Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Swagbucks = Christmas Presents


Search & Win

I finally gave in. I've heard so much talk about Swagbucks. Swagbucks this, Swagbucks that. "What's the deal with Swagbucks?" I said.

Well, like most things, I searched out a lot of information about Swagbucks and finally decided to take the plunge. I signed up. Yes, I signed up.

If you aren't familiar with Swagbucks, all you have to do is use their search engine and every once and awhile, you win a Swagbuck. (It's the same search engine as Google and Ask from what I understand).

What's so great about a Swagbuck you say? You can redeem your swagbucks for prizes. Do you know how I look at this? Prizes = Christmas presents! It's not too early to start thinking about Christmas!

If you are so much inclined, please sign up for Swagbucks using my code. Once you sign up, you can invite others to sign up too. You have nothing to loose and if you search for things on the internet a lot, hey, you are already set to succeed in obtaining Swagbucks! Just click this link and you are on your way to winning some great free stuff!

Monday, March 30, 2009

Making Do Monday


Welcome to my first installment of Making Do With What You Have Monday. I intend to make this (hopefully- if I can snag the computer from my hubby) a weekly event. I also wanted to state that after today's post, I promise that I will not have any silly pictures of toilets and the such. I just wanted to start things off today, with a bang- so to speak.

We are learning to "make do" with things that we have and to shop around for the best price on things that we do need to buy. Sometimes, life throws you a curve ball and little things sometimes break when you least expect them to. That brings me to the reason there is a little blue string hanging out of the toilet in the picture above.

What do you do when the handle expectantly breaks on your toilet? Obviously, you would run out to Lowes, Home Depot, or your friendly, neighborhood hardware store and get a replacement right? Not in this case. It was too late at night and something just had to be done until a run to the store could be made. So, what does a crafty man do? He ties a "recycled" string onto the chain in the tank and makes a cute loop for easy use. Did it work? Yes, it worked quite well. The only complications that arose was a naughty young lady that thought it was cute to poke the string through the hole to the inside of the tank.

The moral of this story is, if something breaks, don't panic. Think of some way to remedy the situation or at least help it to "hang in there" until you can get it fixed. In this case, we made do with what we had: a plastic band and a broken toilet handle.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Making Do With What You Have


Last year, back in hurricane season, my family's life changed a lot. No, we don't live on the coast. No, no one was uprooted, injured, or killed in my family as a result from a hurricane. We suffered a strange fate. Our town ran out of gasoline. There were lots of towns in the south that ran out of gasoline. If you remember the headlines from last year, there was a gas shortage because oil refineries in the gulf coast, were shut down numerous times because of hurricanes. The governor as well as the press was urging people to conserve what gasoline they had in their cars and to limit trips to only those that were necessary. Gas stations all over town started running out and those that had gas were being dishonest and spiking the prices.

Because of this shortage, the income that my family relies on was affected somewhat due to cut backs, shortages, and some businesses shutting down. For a long time, I knew that something scary was on the horizon. That "scary" thing was a worsening economy. Suddenly, we had to change our standard of living. Money was tighter and it was then, that I took it upon myself to tackle this challenge head on.

Since I am a stay at home mom, I had the means and the shear necessity, to put any plans that I came up with, into action. I did a lot of thinking. I did a lot of note taking. I did a lot of planning and I'm still working on my plans.

It's funny to me that major television networks are buzzing about surviving the economy by doing such things as "depression era" cooking. I laugh because I have been doing depression era cooking for some time. Does that mean I'm ahead of the game?

We don't go out to eat anymore (boo hoo- I miss Quiznos and Chick-fil-A- honestly). I practically live in the kitchen on some days. The only thing that gives me solace is knowing that the good Lord gave me the opportunity to provide for my family and to do my job to the best of my ability. I'm learning a lot about cooking. What I'm learning more about, is substituting one ingredient for another when I'm out. Often times, because we have sacrificed and became a one car family a few years back, I am stuck at home without the means of obtaining something when I run out. It's not exactly like I can call my hubby, who might be 60 miles away, and say, "run me home some salt please". Because of these things and much more, I have thought that it might be a good idea to share some of the crazy things that I do around my house from time to time. Who knows, maybe some little idea might help someone out there in cyberland.

