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Christians can [still] change the world. This year, Give Presence.

Removing the Eyesore - TT

My husband and I were talking about housework a few weeks ago, and my lack of affinity for it...and he said...I think you need to post pics on your blog more often of your problem spots...does he know me or what? I didn't say much and he then accused me of not thinking it was a good idea because it came from him...I was like - oh no...it's too good of an idea...and I know that it will help hold me accountable, I'm just not sure I want that much accountability! LOL

So here we are...this has got to be one of the worst resident hot spots in my house. I don't know what happens...I determine that I will keep all the junk off, and before you know it - it's covered again, and I'm the one who did the covering! Ugh..

In order to help keep the process moving along, and me on track, I decided to use my handy-dandy timer and see how quickly I could work. I started with 15 mins...and by the time it went off, the baker's rack was mostly cleaned off and ready to go, except for the piles of misc stuff then sitting on my kitchen table...so I reset it and continued to work...

And was able to finish in great fashion with almost 5 mins left...and - no piles lingering in other places in my house - I think I truly managed to deal with everything on it, and moved it to the place it belongs (and threw away a bunch of junk!)

Voila -now if I can just manage to be disciplined and keep it this way...I'll have to do some periodic update photos just to keep me on my toes! If you've got housework (or any other project) that needs to get done - just tackle it, blog it & then head over to 5minutesformoms and link up your post - I don't know about you, but in some areas, I need all the encouragement I can get! Happy Tuesday!

Christmas Planning - 4 Weeks & Counting

Photo by krisdecurtis
Yikes - not much happened Christmas related around here last week at all...guess that's what happens when you have a 2 year old, a business, embroider on the side and try to keep a house straight! Truth be told - last week was just a tiring week...B has been waking up most mornings between 4 & 5 and is then out the door sometime between 5 & 6 - even going to bed at 9:30 several nights didn't seem to be enough sleep for me! However...I'll give it another goal this week!

Christmas Goals 11/24 -11/30

• gather Christmas craft/wrapping - still need to hit a few more places
• keep an eye on Craig's List for 2 possible presents - I've actually been doing this consistently, just haven't found anything I'm happy with yet!
• make major progress on Christmas dish towels - this is go week for this one!
  
• sew W & A Christmas tees
• try Christmas pic
• buy Christmas stamps
  

Thinking Forward

• think through decorations - where to hang garland
  
• think through Christmas "schedule"

Christmas Accomplishments

• gift list made - several gifts purchased
• holiday budget tweaked
• purchased replacement Christmas tree lights (that we unfortunately did need) LOL
• purchased gift cards & World Vision gifts on Christmas list
• moved Trigger downstairs
• work on Christmas card list - finally (though it will probably still have some tweaks!)
• tree up - burnt out lights replaced
• gather Christmas craft supplies - partial
• transfer Christmas Club $$ into Savings Account so that it doesn't get mixed into regular spending
• get recipe for Fruit Cake cookies from MaMa
• check wrapping supplies
• design Christmas tee for W & A - both planned
  

I expect this week to be somewhat hectic with Thanksgiving taking place, however for our business, that should (fingers crossed) also slow things down a bit, so I'm hoping that will leave me room to get lots of other stuff done. We'll see! Have a wonderful & productive week!

Etsy Alert

In my journey through the blogosphere (thanks Meg!), I stumbled upon A bit of this and a bit of that - a super neat blog about a mom in Japan and her quest to teach her son using Montessori methods. I really don't know much at all about the Montessori world, but it's been so interesting to pick up bits and pieces through reading her blog.


I've now found out that she also has an Etsy store - so I couldn't resist checking it out - so many cute things! I'm particularly a sucker for fabric - and she has several unique Japanese fabrics that look so different from what is available here. And how stinkin' cute is this little Space Kadet - love him! Bibs, Christmas goodies, patterns/sewing kits, notebooks, buttons - the store truly lives up to the name - all so fun to look through and peruse! So take a minute and head on over for a gander...hope you'll enjoy it just as much as I did!

