I laughed so hard at this!

Pray for this family.

A local family was devastated by a fire last night. They lost their 4 oldest children. The 911 calls were all over the news today and it was truly heartbreaking. I'm sure that the family would welcome the prayers of everyone so please keep them in your thoughts.

Laugh because it is Funny!

This video is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. It happened right here at the Comedy Barn in Pigeon Forge Tennessee. A couple audience members are brought on stage to participate. The guy in the middle has one of the funniest laughs I've ever heard.

Frugal Friday Tip: Pretty Peppermint Sugar

This is my first time contributing to the Frugal Friday posts. I should have posted this right after Christmas. If you are like us, you always have candy canes left over after the holidays. Here is a great idea that I wish I could take credit for, but I can't. I saw a piece on the Today Show after Christmas where this was one of the ideas presented. Take your leftover peppermint candy from Christmas and run it through your coffee grinder. You can clean your coffee grinder first by running some white rice through it. It makes a wonderful peppermint sugar that is great in hot chocolate or sprinkled over vanilla ice cream. I've also mixed it into whipped cream to use over chocolate cake. YUM! I would suggest that you could mix it to taste into powdered sugar to stretch your peppermint if you don't have many pieces. I think this would work well with any flavor hard candy. I want to try it with butterscotch. The results are pretty, pink and yummy.

Is there anything worse than being average?

I think not. I'm so average it hurts.

Angels

Patty over at Morning Ramble shared stories from her life where divine intervention kept her safe. It reminded me of something that happened almost 23 years ago . We lived in a small town outside of Montgomery Alabama. We were only married for a few years and didn't have much money, but we loved to window shop and imagine what we would buy if we could. One Saturday afternoon we decided to go to a local furniture store and look around to see what was new. We decided to split up, Randy took our 3 year old son to look around downstairs and I took our 13 month old daughter upstairs to look at sofas. If you have ever tried to carry a 13 month old around for very long you know that once they learn to walk, they want DOWN. When we got upstairs my daughter was squirming to get down out of my arms. I didn't see but one exit, the stairs we had just come up, and I decided it was safe enough. Besides, I wanted to look at the furniture in peace. So I let her down. She toddled away from me and the stairs. I kept one eye on her as I looked around to make sure she didn't go anywhere near the stairs. I felt perfectly safe letting her walk around the chairs and sofas, there was nothing I could see that could harm her. After a few minutes I had a "thought" come into my mind, very clear, "Where is Laura?" I looked over and called to her, I saw her look in my direction and smile. She was completely across the room from the stairs. Everything I saw said to me she was fine. I turned away and again, much stronger, much more urgent sounding, almost like an order barked at me, "WHERE IS LAURA? CHECK ON HER NOW" I literally jumped. I turned and ran over to where my daughter was. When I came around the sofa she was walking past I saw there, cut into the floor, right next to the wall not 2 feet from where she was, a slot about 15-16 inches wide. It was cut into the floor for the door to the delivery area downstairs to be raised and lowered. To you or I, or an older child even, that slot would not have been a real danger but to my 13 month old it was a death trap. If she had fallen through she would have falled about 20 feet to a hard concrete floor below. I snatched her up and sat shaking for a few minutes before I found the strength to walk back down those stairs. When I tried to tell my husband about what happened. I never could describe the voice I heard. It was much more than a thought, almost like someone standing speaking over my shoulder directly into my ear. I heard it as clear as a bell that second time. There have been other times that I believe Angels have protected my family. I may never understand why they have been spared harm, but I will always be grateful . Life gets us down, and is really hard sometimes. We should all remember how precious we are and that we are loved.

Free is *almost* always a good thing...

I've been trying an experiment. A few months ago I checked out the book A Mom's Guide to Making and Saving Thousands on the Internet. I found some useful tips and felt the book was a good read. I was intrigued by the section on internet freebies. Could a person really spend a few minutes each day filling out forms and receive enough free merchandise, samples and coupons to make it worth while? I set out to find out. My two biggest concerns, time and the knowledge that my email address would probably be bombarded with spam were taken care of with self imposed time limits and a new address at Yahoo used exclusively for freebies. I began by choosing freebies listed at the author's site Momdotcom.blogspot.com. I decided that I would only sign up for around 4 or 5 a day. This prevented my obsessive self from getting carried away with hours of surfing looking at one after another. I learned a few very important things: Stay away from what is called a 2 step offer. Basically a "Visit our sponsors site and choose blah blah blah...and we will send you XYZ." Do not fall for that one unless you are interested in signing up for new credit cards etc. My goal is to spend less not more. I am not interested in point rewards or any such program. Maybe there are benefits for certain consumers but not for my family. That is something each person would have to research for themselves. I am only interested in sampling a product so those are the offers I look for. Second, until and when you figure out what you are doing you will definately need that second email address. I signed up for quite a few items that continue to send email to my box everyday. In fact, I have already deleted that email address and opened a new one. For the period of one month I decided keep all items I received in a basket and take stock of whether my 5-10 minutes a day were worth it. Judge for yourself...

Advantages were I got to try products that I otherwise might not have. I received samples that were useful, some that were useless and some really cool things, like a Sponge Bob Square Pants battery toothbrush, useful posters for homeschooling, and even an entire info packet from Nato with a dvd and computer game. I continue to get coupons on items from various companies. Most of the coupons are for $1 off or more.

