A Lingering Life

Tuesday at Home

2012-01-17T17:21:00.000-08:00

I find it so wonderful to be at home some days. Yesterday was spent out almost all day. After those busy days, an at home day feels so wonderful. I just wanted to share some tidbits of the day ...

First, my baby cat all tucked up at the foot of my bed. She always looks so cosy that it is really hard to disturb her to make the bed. But, I love to stop when I find her here just for a quick snuggle. A small moment of calm in my day. She is snuggled up next to me now as I type.

Nothing quite so nice as a cat to snuggle with!

And here is another "calm" moment from today. Tea at 4pm with Dawn.

Of course, as it goes in this house, I no sooner was snuggled and comfy in my chair with my book then I found my lap covered in children with their own books and wants for cookies. So, my tea turned into our tea, and I still haven't had a chance to read any of my book, but it was a wonderful time to focus on those little ones while watching the light fade outside and a nice way to welcome the end of the day.

And lastly, on the menu today, skillet beef stew. Wonderful on a blustery day like today! (I think it was a freezing 55 out there today! ;) Well, I'm off! My turn came to bring Downton Abbey home from the library and while I've seen all the episodes, I'm super excited to watch the special features!

Take care!

Tuesday Tea

2011-12-20T15:08:00.000-08:00

This is fabulous. I'm over at Dawn's today, and every day this week, for teatime at 4pm. A scheduled break from the hustle and bustle of the joys of the holiday season and, for me, a moment to reflect on the reason for it all.
My teatime today consisted of a cherry Pepsi, the classic "Meet Me in Saint Louis", and two kids snuggled up next to me on the couch. Doesn't get any better than that!

Til tomorrow!

Blessings be to you.

This Moment

2011-02-18T18:51:00.001-08:00

Inspired by SouleMama...
"{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment to pause, savor and remember."

Homemade butter. Fun!

Headbands and Babies!

2011-02-14T17:51:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving Joann's had a great sale, so I went and picked up a rotary cutting system (LOVE IT!!!). I had been lusting after them for a while! I HAD to play with it when I got home (of course!) so I chose to make some headbands for my baby (for Christmas and such...) based on the wonderful tutorial from Raechel at finding my feet. These sewed up so quick and easy it was fabulous!

They look great when lounging around the house, running quick errands, or when looking cute while asleep at church. ;) They also stay on tight when attempting to steal all your brother's toys, an added benefit!

The only problem I had with them is that they could not keep up with the growing-up-too-fast-ness that is my baby girl. By the time Christmas came around, she had already grown out of them!!! Of course, that just means I have more sewing to do, so really that's a blessing in disguise! =)

This Moment

2011-02-04T09:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday!!!

Creating for My Girl...

2011-01-15T14:53:00.000-08:00

Hi! Alison at oopsey-daisy is celebrating her 1 year blogiversary and is having a linky party of everyone's favorite projects. Now, if you do not know oopsey-daisy, you must run over there and check it out! It is one of my favorite crafty blogs and I am a daily reader. She has some fabulous ideas and links to more great ones. And a lot of those links and projects that are doable with young kids, which in this house really makes my day!
I thought I would join her celebration and do a post about a project I worked on a bit ago for my baby girl's bedroom...oh, how much fun is it to have a girl to craft for?! Anyway, I was looking for a lamp and saw a picture of a butterfly mobile and decided that I could easily craft one myself. I loosely based it on a tutorial I found here.

75 hand cut butterflies later...I love it! My baby love loves it. And it entertains her when I have to change the diaper, which is always a good thing! =)

Thanks Alison for your blog and for your inspiration!!! Here's to another year of craftiness!

I am also linking this post up at Just A Girl. If you have not been over there to see all the goodness, you have to check it out! Her painting tips are encouraging me to tackle something I would never have thought about doing otherwise...paint a big Ikea desk I scored on Craigslist! I am sure my husband only wishes she had tips for procrastination...I've been "painting" this desk for 4 months now...(my procrastination comes in the form of an adorable 9 month old...so her cuteness takes the sting off a bit!)

Have a great weekend. I'll be painting and scrapping! My idea of heaven. =)

Scrapbooking

2011-01-04T10:48:00.000-08:00

I am taking the Ordiments of Everyday Life class at Big Picture Classes. I have to say that the first couple days I hated it. The first few assignments are to gather specific products and put them aside and then gather specific photos and put them aside. You do not know which products go with which photos and how until the page ideas come later. This is totally different from the way I scrapbook (photos+color) and totally different from the way I want to scrapbook (photos+story), but after seeing my tray fill with color I got excited!

And realizing that I was pulling photos out that I would NEVER scrapbook if it weren't for this class (but that I would like scrapped) got me addicted. This is the first layout done for this class with this method...

Love it! Can not wait to see what else comes of this and I am actually quite enjoying being so far out of my comfort zone! Love BPC!!!

100 Things

2010-12-29T15:16:00.000-08:00

100 Things I am Unendingly Grateful for:

(encouraged by Karen G.)