Giveaway Alert

Tsh over at SimpleMom is hosting a fabulous giveaway for all kinds of reusable bags - the one pictured at the left is from B. Happybags and definitely caught my eye! How chic & adorable at the same time! Any of you who know me (and I mean really know me) probably know that I'm not the most green person on the planet. For one thing...I struggle with clutter MAJORLY - the unfortunate truth for me (at this time) is that sometimes it's better to throw it away and get it out of my house & life rather than to try to hang on & reuse everything I encounter (which is, by nature, my packrat-self)...if I could keep all those goodies organized, it probably wouldn't be a problem...but I digress! If you're looking for reusable bags (and I have been giving it some thought lately) - SimpleMom is showcasing a myriad of choices - definitely a great resource if you're heading this direction already and a great encouragement for those of us who are thinking about it!


Kailani over at Island Life is hosting a great giveaway for these adorable growth charts from Olive Kids! There are so many cute ones to choose from! I don't know about you, but I had great plans of getting started early on keeping track of Walker's growth on some kind of chart, door - something. I can remember my grandparents marking a wall at their house when we were growing up for all of us grandkids - seems so precious! But as it is prone to do, time marches on - W is now over 2 and measured 36" at his 2 year check-up and still no marking has been done. I'd love to win this giveaway, but if I don't, may have to give some serious thought to buying one anyway, as it's time to get busy recording his progress! Make sure you head over and check it out when you get a minute!

WFMW - Free Mr. Yuk Stickers

Last year about this time I spoke to a friend of mine whom I hadn't seen for several weeks and she related their family's latest news...just a few days before she'd made an impromptu trip to the ER with her youngest, then just over a year old. You see, they had only recently moved into her grandmother's (furnished) house and unbeknownst to all, there was a box of rat poison lurking behind a sofa in the sun room. One evening, she walked in to find the finger/footprints of her two boys T (4) and Z (1) in the dust from the poison. She immediately began to feel the panic well up inside of her, but managed to stay calm as she and her husband interrogated T to find out if he had eaten any. He swore that he hadn't and as there was no evidence (coloration around his mouth) he stayed at home with his dad while she whisked little Z to the emergency room. Thankfully - all was okay - no p0ison had been eaten, the box was subsequently disposed of and everyone was safe.

Within a week of hearing her story, I saw a spot on TV talking about Poison Control and that most ER visits for poisonings can actually be avoided with a quick call to Poison Control - hearing that piece of info so close on the heels of her story etched it indelibly on my brain. They said for the most part, the Poison Control operators can assess the situation with the info you provide them and give you the best course of action - typically faster than you can even get to the ER - which could definitely save a life in a desperate situation! I immediately wrote down the number and have made sure to store it in my cell phone, computer contacts and in my home management notebook.

I really hadn't thought about Mr. Yuk in years until I had a baby - I remember him from my childhood, remember the stickers well - and have often wondered where those stickers ever came from, did they still exist, and if so - where do you get them now? I never have thought about it at the right time, though and then today, in doing a little blog surfing, ran across a post Whitney had done that linked to the Children's Hospital of Pittsburg and come to find out - they're the creators of Mr. Yuk. And even better - to get a free sheet of Mr. Yuk stickers, all you have to do is send a self-addressed stamped business size envelope to:

Mr. Yuk
Pittsburgh Poison Center
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
3705 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2583

I immediately grabbed a couple of envelopes, addressed them and they're now stamped and ready to go out in the morning and I encourage you to do the same! Not only are these stickers free, but they could save the life of one of your loved ones (or you!) and you certainly can't put a price on that! For more great WFMW ideas, head on over to Rocks in my Dryer!

Embroider even if you don't have a fancy-schmancy machine!

