Happy Halloween

Wow, it's Halloween already?!  Seriously, where has the time gone?

I got a writing prompt in my email regarding a "memorable Halloween costume" and I thought it would be fun to share one of my favorites!

My husband dressed as the Wolverine and I was a (chunky) Phoenix... Well, my husband really looked the part, but I was just... well, I had fun anyway!  (please excuse the messy kitchen!)

As you can see, my hubby nailed it with his hair and the way he shaved his face!  The "Claws" are just toys, but they actually make metallic clanging sounds when you swing your hands to make the claws come out.  It was lots of fun.  Especially since this was before we were married, pregnant, etc... just the two of us and his teenage son (who's now a 21 year old young man!)

We both love Halloween and enjoy taking our two youngest trick or treating.

It was a very memorable Halloween for us.  Lots of fun!

Do you have any memorable Halloweens that really stand out?  Feel free to share!  I'd love to hear about them!

Resolution Amendment

So, I've been doing a lot of thinking these first few weeks into 2014 and have already thought of some amendments to my New Year's Resolution List...

I want to add the following:

12. Start Couponing... really hard core coupon cutting. I've seen some people do some amazing saving with coupons and I want some of that action.
13. Work on my Documented Life Project. I still have a LOT of "prepping" that still needs done; Month pages (I'm only done through April,) Weekly pages (I'm only done through Feb,) and I haven't done any "tip-ins" yet, except for a few of the projects that I've done already. I'm not sure if I'm going to put them in ahead of time or just do them as I go. I also got some medical paper tape that I want to make my own washi tape out of. It's quite see-thru and I like that because I tend to draw/write/doodle/etc. right to the edge of the page.

14. Plan meals better. But this probably should fall under the whole "get organized" portion of the list. But I've been wanting to get going with proper meal planning and cooking in bulk so I can have frozen meals that can just be heated up throughout the week.
15. Read the scriptures daily. I had been doing fairly well at this a while back, but I've slacked severely recently. Now, I've been back at a daily scripture read this whole week and it feels good.
16. Spend more time with my boys. Pay more attention to them and add in some new and fun activities throughout the week. I already spend a TON of time with my boys, being a Stay-at-home-Mom, but I feel like I can give more "Quality" time to them than I do currently.
17. Not waste so much time. Pinterest is a great source of ideas and inspiration, but let's face it, it's a time sucker. (As is Facebook and all other social media, but that's a whole other post!) I get on the laptop to do a couple things and hours later I realize that I've wasted the day.
18. Stop procrastinating. This kind of goes along with #17, but expands it a bit. I tend to wait until the last minute to do... well, everything. And then I'm rushed to finish. I usually do my best work in the Eleventh hour, but I shouldn't have to for absolutely everything. Plus, I tend to underestimate how long it will take me to do something, so that gets me more stressed out. I usually finish and usually by my deadlines, but I just don't need to do that to myself.

So, have you kept any of your resolutions so far? Or have they fizzled out early? Or have you done as I have and added/amended to your list?

Happy New Year 2014!

Happy New Year!

Wow, it's 2014! Is it really the first of the year?

Well, I said I would meet you back here and go over some New Year's Resolutions, didn't I? In all honesty, I haven't had much time to think about my resolutions. Oh, they've flitted through my head while doing other things, sure. But I haven't actually had time to sit and write them down.

Let's start by understanding what a New Year's Resolution is supposed to be. It is something that one decides to do or change about themselves over the course of the next year. Typically, these are things to help one improve oneself such as; lose weight, quit smoking, quit drinking, get organized (a standard for my list,) etc.. Yet many of us make these lists, but never seem to be able to keep them.

Are we making unrealistic goals? Are we just too lazy to keep up with them? Are we not ready to turn over a new leaf on the first of the year? Maybe we make too long of a list and it gets too daunting and overwhelming or too many things to try to remember to do/not do all at once.

Whatever it is, I still like to make out my list at the beginning of the year and see how far I get. One idea I had was to make a list, but start only one of them in January, then start the second one in February, the third in March, well, you get the idea. Since it takes 21 days to make something a habit, I thought that would be a good way of instilling each individual item on the list into my life. Make each a habit, one at a time. Although, now that I'm going through my list in my head, some things aren't under the category of "habit" and are just things that need to be done.

