The Mermaid and the Astronaut

Consignment Sale Dates Updates

2011-01-26T21:43:00.000-06:00

Mom's Marketplace, the best sale in Prattville, posted their dates the day after I posted all the other sale dates. So here are the top consignment sale dates for the Montgomery, AL area.

I have been tagging and pinning all week getting ready to drop off my items to Kids Carousel. I have never consigned with them but I sure do love their 75% off day!! I always go and find good stuff for super cheap. Sadly, I did not get to the 2 other large storage bins in the attic but I did do 148 items. I think I'll call it a night.

Children's Clothing Exchange (CCE) Old Bruno's building off Vaughn Rd., Montgomery
Sat. Feb. 5th 9am-6pm through Friday Feb. 11th
1/2 off days Sat. Feb. 12th 9am-6pm through Monday Feb 14th
(This particular sale also sells second hand women's clothing and accessories at the same time)

Kids Carousel Old Sam's building on Eastern Bypass, Montgomery
Sat. Feb.5th 9am-6pm through Feb. 9th
1/2 off days Monday, February 7th 9am-6pm through Friday Feb. 11th
75% off Saturday, February 12th 9am-3pm

My Kids Attic Eastbrook Shopping Center Coliseum Blvd., Montgomery
Saturday, February 12th 9:00 am - 6:00 pm through Tuesday, Feb. 15th
1/2 days Wednesday, February 16th 9:00 am - 6:00 pm through Saturday Feb. 19th

Doodlebugs Wetumpka
Saturday, March 5 8:00 - 4:00 pm through Thursday, March 10th 9-6
1/2 Days Friday, March 11 9:00 - 6:00 pm and Saturday, March 12 8:00 - 4:00 pm

Mom's Marketplace Hwy 82 West, Prattville
Saturday, February 26th 9am-5pm

Sunday, February 27th noon-5pm
Monday, February 28th - Friday, March 4th 9am-6pm
Saturday, March 5th 8am-5pm
Sunday, March 6th noon-5pm
1/2 off day March 5th 8am-5pm

Coconut Oil

2011-01-19T07:26:00.001-06:00

My friend Cindy told me she had been cooking a lot with coconut oil. I have a container of it but really haven't used it. I believe I got mine from Wal-mart. Coconut oil is solid at room temperature but melts to the touch. Cindy also uses it on her hands as a moisturizer.
This week I was in the mood for brownies but didn't have any vegetable oil. How would coconut oil work? I had my doubts when the oil could be seen in the batter in tiny balls but I threw the pan in the oven anyway.
They tasted great! I just used a boxed recipe and the coconut oil added something special. It didn't taste coconutty it just tasted yummier than usual.
I'm going to use it to grease my pan for some shrimp later on this week. I think it's going to be just as good as though brownies. Thanks Cindy!

Consignment Sales!

2011-01-17T15:06:00.000-06:00

I've received several notifications on the upcoming children's consignment sales!!! I dearly love these sales. It's become almost unbearable to purchase my children clothing at retail price. I will list the local sales so we can print out the dates and locations.
If you are interested in shopping one of these sales for the first time I wrote a tutorial for you. I also wrote a tutorial on consigning for the first time here.

Children's Clothing Exchange (CCE) Old Bruno's building off Vaughn Rd., Montgomery
Sat. Feb. 5th 9am-6pm through Friday Feb. 11th
1/2 off days Sat. Feb. 12th 9am-6pm through Monday Feb 14th

(This particular sale also sells second hand women's clothing and accessories at the same time)

Kids Carousel Old Sam's building on Eastern Bypass, Montgomery
Sat. Feb.5th 9am-6pm through Feb. 9th
1/2 off days Monday, February 7th 9am-6pm through Friday Feb. 11th
75% off Saturday, February 12th 9am-3pm

My Kids Attic Eastbrook Shopping Center Coliseum Blvd., Montgomery
Saturday, February 12th 9:00 am - 6:00 pm through Tuesday, Feb. 15th

1/2 days Wednesday, February 16th 9:00 am - 6:00 pm through Saturday Feb. 19th

Doodlebugs Wetumpka
Saturday, March 5 8:00 - 4:00 pm through Thursday, March 10th 9-6

1/2 Days Friday, March 11 9:00 - 6:00 pm and Saturday, March 12 8:00 - 4:00 pm

Mom's Marketplace Hwy 82 West, Prattville
Not yet announced any sale dates.

A New Love

2011-01-13T06:52:00.001-06:00

My husband and his buddies are big fans of paintball. They meet in camo in the woods and spend a few hours shooting at each other. I was invited to go and actually went. This was a great excuse for Chuck to purchase more equipment.
That morning I was quite nervous. I kept imaging awful scenarios; what if I have to use the bathroom, I'm going to fall and break an arm, what if I get hit and cry!
The first game I was suppose to defend my team's "flag". I thought I picked a good hiding spot but I felt silly sitting there waiting. After a few minutes I could hear guns going off and decided I should move around a bit. I never saw anyone to shoot at and no one saw me either. That was a bit of a let down.
The next few rounds got much better. I must say I enjoyed shooting that gun at someone immensely. I did get shot twice, once in the shoulder and another on the top of my head. It did sting. But I got two people too! One was on the other team but sadly and most embarrassingly the other was one of my own team members. I understand the term "friendly fire" now.
I can also understand how my husband can talk about a morning of paintball for days. My legs are no longer sore and I'm excited to get to go again! The above suit would really come in handy.

Another Favorite Gift

2011-01-10T18:50:00.001-06:00

I've been wanting the Martha Stewart Encyclopedia's of Crafts and Sewing. Chuck gave me both of them for Christmas!

These books are full of great ideas. This year I'd like to make handmade gifts for birthdays and Christmas. I'm eager to pick something to craft as soon I get all this Christmas stuff back into the attic. We got all the outside stuff down and the kids' trees packed up. All that's left is the big tree and some little decorations.

Swirl, Tap, Buff

2011-01-05T21:22:00.000-06:00

I received really great gifts that I'm still playing with. My mom and husband both gave me pretty packages of make-up! All Bare-Minerals. I never wear foundation because it looks like I'm doing a poor job of covering my freckles. It never looked natural. But I've wanted to try Bare-Minerals when I want to look more polished. So far I love it. You put on with a swirl, tap and buff. I feel more put together and younger. It makes me feel like a teenager when I spent hours getting ready. I don't spend hours now but I have spent a little more time and it's been fun! Thank you Mom and Chuck. Love you!

Where Have 2 Weeks Gone?!

2010-12-30T17:02:00.001-06:00

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since my last post! I've been very busy as I'm sure you have been as well. We've had both of our children sick at different occasions. And shopping for last minute gifts which I promise not to do every year.

We also had our very last church event "The Ugly Sweater Party" that I was in charge of. My hot gravy fountain worked out great! I regrettably did not get of photo of that but I did get lots of photos of the people who attended in my "family room"! We set up a small stage and put some furnishings on it for families to pose for their picture. This was VERY popular with the kids. They had to "shooed" off frequently.

Our Christmas morning was quite nice. This year Chuck and I held back with the presents for the kids. In the past we've overspent and it was just too much. I would end up taking things to a consignment sale just 2 months later. This time we only bought what we thought they would truly love and play with for a long time.

Home Made Hostess, Gift #2

2010-12-13T08:41:00.001-06:00

I was in need of something festive to wear to a Christmas party last week. Gaudy and over sized accessories appeal to me a great deal so whatever it was had to go along those lines. I was inspired by Magpie Ethel's collection of vintage Christmas corsages and decided to make one of my own.
This summer I purchased two different kinds of vintage tinsel, one gold and the other silver at yard sales for a few quarters.

I also had a bag of "Swedish molds" from an estate sale that I just had to have but didn't know what I was going to do with them. After flattening them, I glued cut tinsel all around the edges. Then added some vintage birds also from yard sale.

They blended together to make a wonderful accessory!

Home Made Gift #1

2010-12-12T19:01:00.002-06:00

I saw this idea on one of my favorite blogs, Deep Space Sparkle and knew Katherine could do it as a gift to her Nonna. She saw Katherine's lizard this summer and wanted a painting like it.

We used a Masonite board which I will never do again. The label said the board was primed and ready for paint. But the paint scratched off very easily so the finished project had to be decoupaged.
I did the main drawing except for the legs. Katherine is fond of making a tiny tiny drawing on a large piece of paper instead of using the entire surface and I just don't have the patience lately to do a lengthy art lesson.

Look at her, she's just so proud!
Thank you Patty for another wonderful gift.

The Float, It Was Not Fun

2010-12-08T21:08:00.000-06:00

I was in charge of our church's float in the town's Christmas parade this year. I had no idea it was going to be a very time consuming and emotionally draining adventure. NOTHING was easy. I've already mentioned having to make the costumes as they had disappeared. My friend Stephanie helped me cut out and sew. I had forgotten a lot about reading a pattern. My sewing machine gave me a lot of trouble then I realized it was Charlie going behind my back changing the thread tension. Then I had a spool of bad thread that kept breaking. It was not fun.

The stable that we use is stored behind a storage building and is in the elements year round. This makes for a very unstable stable. I had a lot of help with fixing that problem but it did not go as I planned. We were at the last minute making sure it wasn't going to fall on anyone. It was not fun.
Mom and I spent an afternoon using zip ties to add garland and greenery to the trailer but having to watch Charlie at the same time. It was not fun.

