"Simplify Your Life" book review

My word for this year is SIMPLIFY... and I love to read about the topic of simple living.

I recently read SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE: 100 WAYS TO SLOW DOWN AND ENJOY THE THINGS THAT REALLY MATTER by Elaine St. James. It was an interesting book and a quick read- I read the whole thing in two evenings.

Some of the suggestions were practical and reasonable, and others were rather ridiculous. My favorite? She suggests that to avoid the stress of keeping up with mowing and trimming your lawn, you should just get rid of the grass completely, and fill in your yard with sand or rocks. LOL! I don't think my neighbors here in Ohio would be too pleased!

If you're interested in this book, I know there are several FREE copies available for members of PaperBackSwap- that's where I got my copy!

WFMW? See my cooking blog.

My Works for Me Wednesday tip this week is a handy-dandy way to make eggs FAST in the morning. Since it's food-related, I went all crazy and actually put it over on my cooking blog... go figure. I'll be back here later this afternoon or this evening with crafty stuff~ and I did get most of yesterday's goal completed! :)

My brain is overloaded with crafts today...

I'm on creative overload.... it's one of those days when I am so full of crafty ideas and inspirations that I usually wind up doing more jumping from project to project than actual crafting. But, today I'm trying to get myself on track.

I've decided that I want to open an etsy shop, and hopefully supplement our income a bit. The point of my rambling here is that if I post it online, I feel more accountable... that's why I'm posting this for Tackle It Tuesday. So, you all have to hold me to this-- by the end of this day I want to complete the photos for the vintage items I want to put in my shop, and I want to have at least two altered craft items completed.

Of course, I also have a mountain of laundry to do and some dishes to wash, but I still want to set craft goals for myself. I'll be back tonight to let you know how it went-- and you all should feel free to get on my case if I don't have anything to show later! :)

Head on over to 5 Minutes for Mom's "Tackle It Tuesday" meme to share your tackle for the day and encourage others with their projects!

Ten on Tuesday: Movies I Want To See

Ten movies that I've intended to watch, but haven't yet:
1.) The Passion of the Christ (have borrowed a copy of this one but haven't found kid-free time to watch it yet)
2.) Pay It Forward (DH got this one for me when we found it for $3)
3.) Casablanca
4.) Juno
5.) that documentary of Al Gore's about global warming
6.) Ratatouille
7.) The Secret
8.) Therese --the life story of St. Therese
9.) Rent
10.) Elizabeth- The Golden Age

If you've seen any of these, I'd love to hear what you thought of them. If there's something I shouldn't waste my time on, please let me know-- my movie-viewing time is pretty limited!


Share your own want-to-see movie list at Ten On Tuesday!

My Pocket Recipe Swap pages

I finally got these finished and postal... whew!

I liked the way they came out. The paper I used for the pocket was an unusual texture- it was paper, but it felt very soft, like fabric. I don't know who made it because I bought it by the sheet at JoAnn's.

The recipe is for "Chicken Hurry". I'll post the recipe on my cooking blog in a little while if anyone is interested.

Sunday Scrappin' #15

TA-DA's: Well, on my own, I wouldn't have anything to show this week. My recipe swap cards are still not quite done, and they have to go postal Monday morning! Ack!

Anyways, I did get a few cute little projects done yesterday because I hosted a Stampin' Up party. We made a card, a 6x6" scrapbook page, and a cute little paper Easter basket. I really liked the Easter project~ who knew you could make something so cute from an envelope? :) I also wound up adding the stamp set we used for that project to my wish list-- that little chick is so cute!

TO-DO's: Obviously, finish my recipe swap pages. Also, I have another swap due next week- it's for greeting cards with a scripture message on them. I need to get moving on those, too.

THIS WEEK'S BONUS QUESTION: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SUPPLY TO WORK WITH RIGHT NOW? That's easy... it's the flower confetti I got a few weeks ago at Hobby Lobby, for less than $1 a pack. I'm loving that stuff!

If you do any kind of paper crafts, I hope you'll join us over at Sunday Scrappin'!

Was that cold medicine or espresso?

