Then a couple of days ago I got a call from Saturn asking if I wanted a car to drive for a few days. Would I! Yes please! This afternoon Chris took the kids and I to pick up the car.

Can you see the kids in the back?

We got a Saturn Vue from Saturn of Corpus Christi. It is a 2008 with low mileage and is a really great ride. It has a moon (sun? what is the difference?) roof, seats that fold flat, OnStar, and a bunch of great tweaks like if you are in the backseat you can push a button and the cup holders magically appear (it’s magic to a five year old anyway), airbags all the way around (six total), xm radio, awesome cooling system and more.

Considering my car has been acting like a toddler that needs a nap, driving this car is so awesome! We have the car until Saturday and have already shown a few neighbors! Everyone coming to the party this weekend will also see it and of course whoever else we run into over the next few days.

Sidenote: Alice and Jake knew we had to go to the Saturn dealership right, except Alice kept insisting we had to go to Mars to get a car.

Check out my flickr account to see bigger pictures of the car. More to come!

A Saturn for a House Party is a post from: me being crafty

My kids do have an idea of what they want to be for Halloween but that’s all the holiday stuff we know. We invited a friend for Thanksgiving but he is going to be out of the country at the time. My Mom is planning on visiting in December/January but we haven’t made definite plans yet.

You can see why I’d be “blah” right now about the holidays.

My friend Cara is the Household Helper and she put together a Holiday Countdown – check it out and sign up, it’s free! She provides a weekly email that includes shopping and decorating tips, snack ideas and party planning tips. I’m signing up in the hopes that it will kick some holiday spirit in me! I need it.

HH Holiday Countdown is a post from: me being crafty

my old kitchen – to the right is the sink/dishwasher

Chris eats at work a lot of the time, every day when he is there for sure and usually all three meals of the day. That’s also been hard for me because he eats *alot* of food and since he doesn’t eat at home, we are left with a lot of leftovers! I’m not used to that at all. I’d rather just have things we can snack on and grab something quick and easy for dinner. We all eat fairly healthy and rarely have junk food around – it’s just a matter of figuring out what to have. Last night we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches along with veggies we ate either plain or with ranch. It was filling and good and I didn’t slave away at the stove for an hour.

Tiffany at Nature Moms just put out a Raw Kids Recipes book that includes recipes for No Cook Pizza, Fruit Leathers, Coconut Macaroon Cookies, Carrot-Jicama Nori Rolls, Key Lime Candy Bars, Creamy Celery Soup and Chickpea Crunchies. No cook pizza? Sold! And the key lime candy bars sound yummy! I love key lime.

I’m going to grab her recipe book and try out a few recipes. Not cooking is very appealing to me since right now Chris is gone for work, since it’s hot outside, since I don’t like the kitchen. Many reasons I know. I also think the kids could help with a lot of preparing a raw recipe – they often help with cooking anyway and this seems like it would be easier for them. Check out her book and let me know what your favorite recipe is.

Feeding Kids Raw Foods is a post from: me being crafty

This move we decided to live on base in housing and depending on the place, housing can have a long wait list. But for us we had an easy time getting into housing – here they are duplexes and did you see ours? We have a fenced in yard, four bedrooms and a garage with storage. There is quite a bit of storage here and during the short time we plan on being here I am going to take our stuff from cardboard boxes or broken plastic boxes and put them in better storage.

I have a lot of Christmas decorations that may need to be pared down! I don’t have anything that I don’t love, or at least I don’t have an entire box worth so I doubt I can pare anything else down. I know I need to get rid of stuff because we’ll be moving around a lot during the next couple of years. I’d like to stay put in one spot for five years again like we did a few years ago, but I don’t think that will be happening any time soon.

TMT New Home is a post from: me being crafty

WW New Home is a post from: me being crafty

Mommy Fest is being held May 12-16 and will have more contests, freebies, exhibitors and more.

5 Hands for High 5 is a post from: me being crafty

My current crafty space is so much smaller then I am used to! As you can see from my picture yesterday we have student desks set up and my boxes of card making supplies around it. This set up is in the living room and the student desks are what the kids use when they want to sit and do school work. My Dad bought them for the kids and I have to say, they love them. I’ve been sitting at the biggest desk and making cards. It is a small work area so I have to be careful what I work on and how many tools I have out. I have perfected working in an assembly line fashion and that does help.

