Mandi Shandi's

Another Chair Makeover...

2010-11-12T07:30:00.001-05:00

I finished another fun little chair I thought I would share with you. I got this little beauty at a junk store for the bargain price of $2. It was a pityful looking thing, but it was very sturdy.

After some sanding, painting, and whipping up a sassy cushion, this little chair has a new lease on life. It is living at my in-law's River house.

Walker chose this fish fabric, and since it was going in his room at the river then I thought it would work. I opted for a stripe on the other side though, so the cushion is reversible.

I love this little chair now, and for the time and money spent I couldn't have come close to buying a new one. Nothing like a bargain!

Thankful...

2010-11-11T07:00:00.001-05:00

Psalm 127:3 "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward. "

I have so very much to be thankful for, and I always seem to think about it most during this time of the year. I took this picture of the boys swinging recently, and every time I look at it I realize how fast they are growing up. I am so grateful that these dirty little boots are mine to clean, that they belong to 2 of the sweetest boys around, and that God chose me to raise these 2 little ones. Now if I could just figure out how to freeze time and keep them this size!

Changes to the Picture Wall...

2010-11-09T08:30:00.005-05:00

One of my most treasured possessions is family photographs, and while I have several places I display them, my favorite is the picture wall in my living room. This wall has evolved over the past few years, and continues to change. I have posted about it in the past, but have made some recent changes. I love sharing this idea because it is affordable and unique.

This time around I took down all of the pictures and painted a tobacco color inside the molding.

I then changed out the pics that were in color to black and white, and arranged how I thought I wanted them on my dining room table.

Next came the hard part, putting all those pictures back up without a real guide. I more of an "eyeball it" type of girl. That whole measure twice cut once thing doesn't apply to me. I just hammer, move, hammer again, etc.

And there you have it. My family picture wall. I'm sure it will eventually change again, but for now, I love it!

What do you think?

Halloween Recap...

2010-11-07T18:16:00.000-05:00

Well another Halloween is over, and I think I have recovered from the sugar rush. I intentionally did not keep all the extra candy bars that the boys don't eat this year (my hips are already thanking me), and I have managed to hide most of the candy they do eat so that I can bring it out a little at a time.

It was another typical Halloween in that we had school parties, trunk or treat, and then trick or treated, but it was not typical in that Walker actually dressed up this year. He is not a fan of costumes, and he has refused to wear one since he was 2. He has always worn a Halloween t-shirt, this year though he decided he wanted to be Billy the Exterminator. If you are not familiar with "Billy" and have an hour or so to spare, you should check him out on A&E Tuesday nights. He's an exterminator that dresses like a rock star. Walker loves him, and I have to admit he is rather entertaining. Here's Walker rocking his Billy outfit.

My friend said I needed to inquire about Walker wearing the shades to school because he was a different man walking around in them. HA! Here's the real "Billy".

Connor decided to be a pirate, again. He actually "decided" on several different costumes, but the pirate was what we went with. He insisted I put a parrot on his shoulder. The only parrot I could find was a cat toy (filled with catnip). I cut the bell off, stuck it on with velcro, and prayed we didn't run into any cats while trick or treating.

I didn't make a lot of treats this year since I am now working full time, but I did manage to make some Candy Corn Bark for the boys' teachers. It was extremely simple and they all liked it. If you're interested in making your own I just melted white chocolate, and then added candy corn, oreos, and peanuts. Spread it on wax paper and then after it cools break it into pieces and bag it up.

I hope you had a great Halloween. I am still struggling with the fact that Christmas is only 48 days away and I haven't even thought about my shopping or crafting!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T07:18:00.001-04:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Chair Turned Nightstand...

2010-10-09T17:24:00.002-04:00

If you have visited my blog often, you know I love to make trash into treasures, and one of my favorite spots to look for stuff to re-do is on the family farm. On a recent trip I discovered 2 little chairs sitting under a tree. After asking my mother in law about them, I found out they were hers when she was a little girl. I immediately asked for them, and as she typically does, she gave them to me with a shake of her head (like I was crazy for wanting them!) Walker and his little buddy Wyatt were with me, and even Wyatt said, "Ms. Mandi, what are you gonna do with those junky chairs?"

Oh ye of little faith! I took those little chairs and gave them a new lease on life! I simply peeled off the paper seats and sanded a little, primed, and spray painted them. I used Rustoleum Red spray paint and modge podged some paper for a new seat. I have been looking for Connor a small side table for his bed, and the chair worked perfect.

I used some little hooks I found at the hardware store to hang it, and the other one sits beneath it when Connor isn't using it. So what do you think? Have you turned any trash into a treasure lately?

The Boy That Cried Wolf

2010-10-09T16:50:00.000-04:00

Hi. I am officially the "boy that cried wolf" in the blogging world. I was looking over my past few posts (spanning MONTHS) and in every one I apologize for being gone for so long and try to explain where I have been. I also say things are finally slowing down and I am gonna begin blogging again. I think the reality has finally settled in that things are NEVER gonna slow down, so if I want to blog I'm just gonna have to squeeze it in amongst everything else. I have missed all my blogging friends so badly, and I often wonder what is going on with all of you. I am gonna have to play catch up to find out.
As for us here are a few things that have changed. Lon is still working up a storm, and I have gone to work full time as well. I am working at a little place in our town called Clarity Spa as a hairstylist, and I LOVE it! Walker is in kindergarten and doing great, and Connor is in preschool and loves it. It's soccer season here, and between that and church our evenings are booked.

(Walker in his soccer uniform)
The boys seem to be growing like weeds. Every time I turn around I feel like they have grown an inch. We finally made it to Disney World this summer, and thanks to all your suggestions last year the trip was awesome!

(Here is Connor sporting his ears.)

Not too much decor has changed around the house. I've accomplished a few projects and they will probably be the subject of my next few posts. Which leads me to right back to where I started, posting on this blog... I will be posting again. I am not going to promise how often, but I am gonna do my best to stop in even if my posts are very brief. I loved blogging for so many reasons, but one major thing is that it was such a great memory bank for me. I need it to be that again. What is it they say? Something like, "your memory is like swiss cheese, it has a lot of holes." That is me! I look back over the past year and can't remember half of what we did, so I will be doing a lot of personal posts. If you want to follow along with us and see what we are up to, feel welcome.

Company's Coming and I'm a MESS!!

2010-07-22T07:26:00.000-04:00

Hey y'all! I am at Myrtle Beach right now visiting with some family from out of town, and I got an e-mail last night saying I was going to be featured on Tip Junkie . Needless to say, I WAS FLOORED!!! I had submitted some paper ornaments I made at Christmas time, but then completely forgotten about it. Well what a pleasant surprise!!!

I have been so consumed in my day to day life between work, kids, VBS, company, and vacations, that I have really let my blog slip by the wayside. I have missed it terribly, but have had a very hard time getting back into the groove of things. This is just the kick I needed to get motivated. I am a little panicked because having been gone for months, I feel like I am having a bunch of company come over and my house (blog) is a mess.

If you are stopping by for the first time, please stay a while and visit. I apologize for the mess! Come back in the next week or so and I will be getting some new projects posted. If you are an old friend, I have missed you SOOO MUCH! I look so forward to catching up and seeing what y'all have been up to!

Easy Valentine Tutorial...

2010-02-11T23:18:00.001-05:00

Hey friends! I am still here. My "little piece of paradise" as I call it has become increasingly crazy these days. I have started my part-time job at the tax office, and still do my magazine job from home. I also somehow agreed to coach Walker's soccer team, and heap on to that lots of doctors appointments for Connor and a household that needs a full time live-in maid (that's how it feels anyway) and there just aren't enough hours in the day! I have been struggling to find balance, and when something has to take a backseat it always seems to be my blog. I have missed you all terribly and feel so out of the loop. I just know you have all been up to lots of fabulous decorating and crafting. I would love to visit each and every one of my blogging buddies, but for now I will have to be content to just check in occasionally and really catch up when April 15 gets here and tax season is OVER!!
Wowser, that was quite an introduction for the quick tutorial I was gonna share with you. Back to the subject at hand. I have posted in the past how I make my cards on SCRAPBLOG and I have friends that ask me about it a lot, so I thought I would post another easy tutorial on it. Here is the Valentines Day Card I did this year.

Here's how I did it.

Go to Scrapblog's site, and create an account. They have a fantastic site. Beware, you can get lost in time playing with all the possibilities and hours will disappear from your day. Anyway, I always start with a blank canvas. You can start with kits or templates, but I like to start from scratch. I choose my backgrounds, stickers, and borders that are free. Some of their stuff costs money,they call it credits, but you have to pay for them. The prices are very reasonable, so if you find something you love, go for it. But for me part of the fun is trying to make them for free.
Just upload your pictures and play around until you have created something you like.
Next you want to "publish" what you made. The button for this is at the top of the screen. Once you have done that, you will be able to click on the "file" tab and export it as a JPEG onto your computer.
I then upload my saved file to Walgreens or a similar photo printing service and print them for about 9 cents a piece.

After buying a box of envelopes, I am getting great looking unique cards, invitations, etc. for a fraction of the price. I hope you try this out. If you do let me know. If this is not very clear, feel free to e-mail me with questions. It's getting late and the bed is calling my name. I hope you all have a fantastic Valentine's Day and I will be back as soon as I possibly can!

Christmas Re-Cap...

2010-01-18T19:51:00.000-05:00

I realize that we are well on our way into 2010, but since I was so far behind on my blogging and missed out on all the Christmas fun, I thought I would do a bit of a Christmas Re-Cap. Atleast this way when next Christmas rolls around I'll be able to remember what I did this past Christmas. Right now I can barely remember yesterday. My memory is like swiss cheese, full of holes! Anyway, here are some of my favorite things from this Christmas.

I scaled back this year in all areas. We bought less. We did more hand made. I even decorated less. I had a hard time getting into the decorating and it felt a little forced, so I spent less time decking the halls and a lot more time enjoying the season with my boys. Looking back, those changes were all for the best. With that said, I didn't put up all of my trees. We did the boys' tree in the family room:

This tree has all of the ornaments they have made or picked out in their short little lives. They are all about the colored lights, so I just go with it.
This is the mantle in the family room. Walker helped me put it up and he was so proud. It is in the same room as the boys' tree so it also has colored lights.

Walker got a new tree for his room this year. It was a tacky little tree, but he LOVED it, and that is what matters.

Connor's tree is white and he enjoys having one in his room so much.

I put the 30 year old tree from Lon's childhood in my kitchen window. It holds ornaments the boys have made in church and school. Those are the most special ornaments to me.

I hung this wreath that I "beefed up" on the front door.

I put this tall wooden snowman on the front porch.

I put all of our Christmas cards on a simple ribbon.

We made a lot of people birdhouses:

We made the boys teachers ornaments and some baked goods. This is one of Walker's ornaments.

And here is Connor's ornament for his teacher.

But more than anything else, we spent time together. We crafted, baked, watched Christmas movies, and drank more hot calorie laden drinks than it should be legal to consume in a month's time. Guess that explains why I will be starting Weight Watchers Wednesday back up on Wednesday! I hope your Christmas was a great one, full of special times with family and friends too!

Coat Rack Re-do...

2010-01-12T14:49:00.006-05:00

Hey friends! I am finally getting back into a daily routine and that means back into blogging! I have several projects I finished in the past month or so, and I will start posting about them this week.

I don't know about you, but we have a "Catch All" coat rack/shoe bin that is right inside the backdoor from the garage. It has bugged me since we moved into the house over a year ago. I was uninspired to do too much to it though, with all of the other projects that I had going on. Now that most of the bigger projects are done, I am moving on to smaller things. This coat rack was on that list.

Here is how it looked for the past year:
And here it is now:

The shelf is 48 inches wide and is stained in a dark finish. I was originally gonna put a piece of beadboard on the wall and stain it the same color, then try to find a bench to sit at the bottom so it looked more like a built-in. But when my mother in law came across this trunk, and it was already the right size and color, I abandoned the original plan and went the easier route. I got a great deal on the trunk and just made a cushion for the top.

As for the rest of the decor, I shopped my house so I didn't have to spend any moola. I mixed a bunch of paints together and created a blue that I liked. I painted the Welcome sign and "HOME" letters in that. I made the floral arrangements for my mantle a long time ago, and didn't like them there, so I moved them and they work much better in this space.

What do you think of the new space? I love it! It is so much more functional and it just makes me happy when I come in the back door, and isn't having a home that makes you feel good what all the decorating is about anyway?

I am linking up to Kimba's DIY Day:

HELLOOOO OUT THERE!!

2009-12-30T15:22:00.006-05:00

Hey friends! I am so sorry for the unexpected blogging hiatus. My taking 3 weeks off was completely unintentional, but my "real life" has been so upside down and busy that my blog had to go to the back burner.

I had so much more Christmas stuff I wanted to post, and I didn't even get to join in on the Nester's Christmas party. Who knows, maybe I'll backtrack and put some of that stuff up anyway.

So what have we been up to? Well, both boys had their school Christmas programs...

And then Lonnie was "Santa" for both schools.
Can you believe the boys have no idea this is their dad?

As usual, I took on too many handmade Christmas projects and was scrambling to get them all done. I'll try post about some of those soon.

The boys have been sicker than they have ever been. So sick that Conman was actually hospitalized for a short spell. Here is my little guy about to be discharged chowing down on some Pringles.
Thankfully, things are starting to look up. The boys are finally feeling more like themselves. We had a fantastic Christmas and I plan to find my blogging mojo again soon. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas season, and I am gonna try to catch up with all of you soon.

Handprint Angel Ornament/Garland...

2009-12-10T06:09:00.012-05:00

I teach the 4 and 5 year olds every week in Sunday School. Being that I love to craft, I always try to come with good things for the kids to make that go along with our lesson. This past week we studied in the book of Luke where the angel told Mary that she was going to give birth to baby Jesus. I decided an Angel was the craft to make. BUT, a cute angel that 4 and 5 year olds could make was key. I came up with this little Angel Christmas ornament, and the kids loved them. I did most of the work in advance because it is hard to do with a lot of kids really quickly (we had 11 kids this week with just Lonnie and I), but at home the boys and I made these quite easily.
Materials:
scrapbook paper or craft foam (body, head, and hair)
posterboard or cardstock (wings)
Clothespins
pencil (to trace child's hands)
pipe cleaner (halo)
ribbon (to hang your garland on)

Start off by tracing your child's hand prints on to the posterboard or cardstock. I found it works best to trace the left hand and then have them put their right thumb in the thumbprint of the left hand. They need to keep their fingers together. The pics below explain this better.

Next, draw out your outfit (girl or boy), hair, and head. I traced a bottle cap for the head and free-handed the outfits on scrapbook paper. If you don't feel like you could free-hand the clothes, just hold a piece of paper over your computer screen and trace the ones I did. That is probably a terrible method, but it would work. Cut out all of your pieces. You could let the kids draw the face on the angel.

