TACKLE IT TUESDAY!!! August 15th

YAY I tackled this week LOL

Last week while family was visiting, I didn't have time to tackle any project, so I'm thrilled to be back and organizing and cleaning etc. So come along, I've got a project to show you....... come on, this way, no no no, don't stop at the coffee machine with those puppy eyes, I promise I'll get you a cup soon....

So this was my project. TA DA!!!! *Act surprised and in awe of such beauty*

This bookshelf has been sitting around looking miserable, and at some point we just started dumping anything on it. So last night I was sitting around trying to figure out what to clean or organize for "Tackle it Tuesday" (yes I actually have to FIND something to do lol).....and I remembered the poor shelf.

I decided to put my TBR (to be read) Christian books on the top shelf. And on the bottom shelf I have my Scrapbook Kit and my library books and DVD's so I don't forget where they are when it's time to return them. Doesn't it look much better?

Oh and those are my teddy bears, I LOVE teddy bears it's almost an obsession with them, though it would be weird if I had them all over my bedroom and on the bed etc. Don't think hubby would feel comfortable in there LOL

So there you have it, my tackled project for today. If you're tackling anything and want to join the rest of us, just come on over to 5 Minutes for Mom and add your name to the list, OR you can see what other ladies have been tackling at their houses.

Just a quick note about template.....

I'm giving up on trying to do my own template, it's just frustrating because it seems that someone is always seeing it messed up, usually IE users. But because I love you all so much, and I don't want to have a messed up template on ANY browser, I decided to just use one of the readily available ones. The only thing I did was the top banner.

With that said, I want to let you all know, that if you want me to make you a banner for your blogs, you're more than welcome to email me with your request...I won't try to make the WHOLE template like I've done before just because with school starting I won't have time, and I'm also not that good at it. LOL
I have a LOT more fun creating banners like mine above. :)

Now is everyone happy with this one? I've tested it in Netscape, Firefox AND Internet Explorer and it seems to be working right.

Oh and the feel of it is supposed to be Autumn...I figure I might as well get it up right? :)

Have a goodnight everyone, I'm off to Tackle a project for tomorrow's "Tackle it Tuesday" :)

Nothing that a hot bath won't cure.......

Isn't that what they always say?

Well last night I decided to do something I haven't done in so long, you know how it is when you're a mom, you can't even go to the bathroom without an audience nevermind having a few minutes for a hot bubbly bath. But I did it, hubby took the kids and I got mine.

Now doesn't that look inviting? I was waiting for the bath to fill up and I couldn't get in it fast enough, it just beckons me, slowly taunting my tired body to come and rest.

I had lavender scented candles making that beautiful glow, lavender bath bubbles in the water, and the sound of MercyMe playing in the background.
It's amazing how a bath like that can make you feel though, I actually got teary eyed, it's like time stood still and it was just me and God in there. Have you ever felt like just the thought of how wonderful He is makes you cry??? Please say so, or I will feel like a dummy. LOL

Anyway, after my wonderful time in the bathroom, I retired to my bedroom and sat in bed with my embroidery. I haven't done it in so long that my stitches were a little shaky at first, but embroidery, whether it's cross stitch or candlewicking or ribbon (which is what mine is), is the kind of thing that once you start you just don't want to put it down.

I just started this project so I haven't done much at all, but I'm already loving it and can't wait to get back in there. Want to see where I am right now?

It's called "The Potting Shed". I actually got the whole kit from my MIL for christmas about two years ago, and had totally forgotten about it......sorry mom.....but now I can't wait to get it finished. Now ONE kind of embroidery which I'm so in love with and have the most fun making, is Candlewicking. I just bought myself these two books.

My goal is to make some pillows for my bed and also some sort of coverlet using the Candlewicking. Can you just imagine how gorgeous that will look???

Well needleworking aside, I also got to watch "Mansfield Park" last night and really enjoyed it. Adventures in Babywearing had mentioned how much she liked the movie so I was eager to see if I would feel the same way, and boy did I.

Anyway, you know how I'm always saying that Nicholas says the funniest things? Well Jasmine had her own moment this morning LOL
I was trying to get dressed and I'm standing there in just my underwear, and yes ladies, I wear thongs, got used to it when I was younger and I just can't seem to break the habit LOL
But I'm standing there about to put my shorts on and she comes up behind me and says, very innocently, "mommy your underwear is pulled on too high, your butt cheeks are showing" LOL
I about died, that was just the funniest thing, and the conversation that ensued was even better because now I had to explain (or rather make sense of) the fact that I CHOSE to wear underwear like this. She's not impressed!!!! LOL

I plan on adding some more recipes to my Food Blog this morning, so be sure to check there if you are interested.

I'm also planning a visit to the Airman's Attic later, have some more items to donate and I also want to look through their kitchen and craft shelves. You would be amazed at the neat stuff you can find. That's me, the bargain hunter, always on the prowl for something else. I know some people turn their noses down at thrift stores or yard sales, but I for one couldn't be happier in one, there's something so fun about it. What about the rest of the ladies out there, do you enjoy them??? And what sort of items do you usually look for???

I can't believe this is the last week of summer for Jasmine and then next week school starts, guess we're going to be busy getting everything ready the next few days, gotta get her a new backpack and finish buying her school suplies. I'm actually eager for school to resume so we can get back to our usual routine but also because it means we are that much closer to Halloween.....can't wait.

Well my Blog Car is warmed up and ready to go, got my "Morning Blog Drive" to make, so I better mosy on out of here. Oh I almost forgot my coffee, I'm having Irish Cream this morning, mmmmmm, so good.

