Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Thrift Stores Finds

It's been a while since I've posted thrift store finds so I'll share some today.
I've been able to pick up some pretty neat stuff lately.
This caveman wig, beard, costume (sans bat). It's in excellent condition and could be worn by me or one of the grand-kids.  I paid $1.25.



Guess I need to find a necklace made of teeth and or bones. Of course I'll have pants on FER SURE!!!
When I dumped out the bag to look at the costume a small, fold up multi-tool fell out. I like gadgets and gizmos so I'll keep it and it may go in a travel kit. 

I brought home a pair of navy Lee Casuals pants for me, great condition and perfect for work-my cost $1.25.

This Cute, little sock ornament is so cute and a perfect place to hide a small gift for one of the grands- I paid 10 cents.



I found an Easter egg decorating kit for a quarter. I could use it for decorating eggs or some experiment with my grandsons. That's MUCH cheaper than food coloring!


Grandson J was so happy when he saw the 2 Spy Kids books I picked up for him! His new favorite movie is Spy Kids and I encourage reading so it's a match made in heaven. Yes, he did read. Any kind of paperback books are extremely reasonable. It even kills me to buy a new book for a gift....so I give gift certificates instead. 



The price tag on this hat from Kohl's reads $42, but I paid $1. 



Yes, I'm addicted...but I get such good buys!


This unopened Signature Club A colloidal gold compact was $2. It sells for $25 on HSN. 

It's OK, I'm glad I only paid $2 for it....not worth the retail price in my opinion. 


I also bought my fast growing grandson a pair of jeans for $2, a much better price than what the retail stores charge.

I am sure there's a lot more but those the things I could think of at this time. I'm also proud of the items that I passed up. I saw an adorable Christmas cookie jar and a soft Santa...but I passed up all Christmas decorations!!!!

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Working On My Scrapbook


 Bring a pillow
                                 hUrry up
                                    Stand in line
Trip

No, this is nothing earth shattering or probably even worth posting, but I like this set up that I did for my first bus trip scrapbook. I am going on another weekend retreat in February and I'm trying to finish up Washington DC so I can start anew on another project. 

Our grandson went home early today so I had some time to work on it. I finished 2 pages (not worthy of posting) but I WANT TO  FINNISH IT! As I'm working on  my first 'big' travel scrapbook I am learning how I want to do things and accepting the fact that none of my pages are magazine worthy but they're mine and are perfect for me. 

Have a great week everyone. It's about time I walk upstairs to make some dinner for us and check out how 
much new snow we've received this afternoon.


much new snow we've received so far this afternoon. 

Saturday, January 26, 2013

The Lady and the Chocolate
































A friend gave me this book. I a sure she found it in a thrift store. It's so me, it's perfect, I love it!!! It make me laugh and I hope it makes you laugh too.

Happy Weekend!!!

Friday, January 25, 2013

More Valentine Cards

I'm suppose to be cleaning the basement, my stamping/scrapbooking area....but I managed to put together some cards that I've made the past week or so. 



This pink one is a Stampin' UP card designed by my friend.


If you want to write or stamp a message it would have to be under the flap.


Can you tell I don't have a big selection of heart punches?
The green is not part of the card.


I guess if I want to receive some cards I'll have to mail these.



Thursday, January 24, 2013

Thoughts on Thursday

Do you have an ereader? Here's another place to get free and cheap books, no matter what format/seller you use: BookBub. First you choose the genre of books you're interested in and then the format, it's that easy. I get an email every day with 2 or 3 choices. Free is good! Right?

My week started off interestingly.....Our grandson stays overnight on Saturday nights. Sunday at 9:30 AM his mom calls and says she'll pick him up about noon. OK.  It's after 12 when she calls and says he can stay for another hour. OK. Several hours and 2 phone calls later he's picked up by her dad and at 7 PM he's on his way home. I didn't mind, but I had plans to work on straightening up my crafting area in the basement. We found plenty to do and talk about. Unless I have other plans he's welcome to stay!

Monday I had a 'coffee' date with a friend. We have LONG meetings where we share all kinds of stuff about our lives. After I ordered my Chai I called her and, sure enough, she forgot. I just read the paper and finished my drink and then went on with the rest of the day's errands. It was cold, only 1 degree above zero, but I had to go to the grocery store anyway so it wasn't a big deal.