Right now I am playing jungle gym to one very cranky boy. He woke up with watery eyes, runny nose, the whole bit. So, I gave him a dose of cold medicine just before his nap... reasonable idea, right? Wrong. Apparently the cold medicine had the effect on him that a good cup of espresso has on me... he's wound up and in constant motion. Approximately half of that energy has been spent on having total meltdowns over every tiny thing- like hearing the word "no" or mommy leaving the room. Poor baby. :(

Meanwhile, I've swiped my DH's laptop and I'm reading blogs in between DS's meltdowns. Here are a few new-to-me blogs I've found today:

• For those of you who are papercrafters like me-- check out this blog & calendar with all the contests and DT calls: Pub Calls Blog
• Scratchin The Surface -- this blogger seems like she could be my neighbor
• Owlhaven -- written by a mom of 10

Alright, I'm off now to try again to pursuade baby boy that he really does want/need to nap for a while. I think we'll all feel better if he does.
P.S. I'll get my Sunday Scrappin' post up before the day is over!

Ta-Da!!!!

So, do you love my new look as much as I do? :) I just LOVE my new blog design, thanks to my bloggy friend Shera at Sweet 'n Simple Designs. Shera was fun to work with, and quite patient with me when I had one or two twenty zillion questions for her. ;) I just love the Annie in the banner, and the background plaid is the perfect colors. This look is just so... me. If you want your own special look for your blog, check out Shera's designs- I know she'd create something wonderful for you!

THANK YOU SHERA!

Wordless Wednesday: view from my desk window

Check out more WW photos & share your own HERE.

Frugal Find: $ .59 wreath!

The kids and I ventured over to the local Goodwill Outlet store today. It's always an adventure there- more so than the regular thrift stores. It's where all the stuff that doesn't sell at other Goodwill stores gets dumped... and I mean that quite literally. In the back half of the store are rows and rows of tables with big blue bins on them (like recycling bins) and inside, well, you never know what you'll find. One bin might contain two toys, a book, one shoe, a plate, and a chipped coffee cup. It's kind of an adventure to dig through things and see what you find.

Today I bought: ten vintage sewing patterns, a vintage children's book, two framed cross-stitched bird pictures, a framed flower print, and three old advertising tins . The tins are going in the high window above our kitchen table- I have a little collection going up there. The other vintage items I have some ideas for... especially if I get my Etsy store going soon! My grand total spent was $7.92.

My deal of the day came in the form of this wreath. My poor front door has been naked since Christmas. It's not that I can't make wreath myself, I just haven't felt inspired to do one. And, at $ .59, this is even cheaper than one I could make myself. Of course since it has hearts in it, it would have been nice if I'd have found it a week or two ago, but, still, this works for me! I'll probably change the bow out to something a little less red... I have to see what's in my ribbon drawer. Still, I couldn't pass this up at $.59!

Manic Monday (meme)

What do you order when you eat Chinese food? General Tso's Chicken, extra spicy, please. :) Crab Rangoons and Egg Drop Soup are also favorites.

How much have you controlled the course your life has taken? As much as I can, but I also believe that God has a plan for each of us, and there are many things in my life that I can look back on and see how things happened for a reason.

Whose opinion do you value when deciding how to vote? My husband's. He's really into politics and very intelligent. We talk a lot about the issues, even though I'm not as "up" on them now as I was back in our college days. He can usually answer any questions I have about issues or candidates, because he reads a lot about that stuff. That doesn't mean that we always vote the same, though... sometimes we laugh about basically just going to the polls and cancelling out each other's votes.

Check out more Manic Monday questions and answers HERE.

I won!!

Wow, what a great way to start my morning-- I got an email from Laura Williams saying that I had WON a free bloggy make-over!

The best part? The make-over will be by my bloggy friend Shera (of There's A Frog In My Soup) and I just LOVE her designs at Sweet N' Simple Designs! You've heard me go on about them before, and I'd been saving my pennies (literally, the change I find in the laundry) to have her re-do this blog anyways.

Thanks to Laura for holding the contest, and her son Jacob for pulling my name out of the box. You have to check out the cute video of him pulling the winner's name.

I am so excited! :)

Frugal Friday: Free Reads

How have I missed this meme before? Anything frugal is right up my alley! :) I can't wait to go check out everyone else's frugal tips!

One of my favorite things to do is read... mostly books, a few magazines. The thing is, I have no budget anymore for books and magazines. So, everything I read, with exception of a few rare craft magazine splurges... comes to me for free.

For magazines, I regularly sign up for free offers. I don't do any that require my credit card number-- I assume they'd try to bill me at some point. Instead, I stick with free trial offers of the no-strings-attached variety. I've used Free Biz Magazines and other sites. Here are two current offers that I'm aware of:

• Free Fitness magazine- I just signed up for this one- 22 issues, FREE!
• Focus on the Family - I enjoy this Christian publication.

