Kelleys Family Jewels

Free Laugh today on Cookie Monster

2012-01-27T09:29:00.000-08:00

I love this. I have been here soooo many times. Thank you Craftfail for the laugh.

I love my dog. I love my dog. I love my dog.

2012-01-24T17:05:00.001-08:00

My dog is a bit ill and leaving me liquid presents about the house. DH is super excited about it and taking every chance to thank me. Ah, sigh.

Solar System #2

2012-01-24T12:54:00.000-08:00

LJ and I have been researching different ways to build our 3D solar system. I thought it would be cool to make them out of cookies our cupcakes; but LJ quickly put the kabosh on that as "been done". (Really, when it comes to 3D models of the solar system, I am pretty sure it has all been done. I'm not bitter.)

So after my genius idea tossed to the curb, we started looking for ideas. We are not supposed to buy the kit; but make it ourselves. I know some parents will buy the kit and have perfectly round, beautifully painted planets; but so far LJ just wants me to have an large electrical sun in the center attached to something that spins so the planets move around the sun.

Ah-what?

Paint, yes. Paper mache, no problem. Electrical work?
This is going to be a bigger project than I thought. Cant we just build it out of Lego's?
Any ideas?

Valentines Day in a box ( a pill box )

2012-01-24T11:00:00.000-08:00

I saw this project last year on a blog and for the life of me can not find it again. I saved this random piece of paper for almost a year because I thought it was so cute.
All you need is pill box, candies and some paper for love notes

Here is the first one for LJ and it is funny because that is the planet he did his solar system report on.

You put the little note and few pieces of candy in the box and snap the lid.

On Valentines Day, both LJ and DH will get a little box of notes and candies. I think it is a great idea. If you know the blog that posted this, please tell me,I would love to link back to them.

Happy Valentines Day.

Save on Prescriptions with Walgreens

2012-01-23T23:00:00.001-08:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Do you spend more that you like on prescription drugs? If so, you may want to look into Walgreens Prescription Savings Club. For just $10 a year***, a family membership covers everyone in your immediate family, including a spouse, dependents 22 and younger and pets. Individuals may join for $5***.

Did you see that about pets?

Now that caught my eye since I have a geriatric hound dog. Glucosamine makes him much more comfortable; but those tablets are expensive. I checked further and the club includes discounted pricing on common medications often prescribed to pets, such as Amoxicillin (antibiotic), Humulin^ý (insulin), Hydrocortisone (skin conditions), Omeprazole (digestive), etc. In order to qualify for the discount, you must have a valid prescription for your pet and the medication must be one that has a human equivalent. Your veterinarian will tell you if your pet's prescription can be filled at a retail pharmacy.

My next call will be to my veterinarian to see this can save us some money.

For you non-four-legged family members, benefits include savings on more that 8000 brand-name and generic medicine, discounts on flu shots and bonus on when you purchase Walgreens products and photofinising.

In a time when things are so expensive, it's nice to get a tip on a way to save money. If you want to keep up to date on the savings you can like Walgreens on Facebook or Walgreens on Twitter.

I will come back and let you know how the pet prescription works out.

Name that Movie Monday #30

2012-01-23T09:49:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to Name that Movie Monday, a silly way to start off a week.

Last weeks movie quote was " Sir, are you classified as human? Negative, I am a meat popsicle" which is from The Fifth Element. DH is quote fond of Milla Jovovich; but even if you dont have a small crush on Milla, this is a good movie.

This weeks quote is " This is Bill. Idea to eliminate garbage: edible paper!"

Do you think you know the movie, leave it in the comments so all the world can see your genius!

Favorites from 2011

2012-01-20T12:14:00.000-08:00

This may come as a shock; but I have not gotten into Pinterest yet, I'm still getting the hang of Evernote.
Which brings me to the topic of this post, my favorite things in Evernote that I still want to get to.....eventually.

1. This dog bed from Making the World Cuter. I <3 this and it will stay in my 'to-do' file until I find a wood crate.

2. Most anything from Remodelaholic, tickles me; but this project I think is great too.

Hmm... I must have something about vintage crates. Did not even notice that until now.

3. I have always wanted a henna tattoo. Handmade Hannah had a nice post on how to do it yourself. I dont know if I could. I just think it is neat and would be a fun 'girls night out' thing to do.

4. This I saw on Joss and Main and thought it would be easy peasy to make. Turns out, it has been hard to make the time ... haha ...get the pun.

So, those are just a couple of the things on my 'to-do' list. What about your list?

Is your home energy efficient?

2012-01-20T00:00:00.001-08:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Santa Clara County’s 80% Home Energy Assessment Rebate for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

My gas bill was 242.00 this month. Yowza. It has been cold; but not that cold. (Especially when you consider, I am sweating every night; but that is a topic for another day!)

I started looking on line for some solutions and one thing that came up was getting an "energy assessment", which is kind of like a check up for your house. A contractor will come in for the energy assessment and help you determine where the problems and help you eliminate them. We all can guess at the reason our house is not energy efficient- bad insulation, drafty doors or windows- but an assessment will tell you exactly where best to spend your money. I also checked my specific county and there are rebates being offered that can save up to 80% on the work if you follow through on the suggestions from the assessment contractor. There are many great sources our there for information, like Facebook. You should see what is available in your neighborhood. There could be great deals out there now for you to save money and make your home more efficient. I just added one more thing to my New Years Resolution list.

Sea Buckthorn

2012-01-18T13:15:00.000-08:00

One great thing about blogging is the people you can meet and the things you can learn. Today I learned a few new things.
Have you ever heard of Sea Buckthorn?
Nope? Me, either.

I was contacted by Sibu Beauty where I learned all about this little gem of a fruit that grows high in the mountains of Tibet. This "beauty berry" has over 190 bioactive compounds to restore, revitalize and protect beauty from the inside and outside. These little berries are chock full of powerful antioxidants, fatty acids and Omega 7.

I learned from Dr. OZ that Omega 7 is a rare building block to healthy skin, hair and nails. Plus it can aid digestion and maintain a healthier weight. Here is a link to Dr. Oz is talking about this the miracle berry.

The folks at Sibu Beauty were so kind to send me a sample of their facial cream to try. I have to admit that I don't take the best care of my skin. I wash with soap in the shower and whatever lotion is handy is what gets put on (if I put lotion at all). This Sibu facial cream is really light and not at all greasy. One reason I don't use much lotion or moisturizers is that I hate that greasy feeling. This went on really smooth and light and it was refreshing. ( I think my face actually sighed at the little bit of pampering.) It has a very light citrus scent.

Sibu Beauty sources sea buckthorn through fair trade agreements with local harvester in Tibet and made in the USA. They are USDA organic, Paraben-Free, Cruelty-Free, so you can feel good about the product you are purchasing.

Sibu gave me a bottle of their facial cream to try, opinoins are 100 percent mine.

Solary System model part #1

2012-01-18T12:38:00.000-08:00

Like almost all other third graders around the US; LJ has started learning about the solar system and will end the period with building a 3D model and 2 page report. He has chosen the planet Uranus as the subject of his report. We decided that each day we would read one page about the planet and write one or two sentences onto index cards of things we found most interesting, then when it came time to write the actual report, it should be fairly easy to write.

Last night we began reading about Uranus and learned it is made up largely of methane gas.
I said to LJ, " interesting, I wonder what Uranus smells like"?
The peanut gallery started cracking up at that.
"hehe, what does Uranus smell like...."

Oh, and by peanut gallery, I mean the 47 year old infant I am married too.

So far, LJ is not aware of the double meaning when the planet name is said incorrectly; but I don't hold out hopes that will last too long.

This is going to be a very long project.

Happy Birthday to the Daddy

2012-01-17T12:33:00.000-08:00

The DH birthday was this last week and I had very specific instructions from LJ as to the theme. He wanted it to be a Chicago Bears theme and gave me specific instructions on everything. (And then some!)
He wanted a blue ‘C’ and orange sprinkles. So that is exactly what we made.

(It was terrible. I totally botched it. Subconscious at work? Hmmm.)

Then LJ made a banner-all by himself.