Of course, as long as I was out and about, I stopped at the thrift store. While I was there a man came up to me and told me he liked the color of my hair. I colored it last Sunday and it's bright! In fact, that is what 2 of my friends told me when they saw me last week. It's hard for me to find the right red or strawberry blond color. I've decided that it's just an accessory and I can change it when and how I want to!

Tuesday morning when I was getting ready for work I got the crap scared out of me. Kevin leaves for work about 4:30AM so it's pretty quiet when I get up. Suddenly, the bathroom door opens and I scream, what else would you do??? It was hubby, on the coldest day we've had this winter, the battery in his truck was dead and he needed to use my car to get a new one. When I left he was outside (there's no room in the garage for his truck) working on it. ....and he DOES NOT work outside or do auto repairs......but he had to do it.... It was -7 when I left for work. He said he finally made it in to work at 9.

That's it for this Thursday! I'm on my way to have lunch with the friend who stood me up on monday (smile).  Have a great weekend!


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Maybe I Just Don't Get It

I admit it, I am not a very worldly person and I've lived a relativity easy life in my small world. I've been very fortunate to be healthy and have healthy children. I don't know much about mental illness, although both of my parents may have had or have a mental illness. Mental illness is a highly sensitive subject that I don't think may of us know much about unless we are directly affected. Yes, during the past decade, society is trying to learn more and be more accepting of those kinds of illnesses. 

I can understand what it means when the DR says a child has ADHD. I've seen my niece who is autistic. I've seen depression. I know what defiance disorder is.  But what is bipolar? I have a friend who suffers from it. She explained about the manic episodes she experienced and that it can be different for others. Finally the DR found the right meds for her. I've read a little about it because I want to understand.

One of my daughters in law and her mother have been diagnosed as bipolar. I don't know either one well enough to ask how it manifested itself in them. 

But why was my 7-1/2 year old grandson diagnosed with it? Before that he was diagnosed with ADHD. Before he went to school I spent a lot of time with J. He was an easy baby to watch. He talked early and walked late and was potty trained even later. He went to church and the library often with me and was not a problem. He's the fussiest eater I have ever seen and still eats very few foods. He refuses to try new foods. He's very loving and social. All of his teachers love him. In fact, on Sunday the Sunday school teacher thanked me for bring him, saying "He's so polite and helpful." He can be very stubborn and throw a huge fit if things don't go his way. He's always been a restless sleeper. Often, in the morning,  I'd find him facing the opposite way I had laid him in the crib the night before. It seemed like he could really catch up his sleep when he was here. In fact I thought that part of his behavior problems were due to lack of sleep. Once he gets something stuck in his mind, he hangs onto it. He was a Dora fan for years, then it was Pokemon; almost like an obsession.  He likes things the same way. He can eat the same FEW foods every day. Every saturday night we have the very same routine (or tradition as he calls it) and he likes it that way. He does not jump from subject to subject. Sunday afternoon he studied our church directory for at least an hour. He looked at every photo, read every name, and commented on most of the members. We have a small congregation. He has an excellent memory!

I wasn't thrilled when he started taking meds, but I did/do see an improvement. Before the last change of meds he'd sleep all afternoon when he was here. He now has a new med and was told he's bipolar. Last Saturday he/his mom/his other grandma forgot to bring his meds over. I could definitely tell the difference. He was annoying and more demanding. He had lots more energy. 

From what I've read I don't see bipolar....but I'm not a DR. Maybe they are still trying to get to the bottom of it. I just want to understand.....to be able to help..... I am not the parent and I know they love him and are doing the best they can for him. I just like like to know 'why?'....and that's my compulsion. J  did tell me he's supposed to be in an anger management class. His dad has anger issues too, his mom is quite stubborn, so some of his issues are probably hereditary. 

OK, I'm done going on and on......if you've read this far, thanks for your time.


One of our quiet moments on Sunday afternoon..... I was trying to do some organizing in my crafting area when J saw a bin with his name on it. I told him it was scrapbook stuff, so he pulled it down and decided to look through it. Can you imagine anything funnier than a 7-1/2 year old saying "This brings back memories"? Yes, that is exactly what he said! He looked at everything and would say "I remember that." It was fun just to watch him and reminisce. We've always had good conversations and lots of fun together. 

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Valentine Cards

While attempting to clean up my crafting area I found some scraps and put together this card. I like it, what do you think? The card is not a pale pink, it's off-white.
 These next 2 cards I made at the Stamp a' Long. 
 This one is simple,and I like simple. I think I'll make more like this

And the big question is................will I make more cards? Will I ever get my ever get my basement cleaned up enough so I can work in it again???

