November's Challenge 2012

 

I always love the start of a new month!!! I’m just one of those people who like to have a new start each day ;)

With Halloween behind us and just about all the trick-or-treating fun done, I’m looking forward to moving towards the Thanksgiving Holiday and working on some new and not so new goals. Around this time of year I usually start to do an inventory of the things I had hoped to accomplish during the year and check the things I acutely did… I’ve still got many things I didn’t get to this year and like most some of my goals changed based on my life events ;) Early in October I posted a quick list of things I would like to check off before the end of the year and here is a recap of those:

Finish Christmas shopping and Christmas craft gifts; get back brake pads replaced; detail car; get last few items for baby 3; work on Scentsy business (get business cards and contact list completed!!); paint hallway, stairway, and wall in kiddo’s room; finish bathroom remodel; clean out Laptop; scan photo’s; pre-register @ hospital; list Cows to sell; finish all current scrapbooks; and finish Ryder’s quilt.

For November, here is what I hope to complete… finish Christmas gifts, get car in order, paint Ryder’s and Baby’s wall, finish quilt, clean out laptop, put cows on e-bay, or other auction selling site. Of course there’s got to be a CHALLENGE for this month, so my Challenge is to keep-up with the never ending laundry, and try and get things for the next day ready the night before. This all seems easy enough but for some reason we still have not made it a habit…. Google says it take somewhere between 21 and 28 days to form a habit, so let see if they are right :) Happy November everyone and may you achieve all your dreams and goals this month!!!! :)

Mid Month Review... September

  

   Review for September... during my vacation/ staycation... no, I’m not going anywhere just not going to work!!!! ;) Yippy for me!

    Just a quick recap of some of the things I would like to get done while I’m on vacation         

    - get the kitchen scrubbed down and go through cabinets.

    - get dining room the way I want it. Check out curtains

    - manicure the back and front yard and power wash both front       porches, and paint and stain

    - Ryder’s birthday party.

    - Look into flooring for living room

    - Work on Ryder’s quilt!!

    - Go through Halloween stuff

     Happy Tuesday Everyone!

   

Pinterest Monthly fun for September ;)

September's Challenge

Alrighty… folks, I can’t believe I’ve been away for so long. July just hit me good and since coming back for my 2 weeks of military training I feel like I’m still playing catch-up.
I’m hoping the start of school and new month well bring me back to my normal self. I have noticed that know that I’m in my 20^th week of my pregnancy I have had a lot more energy and seem to be in a nesting phase, which for me is almost going into overload, when it comes to “getting things done” and planning projects. Hope you guys are ready for me :) I’m making myself tired… LOL
Right now I started working on my filing system @ home. I’ve just about finished up and on Tuesday I should be completely done with that. It felt great to get rid of so much unnecessary paperwork!
By the end of this month I hope to finish getting Mr. Ryder transitioned into a big boys bed. I have plans this weekend to pickup his mattress, and a friend from work gave me a great captains bed. The only thing left for the bed to crib transformation will be getting his bedding together. So this means a fun shopping trip :)
So what are my plans for September: Hope you’re ready?

-         Ryan starts school, so I’m joining the PTA and hoping to get connected with that the 1^st week of the month.

-         Start buying the bedding for baby #3 and find a dresser/ changing table

-         Have new blog/ group up and running on facebook…. The Thrifty Scavenger: A local group of folks who love shopping @ thrift store, yard sales, flea markets and auctions. (I’m really excited about this group and hope it turns into a fun past time)

-         I want to get the kitchen scrubbed down, and finish getting the dining room the way I want it. I really really hope to finally get new curtains.

-         I want to manicure the back and front yard and power wash both front porches, and maybe get them stained finally.

-         Mr. Ryder’s birthday is this month as well so I’ll be working on getting everything together for that!

-         I’m becoming a Scentsy consultant in just a few days, so I’m looking forward to starting that and really getting my feet wet this month.

-         As for  something to do during my light duty time: I hope to finish up my home inventory I started back @ the 1^st of the year and start working on going through my husband’s baseball cards and organizing those.

I know it sounds like a lot but I hope to get most of these things completed if not all of them….
As for my challenge this month! I’m going to challenge myself to get things ready the night before to save time in the morning and hope to wake up by 5:00 every work day!!!!


