We had some cold weather here for a couple of weeks. D took this picture of an icicle in our yard. 
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Wordless Wednesday
We had some cold weather here for a couple of weeks. D took this picture of an icicle in our yard. 
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
I am a bad blogger...an overdue THANK YOU!
About a month ago I won a blog giveaway over at The Robin's Nest. My package of goodies arrived a couple of weeks before Christmas and although I fully meant to take pictures of everything and post about it, I was in a state of numb panic trying to complete a project for my sister's birthday (I was so out of it that I didn't even take a picture of the project after all the tears and time I put into making it!).
Back near the beginning of December I sat down one day and scheduled the rest of my posts for the month (Wordless Wednesdays and Tip or Dares) and I basically didn't do any posting for the rest of the month (until today). Having the kids at home for vacation and snow days and trying to complete various projects was stressing me out, and it was nice not to have to worry about coming up with a post. However, I want to send a big although belated "Thank You!" out to Robin, and to all the wonderful people that contributed something to her giveaway. It was wonderful to receive so many nice gifts! Thanks again Robin for giving me and my family a Merrier Christmas!
I love the snowman apron (made and modelled by Robin herself here)!
The kids loved changing the blocks on this snowman from Pam at Antique or Not every day to countdown to Christmas.
Jennifer contributed three great smelling bars of soap from her Shop Handmade From The Heart.
This Snowman Tassle came from The Tassled Nest. It will be hanging on my door until spring.
I am saving this freshwater pearl bracelet for Baby B when she is older. It was contributed from Lori whose Etsy Shop is Too Silly Sisters.
Joy at The Joyfullness Shop made this frame that I think would be a great home for one of Baby B's embossed handprints.
Karen sent along this beaded eyeglass holder. Check out her Etsy Shop Farmgirl'in Ga.
And finally, Jacquelynne is responsible for making these cards from The Noble Wife Etsy Shop and she also has The Noble Wife Online Store.
This Snowman Tassle came from The Tassled Nest. It will be hanging on my door until spring.
I am saving this freshwater pearl bracelet for Baby B when she is older. It was contributed from Lori whose Etsy Shop is Too Silly Sisters.
Joy at The Joyfullness Shop made this frame that I think would be a great home for one of Baby B's embossed handprints.
Karen sent along this beaded eyeglass holder. Check out her Etsy Shop Farmgirl'in Ga.
And finally, Jacquelynne is responsible for making these cards from The Noble Wife Etsy Shop and she also has The Noble Wife Online Store.Friday, December 26, 2008
Holiday Tip or Dare # 12
This week's Tip or Dare is really just a few end of the year random tips/dares.
Tip #1: Start shopping for next year early. My sister Myra had the great idea of shopping for people's Christmas gifts by getting two gifts at their birthday. It spread the spending out over the year and made it less stressful when Christmas rolled around. Now, if you are shopping for someone who is hard to shop for or who may change sizes by next year, you can always just set the money aside at their birthday and when you are ready for Christmas shopping it will be there.
Tip #2: Don't forget to express your Thanks! My oldest sister Ardyth is always good about sending out a Thank You card after Birthdays and Christmas. Her daughters have also been raised to do this. Now that Christmas is over and there is still some time off school for the kids, it would be a good time to implement this tradition. This is something I really need to work on with my kids. Get some fun Thank You cards, stationary or let them make their own. It's a good habit to develop!
Tip #3: Don't let the family time stop just because Christmas is over! We always have a family movie night for New Year's Eve. We eat fun finger foods, have popcorn and pick out a few movies. The kids are usually zonked out before midnight (sometimes we are too) but we wake everyone up for the final countdown and then stumble off to bed. It's a great time for all of us, and I wouldn't want to spend New Year's Eve any other way!
Tip #4: Make a family Holiday journal. Take a few minutes to jot down things that worked for your family this Holiday season so that you will remember them for next year. Favorite recipes, activities, etc. Ask other family members for input on what they enjoyed the most about the season and include that in your journal. You can even add pictures to it if you are feeling ambitious! Think about those things that were stressful this year and come up with ideas to reduce that stress for next year.