So, every once and awhile, I'm going to feature a "Making Do With What You Have" Monday. Don't be afraid to let me know if you have some neat tip to add as well. I'm looking forward to starting this next week.

Now, if I can only come up with something funny to start with..... Oh yeah, I know just the thing, but you will have to wait until Monday to see it.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Friday, March 27, 2009

Friday Fill In



This week's fill in was the first sentence in 6 favorite books of Friday Fill-Ins owner). Visit Friday Fill-Ins to fill in your own!


1. "In a hole in the ground there lived a groundhog that will probably try to eat my carrots."

2. "I need a break but that ain't no matter."

3. "After dark the rain began to fall again, upon the ground which will later be tracked across my living room carpet in the form of glorious mud, and only then shall I steam clean."

4. "Treasure, that I shall never see nor touch, from the hold of the Spanish galleon."

5. "There was a hand in the darkness and in it, a fork that was trying to pierce the last chicken leg on the plate." (Anyone remember Jerry Clower)?

6. "Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, and time travel should only be attempted by Doctor Who (and of course, the gang from LOST)."

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sleep, tomorrow my plans include discussing with my hubby what to do about our dead car and Sunday, I want to be able to finally know what we are going to do about our dead car!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

1/2 of My Stroll Around The Block Wall Quilt

1/2 year of strolling around the block

About a year and a half ago, (long before I knew that Etsy existed) I searched the web for an idea. The "idea' that I found was making a quilted wall hanging from 12 blocks containing renditions of each month of the year, in the form of a decorated house. Each house had different backgrounds, looks, and had little personalized touches that a person could add to it and make it their own. Well, hey, I like this kind of thing. I'm not good at coming up with ideas, but I sure can run like the wind when I find a good one!

You can go to HGTV and search for details on the quilt. Unfortunately, HGTV has changed their web site and if I am not mistaken, they have removed the instructions. You can, however, see a picture of a finished stroll around the block quilt here. Hopefully, I have copies of the pattern packed away in a box somewhere...(hopefully...).

I was already partially prepared for this project too! I had a huge box of fabric scraps, thread, embroidery needles, and iron on fusible webbing. I was set! Unfortunately, I grew tired of the fabric I had on hand and devised a plan to create havoc on my friendly fabric cutter at the local fabric store. I think she shivers when she sees me. Hee heee heeee.

"Excuse me, could you cut me only 3 inches of this fabric", I would say sweetly. The lady would gladly oblige. Then I socked it to her. Unbeknown to her, my buggy was full of a stack of fabric bolts. Each bolt would require only 3 inches of fabric to be cut from them!

Why only three inches? Well, three inches was enough to get some scraps (sometimes 45" wide) and provided me with plenty of little "left overs". I didn't want a lot of the same fabrics showing up in the quilt after all.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not an evil person. I just think that it is funny that when I head to the fabric department now, the lady is suddenly at lunch most times. I can picture her peaking from around a floral display and saying, "arghhhh, here comes that annoying woman again!" She then takes the fastest route to the break room and hides.

Well, that fabric lady can rest easy (at least for awhile), because I've slacked off on my efforts to finish the quilt. At this moment, I only have January through June finished and I haven't had any inspiration to pick it back up. Thinking back, I think I stalled because I couldn't find any 4th of July fabric to start July with. Maybe there is some in stock now....hmmmm......got me thinking now......

I'm all about not waisting what I have so I'll walk you through each month. You know how I am, I have a story behind everything I make. It just has to be that way with me. If it isn't important for some reason or another, it just isn't worth making!

