Microwave tip

As I'm sitting here enjoying my caramel apple slices on this First Day of Autumn (quite by accident, but delicious nonetheless) I thought I would share a little microwave tip that I read in one of those handy dandy magazines like Better Homes & Garden or Martha Stewart Living.... wish I could give credit where credit is due but I'm not sure where it goes.

I'm not a microwave cooker, don't particularly like mine except that it's a combination convection oven which is pretty handy sometimes.  When it does get used, I demand that food is covered or else you clean off the explosion that's stuck on the roof.

Here is my little bowl of caramels that are getting melted down (gotta love these cute little bowls from The Pampered Chef, they are wonderful!).

We're not coffee drinkers so I bought a bag of coffee filters at the Dollar Tree. 160 for a buck.  You put these over your food for cover instead of wasting precious paper towels.  Paper towels are precious in our home, we seem to go through them quite fast!

Oh, but that's not all folks!  They can even be used as little plates...

This is wonderful if you have little ones in your home.  Mine would much rather have chicken nuggets from the microwave than deliciously cooked in the oven. I don't even know where he gets that.

Another great use for these are when you are washing windows or mirrors.  I have not tried this one yet as I keep forgetting.  Using coffee filters are much more cost effective than paper towels.

Just wanted to share my little tip with you.  Today I am grateful for little bits of information that make our life a little bit easier, a little bit cheaper.  =]

Rusting jingle bells

You girls are truly wonderful!  Thank you so much for all your words of support, advice, and encouragement on my last post!  I really love and appreciate each one of you!

I have managed to set some jingle bells outside to rust.  I loaded up when Hobby Lobby had their bags 50% off!  That included the ones in the Christmas section that were in big tubes.  It always excites me to get my supplies so cheap.  I had such a huge grin when I was walking out of the store.  Is anyone else as cheesy as me?  Lol!

My thoughtful husband saw my platter of bells and said "It's going to rain, those bells are gonna rust, you better get them inside".  Haha!  When I told him that was my plan, he just looked at me like I was crazy then went on about his business without saying a word.  He's just used to it by now.

That was on September 8th.  Here it is two weeks later and they are doing pretty good:

The bigger ones are going pretty slow.  I will have to move them to a deeper dish so they will be completely covered.

So you girls that rust bells the natural way... how long does it usually take?  I check my water level every few days to fill it up and give them a shake.  My itty, bitty ones are probably done.  They are so tiny, so cute!  You can't even see them, they are covered in the water.  I can't wait to use them!

Have fun crafting and creating!  Till next time~

WHERE'S MY CREATING, CRAFTING, SCRAPBOOKING TIME?!?!

Wow girls!  This is really not going as I envisioned it would.  =[

Today marks the 5th week that my kids have been in school.  I was not pushing for school to start, I enjoy spending the summer with my kids especially since I was able to quit work this summer and spend even more time with them.  But I will say that I would get excited when I thought about the alone time I would have to create, craft, and scrapbook!  WRONG!

My little guy started half-day Pre K this year.

My baby girl started middle school this year.

My big guy started high school this year.

Let me just run through what my typical day has consisted of these past five weeks.

• Get the kids up at 6:40am
• Leave the house at 7:20am
• Drop off daughter at middle school at 7:30am
• Drop off oldest son at high school at 7:35am
• Go home and spend the morning with youngest son
• Leave the house at 12:10pm
• Drop off youngest son at elementary school at 12:20pm
• Go home and do dishes, laundry, pick up the house
• Leave the house at 2:20pm
• Pick up daughter from school at 2:30pm
• Pick up youngest son from school at 2:50pm
• Go home and help with homework, check the computer
• Leave the house at 4:45pm
• Pick up oldest son from football practice at 5:00pm
• Go home and cook dinner
• Leave the house at 6:20pm on Tue and Thur
• Drop off daughter at cheer practice at 6:30pm on Tue and Thur
• Go home and relax!
• Leave the house at 8:15pm
• Pick up daughter from cheer practice at 8:30pm
• Go home and get school bags and clothes ready for the next day
• Daughter in bed at 9pm
• Youngest son in bathtub at 9:15pm
• Oldest son in bed at 10pm
• Read books to youngest son in bed at 10pm
• 10:30pm till I crash-- computer time

Daughter's games are every Saturday.  Son's games are on Tuesdays or Thursdays.