The day of the event the sky looked very "rainy". That was more than I could handle. I had a melt down and later had to apologize to my parents. Getting hysterical was kind of fun.
It did not rain and the event did end up going smoothly. People were so nice and shouted very sweet things about how great the float looked. And we were in the paper the next morning. What a great ending!

Disappointing Movie

2010-12-07T05:09:00.001-06:00

We spent last Sunday night relaxing and watching Jim Carrey in "A Christmas Carol". I remember this movie not getting very good reviews so we didn't go to the movies to see it. I'm so happy we didn't. It is made by Disney and marketed to kids but it is not a kid movie. The story went very much by the book and had some really freaky characters, like their version of the ghost of Christmas Past.

The animation also had some surprises. Every teenage boy in the movie was given quite a bit of acne. This may have really been historically correct but we don't need or expect such accuracy in an animated film. There wasn't any funny parts to lighten things up and my kids were just bored. It was just plain weird. I'll stick to my "A Muppets Christmas Carol" and my very favorite version of this story is George C. Scott as Scrooge.

Some Unique Gift Ideas

2010-12-05T22:22:00.000-06:00

My husband receives the "Think Geek" catalog in the mail. We had a good time flipping through it and laughing at their cleverness. Last year they had the "Tauntaun" sleeping bag that I wrote about
but I especially like these 2 items this year.

I found these for the kids.

My daughter would really LOVE this hoodie. I might have to add some $ to her Christmas budget.

This is the Iron Man chest light. It clips to any shirt, lights up, and makes noises! Fun!

Happy Anniversary To Me!

2010-11-30T19:43:00.000-06:00

Today is our 12the wedding anniversary! Which we both forgot until late this morning. We are not the most romantic of couples but we rarely fight so that equals out I think. I'm so thankful to Chuck's parents. They raised an awesome man. I remember seeing Chuck for the first time my senior year of high school. I thought he was the best looking boy there. He spent a lot of class time reading books (ignoring the teachers) but somehow managing to have this reputation of being a genius. Definitely a man of mystery. I was intrigued and I still am. I love you Chuck!

New Family Photo

2010-11-29T08:11:00.001-06:00

I'm in charge of the church Christmas party this year. I choose to do an "ugly sweater" theme. I'm so excited! This weekend I worked on my family's sweaters so we could take this family photo. I think it turned out pretty cute. I just love Chuck's resigned look.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-26T21:24:00.000-06:00

Charlie wasn't feeling cooperative today.

One of My Favorite Movies

2010-11-22T16:33:00.001-06:00

I watch this movie every Christmas season, "One Magic Christmas". My husband usually finds me sniffling even when I try to hide. Normally I do not recommend emotional movies as they leave me drained but this one is special.
I like it because I can relate to the main character, a flustered mom. I too feel at times that I'm the only one in the house with any sense of reality and responsibility. I know this is not the case but being rational is not one of my strengths. For example, I can be a real penny pincher. Recently, I threw a fit when my husband threw a $10 bottle of honey into the shopping cart without me knowing until I reviewed the receipt. He was thinking that he got the most for the money and I'm thinking that $10 is just outrageous for honey! It totally ruined my "savings in coupons" and "total money spent" ratio on the receipt. I returned it and bought the cheap honey bear.
Back to the movie, this mom is struggling with having a Christmas spirit in the midst of her husband being laid off, working for a jerk of a boss, and just being "Mom". She learns the hard way what life would be without her children and her husband. It's a great story with a good ending. Love it!

Getting Ready for Christmas!

2010-11-20T20:33:00.005-06:00

I started my decorating last week. My kids both have Christmas trees in their rooms. Katherine is now on her 2nd tree. The first I bought when she was born and we were living in an apartment so it was a small table top tree. Now they both have 4 ft trees that I bought for less then $5 at Wal-mart on clearance along with all the trimmings. They each have their own labeled box with a star and ornaments. This has worked well with Katherine's handmade ornaments she comes home with each year.
I saw an idea somewhere about how to organize your ornaments using plastic cups. Simply hot glue rows of cups onto a piece of cardboard that fit into your box. You might wrap your glass ornaments in tissue then place them in the cup. This has worked so great!

Katherine's tree...

Charlie's tree is kept on top of his dresser. He's 2 and can't be trusted.

Onto some more decorating....

Pillow Pets, All the Rage

2010-11-19T16:26:00.000-06:00

A year ago my daughter saw a commercial for pillow pets. She spent her birthday money on the horse since the unicorn wasn't available. I wasn't willing to spend $19.99 on the toy then an additional $9 for shipping but she was. She has LOVED it intensely and so has Charlie. He is known for sneaking into her room and stealing it. His Marmie bought him the dog soon after the horse was such a hit. This year she bought them both another one for their birthday. We now own the horse, the unicorn, the dog, and the bee. They are all very much loved. Today they were all under the living room in a fort made with my robe.
Now that pillow pets are in stores everywhere, I would suggest these as a gift for any child. I'm thinking about getting one for myself. They're the perfect size for your lap on a long car trip. Maybe I'll get the ladybug.

Our Charlie is 2!

2010-11-19T09:04:00.000-06:00

We spent most of last week celebrating Charlie's birthday. We went out to eat on his actual birthday then he opened gifts from us after eating a small cupcake from Publix.

This past weekend we had a small party and ate my "candy mountain" cake. I don't know what it is lately but my cakes don't look anything like my inspirations. I was told by the guests that the cake tasted good. At least that's what they said to my face.

Katherine's cake from last month was just as ugly. Who put those candles on so wonky??!!

Back to Charlie....

He's rather difficult to capture on film not making faces.

My New Closet!

2010-11-17T21:00:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited to have completed this project! You might remember this "before" photo from the beginning of this year when one of my resolutions was to be more organized. Well 11 months later.....I got started. It took only 3 days to complete. I got rid of 5 bags of clothing, shoes, purses, and any clothing hangers that were not white. I also removed the dirty laundry basket to another location.
After putting all my clothes on matching hangers I color coded them from light to dark. I had no idea I wear so much black.
Well, here she is after some wallpaper, shelves, and a new light fixture!

I'm beaming with pride. If you come over, you will be pulled through several unfinished rooms to come see this one!

My Kids Hate My Cooking

2010-11-12T21:54:00.000-06:00

Lately dinner at our house is stressful but I keep trying. I don't make my kids eat everything on their plate but they do have to try it. Since I've been shopping Publix and buying a lot of their fabulous buy one get one deals my family is exposed to more of a variety of things. One of those was Hamburger Helper. When I placed "stroganoff" in front of Charlie, he screamed in fear and tried to get away from it. Katherine's reaction wasn't as strong but she made it clear she wasn't going to eat it.
Every Fall I'm inspired to eat squash but I have yet to convince myself or my family that we like it. Many recipes I have made I couldn't eat because it was just so orange. This year I made spaghetti squash which tasted very mild and is good with cheese and a tomato sauce, a lot like lasagna.
Tonight I made a Martha Stewart recipe that my family hated. I think I'm done with her recipes. They are just too fussy and too refined for our taste. It was a butternut squash and chicken soup. Charlie at least picked out the chicken and ate it then splashed the rest out of the bowl. My husband ate his and tried to convince Katherine at the same time how great a skill it is to be able to eat food you don't like. I really do try to prevent him having to use that skill. Poor Katherine, she's so like me in many ways. I don't see her or me developing that skill anytime soon.

So Gross!

2010-11-11T08:54:00.001-06:00

A friend sent me a helpful email with homemade recipes for household cleaners. One was using Dawn hand soap and vinegar to remove soap scum. You pour vinegar about half way into a spray bottle then heat it in a microwave then fill the rest with blue Dawn dish soap. It's suppose to "melt" soap scum. This was exactly what we needed for our shower door. I've tried several different methods without any real success. Then I just gave up.
This is the before shot. It's terribly embarrassing. But the recipe really did work!

After scrubbing, scrubbing, scrubbing and spraying it down with the hose....
it looks clean!

I did try to use this mixture inside the shower. I about passed out from the fumes. I just finished the job with Lysol.

Problems with Costumes

2010-11-09T08:52:00.000-06:00

You might remember that I had carefully planned my children's costumes, a gnome, and Medusa. Well the Medusa head piece was sold out, so we found another. And that one was only available in November which might as well be NEVER.
I had been testing Charlie for the gnome costume by putting hats on him hoping he'll leave them alone. No luck. He would have looked like a Scandinavian child with an odd choice of belt without the gnome hat and beard.
Moving forward with 2nd choices. Luckily my mother gave Katherine a dragon costume for her birthday. This is because Katherine spends most of her time in "character". She was completely happy spending Halloween as a dragon instead of Medusa. She didn't care for the headpiece so much and refused to wear it Halloween night. Here she is at school getting ready for the costume parade.

Charlie spent his Halloween as Dracula. I bought his costume from Wal-mart but just used the cape. I thought his church suit looked better than the cheap elastic bottomed pants. Chuck found the perfect pacifier on-line. I love it!

I'm so disappointed in my photo taking this time. I really didn't have a good photo of either kid in costume. Pathetic.

Differences of Opinion

2010-11-07T21:44:00.002-06:00

I am in charge of the decorating in our home. Usually I have a clear idea of what I want and rarely ask Chuck's opinion about colors, patterns, bedspreads, etc. He has a say in how much I spend. I do keep in mind that he's a man and I wouldn't want him to feel uncomfortable in his own home.
Our bedroom is in need of a makeover. I put some wallpaper up behind our bed when we first moved in. It looks great... from afar. It was my first attempt and that's exactly how it looks. I would like to take the paper down and try again with painting a pattern of some sort. But deciding on an all over color has been a challenge.