1. My family
2. Our house
3. My husband’s job
4. The ability to be a SAHM
5. Creative pursuits
6. Warm comforters to snuggle under
7. Thick, warm socks
8. “Coffee”
9. Living in the city, but having a nice piece of nature too
10. Big Picture Scrapbooking
11. Blogs—a constant source of encouragement and inspiration
12. Facebook
13. Friendships that last
14. Skype
15. My kind-hearted nature
16. Books, Books, Books
17. My new stroller
18. Our van. God thank you for our van
19. New years, new days, new beginnings
20. Pictures
21. Our camera
22. Hobbies
23. Organization
24. Kelly Green
25. Bright Orange
26. Turquoise
27. Pink
28. Christmas
29. Lights on the house
30. Lights on the tree
31. Plan Toys road and rail system. Love it!
32. Wooden blocks
33. Space for imagination
34. Knowing how it is that I want to raise my kids
35. My mother and all she does for our family
36. Rain
37. Sunshine
38. A good cry
39. Heat—especially the moment when it first kicks on
40. Food
41. Dishes that need to be done, bills that need (and can) be paid, toys that need to be picked up, laundry that needs to be washed.
42. Remus
43. Memories of childhood
44. Notebooks
45. Great pens
46. Scrapbooking
47. Bird stickers
48. Time spend discovering me
49. Time shared discovering everything
50. The beauty of a good whale show
51. Sign Language
52. Christmas carols
53. Warm sweaters
54. Hot Chocolate
55. Christmas movies
56. My dining table and all the stories it could tell
57. My computer and the cool things it will let me do
58. The Box and the ability to handle all my photos
59. Picasa. Could not function without it!
60. Ali Edwards
61. Karen G.
62. Stacy Julian
63. Becky Higgins
64. Project Life and the husband that got it for me
65. The magic in the everyday
66. The ability to document the magic in the everyday
67. Gratitude lists and the attitude shift that comes with
68. My Library of Memories
69. The state of my savings account
70. Plane tickets home
71. Sunsets
72. Mass
73. The ability to meet God where HE is at sometimes
74. Pre-made baby food and disposable diapers!
75. Music and songs that speak to the soul
76. Flowing water
77. Time spent writing down, mapping out, and dreaming of where we are headed
78. Good conversations
79. The fact that my family always has to be together—usually in four square feet of space
80. Television and the ability to lose myself sometimes
81. Heroines that inspire and live lives that I dream of living
82. Intelligence
83. Culture
84. Education
85. My unused (as of yet) Master’s Degree
86. The Bible
87. Magazines
88. Amazon
89. Paint and its possibilities
90. Possibilities—a whole world of possibilities
91. Volunteering
92. Learning something new
93. Spending time with those I love
94. My children
95. Holding my baby in my arms
96. Hearing my son say “I love you, mommy”
97. Nursing
98. My protective and sweet dog
99. A full day’s work
100. Snuggling up with my love at the end of it

Happy Christmas to all and to all a great New Year!!!

December Daily

2010-12-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

It may be December 8th (well, December 6th when I started working on this...) but I am totally jumping on this band wagon. I discovered December Daily last year, again at the beginning of December, and was blown away with Ali's design, the colors, the simplicity, the photos, the journaling. I began to put together an album, but it was too late and I was making things way too complicated. This year I vow to do simple, simple, simple, to leave the ideas that stretch me (like baseball card holders? Where do you get those anyway! or painting, or figuring out the whole digital aspect of things.) til next year when I can start earlier. I don't really want to spend any more money then I already have (on some new paper and embellishments) which means that my album will be focused mostly on the photos and the stories. Documenting our life and this season this December. And, well, that's the whole point anyway! =)

Gratitude Tree

2010-12-01T12:58:00.001-08:00

I am just now starting to feel better from the cold I got before Thanksgiving, and as our Christmas tree is still tucked away in the garage and is not anticipated out anytime soon, (at least not until the rest of the house is feeling better) I thought I would share this tree instead... A sweetly simple gratitude tree inspired by other similar ideas I have seen on blogs. The leaves were done with a MS punch, and the tree hand drawn and then cut out of scrapbook paper and glued onto a blue sheet of card stock. It is taped into a 12x12 frame with more scrapbook paper as a background, and measures 8.5x11 so that when done decorating my kitchen I can pop it into our family scrapbooks to look back on. A quick, fun project and a cute reminder of all we have to be grateful for!

Right Now 10.18

2010-10-18T09:14:00.000-07:00

HEARING—the Super Readers solve a super big problem.
SEEING—Muddy dog prints on my floor. Hello rain!
COOKING—I don’t know. Probably got to figure that out by dinnertime!
CRAFTING—A photo album scrapbook of a trip to Mexico—a very fun project!
THINKING—I’ve got to get orgranized!
PLANNING—To spend the day doing just that!
HOPING—To accomplish a lot today!
OUTSIDE—Dark, rainy, and cold! It feels like fall…I love it!
INSIDE—A mess! Beween the painting projects and the rain my house needs some love!

Happy Monday!!!

This Moment

2010-10-16T00:06:00.000-07:00

A Clean House...

2010-10-14T14:11:00.000-07:00

If the secret to a constantly clean kitchen is that you don't cook or eat in it, does that mean that the secret to a constantly clean home is to not live in it? =)

Pillows!