Make the pipe cleaner look like a halo by wrapping it around your finger. Glue it to the top of the clothespin.

Then glue on your body, and save the head and hair for last.

The final step is to glue your wings to the back side of the clothes pin.

This is how it looks from the side. You could put your wings on the same side of the pin as the angel, but I wanted the dimension it gives by doing it this way.

I bought this pom pom ribbon at the Dollar Tree for, you guessed it, $1.

String it up and clip on the angels.

Here is the girl version, but I used some of the pom pom ribbon as a halo and printed card-stock to trace Connor's handprints.
Here are the boys' 2 angels on my little tree in the kitchen window. I put most of the ornaments the boys make on this tree because those are extra special to me. I just wrapped the pom pom ribbon around the tree and clipped them right on.

My kids loved these and I loved that they had the kids handprints on them. I hope you make some yourself. Let me know how they turn out.

FUN Paper Ornaments!

2009-12-08T07:08:00.005-05:00

I am happy to say that my 2 boys inherited my love for working with their hands. We are always looking for crafts that they can do with me. I saw an idea for paper ornaments a while back, and decided to put my own spin on it. I have TONS of scrapbook stuff but have not scrapped in a long time, so this one allows me to use some of that fantastic paper. Here is a quick and easy tutorial on how to make your own.
Materials:
Scrapbook Paper (the thicker kind works best)
Ribbon
Hole Punch
Scissors or Paper Cutter

This is REALLY EASY and there are a million different ways you could do this and get very different looks. Feel free to put your own spin on it, but here is how I did mine.

I took 12x12 scrapbook paper, and cut it in half. I then cut the 6x12 piece of paper into 12 strips of 1x6 inch paper. Next, pick 6-12 pieces of the colors you like and make a pile. The more paper you use the fuller your ornament will be. If you choose a double sided paper, then you may want to use fewer pieces so you can see in the middle.

Now, punch a hole in both ends of the strips.

Cut a piece of ribbon 22-24 inches long. Fold it in half and feed it through one of the holes.

Tie a knot.

Feed the other end of the ribbon through the other hole and decide where you want to tie your knot. This will determine whether the ornament is short and fat or tall and skinny. I liked mine best short and fat, but that is your preference.

(I added a bead to this one, but not the others, so that is optional.)

Spread out the strips of paper.

Next, let your extremely proud toddler hold up what he made for the camera.

Finally, take your new ornaments and put them on your tree for all to enjoy!

I hope you make some of these. They really are quick and easy. Let me know if you do. I'd love to see them!

I am linking up to a few other blogs for this one:

Best of the Week...

2009-12-07T07:04:00.004-05:00

I figured you might be wondering where I am. I've been so scarce around here lately that you might need a magnifying glass (like Connor) to spot me.

It was Con's 3rd birthday last week, and we did 2 small parties instead of one big one. It was so much easier this way. He had his party at school with his friends.

And then he had his party at home with family. We had pizza and birthday cake and the little man did it all in his underwear. Oh the beauty of a party with family! Walker was convinced it was his birthday too. Every.Single.Person. that got Connor a gift got Walker one too. When we sang Happy Birthday Walker even added his own name to the end of the song and helped blow out the candles on the cake.

I have also been spending a lot of time working on Christmas presents. Not really great ones, but more of the little tedious kind. I made 4o little Santa treats for the boys' friends at school. I'll post about those this week.

"Santa" did all of his/her shopping this week. We had 2 kids in tow. We drove 2 cars and used a tag team method. The boys went into stores and showed us everything they liked, then Dad stayed behind to show Santa while we went on to the next store.

We got the annual Santa pic at the mall the same night.

Saturday it was cold and wet out, so we spent the entire day at home, in our jammies!! Lon was off work (from all of his jobs) which is a rarity these days, so we had a family day. It was wonderful. The boys and I made Christmas ornaments for their teachers, and did some baking. Then we had movie night and popcorn before bedtime. Walker has still been working on some dance moves. I thought I would offer some assistance and teach him to move his hips. He obviously doesn't need my help. I hope he never loses the confidence to dance like no one is watching!

Oh, and Walker and I snuggled in our Snuggies. Ridiculous? Absolutely, but Walker and I both got one and we love them. (Most of these pics are from Thanksgiving in TN at my parents' house).

The boys and I have been making a lot of handmade Christmas ornaments this year, so I will try to get all those posted this week so you can make them if you want to. I let my Sunday School class (4 and 5 year olds) make angels yesterday at church, and they loved them. That is one you will definitely want to do with the kids.

I hope you had a wonderful week and I hope to catch up with you all soon!

Connor's Birthday Shirt...

2009-12-01T21:57:00.006-05:00

Today was Connor's 3rd birthday. We had him a little party at his pre-school, and we will have a family party tomorrow night. I'll post about that tomorrow, but for now I wanted to share a cute t-shirt design!

I have started a tradition of sorts by making the boys a t-shirt to wear on their birthdays. For Walker, since he was getting a puppy this year, it was a dog-themed shirt. For Connor, I really didn't have a theme, so I had a little fun with it.

I was gonna just do a big number 3, but decided a cake would be more fun. This was really quite simple. Since he is 3, I gave the cake 3 tiers, and 3 candles on top. I think 3 is probably the limit on this, but a double decker cake with 2 candles would be really cute for a 2 year old.

First off, I free handed my design on the paper side of the Heat-n-Bond.

I then choose my fabrics and ironed the Heat-n-Bond to the fabrics.
Next I cut out my shapes and laid them out on the shirt.

I did the cakes and candles first, then ironed on the "icing" and flames last.

I used a terry cloth material for the "icing" and fleece for the flames, simply because it was what I had on-hand. Those 2 fabrics made the t-shirt so much cuter and gave it a great texture.

I used the no-sew variety of Heat-n-Bond, and it specifically says not to sew it, so I am anxious to see how it holds up. I doubt it will ever be worn again, but Connor sure enjoyed wearing it today!Everyone loved it, especially Connor. I hope you make one! If you do send me a pic. I'd love to see what you come up with!

Window Turned Menu Board...

2009-11-30T21:26:00.005-05:00

Hey friends! I've missed you all! Sorry for the long and unexpected departure. I was in TN all last week celebrating Thanksgiving with my family and I intended to post some , but obviously never got around to it. I hope you had a wonderful holiday! We sure did, but it is always good to get back home.

I hit the ground running this morning, but still feel so behind! It always feels that way when I get back home after a long trip. All of my Christmas decor is sitting in the middle of the family room, and I just can't commit to what I want to do where, so after ho-humming around, I decided to abort that mission all together and work on something completely un-related to Christmas decor.I have had several projects in the "almost finished" stage, and I finally got one completed. Here it is!

I turned this old window I had into a menu/grocery list dry erase board. Originally, I was gonna paint "Welcome to our home" on this window and hang it on the front porch, but the paint kept peeling off. I decided today to just turn it the other way and try some vinyl letters on it. It is just the right size, and I am already using it.

Here it is before:

I planned on painting the window, but after sanding it a little, I fell in love with the finish and left it alone.
For the marker, I got a pack of 2 for under $2 at Wal-Mart, and I just wrapped some rope around the end of the marker and glued it in place.Then I used a big nail to attach it to my window. Easy Peasy.
I probably won't leave it on the wall it is pictured on. My breaker box is there, but I wanted to hang it up and get a few pictures for you.
I used my Cricut to cut the vinyl letters for the top, then I used some rub-on letters I had for the days of the week. I decided to just use the first initial of each day.
There you have it. One project finally done! Now if I can just get motivated to deck the halls with Christmas stuff I'll really be doing good! I am gonna post this at:
and

Because I'm a Dork...

2009-11-22T07:26:00.003-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I had to share this. I am a complete dork, but this never gets old to me! The boys really act like this is them dancing. They want me to show it to people like old home videos or something. And by the way, I am decorating for Christmas this weekend. Connor got his adnoids out and tubes in his ears on Thursday, so not a whole lot of time for crafting. I hope to be back to a normal posting schedule next week. Have a great day!

Roadkill Rescue...

2009-11-18T16:12:00.005-05:00

There is a Roadkill Rescue party going on over at Infarrantly Creative and I really wanted to participate.

However, the rules of the party are that the item you are fixing up must have been free to you (i.e. from the trash, a relative, etc.) I have several projects I am working on right now, but most of them are items I bought at thrift stores, so I am gonna share some of my favorite fix-ups from past posts that do qualify. Here we go!

Up first are 2 chairs I got from the dump. The man was tossing out 4 of them, but I only had room for 2 at the time. I am still wishing I'd gone back for the others. Oh well. As you can see they were in pretty bad shape.

But after a little TLC, they have found a new lease on life! The black and white one I sold at an antique store downtown, hence the price tag.
But this lime green one is the chair in my craft room. I'm sitting in it now, proud as a peacock. If you want all the details on how this transformation occurred, you can follow this link.
Another one of my favorites is this old entertainment center. Lon's grandma gave it to me, and it was definitely dated, but it was free and that is my favorite word!
Nothing a new coat of paint and some beadboard on the back couldn't fix! I had my brother in law help me with this project while he was in town and it is also in my craft room. You can go here if you want a step by step on what we did.

The rockers on my front porch were also free. Lon's grandpa gave them to me. They were out at the family farm and nobody really used them anymore. They needed a sanding and some paint. But they are perfect on my front porch. I also added decorative door knobs for some detail to the tops of the chairs.
Last but not least, is another item in my craft room. It is the white shelf that holds all my fabrics. There is no "before" picture because I left it exactly as it was. It was given to me when an office went out of business. It held documents, but fits all my fabric perfectly.

Thanks for stopping by, and for lots more Roadkill Rescues don't forget to visit Infarrantly Creative!

Weekend in Pictures...

2009-11-16T19:56:00.006-05:00

We have had a super busy weekend and I thought I would post some of the pictures to show you what a Saturday is like around here.

We spent some time on the family farm. Walker LOVES his chickens at Nana's house. He takes his chicken raising duties very seriously. This is Yoda. (Where he comes up with these names I will never know. He's never seen Star Wars, but I guess he heard it somewhere.)

He was trying to teach Connor how to hold Yoda properly. Yoda is a full grown Bantam chicken, and surprisingly tame. Walker says they are gonna go on "Pet Star" and bring home the big prize once he teaches her some tricks.

This is Walker's new chicken pen. Inside is his Rhode Island Red. He named it Connor. Oh wait, that's his brother! HA!

Here is another reason they love the farm, all the dirt. I call these "Farm Feet". It takes soaking in the tub a long time to get all the dirt out from under those toenails!
We always end our farm visit with Con's favorite part, a long ride on the 4-wheelers and Gator. There is a dirt road right behind the farm.
And Walker gives you this face when he thinks you aren't going fast enough because you aren't in the front. Connor is only 2, but he thinks he is big enough to ride the big gas powered 4-wheelers. Here he is showing me a trick he's gonna do when he gets big. Oh how I dread those days!

And of course, we all need a long soak in the tub after a day on the farm! Here's proof that Con comes out squeaky clean!

On another note, have you ever heard of "Buzzard's Nose" or Stinkhorn mushrooms? Last week I noticed an odor in the front yard. It got progressively worse. By Saturday, I was just sure something had died in my flower bed. Then I discovered these:

They are the worst smelling thing I have ever encountered. Imagine wrotting meat times 20, ugh! They are evidently a mushroom, and after googling "stinky red mushroom" I found out they are called Stinkhorns. I had to dig a bunch of them out of the front yard, and while I did that, the boys made their own hayride of sorts.

It's amazing how fast this little tractor will go with a wagon behind it. Anyway, back to the stinkhorns, have you ever encountered them and what is the best way to treat them? I read online I could use Round-Up, but I really don't want to kill off all the grass. They are in a large area in the front yard. Any other suggestions?

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I am working on a few projects that I hope to have done tomorrow. The paint is drying as I type this! Be back soon!

Cute Hat!!

2009-11-11T19:40:00.004-05:00

It has been raining cats and dogs here as we get the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida off the coast. While I was getting ready this morning I could hear the rain over the TV, shower, and ceiling fan. Now that's a downpour! In a rain like that, what is a girl to do with her hair? Sport a cute hat! (Truth be told, if I hadn't had to take Connor to Charleston for a doctor appt., this girl would've stayed home!)

I didn't really have a cute hat, so I decided to make one on the fly. Literally, we are talking 10 minutes here. I had 2 baseball caps from the summer. They were 2 for $5 from Wal-Mart.

I took a fabric scrap, ran a piece of thread through it along the bottom, and then gathered it into a flower shape. Sewed a button in the middle, and stitched it right onto the hat. When I get tired of it, I will just cut the thread and have a solid black baseball cap again.

I tried to take a self-portrait, but pointing the camera at your head while you look away is impossible. This is the best I could do.

Connor thought he was really big stuff because he was sporting some of Walker's old shoes. We are all about some hand me downs. Connor has a bit of shoe fetish, like his Aunt Wewe. These are Nike Shox and Walker barely ever wore them so they are like new. They are a couple sizes too big, but I could not convince thiS HARD HEADED child of that. He says they made him "super fast" so I let him wear them. To my surprise he only tripped once.

So what do you think of my new hat? I think it would work just as well with a pin, but I didn't have any on hand. Cheap, easy, and quick. Just my kind of craft.

Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 41

2009-11-11T17:48:00.003-05:00

It is Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 41 and I lost .5 lb again this week, so that puts me at 39 lbs. total! I am happy to have had a loss, but was expecting it to be over 40 lbs. at this weigh in. I did not post WW Wed. last week because I had a terrible stomach bug. I ate very little for 2+ days, and barely managed to stay hydrated. (I stayed on the couch and slept a lot. Thank goodness for Lon's family who helped with the boys!) Of course when I got on the scales Saturday it said I'd had a huge loss. I was thrilled. Fast forward 4 days, and when I weighed this morning I was back to my normal range. I guess I see how much of a difference all that water really makes at a weigh in. I could never be on The Biggest Loser!

Anyway, overall it has been a good week. I have maintained a good food journal and finally gotten my notebook started. (If you have been following along with me on this journey, then you know I have been intending to put together a master Weight Watchers notebook thinking being organized would help me keep track of my food more accurately.) I kept putting off making the notebook because I wanted it to be "just so". Eventually I decided anything would be better than notheing and grabbed a 3 ring binder at Wal-Mart. So far, I have recipe sheets, food journal logs, and a running grocery list in it. I bought a little zippered pocket that holds my Weight Watchers tools like a points calculator, Core Foods list, and ink pen. The binder has proven to be very helpful this week.

On another note, it has been a terribly rainy and ugly couple of days, so not too much outdoor activity going on. I brought my bike back from the river this weekend so I am gonna start riding a few times a week in addition to the walking.

