It's Going to be a Kitschy Christmas

Well, maybe not that kitschy, but close. I finished the silver pine-cones and they're sitting nicely on a shelf waiting to be strewn about the house! Some of them got red bows and others will be left plain to be mixed with fairy lights in bowls. I can't wait to get to decorating!




I also did a few of the hanging ones for gifts this year. I'm hoping it will cause the recipients to reminisce a bit about Christmases past. Just seeing them reminds me of holiday crafting with my mom and two sisters. So much fun!


Other than that, the day was quite dull. Work, walk/jog, laundry, dinner, dishes and bed. Oh, and I ironed some curtains. Isn't that fab?! (Insert sarcastic snort here.)

Ah well, that's all that the day held, so that's all I will type. Adios until next time! Hopefully there will be more exciting posts to come!

Good for the Home; Good for the Environment

Well, I'm back again for this week's handmade favorites feature. This week's theme is, "Good for the Home; Good for the Environment". In general, we're not involved at all with the "green" movement. We both feel that it is a trend and that people need to be focused on lifestyle changes that are both economical and that fit in with their environmental beliefs rather than do what is in style. Also, we are logical thinkers and fairly analytical and so we are waiting to see any scientific evidence supporting some of the claims being made by certain factions. That being said, we are both all for conserving and recycling. We are outdoors folks and want to preserve our natural world as much as is possible. The products I have picked are for a reason and I will explain why I picked each one! Now, on to the goodness and I have to tell you, you should really consider purchasing something from this list; it's ALL good!

First and foremost is this Reusable Wet Jet Set by QwertyO on etsy. I'm actually awaiting the arrival of a set that I just ordered from her on Thursday. I just bought my Swiffer Wet Jet and HATE the idea of throwing out a mop pad once a week. The pads she makes are going to alleviate that extra item a week from landfills AND eliminate possible leaching of cleaning chemicals into the soil. Also, she was super prompt and made them within a day and got them in the mail the day after that! I should have them VERY soon and that's awesome! I'll be sure to post a (glowing, I'm sure) review after I receive them.




Next is this fabulous Homekeeping Kit by Soapwerks! I love that everything comes packaged together in such a convenient way. The kit comes with an essential oil in your choice of scent, labels and recipes for homemade cleaning solutions. I love this! I've converted most of my cleaning solutions to homemade ones, but they all smell like what they're made of and my recipes aren't consistent because I don't have good ones to follow. The main reason that I make my own cleaner is that they are much better for my respiratory health and I know that they will be okay for the dogs. I'm seriously considering buying this kit in the VERY near future!




Okay ladies, PLEASE tell me you wear gloves when you're cleaning. If you don't you should! The effects of even eco-friendly soap on your hands can be devastating! And, since you're going to wear gloves from now on, why not wear these Glam Gloves from MaryZoom? They're super-cute and she has many different styles to suit your personality!




Showertreatsoap makes this Pineapple Jasmine liquid dish soap from scratch and it is made completely from natural products. Can you imagine how great this would smell? I also love the simple packaging. I would be more than happy to have this sitting on the window ledge above my sink!




Anyone with pets knows that carpet smells are a constant battle. CleanRinse sells this great starter kit that includes the Carpet Refeshener in your choice of scent and the adorable little glass shaker to apply it with.




For those of you with kids, or for those of you, like me, who are so messy they go through way too many napkins a week, these are a great option. These Cloth Napkins by countrycuttins are too adorable with their cupcake print and can be washed after use rather than thrown away.




Finally this week, is my handmade baked good! My favorite part! This week, instead of finding a pre-made goodie, I searched for an organic baking mix that could be used in the home. The winner is from Fiddler's Green Farm and is their Gingerbread Mix #1. I'm thinking that sitting down to a slice of this after a long day of cleaning would be divine!




So that's it for this week's feature! Now I feel like cleaning. Please be sure to check out these products at the sellers' sites and see what else they have to offer. Most of them have tons of products; I just picked my favorites. Thanks for reading and happy cleaning!!

Good Intentions

I had a great day today. I walked a mile and jogged a mile on my lunch break. Just the fact that I could jog an entire 1/2 mile at one time is a HUGE accomplishment for me, let alone do two in the same workout. That made me feel great!

