You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Favorites’ category.
Oh happy day, happy day
You washed my sin away
Oh happy day, happy day
I’ll never be the same
Forever I am changed
I just happened across this gal’s blog and I’m totally diggin’ her product. It’s, ahem, something I could use…
Curious?? Go check her out!
I’m off to place my order…
This is my first time participating in Make Do Mondays, hosted by the lovely Ann Kroeker. It’s funny, I think throughout the week of things that would make great MDM posts but then can’t think of a single thing when I sit down to actually WRITE one such post. Ahh, the glories of a horrible memory.
But I remembered one this morning. Horray for me!!
Quilts.
I love them.
I love the beauty of them. I love the details of them. I love the heaviness of them. I love the warmth they offer. I love the sense of nostalgia they lend to a room. I love their sturdiness.
Let’s face it, quilts have been around for a long, long time.
One thing I don’t care for is the disappointment I get when a quilt becomes stained, or a seam gets torn, or the edges start to fray. I use to struggle with what to do next with a quilt that no longer “healthy” enough to leave out around the house or fold at the end of a bed. But not anymore. In fact, I went LOOKING for used up and torn quilts, even just quilt tops! Why? Because they can still be used.
Need a picnic blanket? Use an old quilt!
Need a blanket or two for emergencies? Use old quilts!
Going on a road trip and need something to snuggle up with? Use an old quilt!
Going to the drive ins? Take an old quilt! (we usually sit outside on camping chairs when we go so it gets a bit cool)
Going camping/rv-ing? Take old quilts!
Need to make a bed on the floor for sleep-overs? Use old quilts to make a “mattress”!
And the one need that sent me actually hunting for “new” old quilts/quilt tops? We do a Harvest Party every year instead of Halloween and I get loaner bales of hay (from Hubby’s co-workers with horses) that I like to cover up with old quilts for decoration and comfort. Those things can get mighty pokey and itchy so the quilts make a nice comfy barrier and make the bales into instant seating.
So don’t throw away your old quilts. And if you still aren’t sold on the idea of holding on to them, let me know and I’ll take them off your hands happily! I’ll even pay for the shipping. =0)
Visit Ann’s blog for more Make Do Monday ideas.
It’s a rivalry that goes back ages… I think dinosaurs were still roaming the earth when people first started arguing about which brand was better than the other. I never have been one to take sides on this matter, even though growing up, we were a Coca Cola household. As a child, the sight of a Pepsi would conjure up an emotion similar to the emotion a semi-football fan would feel at the sight of the Oakland Raiders; they know they don’t like them but they just can’t explain why.
Oh, I could tell a slight taste difference, don’t get me wrong. Pepsi is a bit sweeter than Coke but when you are someone who will take a Cherry Coke over ice cream, well, Pepsi’s sweetness isn’t a reason to banish it from the refrigerator. Added to that, I’m a bargain shopper. That means whichever has the better sale is the lucky winner I’m bringing home.
But my last batch of Pepsi’s (bought on a killer deal of course) has changed my normal fence-straddling attitude. I discovered a Pepsi characteristic I’d never realized before.
Pepsi goes flat after being open for more than 30 minutes.
Maybe that’s not a big deal to some people. I, on the other hand, as the busy mom and wife that I am, like to nurse my soda all day long. Okay maybe not ALL day long but certainly as long as possible. I can’t let myself chug soda after soda so I just open one at like 10am (my coffee wears off about then, lol), take a few sips now and then and finish it off as a treat during naptime. Crazy, I know. Why would I care so much?
Because I’m a busy mom and wife. And busy moms and wives like to have a little soma-soma to keep ’em going. (Something NON-ALCHOLIC I feel the need to clarify) We find joy in the little things, be it a toddler that made it to the potty, a 7 year old who does her math without complaining or a quick swig of a Cherry Coke. Just saying.
So, Pepsi. I’m sorry I have to inform you of this but I will no longer be purchasing you. You will no longer occasionally grace a spot on my refrigerator shelf. Though you may tempt me with radical deals in the grocery stores, I will resist the urge to take you home because I will still end up feeling cheated when I come back to freshly opened one of you only to find you have already gone flat. Maybe this isn’t fair. Maybe that was a bad couple batches that I consumed and it isn’t normal for you. But I’m afraid I can’t afford to chance it. Sorry, but this is good-bye.