The supplies have been out for a week and they are getting put away today. We are starting a family dinner night and since that is Thursdays, I need the stuff out of the way so my nephews little hands don’t get into my things! Of course the kids will either all want to play outside or play the Wii and I doubt my crafty stuff will even be of interest to them.

Tell Me Thursday – Crafty Space is a post from: me being crafty

1. Socks and blankets are good! Dad’s house is big and it’s just him, and he works all day. So while the heat is on when he’s home, it isn’t while he’s gone. I mean, before we got here it wasn’t on. Now it’s on but I realize how hard it is to heat a place this size. So the kids and I are making sure we wear socks and that the blankets are out! We stick to a few rooms during the day so it works out just fine.

2. The library is awesome! When we were in South Carolina, I didn’t care for the library all that much. It was too small, didn’t have newer things and seemed to never have what I was looking for. That didn’t stop me from checking out books and owing them a fine though. But this library here – two stories! Awesome kid section! The kid section has a huge rug that has hopscotch printed on it and they don’t mind if kids play. They also have legos and a few other toys. They have reading time every single day and tomorrow should be our first day of going to that. I’ve already reserved a few books and have quite a list going – the online system allows you to add books to a list, not requesting them, but merely saving them. I’m going to print it before I go then look at the books – I’d hate for someone to have to get them for me, only to realize I don’t want to read them.

3. The Visitors Center is cool. I got lost last week and ended up finding the visitors center. They put out weekly and monthly lists of what is going on in town! I planned on seeing Grease in the local theater, but Alice was sick so I didn’t. But Little Women is coming in April and I really want to see that! I’m going to get the book and read it to Alice and hopefully take her. Maybe she’s a little young, but that’s okay. I didn’t mind getting lost once I found that place.

4. I’m reading again. I didn’t bring many books – and what I did bring are craft books so it’s not like I could sit down and read a story when I wanted to. I started reading An Elm Creek Quilts Sampler -I really like this series. The sampler is the first three books in the series and I had already read the first so it was nice to skip ahead. I also put others on my list at the library.

5. Amazon Unbox rules! Let’s face it, the writers strike sucked. And with moving I was thinking I’d miss a few of my favorite shows. Thanks to Unbox and abc.com (they know how to show tv online – I’ve tried on nbc and cbs and it just doesn’t work for me – maybe I need to try again) I’ve kept up. Not that there has been a lot to keep up on, which is good for my wallet.

6. I finished Financial Peace University online. I have been talking about money for the past two weeks – being annoyed with people about it, wondering about it, doing a budget every other day, etc. I had to do a crash course of FPU because you are allowed so much time to finish it – and with moving I forgot about it. But now that I’m done I have a short list of things I need to check on and a renewed sense of money management.

7. Costco samples can fill you up. I finally got to shop at Costco again! It was great to go there. We went on Saturday when they have samples every other aisle. I shop much different then my Dad or brother – they both know what they are looking for, go in, find it, and leave. I like to walk around, browse the books, etc. I’m sure their way saves money though. I suppose not shopping at Costco would be good for my renewed sense of money management though.

9. Copy machines at home are so worth the money. Dad got a new printer and though it had to be replaced, I’ve been using the copy portion of it today. I borrowed a few craft books from the library just to bring them home to make a copy or ten. I found a really cute kids quilt idea and one book of handmade cards – Quick & Clever Instant Cards – that have either cute cards or good layouts that I’d like to try. I think if I need to make that many copies of a book I should just buy it!

10. My kids love having other kids to play with. One of my nephews is the same age as Alice and they have been having a good time together. Actually my nephews and my kids are all 8 years or younger, so they get along fairly well.

11. I think I lost weight. I say I think because I’m basing it on slightly looser jeans and my watch sliding down my wrist. I have yet to join the Y but I have all the paperwork so that will be very soon.

12. We have renters! I have a signed rental agreement! I’m so glad we were able to get the house rented out, I was worried because of the market and the reasons why people were opting for other places after looking at ours. If you ever need a real estate agent in South Carolina, I can tell you who to stay away from, and who to work with.