While at work, I suddenly remembered that it was Thursday and that if I wanted a free weekend I would have to get my butt in gear to get the house cleaned and laundry done by tomorrow night. So, I pulled out a little notepad and scribbled out my to-do list for the night. Of, course I over-planned. There's typically no way to get done what I want to do in a given night, but at least it gives me a goal. So, I get started on my list, and things are going great. The laundry is started, bedroom cleaned, dinner made and dishes done, laundry switched out, office/guest room cleaned and bathroom cleaned. It's when I go to get the Swiffer together that I discover that I've forgotten to buy batteries for it. That's also when I realize that if I don't have batteries for that, I don't have batteries for my camera. Just great. I really wanted to post some pictures tonight. What a bummer. (And yes, "blog" is an item on my to-do list tonight! Lol!) So, tonight it is just boring me and words. Sorry!

Anyhow. It looks like I will definitely be rolling into the weekend with just a few chores to get done. The weekly laundry will be done but I'm sure I'll wash bed linens and curtains because of that. No biggie. I also want to start putting out our Christmas decor this weekend, but that depends on whether or not I get my swap goodies made at a reasonable time. Surely Jason and I will want to spend some time doing something fun. We'll see how that goes.

Well, I'm off to prep for bed. Shocking that it's so early and I'll gladly take it! My feet need some rest after all of that jogging!

I've been meaning to

Get here. Post. Show off some stuff. But life gets in the way sometimes.

Jason and I had a great, but busy, day off on Tues. We rented the carpet cleaner and I was able to get everything clean. It's amazing what a difference a good steaming makes! I blame it all on the dogs. Those animals are filthy! After all of that cleaning I decided that I needed a Swiffer wet mop for the rest of the floors. I'm currently searching for a good deal on a set of washable cleaning pads for that.

I've been working out much more consistently now. I've done at least 30 minutes of something every day this week so far. Jason devised a custom strength circuit for me. I'm sore now, but I'm more grateful that I have an intelligent husband that respects my limits but works me as hard as I need to be worked. I'm not seeing much difference on the scale but I am seeing a difference in the fit of my clothes. I'm going to keep this up this time!

Other than that, there has been lots of crafting of late. We got our Operation Christmas Child boxes off, so the rest of the week will be spent finishing an altered altoid tin first aid kit and starting the prep work on some shadowbox Christmas ornaments. I'm very excited to get those done this weekend! I also need to find another place to do my spray-painting. Somehow the back porch has a silver sheen to it. I'm not too sure how that happened...well, I have an idea but I'm not admitting anything!

Well, I'm bound and determined to get back here tonight and post pictures of what I've been working on.

Not enough time

I don't know how it happens, but I have a perfectly laid out plan for what needs to be done and when and it all falls apart!! Oh well, I assume that most people are like that, right?

The worst part about the night was processing my Avon orders. I love selling Avon and I really love the products, but every other Thursday when that delivery hits the front door mat, procrastination kicks in. Well, I got it done and was actually able to label and date 130 brochures for the next campaign. I just have to think about all money it's making us.

I think we're all packed for our weekend of Christmas shopping that starts tomorrow night. I know that we have a lot of things to get done, but I also know that we're both looking forward to a weekend away.

The year just seems to be going by so fast! I can't believe how soon Thanksgiving is. I don't don't if I'm prepared for all of this. The best thing is that I should have all of our presents wrapped and tucked away by next weekend. Phew. That is really the biggest task and to have it out of the way is going to be such a blessing!

It's A Wonderful Life...

It truly, truly is. This has been one of those weekends that was really relaxing yet fun and productive at the same time. Friday night was fab and the Ghost Hunters Live was better than we expected. Saturday we got a TON accomplished. Jason repaired my dresser and I got all but one load of laundry washed and put away and all but one room cleaned.

Jason surprised me last night with "date night". While he was out getting materials for the dresser repair, he picked up a bottle of one of my favorite wines. After dinner, he told me to get warm clothes on and head out back. He had the fire pit set up and we sat outside under the stars and had a GREAT time together. The only bad part about it was that I drank a little too much and felt it this morning. For evidence of this, check out the slide show. I'm feeling brave, so I've included a pic of how I look after a night of "hard" drinking! Enjoy the pics!