Now, for the list:

1. Organize the house (this may actually take more than one month LOL it actually needs it's own list of different areas)
a. My desk/office area
b. Master bedroom
c. Master bath
d. Guest bath
e. J's bedroom
f. B's bedroom
g. Kitchen
h. Living room
i. The garage (that is a whole entire project in and of itself that will take many months to complete, but leads me to my next main list item)
2. Go through a box a day from the garage
3. Get published!
4. Finish the books that I have started (I've got quite a few in the works and really need to finish them, a few are in a series of their own)
5. Lose weight (I've actually already started on this, having lost 9 pounds recently, but I want to get into regular sized clothing, rather than the "plus" sized stuff)
6. Start exercising (this should take care of the item above)
7. Start a garden (we've been trying, but can't seem to get anything to really "take" in our crappy sandy Floridian yard)
8. Get into major couponing
9. Finish the afghan I'm working on right now as well as one other I have planned as a gift
10. Write daily
11. Keep the van clean (I've got kids, what can I say?)

I've been working on a few of these things for a while, but really want to focus on them this new year, so that's why I've added them to the list. For example, this past November, I did NaNoWriMo, but now have to finish editing and getting the book ready to publish. Also, the afghan I'm working on is a project that I tend to only work on when going on long trips (a drive that will last at least an hour+) when my husband drives because I hate his driving and he hates me screaming at his driving, so crochet. Why don't I just drive instead of him? Well, I'd rather not and it gives me time to crochet when the kids are strapped in their child seats and can't come running up to me and climb all over me and my yarn with sticky fingers and drool. Enough said.

The main "habits" I need to establish are rite daily, exercise and going through a box a day from the garage. Now it's just a matter of prioritizing my list and getting started. The main thing I really need to do is get more organized. I still have Christmas cards that need to be sent out because I lost them! I had them, we got ready for Christmas Day, moved a few things around and *POOF* gone! Totally disappeared. I don't know if the little green men who live in the walls came out and took them or what. (That's something my Dad always said if we lost something; the little green men must have taken it.) So, better organization is my number one priority. With that, everything else should fall into place.

The main problem(s) is(are) that this house is too small (and I'm a packrat) and has no decent storage space. There are hardly any cupboards in the kitchen for pots, pans, glasses and dishware, there are only a few very small closets and the rooms themselves are small, so there's not a lot of space for our furniture. So, organization is a necessity that I've been putting off for waaaayyyy too long.

Starting a garden is also something that I want up at the top of the list because that could save us a ton of money in groceries. We'd still have to buy some produce from the store, obviously, but if I could grow my own bell peppers, lettuce, celery, squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc., that would be a huge help! I've grown celery, but it only grows for a little while (about 3-5 inches tall) and then dies off. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong with it.

Anyway, that's my New Year's Thoughts and Resolutions. What are yours?

Happy Easter!

A Poem about the Holidays

Writing prompt by Mama Kat

The prompt I chose was to write a post in twelve lines, 

so I chose a poem and this is what came of it.

Holiday Overload

1. One, two, buckle my shoe
2. Three, four, there’s a knock at the door
3. Five, six, time for treats and tricks
4. Seven, eight, I've put on more weight
5. Nine, ten,  I see a ghost, a witch, and a Barbie and Ken
6. Eleven, twelve, too many decorations to put up and then shelve
7. Thirteen, fourteen, too many thoughts in my bean
8. Fifteen, sixteen, a whole house to clean
9. Seventeen, eighteen, where’s my caffeine?
10. Nineteen, twenty, next is Thanksgiving with food a-plenty
11. Twenty-one, twenty-two, then Christmas and Santa and reindeer too
12. Twenty-three, twenty-four, I can’t take any more

National Parent's Day

Today is the fourth Sunday of July 2012 and is National Parent's Day!

I just happened across a picture shared on Facebook today in honor of Parent's Day and decided to look up the holiday.  Here's the picture:

Photo credit

And that is so true, I'm finding, as my Little Man grows like a weed and teaches me more than I ever thought possible!