All in all I give the experience and the book a grade of B. I would recommend it but caution you to look closely at each site you visit and only sign up for those directly connected to the product that you are requesting a sample of OR through a reputable company such as Wal Mart or Target. Free should be just that,free, without a catch of any sort. If you try this, drop me a line with your results.

I can't believe I'm posting this picture...w/ Update....

During the summer months our business takes almost all of my free time. Things around here sometimes get totally out of control to put it mildly. I manage the public areas of my home pretty well. But far in the back corner, where I wouldn't dare let anyone in is...The Room from H-e-double toothpicks! My art and craft area. This is what I have... And this from Martha Stewart.com is what I want... So for the next couple of weeks my goal is to organize the before and make it look as much like the after as possible. I'm starting today by purchasing some photo storage boxes and a couple of file boxes. So if you don't hear from me for awhile, send out the rescue dogs. I'll probably be buried somewhere under all that junk. UPDATE Progress has been made. Getting a little more Martha like. Instead of buying new, I've covered some shoe boxes in white to match the boxes I already have. I've cleaned out a bag of garbage. I'm sorting and organizing my art supplies. I'm feeling much better about the situation. Another day or two should get most of the work done. I chose white because I find white and soft greens to be the most calming colors. They help me clear my mind of mental clutter and focus on my projects. I'm looking forward to creating in a orderly space for a change.

$14 challenge

To make things more interesting I challenged myself to decorate my home for Christmas and only spend $14 or less. The figure $14 came from the amount I spent on the tree for the charity festival. I allowed myself to use what was in the one box I had unpacked this year: My tree, lights, my Christmas angel I painted a few years back. I also allowed myself to use what I had in my pantry, which turned out to be only 2 glass bowls and some candles, some fruit and nuts. I started by making paper stars, 3D and flat for the tree. I was lucky enough to go to the thrift store on half price day and made out with a bag of white ornaments, a bag of vintage ornaments, 2 Santa head vases, and a wooden Christmas tree decoration all for the great price of $4! I bought a roll of red ribbon for outside decorations for $1.39, a Poinsettia for $3 for a total of $8.39 + tax. Not bad. I used candy that was left over from Christmas presents etc for decoration so it was free. I also collected greenery from our yard. The results may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm happy with the results and enjoyed the challenge. Greenery from our yard Planters in the yard were turned into arrangments. I think I'll remove the bows and leave these all winter. The front door. The ribbon came from an old package. I painted this angel a couple of years ago. The bowl came from a yardsale. Pictures of Grandmas and Grandpas. I used the vintage ornaments as an accent. My wooden tree from the thrift store. Greenery from the yard, candy. There were some green ornaments mixed in with the white ones from the thrift store, I painted them red. I made an arrangement in one of the Santa heads, the other has a lid. I love these. Fruits and nuts mixed with greens and pepper berries. Finally, the tree. The instructions for the 3D stars are at HGTV under the Carol Duvall show. They are very easy to make. I also used some of the vintage ornaments that had lost some silvering. I painted the insides white and added glitter. I like the look. The best part...I can throw almost all of this away after the holidays and not feel any remorse! I hope everyone has a wonderful day with family and friends. Merry Christmas.

Big Holiday Wishes

Holiday Thoughts

I was sitting here last night thinking about the blessing of another Christmas with people I love. This is the 19th Christmas in our home. We have some wonderful memories here. I also thought a lot about how Christmas has changed for me over the years. It has gone from the excitement of my youth, the bustle and hurry of a young mother, to a much easier slower paced time to reflect. I made a decision a few years back to no longer take part in the blur of activity that Christmas has become. I still take part in Holiday parties and celebrations, and I still buy presents, but now I make a point to spend most of my time reflecting on what it is really all about to me and trying to do away with activities that bring stress instead of joy. I make a point to spend time with people I care about and touch base with those I haven't heard from in awhile. I try every year to contact an old friend or a family member I haven't talked to in awhile. What I don't do it unpack the 304,000 boxes of Christmas decorations I have in my shed. In fact this year I've only unpacked one. And you know what? Not one person has said anything negative. I thought I would be letting everyone down if I didn't put out their favorite thingamaChristmasjig. But it seems I'm the only one concerned. Randy and I aren't buying presents for each other and we have limited our present buying for the kids. Of course there will be plenty of food as always just not wall to wall giftwrap. It does make it easier to do that when only 1 or 2 of the kids will be around come Christmas day. Laura will be sailing the Caribbean. Juliana will be working both Christmas eve and day. Jesse I'm not sure about yet. I'll find some time during the season to spend with them all. So Christmas day will be just Randy, Tyler and me. Time to start new traditions and make new memories. I'm looking forward to it.

Trash to Treasure Part 2

The best thing about Trash to Treasure, to me, is that something doesn't have to be a permanent fixture in your home. Items that are cheap or free can be used until you can afford to replace them. You are guilt free when you pass the item on to it's new home. I picked up this dresser at a yard sale. I needed a large table for my side of our bed because I have stuff. Lots of stuff people! Well, mostly books. I usually have 3 or 4 books in the process of being read. I also need drawers. I prefer small items to be contained because I have a tendency to be a clutterbug and I need to have somewhere to keep it all. Neatly. After sanding and gluing down some loose veneer I decided to paint it and stamp the top. I used regular craft paint for the base and the stamping. I finished it off with a coat of clear spray paint from Wal Mart. Perfect side table for the perfect price of $8 total. I'll keep this until we get around to remodeling our bedroom and get new furniture.