Saturday, January 19, 2013

*>_%@ Darn It Anyway^%#)>

This is not the first time this has happened but I sure hope it's the last time. I am watching TV with my grandson and decided to check my blog on my Nook....I see comments!  WOO HOO :-) But as I am scrolling through my thumb must have hit delete and I deleted  2 comments. I apologize to Lisa and Debbi, I REALLY did NOT mean to delete your nice comments. That darn delete button shouldn't be there!

Got Scarves?

I really deliberated about posting this photo of myself.....as you can see I am not a model, nor am I a fashion blogger, and this clearly isn't the best picture of me. But it's real! I wanted you to see the scarf I am wearing. It has a tinge of tan in the photo, but it is black and white (as you can see below). I bought it as one of the craft shows I went to this past summer and this is the first time I've worn it. I don't have many reasons to 'dress nice' but I'll put on a scarf once a week or so, it makes me feel good. I think it adds a lot to my monochromatic sweater. It's narrow so doesn't add a lot of bulk to my already full figured body. 


It's just strands of yarn attached to a ring that has been wrapped in yarn. I think I will be wearing it more often. With the classic colors I can wear it with a lot of things. 

 How do you store your scarves, you're asking.... (or maybe not). I saw this on another blog a while back (if I could remember where I'd give her credit).
Take one old wooden hanger and add some shower curtain rings....perfect way to hang scarves. My cost.....less than $1. I had the hanger and found the shower rings at the thrift store. You can get a lot of scarves on here......15- 20 for sure!



Have a great weekend everyone!!!!
thanks for stopping by.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Thoughts on Thursday

Isn't this a beautiful cactus? It's huge and lives in the sun room of my mom's building. Does anyone know what it is?
 Well.....I really love it....and....I just happened to break off 2 'leaves' and brought them home and planted them. Is that wrong? My friend says as long as I did it so I could bring it home and love it, it would be OK. No harm was done to the original plant so I prefer to think she's right. 

Last weekend hubby had a loaner car while his truck was in the shop, it was a 2013 Equinox, with 117 miles on it. Grandson J and I took it to Sunday school and breakfast later and decided that it was a cool vehicle. I loved the screen that showed what was behind the car when you were backing up. That would come in handy when parking, especially with my car-I really have a hard time knowing when to stop. I also liked the compass feature. I don't know my directions unless the sun is setting or rising. IF I ever get another car I am definitely looking for those features.

Ever just meet someone and decide: 'Hey, I could really like that person'.....and then after a while of friendship you figure out that you don't care for that person as much as you thought? or vice versa? Met someone that you didn't care for and then become good friends with them as you got to know them? Yup, happens to me too.

That's just what I've been thinkin' about today. Lookin' forward to the weekend!

Monday, January 14, 2013

It's National Clean Off Your Desk Day

As a 'piler' (one who save things in piles) I need a month, not just a day, to clean off my desk. I've gotten pretty adept at stacking things (to save space); and believe it, or not, I usually know where to find what I am looking for. If you saw my desk in our basement you'd understand why the kitchen table is now my 'desk'; which also contains piles of stuff on occasion. Well, my laptop sits on the table too..... SMILE! I love my laptop!

You should see my desk at work on Tuesday morning-my first day back to work after the weekend. My job is to enter the work slips for the invoices for accounts receivable and as I alphabetize and sort them into various piles for the attention needed I usually have about 6-8 piles of papers. Sometimes it's like that when I leave for lunch and I tease the owners not to mess up my mess while I am gone. That desk gets cleaned up every day when I leave....but the one in our basement.....out of site, out of mind? Not really, I do get it cleaned off periodically....but not today.  Today I'll do laundry, straighten up the upstairs, and then I'm off the the Stamp-a-long to make some cards and find out what my friend learned while she was attending a Stampin' Up leadership convention in Fl.

Did you clean off your desk today? I know I should, it's on my LONG to-do list...but not for today!

Happy Monday!!!!

Friday, January 11, 2013

the Friday 56

Welcome to Freda's Friday 56

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.
I read this book a LONG time ago, my mom practically made me read it. This particular book pictured was my dad's, it contains his signature so I will never get rid of it. It's the new edition, dated 1915.

p.56 "And not only did he learn by experience, but instincts long dead became alive. The domesticated generations fell from him."