13. It’s snowing! yeah yeah, it’s winter in Montana. It is supposed to snow. But a few days ago it was in the high 40s and the sun was shining. After being away from snow for years, I’ll gladly take some now. Plus the kids really love it. They have snow pants, jackets, boots, gloves, hats, the whole works – and haven’t worn them since we got here.

All in all good things have been happening in just a few short weeks here.

Thursday Thirteen – Since Being Here is a post from: me being crafty

One day he walked in the craft room/office and was playing with my camera. He said he wanted us to take a picture together so I leaned down and he took a picture. We ended up taking four or five both with me leaning down a little and with him on my lap. When I went to pick out which picture, I asked him which one was his favorite and the one I posted is the one he picked.

I love that you see him and I – yeah the background is there but it’s so dark you can’t see it.

TMT Smile is a post from: me being crafty

Wordless Wednesday: Smile is a post from: me being crafty

The fingerless gloves I am making for Alice actually fit her! Or rather, the ones I thought were hers actually fit. They are a little long but she doesn’t mind.

I found a clinic we can go to! I don’t really worry about medical care when we are away from home because we typically don’t get sick. Or if we do it is a cold and that usually doesn’t warrant a hospital/clinic visit – but the kids got sick last week. After about an hour and a half on the phone (or waiting for a call back) with my insurance and our clinic back in SC, I was able to take the kids somewhere here in town. And it’s minutes away! I’m glad knowing it’s there if we need to go again.

I contributed politically! I hope you have too – spread the word, change is possible and it will happen.

I did it is a post from: me being crafty

Oh and Lisa – more details: 4 bedrooms, a loft, 2 1/2 bath, family room, living room, dining room, laundry room, eat in kitchen, 2 car attached garage. I think that’s it? No fence outside, the BEST neighbors anyone could ask for, and a master walk in closet you could live in. Trust me, I almost put my craft stuff in there because it is so great.

The yard may not be that big, but we have a super awesome screened in porch! I love this because it has a ceiling fan and we put our swing in there. Perfect for the wicked hot humid days the south has all summer long.

We are in a new development so our yards are not huge – though they are perfect for kids to play in with the neighbor girls, bbq’s with friends and setting up a pool for the hot summer. But not too hot – then you just want to stay inside with the central air.

But sorry Chele - no furniture will stay – though all the appliances and even the washer and dryer will! You still interested?

This would be a perfect house for 40 acres Donna! You are so right. My Dad has five acres and a large house and it’s awesome. I can’t wait to stay with him and I know my kids can’t wait too – nevermind that he has horses for them to ride!

Our house is great to live in. We painted inside back in October and I’ve been replacing our curtains with blinds over the past month or so. It is surprising how little things can really change how your home looks – okay, it isn’t surprising and anyone point me back to this post when I say we are moving into a new place. I am great at unpacking and setting up a house in just a few weeks. And I can get all of the shelves and my candle holders on the wall a few weeks after that. But paint and blinds – that always takes a lot longer. Next time I will set up the house how I want it within the first few months.

It’s important to really enjoy your space. I did that after we painted – put up a few more pictures and such. But that’s just been the past couple of months, really not enough time at all.

Update: Click on the “Rent My House” link in the right sidebar – it goes straight to the listing!

Answers to Wordless Wednesday is a post from: me being crafty

My craft room on the other hand – I failed the November Challenge. But that’s okay – it looks better today then it did yesterday and will look even better tomorrow. I had a great start but once we started getting the house ready to show, I stopped.

I do have most of my Christmas gifts finished! I’m going to get started wrapping them just to get them out of the way. They are in my Christmas gifts box, but with wanting to get started on packing as well – there is just a lot to do!

We are leaving in two weeks. Less then two weeks actually. Chris is back on shift work so we are thinking when he gets off at night, we’ll jump in the car and leave. I’m nervous. And excited.

And I keep on crocheting. I’m on my second pair of fingerless gloves and now Alice wants a pair and she wants me to make a sweater for one of her dolls. I’ve made a list and just keep checking things off!

Catching Up is a post from: me being crafty

Interview Me is a post from: me being crafty

I’ve always been so sad about not being able to go to the cool craft fairs – not that I don’t think the church events always put on are nice, but I wanted to be able to see the stuff I see online. The awesome crafts that are featured on etsy and on blogs and such.
I was bouncing around my craft blog list and saw a button for the ICE over at The Small Object Steno Pad – and decided we were going. Sure Atlanta is five hours away but when am I going to be this close again? Okay I’m sure I will be but one craft fair in two years just is not enough!