WHERE'S MY CREATING, CRAFTING, SCRAPBOOKING TIME?!?!

I know, I know!!  I've heard it thousands of times and that's no exaggeration... enjoy this time with them while you can for they will soon be gone.  I'm trying my hardest!

In-between these "times", I did manage to get things gathered, priced, and set up for a garage sale that we had.  We did really good... sold lots and lots of stuff... not much left.  Yah for that!  I was also able to get almost all my fall decorations out.  Yah for that too!  Now to find the time to take some pictures of it so I can get that header picture changed, haha!

So if you don't see me for awhile, I'm still here... trying to catch up on my blog reading (only one week behind now instead of two) and taking care of the duties of one blessed momma and wife!  I will add this... yes, my husband is very involved with the kids, helping out with them and the chores of the home but he works between 48-60 hours a week on the midnight shift.  He's always willing to lead a helping hand after he gets a good day's sleep.  =]

Looking forward to seeing all of your fall decorations~

Our first day of school

I can't believe I've been gone from here for a month and a half.  Wow!  I expected things to slow down when school started but silly me was wrong!  Things have been crazy busy lately.

Well we are 4.5 weeks into school already.  The start of this school year has been a rough one for me.  There are lots of "firsts" with my kids that makes me stand up and take notice of the fleeting years.  I'm having a hard time accepting the fact that my oldest baby started his first day of high school.  My middle baby started her first day of middle school and my youngest baby started his first day of elementary school.


My almost five year old little guy was so excited about finally going to "big school" like his sister and brother.  But after three days of it, he was ready to stay home with mom. Robbie is a momma's boy and momma did have a hard time with her baby leaving. He is only in school half a day in the afternoons so we still have our mornings together, just him and I... and we love it!

Oh my word!  Let me tell you how perfect God's timing is!  Robbie picked out a book for us to read on the night before school started.  I've always had a love of children's books and have been collecting them since before my first child was even born.  We have so many books in our library, that I had forgotten about "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn.  It is a perfect first day story!  This is a story about a little raccoon getting ready to start school.  He talks about his fears to his mother.  His mother comes up with a wonderful solution to help her little raccoon remember that she loves him and is thinking about him, even when she isn't with him.  She kisses him in the middle of his palm and whenever he feels lonely and needs some loving from home, he is to press his hand to his cheek and he will be reminded of her love.  I had tears in my eyes after reading this story.  When I dropped Robbie off at school the next day he was such a big boy.  As I was leaving, I blew him a kiss.  He caught it in the air and put it to his cheek.  We smiled so big!  Then I rushed on out of there before anyone could see not just the tears that were streaming down my face, but the full blown crying spell I was having.  He's so adorable and has brought so much joy to our family.

My 11 year old baby girl, as I sometimes call her is maturing well into her years.  It makes me happy but at times I would love to see her enjoying life a little more.  I know it doesn't help to live with two boys though.  Amariah is our smart, beautiful, well-adjusted, compassionate, mature, loving, diligent (I could go on and on and on) athlete.  We have received numerous compliments on how well-rounded she is... being good at every single thing she does.  She pushes herself to the max and doesn't give up.  She is truly a breath of fresh air and I am so thankful for her willingness to help out at all times without even being asked.  We enjoy our mom/daughter shopping trips so much!

I went in the school with her and embarrassed her three-fold but not really meaning too.  For some reason, parents don't go in the middle school and take pictures of their kids at their locker and in the hall.  Hehe!  As she was pushing me down the hall to get rid of me, I told her I loved her anyway, was very proud of her, and wished her a wonderful first day of school.  

My big guy has grown tremendously over the summer.  14 year old Ryan has come so far and matured so much just since May, the end of last school year.  Here he is on his first day of high school.

He likes to look tough but he can be a sweetheart... when he wants to be.  He's always cracking jokes and making us laugh.  He is a huge help to his dad and I.  I took him to his doctor for his football physical and he is now 5' 5 1/4" and weighs in at 154 pounds.  I said "He can't be that tall, that's how tall I am."  He stood right in front of me and looked me straight in the eyes!  When did my baby boy grow up like that?!?  I took him school clothes shopping and we had to transition from youth sizes to men's sizes!  I was having a hard enough time with the thought of him entering high school, now I am having to shop in the men's department for his clothes!  Ugh!