And here they are with their matching Bears sweatshirts.

Other than the botched cake, it was a great party.

Name that Movie Monday #29

2012-01-16T09:44:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to Name that Movie Monday, a silly way to start off a week.

Last weeks movie quote was "In the jungle you must wait, until the dice read five or eight" which is from the movie Jumangi.
This weeks movie quote is "Sir, are you classified as human? Negative, I am a meat popsicle."

Do you think you know the movie, leave it in the comments so all the world can see your genius!

Valentine Window Clings

2012-01-11T10:34:00.000-08:00

I did this project last year for Valentines and everyone loved it. They are so easy and inexpensive to make that I had LJs cub scouts do this for one of their den meetings this month.

Supplies: puffy paint and freezer paper.

All you do is draw your design on the shiny side of the freezer paper and let dry. It is also good to have a tooth pick, skewer or popsicle stick handy; some kind of poking device for bubbles and to help spread the puffy paint into the design you want. The pink heart on the left is how I started, then used my skewer to spread the paint and fill it in. The red heart on the right is how it looked all finished and filled in

After you finish you little works of art, let them dry. I left mine overnight to be sure they were dried through.

After they dried, we just peeled them off the freezer paper and stuck them on our windows.

Happy Valentines Day!

I am hooking up to these great link parties. Go visit them, share some love.

New Years Resolutions and Estate Planning

2012-01-10T13:22:00.000-08:00

LJ is tired of all my new years resolutions, he asked when "new year resolution time will be over?"
Never or when I get distracted by life. (The later most likely.)

For now though, I am still working on the great big list of 2012 and moving on to the estate planning portion of our program. Which is funny to say. "Estate planning" is for those rich folks in Beverly Hills with all that oil money, right? I hate to think of all the things that would happen if DH or I died unexpectedly. It has been weighing on my mind, not sure what to do or where to start and certain that I have PLENTY of time to work this out. DH turned 47 yesterday; which means I am NOT 47 haha; but time is ticking and we need to get things in line.

But where to start?

1. Will
We definitely need a will to make sure that LJ is taken care of if anything should happen to us. No brainer; but still here we sit with an almost 9year old son and no will. I know the government would have a field day with all our 'stuff' if we don't get this down in writing. Then there is the whole living will to make sure your wishes are followed if you are in a coma. I found a blog Cash Money Life that has some easy to read information and I am going to research on line for a simple will program and try to do it myself.
Has anyone done an online will or did you go through a lawyer? .

2. Life insurance
When you are young and first getting married, struggling to pay bills, who thinks about life insurance? Not me. Then you get older, start a family and still no insurance. That is definitely not me either. I have some insurance; but not enough to take care of LJ. I have to read up on that to understand what is necessary.

3. Savings and Retirement
Over the last few years, I have been paying more and more attention here. DH and I are pretty good savers.
For me, it is this weird fear of just not having any money. Totally unbiased and odd; but I remember back to buying our first house, I literally hyperventilated into a paper bag at the bank. True story. This year we are going to look into how to open a roth IRA and a college fund for LJ.

Ok, so those are the top three things I am going to work on this week. I'm not going to think of all the other things on my list, just these three little easy projects. If anyone has any good suggestions, please leave for me in the comments.

Name that Movie Monday #28

2012-01-09T09:40:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to Name that Movie Monday, a silly way to start off a week.

Last weeks movie quote was "Shall we play a game" which was from the movie War Games. Do you remember that one? It had Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy and a great little Def-Con 5 computer game.

This weeks movie quote is on of LJ's favorite movies "In the jungle you must wait, until the dice read five or eight."

Do you think you know the movie, leave it in the comments so all the world can see your genius!

Christmas Morning 2012

2012-01-05T16:29:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year, just the three of us. We stayed in PJs ALL.DAY.LONG!

I will let you in on a secret. Since we did not have family coming over or going over to family, I totally forgot about food for Christmas dinner. We were almost going to go find Chinese restaurant like in A Christmas Story. But I managed to scrounge up a Who-feast of cheeseburgers and sweet potato tater tots.

(dont you love his PJs...too excited to even find matching top and bottoms.)

I have got to mix in some educational items.

The BIG gift from Santa. A Lego VW bus, complete with tee shirt that says "make Legos, not war". This one was for ages 16 and over, so DH and I were expecting some shouting during building. BUT, LJ just dug in and built it all by himself. It took him the better part of Christmas day to do; but he stuck with it.

Happy Holidays!

Easy Fondant Cake

2012-01-03T10:51:00.000-08:00

One new thing I tried in 2011, was how to make fondant cakes. I made the first cake for my son's Lego birthday. I tried several more for special events during the year and if you are looking for one new thing to try this year; a fondant cake is one of them.

I followed Show Tell Share directions and tips exactly and I came out with this cute Lego brick cake for LJs 8th birthday.

It was very easy and for my first cake ever, super easy. And this is coming not from a crafter, baker point of view. This is easy from a non-cook- messy house- throw things together and hope it comes out-easy kind of person. Anyone can do this. And the bonus, it really tastes good too.

Here is a second cake I made for our family celebration. Its not great by any means, but know what? Who cares! This "bad" cake tastes great and all my family thought I was a rock star.

This is one thing you should try this year. Go on, its a new year, time to try new things.

Kelley

Name that Movie Monday #27

2012-01-02T09:36:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to Name that Movie Monday, a silly way to start off a week.

Last weeks movie quote was :
Johnny, what can you make outta this? (hands him a piece of paper) Johnny : This? Why I could make a hat, or a brooch, a pterodactyl. . .~

Which is from the movie Airplane. An all time silly dumb movie; but full of fabulous one-liners.

This weeks quote is: "Shall we play a game"
(Now, if you need a hint, say the line in a computer voice and it just may come to you.)

Do you think you know the movie, leave it in the comments so all the world can see your genius!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T10:44:00.000-08:00

Desiderata
by Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Happy New Year, and best wishes for a healthy and safe 2012.

New Years Resolutions 2012

2011-12-30T10:25:00.000-08:00

New Years Resolutions 2012

I am still a little short of breath that it is 2012. Does it get any easier do you think? Do you remember when you were a kid and how it felt like time just draaaggged on so? And now, it is just the opposite. So here we are again, with a new list of resolutions to keep me on track for 2012.

~ Go to church more regularly.
I am a terrible catholic. As a child I went to church every Sunday, for most all saints days and now, I just cant seem to make it. How terrible is that? I cant seem to fit in an hour a week?

~DH and I have GOT to get insurance and a will set up. It is criminal that we have been married for 20+ years and have an almost 9 year old son and we have not taken care of this.

~Refinance the house. I think we can get a better rate and really should look into that sooner rather than later. I am terrible in that if "its not broke don't fix it"; but really could save money if we put forth the effort.

~ Start a college CD/ savings account for LJ.

~Kitchen remodel is still on the list. I hope to get to it before it breaks on me and we"have" to do a kitchen remodel; but do you know how darn expensive kitchens cost?

~ Paint outside of the house this summer

~Organize, organize, organize. Each room in the house is in need of some organizing. Pantry, closets and LJs bedroom are top of my list.

~Wash walls, touch up paint all over the house. I am pretty sure dog slobber is not an acceptable wall treatment. Carpet cleaned.

~The master bedroom and bath need some attention too. We have not updated anything since we moved in almost 8 years ago. My sink is broken and needs to be fixed. The shower stall has a huge crack in it. Painting the walls here would be nice.

~Meet up with friends more. At Christmas parties the most uttered line is "we should hang out more often" and it's true. I want to meet at least monthly with my sister for pedicures and maybe every other month start up a girls night out. I can get tunnel vision: LJ to school..work...LJ homework...cook dinner....go to bed... get up... LJ to school...work.. You get the picture.

~Write..actually write...more letters to people. It is a lost art form and one I want to do with LJ at least once a month. Hand write and mail a letter instead of waiting for the yearly Christmas card.
~ Exercise. I hate it. Loath with a white hot passion any and all forms of exercise. And one and two and around the world and YUCK. But I will try to do SOMETHING everyday.