So that’s it! This is my hopes, dream, goals and challenges for September….What about you??

Happy Thursday Everyone!

Oh Yeah and start working on Mr. Ryder’s Quilt :)

More Pinterest Crafts, May 2012

Hey guys, sorry I’ve been a bit out of the picture with my blog this month. I’ve had some unexpected but good news and I’ve been doing a bunch of research to see just what I want to do with my blog. I have so many ideas and I’m not sure if I should put them all on this blog or create a new one. Anyway for now I’m posting here and going to see how it goes.
So here is what I’ve been up to in the last month or so… and I wanted to share:

We made some handmade edible finger paint and I think it came out really nice, and it was super easy to make:

Recipe:

1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
2 cups cold water
food coloring

Mix all ingredients except food coloring well with a whisk.  Set over medium low heat. Stir about 15- 20 minutes until thickened.  The mixture goes from water consistency to thicken very quickly towards the end of the time period, so don’t worry – you will know. Let cool. Distribute evenly into bowls or cups. Add food coloring — a little bit will do — and mix with a spoon.

Next I found a spoon to use as a hook outside. I didn’t think of it at the time, but when I found this slotted spoon, I knew it would be perfect. No drilling required :)

And here is a cute idea I found using a bird cage to house some flowers. I had this bird cage for about 2 years and moved it all over the house trying to find the right place for it. Soon it ended up in the attic... until I found this idea on Pinterest. I think it came out really cute ;)

Another cool idea I found using Pinterest was taking old brass candle sticks and spray painting and distressing them. I really like how they came out!

 This idea turned out better than the original idea in my opinion. The original idea was to use a cap from your plastic dish soap container on a glass bottle. Here is the link I found this old milk/beer bottle at a local thift store and thought it would be perfect for my dish soap!!

And last but certainly not least, my two favorite kiddo's...Ryan and Ryder. We made this photo for our Mother's Day gifts for my Husband's and my Mom...Of course I made one for me as well ;)

Hope you enjoyed viewing my crafts :) 

Mid Month Review…

In just 8 days my oldest will be graduating from preschool and I’m really excited for him! I have a feeling this month is going to blow by and before I realize it, it will be the start to the summer season... OH MY!!!!
Gosh!!! I feel like I’ve done so much, but when I review my list, I really have only done a few things. Guess I need to get going with some of my goals. So here is what I have done:
I managed to finally get Ryder’s 1^st year scrapbook completely organized. I only have about 4 more pages to scrap and I still need to get more photo pages and upload the DVD, but hopefully by next weekend I will have it completed. I also organized our 2011 Scrapbook and have just a few more things to do on that one as well. I hope to scan more photos next week while I’m off for 3 days, but I’ve still got a lot to do with those. My hopes are to at least finish uploading photos from 1997 – now. I’ll most likely start working on the others sometime this summer :)
So where does this leave me with my other goals???
Okay I decided to not do the May photo a day challenge, and the window boxes are looking bleak. My Husband doesn’t think they would be a good idea… honestly I just don’t think he wants to do them. I’m going to see if I can find some at the local garden store’s and go from there, but I may have to wait until this fall :(…
I’m still hoping to clean the rest of the back yard, but I don’t know if we are going to open the pool this summer.
In the next few weeks I hope to Read a book in a day, Start sorting through my yard sale stuff and decided what I’m going to do with it all, and organize my bedroom closet.
Well Happy Wednesday all, and best of luck with all your goals this month!

Mays Challenge :)

Welcome May flowers!! :)… I love this time of year! I’m excited to start working on many of the goals I have for May, so I've decided to post a few days early. I’m hoping to get just a few more projects completed from April, and as always some of my projects will carry over to the next month.

For May I have all sort of crafts I want to try out: Here are just a few:

DIY Glass straw cups

Giant Outside Chalkboard

As for my goals for May…Here are some things I would like to continue to work-on or complete.

-         Continue to upload and scan photos.

-         Work on finishing up Ryder’s 1^st year Scrapbook

-         Finish Cleaning the backyard

-         Get all the knockout roses planted

-         Read a book in a day.

-         Start sorting through my yard sale stuff and decided what I’m going to do with it all.

-         Organize my bedroom closet

-         Finally get new curtains for the dining room!