* * Sorry Pepsi-lovers. Unlike your favorite soda, YOU can still grace a spot on my living-room couch anytime you want. * *
My husband is the opposite of me.
He’s calm… I’m not. (hallelujah!)
He’s remembers every little tidbit of information… I, well, lets just say it has to be pretty catastrophic for me to remember it.
His world has little room for gray and is mostly black and white… mine gives way to much room for fuzzy boundaries and gray areas.
He’s a rock… I’m flaky and emotional.
He knows how to use tools and drive a truck and trailer like no-body’s business… I’m plain clueless. (but I kinda like it that way)
He’s a natural learner… I struggle to grasp new things/ideas.
He’s truly gifted with teens and young people … I flounder with worry over what they think of me, am I cool enough for them to even give me the time of day and whether or not they’ll take my advice.
He’s naturally WAYYY more fun to play with … I have to make a conscious effort to wrestle with the kids.
He’s fantastic at recognizing the results from a long, frustrating day of mine and whisks the kids away to give me a breather… sometimes I like to stick my head in the sand and not pay attention.
He was born with budgets and financial knowledge already preset in his brain… I’m clueless (not to be repetitive).
He has an unclouded view of politics, government and laws… I’m swayed by a good outfit and haircut.
But we are alike in a lot of ways also…
We both love to people watch.
We both love a good bargain.
We both love routine and structure.
We both recognize the importance of family.
We both love just “hanging out” with each other.
We both find our children hilarious one moment and extremely frustrating challenging the next.
We both love to “camp”… meaning: take the trailer out.
We both like to read.
We like the same kinds of tv shows.
We both recognize the importance of Church… and being active members.
We both enjoy being used by God to meet needs around us.
This is by no means an exhaustive list. But suffice to say, he’s the perfect balance to ME.
And I don’t do near enough for him, to show him my appreciation and let him know that I’d be in a world of hurt without him. But I striving to change that.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Visit We Are THAT Family for more husband-love!
As you can tell, my “thought-mare” didn’t come true. Phew! What a relief!
But my brain is so overwhelmed I can’t even do a recap. Or at least one that makes any sense what so ever and isn’t just me rambling on and on all the while just trying to sort things out… out loud.
Oh wait. That’s what all my posts are like!
Silly me.
Really though, I’m just going to let everyone else try to sort this one out for me. I think my brain is plain out of shape after 8 long months of LOST-lessness. I guess I have to warm up to the high brain activity LOST requires.
Man, is Hubby going to enjoy that sentence.
Point is, this week, I’m reading all YOUR recaps for insight into the delightful chaos those two hours wracked on my poor, slow, out-of-shape brain.
I had a bit of a distraction too. Lucy was feeling a tad neglected in the light of LOST so I ended up fighting this off all night:
And this:
(She’s in mid-bounce here and that would be a cow hoof in her mouth. Please don’t ask me to explain it. For some reason she likes chewing on it and I’m desperate for her to chew on anything that isn’t human… or on a human… or near a human…)
As a little more proof of the abuse my hands were subject to for the first whole hour of LOST, I present:
Exhibit A: The Fang
Just when I was ready to toss her outside on her ear because I was having to listento LOST more than watch LOST and because she was running around like a rabid bat outta hell and had knawed my hands down to bloody stumps… she, well, she pooped out:
Somehow the bloody stumps don’t seem so bad when she looks like this. Look at her bottom lip. It cracks me up.
LOST does too – crack me up that is. Like Hurley’s comment to Sayid, “Maybe if you would eat more comfort food, you wouldn’t need to go around shooting people.”
LOST also perplexes me and makes my head hurt.
So I’m off to read some brilliant recaps because mine is not.
We’re only 10 minutes into the LOST premiere and I’m already freaking out!
Daniel was on the island in the beginning?? Was that time travel or is he a freak of nature like Richard who never ages?
Moving the island caused it to go back in time??
How far back are we talking? Obviously waayyyy back since the Orchid Station disappeared from around Locke.
At this rate, my head is going to relocate, like the island, right off my shoulders within the next hour and 50 minutes.
And I LOVE it!
Oh wait! Just as I was going to post this, the drug plane crashed on the island! So that’s a little bit of a timeline… what if he’s able to save the priest? Will changes they do now, affect the future that techinically has already happened?