2010-10-13T08:28:00.000-07:00

Well! I had no internet all day yesterday and all day I went around going "I wish I could look this up online...Oh, I want to check this out online...Oh, I wonder what that is, I could look it up online..." Then, when the internet was finally fixed, I spent ten minutes on it and thought "well, that was fun, now I want to do something else"! It is amazing to me how much the internet becomes a part of life, and in the end, how very unimportant it really is!

Anyway, now that I am back online, I thought I would share some sewing...we just got a new couch, and every new couch needs new pillows! So, I went to the store and bought two beautiful, expensive, silk, embroidered, down-filled pillows. My the were expensive! My they were beautiful! Even DH liked them! (Shock!) I brought them home and put them on the couch...and they didn't seem right. That's when I realized, I don't have a "beautiful, silk, embroidered, expensive pillow" life! =) I have a "two babies who aren't potty trained yet, play dough and cheerios, dog who eats everything" life! So, the pillows went and instead I created these:

I made inserts with old sheeting, and the covers are made from a curtain panel and a ripped duvet cover.

That's much better!

They needed a throw to go with them, so I put this lap quilt together and now I am happy and comfortable on my new couch!

Right Now (10.11)

2010-10-11T08:59:00.000-07:00

HEARING--The twang of a table saw—at 8 am. Ugh!
SEEING—A sewing machine on my table and a blue room in my house!!! Blue!!!
COOKING—Probably nothing today! Painting is more important!
CRAFTING—Some things for my home and some Christmas presents. Completed 13 scrapbook pages this weekend. That’s CRAZY!
THINKING—I am a happier person when I have a project to work on.
PLANNING—To finish painting and maybe go to the store later.
HOPING—To be able to do some painting tonight, but I doubt that will happen.
OUTSIDE—Sunshine-y and bright…gonna be a hot one today.
INSIDE—We are all UP! Time to get moving!!!

Happy Monday!

{THIS MOMENT}

2010-10-08T08:06:00.000-07:00

Have a great weekend!

Quotable...

2010-10-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

My life may seem SMALL by the world’s standards…
But the joy it brings is HUGE!
~Kristie Hunt

Cereal Bars and Life

2010-10-06T08:29:00.001-07:00

I made these cereal bars, from Everyday Food, the other day and they were a big hit. Sweet and tart, and very gooey! Made me reminice about making treats with my mother and just childhood in general. Its fun how something so simple and easy to do makes such a big impact.

Cold and rainy here today. I love this weather, but am too emersed in life to appreciate it. We are in the throws of teething and getting little sleep. I will be so glad to see teeth!

Happy Wednesday!!!

Tuesday Tip--The Dishwasher

2010-10-05T08:46:00.000-07:00

Small things that make life better, easier; what could be better then that! Here's a small thing to make loading the dishwasher quicker!

I pre-rinse my dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. I use both sides of my double basin sink to do this--I rinse the dishes on one side and then stack them in the other before putting them in the dishwasher. This way, I don't leave the water running while I am bending over to put the dish in the machine, and its quicker too!
Less time with the dishes means more time with the times I love. That's always good! =)

Right Now...

2010-10-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

HEARING--The hum of the washer and the buzz of the dryer. Gotta love a good wash day!

SEEING--My dog standing at the back door whining to be let out so he can bury his bone. Not gonna happen!

COOKING--Mac and Cheese for dinner, I think!

CRAFTING--Piecing a quilt top for a Christmas present! Never too early to start thinking about Christmas.
Also working on a photo album scrapbook of our trip to Japan.

THINKING--That if I want to live a more centered and mindful life I need more quiet and solitude in which to process and think through things. Hmmmm, where am I gonna get that!?!?

PLANNING--A shopping trip and getting ready for Halloween!!!

HOPING--To be able to go to the lake today for a walk and to see the ducks.

OUTSIDE--It's gray and foggy right now, but I bet that will burn off by this afternoon. Perfect morning for getting things done!

INSIDE--The house is still waking up and greeting the day. There's a nice peace in that!

Happy Monday! =)

{THIS MOMENT}

2010-10-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Inspired by SouleMama...
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment to pause, savor and remember.

Have a great weekend!!!

An introduction.

2010-09-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

Hey!!! I have ideas! I love blogs! After coming out of the newborn baby haze I remembered that I have a blog! Like my house, I hope to make this, my virtual home, a place of joy and beauty...Dawn has this up on her blog today and I thought it would serve well as a form of introduction...Hi! I'm Kristie and I blog!

1. What is your middle name? Mary

2. What's your favorite magazine? Family Fun (for the kid ideas) and Better Homes and Gardens (for the mom ideas)!

3. What are you wearing right now? A tank dress. Its hot here lately!

4. What color are your bed sheets? Bright Green. The Springmaid sheet line from Target. LOVE them! The only fitted sheets I have ever had that actually stay on the bed!

5. Who was your third grade teacher? Mrs. B??? Don't remember. I do remember that she was not good and that year I had like 50 "sick" days cuz she upset my tummy. =(

6. What is the weather like right now? Hot, hot, hot! Record highs here, but its cloudy today so it's a little bit cooler.