-         Do the May photo a day challenge

-         Make or buy window boxes for the front yard!

Best of luck to the rest of you all. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and a successful month!

How to root a knock out rose

I found this wonderful video on youtube, looks super easy and I can't wait to try it!!

Please let me know if you try this and how your results are... I'm going to start rooting some today or tomorrow! :)

Here is another video and in this one the guys mentions using a "dome" to help increase the chances that the steam will not dry out!!

Enjoy.

A recap of my goals for April

I’am really happy with all I accomplished in April. We planned a treasure hunt for Easter morning and made a really fun map, marking the spots to find the “riches” for Mr. Ryan. The Easter Bunny even brought Ryan a Backyard Safari Vest with all sorts of gadgets to find cool stuff in the yard, which he used to locate all is eggs!! It was a blast for him.
I was able to get a lot done in the front yard and I’m happy with how everything is coming together…I hope by the end of May I will have the driveway lined with Knockout Roses...and maybe be able to buy one or two Hydrangea’s (I’m still trying to decided if I want white or blue…but right now I’m thinking I’ll go with blue.)
I started My Day in Six Words journal…and so far I’m doing a really good job keeping up with it. Not sure if I’ll make it 6 months, but so far so good!!
I started taking a multivitamin on Saturday April 21^st, 2012 and hopefully I’ll make it the entire week without forgetting. I’m hoping to make it a habit (I think the experts say, it takes about 21 days to make something a habit… so we will see) for now…. baby steps!! :)
I haven’t cleaned the backyard yet, but I spent one night burning a bunch of twigs and cleaning up some of the yard… my plan is to work on the back yard tomorrow, even if it just a small corner or a flower bed.
I never got around to working on a jigsaw puzzle and honesty I really don’t think I’ll get around to it any time soon, so I’m going to put that back on my “to do “ list.
Last and certainly not least is scanning photos and finishing Ryder’s albums. I did get about 150 photos scanned and uploaded...so I consider that a success. As for Ryder’s books…well I didn’t do as much as I had hoped, but I did finish up his big brother book for know and updated his “baby’ book. The only thing I wished I had worked more on is his scrapbook. Luckily I have one more weekend of working before the month ends and I think I can put a big dent in getting it done!
So that’s about it… I got lots of new Pinterest finds completed and hope to have lot’s more fun with that!!!
So there it is… Happy Monday all, I hope you’ve been successful in your goals for this month…
I’m looking forward to wrapping up my April “to do” list and moving into May!!!

Hopping Down the BUNNY Trail… Easter 2012

Welcome Back after the Hoilday Weekend. Easter this year was a bunch of fun at your house… I think because I had to work the weekend; I was motivated to do more crafts and other fun activities for the Holiday and during the week before Easter.

We made Easter cupcakes, which later become a big hit with the local ants, an Easter tree using sticks from the yard and spray paint. Which Ryan and I painted a light blue and hung some cute vintage paper eggs I found last year. (I think I’ll try and find more trinkets for the tree next year). And last we colored and decorated Easter eggs.

I had some other things I was hoping to do, but I just never got around to it.

One of the big hits for the boys was the Bunny footprints I did the night before. I wasn’t there in the morning to see everyone’s reaction…but from what I was told, my boys loved it and my husband was left cleaning up LOTS of baby power :)……

Here’s a few before

and after

I think it’s super cute that they had so much fun with everything.

The last thing I did was an Egg Treasure Map for Ryan. It was really simple and he had a blast using his new backyard adventures gear to find all the treasure eggs….

Here he is showing off his map:

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter…we did ;)

More crafts using Pinterest

Here is the frame I did last week, using an old frame, some photo tacks, picture hanging wire and binders clips. I love how it came out and I think the combo of the binder clips and black and white photos look great together. I used a gloss brown spray paint first and then did a quick spray using black. :) Happy Pinning!!!

Aprils Challenge

Just a quick look at what I want to complete in April. Happy Saturday everyone ;)

• Plan a treasure hunt
• Keep a “My Day in Six Words” journal for 6 months
• Take a multivitamin every day for a week (started Sat. April 21st, 2012)
• Get rocks for back yard, finish cleaning both front and back yard
• Finish a 500 + piece jigsaw
• Finish Ryder’s albums!!!!!!
• Continue to scan Photo’s

Best of luck to you all in achieving your goals this month!