Books: Almost everything I read-- and I read every night before bed-- comes from either the library or PaperBackSwap. If you're not familiar with PaperBackSwap, it's a FREE club where members swap their used books with each other. You can enter a wishlist, and if someone posts those books, you're notified & it's automatically requested for you. I have really enjoyed being a part of PBS.... it's meant free books and decluttering, all rolled into one!

So, there you have it, my frugal ways to feed my reading habit. Be sure to stop by Frugal Friday at Biblical Womanhood for more great frugal tips!

P.S. If you use one of my links or buttons for PaperBack Swap, you'll help me earn even more FREE credits-- thanks! :)

Shopping.... or maybe not.

From my cousin George....

HEMA is a Dutch department store. The first store opened on November 4, 1926, in Amsterdam. Now there are 150 stores all over the Netherlands. HEMA also has stores in Belgium, Luxemburg, and Germany. In June of this year, HEMA was sold to the British investment company Lion Capital. Take a look at HEMA's product page. You can't order anything. The language is Dutch and the prices are in Euros. Open the web site at http://producten.hema.nl/, wait a couple of seconds and watch what happens.

Check it out! :)

DVD & Audio Book Drive

My favorite volunteer organization, ChemoAngels, is having their annual media drive. Do you have audio books or DVD's that are sitting around collecting dust? Send them to ChemoAngels, and they will be given to cancer patients who could use a little entertainment.

Our Media Drive is taking place over February/March this year. Our prior media drives have been very successful, and our patients and seniors just love being n the receiving end of your media donations! This year our focus will be on audiobooks,both CD and cassette, and DVD movies. New or used, comedy,drama,action,adventure, kids, westerns, romance, documentaries, self-help, fiction and non-fiction... we can find the perfect recipient for just about any DVD or audiobook, but please, nothing of a hard-core nature. We will not be accepting VHS tapes this year, because the vast majority of our recipients use DVDs these days.If you have used or new audio books or DVDs to donate to our media drive, please send to:

ChemoAngels

PO Box 1971

Julian, CA 92036

And, of course, we are always grateful for donations to help us with the postageand packaging supplies associated with the media drive.

I have been a volunteer with ChemoAngels since 2002, and I have seen first-hand what a difference a little "happy mail" can make for a cancer patient. If you can help out with this drive, rest assured that your donations will be put to good use and very much appreciated!

Tackle It Tuesday: Toy Mountain

OK, so this isn't really my house... but it sure feels like it! (The photo came from PhotoBucket, and I have no idea where/what it is, but I sure would like to hear the story, wouldn't you?)

Today I'm tackling the mountain of toys that have accumulated in our family room. The kids both have rooms of their own, not to mention a playroom in the basement, yet somehow the bulk of the toys keeps migrating to the family room. We're to the point now where they're overflowing the toy bins and spread out all over the floor. I can't take it anymore! Today the kids and I are going to sort things out and reassign homes for most of the toys, and maybe I can even weed out a few to donate.

As motivation for my DD (age 4) to help me, we'll be decorating her Valentine box and writing out her Valentines for her preschool class today after the toy project is done. I'll post photos later tonight. As motivation for me.... see my last post about what I'll be watching tonight. :)

What are you tackling today? Head on over to 5 Minutes for Mom to share your tackle and cheer on others.

If you need me tonight at 9pm...

... I'll be camped out in front of the TV enjoying the season premiere of Big Brother 9! Let's hope this season is better than last- I love this show, but last year I thought there were some obvious ratings ploys (bubbles, anyone?) that weren't so great. This year's "Dirty Little Secret" theme should be interesting.

Rumor has it that BB10 will be on this summer, meaning there would be two seasons in one year.

Anybody else watching BB?

Frugal Alert: Postage Increase

The US Postal Service will be raising the price of stamps to $. 42 on May 12, 2008. However, the "Forever Stamps" will still be good, even if purchased at the current rate of $ .41. Note to self: only purchase Forever Stamps from now on!

Baby, it's cold outside!

Brrrrr! It so COLD and windy this morning! This morning the temperature with windchill was down in the negatives, and there's a storm warning out for tonight, with 4-7" of sleet & snow expected. I am SO ready for Spring!