This day was full of tears... Sad tears, joyful tears, melancholy tears, proud tears.  I just couldn't seem to stop the tears.  I've always been an emotional person but this day was a hard one for me.  Thankfully Rich understood all too well how hard this was for me.  Why, I even caught him wiping away the tears when the last child was dropped off at school.

As if you couldn't tell... my life is full of busy-ness, but it's also filled with lots of love.  I am so proud of each one of my kids and have so much love for them.  I am extremely grateful and thank God daily for bringing our family together and growing us up in love!

Grunging candles

I just wanted to share with you my grunging process.  I started out with a white pillar candle I got at a garage sale for 50 cents.  I put it in my makeshift double boiler that is a gallon food tin and a stock pot I bought at a garage sale to use this way and also for when I tea dye.

Then I took all the little tea lights out of their metal casings and took out the wicks.  I bought a bunch of boxes at Dollar Tree in the half price bin.  I didn't care too much about the scent because the cinnamon and spices are so strong, it covers it anyway.

I also had a bright red half pillar candle that the wick was messed up on, so I put that in the pot too.  As it melted down, I pulled the wick right out of it.  In my experience, the color of the candle doesn't matter so much because the wax is a transparent color when you melt it down, it is not opaque like the candle.  I don't use paraffin wax or store bought candle making wax.  I am always on the lookout for cheap, broken, clearance candles.  After the holiday sales are the best time to get candles when color and size doesn't matter.  I put them all in a box to store them, then pull them out to grunge or melt when I have a good supply.  Next time I grunge, I'm going to add vanilla to the pot, I forgot to do that this time.

I bought 6 boxes of these 6-count of 5" emergency candles at the Dollar Tree.  They are the perfect size for most candle holders.  I cut the wicks off because I don't want sparks from the spices.  I know some people don't do this but I just want to be careful.  So mine are just for looks instead of burning.  It's easier to cut the wick after they've been dipped a few times.

 

Then the real fun (and mess) begins!

I mix cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl.  I immerse the candle in the wax for about 10 seconds then pull it out with metal tongs.  Then I roll the candle in the bowl.  I'm always stocking up on those latex household gloves when Walgreen's has a coupon 3/1.00 or 2/1.00.  I use those and throw them away when I'm done.  The tongs leave marks in the candle, but after I roll the candle in the mixture, I rub it between my gloved hands lightly so it pushes the cinnamon onto the candle and evens out the tong marks.  I do 3-4 at a time, let them cool after each dip then repeat this over and over again until I get the thickness I want and the candle is completely covered.  Some people end with a dip in the wax.  I end with a dip in the mixture because I think it's more grungy that way.  But the best thing about that is you can see it both ways and decide which way you like better.

The bigger (pillar) candles I actually had to use my gloved hand to roll it around in the hot wax.  It was warm and the glove was covered in wax but it wasn't hot enough to burn me.  I just use my scraper on the glove and scrape it back into the hot wax.  Same thing with the wax build up on the metal tongs.

The hardest for me was the battery operated tea lights because I had never grungied those before.  I finally learned that I just had to cake it on with the spreader.  A little wasn't cutting it and it can't be thrown in the pot.  I'm glad I saved these for last because what I finally did was let the wax cool slightly and then spread it on like icing.  After a roll in the mixture, they turned out pretty good I thought.

Quite messy, yes indeed!  Rich asked me if I realized what a mess I was making.  Hehe!  I wish I had an after clean-up picture.  I had to scrape a little wax off the counter top and the stove top but it all worked out great.  I was afraid I was going to scratch the ceramic stove top, but I didn't.  Can't even tell that big mess was once there!

I'll have to post some pictures of what I did with some of my grungy goodies.  I hope you give it a shot sometime, it was so much fun to see the progress!  And just like anything else that you create, the finished product makes you smile and realize it was all worth it!

Edit 02/11:  I just wanted to add that I put my burner on med-high to melt the wax.  When it melts down, I put the burner on as low as it will possibly go for two reasons.  This keeps the spices from melting off.  The candle also dries quicker which keeps it from having too many drips hanging off of it.  It is then not too hot for me to rub in the drips.