It will be one long day, but so totally worth it.

Two More Days is a post from: me being crafty

A friend of mine taught me to crochet one day. It was a quick and easy lesson and I caught on right away. I went online and found NexStitch.com with fast loading videos and easy to follow along instructions. That fixed it for a couple of stitches that I just needed to see vs. being told about over the phone.

Then I bought The Happy Hooker. I LOVE that book! The first half is the basics – easy to read and understand instructions and also illustrations. The second half is full of patterns. Lots of cute funky ones like crocheted belts and skirts and completely cute ones like the pattern I used for a blanket Alice’s dolls ended up owning.

I’m bringing this up to remind myself! I promise I’m going to start the blanket I’ve been talking about this week, I am determined to do so because it takes time and I love the idea of doing an all handmade Christmas.

I got out my fleece for the tie blanket – I’ll have pictures on that tomorrow as I did get the fabric ready to go, which takes just a few minutes and then actually making the blanket doesn’t take very long either.

How I learned to crochet is a post from: me being crafty

And drum roll please – the winners are . . .

Stickers ~ Nature Mama from  Nature Notes From Above

Paper ~ Sarah and here is her myspace page

Accessories ~ Sarah from Sassy Frazz

(Nature Mama, is your name Sarah too? )

I’ve emailed and am just waiting to hear back and I will get the items out this week. The giveaway was too fun! I still have scrapbooking items left so I’ll probably be doing this again. I think that’s the only craft I haven’t been able to really get into, otherwise I stamp, make cards, sew, quilt, make jewelry, play with clay, and the list could go on and on.

Head on over to the winners pages and give them a shout out of congratulations!

Winners of Fall Y’all Giveaway is a post from: me being crafty

Alice’s pattern is Finding Nemo and Jake’s is a football material. I still need ideas for one nephew that is six and another that is three. Maybe the blanket would work for the three year old because the one year old is getting a blanket I’m going to crochet. I have a lot of fleece material though and I bet I could make a quillow (what the combo is usually called). If you are interested in buying one, check out the listings on etsy.

Blankets Into Pillows is a post from: me being crafty

I will say this is the messiest room in my house. It seems to be the catch all room – see the stacks of books? That is from the bookcase in the loft. We cleaned it off so it would be easier to move when we painted…two weeks ago. The loft is put back together but the books haven’t been. It’s been easy to work around them, they’ve actually been restacked twice, but of course they should be back on the bookcase.

The dresser was meant to hold homeschool items but they were shifted to the bookcase in the craft room. I’m honestly not sure what is in there now. And the chair was my Grandpa’s years and years ago, the arm (we think) is at my brother’s or my Mom’s house – Mom said I should throw it away but I don’t want to. Of course it should be used if I’m not going to get rid of it!

Since getting the laptop, no one sits at the desk longer then to print something. We really want a wireless printer, that would eliminate the need to even sit at the desk. But it is a nice desk.

I want to have different sections in the room – a sewing section, homeschool section, etc. I’ve thought about taking the top of the desk off and using the desk as a cutting station or a work station, but haven’t done so. I definitely need to get organized as we may be moving in the next few months. I know it’s smart to start now rather then to rush at the end!

Today starts the 30 Day Organizational Challenge and I signed up for this room. Thirty days is plenty of time to put like with the like, find basket and bins if necessary, purge and get the room put together in a good way. I don’t mind if I end up getting done and moving a couple of months later, I can always use the same ideas later.

PS You entered the giveaway right? I’ll be drawing names the same time as the rest of the participants, which I think is Saturday.

Organizing the Craft Room is a post from: me being crafty

A few years ago I attempted to try scrapbooking. I have no idea why I thought it would be fun – I’m the person who can’t cut a picture. I think they belong in a photo album…in order that they were shot. Yeah yeah laugh if you must, I’ve learned to. Since then I have managed to cut a picture here or there, but still haven’t been able to get into scrapbooking.

I’ve given away other items to a friend or two, but have never managed to get rid of it all. So I am passing a few things on to you as part of the Fall Bloggy Giveaway.