This has not been a productive day so far. We got up and ready, checked the tv news and radio... no school delay for the preschool kids, just the public schools are listed... get to DD's preschool, and the parking lot is practically empty. Grrrrr. We came back home and turned the news on again, and there it is- a two hour delay for the preschool. So the kids played a while and basically wasted an hour and a half, then I got everyone bundled up again, and back to school we went in the frigid cold.

I feel like I've had a full day already, and it's not even noon yet!

Frugal Find: Clearance Post-Its

Whoo hoo! Now, if you're not a paper crafter, you probably won't get my excitement, and that's OK. (My DH won't get it, either.) I found pink Post-It notes today on clearance at Kmart for $ .40 per package. Since I've really been wanting to try making some of the many Post-It holder crafts that are out there, I bought all six packages that they had left, and I still spent less than the retail price of one big package. Now I just have to decide... do I want to try the chipboard holders? The acrylic frame holders-- like my friend Sarah's? Or these adorable little pocket books? Decisions, decisions...

Sunday Scrappin' #13

Ta-Da's: Well, for once I think I actually met all of my goals from last week- whoo hoo! I made and sent out all six of my glittery snowman cards for the "All That Glitters" swap on SCS. I was happy with the way these came out (for a change!) and had fun playing with all the sparkly stuff.

I also completed not one, but two card challenges. OK, ok, so I cheated a little on that last one... both challenges were completed using the same card. ;) The color scheme came from this weekend's Inspiration Challenge on SCS , and the layout came from Beate's Weekend Challenge.

By the way, you'll notice both cards have some flower confetti~ on the snowman, it forms the ball on his hat. I found my new favorite embellishment in the Easter aisle at Hobby Lobby for less than $1, and I'm having a lot of fun playing around with it. You'll probably be seeing a lot more of it in the next few weeks! :)

You've probably already seen my other "ta da" for this week... I did a facelift over at the Sunday Scrappin' site. :)

To-Do's: This next week I'd like to finish up those preschool scrapbook pages I was working on last week, and get some pictures up for those of you who asked about them. I need to get my 6x6" recipe swap pages done and mailed- I have the idea and the supplies, now I just need to get them put together! I'm also going to challenge myself to participate in at least one card challege again this week... that was fun, and it motivated me to get something done.

This week's bonus question: What are your favorite crafts sites? They can be blogs, commercial sites, or forums. Most of my favorites are listed in my right sidebar. I'll tell you about my top two favorites: SCS (Splitcoast Stampers) and Stampin' When I Can. I enjoy SCS for the swaps and the gallery- there are so many talented ladies there! (You can see my personal gallery on the SCS site HERE.) I enjoy Stampin' When I Can because not only is the author, Allison, a talented card maker herself, but she also provides tons of links each week to other great paper crafting sites.

If you do any sort of paper crafts, I hope you'll come

and join in the fun at Sunday Scrappin'!

More chances to win prizes

Are bloggers the most generous people on earth? I just bumped into yet another giveaway carnival- this one is called One World, One Heart, and the giveaways end on Valentine's Day. It seems that almost all of the items up for grabs are handmade. Some are definitely not to my taste, but some are just gorgeous. Stop over there and enter a few, or sign up to give away something on your own blog!

My vote has just been decided.

I've been waivering between McCain and Romney. Both had views I liked, both seemed like good, honest men. I just heard that Romney will be dropping out of the race, so, that made it simple for me- John McCain will be getting my vote!

What about you? If you haven't had primaries in your state yet, do you know who you'll be voting for?

Here a tag, there a tag, everywhere a tag tag.

I've been tagged not once, but twice this week for memes. So, here they are, both in one post:

Middle Name Meme- I was tagged by Sharon over at The Bird's Nest. Here are the rules: 1. You have to post the rules before you give your answers. 2. You must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden name). 3. After you are tagged, you need to update your blog with your middle name and your answers. 4. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and that they need to read your blog for details.)

M- Mommy. My favorite job title. :)

A- Artistic. Hey, I was an art major, after all.

R- Republican. Those of you who know me IRL know that I've come full-circle from being a Democrat to now a Republican-- blame my DH!

I- Ill. At the moment, I'm home sick from work, which is rare since I only work two days a week. I can't shake this sinus infection and didn't think I'd make it through a morning of meetings coughing on my co-workers.

E- Energetic. Most of the time. (Swiped that answer from Sharon, LOL!)