Since I have been on the subject of the "Core" Plan for the past few weeks, I thought I would post a link to a wonderful list of Core Foods that I found online. It is by far the best one I have found to date.

I hope all my Weight Watchers buddies had a great week! I can't wait to hear your progress!

Scrap Fabric Balls...

2009-11-09T14:20:00.007-05:00

I originally found a tutorial for these online, but I have no idea where. I have been making them again lately because they are a wonderful way to use up old scraps, and if you sew very much you have a lot of those!

For your materials, just get all your scraps together. I like mine really thin, so if they aren't already that way I cut them a time or two. Also, make yourself 2 cardboard "donuts". I made mine about 4 inches wide with a 1 1/2 inch center circle.

Now the fun starts. Just wrap your fabric around the "donut" and through the center. When one strip ends, start another. Keep doing this until you can't fit any more fabric through your center hole.

Next you cut the edges all the way around.

Tie a piece of ribbon or another scrap of material around the center. Make sure it is very tight so that your scraps don't slip. Cut or pull your "donuts" out of the center, and fluff your ball.

Find a cute place to hang it and enjoy all your crafty goodness. I think a bunch of these would be perfect on a Christmas tree, but I love them too much to only have them out at Christmas. Mine hang several places. I think they are kind of like tassels, and use them on lamps, knobs, and even furniture.
I used Western fabrics on this one for Walker's lamp.

I'm gonna post this at Chris's "I Can Make That" Christmas party.
And at ASPTL's DIY Day

And at Today's Creative Blog:

Yarn Necklace Tutorial...

2009-11-09T13:31:00.009-05:00

I first discovered these necklaces in March when I went to my girlfriend Staci's baby shower, but never blogged about them. It is definitely a fall/winter accessory because it is made of yarn, so I wanted to wait until it was cooler to post them. These would be the perfect gift for someone that likes chunky jewelry. I wear mine a lot and always get comments on it. So simple, easy and quick.

Here is what you'll need:

Yarn, of various textures and colors. A disc pendant with a large hole in it, and scissors. Yep that's it.

I made mynecklace 72 inches long. I know that seems REALLY long, but you are going to tie a couple knots in it and wear it doubled around like a scarf. You may want yours shorter, so this step is totally according to your preference.

Cut lots of strands of yarn to the desired length. Fold it in half and pull it through the whole in your disc. Loop the two sides back through the center and pull it tight.

I tied a couple of knots in my necklace on the sides to keep it from turning into a tangled mess.

And in case you missed the first picture of my chest, here it is again. Sorry!

That's it. A fun, easy, inexpensive and unique gift. I hope you make some of these and get rave reviews!

I am linking up to Chris's "I Can Make That" Christmas Party.
And Today's Creative Blog:

The Ultimate Tassel Tutorial...

2009-11-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

This post was first "Guest-posted" at Edie's 12 Days of Handmade Christmas Party. I am posting it here for reference, but if you missed the party you should still go over and visit. There are some seriously fun ideas for presents over there.

Hey friends! My name is Mandi and I have a little blog called Mandi Shandi's. The fabulous Edie was one of my very first "Blog "friends, and we all know how super cool she is (no editing Edie!), so when she asked me to take part in this fab 12 Days of Christmas Party she is having, I was thrilled! I will warn you that I am not typically the best tutorial writer.I am super-busy mom of 2 young boys,
(Me above, and those rowdy boys below.)
and I get distracted easily, but I'm taking extra care this time to make sure I get enough pictures and give detailed instructions. If I manage to leave out any details that you need, feel free to hop over to my blog or e-mail me. Who am I kidding? I hope you come over and visit my blog regardless! I love making new friends!

Let's get this party started! This is what I am calling the Ultimate Tassel Tutorial because I am gonna give you so much info. that it may qualify as overload, but you will be able to start making decorative tassels immediately.

I recommend you start off by gathering your supplies. You will probably need to shop for a couple things, but most crafters already have a lot of this stuff on hand.

Wood Candle Cups- Available at all craft stores in the unfinished wood section.

Small Screw Eyes- Available at Target, Wal-Mart, or any hardware store.

Ribbons, Trims, Fringe, or Yarn- I am a Hobby Lobby girl. I think their prices are just hard to beat, so most of my embellishments come from there when it is on sale. You can also find nice fringe at Hancock Fabrics.

Hot Glue Gun and LOTS of Gluesticks.

Maximum Adhesive Glue- I use E6000 (not pictured b/c I ran out, but you can get it at Wal-Mart or craft stores.) **NOTE**Since publishing this post I have found out that this glue is banned in CA because it can be harmful. I will be switching to another glue, but use your own judgement.

Topper or Small Figurine- I pick up small figurines everywhere, even the Dollar Tree at times. I also like to use Christmas ornaments because they already have the eyehook in the top.

Drill- Ideally you would use a jewelry drill, but I use a regular drill and am very careful.

Since this is a Christmas party, I am gonna make a Christmas tassel using an ornament. I can skip the drilling part. Normally though, you would start off by drilling a small hole in the top of your figurine. I always put a little glue in the hole to make sure the eye hook stays in. Screw in your eye hook.

Next glue your topper to the candle cup. I use E6000 for this and usually let it dry for atleast an hour. Run a pretty ribbon through the eye hook and tie it in nice bow or knot. Make sure it is long enough to hang properly after tied. I cut my ribbon between 10 and 12 inches.

Now the fun starts. I line up my trims and get busy picking colors. I have found that my tassels look most balanced if I use the widest trims on the bottom and work to the smallest ones on the top. I line my trims up in this order.

Once I have picked the bottom layer, I take it and roll it up to see how much it will take to fill the inside of the candle cup. When I get a good idea, I cut the fringe at that length, add a strip of hot glue and roll it back up.

Then I thoroughly glue the interior of the candle cup, and stuff my rolled up fringe inside. It should be a tight fit.

I cut my ribbon in equal lengths and get it ready to glue. It typically takes between 4 and 7 strips of ribbon, depending on the diameter of the ribbon and the candle cup or dowel rod you are tasseling. The hot glue dries fast, so it is best to already have your ribbon cut. Make sure if you are making loops and your ribbon is printed, that you glue the printed side down so when you loop it the print will show.

Keep adding layers until you reach the top of your candle cup. At this point you will need something nice and fluffy to round out the tassel. I say fluffy, because that type of fringe is the most forgiving if you don't get it just perfect. It also covers the bond between the topper and the candle cup so you want something thick. You could also add bows or ribbon. The sky is the limit.

Last but not least, carry your new tassel into the bathroom and blow it with the hairdryer. This eliminates all those pesky hot glue strings. Now its time to find a home for your new beauty. Hang them on doorknobs, lamps, furniture, or even ceiling fans.

And just in case you need a little more inspiration to get you tasseling, here are a few favorites that I have made recently.

There you have it. The Ultimate Tassel Tutorial. I hope I was clear enough on my instructions, and if you make some tassels stop by my blog and let me know. I'd love to visit you and see them all!

Come to the Party...

2009-11-06T06:47:00.002-05:00

I'm doing a guest post at Edie's today, so come visit The 12 Days of Handmade Christmas Party! I'm posting about tassels, wish me luck!
Hope to see you there!

Flower Posie Pins...

2009-11-05T07:16:00.000-05:00

I have been making little flower pins lately and have gotten lots of compliments on them. They are quick, easy, and cheap (3 of my favorite things) so I thought I would share them with you.

Originally, I tried to use this tutorial from WiseCraft and make them like to look like this:
(This little beauty is for sell in Etsy for $3 if you want to buy it go here by a crafty mom of 3.)

But after making a few, I got lazy, and so I ended up doing my own thing. It is much easier, so here it is. I got several spools of rbbon, fabric scraps, a pin, and some buttons. I use the ribbon spools as guides for all the different cirlces I cut.
Just trace your different circles on various fabrics and cut them out. I make mine with 5 to 8 layers of different fabrics.

Next you stack them up. Largest on the bottom, and smallest on the top. I like to make mine a little off center. I like the "imperfect" look. Then I put them in my sewing machine, and stitch very slowly. I call this a freestyle stitch because I just keep turning the flower around. There is no real method.
Now you can sew or glue your button center on. In this one I used a yo-yo, so I attached it after I got done with the sewing machine.
Finally, sew your pin on the back, and glue a piece of fleece or felt over it for extra security. I have made a dozen or so of these and given most of them to friends. I have a few that I wear. I wore one at Halloween, and I keep one on my denim jacket. These would be cute attached to headbands, purses, pillows, just about anything. Give them a try, and let me know when you do. I'd love to see what you come up with!

Quick and Easy Window Project...

2009-11-04T07:56:00.006-05:00

My friend Amy and I completed this little window project in no time flat, so I thought I would share it with you. We got a glass window from Habitat for Humanity Restore.

It was a little beat up on the outside, so I covered it with paper and sanded it down good. I then spray painted it black.

If you wonder why it seems to take me forever to complete projects, here is your answer. I have 2 eager helpers always on the ready.
They love to use this spray gun handle on the spray paint. If you do much spray painting and don't have one of these, you need one. It will change your life. Just sayin'. It costs $2 at Wal-Mart.

Anyway, I then roughed it up a little more, and rubbed a dark chocolate stain over the edges.

Amy and I cut out some vinyl letters on my Cricut, and we were done.

Here it is hanging in my dining room. I just love how it turned out.

I have lots of projects about halfway done. I'll be posting some more as I finish them. Be back soon!

Seeking Disney Veterans and Bedtime Routines...

2009-11-02T20:33:00.006-05:00

For years now, 4 to be exact, my in-laws have said they wanted to take Walker to Disney World for his 5th birthday. That will be July of 2010. Somehow planning the trip falls to me, but that is sure better than paying for it! Anywho, they really want to do it right and make a week of it (stay at one of the resorts, etc. ). I know nothing about Disney World. With a little research I have come to find that the sky is the limit as far as options are concerned. You can spend a lot or a little and there is SO MUCH TO DO. It is a little overwhelming for a Disney virgin like myself, so I am hoping for help from some of you seasoned Disney veterans.

For those of you who have been there, any advice about where to stay and what is not to be missed? The boys will be 5 and 3 when we go. Like I said, we are gonna make a week of it so we should have plenty of time. Walker LOVES animals and I know Sea World will be on the agenda, but other than that we are wide open. Any advice would be much appreciated so we can make this trip as wonderful as Walker expects it to be.

On another note, I just put Connor to bed, and I have decided that at 2 years old he has mastered the stalling technique. Every night his list of "must haves" before bed gets longer and longer. Typicallye he takes a flashlight, books, and a teddy bear. Tonight's list included: a flashlight, hard hat, books, pliers, screwdriver, monster trucks, safety goggles, and his Bob the Builder blanket.

I used to fight him on taking all this stuff to bed but decided all the tears right before bed were not worth it. I now let him take all the stuff, but tell him I will be back to check on him and if he is not asleep in a few minutes I will take it all away. He is typically asleep within the first 10 mins. so I don't have to follow through. Tonight when I checked on him this is what I found.

He has his flashlight propped up on his lap and he is hard at work on his monster truck.

I asked him what he was doing and he said, "fixing my truck Mom."

At least he is safe and wears goggles while working on machines.

Oh the joys of motherhood.

Best of the Week...

2009-11-01T19:08:00.004-05:00

It has been a really busy week full of field trips, parties, and candy. Here are the highlights.

Sunday was Trunk or Treat at our church. Walker doesn't dress up. He hates costumes, so he sported his Halloween t-shirt. Con was Thomas the Train.

Walker's trip to the pumpkin patch was Monday, and Walker rode on a school bus for the first time. Oh the joys of childhood. I don't remember it being quite so bumpy. Walker was thrilled to be out of a booster seat. He rode a horse and picked a pumpkin, but he loved the mop races.

Walker's Halloween party was on Wednesday, and I made lots of goodies for his class. The witch's hands were a big hit!

Friday was Connor's class party and Trunk or Treat. He loves his teacher and all of his little friends he is making, but he has ANOTHER ear infection right now, so he wasn't in the best mood.

Friday night we went to the fair. Connor rode lots of things this year, but Walker was only interested in riding animals. Somehow I got roped into riding the camel with Walker. Oh the things we do for our kids. That poor camel earned his money that night!

Saturday my parents came to town, and Lonnie and Walker carved some pumpkins. Since Walker and Connor are the only grands on both sides, we had a lot of grandparents here to watch them trick or treat. We rode the golf cart around the neighborhood and they got gobs of candy. (Mom took all of the pictures on Halloween, so I will have to see about getting some for your viewing pleasure.)

I also can't do Best of the Week without mentioning a gift my boys got in the mail. We were totally surprised on Thursday when the mail man had a package for Walker and Connor. Imagine my surprise when it was from a fellow blogger!! Staci at Park Avenue and I have become fast friends via our blogs. (We even plan to attend Blissdom together this year!) She was so sweet to send the boys this little treat. They loved it all, but the bubble wrap paper was a HUGE hit. Thanks again Staci! Well that about wraps up my week. I hope you had a wonderful Halloween weekend. I am gonna go brew some coffee and start on a new book. A little down time will be a welcome change!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T09:00:00.000-04:00

We have a busy day planned, and an even busier night, but I wanted to stop in and tell everyone I hope you have a wonderful, fun, and safe Halloween.

Happy Halloween from my little goblins to yours!

P.S. I'll be back with some fun pics and from the weekend and a couple other neat projects in the beginning of the week.

Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 39

2009-10-30T14:08:00.003-04:00

It is Weight Watchers Wednesday(actually Friday oops!), Week 39 and this week I lost .5 lbs. for a running total of 38 lbs.
Just like last week I am participating in The Domestic Princess In Training's Linky Party to keep myself accountable. Here are her questions and my answers.
1. How did your week go?

I am thankful for my loss, but I must admit I did not make the changes I had planned on making this week. I have still not switched to the Core Plan. I did not journal everything as I was supposed to, but I did make enough good choices that I squeezed in a loss, so I feel good about that.

2. Were you faced with any challenges? If so what were they?

I have been insanely busy this week with the boys, church, Halloween festivities, and other obligations, but NO EXCUSES. I did not follow through with what I said I was gonna do and I have to hold myself accountable. I started on my journal and will have it done by next Weight Watchers Wednesday. That is the goal for this week.

3. How do you plan to work on conquering these challenges in the upcoming weeks? If you were a rock star and went through the week without any concerns you can talk about that here as well.
This upcoming week I am going to take the time to make a better grocery list so that I can stick to the Core Plan and I am gonna finish my Weight Watchers Notebook.

4.What were a few things you did this week to get you moving in the right direction? (If you took a picture/pictures of you doing any of these activities you can include them here.)
I still exercised and I stayed busy.

I am gonna be heading to the Charleston County Fair tonight, so send up a little prayer that I can steer clear of the Fried Snickers bars that always call my name at the fair! Also being that it's Halloween, I have to be extra mindful.