January

January was fairly simple. The plaid tree trunk was made from some John Deere fabric that I made a quilt out of for my youngest son. The grey snowman was made from fabric that I bought 11 or 12 years ago for a celebration at my oldest son's school. I made George Washington's pants from that grey fabric. The sky fabric was from some snowmen fabric that I pieced together. Boy, I butchered that fabric all to pieces! I did, however, have enough left over to make this little tote in my Etsy shop from the left overs.

February

This was the first block I made in this series. I didn't start with January like normal people would. The fence posts were made from scraps that I used to make a scarecrow costume out of for one of the kids over the years. The main house piece, just happens to be the same fabric that Annie the Baby Safe Teddy Bear is made from. George Washington's pants equals grey sky too.

March

This house was made of an extra curtain panel leftover from my living room curtains. The sky was made from some leftover material from my oldest daughter's quilt.

April


All fabric on this block was purchased new except for the sky fabric. It was leftover from a baby quilt that I made for a second cousin last summer.

May

All new fabrics on this one! (The ribbon however, is some that I purchased a long, long, long, time ago).


June

All new fabrics on this one except for the sky. I made a baby quilt from it and parts of "Blue, the baby safe teddy bear".


There you have it, after reading over what I just typed, I believe that I am way too sentimental. Maybe I remember way too many random bits of information. Maybe I have jibber jabbered long enough. Regardless, this is my "handmade" that I have been working on and hopefully, I'll get the energy to finish it this year. I'll keep you posted if I do.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

An Eco- Friendly Easter

Small Fabric Easter Basket available at Minnie Maes



Patchwork round, Fabric Easter Basket available at Minnie Maes


I haven't gotten out to the fabric store lately but I have added a couple "little" spring items to Minnie Maes over the past few days. If I don't hurry and purchase some Easter fabrics, I'm afraid that they will be gone soon!

These two items were made from some fabric I purchased almost 2 years ago to make a quilt for one of my daughters. As a matter of fact, the round-bottomed basket was made over a year ago and was lying in my "to do" box. The "to do" that it needed, was to have it's picture taken and uploaded to Etsy. Believe it or not, I finally got around to it.

These little guys are great for gift giving or to relieve, what I like to call, "closet congestion". (Technically, in my case, to relieve storage container congestion). What in the world am I talking about? Well, like I say in the description in my Etsy shop for these two items, these little guys are collapsible and can be used over and over each year. No more piles of Easter baskets and buckets stacked up (and constantly falling down). No more boxes of holiday decorations with huge plastic handles sticking out. Fabric baskets solve all of those problems.

On the plus side, big brother's can't "Whop" little sister's heads and cause major injury with cloth baskets!

I always try to keep at least one small, a medium, and a large fabric gift bag in my shop that coincides with the season at hand. Sometimes you might have to look for them, but they are there. Unfortunately, I'm slack lately so the medium and large bag that I have in stock are fall related. I guess that I just added something else to my "to do" list didn't I?

Saturday, March 21, 2009

New to Minnie Maes Etsy Shop

An assortment of fabric check book covers


My old checkbook cover is plastic. It is ugly and it is cracked. I came up with these fabric covers to replace my ugly one. (The problem is, that I haven't actually figured out which one I want for myself). I figured that other people might hate their plastic checkbook covers too.

You can go here to see the covers above that are now available for sale at Minnie Maes at a very economical price!

Friday, March 20, 2009

Friday Fill In




1. Why do we have to have fire ants in this world?

2. Worrying and freaking out are now habits.

3. I have L.N.T.G.T.T.G.S. Syndrome (Lazy,need to go to the grocery store syndrome).

4. I had never heard the phrase "Little fish are sweet. - R. Forby (1830)" and it makes me think that someone was hungry when they said that.

5. Try to press on, the way I always do.

6. How was I to know shoveling horse manure for years would make me taller.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching British television shows with hubby , tomorrow my plans include trying to keep the kids from eating all of the bananas again and Sunday, I want to get out of the house!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Sabotage at My House

Do you ever have one of those days when you feel like everything you have tried to do has been sabotaged? Today is my day for feeling sabotaged.