As it turns out, this holiday was signed into law back in 1994, but I'd never even heard of it.  I don't recall seeing it on the calendar either, but I wasn't exactly looking for it either.

The idea seems to be to have another holiday similar to Mother's Day and Father's Day, but in regards to a two-parent family, but even more so, honoring the children rather than the parents.  The focus seems to be more on the children as our most precious resource.

To quote the website for National Parent's Day, "The National Parents' Day Council does not envision Parents' Day to be yet "another" day to honor parents, but rather a day when parents honor their children and the God-centered family ideal by rededicating themselves to manifest the highest standard of unconditional true love."  Which I think is wonderful, however, I'm wondering about the families with single parents.  Can they not take part in this particular holiday?  Is that right or wrong?  Or is it neither, and is just a holiday set for a specific set of people?

Christmas is for Christians, Hanukkah is for Jewish people, Kwanza is for those celebrating African heritage, Grandparent's Day is just for grandparents, Pet Parent's Day is for those with pets, and many more, I'm sure, that I don't know of or can't think of off the top of my head.  So, I suppose there's no harm in having a holiday set aside for a two-parent family.

Basically, I'm just thinking outloud here and I don't want to get anyone angry or upset about anything, but I would like general opinions on how you feel about National Parent's Day.  Did you ever hear about it before?  Do you care?  Are you excited to go out and get a card for your wife/husband for Parent's Day?  Did you look at your calendar and did you find it there?  Are you a single parent and feel left out?  How about divorced/separated parents who are both still in their children's lives?  Any other thoughts/feelings on the subject?  Constructive comments only please, let's open a discussion about it, no arguing.  Thank you.

Photo credit

My New Favorite Holiday

July 7th, 2012  Today is Chocolate Day!!  

Are you kidding me?!  Chocolate Day?!  I now have a new favorite holiday.  And I just found out something totally delightful... We now have an even better reason to eat chocolate.  Chocolate is actually a vegetable!  That's right!  Well, sort of... The Cacao tree that grows in the rainforest is where the cocoa for chocolate comes from and it is apparently a vegetable.  Which is probably why dark chocolate is said to be good for you in small quantities.  


Now, as for my Reese's cups and Snickers bars, I'm sure the sugar and all the other stuff they put in them outweighs the health factor from the rainforests.  But, it's an interesting, if not useless, fact to share with your friends the next time you are all indulging in a chocolate Wonderfall or some other heavenly chocolate treat.

I would say that these are my ultimate favorite chocolate treat of all time.
Little on the pricey side, but soooo worth it!

Now I want some chocolate in the worst way and we don't have any in the house anywhere!  UGH!

Fairies Exist

June 24th is Fairy Day!

I've always loved fairies, dragons, wizards, knights, unicorns, the whole medieval/fantasy package, so this holiday is right up my alley.  I just wish I could draw them.  I've found some amazing artwork on the internet of fairies and such.  Just Google it and see what I mean.  There are just so many different depictions of fairies, that it boggles the mind.  Good, bad, mischievous, holiday, daytime, nighttime, childlike, sexy, ugly, even anime... you name it, there's a fairy for it.

For those of you who also enjoy fairies and their stories, you should check out the information on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the two teenage girls who supposedly had actually photographed fairies in their own yard.

Of course, there's Tinkerbell, and as I've said before, I'm a huge Disney fan, so I can't possibly not post a pic of our favorite pixie.

Enjoy Fairy Day!

Go Skateboarding Day

June 21st is Go Skateboarding Day!

Yet another holiday that I can dedicate a post to my husband for... He used to skateboard a lot when he was younger.  I tried, but had a very traumatic experience my very first time out and never went back.  I didn't exactly live in an area where I was able to skateboard anyway, so the opportunity to "get back in the saddle" wasn't really ever there.

Anyway, this event takes place all around the world, there are scholarships, foundations, a blog, Instagram, Twitter, a Facebook page with updated local event areas marked on a map, etc.  If you love to skateboard, you will definitely want to check this out!

Juneteenth

Happy Juneteenth (Emancipation Day in Texas)  In 1865 the slaves in Texas were proclaimed free.  