Instead of a recipe this week, I am gonna share a Halloween Candy Points List that I found online. Here is the link to an awesome Weight Watchers Blog and her post about Halloween Candy.

I hope all my Weight Watchers Buddies had a great week and I look forward to hearing from you!

Be There or Be Square!

2009-10-27T21:11:00.003-04:00

Edie at Life in Grace is hosting a fantastic party to get us all inspired and motivated to make Christmas more homemade this year, and if you know Edie you know just how fun and fantastic everything she does is. It starts November 1st and is an event that is not to be missed. Spread the word to all your peeps! I hear she is gonna have some super cool bloggers doing different tutorials everyday (hint hint!) Head over there and get yourself this cute button and spread the word!

Halloween Goodies...

2009-10-24T20:41:00.005-04:00

I did not realize how busy the holidays become when you have kids in school. My boys are only in pre-school, but they each have field trips, parties, and 2 Trunk or Treats to attend. I have been working on some Halloween goodies in an effort to get ahead of the game.

As always, I am trying to be very economical (a.k.a. CHEAP), expecially since we also get hundreds of trick or treaters through our neighborhood. Here are some of the things I am making this week, or have already made in preparation that are cost effective, but still have the cute factor.

For the kids in my Sunday School class, I made these super simple ghosts. I'm sure you have seen these before, but if not they are a Super BlowPop covered in white tissue paper and I added googley eyes and a mouth. This project for cost me $3 for 12 ghosts. I got all my supplies at the Dollar Tree. Love THEM!

For Connor's class I am making these Bat covered Hershey's bars. I got this idea from my friend Amy who saw it online. I found a tutorial for them at Skip To My Lou, and if you follow this link you can find the tutorial as well as the printable pdf.

(picture courtesy of Skip to My Lou)

For Walker's class I am making popcorn hands because he wanted to do something he could help with. This is a simple and really cute craft. You have to make sure you get food prep gloves though because some gloves contain latex and lots of people are allergic to that. All you do is pop your popcorn and let it cool. Place one piece of candycorn in each finger for fingernails. Fill the bag with popcorn and then tie them off with a rubberband and some ribbon. I am gonna add a spider ring to mine, but that is optional. If you don't want to make them yourself, you can buy them on ETSY from this seller.
So now you know a little bit of what I have been up to. I had a hot date with Lonnie last night that included 4 haunted houses. I HATE haunted houses. He LOVES haunted houses. Oh the things we do for love. Anyway, that finally got me motivated to get ready for Halloween. What are you making for Halloween Parties? I'd love to know what has worked well for you, especially for young children. Any suggestions?

Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 38...

2009-10-21T19:46:00.003-04:00

It is Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 38 and this week I lost 0 lbs. for a running total of 37.5 lbs. I am ecstatic about this!! Why you ask, because after eating carni food all weekend at the Court Days festival I attended I was dreading a gain this week. I guess the fact that we walked all day every day cancelled out all that crazy food. Can I get a hallelujah?!

I am doing something a little different in this week's WW post, as well as in the next few weeks to come. I have recently made a fabulous new blog friend (the Domestic Princess in Training), and she is hosting a weekly weightloss challenge from now until November 12. I have been needing something to get me more motivated lately, and I think this is just the ticket. In a nutshell, she has a few questions she posts on Mondays and we answer the questions, list our goals, and follow up with the others who have linked up for the week. It is a great idea for some accountability and I am in desperate need of that this week. SO, here is the list of questions and my answers:

1. What is the goal are you trying to reach by November 12th?

My goal is twofold. First I want to accurately journal every.single.morsel of food I put in my mouth. Secondly, I am switching over to the Core Plan instead of the Flex Plan. I was supposed to do that last week, but being that I traveled more than I was home it just didn't happen. I am focusing mainly on my food because I have found a good rhythm regarding exercise but my food choices are still a struggle and I have to be better about journaling. One other benefit to keeping a food journal is that I can keep track of different things I eat and swith them up so I don't get as bored.

2. What are you going to do to support yourself in reaching your goal?

I have made some new food journal sheets in Excel and I am printing a stack of them off tonight and decorating a cutie-patootie notebook with the thought that I will be more likely to use it if it is cute. That is just how I am. I make no apologies.

I am also going tomorrow to find a small notebook to put in my purse that I can have when I am out and eat something so that I won't forget to journal stuff.

3. This one is optional but if you like include a picture/pictures of the things that you are going to use to get you moving in the right direction.

If you do Weight Watchers and want a free food journal you can print out, here is a link to a good one.

I found this adorable binder on Etsy, and I will probably do something very similar.

If you want to buy this little beauty, here is the link. I don't know this seller personally, but they have some awesome notebooks. I will post pictures of my notebook either when I finish it or next week on WW Wednesday.

Last but not least, if this accountability thing sounds like something that interests you, here is a link to the Domestic Princess In Training. She is awesome and so sweet to host this for the next few weeks. I hope all my WW buddies had a great week and I can't wait to hear from you!

I'm Still Here...

2009-10-20T20:01:00.005-04:00

I'm still here, a little tired, but here. I meant to post last week about my upcoming trip, but in the chaos of trying to get myself and the boys ready, I got sidetracked. I am now back from my girls weekend and just thought I would share a few of the highlights from my trip to KY.

I left on Friday to go stay with one of my besties,a roommate from college that lives outside Lexington KY. She has been telling me for years about a festival called Court Days that her little town hosts, so this year we planned well in advance and my parents agreed to keep my boys so I could go see what all the fuss was about.

I drove to TN on Friday with the boys, and then rode from TN to KY with my girlfriends' Mom, Grandma, and a family friend. Can I just tell you that these women are a hoot!! I don't know when I have laughed so much. We stayed up late, rose early, and shopped 'til we dropped all weekend. I found several goodies, but had to leave part of them in KY because the car was so packed coming home.

Here is Robin digging through a bunch of scarves. We loved this booth. It had real cashmere scarves and a huge variety of Pashminas for $8/each or 3 for $20.Here we are on a hayride. Staci lives pretty close to downtown where the festival took place, so the little man doing the hayride agreed to take us back to Staci's house for $1/person. He got a little lost and we were frozen solid by the time we got there, but it was still worth a buck considering we were completely loaded down with stuff.
Here is a picture of one section of the festival. It does not even begin to do it justice. There.were.people.EVERYWHERE. They had booths selling everything from high dollar antiques to a set of tata's that sang "Titties and Beer" and flashed you.
Here we are in front of one of the booths that had gorgeous silver jewelry. Baby Claire and Carson even came down to the festival Sunday.
I loved this snowman. It was just a piece of bark cut off of a tree and painted, but at about 8 feet tall I think it would be beautiful outdoors at Christmas.

And this is a picture of me learning how to make Peanut Butter Chocolate Bon-Bons.

When I don't have a loss for my Weight Watcher's Weigh in tomorrow I won't be surprised. No one prepared me for the amount of "fair food" we would be exposed to this weekend. Wow. I shared a fried Snickers, fried Twinkie, and even a Fried Oreo. Those things are good enough alone, deep fry them and they are UNBELIEVABLE. I will do a tutorial on these bon bons later this week because the were also incredible.

I missed out on the DIY Tuesday this week, but I have lots of projects going on and will be back with some of them later on in the week. I hope you had a wonderful weekend and I look forward to catching up!

Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 37

2009-10-14T18:23:00.003-04:00

It is Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 37 and this week I lost .5 lbs. for a running total of 36.5 lbs. I am off of my goal for the week by 1/2 lb. so I am gonna have to really be good this weekend travelling and stay on track. I can do it!

For those of you that do not follow Weight Watchers, they have 2 types of plans. The Core Plan and Flex Plan. The Core is based on eating healthy foods until you are full, and you don't have to count points as long as you only eat the foods you are allowed. On the Flex plan you eat a daily allowance of points that are determined by a food's fat, fiber, and calorie content. I have been intending to switch to the Core plan for a while now. The only time I get my veggies in is when I am on the Core plan not the Flex plan. I am weak. I use my Flex points on junk food no matter how I look at it. I only eat my points, but they are not spent on veggies or lean protein. I would much rather have a Snickers bar for 7 points than a healthier alternative. I obviously lose better when eating healthy foods, so this week is gonna be the switch I've been putting off.

On the exercise front, it's been raining here. I have been a real slacker this week. I had a great work out Sunday and then skipped Monday. I worked like a crazy woman pulling weeds and raking Tuesday, but didn't get diddley exercise in today. I am exercising tomorrow and Friday to get my time in.

For a recipe this week, I am sharing more of a tip than a recipe. As I have told you many times before, I am a coffee-aholic. I LOVE it. I could drink it all day everyday. I am also a pumpkin fanantic. I look so forward to this time of year because Starbuck's has their Pumpkin Spice Latte. I would hate to know how many points one of those is. Hence I came up with my own version. I brew Pumpkin Spice coffee, add Splenda, Sugarfree Vanilla creamer, and I top it with Fat Free Cool Whip. Can I just tell you it is delicious and definitely worth 2 points!

I hope all my WW buddies had a great week and I look forward to hearing your progress. By the way, if you are on WW, do you do Flex or Core?

And the Winner is...

2009-10-14T09:46:00.002-04:00

The random number generators:

Connor in his black Converse kicks that Nonnie loves. Connor loves them too and HAD to wear them to school this morning. And Walker still in his Walgreens shirt he wore to bed. I think it is so fitting that he has on this t-shirt. We seem to be keeping Walgreens in business these days trying to get rid of Walker's Bronchitis, or coughalitis as he calls it. He is a walking billboard.

They chose Heather L as the winner of the giveaway. I think this is hilarious because she said her lucky number was 13, just like mine, and she was the 13th entry. Wow. I laughed out loud when Connor pulled her from the basket this morning. Congrats Heather! Just e-mail me with your color preferences and shipping info. I'll get busy and get your goodies out ASAP.

Thanks to everyone else for putting up with me this past year and making it such a wonderful year for me. I love each and every one of you!

Easy Lampshade Makeover...

2009-10-13T06:52:00.007-04:00

As any good blogger will tell you, you ALWAYS take before pictures. Well I forgot to, so you are gonna have to trust me that this sassy little thing was originally a $3 lamp with no shade from a yardsale and that it was the ugliest thing on the East Coast. Think dirty brown wood and brass. BUT, if you do A LOT of sanding, paint it red, and make it a cute shade you end up with a fantastic lamp!

I took a lampshade my Mom gave me years ago. It was just a simple white shade from Bed Bath and Beyond. I added fringe to the top, and ribbon to the bottom.

After a closer look, I decided to cover the cord with red fabric because it needed "something else". (Excuse the fact it is sitting on my kitchen counter. I still have not found just the right place to put this cutie patootie.)

A couple hours and $3 later you have an adorable lamp that is truly unique. This could be so cute in a lot of different spaces. Think primary colors for a little boy's room, or even pink for a little girl's.
I am linking up to ASPTL's DIY Tuesday

and Reinvented's Trash to Treasure Tuesday. Hope you have a wonderful week and thanks for visiting!

Walker's Cowboy Room...

2009-10-11T19:00:00.001-04:00

I got an e-mail last week asking about Walker's bedroom. It occurred to me that I had never posted about it, so here you go Heidi!

As with most other rooms in this house, Walker's room was floor to ceiling wallpaper.

Gorgeous right? I had a hard time deciding whether or not to take this fantastic paper down, and pigs fly!! Lonnie's grandma and I worked for days to scrape that ugly wallpaper down inch.by.inch. Just getting it painted was a HUGE improvement. We used Benjamin Moore's Quincy Tan. A great color I used throughout other rooms in the house.

I had done Walker's nursery in a vintage cowboy pattern, so transitioning it into a "big boy" room was super easy. We moved the crib and baby furniture into Connor's room and replaced Walker's with Attic Heirlooms by Broyhill. The bunkbeds are by another company but were the only ones I could find that matched the Attic Heirlooms but had storage drawers underneath. When we bought this furniture we were in our other house. Moving it here was a little tricky. I then tried arranging it several ways, but ultimately, this was the only way everything would fit.

This is looking in the door from the hall. He still has a bedrail, but he rarely sleeps in this bed. I could probably get rid of it. The bedding is from Target. It is a cowboy print quilt.

To the left. Valances are from Lowe's.
His closet and toy chest sit on the same wall as the door. I chose to leave the doors off the closet so that we would have a place for the train table. It was the perfect size and the boys love to play there. It also forces me to keep his closet tidy.

Here are some of the picture arrangements in the room.
This boot is from TJ MAXX and it happened to have Walker's name on it. It is probably one of my favorite things in the room.

This is a little shelf I got from Micheal's and painted red. Those are some old cowboy boots Walker wore for Halloween and the picture is one of my favorites of Lon and Walker goofing around in Walker's child-size cowboy hats. I simply added scrapbook letters that said Cowboy to the mat on the inside of the frame.

I made these little stars for his nursery 5 years ago and they have just sort of stuck around, but I still like them in his room.

These prints were all bought online via e-bay, and then I got frames from Hobby Lobby and framed them myself. The bottom left is a pic of the boys at Dixie Stampede.

Walker's bedside table was from a clearance sale at a furniture store a few years ago. It was less than $50 and is a really nice piece. The basket on top holds his library books so they don't get misplaced and it was from Habitat for Humanity for $1.

There you have it. I hope I answered all of your questions Heidi and if I missed something just let me know.

Happy Blogiversary, and a Giveaway...

2009-10-08T08:12:00.009-04:00

I. am. shocked. It has been one year since I began this journey called a blog. I have written 241 posts. I never thought I would have that much to write about, but evidently I do. I just looked back at my very first post, and I laughed so hard. So much has changed over this past year. I have really gotten "settled" in our home. I have lost 36 lbs. The boys have grown and changed. I even got a blog button. But most of all, I have made so many wonderful friends!! I am so thankful for the friendships that I have made through the blog, and all of the wonderful new things all of you have taught me through your own blogs. So, I'm gonna have a giveaway!

I have pondered all week about what I was gonna do, and finally decided that since I am such a sentimental person, I am gonna make the winner a gift or two. It is not huge, but it is gonna be handmade by me and will be made to suit the winner's tastes. I will make the winner a tassel and pillow according to their personal home decor colors.

Now don't fret. My tasseling abilities have gotten much improved from my first two tries. I still can't believe I even posted those pitiful looking things, but they were a work in progress and I can look at them now and see how far I have come. Here are a few of my more recent beauties and I posted about my pillow last week, but here are a few of them as well.

Now, the rules are simple. Just leave me a comment and you will be entered. I am gonna take names until midnight, Tuesday October 13. It seems like an odd time, but since 13 is my lucky number it works. Good luck and thanks for a wonderful year!

Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 36

2009-10-07T20:44:00.003-04:00

It is Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 36 and this week I am at a big fat 0 lbs. lost and 0 lbs. gained, for a running total of 36 lbs. lost. Okay, if I am gonna reach my goal of 52 lbs. this year I am gonna HAVE TO lose atleast one pound every week the rest of the year. This makes me a little nervous since all the really good eat everything in sight because it all tastes so delicious and you only get this great food once a year holidays are coming up. I guess I am gonna just have to try to stick to my meal planning really closely and only splurge on holidays.

I have still been exercising. I have not been quite as disciplined about it this week, but I did get in 3 workouts. I am gonna change up the walking to aerobics for a day or two and see if a little variety makes me more motivated.

For this week's recipe I am gonna post an Apple Crisp recipe from one of my favorite sites. It is a blog I follow called Gina's Weight Watchers Recipes and Gina is a wonderful cook. I have tried several of her recipes and they are always super! I am gonna try this one later on this week because it is fall and I always want apples in the fall.

Cinnamon Apple Crisp
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 8 • Serving Size: 7/8 cup • Calories: 222 • Points: 4.5 ptsFilling:
5 medium apples, peeled and diced
1.5 oz raisins (small box)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 lemon, juiced
3 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup agave nectarTopping:
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar (not packed)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup (half stick) butter, melted
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine apples, raisins, cinnamon, agave nectar and lemon juice in large bowl. Sprinkle with cornstarch. Toss until fruit is coated. Place fruit in an ungreased baking dish.Mix remaining ingredients. Sprinkle over fruit. Bake about 40 minutes or until topping is goldenbrown and fruit is tender.Serve with a scoop of low fat ice cream or fat free frozen yogurt.

I hope all my Weight Watchers Buddies had a great week and I will be back next week with a loss, or I'll die trying!

Toile Chair Tutorial...

2009-10-06T07:29:00.005-04:00

If you visit this blog very often, then you know I am not the best at tutorials. I typically direct you to someone else's tutorial since I usually forget to take enough pictures. Well that is probably the case here again, but this is a really simple chair makeover so I am gonna give it another try. Let's get started!

First up, you find an old chair at the dump. You let everyone there look at you like you have lost your ever loving mind because you are putting more trash back into your car than you just took out. Here is the little beauty I came home with:

Next I took off the seat. I just unscrewed it from the bottom. I then washed the whole thing down really well with some soapy water. While the chair is drying, I start prying off the fabric from the cushion.

Now this seat had no real padding so I added a seat cushion to it. I bought a pack of 4 of them at Wal-Mart forever ago, but they were not more than $10. I just cut it to size and then glue it down with spray adhesive. (Sorry here is where I was so involved I forgot to take pics!)

Next I went back to the chair and sanded any chips in the paint. I then spray painted it black with black spray paint. I do this more as a primer. I then brushed some black paint I already had over the whole thing. Let that dry and then spray paint again to make it look smooth and get any spots you missed. I then sealed it with a clear acrylic spray.

Back to the cushion. I stretched and stapled my toile fabric over the cushion and stapled it to the bottom. I then added my ruffle. I just measured all the way around the outside of the seat and doubled it. I wanted my ruffle to be 6 inches high so I cut and hemmed a strip of fabric 6 inches by the diameter doubled. (Are you starting to see why I don't do tutorials?) I then stapled the ruffle into place.

Finally you reattach the seat... and sit on the chair hoping it doesn't fall over. Mine didn't so I was good to go!

I actually got 2 of these chairs at the dump over the summer. The other one is my chair in the craft room. This is how it turned out and a link to that post if you want the details.

I am sharing this at ASPTL for DIY Tuesday

and at Reinnvented for Trash to Treasure Tuesday.

Hope you have a great week and thanks for stopping by!

The Halloween Box...

2009-10-05T20:17:00.004-04:00

I am one of those very fortunate people who has a huge, loving, and incredible extended family. One member of that extended family is my Aunt Ginny. Aunt Ginny is a kindergarden teacher and lives in West Virginia. Being that I am in South Carolina, I don't get to see her very often. My two boys are her only great-nephews, and when Walker was born she started a tradition with him. She has since carried on the tradition with both boys every single year. Being that they get so much on their birthdays and Christmas, Aunt Ginny decided to start sending them a Halloween Box of goodies every year. Let me just tell you, she really goes all out for this box. Now that the boys are getting a little older they really look forward to it too. This year's box came last week, and it was packed full of Halloween fun.

They each got their own bag of candy and suckers.

There were Halloween books, decorations, a Halloween stuffed bear, and even a DVD about a pumpkin.

There were also these incredible new Crayola Slick Stix. Leave it to a kindergarden teacher to buy the best crayons ever made. Seriously. If you have kids you must buy them some of these. They color more like markers than crayons, but are not messy and wipe right off. (This is good to know if you have a child like Connor who tries to color your kitchen tile floor blue.)

She even sends me a few goodies, like a Halloween craft and recipe book and this fantastic tablecloth. I am gonna have to have a Halloween party just to use my tablecloth!

So thanks Aunt Ginny for the thoughtful box of goodies, but thank you even more for being such a special Aunt to me and to the boys. You hold a place in my heart that time or distance will never change, and those Slick Stix really are incredible!

An Award...

2009-10-05T20:12:00.003-04:00

I got an award from my gal pal Kelly a little while back, and I have been so crazy busy lately that I failed to post it. This award means a lot to me because it is the Kreativ Juice Award and heaven knows I sure try to keep those creative juices flowing!

Thanks so much to Kelly for thinking of me as a creative blogger, but more than that as a friend. I appreciate this so much!

Deals and Steals...

2009-10-05T07:42:00.004-04:00

I am gonna post the rest of my deals and steals that I found recently, even though I have not done anything with some of them yet. They are just to exciting not to share.

First up is this fantastic basket of sticks. I found it for $4 and just had to have it. I put it on my dining room table and added some moss covered rocks to the bottom of it for interest. Not a bad looking centerpiece for $4. (And because I know you are going to ask, the rocks are from TJ MAXX from several months ago. I think they were $5.)
Here it is straight from the yardsale:

Minus the raffia and add some rocks:
Total love! It goes so well with my indoor/outdoor rug that is under the table.

Next up, is this great old suitcase. It was marked $3 and I LOVED it. The inside is in great shape, and it still has the address stickers on the outside. Just out of curiosity I googled the name "A. Herenroth" and found an author to a book titled "Russians say it this way ... Ninety-nine Russian idiomatic expressions and their American equivalents" from 1945. Wouldn't it be so cool if this was his suitcase?

I also found a wonderful old antique wire basket for $3 and these jars for .25 cents each.

I hope you also had great luck at the yardsales and can't wait to see all those treasures!

Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 35

2009-09-30T20:29:00.004-04:00

It is Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 35 and this week I lost 1 lb. for a running total of 36 lbs. Hooray! I keep chugging along and still hope to reach my goal of atleast 52 lbs. by the end of the year which is 1 lb. per week.

I did good on my eating except for on the weekend. Mom and Dad were here and I always have to make her cook a little. French Toast before church Sunday morning was definitely not a weith watchers recipe!

I squeezed in a good amount of exercise last week, but I have not done so well in the past few days. I am gonna have to get back in gear tomorrow. I already have Daisy's leash ready for in the morning!

As for this week's recipe, I am gonna share the "Big Shake". I found this on a Weight Watchers discussion board a while back, and it is great. You can make it and sip on it for a long time. That little trick makes me feel full much longer. This recipe is very versatile, but calls for DaVinci syrup. If you have never tried this stuff, you have not lived! It is available at Wal-Mart in the coffee aisle, and Target carries it too. You can find a larger selection online, and it is a little pricey but worth every cent. I only have Sugar-free Vanilla, but am gonna try German Chocolate Cake next.

3 Point "Big Shake"

1 cup FF milk

2 Tbsp. FF SF Jello Pudding Mix (any flavor as long as it's FF and SF)

10-12 ice cubes

1 tsp. DaVinci Sugar-free Syrup or vanilla extract

3 Tbsp. water (I only do this if the shake is getting too thick for me!!)

Put in blender for at least 2 minutes to chop ice up. Poor into BIG glass and enjoy! It makes somewhere around 3 cups for 3 points. Another variation was to use Cheesecake flavored pudding and I put in 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries. It tastes like a big muffin for 3 points.

I hope all my Weight Watchers buddies had a great week, and I look forward to hearing your progress!

Sassy Pillows...

2009-09-29T22:55:00.000-04:00

It is DIY Day at ASPTL and I have missed a couple of weeks, but I am finally gonna get my groove back! I have been in the mood to sew lately, and have jumped on the "ruffle" bandwagon that is going around the blogosphere. Here are a few pillows I whipped up last week:

I think the ruffles make them so stinkin' cute. I especially love the way the Cowboy one turned out. Here it is sitting in Walker's chair in his western room. That quilt behind it was made by my great grandmother. Ok, I'm a LITTLE sentimental. Here is a blue and brown color scheme. I just love this paisley print.
I backed it entirely in the paisley.
And of course a pillow to go in the chair I am working on.

It is also backed in the print material.

Don't you just love a project that is quick and easy? I do. I guess that's why I love to make pillows!

Busy Bee...

2009-09-27T20:11:00.004-04:00

I'm still here. I know, it's been a while! Last week when I posted Weight Watchers Wednesday on Saturday I felt terrible for being so behind. Well, this week is over and I have not posted since Tuesday. I will do better. I promise! So, just in case you are curious about what we have been so busy doing, here is a quick update.

Weight Watchers Wednesday... I lost .5 lb. for a running total of 35.2 lbs. Very happy with the progress and at this rate I should be able to hit 52 lbs. by the end of the year (1 lb. a week).

Lonnie got inducted into his high school's Football Hall of Fame on Friday night, and we had company for the weekend. Here are a couple pics from Friday.

Here we are below his plaque.

I was just as proud as a peacock of my hubby. He is a very humble person, but this honor is saved for a select few and he was so honored they chose him.

I went Saturday morning to a huge community yard sale in Bluffton (right outside Hilton Head) with my mother in law and a couple friends. We had a great time and scored some great deals. I'll share those on Tuesday!

I somehow managed to talk Lonnie into helping me with one of my projects this afternoon. While Connor LOVES tools and helping Mom with her projects...
He looks like such a little monkey with his goggles on pushing down his ears!
Lon is not such a fan. He was a good sport about it though, and we managed to get started on my old door transformation. We are trying to turn it into a corner shelf, but when we started cutting it it started falling apart. I guess there is a reason it was free. We are making some progress and I am not one to give up, so I will post about it later this week when I finish it.

I hope you have had a wonderful week and I hope to be catching up with all my blogging soon, so much to share with you!

Deals and Steals...

2009-09-22T06:53:00.006-04:00

I have been doing a lot of junking in the past few months, and scored lots of odds and ends but always hesitate to post my finds until I have actually done something with them. (I'm just weird like that.) I'll show you a couple of things this week, and the rest next week. I started off with all of this stuff, for $4.

I spray painted the vase white, and another candleholder I had white, and put those funny globes on top of them. For now they are holding seashells that we got at the beach this year, but they will probably hold candles eventually.

I love them on my beach picture wall in the craft room/office.

The only thing I paid more than .50 for was this basket, and it was $1. It's new home is on Walker's bedside table. It holds all of the library books we have checked out so that they don't get mixed up with the boys' other books.
Originally I was gonna paint it, but decided I liked the chippy red finish and it goes great with Walker's cowboy themed room.

So there you have it, my deals and steals for the week. I am gonna share these over at Reinvented for Trash To Treasure Tuesday and Poppies at Play for Creative Cats. Stop by over there if you have a chance. I am always amazed by other bloggers' creativity!

Progress...

2009-09-21T10:02:00.000-04:00

I have been working steadily on several projects lately, and I thought I would share my progress on a few of them.

I went back to the Thrift store the day after I finished Connor's chair (here is the link if you missed it) and got Walker one for $3, but I just got it painted last week. Here it is:

I also had a baby shower this weekend, so I made a few goodies for that. A burpcloth, onesie, and little giraffe toy.

In all this crafty goodness, Connor asked me to make him an owl. I don't know why, but together this is what we came up with:

And I have been spray painting up a storm, but none of those projects are complete yet. Just when I think I am making some headway I look in the garage and see the other 20 things I still have to work on, but who am I kidding? I love my little projects!

Dollar Tree Topiaries...

2009-09-20T22:00:00.000-04:00

I finally got around to using some of my Dollar Tree stuff that I bought months ago for a topiary. I had such a good time making this little beauty that I decided I needed to make a couple more, but when I went back my store no longer had the foam balls. If yours does I suggest you run over there and snatch them up because they are a heck of a deal at $1. Even when Hobby Lobby marks them half off they aren't this cheap. ANYWAY, back to the task at hand.

Here are the supplies you will need. All of which I got at the Dollar Tree (except my glue gun).

2 Foam balls

Spanish or Green Moss

Small Pot

Floral Foam

Dowel rod

Hot glue

Quite simply, line up your balls, slide them on your painted dowel rod, and slowly cover the foam balls with glue and moss a small section at a time. When they are all covered, insert the dowel rod into the foam form and then glue it in place and add moss to the top of the pot. I added some embellishments I had on hand like ribbon and a bird's nest, but this literally cost me $5 and it is so stinkin' cute.

I am gonna try to make some Christmas topiaries this year, but this is all I had on hand. I wanted to give you all the heads up on this deal in case you find them in your stores. Happy bargain hunting!

Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 33

2009-09-19T07:16:00.004-04:00

It is Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 33 (actually Saturday, oops!) and this week I had a loss of .3 lbs. That brings my total loss to 34.8 lbs. I have resorted to counting decimals, but it was a loss so I thought I would share it.

It has been a very stressful week, and Walker has been wanting to do some baking. For the first weekend in a long time we are not going to the river, so we decided to tackle a Chocolate Peanutbutter Cake that I have had on the brain. I've been wanting to try it since Aunt Wendi told us about it, but have been good. I finally cracked! Walker helped me with it and can I just tell you it is to.die.for! I will spare you the recipe since this is Weight Watchers Wednesday, not "blow your diet Wednesday", but if you want the recipe let me know and I'll post it later. I had one small piece and it hit the spot, so now I will be trying to push it off on family and friends to get it out of the house fast.

My exercise buddy and I have been on opposite schedules a lot lately, so I have resorted to exercising with a new partner, Walker. He is not quite as coordinated as Mary, but he makes me laugh through the whole work out, and that makes it go by pretty quickly.

Walker has been such a little trooper at school, so I wanted to do something special for him. He decided he wanted me to watch a movie with him, so we decided together to make it a "Campout" in the family room and pitch a tent made out of sheets. We had all the lights out and played with flashlights. I watched his little movie beginning to end, with out doing laundry or loading the dishwasher, etc. and it was such a relaxing evening. I have got to learn to be more present and that so much of what I stress over can wait. Baby steps people, baby steps.