Happy New Year to all and may all your resolutions come to pass!

New Years Resolution- 3-2-1

2011-12-29T19:00:00.001-08:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Slim-Fast for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

It's New Years and time for my annual "loose weight, get healthy" resolution. I have been going on and off diets for as long as I can remember; until I finally just came to terms with who I am and how I look and just focused on eating healthy as well as I could.

I am OK in my skin; but I can always do better, do more to be healthy. For me, I cant just "go on a diet" because it would come back as soon as I went back to eating "normal". I look at diet as a simple mathematical equation- calories in / calories out. Eating is not really my problem; it is exercise. I hate it. Plain and simple.

So I thought, if I could drop 5 pounds it would maybe motivate me to do more. I just bought a pack of Slim-Fast shakes to get things moving. I found a 1.50 off coupon on Slim-Fast Facebook page and picked up a pack of chocolate shakes from Safeway. (It is also available at Target, in the pharmacy section of grocers and retailers nationwide, online at Amazon.com and in the Slim Fast 3-2-1 Store on Facebook.)

If you "like" them you can get a coupon too as well as enter to win 10,000 from Slim-Fast.

They have a new 3-2-1 plan which seems easy enough to follow:

3 healthy snacks a day
2 SlimFast Shakes or meal bars
1 healthy meal

I know one of my big problems is not eating breakfast so I plan to add a shake to breakfast to get my metabolism going. I think I sabotage myself by not eating breakfast and hope by having a chocolate shake will help start a new routine. I had my first shake this morning and it was pretty tasty. It is really creamy and smooth, did not seem like a "diet" drink. The snacks will be easy because I generally snack at work anyway. I always have almonds, apples, carrots and the like to snack on during the day. A healthy meal tonight should round out my day.

Now all I have to do is fit in exercise. Yuck. Any thoughts how I can learn to like it?

Gingerbread House 2012

2011-12-29T16:25:00.000-08:00

Each year, LJ and I build a gingerbread house for a 'contest' at our local Starbucks. Two years ago we won a little gift pack and now LJ is hooked. (Last year our Bumpass hound jumped on the counter and art the house before we could get it to SB, so this year LJ is looking for a big win.)

Here we are at the start. He begrudgingly looked at me for the photo so sorry for that guys behind there. When it comes to photos, I take what I can get!

Yellow fondant windows and green icing trim and red door for good luck.

Here it is all finished. I am surprised how much candy made it on the house since LJ was double fisting candy as fast as we could glue it on.

This is one family tradition I hope LJ will enjoy for many more years!
Happy Holidays!

Starbucks, much?

2011-12-28T10:49:00.001-08:00

LJ made this for us. I wonder if we spend too much time at Starbucks?

Happy Holidays!

Kelley

Name That Movie Monday #26

2011-12-26T09:18:00.001-08:00

Welcome back to Name that Movie Monday, a silly way to start off a week.

Last weeks movie quote, or wav. file if you were able to open it up, was Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! It's hard to believe we are winding our way down to the end of 2011. Yowza!

This weeks useless movie quote is :

Johnny, what can you make outta this? (hands him a piece of paper) Johnny : This? Why I could make a hat, or a brooch, a pterodactyl. . .~

That one we seriously use all the time.
Do you think you know the movie, leave it in the comments so all the world can see your genius!

2011-12-19T09:59:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to Name that Movie Monday, a silly way to start off a week.

Last week's quote was:

Sonsabitches Bumpasses!!!!!

Did you guess the movie? Christmas Story of coarse! And yes, we do use that line fairly often with this guy in the house.....

I know, right now he does not look like the destructive Bumpass hound, be he is, trust me.

This week movie quote is from another old favorite. This guy has been quoted before as we are fans of sarcastic, irreverent humor. Can you guess what movie this line is from......
Listen to the quote as a wav file here

Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Kiss my ass. Kiss his ass. Kiss your ass. Happy Chanukah.

The wav file should be considered your Christmas gift..lol.
Leave in the comments your guess and see you all back here next week.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Holiday Frames are coming to town

2011-12-18T12:00:00.001-08:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Zenni Optical for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I always take the opportunity at Christmas to throw in a few presents that the family actually needs as well as what they want. PJs and undies are always under the tree; much to LJ's dismay.

But how about eyeglasses for this holiday season? If you have to buy them anyway, why not get all festive with cheap eyeglasses ?

Look at these fun red and green little beauties.

Everyone needs a spare, right? Plus, with all the money you save from Zenni Optical, just think about the extra toys you can toss under the tree. Maybe a little spa pampering for you for being such a great mom? That sounds pretty good to me. ( Hey, any excuse to hit the spa and I'm there.)

Do you need glasses? What about the kiddos, next time junior leaves his glasses on his lunch tray at school and throws them into the trash, you will be ready. (I did that with my retainer a time or two, much to my mothers chagrin.) What eyeglasses do you like? Leave me a comment with your favorite pair.

Have a great week and happy holidays!

Christmas Shopping for pets

2011-12-17T11:51:00.000-08:00

I did some Christmas shopping for the pets during lunch hour today and found some super fun things they will love. ( And yes, the presents are wrapped and delivered by "Santa Paws".)

For Dude, I found THE squeaky toy. He is a squeaky toy fiend; but he rips it to shreds and stuffing goes all over the house. Not good.
This squeaky toy has no stuffing, the inside is an empty plastic water bottle.
It makes horribly squeaky sounds but no stuffing! He will love it.

For Minion, I found Potty Mouth. It makes ones poo less appetizing. I think that explains the issue we have with Minion. I don't know if this will work but looking at the ingredients it seems it has some Cayenne pepper in the mix which I think is the secret ingredient. I will let you know if it really works.

For Elwood, I found new Greenies Joint Care. He LOVES greenies and at his age the glucosimine will be a very big help.

Check, check and check. Pets done. Now if only the 2 legged members of my pack were so easy to shop for I would be done and done.
( This is not a paid advertisment of any kind, just some fun things I found that I thought I would share with you.)

Happy Holidays!

I is for Imagination

2011-12-15T11:33:00.000-08:00

Ok, yes, I am getting super lame with the titles. It's my theme and I am sticking to it.

This week the app I have been enjoying is from Starbucks. It is part of their Let's Merry theme and the ap is called Cup Magic. You use the app to scan characters on cups and bags in the store and they come to life, right before your eyes. The characters move around and it snows and is just plain fun. There are eight different characters for find and LJ enjoyed this little extra bit of magic. Check it out, it's festive and its FREE, two of my favorite "F" words. Happy Holidays!

Name that Movie Monday #24

2011-12-12T07:53:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to Name that Movie Monday, a silly way to start off a week.
Last week's quote was:

In case I forget to tell you later, I had a really good time tonight

And the answer is.......
Pretty Woman
That one was a total no brainer, right?

This week movie quote should be a 100% freebie to you. I love this movie and even LJ is quoting lines from it. This line, we actually use all the time in real life. True Story.

Sonsabitches Bumpasses!!!!!

Do you know it? Leave your guess in the comments and come back next week to see if you were right.

More Legoland love....

2011-12-08T09:21:00.001-08:00

As I mentioned last week, we went to Legoland Florida over Thanksgiving break and LJ loved it. For us, it was a great match not only b/c LJ is so into Lego's; but also because it was more hands on than Disney. LJ is not just content with going on rides; he wants to participate in the ride. DH and I enjoyed it b/c it was a little slower paced and we could take our time. It did not feel like we were running from one long line to the next.

First stop was the mini village. It is amazing. Essentially, the entire US built of Lego's. All the familiar icons laid out in miniature. Each display even had fun little extras like moving cars, blinking lights and even a bit of squirting water.

Statue of Liberty

Golden Gate Bridge

This was one of my favorite sculptures. It is actually snoring too! I love how his toe is peeking out from the hole in his sock. All the displays have such high attention to detail, you almost forget they are made from Lego's.

This is a Ford SUV. They even show a fast action film about making this sculpture.

The rides are hands on too; you don't just sit and ride. They have all kinds of rides for all ages. There is driving school, boating school and flying school which are tailor made for the kids to do themselves without being "baby" rides. There are roller coasters as well; but toned down just a touch for all kids to enjoy.