7. Do you know how to ski? Nope!

8. What was the last thing you drank? Wild Cherry Pepsi.

9. Dream vacation? HI or Greece or Italy...but I'm not picky!

10. Favorite article of clothing? Pj pants, or cozy socks.

11. Do you prefer baking or cooking? Um, take out? ;)

12. Is your hair above or below your shoulders? Its pretty much at my shoulders. Any longer and it starts to bug me.

13. What drink do you order when out? Water. I really hate to spend $3 on a pop!

14. What book are you reading? Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson.

15. What did you dream about last night? Family and a giant blow-up slide. No idea! =)

16. What was the last movie you went to? Harry Potter #6? Or Thomas the train...babies+movies don't mix well for us!

17. Any injuries at the moment? Nope.

18. What color is your bathroom? Cream, but that is scheduled to change...someday ;)

19. What's the state of your laundry right now? Its in the dryer.

20. Do you take vitamins? Yes, every night.

21. Where do you love to shop? My local thrift store.

22. How often do you buy groceries? Once a week.

23. Do you have a pet/pets? Two. A 2 yr old dog and a 8 yr old cat. Deep down inside they really are quite fond of each other. Deep, deep, down!

24. If you are married, when is your next anniversary? Next summer will be 7 years.

25. How do you take your coffee and/or tea? Neither...

26. Mac or PC? Desktop or Laptop? I'm a PC...Laptop.

27. Favorite month of the year? December.

28. Do you have a hobby? Sewing and scrapbooking.

29. What salad dressing do you prefer? Italian

30. Live or fake Christmas tree? Love a live tree, but with babies, and pets, its not always a good option.

31. Did you walk or take a bus to school? Walked. Never took a bus. Loved it.

32. Do you have any phobias? The dark, heights, and I get claustrophobic when driving (lots of fun!)

33. What's your favorite snack food? Cookies, or chocolate.

34. When do you take your shower/bath? In the morning while Curious George entertains the kids!

35. What time did you get up this morning? 8am.

36. What's your favorite animal? My cat (shhhh! Don't tell the dog!)

37. Have you ever broken a bone? Nope, which, given my klutzy nature is a miracle!

38. Do you wear makeup? Not usually.

39. Do you speak any foreign languages? Un pequito de Espanol? Pero no mucho.

40. Have you ever played a sport? Softball. Was bribed to play the first year and stayed for 5 years? 7??? Loved it.

41. Your last UPS package contained ... Photo Storage albums to set up my Library of Memories!!! So excited!!!!

42. What's on your desktop? A vase full of pens, a desktop file, a Precious Moments Graduate Girl given to me by my mom at HS graduation, hand lotion, and hand sanitizer. Computer desktop? Photos...tons and tons of photos.

43. What is your home page? Yahooooo

44. Extrovert or introvert? Both, depending on the situation and my comfort level.

45. Favorite board game? Trivia Pursuit. The original one. Must be played with Google next to you to look up answers to the q's no one knows...like Columbo's middle name. =)

46. What class did you like best in high school? In college? In HS--Community Service. For 5th period I got to go volunteer at the elementary school next door. Loved it. College--my psychology classes.

47. What would you do with an extra hour each day? Sew or scrapbook or sleep...can I get three more??? =)

48. Do you have allergies? No.

49. Are your nails painted? Nope...my teething baby loves fingers!

50. Where are you right now? At the dining room table.

Thanks Dawn for the inspiration!

Weekend Recap

2010-02-13T21:17:00.000-08:00

Don't know why it is posting this under Saturday, but this is Monday...

How nice it was to have a long weekend! Of course, now we are spoiled having DH here with us for so long! We will have to get used to the work week again! We did quite a bit, but the lawn turned out to be too much for us! The front yard is ready to be attacked by the tiller, but the back yard is proving to be a bit harder because of the vine-like weeds growing back there, but we made great progress there, and the errands mostly got done. So, here's how we did...

Lawn:
Mow (this is 2/3rds done, but proved to be a bit much)
Rake (this is also 2/3rds done)
Till
Spread amendments
Till again
Level and re-grade

Start removing Pepper tree roots and digging up sprinkler head

Errands:
Kohls--returns & cookie sheets (Yea! for Kohl's cash!)
WM/Target--nightlights/tums (heartburn is not conducive to sleep!)
Post Office--mail book out
Toyota--get 2nd set of keys
Downtown--pick up table and chairs (Sunday)
GW & TS--drop off donations
Home Depot (twice)--amendments, flags, hardware, tiller
ABS--food

Library

Michaels--return box

Home:
Wash curtains and trash cans
List books on Amazon
Drill bigger holes in bookcase
Hang bathroom cabinet
Finish cleaning bathrooms

Went through all books and cleaned each bookcase

Cleaned drawer under stove and organized baking supplies

The rest of the time we spent running and playing in the yard and vacuuming up all the dirt and leaves that made it into the house afterward! =) Hope you had a great weekend too!

Hello Weekend!

2010-02-12T13:20:00.000-08:00

Boy! Now that DH is done with grad school, we spend most of our weekend trying to cram as much household work in as possible. This weekend being a four day weekend, we have a lot going on! I thought I would take a page from Molly's book over at My Happy House and post what we have going on this weekend and see how much we get done!

(keep in mind that with a very active two year old, and a baby belly that grows larger and heavier by the second, I swear! we may be just a bit ambitious in our plans!) However, we are off to a great start!

Lawn:

Mow

Rake

Till

Spread amendments

Till again

Level and re-grade

Errands:

Kohls--returns & cookie sheets (Yea! for Kohl's cash!)