Also, if you'll read through the comments, you will get lots more great suggestions!  Lots of women use crock pots for their waxing because it's less of a mess they say.  I say, whatever works best for you and the easiest is the way to go.

Don't be afraid to jump in and give it a try.  I was... I waited a few years before I finally just did it then I was mad at myself for waiting SO long!  Just like any other craft... you learn as you go.  Wax is so forgiving... if you mess up, just stick it in the melted wax again and give it another shot.

Please email me if you have any questions!  I'm happy to help out in any way that I can.

Prim friend goodies

What a crazy, busy time it has been lately!  I just wanted to pop in here and show you some goodies that I was blessed with this past month from some wonderful prim friends!

I won Linda's giveaway!  She is such a generous soul!  She drew 7 names and sent out 7 packages!!  I couldn't believe how big the box was when I received it because I thought I won a baby shoe pinkeep.  Well, here is what all she sent me.

Wow!  It was SO much fun unwrapping everything.  I love it all, thank you Linda!  You are a true sweetheart!!  I'm so glad we have become good friends over the past months because it makes your gifts all the more sweeter!  Go on over to Linda's blog at Parker's Paradise and pay her a visit.  She is always up to something... menu planning, traveling, getting great deals at auctions and giving them makeovers and much more.

I also received this wonderful apron from a new facebook friend that I just met in June.  Oops!  Sorry, don't look to closely at the dust.  I am finally taking all of my Americana down this week then I will dust before I drag all the fall totes out!  YAH!  Can't wait for that!  Isn't it beautiful?  I love it!  Thanks Sandie!

  Sandie Maldonado and her husband Henry are wonderful people!  He had just made her a beautiful dry sink and she was trying to decide what to put inside it.  I remembered a white porcelain bowl that I gobbled up at a garage sale along with a whole big box full of other goodies for only $7!  (I love when men are running the sales... they always want to get rid of their wife's junk, haha!).  I shot her a message asking her if she would like it.  She sent me the money for shipping and I sent it to her.  I hope she doesn't mind, but I borrowed this picture from her facebook.  Isn't it so wonderful that two girls from different countries can come together like this?  I love how the bowl looks in her dry sink.  Perfect combination Sandie girl!

Sandie is another true sweetheart!  They have a wonderful website that you should check out: http://www.thehollowcupboard.com/.

I know I repeat myself over and over again... but I truly mean this when I say there is no sweeter or greater friend than that of a prim girl!!

Happy 57th Anniversary!

Happy 57th Anniversary to my parents today!  I am so very proud that I can say this because I know there are so many out there that can't and never will be able to proclaim this.  It hasn't always been bliss but it has always centered around God, family, home, and friends.  They have done a wonderful job of passing their legacy on down to each of us six kids.  I love them dearly and so very thankful that God has allowed us to enjoy them all these years as we continue to make wonderful memories together!

My parents aren't always this silly, we had a Mexican fiesta a few months ago to celebrate their 75th birthdays...

The first day of school starts in 11 days.  I have never been one of those parents that can't wait for my kids to go back to school.  We always enjoy our summers together and they always end all too soon.  This school year I am the saddest I have ever been.  I am really dreading it this year.  My oldest will enter high school.  My middle will enter middle school.  My baby will enter elementary school.  It brings tears to my eyes every time I think about it.  I am so excited about these new adventures in their lives and looking forward to the people they will become, but with each new stage of their life I realize how time is slipping away from us.  They say that time flies by faster, the older you get.  It is so very true.  I have finally grasped this and intentionally live my life to the fullest.  That doesn't mean I try to fill it up with all kinds of stuff before I die.  But I fill it up with love, encouragement, affection, smiles, thankfulness, and joy every single day no matter what we face.

I'm grateful for the family that God has blessed me with.  I'm thankful that we love, share, and make many wonderful memories together!

A trip to the Amish

My boys are visiting Grandma this week and my daughter is cleaning and decorating for a Luau swim party that she is hosting here tomorrow night.  So I took off all by myself and went down the road about 20 miles to a very small Amish community.  First stop was at Ropp's bakery where I bought some more chicken base, ice cold Coca-cola in a bottle and these...