So I found some rooms on line that I liked and asked Chuck's opinion. I was really surprised that the one I like the best he found "a mess". From Decorpad, here she is.....

He hated everything about it. But I love the mess, it's an interesting room. It looks like it has a bit of age.

This was the bedroom he liked the best. I'm sorry but I don't know who to give credit to for this pic.

I like this room but it's too sophisticated for me. It doesn't suit me at all. Too masculine. I do love that chandelier and round mirror though.
I'm still hunting for that perfect color that we can both happily live with.

Free!?

2010-11-06T21:17:00.000-05:00

I did something stupid this week. I was reading one of my favorite blogs and she mentioned a free 8x10 photo canvas from a certain company. Great! I went right to the website and picked a photo of Katherine and my Dad from her birthday flight. It's going to make a great Christmas gift for him.
The ordering went so fast or I just wasn't paying attention but I didn't know how much the shipping and handling was going to be. In fact I never found out until they sent a confirmation email to me several minutes after I had ordered. 14.95!!!???? I realize that this is a good price for a canvas but it was far from free.
Oh well. It is done. Isn't this a great photo though.

Thrifted Finds

2010-11-02T07:54:00.007-05:00

We had the best time going to yard sales last weekend. I bought all kinds of goodies!

Most of the pile is vintage Christmas items. Wow! They're so cool. The box is full of interesting ornaments. I also bought a lamp post to go with my Santa!

Inspirational Room

2010-11-01T07:43:00.005-05:00

We went downtown this week to an "uppity" pizza place, Zsa Zsa's. It was a nice change, but next door to it was a gorgeous little business. I had to take a photo of it.

The chandelier caught my eye first then the wallpaper. Me wants!

My 1st Church Activity

2010-10-30T12:37:00.000-05:00

I've recently been put in charge of our church's activities. I'm really into it! My first one to plan was our Trunk Or Treat. I went to my trusty notebook full of pulled out magazine ideas and chose a couple to try. Martha Stewart is always a good place to start as well. She had the idea below of the hanging decorations.

I will warn you that the directions that come with some of her projects are not great. This one had no suggestion of what kind of paper to use so I chose scrap booking paper. After folding my first 12x12 paper into a fan my hands felt arthritic. This project just did not work. My back up plan was to use newspaper which was free and much easier to work with. I chose not to add the faces, it didn't look good with the newspaper.
My next project idea was also by Martha Stewart, candy corn pom poms. Aren't they cute?!!

Again, the directions to these could have been better. My outcome wasn't near as pretty but good enough.
Here are my homemade decorations all together.

I did not have a beautiful backdrop for my hard work but I'm happy with the overall effect.

On the food tables I crafted some arrangements with sticks, more newspaper pinwheels, and some dollar store black birds. I also used purchased Spanish moss. I could have used some out of our tree but I didn't want to risk bugs getting into the food.

I learned all kinds of things working on this party. I am considering doing another blog especially for these events. I was hoping one already existed but if it does I haven't found it.

Face Painting

2010-10-29T08:00:00.001-05:00

Katherine had her face painted at Disney and really enjoyed growling, hissing, and climbing like a cat the rest of the day. I could have spent hours watching them paint faces. I tried to watch and learn so I could replicate it at home. I found these cool pics on-line of face painting for some inspiration.

Halloween is about over for this year but maybe next year!

A Color Personality Quiz

2010-10-28T21:44:00.000-05:00

I've been following a blog called How About Orange, that is full of fun "time wasters". I just took one her quizs called "What's Your Color Personality". My results said I'm yellow. I like that. It said kind things about me. What's your color?!

Very Busy Two Weeks

2010-10-22T21:43:00.000-05:00

I've neglected my poor blog for two weeks! I'm trying to remember what we've been up to and it's been a lot. I spent several days getting ready for our first trip to Disney World, then we went and had a great time. Came home and tried to get back on our schedule but didn't because of Katherine's birthday. Then we've had company for a few days. My poor children haven't been to bed on time all week.
Here are some highlights of our trip:

As we are on the tram the first day to the Magic Kingdom, I discover that I have used the wrong plug again to charge the 2 lb. camera and it is dead. Therefore I had to carry it all day without a single photo taken. I thought I was packing lightly when I left the cable at home so we had only our phone cameras to use the entire time.
Chuck took all of the pics our first day on his phone and he is not feeling helpful at the moment so I must move on to our 2nd day.

Our 2nd day was spent at Universal Studio's Islands of Adventure. We were very excited to see the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" so we rushed to the back of the park only to discover that everyone else had the same idea. It was very impressive to walk into "Diagon Alley".

Here is Katherine posing with a $6.50 bottle of pumpkin juice and her newly acquired hippogriff. The juice was good, but not near as good as the "Butter Beer" which tasted like Cream Soda with ice cream. We have no idea what is sold in the super cool looking shops because of the longest line I've ever witnessed to get into them. We chose to move on.

It turns out that Katherine is an awesome climber. She saw the rock wall and convinced me to spend $5 to let her climb it. I'm so glad we did. I was bursting with pride when she climbed the Expert side. The rest of our day was spent standing in very long lines.

Day 3 of our trip was spent at Universal Studios and whizzing past the long lines because we purchased the fast passes. It was worth every dollar (if you're interested it's $20 extra dollars per person). One of our favorite attractions was The Mummy. This guy was hanging out in front of the ride. Cool.

We had a great trip and are planning on going again when Charlie is older. He got to stay home with his Marmie and Grandad.

I posted this as "Product Review" so I could share my opinion about the parks. The Magic Kingdom was by far the best for families. Disney is just awesome to their guests.
Islands of Adventure is good for children ages 7 and up. Katherine just turned 7 and was able to ride everything but "The Hulk".
Universal Studios was our least favorite, once in a lifetime was enough. Katherine could ride just about everything but none of the attractions were as cool as the other two parks. Their biggest and only coaster looked great but was closed for service.

Yard Sale Finds

2010-10-07T05:16:00.001-05:00

I've missed two weeks in a row of yard sales but I did go this past weekend. It was a great morning with lots of sales and some good treasures. My favorite things, Ginger found first. The mercury glass candlestick was $.75! And I only paid $2.50 for the three vintage flower pins. I can't wait to wear them on my jean jacket.

I found some cute books for Charlie that looked like they'd never been opened. They'll be good for Christmas presents. And the "NOEL" blocks were so cute I couldn't leave them.

A Cupcake Secret

2010-10-06T08:07:00.001-05:00

I was watching "Antonio Treatment" on HGTV and learned from a food stylist how to top a cupcake with the perfect swirl. I used to start swirling the icing on the outside of the cupcake and end in the middle but it always seemed kind of "flat" looking. I was using the right tip, it's an extra large one from Wilton # 1M.
The secret is to squirt a pile onto the center of the cake first.

Then starting on the outside of the cake swirl the icing around onto the top of the original squirt to make a nice high pile of icing. It'll look perfect every time!

New Shirts for October

2010-10-04T16:52:00.000-05:00

I found this t-shirt idea on Brassy Apple several months ago and have been saving it for Fall weather! I knew my daughter would love it, she really likes Halloween and dressing up. I couldn't resist making one for Charlie as well. He doesn't give a hill of beans for Halloween but he was running around in Katherine's kitty cat tail yesterday.

I used scraps of material I already had but had to buy the t-shirts and some Wonder Under. As usual any sewing project gives me fits. I had to learn the hard way to follow the Wonder Under instructions because I burned it the first time. And it was difficult zigzagging around the ribs especially on the smallest shirt. But I persevered and have two cute shirts.

My children were hard pressed to stop for a second to pose for me, these were the best shots I could get.

Inspirational Closets

2010-09-26T19:51:00.001-05:00

I would really love to have a beautiful closet. My current one is not the worst closet I've ever had but it is not beautiful or inspirational. But the lighting is definitely the worst, a persnickety fluorescent ceiling fixture. Sometime it comes on when the switch is flipped but most times not.
As a teenager I loved getting dressed for the day and would obsess about never wearing the same thing twice in a month (I kept a calendar to keep track). Yes, a bit dramatic and incredibly self absorbed, but fun! These days I find myself throwing on whatever is clean and not terribly in need of an iron. But lucky me! My mom was cleaning out her closet and gifted me some fabulous clothing and shoes. Sadly, there is no room for them until I start throwing stuff out.

So, I've been looking for some inspiration on line to get me started and found some!

ERINN VALENCICH'S Closet as seen on House Beautiful.com

Clutter Control Freak blog

Real Simple magazine

From the Desk of Annie: The All Things Interior Design

From the Desk of Annie: All Things Interior Design

I saw a lot of "celebrity" closets which were interesting but not really inspirational for a normal size wardrobe and closet. I just stuck to the smaller versions of rooms I liked. It appears that I really like chandeliers and wallpaper in a closet. Fun!

Awesome Coupons You Can Get!

2010-09-25T19:46:00.000-05:00

I had some fun this week shopping with 2 fabulous coupons. The first was $10 off a $10 purchase from JCPenney's. This coupon is sent to you once a month after you sign up for the JCP Rewards program. I was able to get a pair of sandals that light up for Katherine and a birthday gift for my husband and paid just a little over $5.