March in Review..... 03-31-12

So a quick update on where I’m at with March’s challenges…. I sent up auto pay for two bills and right now I’m in the waiting period for one (which is stressing me out a bit.. but oh well, it is what it is…either way I hope to be breathing a little bit easier by Tuesday of next week)

I started scanning my printed photos and so far I feel like I have a nice start to getting this done. I’m not going to fool myself that it will be done by the end of this month, but I hope to have it all completed by the end of this year.

I did get with family members and made lots of progress in finding some cool family history. However... I’m sad to say, I didn’t pull out any of Mr. Ryder’s 1^st years albums :(

I was able to get my screened porch decorated and hope to still do the glass bottle plant hangers soon (I need a glass cutter??)

Last, we’ve gotten a little bit done to the back yard, but it needs lots of work for me to check that off the list.

Still nothing on Esty ;((( but hopefully soon. (still trying to decided if it’s right for me?????  

Overall I’m happy with my goals for March and I’m looking forward to April, hoping it’s full of great things.

Vacation Fun

Well today is my 1st full day off from both jobs and the start of my vacation..Since I don't have major plans and my travel plans fell through, I decided it would be a good chance to catch-up on some much needed TLC for myself and the house. Here is my 1st project for this week. Just using one of the foaming pumps and a canning jar, I have a fun soap pump for the kitchen The canning jar has fruits on it so I thought it would be perfect for the kitchen. Super easy to do; here is the link to the idea that inspired me to takle this project.
Here is my soap pump

Here my next project: Hope to start and finish this today ;)

  here's the link if you want to see how they did it.....photo frame Enjoy the day!

Pinterest... Pined It and Did It #15

I didn't have extra fabric for this but I found some cheap fabic at Walmart. The  entire project cost me less then $6.00 :)

just take a wire hanger and shape it however you like. Then cut your fabric into 1inch by 6 inch scraps and tie away...
If you would like more information on the orginal idea, check out this site... Happy pinning ;)

Pinterest. Pined It and Did It # 17

Another cute idea from Pinterest. Take you New Year's goals and frame them, so you have a nice reminder of the things you want to accomplish.

not so shabby, if I do say so myself ;)
here is the orginal idea frame you New Year's Goal

Pinterest... Pined It and Did It...#18

I made this bird feeder, using a clay dish I got at a local craft show for 15.00, a old grape vine wreath I found in the attic, some left over ribbon from another project and some hemp. The dish was a bit smaller then the wreath so I had to wrap the bottom of the wreath using the hemp, but I think it came out looking really cute. If you decided to do this using a clay plate, just remember to bring it in when it freezes outside or the clay will crack.

Here is the link to the site on Pinterest where I found the idea for my birdfeeder, they made a Birdbath.
Enjoy :)

frame craft

Here is the pin I found on pinterest...really cute idea, but I didn't have the vases, and from the looks of it, the vases where a bit too much for me. So I found and old frame in my attic and lighly spray painted with a cream color. I also found and old mail box I purchased at a yard sale for only a buck! Then using a candle globe and a hook from the shed...... I came up with this!!!! I'm very happy with my results!

Pinterest Crafts...number 2??? Sweater Pillows

I found this idea, like many on Pinterest and I wanted to share my results........
I got 2 sweaters from Goodwill and 1 pillow for the whoping cost of 10 bucks. I think they came out really nice

here is the link to pinterest.... happy pinning

March's Challenge!!!

1st I'm so sorry I left everyone hanging in Feb....I'm not sure what the heck happened. For those who have been following me since I started this blog, you might remember that I started a photo challenge back in Feb. 2009. My main goal was to organize all my photo's and scrap as many as possible....well here it is 2 plus years later and I've finally finished downloading and organizing all my digital photo's, Ryan's 1st year album and baby book, and scrapping until my eyes were burning!!!.... So, now onto my printed photo's. One of my first challenges for this month is to start scanning all my printed photo's that have not been uploaded digitally. Next I want to review my family history with my uncle and maybe, just maybe take a trip to South Carolina for some history hunting?? As far as photo's go, my last goal is to finish all of Ryder's 1st year albums.
My other challenges will be:
-set up auto pay for as many bills as possible.
-finish decorating screened in porch.
-clean the front and back yard
-And, start my Esty Shop!!!!!
Best of luck to you all, and I hope you have a wonderful month!

