I've been tagged!

One of the sweetest ladies in the universe, Rhoda from Southern Hospitality, has tagged me to list 8 random things about myself, so here we go .....

1. I love my tv shows, and my 2 favorite shows that are airing right now are So You Think You Can Dance and Ice Road Truckers. I'm enjoying SYTYCD so much more than Dancing With The Stars because the dancers are *awesome* from day 1. I want to learn how to West Coast Swing now, but haven't been able to talk Mr. Jones into it yet. If you haven't seen Ice Road truckers, check it out. These guys drive big rigs over frozen lakes in Canada and sometimes they fall in!!!

2. I am very picky about hair cuts. I don't get babed out every day, and my hair is in a housewife ponytail or french twist a lot, but I want my hair cuts to be technically cut well. When the cut is great, you can do anything with your hair. And if I try a new stylist and she asks me how she should cut my hair, I run as fast as I can.

3. I love to be by water. The beach, a lake, the pool, whatever. I try to take my kids to the pool at least 4 or 5 times a week, and I even get in and swim with them. I can't justify spending the money, but have always wanted to have my own pool.

4. I love cake. I could live on cake alone.

5. I hate cats (although I have learned to love my neighbor's cat. She keeps my property pest-free, and she's a cool cat.)

6. I love guinea pigs. My daughter has 2, which I was strongly opposed to. They are sooooo cute, and they make the funniest little sounds. They also do things like popping up mid-air (there is actually a name for this .... it's called "popcorning"), and they speed around their cages (this is called "motorboating"). This is one of our pigs after a bath.


7. Blue is my favorite color, hands down.

8. I love, love, love Mexican food. The most perfect food ever is a fresh, hand-made tortilla.

Inspiration Friday

For Inspiration Friday, I thought I would stop by HGTV's Rate My Space and see what's new. Here are some pictures from my favorites:

Too see more of this designer's rooms, click here.

I liked this one too.

Here is a yummy toile bathroom. Check it out here. And check out this amazing lady's cottage rooms. I found her completely by accident, but immediately recognized the rooms as Cindy's at Romantic Home. Click on the first link to see her rooms on Rate My Space, and give her a great rating.

The Proverbs Challenge

I was reading Justabeachkat's blog this morning, and she is joining in The Proverbs Challenge at My Montana Moments, which I think I will do too. I just love the book of Proverbs because it is full of the wisdom that I need. It is a great book to read with the kids too (most of it, depending on how old they are).

Tasty Little Muffins and Children's Cookbook

*A note to add to yesterday's post: If you like the mirror I got on clearance, Bed Bath and Beyond still sells them, and the regular price is only a little less than $20.00 (an amazing price compared to the other store). I didn't see them online, but I did see them in the mirror section at the store.*

A while back, I tried OliveJuice's recipe for Fruit Filled Scones, and they were *so* good that I thought I would try another one of her recipes.!

This time I made her recipe for Blueberry Cheesecake Muffins. Yum! They are really good. Easy too ... you start with a box mix and add the cream cheese filling. Click on the link above to get the recipe. You have to see her aprons, too. They are amazing!

I am going to have to try all the recipes on her blog, now, since the first 2 were very tasty. Thanks OliveJuice!

I also saw this great children's cookbook the other day. I have been looking for a good cookbook for my kids, but haven't been able to find one until now. I don't want anything with weird recipes, just the basics please.

Well, I was very happy when it arrived, because not only is it absolutely adorable (it has vintage children's cooking pictures throughout), but it covers the basics of cooking and the good old standards for recipes (tomato soup, meatloaf, muffins, etc.). Tween actually picked it up and made a recipe for blueberry muffins all by herself. She substituted chocolate chips for blueberries, and she even wore a vintage handkerchief apron! *I'm so proud that she accessorized before baking ... I wish I had taken a picture!*

You can get it at Amazon.com among other places. I get the used books from them for a better price. They also have them on ebay and P.O.S.H. Chicago (this is a fun store to look through).


There is a sewing version of the book, called See and Sew, a Sewing Book for Children. I haven't purchased this one yet, but I would love to check it out. Either of these books would make a great gift.


This past weekend, my Honey went to Cooperstown for the Baseball Hall of Fame Induction. He is *wild* about baseball. I have always enjoyed tagging along with him to baseball stadiums and to get autographs. I also love the old vintage baseball photos he has. (This particular photo is courtesy of HistoryImages.com)

My Honey has been fortunate to meet many baseball players through his job, including Tony Gwynn. We are big Tony fans anyway, because we are from San Diego. We live so close to Cooperstown, that Mr. J was able to drive right over to see Tony's big day. He and our son also had a chance to meet Cal Ripken, and he was so kind and humble. As a mother of two young sons, I truly appreciate two baseball players who are a good example to kids, and who use their fame and talent to do good things for others. Congratulations to both of you, and thank you!

I will finish my post with a picture of Puppy's Very Bad Day.

Clearance Aisle Love

I have been looking for a framed mirror to go over my little table in the hallway, but the other day I was looking over the clearance aisle at Bed Bath and Beyond, and I spied this baby. On sale for $9.99 because it was returned without the hardware and has a scratch (where??). I think it will do!

I think it looks a bit like this ($200) mirror from Ballard Designs, don't you? I was going to hang it in the other direction, but it looked to low if I put it close to the table and too high if I hung it so you could see your face. What do you think about the placement ... should I flip it around and hang it horizontally or leave as is?
Tomorrow I hope to be posting some furniture makeover pix. I think they are going to turn out really great, and hopefully I can finish them up today. I will leave you with some family pix:

Here is Tweeny fishing at Grandma's. I just love lake pictures. They are so much easier to take than beach pictures.