I also received a $15 off a $15 purchase from Lane Bryant. If you shop at this store regularly then you already know that I was heading straight for the clearance items. Lane Bryant is a store that sells expensive clothing size 14 and up. However, they have some really nice accessories for everyone. I picked up a cute ruffled cardigan on clearance and a pair of trouser socks for .54 cents! I believe you must go to the store and ask to be on their mailing list. This coupon is not monthly but comes around pretty often.

Coupon Workshop

2010-09-17T18:30:00.001-05:00

Last night I went to a Southern Savers "Extreme Coupon Workshop". We had to drive an hour north of here and it was $10 at the door but it was worth it! I learned all kinds of things that I didn't even know to ask about or look up. Here's a list of just some of the things I learned:

1. Extreme couponing done well will save you 60% off your usual bill.
2. Wal-Mart is not a couponer's friend. Yes, they have low prices but we want "rock bottom" prices.
3. Publix is THE best place to get those rock bottom prices. They want you to use their coupons and shop their store.
3. The house brand is 2x the price of a name brand item that is on sale.
4. Publix has awesome rain checks. If an item is not on the shelf ask for a raincheck and ask for a large item limit. You will be able to use it until the limit has been reached, not neccesarily all in one transaction.

I learned more about CVS'ing as well but I have some practice to do before I can share!

Last Week's Thrifted Finds

2010-09-16T08:23:00.001-05:00

I did go to some yard sales Saturday morning but I didn't buy a lot. I was lucky to find a costume dress for Katherine and a beautiful navy church dress. The boots were $1, I couldn't pass that up. Two pairs of pj's for Charlie and a vintage Christmas tablecloth for myself, it was also only $1.

Mom and I went to a consignment sale that was 50% off on Monday. That was fun! I found some good stuff at really good prices.

Fall Tablescape

2010-09-15T09:22:00.000-05:00

I was lucky to be given the job of decorating for a small church event. My mercury glass collection is pretty so I was sure I was going to be using it. At first I was thinking of pairing it with hot pink then Mom suggested to go with a Fall theme.
After redoing the porch I was inspired and knew I had some Fall decorations that would look great. In my search for a tablecloth I came across a brown damask one that I had forgotten about. What luck!
I needed more than what I had at home so I shopped Mom's house for some stuff. She always has great things, including the battery operated candles. They added a nice soft flicker to all the glass.

I was also in charge of the dessert. My favorite thing for a crowd is a cupcake. No messy cutting of cake! I found a recipe on Annies-Eats. It called for making your cake from scratch and to use the classic buttercream icing recipe but I used my own recipe and a cake mix. I really liked her idea of the apples and the impressive look of the final cupcake.
If you want a taste of Fall you'll love this one also from Family Fun, "Mini Pumpkin Tarts". The recipe called for a can of pumpkin but our Publix didn't have any so I used canned sweet potato. This turned out great! They are on the top tier in this photo.

These "acorns" were so much fun to build. I found this idea also on Family Fun. They are just donut holes topped with chocolate icing and rolled in toffee. The stems are pretzels. They turned out super cute! Now the taste isn't near as good as they look but who cares!

Front Porch Facelift

2010-09-06T20:14:00.000-05:00

Our front porch was looking worn and ragged from a long very hot summer. My poor hanging baskets have become "leggy" and rather unattractive and the wreath I had to have several months ago, I'm tired of looking at. It's time for a seasonal change.

I don't remember what I had on the door last year but I pulled two sad looking wreaths stuffed away in the attic. Here's one of them.

I spent some time combining the two and it looks so much better.

I gathered some of my second hand finds and whipped up a new look. This is the first time I've been able to do that without having to buy anything.

I'm ready for some fall weather to come now.

Good Finds This Weekend

2010-09-04T22:26:00.002-05:00

We had the BEST weather this weekend. I spent several hours outside at yard sales and decorating the front porch. While I was busy the kids played "eat the lizard". Katherine would hold up the lizard she caught and demand Charlie eat it. He would open his mouth and really try to.

Today I came home with just a couple of things from some yard sales:

-the baby deer 1.50

-box of autumn fruit and berries .50

-suspenders .25

-bag of vintage tinsel .25

I bought the clothes from a consignment sale that was 75% off today. I bought 12 items for $15.00! I'm not sure how long the fawn will get to stay. Chuck doesn't like him and Charlie is currently afraid of him.

BOO!

Off on Winged Shoes

2010-09-02T09:31:00.002-05:00

I saw an idea on Etsy a few weeks ago and loved it. A pair of wings for some tennis shoes. But I couldn't find it again to buy them! So I made a pair from a vinyl bag that I bought for $.25.

I used my eyelet setter for scrap booking to make the holes, that worked really well. I added stitching by hand since the fabric wouldn't feed through my sewing machine.

They're not near as pretty as the original idea but Katherine's loving them!

Costume Ideas

2010-09-01T21:32:00.000-05:00

I've already been hunting for Halloween costumes. I prefer homemade costumes or something unusual. Which is why I like to start fairly early so I have plenty of time to search for stuff and to create. Martha Stewart is always a good source for something good. I've really enjoyed her last two Halloween magazines. Here are a couple of good ones:

Owls are super hot this year, I was tempted by these two costumes:

And you might remember last year's peacock costume was inspired by the children's catalog, Chasing Fireflies. This year I really liked the "Medusa". We're going to purchase the headpiece but come up with the rest on our own.

As for Charlie, I'm thinking just the classic Dracula would be good. But I really want this adorable gnome costume (I LOVE HIM) I found last year but I know that the beard would never make it. Maybe I should go for it anyway.

A gnome and Medusa, I guess we're really not going for a cohesive family look.

The Answer to a Serious Question

2010-09-01T08:05:00.001-05:00

Okay I went back to Sonic and had a small talk with an assistant manager. She verified that tips are welcome as a nice gesture but employees are certainly not to ask for them. Tips are also given at the drive-thru as well. As for the refills? Yes, Sonic does give free refills.
My thoughts on Sonic after all this drama:
I'd rather eat better food for the same price at our local Mexican restaurants who also have free refills and work just as hard or harder for their tips. No time to sit? I'll go to any other drive-thru.

Thrift Finds for the Week

2010-08-31T07:54:00.002-05:00

I went to a thrift store and some yard sales last week and found some stuff. Mom and I dug through a box someone had donated of old craft things. I brought home some plastic apple charms, small square mirrors, and a bag of turquoise beads for $.75. I must say I enjoyed the digging through that box!

Yard sales were plentiful again this weekend and the weather was so nice, fun! I brought home two more lanterns, 2 candles, a lamp shade, a pair of jeans, some fall flowers, and three large pine cones. I think my total was $10.

Serious Question

2010-08-30T20:05:00.001-05:00

We had an unpleasant visit to our local Sonic recently. I had some coupons which was why we went in the first place. While ordering the worker became confused so came out to the car to clarify. We gave him our card for payment and the coupons. Several minutes later he came back with our food and to return our card and the coupons. He stated he'd just let us keep the coupons. Okay, whatever.

This same guy came back to our car minutes later and actually asked for a tip. He had "talked" to his manager and expected a tip or the coupons back. Chuck explained that it isn't written on the menu that tips are expected but he could have the coupons back. This jerk continued to argue so Chuck firmly pointed out, if he was expecting a tip then he should do a better job with the order since it was missing tots and napkins. Then he left.

We continued to sit eating our meal and he came back for a 3rd time! He wanted to know if we wanted refills. Chuck then accused him of pandering for a tip. Since when does Sonic do refills?! If we expected a refill we wouldn't have ordered the Route 44 size! He finally left for good and we took off. Chuck then tells me he had the feeling the kid wanted our drinks so he could do something to them. Once this was said I knew it to be true.

I'm going to speak with the manager tomorrow about this situation. If I'm expected to tip then I want to know about it. I'll tell you how it goes. Just wondering, do you tip at Sonic?

Saturday's Finds

2010-08-21T19:04:00.000-05:00

This weekend was like the last month, not very good, when it comes to finding great junk at yard sales. Today we went to a lot of sales but they had mostly baby stuff. I did pick up some items for Katherine that I'm excited about. Most of the items were $.50 a piece, what a great price.

We also hit two thrift shops and I bought a couple of little things. A little purse to be cut up into something else, a small vintage Santa, and very small vintage glass ornaments. Ginger found the adorable owl trivet that will look so cute painted in a bright glossy paint! All for a total of $1.25!

$.75 Well Spent

2010-08-21T18:52:00.000-05:00

I had a great time thrifting with some friends two weeks ago at Faith Rescue Mission. All the children's clothes were $.75! I picked up several items but what I was most excited about was this:

We all made fun of it's bizarre qualities but once I had a good look I liked the felt flowers. Cutting the flowers off and adding it to a cute sweater of Katherine's could give this tacky number a new life.

While unpacking my bag, Katherine spotted the shirt right away. "Ohhhh, is this for me?! I love it!". I explained that I was going to cut off the flowers and add them to something else but she could have the sparkly shirt. "It's perfect for a poisonous frog costume!" and then started to put it on. I don't guess anyone has died of wearing second hand clothes before they're washed. I try not to think about it.

Once I started cutting the flowers off I realized that someone had cut each flower out then painstakingly blanket stitched all around each flower. It was a labor of love for some little girl, I'm glad I bought it. Here are my end projects:

I sewed snaps onto the sweater and the back of the flowers so they come off for washing.