I remember thinking it was a great book, so if you haven't read it, you might want to. I believe it's a classic.

Pretty Things

Recently I was the recipient of a couple of beautiful hand made items:
This gal, with whom I exchange cards, sent me a lovely desk  calender. She sends me one every year. This one is the size of a card, it's held together on the bottom with ribbon. 
 When the first quarter is over, just flip it around. 
Thanks, Peggy! I love it!

Joyce, one of my Red Hat friends, made this book from the small folders that I gave her. I found a bunch at the thrift store here last year and I gave her some to 'play' with. She has SOOOO much more imagination than I do.


She just happened to be in the store when I was there.




Joyce does beautiful work, agree?



I asked her to show me what she did with them.....

 .....Instead she gave me this gorgeous little file book.


She added pockets and put tags in them.

 Thanks Joyce, it's wonderful!!


Thursday, January 10, 2013

Thoughts on Thursday

Yay!!! I'm off for the remainder of the week :-)  Who doesn't love a 5 day weekend??? It's 'warmish' here (100% chance of rain tonight) so today will be a good day to take down the outdoor Christmas lights. Our tree is down but I still have other decorations to pack up.

  • I have to confess - I love magazines, but almost NEVER buy them brand new, I prefer to pay a quarter for one at the thrift store. If they're are a couple of months old that's fine with me. I don't read all of the articles, but I love to look at the pictures. 
  • My eyebrow pencil has been missing since my trip to New Orleans in Nov. Maybe I need to do some cleaning out of my make up and it will show up???
  • A women's Bible study is starting in my church....but why would I almost rather do a study with strangers than the women in my church? Do I still want to keep that wall around myself? ....the people that know you can (and will) hurt you.....
  • OK, I may be a bit behind in some things......i.e. I am thinking of taking an Excel computer class. I don't have it at home but we do at work and that is one thing I do not understand at all. I don't think I really NEED it......but I want it (lots of wants in my life).....I love learning and taking classes.....I'll be able to take advantage of the senior rate (even thought it's only a $26 class).
Guess I am not thinking about much today. I apologize, I need to start reading my favorite blogs again.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Retiring

I'll be 62 in April and am in pretty good health..........well, I'll see what the Dr says next month. And you know what? I am seriously thinking I'd like to retire in a year or 2 (at the most).

  • Hubby is 6 years younger than me, still working, & carries insurance on both of us 
  • I do have money set aside from a previous job
  • We do, basically, live week to week though 
  • 90%  of my earnings are for the things I want, whether it's a trip or new carpet
I have so much I want to do, there's no way I'd be bored! But I do only work 2-3 days per week right now, it's not a bad job, and the pay is more than minimum, and my days are somewhat flexible. But I've worked most of my adult life, raised children, and attended school at night. I just don't want to work anymore. I enjoy being a homemaker...really, I do!

H E L P!!!!!
Who do I need to talk to? What do I need to do/know? Please leave me a comment or email me with  your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions!
Thanks!

Friday, January 4, 2013

the Friday 56

Time to link up with Freda for the Friday 56, it's been a while, but I'm back!


p.56 "Cora searched her seat for her book and frowned when she saw it on the floor. She wouldn't be able to reach for it, not in her corset."

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Thoughts on Thursday

It may be a new year, but it's still the same ol' me. :-)

Christmas may be over, but my tree is still up. If I'm early and it's still dark or if it's a cloudy day I love to turn the lights on! I am not able to get it put up very early so I don't mind having it up yet, I'll probably take it down this weekend or on Monday.

Mom always said "where there's a will there's a way". I try to follow her example. The other day I was baking pumpkin rolls for my SIL (I love Mark and he loves pumpkin roll). The 3 eggs needed to be beaten until they are 'light and fluffy', well, I'm always multi-tasking so I figured how I could do that and get all my other ingredients together: I tipped the bowl and propped it up with the handle, I rested the mixer against the bowl and set it on a towel. Worked great!!!



I am so thankful that I learned to think outside of the box and for myself (from my mother).