And not to diminish the importance of the above, I must also mention that it's also 

Garfield the Cat Day

June 19th, 1978 was Garfield's Comic Strip Debut, which makes Garfield 34 years old today.  

And for those Garfield lovers out there, here is Today's Garfield Strip courtesy of www.Garfield.com.

click for larger image

Ride to Work Day

Just for my hubby, who loves motorcycles, I'm posting about Ride to Work Day, today, Monday, June 18th.

It's the 3rd Monday in June, so the date always changes, but this year, 2012, it lands on  June 18th.

It's the 21st Annual Ride to Work Day and is sponsored by a 501 c4 non-profit organization.  Here are the reasons to ride that they have put out on cards that you can download:

I have ridden my motorcycle to work today because:✔ Riding to work is fun
✔ Riding to work reduces traffic and parking congestion
✔ Riding to work uses less fuel than an automobile
✔ Riding to work leaves me alert and energized
✔ Riding to work results in less pollution than commuting in
a larger vehicle
✔ Riding to work is less destructive to road surfaces, bridges, etc.
✔ Riding to work gets me to work (and back home) faster
✔ Riding to work demonstrates motorcycling as a social good
www.ridetowork.org

Be safe, watch for motorcycles, enjoy the ride!

TGIF - Explore Your World!

Well, this day, June 15th, 2012 brings about quite a few little-known holidays... At least, I had never heard of them, until now.

Magna Carta Day June 15, 1215 (I should remember this from school, but if I'm being honest, history was never my forte)
Nature Photography Day (my personal favorite, since I just LOVE nature photography)
National Flip Flop Day (3rd Friday in June, so the actual date changes every year)
as well as a few others.

I'm going to concentrate my blog post on the Nature Photography Day, since it is my favorite.  First thing to know is to head on over to NANPA.org's Facebook page and join up.  Participate in the contest and enjoy the great fun of getting out into nature.

There's something about finding a beautiful flower or watching a gorgeous sunrise/sunset, or even finding a strange yet unique bug/critter of some sort to take a picture of.

Anyway, these pics above were taken a while ago.  I'll be taking a fresh new picture for Nature Photography Day and posting it below, so be sure to come back and check it out.  Hopefully the weather will be cooperative.  We've had a LOT of rain lately.  Feel free to post a comment with a link to your picture, I'd love to see what everyone comes up with!

UPDATE:

Ok, as I said, lots of rain.  And this morning was no different.  But I got a couple really cool pics from out in the backyard, despite the rain that was coming down.

Rainy Morning Moss

In honor of Father's Day

Writing prompt by Mama Kat

It's time for another Writing Prompt.  This week, I've chosen the following prompt:

Father's Day is coming! Share something you've learned from your husband about parenting. What makes him good at what he does?

With my first child, he was always so calm and understanding.  He'd already been through it with his first wife when she was pregnant with his oldest son, who is now my stepson, and a wonderful one at that.  So, hubby was very good when I would be panicky and wondering if this symptom, or that one was "normal" or not.

"Should I be worried?"
"No, that's normal."
"But what if...?"
"Don't worry, it's ok, you're supposed to feel like that."

Yet he was supportive if I felt the need to call the doctor and go in, "just in case" and he always went with me to every doctor's appointment.

He also was willing to go out and get whatever weird craving I was having... no matter what time of night or wee hours of the morning it was.  He loved talking to the baby and giving my belly zerberts (and still does this time around.)

Buggaboo at one day old

Now with my second child, things are a little different.  There's a lot more stress.  We have a toddler who's almost two, I have gestational diabetes this time around, and my health isn't quite as good (and it wasn't that great the first time around,) and finances aren't quite as good either.  So, the stress has taken it's toll on all of us this pregnancy.

But he's still a very loving father and husband.  What have I learned from him on parenting?  I think a few of the things that I've learned from my husband are:

1. I have no patience whatsoever and I really need to learn some (male "selective hearing" is a natural instinct that they are all born with!)
2. I need to worry less (yeah, right... like that's ever going to happen!)
3. Boys get dirty (no matter how careful I am, he and his clothes are a total mess, I don't know how anyone keeps their children's clothes nice)
4. Boys get hurt and fall... a LOT!  And it's "ok" (I'm surprised he actually has any teeth left, thanks to the coffee table!)
5. Men cannot dress a child.  You should have seen what he was going to let our child go out of the house in one day!  