Latest Good Read

2010-08-18T05:29:00.001-05:00

I've not taken the time this summer to read like I usually do so I haven't been able to suggest anything good. I finally found a Young Adult book at the library last week that I enjoyed, "The Third Witch" by Rebecca Reisert.
The story takes place in the Dark Ages and begins with our heroine, Gilly, living with two hags in the forest. She is obsessed with killing the man who killed her father and left her an orphan. Gilly tries to get the two witches to help her with this but they refuse her and she leaves to do the task alone. This book is based on Shakespeare's "MacBeth" so you might be able to guess some of the parts. I do not know "MacBeth" but enjoyed the book despite the Dark Ages.

Nips Vs. It's

2010-08-16T05:09:00.000-05:00

It was brought to my attention that there are Cheese Nips AND Cheez-Its. Maybe I'm the only one who didn't know this. They are both shaped into squares with a little hole in the middle. Chuck thought we should do a taste test.

Cheese Nips are a little harder to find and contain real cheese. Chuck preferred this one but I think they have an after taste.
Cheez-Its are a puffier square and are easily found. In fact they have several flavors to choose from. We also tried the low-fat version. They were gross. Only Charlie would eat them. Katherine and I both prefer the regular Cheez-Its.
When it comes to calories and nutrition they are both about the same but if you like the taste of real cheddar you will prefer the Nips.

Yard Sale Finds

2010-08-14T17:03:00.000-05:00

Today's sales were plentiful but didn't have a whole lot to offer. At least I came home with a couple things, Ginger only found a Pampered Chef vegetable steamer.

The silver thing in the back looks like glass but it's plastic, I'm going to add it to my mercury glass collection. And I found another lantern for my collection. The gold thingy is actually a pretty necklace with a thick glass heart that magnifies. I got home and added some chunky charms onto it. The suit is for Charlie, but now I've got to find some black dress shoes before he can wear it. Nothing terribly exciting today but I had a good time anyway!

Fall Consignment Sale Dates

2010-08-13T12:40:00.001-05:00

It is almost time for the first children's consignment sale! I've compiled a list of the local area sales below. I have only included the first day of the sale and the first day of the clearance days. If you are interested in shopping or consigning for the first time I have a few hints from a previous post.

Kids Carousel, Old Sam's Club on Eastern Blvd (Montgomery)
Saturday August 28th 9-6
50% off day Thursday September 2nd 9-6
75% off day Saturday September 4th 9-3

Children's Clothing Exchange, old Shoe Station off Eastern Blvd (Montgomery)
Wednesday September 8th 9-6
Sunday September 12th-14th 1-6 on Sunday and 9-6 other days

My Kids Attic, Coliseum Blvd (Montgomery)
Saturday September 11th 9-6
50% off day September 15th 9-6

Doodlebugs, 231 North (Wetumpka)
Saturday September 25th 8-4
50% off day Friday October 1st 9-6

Mom's Marketplace, National Guard Armory (Prattville)
Friday October 8th 10-7
50% off day October 11th 9-7

A Thrifted Find Gets A Makeover

2010-08-11T07:54:00.000-05:00

I purchased this at a great estate sale two weeks ago. The sale was a lot of fun due to reasonable prices. We don't have many of these sales around here and they're usually overpriced.
I picked this frame up for $5.00. It was a broken mirror for a dresser but I was thinking it would be a cork board for my desk. I bought a roll of cork with a coupon for about $9 and the fabric was on sale for $4.

I am pleased with the results but now I need to make some cute thumb tacks and finish the entire laundry room project.

Good Morning Turns Into Panic Afternoon

2010-08-10T08:37:00.004-05:00

Last Saturday my morning was great! Ginger and I went to several yard sales and found some goodies. I came home with:

A sweater for Katherine $1.00

Child size hangers $1.00

Leggings $.25

Magazines $.25

Spider earrings $.25

Tarnished silver platter $1.00

Clock $.75

Weight Watcher's Cook book $.75

For a total of $5.25!

However, I did not come home with MY WALLET. We ran into Hobby Lobby for a moment and I came out without my wallet. I can only guess that I put it down to rummage through the clearance. Of course we backtracked to several places and scoured Hobby Lobby twice but nothing. I had about $240 in it and so far no one has called. I feel incredibly stupid, but lesson learned.

Back To School!

2010-08-09T16:22:00.000-05:00

This was Katherine's first week in 1st grade. Here she is after the first day:

Poor Charlie is not used to her being gone. He walks around the house calling "Sisahhh, Sisahhh" then runs to her room to get into her stuff. If you want to know more about Katherine's first day of school, she has her own blog: QueenKittyWitty.

Estate Sale Finds

2010-08-09T12:35:00.000-05:00

I've had a lot of luck lately with estate sales! We went to one this morning that was packed with people and the parking was a bit crazy. But I made it home with a few treasures.

A roasting pan $1
Vintage Christmas balls $.50
Wooden filigree thing $1
Vintage chalkboard $3
The clothing was from a yard sale two weeks ago that I left in Ginger's car. I hope to make something for my little model as seen below....

My favorite thing was this faux fur stole for $3! I can't wait to wear it with a black turtle neck and maybe a vintage rhinestone pin.

New/Old Lamp

2010-08-08T17:37:00.000-05:00

I bought this lamp from a yard sale about three months ago at the suggestion of Aunt Frances. I'm so glad she sent me a photo of it! I loved the color right away but it needed a lot of work. I purchased a lamp kit but it turned out that there is a bulb that lights up the base which complicated things. I'm saying this like I'm the one who did all the work, sorry Chuck.

Several lamp parts later and a new shade and it's ready to light my new work space. It may not have been the bargain I thought I was getting but it certainly has the charm that can't be duplicated.

A Space Of My Very Own

2010-08-02T08:00:00.007-05:00

If you have spent any amount of time with me, you have heard me whine about having no where to craft. We currently live in a home with no dining room which has been my spot in the past. My loving husband suggested I use some space in our bedroom. I HATE that idea. A crafter needs a spot where they can leave a mess. The only place we had left was the laundry room. Here are some before shots, prepare yourself for a mess.

Although this room has cabinetry it's not functional. Here is an example, the drawers cannot open all the way because the knobs of other drawers are in the way. Ridiculous.

And one of the cabinets is so deep, my arms cannot reach the back. I have to fit my entire upper body into the cabinet to reach anything in the dark cave. Ridiculous.

We're still working on making this functional. I have a lot of work to do. Did I mention that this room originally had not one but TWO bands of wall paper border when we moved in?

I believe I ripped this stuff off within minutes of walking into our home for the first time. Sadly, I never took the time to wash off the glue left behind so that has to be done before I paint.
I hope it will be done by the end of the week!

A Successful Project!

2010-08-01T17:11:00.000-05:00

I took the energy to pull out my sewing machine for a project two weeks ago. This one is from I Am Momma-Hear Me Roar. It involves cutting off the bottom of a onesie and sewing it to the bottom of a dress shirt so that it always stays tucked in. I loved this idea and found it quite easy to do! It was so easy I made two.
Ta-dah!

I was very happy with how the shirt performed at church today. It stayed tucked the entire time and no one could tell that it was a onesie. I plan on making every one of his dress shirts into a onesie.

Must Make it to 10,000

2010-07-30T07:17:00.001-05:00

Several years ago I walked off my first bout with baby weight using the 10,000 step program. You wear a pedometer that counts how many steps you take and ideally it should read 10,000 at the end of the day. The first day was an eye opener for me as I would have told you that I was "active" considering I had a baby and we lived in a large two story house. At the end of the first day it read 3,000. Which is called "sedentary". What an awful word. So I began wearing the pedometer at all times. Even going to the trouble of clipping it onto my underwear for a night time potty break and stepping in place whilst brushing my teeth. At the end of the day if I hadn't reached the magic number I would head out and not come home until it did. The weight did come off. I also found that listening to a story on my MP3 player helped make the time go by as sometimes it would take an hour.

I have gone through several pedometers since then. If you would like to do this program you MUST invest in a quality pedometer. My latest and favorite one is by Omron and is available at Amazon.com for $27.50. It is digital so the counting mechanism never gets stuck and stops counting. There's nothing worse than to discover it's not been counting for half your day. My Omron hasn't disappointed me yet!

2010-07-29T23:05:00.001-05:00

I never posted what I purchased at yard sales last weekend! I bought this beautiful scarf for .50. And the jewelry I paid less than $3 all together. Assorted colored zippers are in the bag for some future projects. My big find of the day is something that has been on my list for over a year, a chandelier for my bedroom. I wanted one dripping with crystals and I got it for $30! It's even gaudier than I had hoped for! It's currently in a box in pieces waiting for the weather to cool down. I don't think we could live without our ceiling fan.

Here's a photo of the smaller version from Lowe's. Mine has 10 arms! It was originally $259! I just love yard sales, sigh. I must admit that I did have a twinge of "buyer's remorse" as we found this at our very first sale of the day and it was just about all the cash I had on me. I was worried about the shiny brass between the crystals but I'm over it!

Now I'm looking for an attractive floor fan.

Same Dress Tuesdays

2010-07-29T22:17:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed that I haven't been posting as much lately. It is due to my on going quest for weight loss. I joined Weight Watcher's several weeks ago and have immersed myself into counting points, edamame, fiber, water, and walking. Not very exciting to read about and all very time consuming.
I go to my Weight Watcher's meeting each week in the same dress so I can get an accurate reading on the scale. What's funny is I don't care for this dress as it's not particularly flattering. I picked it because it was the lightest item in my closet. I feel weird wearing the same thing week after week so I try to change it up a bit, but really who am I kidding.
Our leader shared a story about a woman who lost 80 pounds but stubbornly wore the same striped shirt and khaki pant each week. In fact she ran into this woman at a church event but didn't recognize her out of her striped weight watcher uniform. I haven't made up my mind if this story is inspirational or not.