I was also tagged by Traci @ The Beady Queen for this 4 Random Things meme. The rules to this one are short and sweet- name four random facts about yourself, and then tag four more bloggers to do the same.

1.) I think I've been sick with colds/flu more often this winter than in any past years. :(

2.) I love to shop at Goodwill and other thrift stores.

3.) I really want to try beading/ making jewelry, but I haven't yet because I can't afford any more expensive hobbies right now!

4.) I love to do swaps and write snail mail letters.

Ok, so I'll throw some other tags up here and let the tag-ees pick which (or both) meme they want to do. So, Sarah, Mayogi, Kim, Shera, Katy, Sharon, Traci, and Alisha.... you're all tagged for the meme of your choice. ;)

Your car alarm key chain~ a useful home alarm?

This tip came to me in an email from a local County Deputy.

CAR KEYS- VERY GOOD IDEA

Put your car keys beside your bed at night. If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies. This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator.

Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this: It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it. It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage. If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break in your house, odds are the burglar or rapist won't stick around...after a few seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won't want that.

And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there.

At first I kind of blew it off, but the more I thought about it, it made sense to me. After all, if my neighbor's car alarm goes off late at night, I look out to see what's going on. I can't be the only one who does that (despite DH saying I'm just nosey).

So, what do you think? Would your car alarm alert people that you needed help? Or do you live in a neighborhood where they go off all the time and nobody pays attention?

Are you observing Lent?

Many Christians around the world, myself included, will begin our observation of Lent tommorow, on Ash Wednesday. This is a period of prayer and reflection during the 40 days leading up to Easter. As a Catholic, I'll keep the traditional fasting from meat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays up until Easter.

Many people also give up something else during this time, or, they endeavor to make a positive change in their lives during this time. Since my word for 2008 is SIMPLIFY, I'm trying to figure out a way to incorporate this into my Lenten observation. I'd love to hear how you will be observing the season!

Tackle It Tuesday: the dreaded fridge

We pause for a brief announcement: Happy Birthday Julie! My next-in-line sister is turning the big 3-0 today! :) Now back to our regularly scheduled blogging....

Our fridge has hit the scary I-can't-remember-those-leftovers point, so that's what I'll be tackling today. Since I'm not brave enough to post photos of my actual fridge contents, I figured I could at least share a little laugh:

So what will YOU be tackling today? Link up and encourage others over at 5 Minutes for Mom's Tackle It Tuesday.

P.S. Yesterday I tackled giving my Sunday Scrappin meme blog a facelift. I'd love to hear your opinions over there, and please, let me know if anything seems out of line or hard to read!

I need some volunteers...

... to go look at Sunday Scrappin for me. I just changed the template and completely redid my Sunday Scrappin' meme blog. Now I need to know how it looks from other computers... care to go take a peek? Are the colors too obnoxious? Is the text easy to read? Is there anything that you think I should change? Go ahead, be honest, I can take it. :)

Sunday Scrappin' #11

JULIE: Don't read this post, it shows your birthday card! LOL! :)

TA-DA's: Well, I was going to hold off on posting until later tonight, but we'll just go with what I have done so far. ;) I have pieces/parts laid out on my craft table for the glitter card swap I'm in, but I've hit a wall creative-wise, and will have to come back and work on those some more tommorow.

I made a quick card (shown at left) for my sister's 30th birthday, using "card candy" that I was given by an anonymous elf (the stamped greeting & candles). If you'd like more details on the card & materials used, please see this card as posted in my Splitcoast gallery.

I've also been working on DD's preschool scrapbook. Mostly what I've gotten done is putting her artwork onto pages. A lot of times it takes up nearly the whole 12x12" page, so there's not much room for embellishments or journaling. I'll have to take pics of some of those pages to share with you next week.

TO-DO's: I've got to get the glitter cards done and in the mail this week. I'm also setting a challenge to myself to complete at least one card challege this week, either from Splitcoast Stampers or elsewhere. (Stampin' When I Can is a great place to find challenges, some with prizes!) And, I'll keep working on DD's scrapbook.

THIS WEEK'S BONUS QUESTION: Do you sketch your ideas or do you just put things together as you go? I rarely sketch anything out on paper- I usually just kind of play around with things until I come up with a layout that I like.

If you do any sort of paper crafts, not just scrapbooking, I hope you'll join us over at Sunday Scrappin'!