Alright I'm done blabbing, go on, get your housework done or your errands taken care of, but if you would rather come take a drive with me, you're more than welcome to :)

God Bless,

Getting Crafty!!!!

We had such a good day today. We got some housework done this morning, me inside and the hubby outside in the yards, and then the kids got to play in the sprinkler again right before lunch.

After lunch we were all just sitting around and I decided to do some crafts.....call it inspiration brought on by some of the new blogs I found.

The first thing we did was make some cool crayons for the kids. I got the idea from Beck over at Frog and Toad are Friends....go on over and see what she and her kids were up to :)
I can't believe I never thought of this myself, I tend to walk around the house collecting tons of crayon pieces, halves etc. Without knowing what to do with them, I just tossed it all in the trash, but NOW guess what we'll be doing with all of those???

The kids are so exited over their new funky crayons. You know come to think of it, I should have waited for Wednesday to use this as the WFMW LOL
Thank you Beck for the great idea :)

While the crayons were melting in the oven (and no I didn't cook them lol), I set about making some soaps. I've wanted to get into Soap Making for so long and just never had the time, but I figured today was it. I brought all my supplies out, not that many since it's a starter kit, but in no time I had made 4 beautiful soaps. Since the kit brings no fragrance oil or anything to add, and I didn't want just plain scenteless soap, I went looking for some sort of fragrance oil to use, I came up empty handed. But not for long, because then I remembered the Baby Oil I had sitting on my bathroom shelf. I poured some of it in with the glycerine and also added two drops of coloring. So instead of plain no scent blue soap, I ended up with this wonderful Baby Oil scented light purple beauties.

Here they are right after I poured them into the mold:

And here they are out of the mold, too bad I have to wait two weeks to actually use them or wrap them, they smell SO good....just like a baby freshly out of the bath:

What a fun afternoon it was.

We just finished having dinner and I am done with the dishes and the usual clean up, so now I'm heading upstairs for a nice warm bath, candles, bubbles and some soft music. Ahhhh great for the soul.

Btw, I posted tonight's dinner recipes on my Food Blog if you want to go take a look :)

Morning Blog Drive!!!!

As I've mentioned before, I love taking my "Morning Blog Drive" ....but just like in real life, when you take a drive somewhere specific, you always end up finding something new and exciting along the way.

That's what happened yesterday, I found a few more blogs that I'm just in love with already. Most of them are crafty ones, either sewing, or knitting or even embroidery (love love love it), and then there's the ones owned by farm owners. I'm sure you've heard me say many times that my ideal place to retire would be a ranch house, or a farm out in the country, filled with animals, greenery, a huge barn and if I'm lucky, a creek or river nearby.

So if there is one thing I love doing, is browsing through these Farm Blogs, they always have the BEST pictures to share, and I guess I'm living vicariously through them. Nothing wrong with that right???

Without further ado, here are the new "Blog Destinations" I found along the way, and I'm passing them on to you all, complete with directions to get there, so that you may also enjoy the wonderful photos, crafts and recipes shared.

Farmgirl Fare - The first thing that caught my eye was the adorable banner on the blog :) Farmgirl lives in Missouri with her husband and her 4 cats and one dog....they live on a 280 acre and 140 year old farm house.....*sigh* my dream place LOL

Haven for Home - A blog shared by a mother and daughter, they share patterns and also "oh so good" recipes. It's a great place to drop by and visit :)

Hey Lucy - I just LOVE all the pictures posted on this blog. She's very crafty and shares all her projects, you'll find sewing, embroidery, recipes, you name it :)

Posy - One of my FAVORITE places to go now, I'm in awe of the pictures she posts, not only of her house, the views around it and the beautiful crafting she does. If you don't get to any other blogs, make sure to go visit this one, and check out her flickr photo's, some of those views could have been taken from a postcard. Just beautiful :)

SouleMama - Another wonderful blog full of beautiful pictures to share, great crafting ideas too.

The Helpful Housewife - Ok this is one that I'm going to be visiting daily too. She posted her lists for "The Helpful Housewife Routine" and I've already printed them all out. She has tons of great tips and tricks and you can even ask questions about house stuff and she will answer :)

With Heart and Hand - A Pastor's wife, homeschooling mom of three in BC, Canada. She also shares great recipes, check out her latest one for "Monkey Bread" :)

And there you have it, those were the new destinations found on my usual drive. I'm so glad I stumbled upon them. I've been sitting around trying to figure out what to make for crafts this fall, and I'm already getting tons of great ideas just from visiting these new blogs.

Aren't you eager for Fall too??? There's nothing more beautiful than the wonderful smells and sights of Autumn, the changing colors of the leaves, the breeze in the air, it's by far my favorite season :)

Last night I started my book "The Englischer" by Beverly Lewis, I'm already loving the book. I've always found the Amish community to be so fascinating, their simple way of life, their crafts, the food and the general family sense....let's not forget the beautiful area they live in.

Just look at that amazing sunset???

Well I have a kitchen floor to sweep and mop and the living room to vacuum. I'm hoping to get some sewing done today, I never did get to finish Jasmine's dresses and there's not much time left for her to wear summery outfits. I also want to get a bit more work done on my embroidery project.

I'm going to leave you with my new favorite song from MercyMe "Bring the Rain", I posted the lyrics for you all yesterday and today I'm sharing the actual song. Is it not the most wonderful thing you've heard in a long time???




Hope you all have a beautiful sunday :)