WM/Target--nightlights/tums (heartburn is not conducive to sleep!)

Post Office--mail book out

Toyota--get 2nd set of keys

Downtown--pick up table and chairs (Sunday)

GW & TS--drop off donations

Home Depot (twice)--amendments, flags, hardware, tiller

ABS--food

Home:

Wash curtains and trash cans

List books on Amazon

Drill bigger holes in bookcase

Hang bathroom cabinet

Finish cleaning bathrooms

See? Told you we were ambitious! I'll let you know on Monday how much we get done!

Have a great weekend!

Go team Go!!!

Going Against the Grain

2010-01-14T15:09:00.000-08:00

Welcome 2010! Its a new year, the holidays are officially packed up and put away, and the house is...a mess. Hideous actually. Life has kept us busy and away from the house too often and now it needs lots of love to get it looking great and feeling peaceful! Time to get down to work and get organized! I will bet that many others feel the same way, and that searches and readership for information on organizing has gone way up. I have been addicted to anything that has to do with organizing lately and I wanted to throw my two cents into the ring...so here's my advice for organizing...don't take any advice!
Often, the first thing people will tell you is to deal with the surface clutter first so that your home looks good and you get a sense of accomplishment, but I say if your closets, drawers, and files are a mess, there is no way you can clear surface clutter. Start with the closets and drawers first. Pull everything out, clean, sort, and organize. Get rid of all that you can. Then you have a place to put all those things lying around away. Warning: Your house will get very messy doing things this way, but trying to stuff twenty pieces of paper into a full file drawer stinks!
Also, stop listening to what other people tell you about what to do with your stuff! Tie hangers can be used for ties, or scarfs, or necklaces, or yarn, or ribbon, or gift bags, or whatever! Kitchen organizers can be used in the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, kids rooms, or garage. You can store your shoes in the closet if you want, or under the bed, or down the hall, or in the garage or mud room even. Think about how you live and where you want to use your stuff and be open to anything. There is no right way to organize, just so long as you can get your stuff without causing a concussion, its all good!
Now go and get to work!!!

Lingering Summer

2009-09-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

As a mid-westerner turned California-girl, I usually hate this time of year. As everyone I love pulls out hats and gloves, jeans and sweaters, and starts decorating with colored leaves, and scarecrows, I am dealing with heat. Lots of heat. Last week it was 104 degrees. And did I mention I don't have air conditioning? Yeah. Feeling sorry for me yet? =) 104 is hot with no air. Instead of fighting it this year, I have decided to go with it. Our summer was busy, busy, busy and it feels like we didn't get to do summer. Just live through it. So, I vow to walk right past those tempting Fall and Halloween aisles, and ignore my sweaters (okay, my one sweater. Used in December. For one day.) and instead I am lingering over summer. I think there will be pools, and beaches, a new water park, and ice cream. Lots of ice cream! And in October maybe it will be cool enough for me to pretend that its fall! Maybe... ;)

Thrifty!

2009-08-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

I love to garage sale/thrift, and I got out twice this weekend to the thrift stores. Garage sales are scarce in our neck of the woods =(. I am excited to share with you what I found!
A shirt for my baby (he's two) from the clearance rack, and a fall sign to decorate with. Fall is definitely in the air... I snatched this up as quick as I could, a beautiful lap quilt that is all hand embroidered and hand quilted. For $5! Nuff said!

The thrift store down the street from us is a great place to find quilts! I found this one a few weeks ago, all hand quilted, with lace insets, and trim and appliques, for $6! It has a couple stains that need to come out, but nothing a little baking soda won't fix, and it will probably be a backyard quilt anyway...

I also found this skirt that I looooooooooovvvvvvveeeeeeee for $8. It's Liz Clayborne.

And, no trip to the thrift store is complete without buying some books. One sweet one on the home filled with poetry and cute stories, and the other my favorite find of the weekend--an original Nancy Drew. (the modern ones have been edited a lot you know). I want to collect these, but have never seen them in the stores, only lusted over them on ebay. Yay! And, it was only $2.50!

I love love love thrift stores! Oh, and the thrift store karma was good to me. I also got Trivia Pursuit for $1.50. My DH and I had been talking the night before about how we needed on in our house!

Hope your thrifting was as fun as mine! Have a great weekend!

Makin' Lists

2009-08-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

Hi! I'm still here...just mentally occupied elsewhere. We spent all of July out of town, visiting family, going to the lake, doing some sight seeing, and celebrating one special wedding, five wonderful years of marriage, and one important birthday. By the time we got home and unearthed from the piles of laundry that grew while we were gone, all I wanted to do was sit. And be home, ya' know? Get back into our routines, our life. Of course, that only lasted about a day. Travel changes you. Doesn't matter where you go or how long you have been gone, in some ways you come back different. This trip really affected my eyesight. I began noticing things about my house and how we live that I had never really paid attention to before. Like how dirty a house gets in a month! Or pieces of furnicher in the wrong spot, or that I don't even like anymore! Pictures that need to move, a lamp that needs to be changed out, routines that need to be different, new experiences I want to capture in our day to day life. So, I have been making lists. I love lists. Seeing life all spelled out on paper ready to go gets me excited for what is coming. It helps me be able to visualize the changes that I want and how to best achieve them. Of course, none of those changes can happen until you put your nose to the grind-stone and get to work! I'm sure that I will post about some of those changes soon...until then, I gotta go find a pen!!!