Applique has been around for a long time - many of our mothers and grandmothers were using the technique long before "embroidery-specific" machines were available on the market. The old-school embroidery look is very popular right now (just take a look around etsy), and is fairly simple to do - you can stitch it by hand or with a regular sewing machine - either way, the technique is very simple. If you have any questions - please don't hesitate to leave them in the comments or drop me an email - this technique can also be used with an embroidery machine and one of your favorite applique designs (with a few tweaks) - I'll be more than happy to share that with you too!


Unless you're super artistic/creative, I recommend starting out by creating a template - you can hand-draw one, copy a simple clip art, stitch one out, it really doesn't matter, you just need to have a starting point. I'm not much of an artist, so a simple template is a must for me! I stitched out my candy cane template and then trimmed it down leaving roughly a 1/8" allowance around the stitching.


Next, choose a fabric that you'd like to use for your applique. I chose this stripey one as it does remind me of candy canes!


Next cut a square of fabric that will comfortably encompass your template. I hate to waste fabric so I tend to cut the absolute smallest square possible, but sometimes that means it really is too small - so don't overly kill yourself trying to cut the perfect piece of fabric - my theory is it's better for it to be a little wasteful rather than to definitely be wasteful when I have to cut a second piece! Also - if your fabric has a "direction" - make sure that you cut it so that you can orient your template the desired direction on the fabric.


Now cut a piece of iron-on adhesive- I used this HeatnBond that I found at Walmart (make sure you get the kind that is sewable - not all of them are). Cut it the same size as your fabric & iron it onto the WRONG side of the fabric (leaving the paper backing on the adhesive) according to manufacturer instructions.


I usually keep a piece of paper on my ironing board so that if there's any excess adhesive (my 2 squares are never the exact same size) it gets stuck to the paper and not my board.


Now trim your piece of applique fabric (with adhesive paper attached) to your template. I'm not super artistic, so a template is a necessity for me...but if you are, you can also freehand your shape at this point...just remember that the more intricate your shape is, the more intricate your stitching will be. For me, simple is best.


Next, place your trimmed fabric on the item you want to applique - you can use a onesie or tee, dish towel, pillowcase, tote - the possibilities are really endless! For this project, I chose a pillowcase. Again following manufacturer directions, iron your applique fabric onto your item.


Next place your item on your machine and stitch the applique fabric down taking into account the fabric allowance you added earlier (I used 1/8"). The adhesive will help keep the fabric from fraying, but stitching inside the 1/8th inch also helps keep the fabric completely adhered to the item.


At this point, your item is appliqued - feel free to embellish it with ribbon, buttons, ric rac, etc. After looking at my pic I realized that you couldn't really see the red stitching holding the candy cane down, so I went back and restitched it in black.


I am fortunate enough to have an embroidery machine, so I am adding my little guy's name so that he'll have a festive Christmas pillowcase to use now that he's moved to a big boy bed.

I don't want to give away too much, as I'm giving embroidered items as several gifts, but here are a few of my other Christmas embroidery projects:


Santa with dangly feet (legs made of ribbon)


Christmas truck with tree - I need to get buttons sewn on in the middle of the wheels, but haven't gotten around to it yet! I think that would make it even cuter!


Santa frog - he's one of my favorites!

Hope your handmade Christmas is coming along nicely...for more great ideas, head on over to check out *holidays by hand* - this week almostfrugal is hosting!

Christmas Planning - 5 Weeks & Counting

Photo by tanakawho

Just over 5 weeks to Christmas - last week flew by and I didn't get much of anything Christmas-y done. Brad has been stuck on a jobsite for the past two weeks so that has greatly impacted the flow of things both here on the homefront & in the office. I have big plans for today & this week, however - and hope to get a lot accomplished!