1. Stickers -

JoAnn Scrap Essentials, Typewriter Key Alphabet, 100 letters
Mambi Minis, Me & My Big Ideas, 3 sticker sheets, Easter theme
Creative Memories, Holiday Grandma’s Kitchen Stickers, 4 block sticker sheets
Creative Memories, Calendar Accent Stickers, 16 studio strips
Bo-Bunny Press ~ Sleepover, Girl Talk, Girlfriends, Girls, Friends

2. Paper -

Creative Memories, Coffeehouse Printed photo mounting paper, 6 colors, 12 sheets
Close To My Heart, Level One Scrapbooking kit, Between Friends (item 7022A)
Close To My Heart, Level One Scrapbooking kit, Fun-Tastic (item 7025A)

3. Accessories -

Stampin Up, Eyelets, Bold Brights 1 (Brilliant Blue, Glorious Green, Real Red, Yoyo Yellow)
JoAnn Scrap Essentials, Family, 60 quotes and sentiments on white vellum
Close To My Heart, Accent Beads (buttons), Buttons 4 Seasons (item 1790)
Close To My Heart, Craft Buttons, Buttons Winter (item 1789)

Rules & Such

I am not a consultant for CTMH or CM – the items might not be sold anymore so if you go to the website hoping to find a close up picture and one is not there, I am sorry.

There will be three drawings – one for each group of items. Comment and also say which group you want to be in on. You can be in on all three drawings if you wish, but you can only win one time.

Open to US and Canadian Residents

Everything is new and has just been stored (and then moved across the country once!) since I got it. The JoAnn Scrap Essentials in the Accessories has been opened but not used.

Any other questions feel free to ask in the comments!

A Giveaway is a post from: me being crafty

I was listening to the latest Mom’s Money podcast, this week’s show is about teaching kids about money. This is a great topic for me because I want to start giving my kids an allowance and just don’t know how. I’ve mentioned they are price conscious and now seems to be a great time to start working with money.

While listening to Mom’s Money I decided my kids need piggy banks. I know I had seen one with multiple compartments for saving, spending, donation, etc., so off I went on a Google-quest to find said piggy bank. I tried Amazon – who had the one I wanted (the Money Savvy Piggy Bank) listed, but it isn’t available right now. Okay so tried and true Amazon failed me – but google won’t!

Back to searching.

I found the site that created the money savvy bank – and wow it is available in multiple colors! Alice immediately picked pink and Jake wanted green. I’m thinking this is a great idea but can I find it locally so I can save on shipping costs. Ahah, Toys R Us! But their phone number is busy no matter how many times I call them in five minutes. Since my brain is skipping from thread to thread, I quickly move on.

A quick glance around the bank creators site shows me a cow bank and a football bank – Jake sticks to wanting a green pig, Alice thought the cow was cute but she’s becoming attached to the color pink in general so there was no changing her mind.

Still thinking I want to save on shipping, I go back to Google – maybe there is a site that has it offering free shipping or low shipping. Darn Amazon anyway.

Then I stumble upon a post on the financial blog Get Rich Slowly about this exact piggy bank. Reading the post is merely verifying my want of the piggy banks and I’m ready to click back and buy the banks, sucking up the shipping charge (and the crazy fact that I would be spending a chunk of change to teach my kids to save money). Then I read the words

(Of course, the truly frugal can accomplish the same thing with four canning jars.)

His parentheses; and the link goes to a flickr picture of three canning jars with a child’s handwriting indicating saving, spending and donate. It took searching and bouncing from site to site and my finger on the buy now button before I thought *duh I have old Ball Mason jars* – I can just use a few of them! A little while later and we went from this

to this on the dresser.

Save, Spend, Donate.

I stayed with green paper for Jake and pink for Alice, used stamps from Stampin’ Up to decorate the punched out circle and look at that – a three component piggy bank system. It’s about time I use the jars for something, as they haven’t moved since I put them up on the shelves. Their allowances start next week.

How does your brain work when searching for something?