They also have great shows! We got to see a pirate water show which was really fun. And they have a 4D theatre which was great. For our movie, they actually made it "snow" in the theater complete with small drops of water to simulate melting snowflakes. If you go, make a point to see the 4D show. It was so entertaining and very well done.

Vacation was AWESOME! Legoland, hands down winner!

2011-12-02T09:42:00.000-08:00

We went to WDW and Legoland over the Thanksgiving holiday and it was a wonderful vacation. I have sooooo many photos that I am not sure where to start. If you ask LJ what his favorite part of the vacation was, he will tell you the Lego store. Legoland really was great. It was small enough that you could really see and do everything. The rides were quick and not to super scary and it was very hands on.

Hope you had a great holiday.

How to make Salt Dough ornaments with your kids

2011-12-01T09:41:00.000-08:00

LJ and his fellow cub scouts spent Sunday decorating a Christmas tree with salt dough ornaments they had made. (And by "spent Sunday decorating", I mean they threw on an ornament and ran off to play while the parents decorated. But that does not have near enough of a "Its a Wonderful Life" vibe.)

Anywho, here is how you make the ornaments.

Salt Dough Ornaments
2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup salt
1 cup cold water

Directions: In a large bowl, mix table salt and flour together. Gradually add 1/2 cup of water mixing and kneading until the consistency of clay. Add water slowly, you don't want the clay too moist. (I added green food coloring to make it easier for a pack of 7 year olds to make; but you could certainly skip the step and paint them later on.)

Once the dough is made, roll out to about 1/8" thick pieces and use cookie cutters to cut out a variety of shapes. Place shapes on wax paper or other surface to dry. If you want to make hanging ornaments, pierce the dough through with a toothpick while it's wet. Allow the ornaments to dry thoroughly ( about 2 days). After they had dried I covered with two coatings of Mod Podge.

Tip: Dont put the Mod Podge on too thick as it will not dry perfectly clear.

Have a great week!

Name that Movie Monday #23

2011-11-29T10:37:00.000-08:00

Ah, it;s Monday again and time for another round of Name that Movie Monday.

Last weeks quote was, Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it which is from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

And as you read this, the end of my day off is near. (sad face) We are flying home from Florida today;but I leave you with this weeks quote:
In case I forget to tell you later, I had a really good time tonight

Do you recognize it?

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T10:44:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Let us remember that as much as has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds. --Theodore Roosevelt

H is for Have FUN

2011-11-23T22:14:00.000-08:00

Yeah, yeah, I know that is a real stretch; but I started this whole alphabet named gadgets and gizmo's and I have to see it through.

This week, I have been loading more games than usual since we are going on vacation and I want to have plenty of things for LJ to do in case any flight delays and such.
(Oh, who am I kidding, I love playing video games too!)

First up, is Temple Run and it is easy and addicting. It is slide to play, meaning just about anyone can play this game. The hardest thing will be shutting it off. It has a very high ..."just one more time" factor. I have no doubt LJ could sit and play this for a good part of of trip before getting board.  This ap is for Ipad and Iphone and it is FREE. Big Plus!

The next one I loaded is CONNECT 4 and is essentially straight off the table top game.   Simple to use and LJ loves any game where he can beat his parents. He has a new expression.. "lets play easies"... meaning left him win. (Pfft, as if... I play to win baby. LOL)

This last ap should give you a hint to where we are headed. I added it mostly for the novelty value and since it was FREE  DisneyWorld Wait Times seemed like something handy to have.

Have a great week!

Name that Movie Monday # 22

2011-11-22T10:35:00.000-08:00

Ah, it;s Monday again and time for another round of Name that Movie Monday.

Last weeks quote was: Wilson. WILSON! which is from the movie Cast Away. And for this weeks movie quote:

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.

Which is exactly what I am doing right now. As you read this, I am kicking back in sunny Florida, slowing down and looking around a bit. Wish you were here.

Take a chance, give a guess and come back next week to see if you were right.

5x7 Folded Card

2011-11-18T10:39:00.001-08:00

Holiday Love Sketch Christmas Card

Design photo Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Its on! Puppies vs. Babies.

2011-11-17T18:00:00.001-08:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Puppies vs. Babies for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

All right peoples, it's time to put your money where your mouth is and decide once and for all, who is cuter? Babies or Puppies?

I have all along said that puppies have to be cute or they would not make it. Potty training, yuck I got peed on several times racing to get Minion to the door in time. ( To be fair, LJ graced me with a golden shower or two when he was just a baby.)

Head over to the Puppies vs. Babies online contest and we can settle this once and for all. The confused pugs just get me howling; but then again, there is nothing as infectious as a baby laughing. This may be more difficult to decide that I thought.

I think I am going with puppies. Sorry babies of the world; but I think the soft little balls of fur have just the slight edge. (Plus, puppies don't sass talk their mothers when told to clean their room!)

I mean come on, look at that face and those floppy little ears.

So, where do you stand?

Puppies vs. Babies

Head over and vote today and let me know who you are going to vote for- are you with me or against me?

Win a 2500 Amazon Gift Card from Swagbucks

2011-11-16T11:46:00.001-08:00

Swagbucks is having a contest and the grand prize drawing is $2500 in Amazon Gift Cards!
From now until Monday, November 28th you’ll have opportunities every day to earn entries for the prize drawing. You can be the person that has their holiday shopping paid just check out this post HERE.

All you have to do is:

1. Sign into or up for Swagbucks AND if you use me as a referral, I get entered to win a 500 bucks in Amazon gift cards. So if you could be so kind and use the LINK HERE I would be most grateful.

2. Go to the Wishlist page and complete your Wishlist - once you're done, you've been entered! Share your Wishlist once a day on either Facebook or Twitter for an additional entry.

3. If people sign up through your Wishlist share, you can earn up to 5 more entries from each Wishlist referral.

4. Swagbucks will draw a grand prize winner on Cyber Monday - until then, they're giving away multiple Swag Store prizes and Swag Bucks each day!

I figure, it cant hurt right?

Name that movie Monday #21

2011-11-15T10:30:00.000-08:00

Ah, it;s Monday again and time for another round of Name that Movie Monday.

Last weeks quote was:

I'm going steady, and I French kiss.

So, everybody does that.
Yeah, but Daddy says I'm the best at it.

from National Lampoons Vacation.
This weeks movie quote is Wilson. WILSON!

Take a chance, give a guess and come back next week to see if you were right.

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner- Shutterfly Cards

2011-11-14T10:48:00.001-08:00

Random.org helped me choose the winners, so blame (or thank) the chaos theory for making these selections.

#3 Myya Says I follow you :)

#5 Cynthia i love the calenders from shutterfly, i make them every year for christmas gifts for the grandparents. i also love their cards, the variety is awesome!

#1 I want to win the shutterfly cards- I love the black and white picture cards

Please look in you email for the code to your 25 free holiday cards. Codes expire December 31.

JOY Banner from Burlap and Jute

2011-11-10T20:13:00.001-08:00

I am starting early on Christmas decorations...well, early for me, that is. Here is my first project of the year a JOY banner for over my mantle that I made using burlap and jute sting.

I started with a yard of burlap and have a ton left to make more things, so you can expect more burlap things to come.

I cut out a triangle shape from piece of paper to be my template and cut out 12 triangles.

You can definitely cut out more or less depending on your space.

Next, I picked out a font on my computer and printed my letters out. I decided I was going to have this read J-O-Y so my letters were about 2" tall.

I traced the letters onto clear contact paper to make my painting stencil template.

This is obviously very customizable depending on the size banner you want and what you want to say.

I stuck my contact paper stencils down onto the burlap pennant and painted on my letters

using black fabric paint and a sponge brush.

Then I peeled off the the stencil admired myself while the paint dried.

I went round and round about how to string this up and I finally decided to go simple. I cut small slits about 1/2 -3/4" from the side, just big enough for my jute rope, and threaded the pennants on the rope.

You definitely want to keep the holes small and do not get to close to the edge or it could fray.