For the recipe this week I am gonna tell you how I make one of our family favorites lighter. All 3 of my guys LOVE Sloppy Joes and french fries. Not the most diet friendly food, right? Well I have altered it and they have no idea and because it is still delish. I use whole wheat buns, ground turkey instead of hamburger, and then bake the french fries. I also buy the Sloppy Joe spice packet and tomato paste seperately insead of buying it pre-mixed because it is less calories that way. Your exact point total will vary according to the buns you choose and the quality of turkey, but I can make this meal for 8 pts. a person and it really tastes the same. That is cutting the calories and fat by almost half, and whether you are a person that watches your weight or not, that is a good change!

Productive Weekend...

2009-09-15T10:16:00.006-04:00

We had a very productive and relaxing weekend at the river. Productive and relaxing are not often used in the same sentence, but that is truly the way it was. When we are at the river relaxation is mandatory, I mean look at this view off our back porch.

That is Mama working in our little pool. We swim here more than in this river canal. We have seen a couple gators there lately.

We dabbled on Saturday, which leads me to the productive part. My father in law Jerry was refinishing a $10 flea market bench for my mother in law, so I brought a couple of my projects over to have him help me. Jerry is a carpenter, and I soaked up everything he was saying like a little sponge.

We broke out my new sander, a flea market find a couple of weeks ago. It is $70 at Lowe's, but I got it brand new for $20. SCORE!

My chair was a steal at $5. Jerry had some extra wood and put me a seat on there. He then taught me about wood putty and I got busy sanding.

The boards were from the farm, and I had Jerry cut them for me so I could have them to do something with later. I am not sure what yet, but Connor helped me sand them and then said "I'm gonna build you a big house Momma." Well if my little man wants to use that salvaged board to start on a house for his momma so be it. Look at that filthy face!

Here is how Sandy's bench and my chair looked when we finished Saturday.

I have since added some more paint and a skirt that I made for it out of some fabric my fabulous sister gave me. I am in love with this little chair!

How was your weekend?

Cow Poke Shower Curtain...

2009-09-12T10:00:00.000-04:00

I have been gradually working on several little projects here and there, and I am finally finishing a few of them. The boys' shower curtain is one of them.

Here is how this came together. I started out with a plain shower curtain from Wal-Mart. I then took some white fabric and had it embroidered with the boys' initials. I sewed the white fabric onto the shower curtain, and added some buttons and yo-yo's to make it a little more fun.

Finally, I added a ruffle at the bottom because it was shorter than I wanted. I picked out this adorable cowboy print at Hobby Lobby because it had red-head and blonde haired cowboys, and that reminded me of my 2 boys. Since it is in their bathroom, it seemed like a good choice.

I am happy with it and think it is so cute. It was relatively inexpensive. I probably have $20 and a couple hours of my time. The boutique shower curtains I looked at were $80 and up. What do you think of my take on it?

Recovered Ottoman, Take 3...

2009-09-11T09:00:00.000-04:00

I have this ottoman that I got at Target dirt cheap a couple of years ago. I made it over in May (if you missed that post, go here). Here is how it looked as a fake leather storage cube:

Then I did this:

Finally I did this:
But since I still wasn't crazy about it, Connor and I did this last week:

I got the newest fabric on the top in the remnant bin at Hobby Lobby for a couple dollars.

I like it so much better now. What do you think?

Crazy Chickens...

2009-09-10T09:39:00.000-04:00

Walker and his Nana have become obsessed over their chickens. While I must admit I love my never-ending supply of organic eggs, every time I turn around it is chicken this and chicken that. What started out as "a small chicken coop" at the riverhouse, has now grown into building an additional big new chicken coop at the farm. They have a book and have picked out all sorts of different chicken breeds they have.to.have. Their newest scheme has been to order eggs off the internet and put them under one of their hens so they can get the breeds they want but can't find around here. Who knew this was even possible? Hilarious I tell you, hilarious. Anyway, Nana and her hubby have been working non-stop on thier new coop at the farm. Now that it is finished, it was time to start getting some chickens for it.

This week's adventure was going to visit a little 80 year old man that Lon's Papa heard about who breeds chickens. He lives about 20 mins. away and we had not been to his place yet. It is always interesting going on the hunt for chickens. Typically they are not kept in the cleanest of environments. Well this time we were pleasantly surprised. "Duckman" as he is called was the sweetest thing. His biggest concern was whether we were Baptist or not. (Thank goodness that we are. We may not have gotten chickens otherwise! ) Here is Duckman giving Nana a rundown on what makes a good healthy chick.

We went there specifically to get Pearl Guineas,but were surprised to find he had lots of other things like swans, ducks, pigeons, and a ton of chickens. While it was fairly well kept, all those ducks smelled pretty bad, and Connor didn't hide his feelings about it.

Here is the dominant male swan that kept following us around. He was HUGE, and rather scary. Con-man was still recovering on the way home. Granted the new chickens were right behind him in a cage.

When we got back to the farm, Walker and Nana got the feed ready for the new guineas and chickens.
And then Walker's favorite part about having chickens, CHASING THEM! He catches one occasionally.

Here some small guineas are on the new perch Jerry made them.

We went for a ride on the Gator to check on the sheep and cows.

Connor thought he was gonna drive, but lucky for Mama he figured out otherwise.

The boys chased poor Bobby all over the place.

This is what Walker's dirty farm feet look like before they hit the tub.

And after a bath and supper with Nana and Jerry, this is my 2 sweet boys on the way home. I am so glad that Lon's family has a farm. I never appreciated the amount of work that it took to keep up a place like theirs. It is a constant job, and while I always considered myself a city gal, I have come to love the farm. I am so thankful the boys have a place they can run wild,learn about animals, and just enjoy nature, but you have never seen two dirtier boys than after a trip to the farm!

Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 32

2009-09-09T13:08:00.005-04:00

It is Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 32 and this week I lost 0 lbs. for a running total of 34.5 lbs. Why am I doing the happy dance over no loss you ask? Well if you saw how I ate on the trip to TN you would understand exactly why. My Mom's cooking is incredible, plus we ate out quite a bit. I just knew I was gonna have gained this week, but I WAS WRONG! I guess the exercising is still paying off!

While I didn't eat properly, I did still exercise. I crave the movement if I don't atleast walk. That's an amazing change for me! Squeezing it in has been more difficult now that the boys have started school. Connor goes from 8:45- 11:45, and Walker goes from 11:45-2:30, so I am trying to learn to juggle all these schedules. I'll get used to it, but thus far I feel like we haven't stopped.
I have intended on sharing a new picture for a while now, but just haven't taken one, well I finally got one yesterday with the boys before school.
When I was home this past weekend, I got to spend some time with one of my dearest childhood friends. She had been to a great blueberry patch right before I came over so I helped her bag some of her berries up for the freezer. She sent me home with 3 bags, LUCKY ME! Mom helped Walker make a homemade pie with one bag, and Mom kept one bag, so I have one bag left for smoothies. Here is one of my favorite blueberry smoothie recipes.

Blueberry Smoothie, 2 pts.
1 C frozen blueberries
1/4 C light vanilla yogurt
1/2 C skim milk
1 Tbsp ff/sf vanilla pudding powder
Ice as needed.

Blend, enjoy! At 2 points this is a great option for a treat or dessert. I hope all my WW buddies had a great week! I look forward to hearing from you!

School Days...

2009-09-09T12:57:00.002-04:00

Walker and Connor both started school yesterday. Walker started in the 4k preschool, and Connor started in a 2 year old pre-school offered by our church. This experience with them has just re-affirmed how different 2 kids can be. Connor loves it and walks in like he owns the place, Walker on the other hand has cried for hours on end about how he doesn't want to go. I have put a few pics in this smilebox if you are interested and want to see them.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It's the Simple Things...

2009-09-06T19:40:00.005-04:00

We have been in TN visiting with Nonnie and Pop ( my parents) since Wednesday night, and it has been so relaxing. We have done a lot of fun stuff, but it's always the simple things that the boys enjoy the most. Here they are visiting with my great grandparents (their great-great grandparents, that's 5 generations!). We are super blessed that Mamaw and Papaw are still so healthy. They still live in the house that my Papaw built and they still drive and keep up thier own yard, etc. The boys love to go over there because they have a lot of land and lots of cats and dogs.

Here they are having a grass fight where Papaw mowed...

And playing in the tall field that he hasn't mowed yet.

And of course they have to try on Papaw's hat. Here it is on Papaw...

and Walker...

and finally on Connor...
As you can see, I have been taking pictures like crazy with Mom's camera. I have lots more of some of our other adventures, but I was just thinking this evening about how it really is the simple things that build the lasting memories I treasure with my children. I hope you are having a wonderful Labor Day weekend and enjoying lots of family time!

I'm Still Here...

2009-09-03T07:33:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to drop in and let you know I'm still here. I lost my camera battery charger and my battery ran down, so my camera is dead. I have a new one ordered, but it won't be here for a few more days. I have been doing a lot of crafting lately and look forward to sharing it with you very soon! With no camera I have not been blogging. I know how much we all love our pictures!

We are also taking our last Hoorah before the boys start pre-school next week. We are visiting my parents in TN. We got here last night, and are gonna do lots of fun stuff this week and through Labor Day, so I will have Mom's camera to get some pics.

On the Weight Watchers Wednesday update, I am staying steady at 34.5 lbs. this week. I'm fine with it. I'll change up a thing or two and get back to losing.

I hope you are having a wonderful week and and I will be back very soon, maybe even tonight!

2009-08-27T14:05:00.006-04:00

One of my blog friends Kelli has decided that I deserve this Honest Scrap Award, and coming from her it is a real honor. Kelly is an encouraging, fun-loving, all around great gal with 2 of the cutest kids ever. You should swing by and see her when you have a few mins. because she is the real deal.

Here's how this works:
In accepting this award, I need to do the following:
1) Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award.
2) Share "ten honest things" about myself.
3) Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.
4) Tell those 7 people that they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving.

10 Random/Honest Things About Me:

1. I am the oldest of 3 kids. My sister and I are almost 2 years apart and my brother is 7 years younger. I am the typical oldest child, a people pleaser.

2. I have a college degree in Business Management, and am a licensed cosmetologist. Currently though, I call myself a kitchen beautician because I only do hair from home. I always thought I wanted to own my own salon, but as with most people, my ambitions have changed as I have had children. Being with them is what is most important to me at this stage of my life.

3. I am a carbaholic. I could eat dessert or bread for every.single.meal. I'm talking only desserts and bread too, no veggies, no meat, etc. Since that is not a healthy eating plan, I do eat choke down other healthier foods.

4. I am fickle by nature. You know that saying "a rolling stone gathers no moss". That's me. I grow tired of things quickly and am always changing things.

5. I can not stand for my food to touch. Especially if the foods are runny, like vegetables or beans. I know, I'm a wierdo.

6. I am impatient and LOVE shortcuts. I wish I was not this way, but it is just in my nature. If there is a quicker way to do something, I'll find it. If something is gonna take a long time to do, I will probably not take it on. I want quick results.

7. I met Lonnie in college and we have been married for 6 years. One of my sorority sisters dated a guy he played football with, and that is how we met. He is my soulmate and I love him completely. He is an only child and only grandchild. Our 2 boys are the only grandchildren on both sides. That is why they are wrotten!

8. I'm a busybody. I get it from my momma. I love to go and see and do. I have passed that gene on to my boys, especially Connor.

9. I LOVE to shop. I mean I could shop every single day and never get tired of it. Bargains make by blood rush and I can always sniff out a good bargain.

10. I let my boys climb all over our furniture. I mean serious rough housing like doing flips off the back and jumping from the end tables. They are wild and rambunctious, but somehow they know they can only do this at home and in the family room. They never attempt to set up an "obstacle course" at anyone else's house, thank goodness!

I tag... Stacie, Amanda, Gwen, Hat Chick, Sarah, Krista, and Michelle because they are blogs I enjoy and friends I have made via this blog. Thanks for being the real deal ladies!

Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 30

2009-08-26T22:32:00.003-04:00

It is Weight Watchers Wednesday, and yes you read correctly, it is Week 30!! I have actually been doing this for over 7 months! This week I had a loss of .5 lbs for a running total of 34.5. I am just so stinkin' proud that I am still sticking to this new lifestyle and exercising that I can hardly stand myself. HA! Just teasing. In all seriousness, I am stoked to have had a loss this past week because it has been extremely stressful and I didn't eat every pint of Ben and Jerry's at Bi-Lo. I did have some Chubby Hubby on Sunday though, just keepin' it real!

Walker's dental appointment on Tuesday was a complete and total nightmare. For a little background, he had his first dentist visit last month and it was terrifying to him. We researched and took him to one of the best pediatric dentists in our area, but Walker was still traumatized after the visit. The way that child was screaming, I am surprised they didn't kick us out.

Anyway, they found 2 cavities in his molars so the dentist said our best bet would be to have him sedated and get the work done. We had to be there really early and he got his Demerol, but because he was so anxious his body metabolized the meds funny and it acted more as a steroid. He was bouncing all over the walls. You would have thought they gave him a double espresso.

To make a long and painful story very short, after they velcroed him to the table and he still thrashed around it was determined that he was gonna need to have the work done in a hospital operating room with complete anesthesia. Can I just say that having your child scream and cry for your help is heart wrenching. The dentist was wonderful and so patient, but it was just too much for Walker, and when they tried to give him a shot in his mouth he jerked so hard that they almost got him in the cheek. That was what sealed the deal on the hospital visit. It just wasn't going to be safe to proceed at the dentist office. Thank you Jesus! I don't think I could handle much more, and neither could poor Walker. So, $4oo later we still have cavities and we get to look forward to another fun dental adventure. But no need to worry. Walker is back to his regular self.

What does all this have to do with the price of tea in China, you ask? In another time, I would have literally eaten and eaten and eaten. This time, I shed a few tears, talked to a few girlfriends/ family and felt better! This is huge people!

Mary and I are still exercising 3 -4 times a week, and doing it first thing in the morning has been a wonderful way to do it. I am too tired to make excuses and I know that at 6:30 in the am I don't really have anywhere else to be.

For this week's recipe, I am gonna share a Pineapple Banana Smoothie Recipe, 2 points. When I was a kid my mom always made Pineapple Banana homemade ice cream, and this reminds me of it.

Pineapple Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 cup cubed pineapple -- fresh or canned

1/4 cup pineapple-orange juice -- from frozen concentrate

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt nonfat

1/4 cup water

2 ice cubes

1 packet of Splenda

1/2 of a banana

Instructions:
1. In a blender, combine all ingredients, blend until smooth and frothy.

2. Pour into glasses.
Makes 2 servings, 3 POINTS per serving

I hope all my WW buddies had a great week. I look forward to hearing from you!

The Boss's New Chair...