Christmas Accomplishments

• gift list made - several gifts purchased
• holiday budget tweaked
• purchased replacement Christmas tree lights (that we unfortunately did need) LOL
• purchased gift cards & World Vision gifts on Christmas list
• moved Trigger downstairs
• work on Christmas card list - finally (though it will probably still have some tweaks!)
• tree up - burnt out lights replaced
• gather Christmas craft supplies - partial
• transfer Christmas Club $$ into Savings Account so that it doesn't get mixed into regular spending
• get recipe for Fruit Cake cookies from MaMa
• check wrapping supplies
• design Christmas tee for W & A - both planned
  

Christmas Goals 11/17 -11/23

• gather Christmas craft/wrapping - still need to hit a few more places
• keep an eye on Craig's List for one possible present - still looking!
• make major progress on Christmas dish towels
• sew W & A Christmas tees
• try Christmas pic
• buy Christmas stamps
  

Thinking Forward

• think through decorations - where to hang garland
  
• think through Christmas "schedule"
  

As Thanksgiving approaches, are you redirecting your holiday energy to turkey day and away from Christmas, or are you balancing between the 2? Let me know how you're doing!

Spend a little - Give a lot

Are you looking for a way to give a little extra this holiday season? Spend 5 minutes, $5 dollars and make a huge difference in the lives of 2 people - your $5 buys 2 pairs of shoes!

soles4souls is a fantastic charity in nashville that has one mission: get shoes to people who need shoes. Over 300 million people around the world don’t have shoes and are forced to walk around unsafe and in potentially life-threatening conditions. Not only is it unsafe physically, but having to look down all the time causes these people to also live without dignity and confidence. I went on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic when I was in 7th grade and I will never forget seeing adults and children walking around with bare feet - oftentimes in and through raw sewage. Unsanitary to say the least!

And not only can you help 2 (or more) people with your donation - you just might get to do it in person! That's right...

YOU CAN WIN A TRIP TO GIVE SOMEONE THEIR FIRST PAIR OF SHOES!

One person (and their guest) will be chosen at random to hand deliver the shoes they purchased on a soles4souls trip to Mexico. Can you imagine handing someone their very first pair of shoes? What an incredible experience!

So as we approach this holiday season, take a minute & send shoes to someone in need - involve your kids, skip coffee, a snack or one meal out - it only takes $5!! Check out 50000SHOES.COM for more info!

Birthday Party Fun

Several weeks ago we went to a birthday party for the 2 kids of friends of ours - Walker had a ball. He loved sitting in the jeep - I figured the battery must be dead (bc the older kids drove them all around in circles until pretty much all the batteries gave out), however when I hit the pedal for him, it started to move. He wasn't quite as sure about that - the motion was a little too jerky for him - not long after that one of the older kids climbed in and started driving, leaving him as the passenger and he loved that - a much smoother ride than his choppy stop & go driving!

Always a fan of a slide!


He loved this little car and we both thought he looked so cute in it - unfortunately the pedals were way out at the front and his cute little legs just wouldn't reach - Papa made it go for him for a bit, but that wasn't much fun for Papa! This pregnant girl was happy to be behind the camera! :)



We were a little surprised, but W loved going after the pinata - in fact, after taking several good swings and then another couple kids taking a turn, he managed to grab the bat and give it a 2nd go. Hard to explain to a 2 year old that it isn't his turn anymore!


W was off playing when cake was first served - while all the other kids were still occupied with the pinata, he meandered over to the kids' table & started devouring several half eaten pieces of cake. I quickly cut him a piece, which he ate, then a 2nd piece - evidently that just wasn't enough, as the other kids' pieces still got quite a bit of attention!


And then wouldn't you know - 10 or so minutes later, he ate a good bit of Brad's piece of cake!


Definitely a great party - thanks Zach and Thomas for letting us celebrate with you!

That's it for today, folks - sleep tight!

A little behind on Halloween

Where does the time go? Lately downloading, sorting and publishing Walker pics just seems to take so much time - I keep meaning to be more diligent on the weekends, but so far that hasn't happened! Hope you'll enjoy the long overdue W & A pics from our fall festival adventure Halloween night!