Here it is hanging on my mantle.

I thought it needed a bit more so I added some silver glitter snowflakes. Which way do you like best? I can decide. When I actually decorate for Christmas I will have greenery and lights the glitter will make it sparkle. I am really pleased how it turned out.

It was super simple to make and inexpensive to make. I think I'm off to make a few more.

What do you think?

WIN 25FREE SHUTTERFLY HOLIDAY CARDS

2011-11-09T10:47:00.000-08:00

The Shutterfly Holiday card giveaway is winding down.

ENTER HERE for you chance to win!
Good Luck.

Name That Movie Monday #20

2011-11-08T10:17:00.000-08:00

Ah, it;s Monday again and time for another round of Name that Movie Monday.
Last weeks quote
"In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ! It is he who commands you! It is he who flung you from the gates of Heaven to the depths of Hell! "

was from the scariest movie of all time The Exorcist.
For the next few weeks the movie quotes will be from my favorite vacation/summer movies since we are going to FLORIDA for winter break. Woot!!
To start us off, this is the best family vacation movie, evah! SO. MANY. LINES, so little time.

I'm going steady, and I French kiss.

So, everybody does that.

Yeah, but Daddy says I'm the best at it.

Take a chance, give a guess and come back next week to see if you were right.

Dont Cry.....Shutterfly giveaway

2011-11-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

It is just 55 days until Christmas, have you started to prepare yet or are you one of those last minute ladies?
I always stressed about Christmas cards and honestly was more often late than not.
How rude, right?
Each year I vowed the next year I would be early- or at least, not late. Last year was the first year I met my goal. I had photos taken in November and cards out mid December. Which was a huge advance for me. And you want to know how I accomplished that?
Shutterfly baby!

The site is awesome, easy to use and the quality of Christmas cards are phenomenal.
The hardest part about the entire process is waiting for your beautiful cards to arrive.

Now that it is November, I plan to keep my stress free holiday record and I am working on getting my holiday greeting cards made, now. My goal this year is to have cards out by early December. I know, I am just all crazy like that.

Here is last years Christmas card, which I LOVED!

The cardstock is so thick and rich and I loved the black background. But now, I have to pick one for this year and it is going to be a tough choice.

I like this one

and this one

Hmmm.... looks like I am leaning towards black and white photo this year. I did not notice that until I looked at them together. These are just 2 of the hundreds of great photo Christmas cards to choose from as well as invitations, thank you cards, photo blankets and so much more.

So many cards so little time, right?

Well, just so I am not making this agonizing decision alone, Shutterfly has graciously offered me three codes for three lucky readers to get your very own cards for FRREEEEE! How is that for Christmas coming early?

Here is how you can win 25 cards from Shutterfly Holiday 2011 collection:
Mandatory Entry
~Leave a comment here with your favorite things from Shutterfly

~Follow KelleysFamilyJewels for an additional 5 entries.

Good Luck!

Contest will end on Sunday November 13 and winner will be emailed a code for 25 FREE cards by Monday November 14.

Name that Movie Monday- Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T10:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloweeeeeen! I hope you enjoyed this months 'scary' movie quotes, did you get them all? The answer to last weeks quote; " Its ALIVE, Its ALIVE!" was from Frankenstein. But my favorite is
Young Frankenstien with Gene Wilder. It really is funny, some great work by Mel Brooks if you like silly humor- which I do!

This weeks quote is hands down the scariest movie I ever watched. I remember clearly the first time I saw it. I still shiver thinking about it and still freak just a little at the sight of a Ouija board.

"In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ! It is he who commands you! It is he who flung you from the gates of Heaven to the depths of Hell! "

Can you guess this one? I gave a pretty good hint in there for you. You have to agree this is one darn scary flick. Have a Happy Halloween, see you next week!

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-28T10:41:00.000-07:00

I love going to the Pumpkin Patch each year. Although I think those days are going to get more scarce as I had to all but drag LJ out this year. He said it was for babies. So after some cajoling, I managed to get him to go out and even smile for a few pictures.

This is my favorite photo of the bunch.

You can almost here the noises he is making playing on the tractor.

Here is the porch all set up with our cute new pumpkins.

Savvy Spending Tips

2011-10-27T10:39:00.000-07:00

I don't consider myself "rich" and honestly I have never been one of those looking for a quick buck. I just don't belive in such a thing; but I do believe there are things you can and should do to take care of yourself and the money you do make. There are so many books, blogs and podcasts with tips on getting rich that you should find things that work for you. Here are just a few things that I follow:

1. Watch the small expenses- this can apply in business and personal life. For example, if you got coffee out every morning, depending on what get, could cost you minimum three dollars each day. You could easily spend one hundred dollars a month just on coffee and that is probably on the low side. Now, I am not saying you have to stop getting the pumpkin latte; but if you watch those small purchases your paycheck will go further.

2. I don't like to borrow money. We have a mortgage and that is it. Borrowing always comes at a price and I figure why give someone else my very hard earned cash for what essentially comes out to a convenience. Keep the borrowing to a minimum and keep the cash for yourself.

3. Be aggressive, persistent, ingenious and things will come. Whatever your goal is, keep on it. Go after what you want, don't be wishy-washy about it. Set a goal and go out and make it happen.

4. Do your homework. Find out everything you can about your goal, the upside, the downside and think first before acting. If consider all sides, you will make smarter decisions.

What are some things you do to make better money decisions?

The "NOT" to-do list

2011-10-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

I dont know anything about Tim Ferriss ; but I stumbled onto his blog and he has some great things to say. There was one post I found particularly interesting and it was about making a "not to do" list instead of a to-do list. This one caught my eye because, I am a list person. I love scratching things off my to-do list, it motivates me. So making a 'not to do list' was intriguing and I have to say I agree with all of them. Here are a few of my favorites.

1. Do not answer calls from unrecognized numbers- OK for me, that is a given. I will take it one step further and say do not call back those unrecognized numbers. Have you ever answered the phone and hear..."did someone just call me"? Lets overlook the fact that it's rude, it is a waste of my time trying to figure out who called you. If you have no idea who called you, why would I know? If it was important,wouldn't that "whoever" have left you a message. Let it go.

4. Do not let people ramble- amen! There is one thing about being polite before getting to business; but if all you have to ask me is about the weather, just don't. I wont be offended, really.

8. Do not carry a cell or crackberry 24/7- again, totally agree here. I have my phone handy and I do work on weekends if the need arises; but I also put it away. You have to unplug sometime and my family gets equal time in my book, so if you get my phone and I don't answer, just leave a message. Ill get back to you, I promise. ( That is, if I know who you are.)

What do you think? Do you have some things you would add here?

2011-10-24T10:23:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to Name that Movie Monday.

Did you get last weeks video clue?
Of course you did. Rocky Horror Picture Show has got to be one of the most fun movies to see on Halloween. If they do it in your area still; try and go. People dress up and sing along, it's just entertaining.

This week is another great Halloween movie and I have been trying to load an audio clip for an hour now. It's on my computer and can not figure how to get it on Blogger.
But the quote this week is .....

It's ALIVE. It's ALIVE.
Good Luck and see you next week.

New Roof~ what a boring way to spend money

2011-10-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

We have been talking about getting a new roof for a couple winters now. We do not have any leaks; but the increasing amount of roof tile debris that we were finding was just proof that we could not hold out any longer. So we decided to get it done this summer before the rainy winter season began.

Before Photo

One the first day; they had taken off the old roof and the gutters. I had no idea it was so fast.

This photo is lunch time on the second day, halfway done.

And here it is the next morning, all finished. I picked tiles that kind of mimiced the brickwork.

I think it looks pretty nice.

After Photo

Here it is all finished. I think it turned out nice and the roofer we chose did a great job.

I could have had more fun speding that money; but I guess that is all part of being a grown up homeowner.

Chic Halloween on the Cheap

2011-10-19T11:16:00.001-07:00

I love to decorate for holidays; but with 2 dogs, a son and a husband, I need to make some allowances. ( Lets just say pretty, delicate decorations have a very short life in our house.)
Plus, I like things to be easy and cheap. So I set out to make my own Cheap Halloween Chic.