Stuck on Stickers!!!

2009-06-27T22:11:00.000-07:00

Help!!! I am totally stuck on stickers!!! Actually, I love it! Oh, and I think I have got it all out of my system! (only time will tell!) After doing this to my baby's room, I realized that Target had safari "stickers" in the clearance aisle, so I ran over and scooped them up! Now, that blank spot over the changing table where you don't want to put something up that will fall down, looks like this...
Love it! Actually, I hated it when I was doing it. It was hard for me to get the stickers off and onto the wall without being harmed (the stickers, not me!), and I was anxious over not having a plan or diagram for where to place them, but I love it more every time I see it! And when now entering the room, it is necessary to yell "monkey" and make monkey noises! Fun!
Another item in the clearance aisle made me think of this...

I bought this plate a few weeks ago at a discount store. Love it! At $2 you can't go wrong, but I felt like it needed something. I was going to stamp it, which I had read about on other blogs, but Target had "stickers" on sale...so, $4 later and now it looks like this...

Much better! And, if that is not enough Target clearance aisle decorating for you, I also stumbled upon these...

I don't think you can tell, but it is a set of three mirrors. I could not believe the price and so I snapped them up without really thinking about where I was going to put them. (you can always return things right?) Well, my husband walked in the door and was amazed at how much bigger they make the room look, I realized that I had just the perfect spot for them, (right at the door so you can check your lipstick before leaving the house--very important!) and I love them more every time I see them too! So, welcome home mirrors! There is just one problem...see the lamp...yeah, I know. It's too big now. Yep. And, see all the darkness...ah ha...not a color in sight. You know what that means...more shopping...and more decorating! (I'm all broken up about that. =) My poor husband!!!

ps--I just realized, the candlestick is also a Target clearance item purchase! I do love Target for decorating! Big plans for that little love...big, big plans (for me anyway)...I'll let you in on it someday!

Creative Couponing!

2009-06-23T23:59:00.000-07:00

I love coupons!!! I love couponing!!! I have to admit that I have become a coupon snob, and if I leave the store without having saved at least $30 I am very depressed! However, I hate coupon organizers. I love filing coupons, so I started with this organizer...

I use one for food items and one for 'drug' items. It is a nice holder, but a few things about it really bugged me. Small things really...you have to fold a double coupon in half in order for it to fit and when you get wide coupons they hide the category title making it hard to file coupons away. Luckily, fate--in the form of my cutie-pie eating machine called a dog--intervened and I was down an organizer. What to do? Well, dust off my sewing machine and try to put one together myself. Here's the result...

I love it! I used the one I have as a model, found fabric remnants at WalMart, put some interfacing between them to make it a bit stiffer, and sewed them together with bias tape. It was so easy and a great beginners project! This is the first completed sewing project that my machine has seen, so I am quite proud, and don't even care about the little imperfections that are there. Oh, and it only took an hour and a half!

I made the dividers from file folders by cutting them and extra half inch wide and then cutting out the tabs. I have a new favorite tool--a corner rounder--that made things all pretty, and I am in business! It is so easy to file away my coupons now, and the pride that comes from being able to use something that I made is incredible!

Sewing, it works for me!!! Well, I should be paying bills right now--or sleeping--so I leave you with one more look...

and an encouragement: if you have something boring to do and you would like a tool of procrastination go over to weareTHATfamily.com and check out this weeks "Works for Me Wednesday" there are always tons of great tips and they are worthy of a good hour or two of "productive" procrastination!!!

Progress!

2009-06-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

As my toddler turns into a pre-schooler, I started thinking about re-decorating his room, getting a big boy bed, etc. As we are big fans of the alphabet song right now, I thought it would be fun to create a chair rail boarder with the alphabet. I was thinking of cutting the letters out of wallpaper so that they would be colorful, and have different patterns on them, but fate decided to decorate for me! I happened upon some Alphabet wall "stickers" at Kmart for $3 and could not turn it down! Here's what the room looked like before...

Boring, right? Here is the after...

I can not believe how cute it is, or how easy and fast it was to do! And my son loves it! He goes over to the wall now, pointing to the letters and singing the ABCs! Cute and educational! Love it!

Of course, you know what that means now right? There is a big, sad, empty space over the changing table....I think Target has some Safari "stickers" on clearance....I guess I'll see you later! =)

How Ya Doin'?

2009-06-06T23:34:00.000-07:00

So, how are you doing?
I mean you. How are you doing? Do you even know?

I have been lost in blog-land. Too many blogs, not enough time. Plus, there is a tasty bit of gossip playing out in the blogs right now...if you like gossip...I read blogs (well, most of them) because I find that they energize me. The colors, the pictures, the ideas, the money saving tips. All are fabulous and I have found that they help keep the fire under me lit. I totally scored in a purchase today--it was an idea that I saw and liked on a blog. I made my own chicken stock last week--another idea I got from a blog. I am totally recovering my dinning chairs with a vinyl table cloth--at least until I no longer have toddlers! This idea came to me because my creative brain has been sparked by blogs. I love blogs! I love reading blogs! But even though I get more creative "fire" from blogs, I realized lately that there are other things that keep my fire burning that are just as important that I have been neglecting--journaling, praying, reading Scripture, walking, laughing with my family, talking with loved ones--all these things are vital to my life. My passion for my home has been awakened by the blogs, but I have a tendancy to put all my eggs in one basket, and as strong as my fire is right now, I have to say that my little voice has become very hard to hear.