Here are some photos of the past few weeks.

Am I really this busty?! They look bigger than my head.

Uhhmmm, not really loving this look as it makes me look enormous.

You may catch me after these meetings at Hobby Lobby or Publix with my dear friend Cyndi who courageously attends wearing whatever she wants.

Funny Site

2010-07-23T17:55:00.000-05:00

If you receive Pottery Barn's catalog on a regular basis you will recognize many of the photos shared on this site, Catalog Living. The woman behind it has created fictional character's that live in the photos and what they may be saying to each other. These are two of my favorites:

Elaine wasn’t about to let some hot flashes get in the way of balancing the checkbook with the abacus.

Gary, I just can’t believe that after months of research that’s the chair you chose.

Saturday's Finds

2010-07-20T10:51:00.001-05:00

We've had much better yard sale times than this past weekend but I did find some things on my list. I was looking for some clothing items to be "upcycled" into some cute pants for Charlie. If you have a boy you know how difficult it is to find cute outfits at times. I have found church clothes to be the most elusive unless it's the holiday season.
I found a pair of corduroy pants, a waffle weave long-sleeved shirt, and plaid shorts all for $2.
We also found ourselves at what was advertised as a "gigantic flea market". It wasn't, but we did have a great time digging through this gigantic mound of jewelry placed into tiny bags. I unearthed an owl necklace, an Uncle Sam pin with rhinestones, and shoe clips. Ginger found a vintage fruit necklace that I had to have, all for $4.

Our hunt for a bargain lead us to a couple of thrift shops where I found another round mirror for my collection, it wasn't in great shape but it was only $2. The frame is plastic and has a bit of damage but it's not terribly noticeable. It's the big one hung behind the lamp.

Last week I picked up another round mirror on clearance at Hobby Lobby for $2. It needs some paint to fit into my theme.

Don't Scream

2010-07-19T10:39:00.001-05:00

"Don't start screaming", that's what I tell myself when I go into Katherine's room lately. She spent the night with my mother so I was able to get in there and work on throwing out and getting rid of junk without her hampering any progress. It's really not her fault. Evidently, I have not given her the organizational tools she needs to keep things tidy. She owns way too much stuff purchased mainly by me.

Here's a view into the closet.

I think overstuffed drawers irritate me the most.

I ended up with 1 full bag of trash, two bags for Good Will, and several bags to be consigned. There was also quite a bit of dirty laundry lurking in dark corners. Next is on my list is the baby's room.

Last Week's Bargains

2010-07-15T08:00:00.001-05:00

My thrifting buddy, Ginger, and I went thrifting last week. First it was to the Habitat for Humanity Resale shop. We managed to find a handful of items but were forced to put down our goods due to an extremely s....l....o....w cashier and no air conditioner. I don't see us going back there anytime soon.

Our next stop was to the Goodwill in the same part of town. We both found some clothing items but the best part was Ginger losing her cool with the cashier. The cashier chose unwisely to stop her transaction and have a lengthy conversation with another employee who strolled up after we had already waited. Ginger received many an apology after she made it clear how rude the cashier had been for making us wait.

Our shopping ended at Faith Rescue Mission where Ginger found me an adorable metal airplane for Charlie's room.

Here's what I came home with: a dress shirt for Charlie, a sweater, blouse, and hoodie for me, and the metal airplane. I spent $12, not the best prices compared to yard sales but I got out of the house for an afternoon with a friend.

Chuck and I went to some yard sales this past weekend while we were out of town. It wasn't good. I found this red votive and vintage Christmas balls for 50 cents. That's it. Hopefully this Saturday will be more satisfying.

Another Thrifty Birthday Gift

2010-07-14T08:43:00.006-05:00

We needed another birthday gift for a little girl last weekend so I made another necklace. I purchased a bag of colored ball chain necklaces from Hobby Lobby several months ago. They might come to $1 a piece after using a coupon. Then I add a Scrabble tile with her initial and a thrifted charm. It's so cute and personal. I hope the birthday girl loves it. I'm always on the look out for super cheap jewelry at yard sales that I can rip apart and make into something new.

Rhinestones To A Picnic

2010-07-12T20:41:00.001-05:00

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to wear my rhinestone Americana pins to Chuck's family reunion. It's not really fair to call the collection "mine" as most of them belong to my grandmother. In fact she inspired me to begin my own but it's been slow going finding them so I had to borrow hers. I sprinkled them all over this red jacket that I picked up at a thrift store. I'm loving it.

4th Of July Photo Surprise

2010-07-07T21:37:00.000-05:00

We've been going to our local town's fireworks show for a few years now. This time we were asked by some local radio dj's, J.T. and LeeAnn from Mix 103, for our picture. How flattering! I think it was that festive headband of mine that invited attention. Here we are on their website...http://www.mix103.com/photos/?album_id=26.

Funny Twilight Video

2010-07-06T21:10:00.000-05:00

I saw this video last week on some other blog and I've been singing the tune ever since. It must be passed along.

Monet Anyone?

2010-07-03T09:00:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite classes in college was Art Appreciation. I also had a class for teaching art to children, great fun! Anyway, I've been patiently waiting for our oldest child to be able to do some fun things with art. Last week we tried an exercise from ArtProjectsForKids. It was creating your own water lily garden inspired by the artist Monet.
I was telling my husband that the results were not what I expected because I had purposely not shown her Monet's original because I wanted her to use her own imagination. His answer "Well we can't have a copy of Monet can we?!"

Lesson learned.

Cheap crafts for a crowd

2010-07-01T07:50:00.001-05:00

I work with the children at my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), we call it Primary. We have anywhere between 70-85 children who come on a regular basis. This can be a challenge when you need an affordable craft for Mother's Day and Father's Day etc. It is also a challenge to have a craft appropriate for children ages 4-11.

This year for Mother's Day I used an idea from one of my favorite blogs, HowAboutOrange. Here's the finished product made by my daughter to me:

Instead of having the children fold the paper into fans for the medallion we used flattened muffin liners. This cut down on the time required. I used a giant round paper punch (purchased at a yard sale for $1!) for the centers. We already had colored paper and glue sticks in the closet. All I had to buy were straight pins and muffin liners for a total of about $5.00!

How to top that for Father's Day?! I searched on line and found something right away at ArtProjectsforKids. This project uses thin cardboard boxes from the pantry like cracker, cereal, and pasta boxes to make covers for mini books. We already had plenty of staples, staplers, and paper so no money was spent! Once the books were made, the children drew pictures and made notes to their dads. I think it went well.

My Weekly Master

2010-06-30T09:00:00.002-05:00

Every week I make a "master list". By the end of the week it looks like this:

The first side is my grocery list. I make it according to how items are found in the grocery store. This prevents having to go back to an isle I've already passed.

If you shop with children in tow you already know that any added time in the grocery store is expensive and can potentially end LOUDly. I mapped out everything in the store and keep it in my coupon book for reference. I also write next to an item a "c" for any coupons. That way I know what brand and how much of an item I need.

I also put at the bottom corner of this side what recipes I plan on making that week. In the past, we were throwing out food because I had forgotten what recipes I had prepared for. Next to the recipes are how many Weight Watcher's points each is along with what book I can find the recipe. This square gets torn off and put on the fridge for the week.

The other side of the "Master List" has things I need or would like to accomplish by the end of the week. I enjoy crossing these things off. If they don't get crossed off they are added to the following week, I don't enjoy that.

Lastly, I fold the list in half and use it to store my coupons for the week.

This list is a result of many trial and errors in my adventure as a wife and mom I hope it will help someone on their own adventures!

Thrifting While on Vacation

2010-06-29T09:00:00.002-05:00

My quest for finding a bargain does not stop while I'm traveling. I'm curious if the junk in a different town is different than what I find in my own. It's not, but I'm always hopeful. Here are my two favorite treasures recently found in other towns:

Two silver metal sconces $4.00 for my soon to be "glamorous" bedroom-

A turquoise circle skirt for Katherine $2.00, it does need to be taken in at the waist-

I can't wait to see what awaits me on our next trip!

Banana Pops

2010-06-28T15:24:00.001-05:00

My grandmother introduced me to these years ago. I crave them every summer. You've probably seen this uninspiring yellow and brown box around the bananas in the grocery store. It doesn't make the idea appetizing but don't be fooled they really are.

These are very simple to make. Break the peeled bananas in half, poke a Popsicle stick (they come in the box) in the bottoms then freeze. After they're frozen, dip them into the chocolate and eat. YUM.
(They're only 2pts. if you're following the Weight Watcher's plan).

Saturday's Bargains

2010-06-27T18:53:00.002-05:00

It was another balmy Saturday for yard sales. There were lots of sales but not a whole lot that we were interested in buying. Ginger was given a "free gift" after her purchases at one of the sales, it was a car deodorizer. That was weird.

We hit sale after sale without buying a whole lot, our disappointment was escalating and time was running out. Our last sale of the day finally gave us our "fix". It was close to noon and the ladies running the sale really wanted to get rid of stuff. Great! We were given a plastic bag to stuff whatever into for $5. I stuffed mine with 17 clothing items for Katherine, that's .30 a piece! They also had some interesting magazines. I'm not sure how many items Ginger managed to fit in her bag, maybe she'll leave us a comment.

Here's my treasures:

small clock 3.00

Christmas garland free!