Here is a closeup of Middle Child fishing.

Here is the Happy Little Man getting a ride on Daddy's shoulders. This kid just loves life.

And a new pet picture. This is one of the guinea pigs drying off after a bath (thaaaat was an interesting experience!). Yes, we have 2 guinea pigs, 2 dogs, 3 fire belly toads, and a gazillion fish. I didn't think I would like the toads, but I was forced to pick one up one day and it wasn't that bad. I even feed them the crickets now (swore I would not do that when we were at the pet store).

I think the pet love goes back to first grade for me. I had the coolest teacher *ever*. I wish I could find that woman, because I would love to send her a letter. She must be really old by now though.

She had a tarantula, snakes and rats in her classroom, and yes I have held them all! Sounds really gross, but to a 6 year old that is *way* cool. We would sit in a big circle and watch the snake eat it's lunch. She had a claw foot bathtub that we could read in. A really old-style typewriter we could "write" with. She had this loft area we could climb up and hide in to do our work. The much anticipated Grand Finale of the year was a sleepover in the classroom, and a tour of the boys' bathroom (if you were a boy, you got to see the girls' bathroom). We finally got to see that secret, unknown, disgusting room the boys went in every day. Wow! A bit anti-climactic actually, but the anticipation was great It was a magical classroom. I wonder how many places don't even let teachers teach like that anymore.

I had a couple GREAT teachers at that school. Anyone know how to track down former teachers? Thank you Ms. McCarthy!

And to everyone ...

~"May the Lord continually bless you with heaven's blessings as well as with human joys." - Psalms 128:5

I Think I Need This . . .

I think these are just what I need for my garage sale. Aren't they cute?! They are from Sassy Signs, and you can get signs for parties, babies, whatever you need. Now who wouldn't stop for that!

I Think I'm Insane (in other words, I'm Having a Garage Sale)

I have *SWORN* off having garage sales, but with the Tween room makeover (remember my little Peter Walsh was ruthlessly tossing things out) we have enough stuff to have a garage sale, and she wants to use the money to buy new bedding. I know all of my friends who know me well, and have heard "I'm never having another garage sale" ad nauseum, are all rolling their eyes.

Question ... and please pipe in with any opinions you may have, Tween wants to get rid of all American Girl dolls and accessories. I will let her sell almost anything, but this collection I cannot part with. I must save it. Am I being a clutter rat or is it ok to save something really special for our family (grandchildren, nieces) and future guests? Am I saving Tween from selling something that she may want to keep in the future, or should I let her get rid of her possessions the way she sees fit?

Ok, so my honey is also cleaning the garage, which is a source of much, much, much more junk to sell. I think there is more eye-rolling going on from the friends, because you all know what our garage has looked like for ages. He has already installed shelving and cabinets, so the real test is next week when he is going to de-clutter. I think Tween may have inspired him though. Keep your fingers crossed for me ladies.

So with Garage Sale plans full steam ahead, I thought I would brush up on my garage sale skills. I found a great little check list on my new favorite organizing website, OnlineOrganizing.Com:

BEGIN BY PREPARING YOUR SALE ITEMS
sort items into categories (kitchen, books, kids, clothes)
clean and repair items as you go
price items and label with a description when applicable

CLARIFY YARD SALE REGULATIONS
call city or county government for local yard sale regulations
find out about "signage" rules (size, shape, placement)
find out if you need a permit to hold a yard sale in your area

DECIDE ON NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING
call for prices and deadlines (don't forget "free" and local papers)
include date, time, address, directions, and items of interest
run your ad at least 1 day before and day of your sale

DETERMINE YOUR YARD SALE POLICIES
determine the length of your sale (number of days and hours)
decide if you will accept checks or hold items for people
decide if you will allow early birds or let people in your home

GATHERING YOUR SUPPLIES
decide if you will allow early birds or let people in your home
"checkout" items (cash box, extra bags, tissue / newspaper)
"try-before-you-buy" items (extension cords, batteries, bulbs)

MULTI-FAMILY SALES
ask friends, neighbors, and family to join in
have each participant mark his / her items differently
keep track of each person's sales in a notebook

PUTTING UP SIGNS
put posters at major intersections and along your road
put up fliers in local stores, laundromats, and churches
include address, hours, arrows, and major items of interest

SETTING UP YOUR CASH BOX
get change ($20 in coins, $50 in ones, $40 in fives)
create a list of "minimum prices" you will accept for each item
make arrangements for a charity to pick up your leftovers

SETTING UP YOUR SALE AREA
make sure nothing is blocking traffic flow
display like items / complementary items together
make sure everything is clearly visible

TIME TO ASK FOR HELP
make arrangements for a charity to pick up your leftovers
recruit helpers (at least 2 people to stay the length of the sale)
educate helpers about your pricing / negotiating

WEEK BEFORE THE SALE
put up fliers in public areas around town
place your newspaper ad
gather supplies, get change, and confirm "helpers"

WEEK OF THE SALE
put up directional signs around your neighborhood
block off any areas you don't want shoppers to enter
get a good night's sleep

WHAT TO DO DAY OF THE SALE
start setting up 1-2 hours before sale scheduled to start
put one person in charge of cash box -- never leave unguarded
have fun -- let your kids sell snacks and play some peppy music!

Anyone else hosting a garage sale this summer?