So, how are you doing?

Because reading other people's words, seeing other people's homes, agreeing with other people's ideas is one thing, but your little voice is more important and I have been shutting mine out. I blame her. She is saying things I don't want to hear--that project looks fun, but save your money instead; wait, it's not time yet; go slow, focus on what you already have; your time will come but its not here yet...
Tomorrow is my birthday. It's a big one. And my little voice is using this special event to wake my brain up and remind me that she is still there and she is smarter then all the rest.
(Oh, and thanks for asking...I'm going to be 28...for a while, I think!)

Maybe you are like me. Maybe your little voice has grown distant. What can you do to reconnect? Because blog friends are great and inspiring, but your little voice is the friend that will always be there waiting for you.

Tomorrow I am going to celebrate. I am going to celebrate one more year of life. I am going to celebrate another opportunity to be alive, to make an impact, and give love away. I am going to celebrate my little voice--the person that I am--by taking some time out of the day to focus on her. After all, we capitalize the word "I" because it is important. And the next time I sit down at my computer to go into blog-land, I think I will start with my own blog first!

ps--I find gossip tastes sour after a while anyway...

Life...

2009-05-27T22:25:00.000-07:00

Life is not filled with coincidences, but moments orchestrated by God. Grab at those moments, linger in those moments, and you will be lingering with Him.

Project Procrastination Party--The End!!!

2009-05-15T17:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I tried to 'harvest' worms last night by laying wet pieces of cardboard on the ground. Nope, no dice. I am sure that the fact that my lawn is dead has nothing to do with it, and don't want to know what this says about my soil! =/

Anyway, a trip to the bait shop, and three dollars later and we are in business!

Then all I had to do was put it together.

The lid without holes goes on the bottom, and I put two big bricks on that to lift the composter off the ground. Then, one tub in which I put four small bricks at each corner. The other tub goes on top of that. I got my newspaper nice and wet, rung the extra water out, put that in the tub with a bunch of old leaves, some dirt, and my new friends! I buried some food for them under all the newspaper, covered it all with some wet cardboard and put the lid on.

Now, I am not a worm person, but I am fasinated by this, and wish that the sides were glass like an ant farm so that I could watch them do their thing. (but not really, cuz the bin has to be dark for them). Anyway, in about three months I should have compost so stay tuned! That is, as long as my crazy dog doesn't eat the whole thing, which might happen, we'll see!

It will be nice to go to bed tonight with a "project complete" thought running through my head.

If only I can now fix my sprinkler cover! Tomorrow....

Project Procrastination Party--The After: Part One

2009-05-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

Well, hard to believe, but two weeks have past since I joined up with Melissa's Procrastination Party at The Inspired Room, and I have no idea where the time went! Oh, okay, maybe I do...I spent most of it here:

I found book one and two at the thrift store down the street for two dollars and am hooked! I am at the end of the second one and anxiously waiting to see how Father Tim proposes to Cynthia and am going to pay another visit to the thrift store to see if they have the third one, you never know, I may get lucky.

I have not forgotten about my projects (the sprinker cover and composter) and am happy to report that my composter is nearly finished. All I need is worms! (more on that below). My cover, however, is another story and has me learning a lot about how wood splits when you drill into it, how hard wood is very difficult to work with, and how buying a trim piece to nail on as a side was not really the best decision! We'll make a trip to the hardware store this weekend, so be on the look out for this project in the near future. In the meantime, here is all you wanted to know about an easy composter:

I got this idea from a local Parenting magizine around Earth Day, and thought that it would be fun to try. While we don't really have a lawn or a garden right now (ha!) I plan to in the future and would love to add my own compost to the mix. While getting started, I found better plans here, and those are the directions I am following to make it. I bought two 18 gallon bins from Target. To these bins, I drilled 20 holes in the bottom of each (1/4 in), about thirty holes along the sides of each bin (1/16in), and then thirty holes on one top (1/16in). I then shreaded a bunch of newspaper in preparation for my worms.

I could go to the bait shop and buy worms, but the instructions say that if you leave a wet piece of cardboard on the ground overnight, you will have worms in the morning as they come out to feast on the cardboard, so I am going to try that. I'll tell you how it works tomorrow!

Until then, I have two more chapters left and then I'm off shopping!!!

Congratulations on everyone who finished their projects, to see more and to be really inspired to create or finish a project of your own, head over to theinspiredroom.net and thanks Melissa for hosting this and encouraging us to get something done!

Update: It's finished!!!! Click here to see...

Smile on Your Brother

2009-05-08T20:19:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow the post office is doing a food drive. I put the card in my to do box because I wanted to participate but did not think I had anything to give. This morning I looked at the card again and went to the pantry still thinking that I had nothing to give. Fifteen minutes later I came up with this:

Apparently I do have something to give! You never know what you have until you try! So, I encourage you, check your pantry, load it up, and smile on your brother! (why that song comes into my head while doing this I don't understand, but it fits!)