Finding an easier way

Have you ever started something and right at the end of all your hard work, you find an easier way of doing it? This is what has happen with my home inventory list. I started out Tuesday, listing the big ticket items. Yesterday I started tackling the smaller item’s and found it to be pretty tasking. Today I was hoping to finish up listing everything and that’s when it happened… after a day and a half I decided it would be easier, faster and a much clearer list if I just took photos of everything. (a pictures worth a thousand words)

I have the day off tomorrow, so I’ve decided that while the baby is sleeping and the big bro is at school, I would start snapping pictures. When I’m all done I’ll save the items on CD with the info need for the inventory and bam… I’m done!

I didn’t get around to working on my billing items like I planned, so hopefully I’ll catch up with that on Monday. Happy Thursday!

Where to start on a Home Inventory Checklist... Day 1

Now that I’ve decluttered most of the house, today I’m working to create a Home Inventory Checklist!!! Its part of my overall challenge for January and it’s at a good point of the challenge to begin this goal.
I found a few sites that offer checklists. Some are really really detailed, while others offer a more general guideline. I’ve decided to do both. Today I’m going to do the simpler checklist…sort of the basics, Living room; family room/Den/Office; Dining room; Kitchen/ Laundry room; and Other’s/ Miscellanies. Check out this link to get you started. Here is the 1^st spreadsheet I’ll be using.

Tomorrow, I’ll get down to the nitty gritty and really get specific as to what we have. I’ll included serial numbers, manuals, receipts and maybe photos. Of course I may not have all this and will just have to list the item on the checklist. Either way I’m looking forward to completing this task and hope it’s not as overwhelming as it looks!! Here is the big mother of all checklist… oh and one more I really like. I may have to make it individual to my household...but it doesn’t leave much out ;) Good luck to anyone else doing this and I hope this post helps you.

I have a binder as well where I keep most of the manuals and receipts of household purchases in and I think that will be a good starting point for the BIG list.

A few more links...
HomeInventoryChecklist
realsimple.com
Home-Inventory-Checklist

Halfway point........

So far so good on my monthly organizing challenge… I have a few things I’ve let slip and didn’t complete according to my schedule, but overall I’m pleased with my results. The first thing I’ve noticed it that we just have too much stuff. While cleaning the kitchen I was able to purge lots of plates, coffee mugs and drinking glasses. In the laundry room I cleaned out old wash rags and linens.

In the dining room and living room I went through all the DVD’s and VHS tapes, and tossed all the VHS tapes and exchanged nearly half of the DVD’s. We really don't watch them anyway.

Last, I went through the Master Bath and really hit it hard, tossing any and everything we didn’t use in last year. I also got a shoe organizer and put it with my shower curtain to house the kid’s bath toys and toiletries. I love this idea!!!

I still have most of our clothes to go through, and I hope to tackle some of that tonight. I guess all in all I’ve come to realize that less really is more. Having so much stuff around, I felt like I was cleaning all the time or picking up after the kids. Now that I’ve moved things from Mr. Ryder’s range (he's 16 months...so you can only image his into everything!!!) and tossed so much… I’m picking-up a lot less. I’ve also noticed the reason I’m overwhelmed with laundry is because we have too many clothes! I’ve decided to just have one “family” laundry bin, and when it's full, it gets washed and put away the SAME DAY!!! I had a laundry basket in each room and even my husband and I had separate bins…well not anymore, just one! Hopefully this works and of course I’ll let you know how we fare.

1st Recipe of the New Year

I honor of finally finishing "The Help" and watching the movie on Saturday. I've decided that my 1st recipe from my Great Grandma' Holders cookbook will be...Chocolate Pie!!! Of course mine will be free from a certain "special" ingredient :)
Wish me luck and hopefully you can give it a try some time this week as well.
Enjoy

CHOCOLATE PIE
4 oz. German sweet chocolate
¼ cup butter or margarine
1 can (13oz) evaporated milk
3 eggs, slightly beaten
½ cup sugar
Pie shell, unbaked
Melt chocolate and butter over low heat in a medium saucepan. Add milk, eggs and sugar and stir until blended. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Cool and serve warm. Store in refrigerator.