1st off, this is the picture I was going to show you of what happened the other night when I was using my sewing machine:

Yes, you guessed it, there is no picture- I was sabotaged.

Insert here: (imaginary picture of sewing machine bobbins, unwound thread, and other various debris all over the kitchen table)

2nd, this would be the picture of what my little sabotage artist did (to the sewing machine bobbins, unwound thread, and other various debris) with the mess that she created.

Insert here: (imaginary picture of plastic container full of a garbled mess of unwound thread and bobbins)

Don't get me wrong. I'm not mad at my little mess maker. I'm mad at the computer for NOT letting me upload the pictures to Blogger. I push the button and nothing happens. No cute little upload window or anything pops up.


3rd: There are other ways that I feel sabotaged today as well. When I try to "Twitter", this little annoying box pops up that is constantly wanting me to re-enter my password. Sorry little box, I'm not re-entering my password every 30 seconds.

4th: Yet another way I have been sabotaged is that my husband's computer hates me. I'm not knocking his computer- I'm glad he has it and it works for him. It just hates me. Why am I not using my computer you say? I was sabotaged......

My computer used to be a portable lap top. Then one day, my lap top became a stationary laptop. You know, the kind of laptop that has to be hooked up to a honking big monitor on the desk because the laptop's monitor died. I'm not going to talk negatively about the brand of laptop I have but if you are shopping for a new laptop, just ask me, I'll tell you what brand NOT to buy (in my opinion). That was only the beginning of my computer trouble. Awhile back, someone mysteriously frayed the power cord which was quickly fixed with some electrical tape. Fast fix huh? Yep, but months later, the adapter started sounding like an angry, sick cricket. Finally, after a brief cry for help, the adapter died. So, for now, I am sharing my hubby's computer.

I wonder if he feels sabotaged now?

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

St. Patrick's Day


I'm a little late today, but Happy St. Patrick's Day!




Night Night Puppy even got into the "wearing" green thing today


This morning at my house, there was this brief, but very frantic event that took place. For a few minutes, four children scrambled around, searching for green shirts (or pants as the case may have been). Luckily, all but Night Night Puppy managed to avoid the traditional "pinch" of St. Patrick's Day. It didn't take long before Night Night Puppy even got into the spirit of things and sported a homemade green leash (made by her loving four year old owner).


I was completely caught off guard myself but thinking quickly, I grabbed an ink pen and stuck it out of my pants pocket. I also told them to pay careful attention to the color of my eyes as well. The kids said that it didn't count so I played it safe and put on a green shirt. Phewwww, now I'm safe......

Monday, March 16, 2009

Technology

It never ceases to amaze me the degree of technology that is available out there in cyberspace. Just the other day, I saw someone Twittering this link and I thought that it was pretty neat. You can go to this site and get a mosaic of your followers or your friends from Twitter. Cool huh?


Get your twitter mosaic here.



In case you have been here before, I had to take my cute mosaic offline as it was slowing my blog down. I'll miss it but I'll soon get over it.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

What's Outside My Windows.....(The "Mr.Giant" sports edition)

Giants aren't very sure of themselves so they play it safe and instead of regular baseball, they like to play "tee ball".


It's been awhile since I have seen something interesting outside my windows. On this particular day, I hit the jackpot.

It is my understanding that their may be "Giants" in these here parts. Obviously, by looking at the picture above, you can easily see that this "giant" in particular had a rather fun day playing sports. Mr. giant even got a powerful thirst when it was all over as you will see.



Should I be worried that something that has a hand this big is wondering around outside my windows?


This ball and tee is knocked over. Maybe I should be worried. The giant might have a temper.



Mr. giant is a thirsty litter bug. Enough already, I'm just going to call the authorities.....

Saturday, March 14, 2009

I Think I'm Growing Salmonella In My Kitchen.....