What was up with my last post? I had over 100 page views......that is EXTREMELY unusual for me....but no comments (on my blog site). Most of the traffic is from a marketing site.....hmmmm

More onions & orchids

  • orchids to me for downloading all of my photos from 2 cameras and my phone (now to do something with them)
  • orchids to me for finally balancing my checkbook and finding a $20 mistake - in my favor :-)
  • onions to the person who changed my 7 year old grandson's meds (he is now much more disagreeable) and told him that he is bi-polar. HE IS NOT! I think anger management counseling would do the whole family good.
And that brings me to my next thought: This is my 2nd marriage so that means I have 2 different sets of grandkids..... MY HEART DOES NOT DIFFERENTIATE THAT!!!! But as I was driving home the other day I realized that each set of children is very different. The grands from my first marriage are more easy going and quieter. The grands on hubby's side are more 'demanding', selfish, louder, and stubborn (that doesn't make me love them any less tho). I think part of it is the parenting and part is hereditary. On hubby's side is found: tourette's syndrome, defiance disorder, and autism. I definitely see those characteristics in hubby, his twin, and their offspring. Some of the parents know that and are trying to be educated so they can deal with it. Onions to those who are not!

  • onions to my nasty cold that keeps hanging on!



Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Orchids and Onions

Christmas is past YAY!!! The shopping, stress, decorating, cleaning, parties, baking, people....it's all over. It's New Years Day as I sit here in the quiet dark listening only to the tic toc of the clock, next to my Christmas tree (glowing in the dark) writing. Hubby is asleep and I have been up since shortly after 4AM...... I am quite enjoying it!!! I've had grand kids for the weekend and my house is trashed. Oh well, when my out of town grand kids come I let them be 'creative'. I want them to have FUN here...they did! I had a great Christmas too!



Christmas eve we had hubby's first wife's extended family over. Christmas Day his kids come over and we do the family thing.


  • orchids to hubby for cooking breakfast and wearing the Santa had, as requested by his granddaughter


What fun would it be if the kids didn't make a total mess of the living room???

  • orchids to Chuck for voluntarily picking up all of the wrapping paper


The Friday following Christmas I met my daughter at a mall that is the 1/2 way point for each of us and I  brought Ava back to stay with us for a few days. On Saturday night Jalen spend the night (as usual). She is 2 years older than he is but they get along great and have so much fun. My SIL had a room at a local hotel and she invited the kids to go swimming with her son. They really enjoyed the pool, hot tub, and sauna.

  • orchids to Michele for inviting us to go swimming
  • onions to hubby for getting cranky when they are making a mess
  • onions to hubby for not helping me pack the trunk
  • onions to hubby for snapping at me as I said to him "ya gotta grab a couple of sodas"
  • orchids to hubby for telling his boss he couldn't work on Sunday b/c he had plans to go with me
Sunday I packed up the trunk full of goodies to take to my mom's to celebrate Christmas with my side of the family.


  •  orchids to my oldest grandson, Cole, for bringing the game Operation and playing with the younger kids

my beautiful daughter and her oldest girl

  •  orchids to my daughter for being so organized and setting things up in the sun room at mom's assisted living residence




  •  Orchids to Amy for raising up 2 children who LOVE to read



  • orchids to my cousin Mike and his wife for coming to see my mom
  • orchids to Tim and Connie for being there
  • orchids to Mark for talking to Tim and making him feel welcome
  • orchids to everyone who came for my mother 
My mom said it was the best party she ever had. She doesn't expect a thing, but LOVES everything she is given....especially the new toothbrush she gets as a gift from Amy.


 Here are 7 of our 9 grandchildren. I am SO HAPPY that they were around me!!!

  • orchids to Jack for coming to his first family event with my sister

 Good food, my family.............what more could I want?
our 2 youngest granddaughters....gotta love 'em


  • orchids to these 2 children who used their imaginations and put on a show for me "Nerd Wipe Out"
Nerd Wipe Out is why our tiny guest room is trashed............I let them play and do what they want....(good or bad?)

  • orchids to hubby who "allows" these activities to happen.....and for 'letting' me do whatever I want




  • orchids to Ava who is so diplomatic when she encounters conflict and so patient with the younger children
  • orchids to Ava for helping Jalen make his 'best cousins' necklace and for making something for his brother so he wouldn't feel left out
Sunday night Skylar stayed overnight too. Monday morning I found enough snow-pants  boots, and gloves to go around and sent them outside to play at the school across the street. It didn't last long tho.......



There was a 2nd showing of 'Nerd Wipe Out'.

Guess what room I'm cleaning first today???


It's my blog and I'll write what ever I want........and...
  • onions to those who'll get bent out of shape over what I said or did not say!


Last, but not least......

HAVE A HAPPY & BLESSED NEW YEAR!!!!!