Walker was dying to slide, and thankfully Papa was gracious enough to carry him to the top (twice) - the first time with MaMa (Brad's mom) sliding with him, and then a second time when I felt a little left out and "needed" to slide too...Walker was more than happy to oblige me with a 2nd trip to the top! :)

That boy does love a slide!

He thoroughly enjoyed the bouncy toy!

We were so tickled that they had pony rides - we knew Alexa would eat it up, but Walker tends to be rather timid at times, so I was really concerned that he might balk when it was his turn. There was also a "mini petting zoo" set up with a very friendly sheep, Shetland pony and little goat right beside the pony rides. While the mamas stood in line, Walker & Lexa (with various chaperones depending on the moment) circled the petting enclosure and got acquainted with the animals. I totally believe that is what gave W the confidence and comfort level to ride the pony - and I was so thrilled - they were so cute!

Alexa the bumblebee on her pony - she couldn't make up her mind at first which pony she wanted to ride - luckily W wasn't picky LOL


Both costumes were adorable - I was especially tickled with W's because he is so into giraffe right now and I found this one, in his perfect size at a consignment sale for $4 - can't beat that!

WFMW - Live Within Your Harvest

Photo by tanakawho

As the Christmas season approaches, I think it's super easy for all of us to get a little glassy-eyed and caught up in the rush of the season and overspend ourselves into a deep hole, that we then spend some large portion of next year climbing out of. Let this year be different!

I've always heard the term "live within your means" - I recently saw a plaque with a phrase I like even better "live within your harvest" - what a beautiful picture! The American culture teaches us to always want MORE, MORE, MORE (hello consumerism) but to be a good steward of what we have, we've all got to learn to say NO and to live within the boundaries of our individual lives, whatever they may be! It's okay to try and enlarge those boundaries (within reason), but if you never get your spending under control, you'll always want more, no matter if you make $20,000 $200,000 or $2,000,000. It's easy to say that if you made $150,000 a year you'd be satisfied, but the truth is, there are a lot of people making $150,000 that spend $175,000 every year and have a big pile of credit card debt to make up the difference!

So this year, especially with the flurry of Christmas spending that is already/getting ready to take place, I encourage you to set some guidelines for yourself:

• set a reasonable Christmas budget and abide by it (beyond Christmas, make a monthly budget - Dave Ramsey is a great resource!)
• stay away from certain stores where self-control/restraint is difficult (ie the mall -I literally probably go to the mall less than 5 times a year, and 2 of those times are to get my engagement ring inspected)
  
• shop online - use online tools to find the best deals and bargains - Meg has a great WFMW post on this very issue today - couldn't have said it better myself!
• get creative & go homemade for Christmas - several bloggers are working together on the "holidays by hand" festival - check it out and get inspired!
• tell your kids (or other relatives) NO - kids don't have to have 10 presents to have a great Christmas - I know several families whose kids get 3 presents, just like Jesus did - what a great model!
• use coupons - I've bought many a Christmas present using Bed, Bath & Beyond 20% off coupons - this year I've bought at least 1 gift from ACMoore using a 55% off coupon they had in the paper a few weeks back
  
• do a family name swap with your extended family and buy for 1 family member instead of 12
• do all cash for Christmas - refuse to use the plastic - you'll thank me in January (and on into the rest of the year) when you don't have a big pile of debt to recover from
• don't believe the lies that Hollywood & advertising try to sell us - you don't need a pair of $250 boots to prove your worth - when you see commercials, print ads, etc. think about and through the lies that the advertisers are selling and then DON'T BUY THEM! We use a DVR for most shows that we watch, so we see few commercials to begin with- certainly helps cut down on the "wants"! (Start challenging your kids to see through it too - I know a family who plays "Spot the Lie" with their kids when a commercial comes on TV "Kids - what are they telling us?" "that abc cereal will make me happy" "Does abc cereal make you a happy person?" etc.)
  