If I counted correctly, here are my 33 cracked eggs

Why do I have a tray of cracked eggs in my kitchen you ask? Well, you can thank Granny Miller for that one. Granny said that years ago (the pioneer type of years ago), that people didn't have those fancy "jiffy" pots and such that you see at the garden center. People just "made due" with what they had.

I have come to the understanding that I like to do things the hard way. I'm not sure if my husband has rubbed off on me or if I have always been this way. I think that it gives me the appreciation of knowing that I made it through whatever it was. I also like doing things the old fashioned way too- just because I do.

Back to eggs. Cracked egg shells are perfect little containers to hold potting soil. Potting soil is a perfect medium for holding a germinating seed and later a plant. See where I'm going here? Hey, I can save some money by not buying those little growing pots at the garden center. My only expense will be a single bag of potting soil (which I need to go buy very soon). Anyway, my plan is to plant some of my "homestead" tomato seeds to give them a head start for the garden. My ultimate goal is to save some major money in the pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, and maybe even the ketchup department come the end of the summer. I may be counting my chickens before they hatch but if things turn out well enough, I'll have some tomatoes to play around with in the grocery department at my house.


Don't you just love this lone green egg?
(Green eggs taste better, by the way- on that note, they are probably good with ham too)

I have obtained my egg collection almost free of charge too. I have this wonderful friend that I used to work with in my other life (before children) that supplies me with her excess eggs. "K" , my friend, loves to fool with chickens. Every week or so, through a family networked delivery system (she gives them to my sister, my sister gives them to my mother, my mother calls and says, "come get your eggs"), I am blessed with one, two, three, or even sometimes, four dozen eggs. Considering "vegan" eggs in the grocery store are $3.00-$4.00 a dozen (Chickens should not eat other chickens in their diet- that is why I eat vegan eggs), "K" is saving me lots of money and I am grateful! (Mental note: make "K" another quilt this year).

I am determined to learn to "plant by the signs" as so many of my ancestors did so, as soon as I figure out all of this zodiac, moon stuff, I'll be ready to plant my tomato seeds. (Any advice would be appreciated in this area) When I do, rest assured, you will be the first to know about it. It will be fun to see if I still have a green thumb or if my thumb has turned black.

I can't help to think though..... my empty egg shells (although they have been washed out) may be incubating salmonella. To be safe, I'm washing my hands a lot when I deal with them and have kept the kids away. Maybe this paranoia is justified, maybe I'm over reacting. Do you think the pioneers worried about salmonella? What do you think?

Friday, March 13, 2009

Friday Fill In




Thanks to my good friend Curlyfry, I have become aware of this cute little Friday Fill in form. From time to time, I'll try to fill it in. Sometimes I might forget. (Probably the 2nd statement there) If you think it is cute, visit this site to find out more and fill in your own "Friday Fill In".

1. When I look to the left, I see my sewing machine. (it is staring back at me and wondering why I have abandoned it)

2. My kitchen is the room that has the best view in my home. (it's where I see "What's Outside My Windows")

3. Let it work "please, God". (what I say under my breath frequently)

4. Dirty Deeds done dirt cheap! (yes, this mama knows of that song- it is now stuck in my head thank you very much!)

5. Voting is a responsibility that all qualified citizens must share.

6. If you have any chocolate feel free to bring it over. (M&M's are good)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sleep, tomorrow my plans include sewing a new secret project and Sunday, I want to hopefully, take pictures of what I sewed on Saturday!

Homeschooler Wants to "Lick" Goldfish.......

I think he just read my son's English assignment

Homeschooling moms out there, you will appreciate this one if you have had at least one apple in your basket do something similar.

I have this younger son that likes to do things to the beat of his own drum. Mind you, that drum has to always be drumming something funny-something that gets him attention basically.