Brain Thread is a post from: me being crafty

There is a huge craft fair in our area in November and the beginning of December where I bought a few gifts last year. The local grocery store had coupons for a dollar off the entrance fee and I grabbed up a couple of them already. The fair is in our local coliseum and it is covered from inch to inch in booths – can you imagine the crafty goodness? Some things people were even creating in their booths – I love watching the process. We didn’t get to walk around the entire area last year as it was too big and I had the kids with me.

Check out BuyHandmade.org and pledge to buy handmade this holiday season. I’m taking a second look at my gift list now. A few things I’ve already planned to make and it’s just a couple of my nephews I need to think about. I’m sure I can find something boys would like! Oh and when I found this site earlier this week they were at about 280 people pledging, as of this post they are just over 1400!

Buying Handmade is a post from: me being crafty

[tag]My Paper Crane[/tag] shared [tag]cat and pumpkin images [/tag]- she made them initially for suckers but others turned them into a sort of banner. We had the neighbors over yesterday and made a few different things.

Here are Alice’s cut outs ~

She cut out two more sheets worth, having 18 total, and strung them together top to bottom. She did stick with the pumpkin/cat/pumpkin/cat pattern and attached them to each other with pink and blue brads. She’s very much into patterns and alternated the colors pink/blue/pink/blue. She was very happy with herself for sticking with it! I’d have a picture but it has disappeared to the abyss that is her room (I swear I didn’t think kids rooms could be that messy!).

But one of the neighbor girls made the same kind of top to bottom stringing, and her Mom attached the younger girls into a wreath. The kids all lasted cutting them out and then they were done. Course they had already cut out and put together a skeleton.

The skeleton is awesome – you can find it here at the [tag] Sewing Stars blog[/tag]. We made four or five of them and they quickly were traded back and forth, then attached to the banners that were made. I’m going to hang the banner up tomorrow and have the kids make a few more skeletons and hang them in the window! I’m proud of us for doing these crafts, we usually don’t decorate for Halloween other then a few stuffed pumpkins we’ve had since Alice was a few months old.

I printed all of the things at home and did have to adjust my printing – the margins and the size of the file. My printing option (or maybe it’s my printer?) lets you adjust the image by 10% at a time. It was very easy though.

[tags]halloween crafts[/tags]

Halloween Cut Outs is a post from: me being crafty

Then I found this ~ Blurb ~ from abby try again (she has a book ordered and they give you a preview link, check hers out if you are interested!). You can upload from Flickr (hhmm, I have a professional account, I can just upload all of my pictures of said nephews) and add text or whatnot from there. And the prices are definitely reasonable – considering I wouldn’t have to spend the time printing, yeah definitely reasonable.

These would be Christmas gifts and would you believe I already have five of seven done or bought for my nephews? Okay I counted two as ideas for these picture books, but that is a pretty good start considering it isn’t even Halloween yet.

Oh! And I could do a picture book of our old house! And one of here, someday. And the vacations we’ve been on. The possibilities!

I should just sell my photo printer, I’ve used it so few times (seriously, I’ve printed maybe six pictures). That’s just not right.

Photo Book is a post from: me being crafty

The little girl loves the Disney Princesses so we found a purse and lip gloss pack for her. I figure all little girls that age (the same as Alice) like makeup and sure enough we were right on the money. All the kids had a good time. And since it was so girly, Chris took Jake and had a Daddy/Son day – they played miniature golf and ran to the grocery store to buy some treats.

Alice isn’t into Barbie yet, not really anyway. She likes the Groovy Girls (my personal favorite!) and plays dress up, plays with blocks and cars with Jake and isn’t really attached to any one thing. I hope that continues, I don’t know how to handle an obsession it seems some kids have with Barbie or other dolls.

So we have Barbie as The Island Princess and Groovy Girls – I suppose it is kind of even.

Oh and Alice drew a picture on the top part of the card for the little girl, when she opened the card she said “Oh wow Alice, I didn’t know you could draw so good!” Little kids are so funny.

Island Princess Birthday Party is a post from: me being crafty

I have a short stack of journals/notebooks (all designated to certain topics of course) and on top are a few blank moleskines – I need to just get a pencil and start sketching. Of course it won’t be perfect, but it’s not about perfection. It’s about expression and art and the love of whatever you are drawing.

I’m browsing craft blogs and came across an article at The Storque on Etsy about home made tattoos (really reminds me of my Dad’s initials on his hand). I have new colored pencils and a moleskine, I just need to do it. At least it will be a start.