These are just a few ways to live within your harvest this holiday season - I'd love to hear any ideas you have too! For other great WFMW ideas, head on over to Shannon's place! SimpleMom also has a post out today along these same lines dealing with house fever - make sure to check it out! I also plan a follow-up post to this one later this week/weekend talking more about the concept of living within your harvest outside of Christmas so be sure to come back (or subscribe) so that you don't miss it! Have a great week!

Christmas Planning - 6 Weeks & Counting

Photo by galfred

Just over 6 weeks to Christmas - the last few weeks have just slipped by, but six weeks starts to feel very real!

Christmas Accomplishments

• gift list made - several gifts purchased
  
• holiday budget tweaked
• purchased replacement Christmas tree lights (that we unfortunately did need) LOL
• purchased gift cards & World Vision gifts on Christmas list
  
• moved Trigger downstairs
• work on Christmas card list - finally (though it will probably still have some tweaks!)
• tree up - burnt out lights replaced
  
• gather Christmas craft supplies - partial
• transfer Christmas Club $$ into Savings Account so that it doesn't get mixed into regular spending
• get recipe for Fruit Cake cookies from MaMa
• check wrapping supplies
• design Christmas tee for W & A - both planned - now I just need to start sewing!
  

Christmas Goals 11/10-11/16

• gather Christmas craft supplies - still need to hit a few more places
  
• pick up additional wrapping supplies (tissue paper, ribbon)
  
• keep an eye on Craig's List for one possible present - still looking!
  
• make major progress on Christmas dish towels
• sew W & A Christmas tees
  

Thinking Forward

• Christmas card pic
• Christmas stamps
  
• think through decorations
• think through Christmas "schedule"

Hope your Christmas plan is coming together nicely! I'd love to hear about it!

Christmas Giveaway Alert

As I've been reading along, I've run across several great giveaways (both current & ongoing) right now and wanted to pass the word along! 5 Minutes for Mom is hosting an entire Christmas Giveaway Event with 25+ giveaways during the month of November. If you don't already subscribe to their feed, go over and check them out - they will do individual posts throughout the month for each individual contest - you can also check out this post for both the contest rules and an updated list of all the contests they add as they get added (you have to scroll down to the very end to see the list...) Now on to some other great looking giveaways!

I will have to admit (and anyone who knows me can further attest) - I've never been super into fashion...part of it is that I'm fairly frugal and just can't see spending tons of $$ for clothes, quality or not. I have been trying to upgrade my image a bit lately, however, and for whatever reason would love to have a pair of red heels (probably too many episodes of 'What Not to Wear'!) - my feet, however, love comfort, so my shoes must also be tres comfy! When I ran across a giveaway for these new High Fashion Crocs, my heart melted...until I saw the pricetag! Yikes - $150 for a pair of heels? $250 for a pair of boots? Not looking likely in my immediate future, however they are beautiful to look at! so that I will enjoy! If you'd like to see the rest of the line, head on over to the You by Crocs website and take a look around - they do have some summer selections on sale (I'm personally hoping that these babies make it to the next seasonal sale! LOL) Better yet - maybe I'll win a pair or maybe it'll be you! Kailani is hosting a giveaway for two pairs and 5 Minutes for Mom has a giveaway for 2 more going. Believe you me - I'm entering both! :)
I am definitely a bit of a tech junkie - I love looking around in office stores, love seeing the new gadgets people are talking about. This Epson looks fantastic! I don't think I've actually ever had an Epson, but believe you me...if I won this guy, I would definitely give them a try! SimpleMom has been given one to give away - so if you're up for a little printer fun...head on over and jump in this giveaway as well! I can't even remember the last time I printed photos (sorry MiMi & MaMa, maybe ya'll should enter for me as well?? LOL) - but having a nifty printer at home that could turn out high quality ones should certainly help, right?

So there you go - a few lovely giveaways going on! Of course, I'd love to win any of these, but if it can't be me...maybe it can be you! So go - go enter now! And enjoy some giveaway magic leading up to the Christmas season!