Well, there's probably more than what I've listed.  We've both had to learn and grow together in many different areas, and it's been quite the roller coaster the past (almost) three years that we've been together.  But no matter how rough things get, I'm glad he's the one I'm sharing all of this with because what makes him good at what he does is the love he has in his heart for me and our family.

Bike Week 2009

Happy Father's Day, Honey!  I love you!

National Peanut Butter Cookie Day

I think I've found my favorite day of all days!  June 12th, National Peanut Butter Cookie Day.  I am a huge peanut butter fan and any kind of dessert, cookie, cake, etc. that includes peanut butter is a winner with me.  Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are my biggest downfall.

Recently, they've come out with Reese's Minis.

But I think my favorite out of all of the different sizes and flavors, is the Reese's Egg that comes out at Easter time.

There's just something about the flavor and texture of that one that is just divine!  Mmmmmm, yummmm.  *sigh* and now I want some, but it's the middle of the night and we're out of any candy.  (insert sad pouty face)

Anyway, I digress.....

Did you know that there's a National Peanut Butter Board out there?!  They've got all kinds of fun and weird facts.  And let me just say, people will do just about anything to get recognition.  Some guy named Tom Miller, pushed a peanut, using his nose, to the top of Pike's Peak.  That's 14,000 feet!  What the....??? Why would you do that?!  Apparently, it took him just under 5 days to accomplish that.  Actually, I think that's quite impressive, in a bizarre sort of way.  I don't think I could make it to the top of any mountain in that amount of time unless I was driving it.  But really, that image give my a crick in my neck just thinking of it.

But back to Peanut Butter and the cookie... I've had some amazing peanut butter cookies in my time and honestly, there is one that I've loved more than any.  It's not really a cookie, though.  You don't need to bake it.  It's more of a peanut butter ball, than anything else.  The recipe is quite simple:

Peanut Butter Balls1 Cup of peanut butter
1 Cup of corn syrup (I use light Karo syrup)
1 1/4 cups of powdered milk
1 1/4 cups of powdered (confectioners) sugar
Directions:Mix all together, roll into balls.  At this point, you can roll each ball in some more powdered sugar to keep from sticking to each other, but that's optional.

I learned that in elementary school and never forgot it.  Out of everything that I learned in school, that's the one thing that's stuck with me... Sheesh!  No wonder I'm such a mess!

Corn on the Cob Day

June 11th is Corn on the Cob Day.  Remember, corn is a grain, not a veggie.  (Just a little tid-bit of non-essential info for ya there.)  Originally grown by the native American indians, it became necessary for the new world settlers to learn how to grow it in order to survive.

As I was searching around for pics and information on corn on the cob, I came across one of the cutest ideas, especially if you're a corn on the cob lover like I am (my mouth is watering just thinking about corn on the cob!)  Corn on the cob CUPCAKES!  Too cute, I've just got to try this one day.

Black & White decorating sugars?  To look like salt & pepper... Really?  Didn't even know black decorating sugar existed... but I digress.......

If you're curious on how to actually cook corn on the cob, there's actually a website dedicated to such a subject.

Not exactly original, but certainly not hard to find or mistake for anything else!

Anyway, would you believe that there's actually a Corn Maize (maze) company (family) who have, or have made, mazes all over the US, Canada, Poland and the UK?

I just love this pic, she's so adorable and looks like she's really enjoying the maze of maize!
I really wish I could get great pics like this of my son.

And searching around at the different Maize locations, and being from PA, myself, this particular place just looks like a lot of fun.

Yet another adorable (and obviously professional) pic of a very cute kid

I think I've totally gotten off track again from the original point of this post... Corn on the Cob Day, but I hope I've brought you some fun ideas of something to do... find a maze and get lost!  Ha ha ha... Seriously, though, this post has made me miss Autumn and just makes me want to move back up north where there are four seasons instead of the two we get down here in Florida:  Wet and Not-So-Wet.  This past "winter" (if you can even call it that) we barely got any cold temps at all.  Usually we see at least a few weeks of downright chilling weather.  But this year, we barely cooled off.  The mosquitoes are gonna be horrendous this summer.  Yuck!