I just love their homemade buttermilk brownies!  My sister used to make these all the time when we were growing up.  I remember begging Mom to buy the "good brownies" at the store... you know... the good ones in the box that my friends were always so fortunate to have.  Hahaha!  I'm still trying to locate our recipe.  I know it's just as good as the Amish.  Could even be the same recipe.  Yep, ice cold Coca-cola and buttermilk brownies for breakfast!  Best breakfast I've had in a long time.  =]

I didn't get any pictures of Amish.  I was too busy watching an older Amish woman cradling a few dozen eggs under her arm as she hiked her leg, dress and all, flung herself up on the tractor and take off down the road.  I could just picture myself trying that... I would land flat on my rear with a few dozen eggs in my face.

I then went on down the road and came across a flea market.  I have been looking for another printer's box for awhile now.  I came across this one for $2.99!  I was pretty excited about that!  The last Amish doll I bought was probably over 10 years ago.  You just don't see them for sale around here anymore so when I set out this morning, I was determined to find an Amish doll.  And I came across this one for $4.99!  This "pigeon hole" box was also $4.99.  

I was telling the owner how I was going to tea dye the apron, clean her up a little.  She said "Honey, I can tell you like primitives just like me, you aren't gonna clean her up, you are gonna dirty her up!".  I drove around the small community for awhile and found a couple more flea markets to visit the next trip over.  My car really, really wanted to pull into the parking lot of the Amish buffet restaurant where they have the most delicious homemade noodles.  But I knew I was fixing a big dinner for the family and they would wonder why I wasn't hungry.  After a stop at the hand crafted furniture shop, which had the most beautiful furniture I have ever seen in my entire life, I headed on home.  It was a nice time.  I was wishing I had a friend along with me to enjoy the day but it was still nice to get away by myself... which NEVER happens with three kids at home!

One more thing I wanted to share.  I bought this paint rack at a garage sale a few weeks back for one dollar!!  Talk about excitement!!  I almost bought one at Hobby Lobby a few years back for $19 and that was on sale AND with my employee discount!

Since my 4.5 yr old is gone for the week, I told Rich that I was turning the dining room table into a painting table.  It's covered with projects, along with the kitchen counter.  I have been having a great week!

Well that's all for this time.  As always, thanks for coming by to visit!  You prim girls are the best and I really enjoy blogging with you.  I just wish I could have about 3 days straight of nothing but blogging... just maybe I could get caught up on my blog reading.  =]

You all have a delightful week!

Blessings~

What I've been doing the past month

Goodness I've been gone for awhile haven't I?  I received this from a friend for my birthday.  She took her son to Wyoming for college and did a little shopping.  She said the store was filled with this kind of stuff.  Laughingly, I said "Yes!  It's a prim store!".  She was amazed because we don't have prim stores anywhere in this danged state!  Do you girls realize how fortunate you are?!

I got this 4' x 6' flag at a garage sale for 50 cents!!  I snatched it up in a hurry.  The first thing Rich says is "You're not gonna tea dye that, are you?".  Haha!  Why yes I am!  I showed him the stains on it and he was okay with it.  I think it will look great draped over my old school desk or a chair.  Good deals... batting for 50 cents, beautiful white and blue bowl for $1.

Speaking of tea dying... got these cute little towels at Dollar Tree that took a dunk.

I added cinnamon to the pot and I'm not sure I like it on the towels.  It looks like they are moldy.  Ha!  The white towels look great but for some reason the red, white, and blues one didn't turn out so great.  I'm guessing it's the fabric?

I gained over 40 new followers when I had my giveaway.  The past few weeks I've been going through and adding them to my blogroll, following them.  Doing that has put me far behind on my blog reading and posting.  But I'm not complaining!  It's been lots of fun making new prim friends, I am really enjoying it!  Besides that, this is what's been keeping me busy too...

I've been pulling rocks out of this bed by hand and taking bucket fulls to a friend's home down the street.  We are pulling up the smaller bushes in front of the boxwood and transplanting them to the back yard.  I don't know if you can tell in this picture, but I had quite aways to go still.  I am now down to about a 2 foot square left!!