2009-08-24T18:47:00.005-04:00

I have been doing a little "junking" lately, and the boys have become big fans too. Last week we went to the local Habitat for Humanity Restore, and came across this cute little chair for $2. At that price I just couldn't pass it up.
We brought it home, and after a couple coats of paint, it has found a new lease on life.

Here is a close up of the details. Originally, I painted it green and blue but Connor kept pulling out the red so I finally caved and painted some red dots and it got a little more busy than I intended. He loves it though, and that is what matters.
I am probably gonna add his name, but I am gonna do vinyl letters instead of painting it myself. so there you have it, Con's $2 chair.

Here's "The Boss" trying it out. We will be going back tomorrow to pick up the another one for Walker since little man doesn't want to share it.

Walker has "oral surgery" in the morning. He has to be sedated to get 2 cavities fixed. I am a little nervous about it because the dentist appointment was such a disaster last month, but I am trying to put my mind at ease, afterall Matthew 6:27 says "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ?"

Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 29

2009-08-19T21:52:00.004-04:00

It is Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 29, and this week I lost 1 lb. for a running total of 34 lbs. Yippee!! As always, I am happy that I had a loss, especially since I have not been completely motivated to eat perfect for the past week. I have done pretty good, but I'm sure I used more than the "Flex" points I am alotted weekly.

I have been exercising regularly with my exercise buddy Mary (Happy birthday friend!). I have decided that the accountability is key for me. Having Mary to call me at 6:20 am, 4 days a week as she is enroute to my house makes me get up and moving when I would rather just roll over. We did Hip Hop Abs this morning and it was the usual laugh fest. We have decided that we should memorize the whole routine and go bust it out at a club. Kind of like they did in the House Party movies. We're crazy I tell you, crazy.

I am gonna skip the recipe this week, and post a couple really helpful tools for those of you trying to do Weight Watcher's on your own.

Weight Watchers Points Calculator

A to Z Weight Watchers Food List

Restaurant Points Guide

I do feel obligated to tell you that none of these sites are endorsed by Weight Watchers, but I use them frequently on my own and have found their points to be accurate. I hope all my WW buddies had a great week!

Cornbread Goowrotten...

2009-08-18T19:15:00.006-04:00

I am quickly coming to the realization that my boys are growing up TOO FAST and there is nothing I can do to slow the process. SO, I have been trying to enjoy lots of quality time with them these last few weeks before they both start pre-school. In case you've missed me in the blogosphere, that's where I have been, elbow deep in playdough as opposed to decorating or crafting.

Today we took our first trip to the library for the sole purpose of getting books. We usually only go for storytime. The boys loved picking out their different books, but were disappointed that I limited them to six. We had read them all within an hour of getting home and they are already asking about going back tomorrow to get different ones.

We've also been spending time at the river.

Making sticker collages. And more sunglasses...

But mostly I have just been enjoying these two wrotten little things.
By the way, Connor is no longer Connor Brett. He is now going by Cornbread Goowrotten. Cornbread is what his Uncle Paul says his name sounds like (Connor Brett), and Connor loves it. I told him he is "wrotten" and Nonnie says he's a "good wrotten", so he now says his name is Cornbread Goowrotten. That should make for an interesting first day of preschool. He definitely looks like Cornbread in Poppy's camo hat and his black underwear.

The boys start "school" September 9, and we have a lot we hope to do between now and then, but I promise to get back to posting about some of my projects once we get settled into a routine. Until then, forgive me if the posts are a little sparse. Hope you are enjoying the last little bit of summer as much as we are!

Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 28

2009-08-12T22:14:00.003-04:00

It is Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 28 and this week I lost .5 lbs. so I am now up to 33 lbs. I am stoked about having had a loss because being out of town this weekend was challenging, but also the weather has been bad this week and we have been inside baking every.single.day. Walker has always been a big fan of cooking, and Connor has now decided he likes it too, so that means double the goodies around to munch on.

I am still exercising 4 days a week. Mary and I have been meeting at 6:30 am for Hip Hop Abs or to walk. Tomorrow morning is hip hop, so I will be getting in bed shortly. That is one hard workout. I think our abs get more of a work out from all of the laughing we do at ourselves than they do the actual video. Hilarious I tell you!

For the recipe this week, I am gonna share a Lowfat Banana Oatmeal Bread that the boys and I baked. I made it into muffins instead of bread, and they were really good. Great to grab one and go.
Low Fat Banana Oatmeal Bread (muffins )
Makes 12 servings @ 2 points each

Ingredients :
3 large bananas, mashed
1/2 cup white sugar (I used Splenda)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats (old fashioned oats, not quick cook)
1/3 cup applesauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Add sugar to mashed bananas and mix. Add beaten egg and mix. In a separate bowl mix all dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to the banana mixture and mix well. Mix in applesauce. Spoon into medium size muffin tin (I use paper muffin cups so they won't stick) and fill 3/4's full. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350.

I cheated a bit, and sprinkled chocolate chips on a few of them just to see how they were. YUM! I didn't count this change in my points though. I figured since I used Splenda instead of sugar, the chocolate chips would even it out again. Probably not the smartest way to do it, but I only added the chocolate to 4 of the 12 muffins.

I hope all my Weight Watchers buddies had a great week. I'll try to get some good pics next post.

My Cheap New Bedspread...

2009-08-10T22:14:00.003-04:00

We spent the weekend in TN, and while it was a lowkey-hang-out-with-family kind of weekend, I did manage to squeeze in a trip to Ross and TJ Maxx. I finally found a new bedspread, and it was a heck of a deal so I thought I would share.

As you can see, I have a lot of red, green, and black in the bedding. The bed is queen size, but with a very deep mattress, so I have to buy king size comforters and bedspreads. I have been using a red comforter, but it was hot and I had gotten really tired of it lately. I was looking for something simple and light, when I came across this king size quilt and 2 shams for $35. It was just what I was looking for to bring the other stuff down a notch. The other bedding is custom made and we have had it for a couple of years now and I still love it. However, with the duvet as the bedspread it is just too loud. That's why I use it as an accent at the bottom of the bed.
Excuse the poor pictures. The green is much better in person, but right after I took these 2 pics, my beautiful bed was no longer. Pete and Re-Pete invaded the room...
I will tell you, this is how the bed usually looks. The boys love to wrestle and watch TV in my room while I get ready. Connor did say, "Mom, your bed looks so pretty."
As they began to throw my pillows here, there, and everywhere I asked Walker what he was doing and he said, "I'm just playing on your bed Mom. You can straighten it up again later. " Thanks Walker. Thanks a bunch!

M.I.A. ...

2009-08-06T14:53:00.003-04:00

Sorry I have been M.I.A. lately. I just wanted to pop in and say I have not forgotten about the blog or all my blog buddies! It has been crazy busy around here trying to get ready for school and doing VBS every evening this week. Ours is from 5:30-8:30, but by the time we get home and ready for bed it is closer to 9:30. This is giving me a taste of how crazy things are gonna be when they are playing sports down the road.

And since we are going to TN this weekend for Aunt Wewe's birthday, we will not have our regular downtime at the river, where we do a lot of this...
and model fabulous Armani shades that belong to Aunt Brittney by our Big Lots pool. That is contrast if I've ever seen one!
But I am sure our weekend will be full of family and fun. I hope you have a wonderful weekend too, and I will be back Monday with my creative juices flowing for a new post.

Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 27

2009-08-05T07:51:00.005-04:00

It is Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 27 and this week I lost 1 lb. for a running total of 32.5 lbs. I am very happy with my loss this week. We were at the river all weekend, and while I was conscious of my eating, I just didn't worry about it too much. For the first time in a while, I feel like this past week is one I could live with the rest of my life and not think I am missing out. This Weight Watchers thing must finally be becoming the "lifestyle change" I've been looking for.

In the area of exercise, believe it or not I finally made a commitment. My walking buddy Mary and I weren't able to go exercise a single evening last week because of conflicting schedules, and with VBS this week, we knew it wouldn't happen in the evenings again. So, we started exercising in the morning before Mary goes to work. We have been meeting at 6:30 am, and either walking or doing Hip Hop Abs. Getting up and going that early has been a HUGE change for me. I am always up by 7:00, but then I snuggle with Connor (the early bird) and drink coffee for an hour or so. Jumpstarting my morning has been different, but it is something I am gonna stick to because I am so much more conscious of my eating all day if I work that hard first thing in the morning.

For this week's recipe, I am gonna share my Chicken Veggie Bake. This is a creation I came up with (still trying to use all that zucchini) as a lighter variation to some other chicken dishes I saw online. We ate it for dinner last week, and I ate leftovers the next day and they were delish!

Chicken Veggie Bake, 6 points

4 servings

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 zucchini, sliced

1 squash, sliced

1 tomato, sliced

1/2 cup Italian Bread Crumbs

1 cup Spaghetti Sauce

1/4 cup Reduced Fat Parmesean Cheese

Salt and pepper

Aluminum Foil

Tear off 4 sheets of aluminum foil, and spray them with cooking spray, I use Pam. Wet the chicken with water, and roll in bread crumbs. Sprinkle with Salt and pepper. Lay on foil, layer zucchini, squash, and tomatoes on top of each breast. Spread 1/4 cup of the spaghetti sauce on each, and sprinkle the parmesean cheese on the top. Fold the foil closed along the top, close tightly on the ends. Bake the "pockets" on a cookie sheet in the oven at 350 degrees for 35-40 mins.

Now I am huge fan of chicken and pasta together, and since I wanted Alfredo sauce (yes I know how fattening that is) I decided the most calorie conscious way to do that was to just buy a frozen Alfredo entree by Lean Cuisine. It is 4 points, and wonderful. It made my whole meal 10 points, but it was exactly what I wanted. Even Lonnie said it was delicious. Give it a try!

I hope all my Weight Watcher's buddies had a great week. I look forward to hearing your progress!

Sandbox Cookies...

2009-07-30T22:15:00.005-04:00

So a couple of weeks ago when I posted about Walker's 4th birthday party, I mentioned that he had gotten an adorable gift that I was gonna blog about later. Well it is definitely later, but I have been so crazy busy lately that I have not gotten around to showing you this. Without further adieu, here is one of the cutest gift ideas EVER... SANDBOX COOKIES! If you have a child that likes to cook (Walker LOVES it), then this would be a perfect gift .These were given to Walker, along with a cutie patootie Dinosaur beach towel, by a friend of mine named Amy. Amy is a kindergarden teacher and one very crafty chic. She said she saw these in a boutique in Hilton Head a couple years ago, and decided she could make them for much less. Well you go girl! Here is how she did it...

You just have to get a small beach set. (Walker and Connor have already been using theirs in the pool.)
Type up the instructions and add some cute beach clipart. Tape the instructions on the dry ingredients. Now here's the kicker, you can either mix the dry ingredients yourself and put them in a ziploc bag, or you can buy a bag of sugar cookie mix at the store and just put that in a clear baggie. Honestly, who is gonna know the difference?

Wrap it all in cellophane and tie it with a cute ribbon.

We made ours the other night while it was raining, and they were wonderful. Walker is always glad to be on quality control.
They were gone in a flash!
One other thing that Amy did that I just had to show you, was how she wrapped his beach towel. Cellophane and ribbon again, but she also cut out the picture of Walker from the invitation and hand made his gift tag. So. Stinkin'.Cute. I didn't get a good pic before Walker tore into it, but I think you get the idea here.

We are heading to the river until Saturday evening, and then VBS starts on Sunday, so it looks like it is gonna be another crazy week around here. I'm just thankful we got the boys' first dental appointments and Walker's 4 year old shots out of the way last week. He is only starting pre-school, but it feels like the preparations are already in high gear. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and let me know if you try the Sandbox Cookies.

Weight Watcher Wednesday Week 26

2009-07-29T22:00:00.000-04:00

It is Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 26 and this week I lost .5 lbs. for a running total of 31.5 lbs. I am pleased that I had a loss, but am a little disappointed it was not any more because I have been exercising a lot. That's okay though, just a little plateau. Next week I'm sure it will go better.

Just like last week, I have still been walking and believe it or not, my body craves the movement when I skip a day. In addition to the walking, I rode the paddleboat 2x at the river this weekend and Mom and I took a good little bike ride on Sunday morning. I definitely felt it in my legs after paddleboating the day before.

In the area of food, I have been doing pretty good. I am eating a good breakfast (protein shake and fruit or oatmeal), and then a light lunch. If I get hungry before dinner I try to eat fruit or almonds. My hardest thing this week has been my food journal. I have been slipping in that area, and I know from past experience that I.HAVE.TO. write all my foods down, or my caloric intake sneaks up on me.

One thing I do not watch is carbs, while I know I should, I tend to be a carbaholic, so that is just a sacrifice I hate to make. My sister is doing phenomenally well watching carbs though (Kudos Wendi!), so I am gonna plan next week's menu with a little more protein and see how it goes.

Keeping that in mind, and also the fact that I am still trying to use up my zucchini, I am gonna give you a recipe off of Gina's site, for Turkey Stuffed Zucchini. I have been working my way through some of Gina's recipes, and have been very pleased so I am gonna try this one.

Turkey Stuffed Zucchini

(Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes)

Servings: 4 (2 halves) • Time: 50 minutes • Points: 4 ww points

4 medium zucchini
1 tsp butter
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1 shallot, minced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp white wine
1.3 lb (20.8 oz) ground turkey (99% fat free)
1 large egg white
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup fat free chicken broth
2 tbsp seasoned breadcrumbs
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp dried basil

Salt and fresh pepperPreheat oven to 400°. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and using a spoon or melon baller, scoop out flesh, leaving 1/4" thick. Arrange in a baking dish. Chop the scooped out flesh of the zucchini in small pieces.In a large saute pan, melt butter and add onion, shallot and garlic. Cook on a medium-low flame for about 2-3 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add chopped zucchini and season with a pinch of salt, cook about 2-3 minutes. Add wine and cook until it reduces. Add ground turkey and season with salt and pepper, cooking until turkey is white, breaking up in smaller pieces. Add paprika, garlic powder, marjoram and basil. Mix well and cook another minute.Place turkey meat in a large mixing bowl and set aside to cool. When cooled, add parmesan cheese and egg white, mix well. Using a spoon, fill hollowed zucchinis with stuffing, pressing firmly and top with bread crumbs. Place chicken broth in bottom of the baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Bake 35 minutes.

I hope all my WW buddies had a great week. I look forward to hearing from you!

Backyard Patio Reveal...

2009-07-28T13:30:00.001-04:00

We have finally finished the back patio, and I wanted to share it with you. This has been another project that has seemed to drag on.and on. and on, BUT alas it is finished. If you remember, I started working on the patio in April. The patio part came together pretty quickly. Here is a before and after of that space in case you missed it.
With a little help from my father in law, my first tile project was pretty easy, but very messy.
Next I put in the flowerbed. I just put vinca vine and a few sweet potato plants there. They have gone crazy in the shade and I have to trim it back constantly.
I ended up having to paint the entire wall because there was just no way around it. After painting, I wanted to do something to "decorate" the wall and went back and forth on several ideas. Ultimately, I decided to go with what I had, and hang some of the old tools Papa (Lon's grandpa) had given me. He has since given me a couple more, but I don't want to make it too busy.