Tip # 5: Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Go on, I DARE you!
Tip #1: Start shopping for next year early. My sister Myra had the great idea of shopping for people's Christmas gifts by getting two gifts at their birthday. It spread the spending out over the year and made it less stressful when Christmas rolled around. Now, if you are shopping for someone who is hard to shop for or who may change sizes by next year, you can always just set the money aside at their birthday and when you are ready for Christmas shopping it will be there.
Tip #2: Don't forget to express your Thanks! My oldest sister Ardyth is always good about sending out a Thank You card after Birthdays and Christmas. Her daughters have also been raised to do this. Now that Christmas is over and there is still some time off school for the kids, it would be a good time to implement this tradition. This is something I really need to work on with my kids. Get some fun Thank You cards, stationary or let them make their own. It's a good habit to develop!
Tip #3: Don't let the family time stop just because Christmas is over! We always have a family movie night for New Year's Eve. We eat fun finger foods, have popcorn and pick out a few movies. The kids are usually zonked out before midnight (sometimes we are too) but we wake everyone up for the final countdown and then stumble off to bed. It's a great time for all of us, and I wouldn't want to spend New Year's Eve any other way!
Tip #4: Make a family Holiday journal. Take a few minutes to jot down things that worked for your family this Holiday season so that you will remember them for next year. Favorite recipes, activities, etc. Ask other family members for input on what they enjoyed the most about the season and include that in your journal. You can even add pictures to it if you are feeling ambitious! Think about those things that were stressful this year and come up with ideas to reduce that stress for next year.
Tip # 5: Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Go on, I DARE you!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Holiday Tip or Dare # 11
I can't believe this is the last tip or dare before Christmas!
This week's Tip or Dare is to give the gift of giving. This mostly applies to families with young children, but can be used for Grandchildren as well.
Back when we had only been married for five or six years and our oldest children were still very young, we took the opportunity to take some tags from the angel tree at a local store. We chose children that were the age of our own kids and let our kids help us pick out a toy or another item for that child. I was surprised at how excited our boys were to be picking out a gift that they would enjoy and giving it to another child. It was then that I realized that giving could be just as fun for kids as it is for the grown ups. For a lot of kids these days, Christmas is about everything they will be getting. For other kids, it's about everything they won't be getting because their families can't afford gifts. I hope you will take the opportunity to teach a child the joy of giving this year.
You don't have to do something like the angel tree. Sometimes the gifts they ask for on those tags are things I can't even afford to get my own kids. If doing an angel tree gift isn't in your budget, then do something simple like bake cookies or treats together and deliver them to another family.
In our family our kids draw names among the siblings, and I take each of them out shopping to pick a small gift for whoever they drew. It's just a $5 limit, but they really enjoy getting to pick out just the right thing for their brothers or sister each year. It has taught them to think about more than just themselves, and to be more generous to others. Try it, I DARE you!
This week's Tip or Dare is to give the gift of giving. This mostly applies to families with young children, but can be used for Grandchildren as well.
Back when we had only been married for five or six years and our oldest children were still very young, we took the opportunity to take some tags from the angel tree at a local store. We chose children that were the age of our own kids and let our kids help us pick out a toy or another item for that child. I was surprised at how excited our boys were to be picking out a gift that they would enjoy and giving it to another child. It was then that I realized that giving could be just as fun for kids as it is for the grown ups. For a lot of kids these days, Christmas is about everything they will be getting. For other kids, it's about everything they won't be getting because their families can't afford gifts. I hope you will take the opportunity to teach a child the joy of giving this year.
You don't have to do something like the angel tree. Sometimes the gifts they ask for on those tags are things I can't even afford to get my own kids. If doing an angel tree gift isn't in your budget, then do something simple like bake cookies or treats together and deliver them to another family.