Christmas ball .50

lamp shade .50

metal urn .50

magazines .50

clothing 5.00

$10.00 total

A Pretty Cruddy Week

2010-06-24T22:35:00.003-05:00

Will you indulge me and let me whine for a moment? This has been a week I don't wish to repeat.

Sunday- Chuck discovered our A/C had a clog which caused water to back up and soak the carpet in two closets. Spent the next few days cleaning up and listening to loud fans and a dehumidifier.

Monday-Got all packed up with sunscreen on for an afternoon at the Y just in time for a thunderstorm. We were asked to leave.

Tuesday- Katherine came home with a package containing her new Taekwondo uniform AND mouse poop.

Wednesday- I can't remember Wednesday. That can't be good.

Thursday- Made the mistake of wearing a white t-shirt whilst eating next to my 19 month old at the pizza place. My day ended wearing the crayon/pizza stained t-shirt with a visit to a public restroom with no toilet paper.

Nothing horrible just a bunch of little things that add up to me being "in a mood". I just found this pic of my mother laughing, I feel better. She always makes me laugh.

Fresh New Site

2010-06-22T16:31:00.000-05:00

You know my yard sale buddy Ginger right? She sent me a link to her new site, That Looks Like Craft, I love it already and she's only posted once. The post is all about a fantastic buy from our last weekend of junking. I'm incredibly jealous of:
1. somehow I missed this little gem of a buy
2. where did she find the time to paint it in two days? Did I mention she has 5 children. I only have 2 and feel I have to have a sitter to accomplish anything.
3. her blog looks really great.
I'm looking forward to seeing her next project!

Weekend Finds

2010-06-20T20:32:00.000-05:00

Good sales were hard to come by Saturday. We went to probably a dozen but left most of them empty handed. But I am happy with what I came home with. One of the first sales had loads of women's clothing that I thought were in good taste but overpriced. I decided to come back to the sale later in the morning and ask for a deal. It was accepted! I paid $1 per top. All of them are winter items that most people had a hard time contemplating buying as it was very hot and muggy by 7 that morning. Lucky for me I have a good imagination!

I also bought several easy to read books and three pairs of cute shoes for Katherine. Charlie got an adorable dress shirt, and the little purse was .50 for all my weight watcher materials.
I managed to come home with no new projects. Which is good because I haven't worked on anything for a while. I have a lamp with no shade, another lamp that's currently useless, and two picture frames that need photos.

Great Deal

2010-06-18T19:42:00.000-05:00

I saw on Southern Savers today that you can get a year's subscription to Weight Watcher's magazine for $3.99 at Tanga.com. S.S. actually said it was $2.99 but when I filled in the LOSE for additional savings it came to $3.99. Oh well it's still a good deal. But what a coincidence that I happened to have joined Weight Watcher's on Tuesday!

An Experiment and It's Results

2010-06-14T20:07:00.001-05:00

I was trying to lessen the total cost of my grocery bill and decided to write a few emails to the companies of my favorite products. I wrote to Garnier, Sally Hansen, and Glide amongst others. In the email I stated what product of theirs we use and why we like it. I also requested coupons in some cases. I did of course have to leave my personal information.

The results are a mixed bag. Several companies wrote back thanking me but only 1 sent me coupons.
Sally Hansen sent a total of $8 off several of their brands! That was awesome.
Glide pointed out that the Sunday paper has coupons. REALLY?!
Garnier loved "my kind words" and will share my email at their next meeting.

Overall I would consider this experiment a failure as I didn't really lessen my grocery bill. Yes, the coupons I did receive are awesome but I don't normally spend money each week on nail products. Perhaps you will try to write to your favorite brands and get better results.

Great Idea

2010-06-14T09:26:00.000-05:00

We went to the beach this past weekend and had a great time. Chuck needed to be able to use his phone on the beach and we stumbled on a great idea. We put the phone into a ziploc bag and it was able to function through the bag and stayed sand and water free. I don't know that this would work for all phones but it's worth a try in a difficult situation.

Rainy Day Project

2010-06-10T09:13:00.001-05:00

I have a bad habit of letting magazines pile up on my nightstand. I just love magazines, but I can let them get out of hand. Last week we had several rainy days so I took the time to go through and pull out pages that I want to keep.
I have a couple of three ring binders with page protectors, one for holidays, home decor, and kid stuff. My favorite is the holiday one. Each holiday I flip through and decide what projects I want to do. It's a great way to keep ideas organized. And if I'm really organized I can search for items that I need all year long.

I found this idea on-line last week for Fall.

So I need two large pots, fall leaves, and lots of fake pumpkins. Beautiful.

Summertime Hair

2010-06-10T09:07:00.001-05:00

We've had company for a few days and I've had two little girls to test some hairstyles on! I don't have time for fancy styles on school or church mornings but summer time is a different story. I've found that printing a copy of the hairstyles we want to try works better than having to pull out the laptop each morning.
Here's what the girls picked this morning:

My zig zag part needs some practice but overall I was happy with the results. I have found another hair site that I enjoy, Redpunzel. Rachel includes styles she does on her own hair. I have tried one on my self with good results but I'm not near as good she is!

Saturday's Finds

2010-06-07T21:34:00.002-05:00

I was up and shopping at 6 in the morning on Saturday, boy was it fun! Our best sale didn't appear so at first. We drove up to a lawn strewn with tarps underneath huge piles of clothing. A girl gave us a large plastic bag and said it was $3 for as many clothes we could stuff into it. I started digging! We shared the bag and managed to stuff 38 items into it.

One of my favorite finds is this large rooster for $8. I've been wanting one but didn't want to spend $40. I also picked up the rooster painting for $5.

My total for the morning was $25, I'm delighted!

Another Chandelier Makeover

2010-06-04T08:52:00.001-05:00

This is what our light in the master bathroom was,

a miniature ceiling fan with a naked bulb. I've been wanting to replace it with something glamorous. I've found several fixtures that would be lovely but I don't want to pay $150 or more.

Last spring I went to an estate sale and bought a bag of vintage crystals for $12. The metal loops linking the crystals were brittle and had to be painstakingly replaced with jump rings but it was worth sore fingers.
And here's that $2 fixture I picked up at a yard sale.

I sprayed it with a can of primer that I already had. I like the gray color of the primer. My next step was to figure out how to add the crystals. I decided to use silver necklaces found at Hobby Lobby for $2.99 then drilled holes into the fixture.

Here's the end result with a total cost of $17!

Frances' Fried Green Tomatoes

2010-06-02T08:12:00.008-05:00

Last week we went to a local farmer's market, and not a very good one. I'm hoping that it will get better as the season continues. I did get a hankering for fried green tomatoes after seeing some. They were $1 a piece, way too much. But I found some at our Food Outlet for $1.19 a pound. I was able to buy 6 for $3 and some change. I have never made these myself so I received a lesson from Chuck's Aunt Frances.

Chuck's Aunt Frances. I asked her to give me a sexy smile, she played along.

Here's how to make them:

Cut the tomatoes as thin as you can.

Soak them in buttermilk.

Dump 1 cup of self-rising flour, 1 tsp. of salt, and 1 tsp. of pepper into a large ziplock bag.
Shake a couple of the slices into the flour mixture.
Place the slices into a frying pan with an inch of hot oil.
Allow the slices to brown all the way around the edge of the slice then turn ONCE.

If you turn the slices over continuously they will be greasy.
Brown that side.

Place the slices into a rack on top of paper towels.

Eat while hot! They are crunchy goodness with a dash of salt.

Soloman Snow

2010-05-31T08:24:00.001-05:00

I lucked up last week at the library when I picked this book up, "Soloman Snow and the Silver Spoon" by Kaye Umansky. I had both kids with me so it was a "grab what looks good and go" trip. Our library kindly puts the new young adult books on nice little stands with the covers facing out on a shelf, so convenient! However, I'm sure they don't find my snatching them all up convenient.

I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. The story begins in a small village where our hero lives with what he believes are his real parents. A chapter or two later he finds out otherwise and is off on an adventure to find out who he is. Of course he meets up with several characters who join him. My favorite is little Rosabella also known as "The Prodigy". Rosabella is a terribly spoiled child with awesome skills in manipulation. She also has the most adorable speech impediment, she can't pronounce her "R's". This book would be such a good read aloud.

Found on the back of the book is a quote from the author;

"A while ago, I went on a reread Charles Dickens' binge. Inspired, I cried, "I can do that!" I couldn't. What came out was Soloman Snow."

After returning this book, the librarian asked if I knew about the second in the series. Oh what joy! To find that there was another and it was available for checkout. Also surprising was the accommodating librarian. My mother and I have often discussed how cantankorous they are in general.

If you enjoyed the kind of humor found in "The Series of Unfortunate Events" you will enjoy these two books as well. I found them quite funny!

Summer Crafting

2010-05-28T08:19:00.006-05:00

I love to craft, it's therapeutic for me. I've collected some ideas for Katherine and I to do this summer. I don't think it's going to be as therapeutic but it'll keep her busy for a few hours each week. Today's craft came from Deep Space Sparkle. It used oil pastels to create a lizard sunning on a branch. I knew Katherine would love it. Most 6 year old girls like Build A Bears and fluffy rabbits, our child loves reptiles.

I drew the lizard in pencil, copying the provided pic. Then Katherine colored in with the oil pastels. We used facial tissue to rub in the oil and to blend the colors a bit. It turned out great! I think we'll save it for a Father's Day gift. If you haven't worked with oil pastels before, it's not as messy as I was expecting. They are similar to crayons but have a more vivid color. They blend so nicely with some rubbing.