Again, I'm off topic.  But it's very late (or very early, depending on your perspective) at the time of this writing, so I blame lack of sleep.

So, back to the celebration of Corn on the Cob... In Dublin, Ohio, there is a field of concrete corn on the cob.  A piece of art by a man named Cochran, it serves as a dedication to the areas rich agricultural roots, as well as a memorial to the field's original owner/farmer, Sam Frantz, the inventor of the hybrid corn.

These are actually people-sized concrete corn on the cob statures

Of course, there are many corn festivals all over the place in honor of corn on the cob, (corn festivals, popcorn festivals, you name it!)  just Google it and you'll see for yourself, and maybe even find a good one near you that you never even knew existed.  Of course, you'll find some ridiculous things as well.

And maybe even a few cute ones...

Anyway... however you like your corn on the cob, enjoy it to the fullest!

Ballpoint Pen Day

The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword

Would you believe that 100 people die each year from choking on ballpoint pens?!  Seriously, how does one actually accomplish that?  Nevermind, I don't think I want to know.  Just something else for me to worry about with a toddler who's just learning how to draw and loves to snag any pen that's within his reach.

Although the ballpoint pen was originally thought up in 1888, the first semi-successful ballpoint pens sold in 1945 for $12.50 each!  So glad they failed miserably in order to lower the price... well, at least for the majority of ballpoint pens.  Unless you're a really rich person with nothing better to do with your money than buy one of those fancy shmancy pens.  Such as the most expensive pen, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, which is a platinum pen that is worth a million euros. (which, at the time of this post, is approximately 1.2506 million US dollars, boys and girls.  That price tag alone would be enough to choke me to death!)

A good pen can write up to 50,000 words.  That's all that really matters, if you ask me.

You wouldn't think, however, that the history of the ballpoint pen would be interesting at all... and from the eye rolling and sarcasm of our oldest, I take it he doesn't believe me either.  But hear me out... the actual search for a successful ballpoint pen was really a hard task.  It took many years and many inventors came and went, failing miserably.  Patent after patent was filed and expired with very poor results.  Either the ink leaked or clogged up, they had to be held completely straight up and down for gravity to help the ink come out, and people had lost faith that a successful ballpoint pen could be made.

Ballpoint pens have come a long way since they were first invented.  Now you can get all different kinds of shapes, sizes, colors, designs, etc.  Some can even be held upside down to write.  There's something for everyone.  But have you ever wondered how they actually work?  (But there's more to it than just that.)

Desperate for something to replace the fountain pen, which took up valuable time having to refill constantly, and also leaving many a smudge, the Biro brothers came up with a new pen design using Capillary Action.  Capillary action is the result of adhesion and surface tension.  It all gets quite scientific, but it really is very interesting.  And honestly, I couldn't explain it better than this guy.  Personally, I love science, but this blog isn't exactly a scientific journal that I'm writing, so I'll let you decide to pursue the links and read up on that aspect.

Of course, some people just can't let well enough alone and must do something totally freaky and amazing (beyond the million euros pen, which is just a plain pen made with a lot of expensive material) such as this next multi-functional pen that is strange looking, but I'd love to try one out:

It can even play music, has a light, a memory card and plugs into your computer.  What more could the digital-aged writer ask for?!  (that's a hint if anyone's looking for a unique gift for me *wink wink nudge nudge*)

So, what's your favorite writing instrument?  Do you prefer pencils?  Is there a particular pen you love?  Do you do everything on the computer and therefore can't even find a writing instrument?  Personally, I can't live without my Four Color Bic Pen!  They have a medium point (blue case,) a fine point (the orange case,) and pastels (in the neon green case.)  It's great for sketching, note taking, highlighting (by underlining, of course) in different colors, etc. No matter how fancy a pen can get, there's nothing, in this writer's humble opinion, that matches the four color Bic!