J #3 as I sometimes refer to my 2nd grader, (Seriously, you don't really think that I call my children by numbers do you)?- (at least not in public) was left alone to finish a very small assignment from his English workbook. His assignment was to simply write three sentences about the picture on the page. The picture just happened to be a small, round, glass bowl filled with three goldfish.

I got preoccupied with something else and figured that I would check his work the next day- after all, it was just three sentences- right? He couldn't have had that much trouble with it could he?

I was totally caught off guard this morning when I opened his book and read the three simple little sentences that my 2nd grader scrawled across the page as quickly as he could that day. Here they are as follows:

  1. I ate my fish.
  2. I cooked my fish.
  3. I lick my fish.
I have nothing else to say.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Ok, Now I know I'm Addicted...

Yes, I haven't figured out my photo editing software yet and Firefox's screengrab is being mean to me but hey, at least you can see what it looks like......



Here is my latest treasury for the South Carolina Etsy Street Team. I hadn't planned on getting one so soon after the other one but I was alerted that the Treasuries were opening so I just had to take advantage of it. If you want to, go here and click away.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

I Think I'm Addicted Now....

The SHE Team Treasury that I created


Getting treasuries is fun. If you are new around these parts, see this post to know what I'm talking about.

I got this treasury the other night while staying up way too late watching British children's shows on the Internet with hubby. CBBC is really awesome- (don't let anyone tell you that you are too old to watch Dick and Dom or Half Moon Investigations)........Muck Muck...ha...ha....

Back to the post at hand.

The Schooling at Home Etsians team is, in my opinion, one of the most active groups of moms on Etsy and I am fortunate to be a part of that team. SHE members have snagged treasuries and supported their team members in all kinds of ways. Since I have met and become one of them, I have learned so, so, much. Not a week goes by that I haven't had an item featured in a treasury and I am so grateful to those hard working ladies!

Well, I got the chance to start repaying the favor the other night by grabbing this Treasury West for the team.

You know what I'll say next. If your fingers are bored and need something to click, just head on over to this link and click on every picture for me. Thank you much!

A Wordless Wednesday (This time it really is, I promise)

Monday, March 9, 2009

My First Treasury on Etsy!

Seeing Pink in South Carolina


If you are not familiar with Etsy, you probably have no idea what I am talking about so I'll try to clarify.

Etsy is an online site that allows those that have a desire to make and sell hand made items, a place to set up their own stores and sell to their hearts content. Just opening a store on Etsy does not ensure that you will sell and item. It is up to the shop owner to market/advertise their stores in hopes of getting the most traffic possible into their shop.

There is a great sense of camaraderie and community on Etsy. It doesn't take long before you run up on someone or some group that is willing to help promote others. After all, aren't we all into this together?

One way that Etsy has allowed this promotion of others is through the creation of what they call a treasury. A treasury is a hand picked compilation of items that can have a "theme" of sorts. For months, I have been trying to figure out when the treasuries "open". Thanks to the heads up from a fellow Sheteam member, I was able to actually "snag" a treasury (Thank you Cell Chic). Above is the treasury that I created for promoting some members of the South Carolina Etsy Street Team.

Treasuries are ranked by Etsy. If a treasury reaches, what they call the "hot" list, it is more likely to be featured on the front page of Etsy. If this happens, chances are, those featured will get lots of traffic into their shops and "hopefully", lots of sales. Right now, my treasury, that features South Carolina artisans, is on about page 9 of the hot list. Pretty good considering it was on page 25 last night. For a treasury to move closer to page 1, every item has to be clicked on and commenting is so important!


So, if your fingers are bored and need something to do, click on over to this link and click and comment. Help get some very talented South Carolina artists recognized!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

The South Carolina Etsy Street Team Is At It Again.......

This time, it's to celebrate anything Irish!

Each month, the South Carolina Etsy Street Team hosts a monthly creative challenge for it's members. Since it is March and traditionally St. Patrick's Day occurs during this month, the theme for the creative challenge is "obviously", anything Irish. Members were left to interpret the theme in any way they they pleased and above are the six items that were entered in the competition.