I started with the Fall mantle from HERE. I chose the colors specifically because they would take me though Halloween and Thanksgiving with minimal changes. By adding a few “spooky” touches, I am ready for Halloween.

Glitter Creatures
The first and easiest to make are the glitter creatures. I love glitter and am glad to see it coming out strong this holiday. All you need is black glitter paper, a silhouette of a rat, foam core and glue. (The foam core is totally optional. I actually only made a couple, the rest were just flat and I think they worked out fine.)
All you do is trace the silhouette on the glitter paper and foam. Cut out. Then glue glitter paper to foam, let dry then place about the house for cheap Halloween chic.

BOO bottles

I love these and so easy. That they are up-cycled from 3 glass ice tea bottles is great too. ( 3 less bottles in the trash!) All I did was wash and dry the bottles they painted them all over with chalkboard paint. After the paint dried, I rubbed chalk allover to "cure" them, then wiped it off. The bottles are now ready for spooky messages. Add a couple glitter skull heads from the Dollar store and fast,easy Halloween shelf.

Halloween Subway Art

Yes, I finally jumped on the subway art bandwagon. I used my drive by pallet find from HERE to make my new subway art.

I started with a basic crackle technique for the base. (First layer I painted black. Second coat was crackle medium. The last layer I used a pumpkin orange color, then let it all dry. )

There are so many tutorials out there on subway art, I basically followed the same idea. I cut out Halloween words and arranged them on my wood. When they were all set up how I liked it, I glued them down.

After the words were in place, I added some random Halloween images to fill the gaps.

Last step was mod podge the entire thing and hang on the front porch.

Now were off to make a scarecrow. What is Halloween without a big ol'scarecrow? I'll let you know how that goes.

No Soliciting Craft

2011-10-18T10:45:00.000-07:00

I have three dogs, when someone knocks at our door it is pandemonium. First, the cacophony of barking. Next the wrangling to get all the dogs put away, just to open the door to be asked if I want my end irons cleaned. Ah, no thank you.
Now, I don't mind boy scouts or girl scouts; but I have so many kids that I usually have those guys covered and frankly after a long day of work I don't want to have someone come to my door selling anything. So when I saw this little sign at a garage sale for 25 cents, a light bulb went off.

I love the Glidden paint testers from Home Depot, perfect for testing color on your wall and great for last minute craft ideas.

I painted my garage sale find in this pretty light blue.

While the paint dried, I printed out letters on my circuit machine. Stuck them on, distressed the edge with a bit of black from a stamp pad and voila. A pretty sign for my front door.

( Did you spot the fail?)

Here is the sign hanging on my metal welcome dog. Yes, it is a bit of an irony.

I corrected the craft fail from above. LOL. I think it turned out cute. It's not overly obnoxious and if it helps stop just one window sales person I will be happy.

Thanks for stopping by...dont forget to enter my GIVEAWAY for 25FREE Shutterfly cards.

Name That Moive Halloween Edition #18

2011-10-17T12:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to Name that Movie Monday.

Did you guess last weeks quote?

We came. We saw. We kicked its ass!

It was from Ghostbusters. I played this for LJ just last week for the first time and he cracked up.
Bill Murray getting slimed and the Stay Puff Marshmellow man just sent him off in to hysterics.
This week is a video clue from another classic Halloween movie; but this time it's a cult classic.

Good Luck and see you next week.

Driving Trivia

2011-10-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

Have you gotten a speeding ticket? Lately, I mean? My last one ( knock wood) was about 5 years ago and they did not have as many options as they do now. I remember I actually had to go *gasp* to a class to get rid of the ticket. I remember it clearly because it was so painful. We each got a drivers handbook and the teacher essentially went through it page by page. I think I read the whole book by the time she finished page 3! Now everything is online and so much easier as you can work at your own pace. The Internet offers classes on everything from taking your California DMV test to classes if you have a ticket.

Here are some questions from a sample written test, let's see how much you remember.

1. When you are merging onto the freeway, you should be driving:

a) At or near the same speed as the traffic on the freeway.
b) 5 to 10 MPH slower than the traffic on the freeway.
c) The posted speed limit for traffic on the freeway.

The answer is a). I don't think anyone follows that rule (except me of coarse)

2. When driving in fog, you should use your:

a) Fog lights only.
b) High beams.
c) Low beams.

The answer is C, which again you would think obvious; but how many times does some puttz come up behind you with those fancy- shmancy fog lights and blind you? 3. A school bus ahead of you in your lane is stopped with red lights flashing. You should:

a) Stop, then proceed when you think all of the children have exited the bus.
b) Slow to 25 MPH and pass cautiously.
c) Stop as long as the red lights are flashing.

The answer is C here as well; but I see so many people buzz by buses, cautiously of coarse. Rules like this don't apply to 'them.'
How did you do? Do you get to keep your license?

Fried Bologna

2011-10-15T18:00:00.001-07:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of American Family Insurance for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

AmFam has a hilarious special going on and I was just watching some of the videos which brought back some hilarious memories. Check out Stand Up For Family ; I promise there are a few videos that will have you rolling on the floor.

Donnell Rawlings had me cracking up about fried bologna. I have not had fried bologna since I was a kid. But we had it was pretty darn near an every day when I was growing up. I had completely forgotten about the bologna that had the red around the outside. Have you had fried bologna or is that more of a Midwest thing?

Bill Bellamy had a great video about playing outside when he was younger and how they would just be gone all day. It was the exact same way for me growing up. My mom would tell us kids to go outside and play or she would "find something for us to do" and you certainly did not want that to happen. My mom "finding' us something to do was almost always work of some kind. So, as she expected, we were out like a shot. We had this big bell in the front yard and she would ring it when she wanted us to come home.

Check out Stand Up For Family show put on by American Family Insurance, it's a family comedy and there is something for everyone to enjoy.

22 years and counting.... Happy Anniverysary to me

2011-10-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

22 years ago today, DH and I were married back in the Midwest. October in the Midwest is beautiful and as you will see from the photos, I was waaaay ahead of my time. LOL.

Here I am in the first photo as weddings are all about the bride, right.

Don't judge, it was the 80's and really the dress was gorgeous back then. It has a beautiful train, hoops and crinoline, It literally took 3 people to help me go pee. ( TMI?)

Here we are our with our parents. DH looks so young here in his black tails. The wedding was all black and white and it was an evening wedding. I thought I was so avaunt guard.

We were only 23 which looking back seems so young.

I carried fresh Cally Lilly's. Again, I thought I was so brilliant just carrying fresh flowers and not a traditional "bouquet".

Here are the all the girls. This is where I really started patting myself on the back. I found a seamstress to make all the dresses, so it would be less expensive for them. They were black velvet on top, sweetheart neckline with white crinoline on the bottom. I loved the dress and thought for sure they could wear them again. (What is it about wearing dresses again, we don't. We wont. We will never wear a bridesmaid dress again, so why that is part of the decision making process is beyond me.)

I loved the little head crowns. Although looking back on it my sisters looked like flappers. And maybe the gloves were a bit much? I can only blame it on the 80s. Everything was big and over the top.

Snookie and the Jersey girls have nothing on us! Hell, we were glam fairies before they were even born.

(Wow, now I feel old.)

And here we are 22 years later. It has not been all roses and sunshine; but darn near pretty close!

Happy Anniversary!

I love you!

Popcorn Time!

2011-10-13T09:32:00.000-07:00

It is cubscout popcorn time again! LJs favorite thing to do of all. (note the sarcasm here) I think a job in sales in not going to be in his future; but it is for a good cause, so he lends a hand.

Hills Science Diet - Mobility Challenge

2011-10-11T13:00:00.001-07:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hills Pet Nutrition for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

We have 3 dogs in our home; a puppy, an adult and a 11 year old bloodhound. I am always looking at new products or website that can help me care for my more hairy family members.

Elwood here is our old man. But, don't let the grey in his muzzle fool you. He will still hop on the counter if you have the misfortune of leaving food in range of that all- to- well- honed nose of his.