In our family our kids draw names among the siblings, and I take each of them out shopping to pick a small gift for whoever they drew. It's just a $5 limit, but they really enjoy getting to pick out just the right thing for their brothers or sister each year. It has taught them to think about more than just themselves, and to be more generous to others. Try it, I DARE you!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Holiday Tip or Dare # 10
This week's Tip or Dare is Give a Family Gift. We started doing a family gift a couple of years ago. We don't have a lot of money to spend at Christmas, but we do well enough. Still, I noticed that the relatively inexpensive toys and gifts that our kids got for Christmas, not just from us, but from other relatives as well, were often only of interest for a short time. Within a week or two the toys were usually discarded, sometimes broken and often used only rarely. I decided that instead of buying a lot of cheap toys, we would get a few good gifts for the boys and then pool the money we saved and come up with a family gift.
A family gift is anything that can be enjoyed by everyone in the family. It might be as simple and inexpensive as a family DVD or a book to read together. Other ideas include a membership to your local zoo, children's museum or science museum. We have a membership to the Oregon zoo, which also allows us to get into several other zoos around the country for free or reduced prices. For a family our size the cost of a one year membership was less than $15 more than one trip to the zoo, so even just using it twice it has paid for itself, and we still have many more months that we can choose to visit the zoo. A family swim pass, tickets to a family movie or show, or planning a special family activity also make good family gifts. Magazine subscriptions are another idea.
Family gifts are also great for Grandparents to give to their childrens' families. The memories of spending time together or enjoying a gift as a family will last a lot longer than toys usually do. Try it this year, I dare you!
A family gift is anything that can be enjoyed by everyone in the family. It might be as simple and inexpensive as a family DVD or a book to read together. Other ideas include a membership to your local zoo, children's museum or science museum. We have a membership to the Oregon zoo, which also allows us to get into several other zoos around the country for free or reduced prices. For a family our size the cost of a one year membership was less than $15 more than one trip to the zoo, so even just using it twice it has paid for itself, and we still have many more months that we can choose to visit the zoo. A family swim pass, tickets to a family movie or show, or planning a special family activity also make good family gifts. Magazine subscriptions are another idea.
Family gifts are also great for Grandparents to give to their childrens' families. The memories of spending time together or enjoying a gift as a family will last a lot longer than toys usually do. Try it this year, I dare you!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Wordless Wednesday
This is what I saw when I walked out the door to go to the post office Monday morning.
I love rainbows (not the fakey, cartoon kind...just the real kind). On the way to the post office I took a detour so I could see the rainbow without power lines and roofs in the way.
As I turned the corner I couldn't believe it! The end of the rainbow!
I was tempted to look for a pot of gold but settled for a couple of pictures instead. Can you see it too?
Monday, December 08, 2008
Monday Memory in the form of a Meme...
My high school pal Dapoppins tagged me for a six things meme. She tailored hers to be six things she loves about Christmas, but I decided to do mine as six childhood Christmas memories. Here goes.
1. Making sugar cookies with my cousins every Christmas Eve. We traditionally spent Christmas Eve at my Dad's parents' house. During the day, all of the cousins would get together at Grandma's house and we would make and decorate sugar cookies. Instead of frosting, we used food coloring and Q tips to "paint" the dough before baking. We always watched Holiday Inn and White Christmas while we were decorating the cookies.
2. Grandma's Hot Potato Salad. Grandma made the best potato salad for Christmas Eve dinner. It was served hot and made with bacon, and dijon mustard. She never gave anyone the recipe and after she died my Dad and Aunt got together and figured it out from their memories of helping her. It is a tradition we carry on to have hot potato salad every Christmas Eve.
3. Christmas Carols. We didn't go caroling every year, but we did go a few different times. I also loved (and still love) singing the Christmas hymns at church on Sundays in December.
4. Christmas Pajamas. We have a tradition of getting a new set of Pajamas each Christmas Eve.
5. Decorating the tree. I always looked forward to decorating the tree each Christmas. I loved the ornaments and that my Mom kept ornaments I had made way back in Kindergarten even after I was a grown up.