Before:

After:

As a surprise, Lon did the first set of pavers for me in May. I LOVED them, so we decided to extend the patio with the same pavers from Lowe's. While the pavers were a little pricey, the cost was still a fraction of what we would have paid to have someone else do it. The most difficult part was definitely leveling the sand. Lonnie is much more patient than I am. He is a true perfectionist, and you need to be for a project like this.

Last but not least, I added the plants. Plants add so much to a space. I am growing quite a green thumb. My Dad keeps a beautiful yard, but since I moved to SC I have had to depend more heavily on Lon's Mom and grandma to teach me what will grow here and what won't. I am finally finding my footing in this sandy SC soil.

This has become a space that we use on a daily basis. The boys play on thier trampoline and I am able to sit in the shade and watch them. The tile counter has also become my "potting shed". I do so much with the outdoor sink.

So there you have it. One more item checked off the to-do list that is my home. What do you think?

Craft Room Reveal...

2009-07-24T11:00:00.000-04:00

So I should start out by saying that I probably put WAY too much hype into this, but it seems like I have been working on "my craft room" forever now. I hope you enjoy the pics, there are lots.

For a little history on the space, we moved into this house exactly 1 year ago. The "office" also has to act as a guest room, so a sleeper sofa is a must. I do a lot of crafting. Did I mention I do a lot of crafting? Anyone who makes things knows how messy it can be. In the past, I had to pull everything out in 3 rooms to craft, because that was where it was stored. It is now so much easier to create and contain the mess! SO, without further adieu...

Welcome to my very own space!
And the painful before shot:
I have storage EVERYWHERE! I hung a thin curtain rod on the wall to put some of my ribbon stash:
I picked up this little hanging basket for $2 at an antique store for ribbon scraps and trims and I squeezed my ironing board in by my desk. I traded the big black office chair on wheels, for this little chair that I made over. Much better.

The "Mullet" window-treatment and lamp were 2 of the most fun things to make over. If you don't see the resemblance, then click here for the details and the proof.
I store 12x12 scrapbook paper in these cubes on the ends of the couch. I got them at Target 7 years ago, and they have held up really well.

This cabinet was free. You know the saying about one man's trash, well this is definitely my treasure. It stores my fabric perfectly.

The pegboard was truly one of the best things I have done in here. I use.it.constantly.

The entertainment center re-do was the most labor intensive thing, but worth every minute.

Storage, storage, and more storage.

I managed to keep this whole makeover under $100 by using what I already had and painting, painting, painting! Excuse the ugly safe under the desk. That is a non-negotiable with Lon, but I plan on putting fabric there on a tension rod. I mean, the man let me decorate a whole room in pink, green, and turquoise. I figure leaving his safe in place is the least I can do!

I hope you enjoyed the tour! I sure enjoyed creating this space and will use it to the fullest.

Craft Room Peg-board...

2009-07-23T17:00:00.001-04:00

Every craft room should have a pegboard. This is the conclusion I have come to after using mine for the past few weeks. It is probably the most functional part of this room besides the desk. I never knew having supplies at your fingertips could make such a difference in the time it takes to make something and clean it back up.

This was another one of the projects that we got started when my brother in law was visiting. Very simple to do. We bought a piece of 4x4 pegboard at Lowe's. He then screwed 2 pieces of wood to the wall along the studs.
Next he screwed the pegboard into the other boards. ( There has to be space between the pegboard and the wall for the hooks to attach.)

I am a "matchy-matchy" type of person, so I decided I wanted to tie in the color of the craft cabinet (click here to see it) on the other side of the room. I ended up taping off large squares and painting every other one Escape (the same color I used on other projects.)

I had a hard time finding cool hardware to use on it, but the main purpose is function not beauty, so in the end I just got a pack of pegboard hooks from Lowe's for under $10.

Once I got all my stuff piled on it, it looked pretty good. The white shelf you see under it, used to be in an office and held forms. It was on its way to the trash when I saw it and thought it might work here. I didn't paint it or anything. It is all rough and chipped, but I love it just the way it is. It is perfect for my fabric storage.

I miscounted all my projects, so I will be posting about the whole craftroom tomorrow instead of today and putting up pics of the everything then. So what do you think of the checked pattern? I can't decided whether I should paint the whole thing white to match the cabinet holding my fabric, or leave it.

** Update*** I am linking up this post to DIY Thursday at ASPTL, and for those of you wondering, I decided to leave the pegboard as it.

Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 25

2009-07-22T18:03:00.003-04:00

It is Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 25 and this week I lost 1 lb. for a running total of 31 lbs. I was pleased with my loss. Of course I wish it were more, but I am finally over the 30 lb. and now my new goal is 50 lbs.

I have been walking regularly. My friend Mary is coming over a few nights a week and we walk between 4 and 5 miles. I also have been walking some on my own . I did a walk/jog combo yesterday, and felt the burn for sure! I will be a runner one day. It may not be tomorrow, but eventually I will. I am also trying to teach Daisy to walk on a leash, so that is a lot of extra walking too.

I have felt so good about the week thus far. I have been eating right and exercising, but it has been fairly easy because we have been at home. We are going to the river for the weekend, and having company too. That always leads to a little more temptation for me. I guess I will just have to take an extra long paddleboat ride to make up for any extra calories I consume in homemade ice cream.

The only pic I have of me is one from this morning as we were heading out the door to the boys' first dentist appt. (It was a disaster. I'll have to cover that in another post.) We are in the kitchen floor, but I think you can tell I have lost weight through my face. Con looks a little stunned, and I'm not sure why.
For this week's recipe, I was gonna post a lite ice cream recipe that I want to try out in my ice cream maker, but since I haven't done it yet I am gonna go with something a little safer. Here is a link to a "Chameleon" ice cream. The woman who wrote the recipe says this about it, "CHAMELEON ICE CREAM is my new ‘standard but never-the-same-twice’ ice cream. It begs for creativity! " It has several different recipes listed. I am gonna be making the Coffee Spice or Coconut first. Just follow this link, and you can thank me later.

I hope you had a great week and I look forward to hearing from all my WW pals!

Dumpster Diving...

2009-07-21T23:01:00.001-04:00

**Update** I am linking this post up to A Soft Place To Land for this week's DIY Thursday.
It is Day 3 of Craft Room Week here at Mandi Shandi's and today I am showing you one of my favorite makeovers, EVER! This little chair I got dumpster diving.

Here is a little history on this little beauty...

On our way to the beach in June, we stopped by the dump to drop off some trash. As I was pulling away I saw a man with a trailer FULL of "junk" that he was throwing away. I have been on the lookout for a chair for the craftroom, and when I saw the one he just tossed in the dumpster, I knew it was my lucky day! When I asked him if I could have the chair he acted like I was looney. "Whatever lady. Do you want all 4? If so you're gonna have to get in the dumpster for one of 'em." Luckily he still had 3 on the trailer so I didn't have to climb in after it. If we did not have the Armada packed to the gills for the beach then I would have taken several items off his hands. All I could squeeze in were two chairs.

They were dirty and stinky (one of them still is), but after a little soap and water I had a decent chair. I unscrewed the seat, and took off a couple layers of the old upholstery.

I decided to use the striped material and just stapled it onto the clean cushion, and then at the last minute decided to add a ruffle. Since I wasn't sure about the ruffle, I hot glued it on. That is, I hot glued it on after I got my glue gun back from Daisy. (No need to worry, the gun was unplugged!)

When I screwed it back on to the chair it was a nice tight fit, so the hot glue is gonna work out fine.
I painted it with several thin coats of Ivy Leaf. For a little over $3 a can, this stuff is wonderful.
Do you love my new chair as much as I do?

Sassy Lamp Makeover and a Mullet Mistreatment...

2009-07-21T07:30:00.002-04:00

**Edited to Add** I am linking up with Kimba at ASPTL for DIY Thursday. Go check out all the other awesome DIY projects via this link...
It is Day 2 leading up the craft room reveal on Thursday, and today I am gonna share my new lamp and window mistreatment.
First off, I want to show you my new window mistreatment. I LOVE it and I hope it makes the Nester proud. I did not sew a stitch on these. I used my glue gun, thumb tacks, and drapery clips. I got the fabric at Hancock's when we were in TN and it was all on clearance. The fabric for my lamp, seat cushion, and curtain was all under $20.

All I did was fold and tack up the leopard print fabric...Then hot glue the pink and striped together. Glued some fringe on, and folded the top before putting it in the clips so that it looks sewn. I nailed my hooks right on the wall because I was too lazy to hang a rod. Lonnie wanted to know "where the other half was" and I told him I intended for it to look a like a mullet!

Now do you see the resemblance? I loved mullets way back when, and I love my mullet curtain now!

Now for the lamp, I wanted to make sure I had plenty of light in my craft room, so I decided I needed a floor lamp that would sit next to my sewing machine and shine directly on what I was working on. Here she is:

Didn't she turn out cute? I LOVE this lamp. In a previous life (I've had this lamp since college)she was known as Plain Jane. Now I like to call her Sassy Sofie because she is the life of the party in her pink paint and green and pink top.

Walker wasn't so sure about giving the lamp a makeover, but when I got out the pink paint he got excited. He said, "Mom I never saw you paint anything pink before."

I think it is safe to say that he now sees this lamp was destined to be pink!

This was so easy to do, and since there is no need to re-invent the wheel, I will spare you another lamp covering tutorial, and send you straight to the instructions that I followed from Ms. Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality. Here is the link to her tutorial. She is way better at giving step.by.step. directions than I am.

Well there you have it. What do you think of my Mullet Mistreatment?

Cheap Entertainment Center Re-do...

2009-07-20T15:00:00.002-04:00

I have been hard at work in my efforts to turn our "home office" into a dedicated craft room. I am the only one that uses this room and it already housed most of my craft supplies so I figured why not go all the way and make this one room specifically mine. Since I have been making such headway, I thought I would blog everyday this week about a different project that I accomplished and then have a big reveal on Thursday. Today is day one, and I am gonna start with the first project I got finished, my craft cabinet.

Originally, this was an entertainment center in Lon's grandma's house. She was gonna sell it at her yardsale a few months ago, but when I measured it I asked her if she would sell it to me instead since it would fit perfectly into my craft room. She said no, and I was shocked. She said no she wouldn't sell it to me, that she would give it to me for free. Now we're talking! Here it is before...
And after...

Here are all the details. When my brother in law Richard was here for our staycation in June, I had him attach a piece of beadboard to the back.
I was too lazy to actually prime the whole thing, so I just spray painted it and let the spray paint act as a primer. It worked well enough.

I then decided I wanted it a fun color. This is afterall the only truly girly space in my house, so I decided on turquoise blue. Well, "Escape" if you want to get technical.

After I got a couple baskets from Hobby Lobby and piled some of my craft supplies on it, I was done.

The crown is my old ironing board I finally hung. I have told you about this old ironing board before, but had no place to put it. Well it finally found a home and I love it here.

What do you think? If you like this be sure to check back the rest of the week for even more wild color choices. Let's just say I still have a ways to go on the window treatment. Lon says it looks like a mullet. Maybe tomorrow you can see it and judge for yourself.

I'm linking this post up on DIY Thursday at ASPTL. If you want some serious inspiration, go there on Thursdays!

Gal Pals...

2009-07-19T22:01:00.005-04:00

When I started this blog last year, it was mainly so that my friends and family in TN and WV could keep up with us on a daily basis. I think I have accomplished that. For example, every morning my grandma logs on to the internet and catches up on what has been going on in my life. (Sorry the posts have been so sporadic lately Grandma! It is harder to blog in the Summer!) Anyway, I was doing the blog for other people more than myself. I never would have guessed that in the long run, I would be the one to get the most out of it.

Besides the fact that this blog is a journal of sorts, it has also been a way to connect with others. Over these past 8 months I have met some incredible women from all over the country that I never would have known otherwise. These friendships that we have forged are as real and dependable as the ones with my girlfriends that I know from my daily life. It has been so wonderful to get to know these women and share struggles, creative ideas, laughter, and all of the ins and outs of life.

A perfect example of this is my friend Stacie. How Stacie stumbled on my blog is a mystery, but she has become a true friend in every sense of the word. She is funny, smart, a heck of a good cook, and crafty as can be. Her blog is called Park Avenue because she is a girl from the city and gettin' by in the country these days.(I'll warn you that if you visit her blog you are gonna find some ridiculously good recipes. NOT Weight Watchers ones either!) She has been especially encouraging in my efforts at losing weight, so it should not have surprised me this week when I got a package from her in the mail. I had to share this with you because it was so darn cute.

In that little striped box, she put these earrings that she MADE. Told you she was crafty. They are FABOO!
I hope this is close enough for you to read. It is a weight loss survival kit. This made me laugh out loud! Especially the little scrap of material "for next year's bikini". Such a hoot!

To all my gal pals that I have met via this blog, thanks so much for being such a special part of my life and for helping me to realize I am not alone in my day to day quest to be the best version of Mandi that I can be. I treasure you all!

Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 24

2009-07-15T23:55:00.000-04:00

It is Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 24 and this week I lost a whopping .3 lbs, for a running total of, brace yourself here, 30 lbs.!! It has been a long time coming and I have had as much time off the "diet" as on, but I am relieved to finally reach 30 lbs. I still hope to lose a lot more weight, but this is the most I have ever lost so it is a milestone for me.

In the area of exercise, I have been busy busy after the boys and their 2 cousins from TN this week. We went swimming in the river, to the beach, swimming in the pool, and riding on my paddleboat. I've also discovered that the trampoline is a great workout. We just put it back up this week, and jumping and chasing the kids had me sweating like crazy!

I haven't shared pics of myself in a while, and haven't gotten any really good ones, so here are a couple fun ones from the past week. Those two specs are my MIL and I swimming from our dock to theirs at the river. I swore I would never do a bathing suit shot, but I thought this was HILARIOUS! I went down the slide at the river and Mom got the funniest pic of me holding my nose, and sporting Lon's huge lifejacket. While I can swim pretty good, the river is unpredictable and we make the boys ALWAYS wear life jackets so I do too. I'm a bit of a nervous nelly that way.
And here we are taking the paddleboat out for it's maiden voyage.
For this week's recipe I am gonna just send you to another blog I found. It is called Gina's Weight Watchers Recipes, and let me tell you it is INCREDIBLE! I am making my grocery list from this site today. She not only has mouthwatering recipes, but her pics are gorgeous and she has a ton of useful info. like a WW calculator, Restaurant food lists, etc. This is truly a goldmine if you are on Weight Watchers. So go over and visit Gina. Show her some comment love and tell her that her newest fan sent you!