. When I buy a People mag or the like, I let them collect until I have 5 or 6 then I take the stack to my hairstylist to put out for her clients to read.

But there was a time years ago when I had roughly 150 magazines piled in my spare bedroom. 150! Can you believe it? Well, as it turned out, that enormous stack ended up coming in quite handy. I had taken a Interior Decorating 101 class at the local community college and our final assignment was to collect examples of several design principles and elements and put them all together in a binder:

I still use this binder to this day. I even used it to demonstrate several decorating tips during a "How To" day for my M.O.M.S group at my church. I had to follow a format but you can make your binder any way you like, of course. You can place a picture on one side and a brief description of what you like about it on the other.
I find that when I cut pictures out of a magazine, it's important for me to write down why I pulled it out. I can't tell you how many times I've found a picture from a magazine and then thought, Now why did I keep this?

I do have a small collection of magazines awaiting placement in a binder. I'll get to it, but sadly, not anytime soon. Here's where I keep my current stash:
I also have a nice pile of scrapbooking magazines waiting for a project. I'd like to cut out the samples of scrapbook pages and display them but I'm a little short on ideas. You wouldn't happen to have an idea for me, would you?
Please, leave a comment if you have an idea for what to do with my scrapbook magazines. Or, better yet, if you've blogged an idea, leave me the link to it. I'd love to check it out!

Meyer Monday

2008-08-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

I'll be continuing here the Meyer Monday series that I started at The Stumbling Christian. Go here to catch up.

IT'S YOUR CHOICE!

Rejecting ourselves does not change us. It actually multiples our problems. Acceptance causes us to face reality and then begin to deal with it. We cannot deal with anything as long as we are refusing to accept it or denying its reality.

God has given us a wonderful gift: free will. God is offering us the opportunity to accept ourselves as we are, but we have a free will and can refuse to do so if we so choose. To accept something means to view it as usual, proper, or right.

People who reject themselves do so because they cannot see themselves as proper or right. They only see their flaws and weaknesses, not their beauty and strength. This is an unbalanced attitude probably instilled by authority figures in the past who majored on what was weak and wrong rather than what was strong and right.

In Amos 3:3, we read, "Do two walk together except they make an appointment and have agreed?" To walk with God, we must agree with God. He says He loves us and accepts us; therefore, if we agree with Him, we can no longer hate and reject ourselves.

~ Joyce Meyer, Being The Person God Made You To Be.

***********************************

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ~ Ephesians 2:10

Seek The Lord Sunday

2008-08-16T21:51:00.001-07:00

It's Seek The Lord Sunday over at Call Her Blessed. This week, Daiquiri asks us to write about lessons we are learning and how God is growing us. The timing of Daiquiri's topic couldn't be more perfect for me right now. God has been speaking to me about my growth in several ways and using different aspects of my life to challenge me and move me forward. One of those ways is with my other blog, The Stumbling Christian.

I felt God really speaking to me weeks ago when He let me know that I wasn't using my blog for His intended purposes. It was suppose to be a way for me to release my most authentic self. I had turned away from that and started posting what I thought my blog readers wanted to read and would make me more "popular" in the blogging world. In other words, I took the reigns out of God's hands and started concerning myself with what the world wanted instead of what God wanted. You can read more about that here.

Once I got back on the right track and put the reigns back in the hands of God, things started to come together on my blog for me again. But it wasn't long before God started to whisper in my ear about my writing one more time.

I titled my other blog The Stumbling Christian because when I started it, I really just considered myself a baby Christian. It was to be about my learning experiences as I began a dedicated walk with Christ. The Lord has put so much into me and I've grown so much that I really can't, and shouldn't, call myself a baby Christian anymore.

To whom much is given, much is expected.

I've been given a lot recently and it's time that I move forward and start doing what I know I should be doing. And that is being the person God created me to be.

I now know what He expects of me and I have no excuse to not work towards and fulfill the potential that God says I have. That is what this new blog is about - the challenge of growing into the person God created. Accepting myself as the person God created - that doesn't mean accepting my flaws and dealing with them. No, it means accepting my strengths, my potential, my God-given abilities, my gifts and using them as God intended.

Is it just me or is accepting your strengths and doing something with them more intimidating than accepting your weaknesses and just living with them? I've got to tell you, I'm a bit scared thinking about what glorious things God has in store for me. It means I'm going to have to rise up, work a little harder, push myself a little further and attempt things...no, SUCCEED at things I never even considered doing before. All because God created me as this person capable of doing the seemingly impossible.

I remember hearing Joyce Meyer once say that if you're not uncomfortable then you're not growing. Whew! Was she ever right about that.

But I know I can do it. Afterall, I have the power of Christ within me. Would you like to come along on this new journey with me? I'd love to have the company. There are many facets of my life that I'll be working on improving - my roles as wife, mother and homemaker and, of course, my continued walk with Christ. I also want to work on helping others in these same areas. That's an important factor of this new blog because I can't be the person God created me to be if I'm not helping someone else be the person God created them to be.

So, are you in?

Under Construction

2008-08-10T15:33:00.000-07:00

My Blogroll

2008-08-08T19:19:00.000-07:00

Friends Who Blog
A Day In The Life
Tag! You're It!
The Carey Corner
The Tea Party Place
The Wares Get Out Of Debt
The Wiles Family
Walking With Y'shua
Yoga For You

Christian Living
Biblical Womanhood
Call Her Blessed
Guidance For Victory
Waking With Y'shua

Homemaking and Such
50's Housewife
The Simple Woman
Tip Nut

Great Blogs For Frugal Living
Handprints On The Wall
Money Saving Mom

Crafty & Creative Blogs
Becky Higgins
How About Orange
It's A Shabby Thing
j caroline
Not Martha
Poppy Lane

Cooking Blogs
A Year Of Crockpotting
Picky Palate
The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Helpful Blog Stuff
Blog Coach
Daily Blog Tips
The Cutest Blog On The Block
Tips For New Bloggers