6. Giving Gifts. My sister and I loved trying to come up with gifts for everyone in our family (extended family included). It made me feel really good to give gifts. Sometimes they were homemade, and sometimes they were just cheap but they were always given with love.
1. Making sugar cookies with my cousins every Christmas Eve. We traditionally spent Christmas Eve at my Dad's parents' house. During the day, all of the cousins would get together at Grandma's house and we would make and decorate sugar cookies. Instead of frosting, we used food coloring and Q tips to "paint" the dough before baking. We always watched Holiday Inn and White Christmas while we were decorating the cookies.
2. Grandma's Hot Potato Salad. Grandma made the best potato salad for Christmas Eve dinner. It was served hot and made with bacon, and dijon mustard. She never gave anyone the recipe and after she died my Dad and Aunt got together and figured it out from their memories of helping her. It is a tradition we carry on to have hot potato salad every Christmas Eve.
3. Christmas Carols. We didn't go caroling every year, but we did go a few different times. I also loved (and still love) singing the Christmas hymns at church on Sundays in December.
4. Christmas Pajamas. We have a tradition of getting a new set of Pajamas each Christmas Eve.
5. Decorating the tree. I always looked forward to decorating the tree each Christmas. I loved the ornaments and that my Mom kept ornaments I had made way back in Kindergarten even after I was a grown up.
6. Giving Gifts. My sister and I loved trying to come up with gifts for everyone in our family (extended family included). It made me feel really good to give gifts. Sometimes they were homemade, and sometimes they were just cheap but they were always given with love.
Friday, December 05, 2008
Holiday Tip or Dare # 9
This week's tip or dare goes along with some of the previous ones such as family traditions, and the countdown to Christmas. I have been reflecting on my childhood Christmas memories, and I have come to realize that of all those Christmases I really only remember a few of the actual gifts I received. Instead, those memories are full of family time and traditions and visiting with grandparents, cousins and other family members. Those are the things that made me love the Holiday Season. I do remember wanting to give gifts as a child. One of my sisters and I would try each year to make or get something for everyone in the family. As a kid, of course, I didn't have much in the way of money, so one year I remember that I bought some of those packs of ten or so combs and gave everyone a comb for Christmas. I was so excited to be able to give everyone a gift, although I am sure they were less than thrilled to get a comb. I took that joy of giving with me as a I grew up and I love giving my kids and others gifts for Christmas. My kids are very happy to receive gifts as well, so it works out. There have been some lean years when our kids did not get as much as other kids they knew (who am I kidding, every year is like that for us). My kids don't mind not getting big ticket gifts though. We have a lot of family time during the Holidays and we do a lot together. I am pretty sure that when they grow up it will be those memories that they treasure and not the toys and gifts that they soon outgrow. This week's challenge is to Make a memory. Whether it's something you do with your kids, or if you are single, something that you will remember and treasure, plan something memorable for this season and enjoy it.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Wordless Wednesday
We went to the Oregon Zoo's Zoolights over the Thanksgiving weekend. Here are a few highlights (taken by D).
Fire Breathing Dragon
Chomp, Chomp!
Headed to the Watering Hole...Monday, December 01, 2008
Monday Memory: Hot Water
I have always enjoyed a nice hot bath. Imagine my dismay when my creative Dad came up with the idea of turning off our hot water heater in order to save money. I'm sure you are wondering how we got by without hot water, and I have to say now, that we didn't. Dad devised a system for that too.
Two coffee makers (we don't even drink coffee, so these were purely for water heating purposes) provided all the hot water we could need. When we had to do the dishes, we would heat a coffee pot of hot water and fill up one side of the sink with hot water and additional cold water until we reached a reasonable temperature. Rinsing was done with cold water.