This is another site I used for ideas, ArtProjectsForKids.org. Kathy has so many wonderful projects with good instructions. This woman is definitely a great art teacher, she knows what kids enjoy doing. I really like her Monet Water Lilly post from this week.

2010-05-26T09:06:00.000-05:00

Remember the two mirrors I picked up at yard sales? I'm happy to say that they've both found happy homes.

The first one was added to my collection of clocks and mirrors. This collection I built without even knowing. It wasn't until after we moved that I noticed they would all look very nice together. It appears I am drawn to round objects. The large clock on the lower right was a recent bargain from Winn-Dixie of all places.

The next mirror I spray painted silver and hung above a nightstand in our bedroom. Now both nightstands have some balance.

I must say thank you to my husband for doing all the hanging and in such a speedy fashion. Wow that obsessive compulsive behavior comes in handy!

Yard Sale Finds

2010-05-24T08:06:00.000-05:00

I had a successful morning at yard sales last weekend. My yard sale buddy called in sick so I went alone. But I found quite a bit of interesting things! The most memorable was a huge iron birdcage for$5. I was tempted to put it the yard with some climbing vines but it was simply too enormous. My kids would have loved getting in and out of it but I didn't think about that until hours later.
Here's a rundown of what I came home with:
Plant stand (hidden behind the wreath)
Blue lamp with hideous shade (the shade is now in the trash)
Outside flag
Nice plastic child size hangers (I always run out around consignment time)
2 t-shirts, a pair of pj's, and a hoodie for Katherine
Some cheap jewelry (to rip apart and make something fantastic)
Two pumpkins, one mercury glass the other cardboard
A beautiful blue berry wreath (it was only $2!)
2 children's books
A large mirror (yes another mirror, but really, this one was on my list)
A basket full of small toys (for a project coming up)

All for a grand total of $28.00. I am pleased.

A Good Deal

2010-05-23T21:17:00.004-05:00

Some of you have seen me with "my best friend twice a year". It's my collapsible four wheeled shopping cart! I keep it in the back of the car every spring and fall for shopping the consignment sales. It receives much attention from other shoppers who wish they had one. An opportunist could really make some cash selling these outside the sales.

You can buy this one this week at Walgreens for $14.99! That's $5 cheaper than what I paid. These carts can be elusive when you're specifically looking for one. Take advantage of this if you can.

Class Of 2010!

2010-05-21T09:06:00.001-05:00

I remember sitting in the hospital calculating the year my youngest brother would graduate from high school, 2010 what a cool year! Patrick was born when I was almost 16 years old. He was one the best thing that ever happened to us. Life had become very boring before he came along. Here are a few photos of the two of us together:

This photo always makes me laugh, me and Grandma wearing entirely too much make-up.

Here I am with grandma again at my own graduation. I always end up crying at life changing events. I really don't handle change well. I was a mess at my own wedding. Patrick asked if I was ever going to live with them again and it broke my heart to tell him no.

We have another graduate in the family this year. Chuck's mom graduated from college last weekend after 21 years. It was a great accomplishment for her. Here she is with her two sons:

Way to go class of 2010!

An Exciting Day

2010-05-19T20:42:00.009-05:00

I had a great day! It began by thrifting with some friends. I only bought an old fall issue of Southern Living and an adorable bow tie for Charlie but it was fun nonetheless.

After picking Katherine up from school we went to a friends house who has chickens! We drove up and a mule, a donkey, and a cow moved close to the fence to say "hello". I wish we had brought something for them to eat. They were so curious to see what we were up to.
Walking towards the backyard I could hear the chickens gabbing amongst themselves. There was quite a crowd of them! I was enchanted with this particular rooster.

He started crowing right away when we showed up. He was the smallest of the roosters that I saw but he tried very hard to convince us otherwise. I could hear what sounded like quite a large rooster off in the distance and this little guy would answer back as loud as he could but end up chocking and coughing at the end of his efforts. Very funny!

Katherine spotted some eggs in the nesting boxes. Three beautifully colored eggs! I found several tiny eggs that were so delicate that a couple of them broke under my clumsy fingers.

We were also invited to harvest whatever was ready in their garden. I'm afraid to say that I failed to identify most of what was growing there. I clipped some lettuce to take home and left the rest alone. Look at what a gorgeous green color it was.

Let me share my new found chicken knowledge with you. A chicken can lay an egg almost every day and never see a rooster. The rooster fertilizes the eggs. I did not remember these facts until my mother mentioned that the roosters were loose and to be prepared when I crack my eggs open. I'm a bit nervous about them now but Katherine is quite anxious to boil them and eat 'em. Mom also mentioned she doubts that these tiny eggs came from a chicken. I don't suppose we should eat those.

My great day ended with a delicious bowl of vanilla ice cream topped with freshly picked blackberries blended into a sauce. Wow.

Sonic Bloom

2010-05-18T08:09:00.000-05:00

My mother has run across the best nail polish I've ever used, Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri Nail Color. I bought the Sonic Bloom color which is a great summer coral-red. It happens to match my new swimsuit perfectly, (more on the swimsuit in a later post). Mom bought Flashy Fuchsia which is a lovely bright pink.

This nail polish claims to cover in one coat and dry rapidly. It does dry quite fast but I preferred the color after two coats. What was the most surprising about this product was how well it lasts. I put it through the beach test. The color did not chip on day 1, 2, or 3 whilst I trudged through sand. In fact, it hasn't chipped ever. I rate this product an A+!

Flower Bed Makeover

2010-05-16T09:05:00.000-05:00

We've spent the past several weekends working on our front flower beds. This is what the front of our house looked like when we bought it a year ago:

What was planted in the flower beds was ugly or refused to thrive. The only plants I saved were two hydrangea bushes that I transplanted to a cooler location. They are so happy now and have tripled in size.

Chuck worked really hard on laying the bricks correctly. It bothered me that they were not level and covered just about everything that bothered to grow.

Below is a photo of the drip system we installed to keep my new plants happy. The hose is on a timer that comes on in the morning for 30 minutes. I've covered all the hoses with a cedar mulch that was cheap and it smells nice.

Chuck put the system into my hanging baskets too. It has worked so well!

My plants have grown a bit in the past few weeks but I'm really looking forward to what they will look like in a month. I am pleased. Ta-dah!

Yard Sale Finds

2010-05-14T08:54:00.000-05:00

I spent several hours Saturday morning with my friend Ginger going to yard sales. I'm quite happy with my treasures. I spent a total of $17.00 and came home with all of this:

I wanted this Santa from Wal-mart last Christmas but wasn't willing to spend $20 on him. I hoped to get him on clearance after the season was over but they were all gone. I got this one for $3.00!

The bargain of the day was the light fixture. I got it for $2.00! I've been hunting for something to replace a tacky miniature ceiling fan in our master bath. We never use the fan and it's just plain ugly. I have plans to change that....

Two Great Family Games

2010-05-12T21:33:00.002-05:00

We've had Blokus for a couple of years now but no one will play with me. I LOVE this game, probably because I'm really good at it. The point of the game is to fit as many of your pieces onto the board while blocking other players moves. Women tend to be really good at this game.The other game I like is Doodle Dice. I am NOT good at this game but I'm determined to win at least once. The point of this game is to match a card's illustration with what symbols you've rolled with the dice. The illustrations get more intricate as the game goes on.

Both games have simple rules and are a blast. Kids age 8 and older can easily play either games.

Iron Man 2

2010-05-10T21:04:00.000-05:00

My parents volunteered at the last minute to babysit while we see a movie this weekend. Fun! We loved the first Iron Man and of course had to see the next one. I'm thankful it wasn't in 3D. Some of the previews I was excited about turned out to be in 3D. That angers me.

Back to the movie, I thought Mickey Rourke who plays one of the bad guys was awesome. His career is back on for sure! I've already forgotten all that unfortunate plastic surgery business.

Sam Rockwell was also great in his bad guy part. He's one of those actors you've seen before but cannot remember where. Not anymore!

Of course Robert Downey was his usual goodness and Gwyneth. Scarlett was beautiful but her acting was a bit flat.

Overall the movie was entertaining and funny. I loved it.

Chickens, You're My Obsession

2010-05-09T22:22:00.001-05:00

I have been interested in having some chickens for fresh eggs for about a year now. However, after watching Martha's recent show on chickens I'm obsessed. Everyone in her studio audience brought their pet chicken and held it in their lap like a cat. Martha loved on a chicken in her lap almost the entire show. I've never seen or heard about this kind of behavior from a chicken. I had no idea they could be considered a pet.

I checked out this book from the library, "Living With Chickens: Everything You Need to Know to Raise Your Own Backyard Flock" by Jay Rossier. I really liked this book, it was interesting and entertaining! What little did I know about chickens. An egg, what little miracles they are.

Last week I was just surfing some blogs about nothing in particular and came across this fascinating woman's chicken coop! I've never seen the likes. It makes chicken husbandry look "chic". You must go there yourself as she doesn't want anyone copying her gorgeous photos.
Then, today in Home Depot I was just waiting around for the hubby when I spotted this magazine called "Organic Gardening" with a beautiful chicken on the cover! I had to have it. Surely I am meant to have chickens!?

There has been some debate over whether or not I should pursue this new hobby as our neighborhood covenants clearly state "no chickens, goats, or hogs". I was crushed at first but now I'm scheming. We'll get a fence......I'll share the fresh eggs......we won't even have a rooster....what's the big deal..........
This chicken thing is NOT over.