Oh man, oh man this mental chaos is what I’ve waited 8 months for!!
Four munchkins birthdays + budget = homemade cakes
It’s an equation that is a fact of life here in the Runningamuck household. Every birthday I’d slave over the cake, staying up all hours the night before the big event, cramming to get it all done. I wanted that cake to knock the socks off that birthday child. Socks are flying off feet all the time in my house, so the least they could do is fly off in awe and wonder at my labor of love.
Well, I’m here to tell you that my cake decorating days are over – in a good way. Because this year I discovered Hello Cupcake:
It is seriously the best cupcake book EVER! Just don’t ask how many I’ve actually read because then I’d have to confess it’s the only one.
But that’s neither here nor there…
I made the pup-cakes that are on the cover for my 2 year old’s birthday and he LOVED them. The amazing part is they actually looked just like the picture! There are cupcakes for all themes and holidays and they will seriously blow you away.
The best part for me is that all the “recipes” call for pre-made items. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m a firm believer in making things from scratch to drop unnecessary preservatives and chemicals and also the price! Scratch is almost always cheaper. That being said, birthday parties are a whole other ballgame. There is so much to plan, bake, prepare, clean, create (almost everything is homemade at our parties to save moolah) that when it comes to the cake/cupcakes, if it saves me time, I’m willing to fork over a few more dimes. It means I actually get a whole night of sleep the night before the billions of 10 2 year olds invade my house. That’s the difference between sanity and a padded cell in my world. “Hello Cupcake” calls for store-bought icing (regular ol Betty Crocker or Pillsbury or The-Cheapest-Icing-On-The-Shelf) and candy. Yep. Candy. You seriously have to check out the book just to see the amazing things you can do with candy.
And something I just discovered? They have a blog. A BLOG everybody. That means even more ideas, creations and help just a mouse click away! And you can submit your own photos and ideas too. Check out cupcake blog in all it’s glory here.
Cupcakes vs. cake? Well, when you have younger munchkins, the whole idea of having a slobbery, germ-filled, possible snot-flaked candle blower is enough to turn even the strongest sweet tooth from the dessert table. To be able to restrict the candle blowing to his/her own cupcake means I get to eat a cupcake, without having to worry about what nastiness is crawling around in my icing. AND it means I can send the extra cupcakes home with the guests and not have a fridge full of cake for the next week that I whittle away at it in the evenings… gaining 10 lbs in the process.
Cupcakes are a win-win.
For more great tips and advice, check out Rocks In My Dryer.
That’s what this post is going to do folks.
Not because I don’t want to make them two separate posts. It’s just that on their own, they’d be mighty short, although significant (at least in my world). Plus, they are linked together naturally.
I was watching Dane Cook’s “Rough Around the Edges” last night. 
And while I love Dane, I have to confess that most of what I’ve watched of his comedic routines are highly edited for tv. I’ve heard his un-edited stuff is not very, err, umm, well, let’s just say some of his stuff needs to be edited. Catch my drift?
Anyway… last night he was hilarious. Side-aching, face-sore, crow’s-feet galore. And that was just the 30 minutes I saw before I fell asleep!
Sadly, I’m serious.
Yep, that’s my life now. If it comes on at 10pm, chances are I’m not gonna make it to the end without drool pooling beneath my head nodding off now and then.
BUT!!! And here’s the part that connects to the second bird so that this one stone post will knock both out at the same time… During the part I did see, Dane happens to mention his favorite tv show. Can you guess what it is??
Can ya? Can ya??
**sigh**
I love LOST. I miss LOST. TV just hasn’t been the same these loonnnggggg months between LOST seasons. I’m just as eager for the next 32 questions to begin plaguing me, like it does with each new episode, as ever.
Have I forgotten what happened last? YES!!
But that’s okay. It actually helps because it means I’ve forgotten what my last 32 questions were and am therefore, starting with what one could call a fresh Sawyer SLATE! I meant slate!
Did you know the season premiere is January 21st? It is. Just want to be sure you don’t forget.
and teeth… and nails… and potty breaks… and training…
We’re smack-dab in the middle of it ALL right now folks. The kids got a “little” early New Year’s surprise (read about our New Year’s Day traditions here) and it involves all of these things, plus a lot more.
Photos to come a little later today. Prepare yourselves yourself, your heart is going to do quite a bit of melting.
Runningamuck 