Showers? Why yes! We took showers. Dad's idea involved using a three gallon lawn sprayer (new of course) for a shower. We called them wooka wookas because of the sound they made when you pumped up the pressure. One hot coffee pot of water plus the rest cold made for just the right temperature of water for a shower. Fill up the wooka wooka, drag it to the bathroom, strip down, hop in the shower, pump up the pressure, get your hair and body wet, shiver a lot, soap and shampoo up, pump up the pressure again, and rinse. If there was water left over I would pump and use up the rest just for warmth. It wasn't a fun way to shower, but it did save water. Boy it was cold though in the winter.
We used this system for over a year. I hated it. When my parents would leave for an evening and I knew they were going to be gone for a couple of hours, I would heat up water on every burner of the stove, plus the coffee makers and then I would take a beautiful bath. I was a young adult at this time, in my late teens, and when my parents went to Colorado for their annual summer visit and I stayed home because I had to work, I gleefully turned on the hot water heater as soon as they left and enjoyed a few days of long showers and deep baths. The day before they were due home I would turn the hot water off and make sure to run it out so they wouldn't suspect.
What finally saved us from a lifetime of hot water woes was when I had an allergic reaction to some medication I was taking and had to go to the emergency room. My face was swollen and I was covered in hives. Itchy, horrible hives. The doctors said I should take a bath in warm water with baking soda in it. Dad turned on the hot water for my sake, and when I was better, Mom had enjoyed being back to normal showering that the hot water stayed on. I guess Dad decided it was worth paying that extra $20 a month we had been saving and my parents have had hot water ever since.
However, I did find the "wooka wooka" to be a useful item. It did a good job as a shower really, and makes a great one for camping. We keep a one gallon sprayer in our van and use it to wash the sand off of our feet when we go to the beach. It gives me fond memories to do so. Think of all the water we could conserve if everyone in the world replaced a regular shower with a lawn sprayer one just once a week!
Do you remember ways your parents tried to save money? I'd love to hear them!
Two coffee makers (we don't even drink coffee, so these were purely for water heating purposes) provided all the hot water we could need. When we had to do the dishes, we would heat a coffee pot of hot water and fill up one side of the sink with hot water and additional cold water until we reached a reasonable temperature. Rinsing was done with cold water.
Showers? Why yes! We took showers. Dad's idea involved using a three gallon lawn sprayer (new of course) for a shower. We called them wooka wookas because of the sound they made when you pumped up the pressure. One hot coffee pot of water plus the rest cold made for just the right temperature of water for a shower. Fill up the wooka wooka, drag it to the bathroom, strip down, hop in the shower, pump up the pressure, get your hair and body wet, shiver a lot, soap and shampoo up, pump up the pressure again, and rinse. If there was water left over I would pump and use up the rest just for warmth. It wasn't a fun way to shower, but it did save water. Boy it was cold though in the winter.
We used this system for over a year. I hated it. When my parents would leave for an evening and I knew they were going to be gone for a couple of hours, I would heat up water on every burner of the stove, plus the coffee makers and then I would take a beautiful bath. I was a young adult at this time, in my late teens, and when my parents went to Colorado for their annual summer visit and I stayed home because I had to work, I gleefully turned on the hot water heater as soon as they left and enjoyed a few days of long showers and deep baths. The day before they were due home I would turn the hot water off and make sure to run it out so they wouldn't suspect.
What finally saved us from a lifetime of hot water woes was when I had an allergic reaction to some medication I was taking and had to go to the emergency room. My face was swollen and I was covered in hives. Itchy, horrible hives. The doctors said I should take a bath in warm water with baking soda in it. Dad turned on the hot water for my sake, and when I was better, Mom had enjoyed being back to normal showering that the hot water stayed on. I guess Dad decided it was worth paying that extra $20 a month we had been saving and my parents have had hot water ever since.
However, I did find the "wooka wooka" to be a useful item. It did a good job as a shower really, and makes a great one for camping. We keep a one gallon sprayer in our van and use it to wash the sand off of our feet when we go to the beach. It gives me fond memories to do so. Think of all the water we could conserve if everyone in the world replaced a regular shower with a lawn sprayer one just once a week!
Do you remember ways your parents tried to save money? I'd love to hear them!
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