This fall the house will get painted and hopefully next year will be a new roof. Then the following year or two we are going to pull out all the boxwood, tear out the concrete steps and build a whole new front area.  There is always something that I want to do.  Hehe!  It's lots of work but the rewards in the end are worth it.  I will say though... this seems to help cool things down a bit after working up quite a sweat.

Thanks for visiting me and checking on me.  I have the most wonderful prim friends there is!  You all have a delightful weekend~

Working outside

I have been a stay at home mom for almost a month now.  I have so enjoyed being home.  I just keep thinking about how blessed I am, how wonderful God has been to me and my family!  We feel no income loss whatsoever!  As a matter of fact, there is more money left over!!  Isn't it amazing how faithful He is when we finally obey Him?  I was just thinking this morning how blown away I am at the new blessings I have received every single day since I became a SAHM.

My first week off was a totally wasted week.  I did not a thing!  Poor Rich did laundry, dishes, cleaning, just about everything but cook.  I know I have an awesome husband and believe me, he knows... I tell him often!  I totally vegged out.  I can not tell you why.  I think I was just in a state of shock, awe.  I have had a job since I was 15 years old.  For the past 26 years I have worked outside the home.  I became extremely lazy that week.  That weekend I realized that I can NOT allow myself to become a bum.  So the following Monday I started a new schedule for myself.


Every morning, I have Rich wake me up when he comes home from work.  After some quiet time with God and breakfast, I head out to work in the yard.  This is something I have never liked to do.  I have always despised yard work.  I enjoy planting flowers but nothing more.  These past three weeks have been a new revelation for me.

• I love getting out there and digging in the dirt.
• I love the smell of the earth.
• I love the moist, soft feel of the earth.
• I love the feel of sunshine beaming down on me.  
• I love the feel of a light, refreshing rain.

It rejuvenates the soul, the spirit.  I can not believe how much I have enjoyed working in the yard.  Now I can honestly say I love it!  It thrills me to look around and see the progress.

The rock project actually started in May.  All the rock is coming out and going down the road a few miles to a friend's home.  I worked on it a little bit here, a little bit there.  My helper, Ryan pulled out all of the metal edging.

Here the work begins...

Slow going.  I pick up the rocks and put them in buckets that get transferred to their new home.

Now that I have been working in the yard every day, the progress has picked up immensely.  The small bushes are being transplanted to become a privacy fence for our pool until we can get an actual fence put up.

Almost done!  I don't have a current picture, but I only have about a 4 foot section left to do.  So I work in the yard all morning picking up rocks, weeding, re-arranging flower beds till about 1:00 pm.  After working up quite a sweat, this is most welcoming and refreshing!

I'm grateful for the good health that God has blessed me with so that I'm able to work doing something I enjoy, spending time outside in His creation.

Gulf Shores, Alabama

Yes Cora, you do live in a beautiful state!

Our fabulous condo right on the beach at Gulf Shores.

The main bedroom with king size bed and its own bathroom was occupied by my nephew and his family.

Another bedroom with two twin beds occupied by my parents.  I hate that they had separate beds but they insisted.  I guess after almost 57 years of marriage, it's okay for them to sleep apart for a few days.  Hehe!

Then our bedroom consisted of a queen size bed which was just perfect for Amariah, Robbie, and I.

Can you tell we're a little excited?  We have been to the beach lots of times, but this is our first condo right on the beach!  Robbie took a pretty good picture for a 4.5 year old.

Our cute little bathroom

Our main living area.  My two sisters slept on the comfy couches.

Our balcony

Our gorgeous view of the ocean

There was an empty lot beside us so our corner was so serene, so quiet especially at night.

Heading to the beach!  I just love this picture of the lil' guy trying his hardest to walk in the deep sand in his flip flops.  It's hard when you have little legs.

Our first sight of the ocean.  Grandma is checking on us to see if we're still coming.

YAH!  Robbie made it!  Actually, I don't know what he's doing in this picture, I think he's just so excited to FINALLY make it to the beach because we had been telling him for four days that we were going to the beach.  His hourly question was "When will we be at the beach?".  I'm so glad he made it because he had the best time!

I think we were ALL excited about finally making it to the beach and seeing a blue ocean and white sand.  We were worried about the oil being everywhere.  I'll be back later with more pictures and even some of the tar balls.

I'm grateful for a beautiful place for our family to visit and make such wonderful lasting memories.