(Think, Bumpus hounds from Christmas Story and you would have it about right)

But, look at that face, who could stay mad long?

I checked out the Hills website for Elwood and learned all dogs have mobility issues at different times or stages in their life, not just geriatric dogs.

I read that proper Hill's Pet Nutrition can help. They are having a Healthy Mobility Challenge and when you register you can get 30 dollars in coupon offers from Hill's Healthy Mobility Coupon.

Plus, registering automatically enters you into a Sweepstakes where 30 people will win FREE pet food for a YEAR!

Do you know how much pet food we use in a year for three animals?

If you have four legged friends like I do; you should take a moment today and check this out.

Hill's Pet Nutrition on Facebook too, so really easy to find our great tips on ways to take care of

your furry family.

Name That Movie Monday #17 Halloween Edition

2011-10-10T11:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to Name that Movie Monday.

Last week's movie quote was from The Shining, which has to be the grand-daddy
of all horror films and not just blood and gore. If you could not tell in the video, LJ was doing the 'redrum', 'redrum' line. If you did not catch it last week here it is again. I love the squeaky wheel too..just like the movie.

This week, a more lighthearted take on Halloween with the following quote:

We came. We saw. We kicked its ass!

Good Luck and see you next week.

DH got a JEEP!

2011-10-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

DH told me a story of when he was a little boy he set fire to a neighbor girls barbie car and rolled it down the street. ( I think it was a slight exaggeration on his part to impress me. )
When I asked why, it was because it was a PINK jeep! ( horror of horrors) As I came to find out JEEP was DH's "dream car". When it came time to buy our first car, he wanted a JEEP; but we could not afford it. So, we compromised on an Amigo. That little Amigo held is own really well. We never had any trouble with it, never once had to take it to spectrum auto repair, and was able to donate it to the Animal Shelter.

Fast forward 20 years and DH has finally bought the JEEP he always wanted. And since it is not pink, he loves it. I do have to say it is quite a nice car. It rides great and I am told it drives even better. ( I will not be able to drive it until, and I quote DH, your car is clean.) Yeah, yeah... like that is ever going to happen when you carry around an 8 year old atomic mess machine.

So for now, I will settle being chauffeured around. Oh the things I endure for DH.

G is for Gigwalk

2011-10-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

This week is a new ap I have on my IPhone. It is called GIGWALK.

And what it does is allow you to turn your iPhone into cash earning money machines. Basically, you take a "gig", follow the instructions, and get paid. A gig might be to locate a specific address and take a photo of the sign in front. Or go inside and take a photo of the menu or something you find interesting inside.

After you post the "gig" you are paid. The gigs are very specific, not technically hard in any way; but you do need to pay attention to the instructions and follow them complete.

There are not a whole lot of gigs near me, so I would have to specifically go to the city to do this. But if you live in a big city, this could be something easily done every day as you go about your normal day to day activities. I am always open to new ways to earn a buck or two and this is a fun way to explore new places as well. If you want to give it a try, its FREE, so does not hurt to try.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

I took my niece and LJ out roller skating. It was such a flashback when they did the hokey pokey. They had music and disco lights, super fun!

Name That Movie Monday #16

2011-10-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to Name that Movie Monday.

Last weeks quote, " Nobody puts 'Baby' in a corner" was from Dirty Dancing, which I have to say I have seen at least a zillion times.

This week movie quote we are kicking off Halloween, so all will be from scary movies. This one will be a video clue featuring LJ himself. (Thank you DH for sending this to me. What a great idea for NtMM)

You may have to turn up the volume really loud since this was emailed to me and kind of impromptu, the sound quality is not great.

Good Luck and see you next week.

F is for Flipboard

2011-09-29T11:13:00.000-07:00

I flippin love this app! On weekend mornings you will find me in bed with coffee catching up on all my favorite sites and with Flipbook, everything is in one place in a wonderful, easy to read magazine format.

Headlines, photos and short blurbs from all my "favorites". It is totally customizable so each Flipbook is a magazine catering to what you like. For me it everything from news to crafts to Facebook& Twitter and everything in between. I love that I can quickly scan headlines, see photos and catch up on stories that I missed. Then if something looks particularly interesting, I can go to the source and see the entire article. You can make comments and post to Twitter or Facebook easily. It is like getting the Sunday paper with all you favorite sections and no sports! All in one handy, easy to use place.

Want more?

It's free!

How awesome it that?

Take a peek at this app this month, I think you will really enjoy it.

Mickey Mouse First Birthday

2011-09-28T14:49:00.000-07:00

My nephew AJ turned one! It is our last one year old birthday party until our kids starting having kids, so kind of bittersweet to me. This party was Mickey Mouse theme and so very fun to do.

Here is the birthday boy's cake. Mickey's head with vanilla icing.

Here is the cake for everyone else. It turned out so cute. My sister ROCKS!

Here is AJ before his party started, all smiles.

He wanted to grab the candle, silly boy. Icing is waaayyy better.

Not sure what to make of it; but......

...quickly realized cake is good. NOM NOM NOM

I do have to say, I helped with the cake beard.

But I did not have to help much!

It was a great day. Good cake and lots of fun.

Happy Birthday AJ.

Halloween Craft Week 1- Scrabble Tile Jewelry

2011-09-25T11:43:00.000-07:00

I have been a crafting little fiend this pass week. I get into moods when I just need to sit in my office and try not to glue my fingers together while making something *hopefully*cute. (Hey, to be honest, I am just happy if I don't glue or burn my fingers. If it's cute, I am ecstatic.)

Still, here is a look at some Halloween projects I have been working on. As the title suggests, I have a wee obsession with jewelry. I remember back in college, my art classes were one of the big things that got me out of bed. The first"real" jewelry I remember making was a belt buckle for my mom. It was a paisley shape and I cut it out of different metals and soldering them together. It looked way cooler in my head than in real life; but I had fun doing it and that is really the main thing for me.

Anyway, my first Halloween obsession are these cute necklaces made from Scrabble tiles an UNO tiles. I have made them before... here ,here and here. If you have not done it before you should try, it really is a simple project. The hardest part is getting supplies. (Do you know how long I can stand in the paper aisle and look for paper?) The easiest thing is you can make necklaces from just about anything flat; from game pieces, pennies, bottle caps to washers found at the hardware store.

Step 1~ Cut out paper the size of your tile.

Step 2~ Once you are happy with you paper and the way it looks on the tile, glue it down. Put a bit of glue on the tile and make sure to get to the corners, they like to peel up first. Run your fingers over to get out all the air bubbles. You can decorate the tile now, while the glue is drying.

Step 3~ Decorate! For this one, I use 'b, o, o' stickers that were left over. The bat is actually a metal brad that I cut the "legs" off so it would sit flat. This is my favorite part.

Step 4~ After you have your charm the way you like it, cover the surface with a dimensional magic or resin. I have used both and they both work equally well. Resin you generally have to do in larger batches, while the Dimensional Magic comes out of the tube. You want to make sure and cover the entire surface;but this does spread so start slowly. You want to have the entire tile covered. Don't worry if it runs over, you can wipe it away with your finger. After it is covered you will want to use a toothpick to get out all the air bubbles. Now is when you can add glitter if you want to really bling you charm.

Step 5~ Let resin dry and attach your findings. For this one, I used a pin and glued it down with E600. But this one tile could be made into so many things. The aisle at craft stores are full of necklace, rings, barrettes, bobby pins, all kinds of blanks all just wanting for your charm and a little E6000.

I also made a couple other necklaces while I was at it.
This one is hard to see, it is a spider on web paper. I think I went a little to crazy with the glitter.

This one is a pumpkin version made on a scrabble tile.

;

Give this a try. Really the hardest part is gathering supplies and deciding how to decorate. Don't be afraid to try the resin if you check out the second link above you will see one mess of a necklace and it fixes right up.

Have Fun!
Kelley

Big Bad BEAR scouts!