For more information go here

2009-05-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

Let Go. Just Let Go!

Project Procrastinators Party

2009-04-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

Melissa over at The Inspired Room is hosting a Project Procrastinators Party! I love this because I always have something that needs to be finished! Here is my project, and pop over to The Inspired Room for more inspiration to get things done this weekend!

As an early Christmas present, my family went to the pound and adopted a dog. A super cute, high energy, crazy dog. The first thing he did when we brought him home was to eat all the wires connecting up our sprinkler system--a few days after we planted grass in the yard! Since then, I have been meaning to make a cover to fit over it so that he can not do it again and we can get the system up and running (we are fond of our grass you know!). A week or so ago I went to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore (these are great stores!) and got a bunch of old wood and some screening to make my cover, but life has interfered! Grad school assignments, work projects, children, bills, laundry, and the handy excuse of the saw not being charged up meant that work on my box has stalled. Not anymore! Time to get this done! I'll be sure to post the end result.

The other project that is started but not finished is the compost bin that I am putting together using two 18 gallon storage tubs I got from Target. For this project, I have to figure out how to buy worms! So this weekend I will be finishing up that project as well.

Can't believe it is the weekend already! Hope you have fun getting some of those 'to do's done!

Spring Has Sprung!

2009-04-25T18:25:00.000-07:00

I don't understand it, but my rose bushes are giving me FaBulOuS roses! I have not done anything to them (including water them) over the winter, or prune them, and they are being choked out by the Plumbago, but for some reason this is the result:

They are so big! I did feed them some Miracle Grow Rose food, so maybe that is all they needed?!?!?!?!?! This gives me (a false) hope that I can garden! Happy Spring!

My Happiness List

2009-04-23T17:21:00.000-07:00

I realized the other day that "busy" for me does not mean "happy" so I took an inventory of what did. Here is my Happiness List:

--Living Simply

--Family Dinners

--Cooking/Baking

--Being Organized

--Having Bills Paid Ontime

--Being Under Budget

--Saving/ Using Coupons

--Faith

--Creating Something

--Reusing Something

--Growing Something

--Loveing Something/Someone

--Being Loved in Return

What is on your Happiness List????

The Little Voice

2009-04-19T21:58:00.000-07:00

Where does your heart want to take you?

This morning I had coffee with a great gal, she is wise, funny, and energetic. She is put together, organized, and ambitious. This gal is me! Well, my inner self anyway.

We all have that little voice inside our heads giving us direction, encouraging us to try something new, trying to clue us in to living a life based on our heart priorities and not the wants of the world. Often, this little voice gets ignored as bills have to be paid, dogs have to be fed, and life moves forward. Yet, if this little voice continues to be ignored, the life we move forward into becomes something else. Listening to all the voices of the world pulls us instead toward someone else’s life, not our own. Instead of making our choices and decisions based on what we want and value we let others make them for us. If we want a lingering life, we must base this life on what we want, what we value, and in order to know this, we must have a chat with the little voice. We must stop and listen to the little voice.

My little voice reminds me that family is the only important thing, that developing those relationships is all that matters in this lifetime. My little voice directs me to: plant roses, learn knitting, can pears, make jam, keep your house clean and neat so you have time for other more important (and fun!) things, be active, make a to do list and cross things off, read more of that good book, stop watching television (okay, except Dancing with the Stars!), get outside a bit everyday, and always tell your family you love them—as much as possible.
When you listen to the little voice, you find so much more pleasure to your life than you thought possible. It may not be an easy life, it may not be a low stress life, or a pain-free life, but the enjoyment gleaned from it increases immeasureably when listening to the little voice.

What is your little voice telling you?

2009-04-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

I am rich.

I am rich indeed!

2009-04-14T10:13:00.000-07:00

If you look closely, you can find joy and delight all around: the fragrance of fresh lavender, the nostalgic comfort of cinnamon applesauce, the natural grace of birds and butterflies.

~Donata Maggipinto, Everyday Celebrations

What is it that you delight in?

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T22:57:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

What a wonderful family time! Some adventure (will we find all the eggs we hid?), some new toys (many thanks!), and a wonderful meal shared with family: a great day! I hope that your day was as wonderful as mine and that you lingered over the beauty of this holiday.

A Lingering Life

2009-04-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

A Lingering Life. That is what I want. To linger. To enjoy the small moments, the small pleasures of life. After all, isn't that what life is all about? The small moments, the quiet moments, the simple pleasures. In this fast moving, material world that we live in, I get so easily caught up in Stuff, instead of Life. Trying to move ahead, get the next best thing, cross the next 'to do' off my list, get to the next appointment. In doing so, I found that I so often missed Life. For I have discovered that Life is not in the big moments, but the small details. I want to linger in those small details. To linger over a great game of cards, a wonderful glass of wine, to linger with my son's laugh, or my husbands thoughts, to linger with the peace and rest of my Lord, a good book, and a great craft project, a warm fire, a filling meal, a beautiful sunset. These are the things that matter to me, and the things I want to spend my time in. To linger in the moment of a Lingering Life.
I want to explore these moments in this blog...won't you come linger with me???