Planning my weekly meals (week 1)

Planning my weekly meals is something I've been hoping to do for a while. Now that I'm working on my 31 days to a more organized home challenge, today is the day to tackle this goal.
The best free printable I found for planning dinners is here which I found on momsbudget.com.
So with further ado, here is my list starting Monday January 9^th:

Monday
Tuna Helper (everyone)

Tuesday
Chicken with corn and stuffing
Pasta Ravioli for the Kids

Wednesday
Salmon cakes with sauce and sweet peas
Chicken nuggets with macaroon and cheese for the kids

Thursday
Pork with mashed potatoes and broccoli
Gilled Hot Dogs

Friday
Pizza (everyone)

Saturday
Tacos
Quesadillas for the kids

Sunday
Roast with egg noodles
Pizza bits with fries

January's Challenge 2012

Ahhhhhhh 2012, is here… out with the old and in with the new! 2011, is one of those years I would like to put behind me, while I was very productive, some of my personal affairs can use a fresh start.

I have lots of goals to work on this year, but before I jump in and tackle those… I plan to declutter. I follow the blog Scrappers Challenge and they are participating in the 52 Weeks to an Organized Home.  I love this idea and plan to follow along, but in my own way. I’m already pretty organized so going through stuff just to say I did it isn’t going to work for me. Instead I plan to take the proposal …and go through each room in my home, and around the house like the car, yard, and shed.

Here are my thoughts for January 2012 day by day:

Sunday, January 1^st, clean car, go through each console and organize CD’s, books on tape and papers. Detail inside.

Monday, January 2nd: Finish car…wash outside, get storage containers for kid’s toys and snacks.

Tuesday, January 3^rd: Clean out pantry and go through cabinets in the kitchen, clean out both refrigerator and freezer

Wednesday, January 4^th: Wipe down kitchen cabinets and baseboards in kitchen and dining room. Wash curtains in dining room.

Thursday, January 5^th: Look into Planning Meals for the week. (I’ve always wanted to do this but never really took the time)

Friday, January 6^th: Put a basket or bowl for incoming mail on kitchen counter

Saturday, January 7^th: Put toys away in Playroom (I already cleaned out this room and took a bunch of stuff to Goodwill just after Christmas. I’m going to try really hard to go up there with the kids at least once a week to make sure things are in order)

Sunday, January 8^th: Relax ;)))

Monday, January 9^th: Clean out Living room… go through old DVD’s and clean computer desk area.

Tuesday, January 10^th: Clean out Dresser in Living room

Wednesday, January 11^th: Master Bathroom, Clean out all cabinets and drawers (medicine cabinet). Get rid of old towels, go through make-up.

Thursday, January 12^th: Master Bedroom closets

Friday, January 13^th: Master bedroom dressers and clean baseboards. Wash curtains, go through jewelry.

Saturday, January 14^th: Relax

Sunday, January 15^th: Relax

Monday, January 16^th: Clean kid’s room, go through dressers and stuffed animals.

Tuesday, January 17^th: Personal home inventory

Wednesday, January 18^th: Personal home inventory cont.

Thursday, January 19^th: Start working on a billing system and bill pay on-line

Friday, January 20^th: Start Recycling again… make a new space for recycling

Saturday, January 21^st: Relax

Sunday, January 22^nd: Relax

Monday, January 23^rd: Go through books and CD’s

Tuesday, January 24^th: Pets

Wednesday, January 25^th: Filling system and manuals and warranties

Thursday, January 26^th: Relax

Friday, January 27^th: Magazines

Saturday, January 28^th: Yard

Sunday, January 29^th: Relax

Monday, January 30^th: Photos and photo books

Tuesday, January 31^st: Photos and photo books cont.

Hope this helps anyone else like me, who doesn’t need a whole lot of time organizing, as much as a basic guide to work on specific items each day.

My challenge for January is pretty much just tying up loose ends from 2011 and getting things organized for 2012. Last I plan on working with the folks at Scraperschanllenge and rid myself of at least five things from each room, like towels, CD’s and DVD’s, and other clutter hoping to make my life a little less stressful J Happy New Year everyone!!!!