1. The Emerald Isle- from Gemlover7476
2. Lucky Shamrock Tote- AllyBu
3. Whimsical St. Patrick's Day Wand- BannerCelebrations
4. Hand Blown glass pendant- BZglass
5. Education Irish Bumper Sticker- Kwinkelerphotos
6. Irish Bling- BeadDazzled

Here is where you come into all of this:

What I need for you to do, is to go to the South Carolina Team's blog here, and vote for your favorite. (You can also click on the pictures there and see close ups of the above pictured items). After you vote, make sure and leave a comment on the blog and you will be in the running for a free 8x10 photo print from Kwinkeler photos! What have you got to lose?


Friday, March 6, 2009

Economically Responsible and Eco Friendly Etsy "Splurges" That I would Love to Make

Hand Cranked Socks
From Shady Side Farm




Cotton Washcloth/Dishcloth Set
From RachelsAprons



Bamboo Scarf
From Mountaineer Country


The Economy is on every one's minds lately. With that being said, I have been thinking a lot of how my family lives day to day and the things that we might need to change to survive these tough times.

As a stay at home mom, my job is to do the best I can with what we have to make sure that my family has all the things that it needs and to make the money, that my hard working husband earns, to stretch as far as possible. Lately, I have been drawn to websites such as Granny Miller, Money Saving Mom, and Lots of Kids. These sites have led me to countless other sites in which I have found all kinds of information that I feel, as a responsible wife and mother, should be used to make the best of what we have.

Since I sell sewn items on Etsy, I have come across some shops that just stick out in my mind as shops that sell products that people really can "use". It is easy to shop and buy something you just "want" but it is responsible to buy something that you need and will use often.

The pictures above show some items that I feel are "good" for the pocket book and are well worth the money spent- (not to mention they are all good for the environment as they are made of all or partly natural materials). These are just a few items from these great shops so make sure and visit them and look around and support some of my fellow home school Etsy families.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

What's Outside Scott's Car Windows....

As seen around town today-
A Chinese Restaurant
Birthday Special with a "Winimum"

Yes folks, if you look hard enough when you are out and about in your travels, every once and awhile you will run up on some "goof" that someone has made. Today, my hubby, Scott just happened to run up on this sign, which at first glance, looks perfectly normal. Read it again, s-l-o-w-l-y. Now you get it huh?

I'm not the best speller in the world but it would seem to me that if you were a restaurant and paid someone to make you a sign, between you and the printer, one of you should have caught the spelling mistake. Don't you think?

My husband travels around the upstate of South Carolina quite a bit and he does tend to call home with some strange stories of things that he comes across. Well, he has decided to share with us all any "silly" or just plain "goofy" things that he runs across from now on in the form of pictures from his cell phone.

I guess that I'll have to start an, "What's Outside Scott's Car Windows" section now. So, stay tuned. He is way funnier than me so be prepared.....

So, if you happen to know what a "Winimum" is, I'd love to know.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

A Wordless Wednesday (almost)

What's worse, the fact that you are a tree and your nose is runny, or the fact that you are a tree, your nose is runny, and you have snow in your eye brows?

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Dedicated to Grandma,Papa, and those "warm" people in Arizona

The "J" crew


I wouldn't want to meet up with the looks of this fella on a dark night


Big brother was still sleeping- they actually pulled one over on him by sneaking out before he woke up


"Angels" making snow angels



"Quick, smile before you run off!"



"Look mom, I'm standing in a mud puddle!" "Did I get the reaction out of you that I wanted?"


A stick in the snow is worth,.......... well, nothing.

The snow plow driver was confused as the road was already cleaned off hours before.



Monday, March 2, 2009

What's Outside My Windows.....(the serious version)

Here are a few pictures of what we got to experience this morning- outside my windows.
(Don't look now CurlyFry- you have been warned....)



Black Ice



Our Driveway (kinda grey ice?)



Kitty Prints