I saved the picture after browsing tattoo art online – if it is yours please let me know and I’ll link it! I saved it because I like the bird, I’ve been attracted to sparrows lately.

Tattoos is a post from: me being crafty

All of my life I’ve taken care to take care of the environment. As kids we always cleaned up our street (others weren’t as nice as us about not throwing trash out), sometimes Mom had to talk us into it, sometimes not. Although my brothers and I didn’t start recycleing until we were older, adults living on our own, it’s something we continue to do (I’m always amazed at how much paper we throw out). We changed our lightbulbs to the curly looking ones, the CFLs, turn off lights when we aren’t in the room, wash clothes when there is only a full load and the same with dishes, run errands all in one shot and more.

The high school I attended does a earth week, when most others are celebrating earth day. It was always fun, I was never one to skip a day or two like others did. There was a wide variety of events to sign up for from reporting on the events, cleaning up areas of town, painting, planting, etc.

Crafting is another story – I only halfway use things I have around the house. I have a stock of crafting items but when I go to make something I sometimes realize I don’t have one thing around the house to finish it. Frustrating for me and doesn’t go with the whole use what you have thinking. I am working on being better when it comes to crafting.

Whip Up has a great article written for today, check it out here.

Action Day is a post from: me being crafty

My friend Marie tagged me for a 7 things about me that you may not know meme.

1. I love organizing – not necessarily using my things once they are organized, but just the act of organizing. I love it even more if my Mom is around to help.

2. I love shopping, window shopping and online shopping. I can go to stores and just walk around, walking out with nothing (okay that is rare). I want to go downtown at least once before we go and just walk around looking at the stores. Online is even better, you can leave windows open and go back and pick up where you left off!

3. I don’t like doing the ‘man jobs’ around the house – you know, taking out the trash, mowing the lawn, etc. My brothers did that stuff when I was growing up and I think Chris should do them now (sometimes he doesn’t agree with that, but that’s neither here nor there).

4. We bought a new bed a week ago and I’m not sure if I like it – for sleeping. For laying around during the day it is awesome, I have the laptop, a book, plenty of space to lounge around and a nightstand for my water. What, I have kids to take care of? Oh yeah…

5. I love to read – wait, maybe that is already known? I have a lot of books and finally found a bookstore that is a trade in store, can’t wait to go there!

6. I procrastinate, big time. I have a lot I need or want to do but a lot of it is put on the backburner, often for no good reason! It’s a bad habit and I’m working on changing that.

7. I like folding clothes. There I said it, it’s true. Moving them to the washer and dryer, not so fun.

I tag Tishia Lee, Much More Than A Mom and Carrie Lauth.

7 Things About Me is a post from: me being crafty

Check out the progress here at Flip That Mom’s Website and keep in mind that once the flip is done, Carrie will be giving the website away! I admit I’m very excited for that and hope I can enter the contest to win it.

I love being able to watch the progress of changing the website, it helps to get the views of someone on the outside. I have a site built with an expensive content management system and am debating switching to wordpress for easier management. Seeing Mommy Hobby switched over may definitely sway how I feel!

Keep an eye on Mommy Hobby – flip in progress!

Technorati Tags: mommy hobby, flip a website

Mommy Hobby Website is a post from: me being crafty

Has anyone bought the Baker’s Edge brownie pan yet? I was wanting it but after Chris’ revelation of my liking the inside of the cookie (and thus the inside of the brownie) more then the edge, I decided I can wait. But they are coming out with a lasagna pan! I love making lasagna and am definitely going to purchase this pan. In fact, I think I’ll make lasagna tonight…mmmmm. I need to run to the store anyway.

Crafty Daisies is doing an embroidery lesson follow along and so far they are up to lesson three. Here is the first one which Alice and I are going to start today. She’s been sewing random things together – paper, small pieces of cloth, leftover stars we used for a curtain project.

I need to mail out my card swap cards today – and I seem to have picked the hardest card ever to create and send off. It’s a trifold card and I was off with my measurements for four cards! So I had to cut more paper as I was only making six cards to begin with!

Technorati Tags: lasagna pan, softies, embroidery, trifold cards, handmade card

Linkage is a post from: me being crafty