Today has been nice. After laying in bed most the morning, I finally got up and got things moving. I cleaned the window treatments in the bedroom. Then I cleaned and reorganized my guest room and the HUGE closet in there. I also finished the rest of the laundry and will get off my duff in a minute and iron for the week and straighten the house up.

So, all in all, a wonderful weekend. I'm looking forward to only working 4 days this week since our office is closed on Tuesday for the election. I'm planning on renting the carpet cleaner that day and taking care of the bedroom. Well, I'm off to divide and conquer a few more things.

This weekend was a good, relaxing one from the start. I had a lot planned, but the only thing we really accomplished was getting some laundry done and a bit of straightening of the house. I did get my big swap package sent out. Thank goodness I was able to get it out. I actually finished the final project that morning. I'll post pics as soon as my partner receives so that I don't spoil it for her.

Last night I sat on the bed watching the Bizarre Foods Halloween Special while crocheting a little boy's scarf for Jason's Operation Christmas Child shoebox. Every year he prepares one for a little boy and I do one for a little girl. It's so much fun to shop for an anonymous child! I plan on finishing his scarf tomorrow night and I'll start the one for my little girl on Wednesday and try to finish it on Thursday. After that I'll attempt to finish my grandma's lapghan that has been one year in the works. I'm planning on getting that done by Christmas. I hope to get a few more things crocheted in time for Christmas, but we'll see what happens. I also have two more small swaps to finish by the end of November, but they should be fairly easy to accomplish.

Jason spent Sunday after church snoozing on his recliner, eating snacks and enjoying the Cowboys' victory. (Yay!) I'm glad he had a day to relax.

I received the greatest catalog last week and went to their website. Country Kitchen is my new favorite baking supply website. They really carry the stuff that would take an at-home baker to take his/her cakes to the next level. I'll have to keep that place in mind the next time I have a special cake to bake.

Well, that's it for me for today. I'm so excited about my weekly craft feature. I already have this Saturday's theme pinned down and I've been bookmarking my Etsy and Craftster finds. It is going to be really hard to limit the amount of items I post on here. It's so much fun!

I was late to work today

Want to know why...because I HAD to wash the dishes. Isn't that CRAZY?!?! I was so worried about the dishes in the sink that I had to stop, put my coffee down, take off my rings and bracelet, roll up my shirt sleeves, grab an apron and scrub away. (I have to mention that if I had walked out the door without doing so I still would have been late, but 5 minutes, not 20.) Apparently I am so CDO (obsessive compulsive disorder, for those of you that don't have it and can say it in not alphabetical order), that I would prefer to be late to work than to leave a sink 1/4 of the way full of dirty dishes. It's shameful, really. Oh well. At least I'll be going home to a shiny sink and clean dishes.

Tonight will probably be a busy night tonight. We're having blackened salmon with gnocchi and pesto sauce and I may bake some acorn squash to go with it for dinner. Yum! I'd like to get most of the laundry finished by tonight and also get at least a room or two clean. Addam's Family Values starts at 7pm and I hope to be sitting on the couch working on a ridiculously useless beaded bookmark on my new beading loom. It better turn out this time or else. I HAVE to mail off my swap package tomorrow morning. No if's, and's or but's!

I'm not sure what the weekend holds. I'm sure there'll be a trip to McCoy's, as usual, and I'd like to go to one of the general-store type places to browse for some more goodies to throw in the swap box. I'm sure Jason would like to go to the shooting range, but I also know that he has to start some stamping on a leather knife sheath he's making for a customer. I'd also like for him to start on a belt for me, but he has to take care of the paying customers first. Typical...

I may have mentioned that I'm reading Bless Your Heart, Tramp: and Other Southern Endearments by Celia Rivenbark. This book is hilarious. Jason is getting tired of me laughing out loud as I read in bed at night. I'm definitely not as "Southern" as the subjects in her book, but I do recognize each and every character. Her story-telling is admittidly a bit crude, but I haven't read anything overtly offensive. It's not something I'd read to my kids, but it definitely covers topics that every woman goes through, whether they're a Southern Belle or not. I'm about halfway through that and then will move on to my new Sarah Dunant.