2011-09-24T01:02:00.001-07:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Boy Scouts of America. All opinions are 100% mine.
We had our first Boy Scouts of America meeting of the year last week. We are now Bears! This is like moving up to the big leagues with all the fun things they get to do this year. LJ can not wait to work on his pocket knife merit badge. (shocking, I know)
We started the first den meeting of the year with a fun relay race using sponges. Each team had a bucket of water, an empty bowl and a sponge. The object was to get all the water from one side to the other using only the sponge. The boys had so much fun and I love that they are getting a bit of exercise. They actually did not get too wet. I thought for sure it was going to turn into a water fight; but they were so focused on the race it did not occur to them. They were cheering on each other, it was great.

Scouting is just full of so many opportunities for fun and learning. Its not just all about outdoors and camping; some of the things LJ enjoys most is earning merit badges. There are badges for academics and sports, so there is something for everyone. LJ likes science and technology badges most. There is a new Robotics merit badge! I like that the merit badges are stealth learning tools which enhance his school work.

I was a girl scout when I was little and had such a great experience that could be one reason why I like scouting so much. But there are just so many different things that I am able to do with LJ through scouting that I probably would not do on my own. I like that scouting involves the whole family. I love watching DH and LJ work together on the Derby car. I love going to the den meetings and working on all the different projects. I like that he learns about his community when we do events like cleaning up local parks. I love that it helps me teach him wholesome values and beliefs while building strong relationships between family members and the friends in his pack. I cant wait to see what else we are going to learn this year.
Be A Scout

E is for Education

2011-09-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

This week are some of the educational aps that I have on my Ipad for LJ to use. I have loaded several; but there is a fine line between "baby" games and the man games. If it has cutesy animals or things that rhyme, it is automatically out.

The first one we use every single night and it is My Math App. First, it was my favorite four letter word-*
FREE. Second, it is a very basic- no baby pictures or anything. It is a straight up Ipad flash card app. The thing I like is it has a timer as right now one of the things LJ is supposed to be working on is his speed. It is a simple, no- nonsense math app and LJ knows if he wants to watch TV, this goes first.

The second is Mathboard. I got the LITE version which was free but only does math addition. The full app is 5 bucks and I just think that is a little pricey. I do like it however as I use it for all kinds of things and being able to show the work on difficult math concepts does help. This works like an actual chalkboard, so we can work on solving the problem and learning more complex skills.

I have not found any good spelling or reading apps yet for LJ. Most all I show him gets a snicker or turn up nose. For now we just stick to good old fashioned reading from a book at night. Shocker!

Do you use any great learning apps?

A Day at the Beach

2011-09-21T14:32:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend we took a drive to the coast. It was a little overcast; but warm enough for short sleeves and in Northern Calfornia, this is just about perfect!

Name That Movie Monday #15

2011-09-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to Name that Movie Monday.

Last weeks quote, "My precious"... is from The Lord of the Rings. DH is a huge fan and we just heard they are going to do The Hobbit, which is essentially the prequel. Very exciting!
This week for your quote "Nobody puts 'Baby' in a corner." Ah, my heat beat faster just thinking about the person saying it. Darn handsome in this movie!

Good Luck and see you next week.

Camera Phone Friday

2011-09-16T08:50:00.000-07:00

DH got a new "toy" this past weekend. Midlife crisis much...lol.. Seriously, he has wanted a JEEP forever. But I always put the ki-bosh on it since not practical.

So, finally, he got a Wrangler last weekend. The top all comes off so it really fees like a JEEP even with the 4 doors.

We took it out for a drive to Hamburger Ranch. THE. BEST. BURGERS and BBQ evah! DH is mocking me slightly in the photo and LJ just not interested. He is saying "Come on Frank, take the photo."
(Calling someone Frank is a little family joke,when someone is taking too long a time. Frank was my grandpa and NOTORIOUS slow on taking photos.)

Have a super weekend everyone!

D is for DONT

2011-09-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

Hello, boy Thursday snuck up on me. I could not think of any ap I used that began with a D, so I thought I would mention some aps I tried, that I don't use much. With aps, really, you just have to load it and play with it awhile to see if you would really use it day to day. Some look super cool, but I just don't use very much.

Red Laser~ This is a free UPC/ QR reader for Iphone and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
What it does is you scan an UPC and it will tell you what store in your area has this item for the lowest price. It is a great idea and the ap works great. I don't use it simply because if I am in Target for example,looking at GI Joe with the Kung Fu grip and see by using Red Laser that it is 8.99 at Walmart vs. 9.99 at Target or whatever... I in all honesty, don't leave Target just to go and save the buck. I know, I probably should; but I don't. So then all Red Laser does is mock me for being to lazy to leave. It was free, so it does not bother me that I don't use it.

Yowza is essentially a mobile coupon ap. My BIL (brother in law) loved it and it was free so I uploaded it.
As above, it works fine, I just don't use it. Each time I have thought to check if there are any coupons in the area, it came up with nothing really I would use. So again, not the fault of the ap, I just don't use it.

The last one I tell you reluctantly because I know most everyone uses this and I just don't. Pandora.
I know, you are going, "I use that all the time. You are crazy."
That may be true but; if I listen to music, I just use the Ipod feature on my phone.

Do you have any aps that you got and thought would be great and now dont use at all?

Pink-a-licous Swap!!

2011-09-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

My Mamarazzi swap box came Monday night; but due to drama beyond my control, I did not get a chance to open it. After checking the clock at work yesterday, about every minute, I finally got home to be alone with my precious. My partner was Megan from Kitschysuburbia, from the first email, I new we would get along as partners!

Here is the first shot of my box of goodies. ( Actually, there is one thing missing. As I went to get my camera LJ, grabbed an item that was on the top. You will see more on that later.)

Such pretty wrapping paper, I almost hated to open them. And the sweet little ladybugs, I love ladybugs.

Here is the first item.... can you guess? I thought it was a baby bottle...lol. WRONG.

Here is my helper, showing you item #1. A pink lint brush. Do you know how much hair 3 dogs leave?

Awesome pink Nail polish and a cold drink cup! I love ice coffee. Actually, I just love drinking out of a straw. (hmm, I wonder what that says about me, psychologically?)

Sweet super soft pink footie's and a cute key fob.

Beautiful note cards- it truly is a lost art- and pink gum and candy and cute clips. The box just exploded with awesome pink goodies...all for me!

Except this last goody, flinched by AJ. Yes, sweet and soft in all its pink marshmallow-y glory.

PINK SNOWBALLS!!!

At least he saved me one.

Or did he.....

Here is the carnage of my snowball. He ate the inside and left the outside. Poor little gutted snowball.

(The joke is on LJ- I like the marshmallow part best. HA_HA!)

Thank you Megan for putting this together for me. It was all the right stuff in all the right color!

na na na na na na na, we all got in a fight

2011-09-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

LJ and I got in a brawl last night and I think I am the only one who lost sleep over it.
I have a HUGE amount of patience; I can really ignore bad behavior for a long periods of time, especially when I know LJ is just trying to push my buttons. Honestly, I don't get mad often.

So, I dont know, last night LJ was just ON. Sass, disrespect, just being a little SH*$.
Final straw; he was in the shower, mouthing off...tossing water and slamming the showing door.
I guess I was tired of saying knock if off; it was the scene from Breakfast Club, LJ was just daring me to ground him or smack him or something. I did want to smack him. Instead, I pulled his little naked behind out of the shower and put him in his room, told him not to leave and shut off the light.
He threw stuff; but quieted down soon enough.

So I sat waiting for him to come in and apologize.
He didn't.
The brat fell asleep.
This morning he crawls in bed like nothing happened. I spent the night tossing and turning thinking I overreacted. I hate myself when I yell.
I'm still mad!
Now, its at myself for getting mad and to be honest maybe I wanted him to come come crawling back saying sorry and asking for hugs.
I need the hugs.... he seems to not need them today so much.
And now I'm sad.

Maybe this is why I have such a long fuse? I hate to get mad and loose control. Sucking it up seems to be easier.
So, anyone else loose their cool this week?

(oh and incase you were wondering, the title is from a PINK song)

TracFone; big phone, little price

2011-09-12T19:01:00.001-07:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TracFone for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I was sitting in Starbucks watching high school girls texting each other. There was a pack of high school boys across they way and I have a sneaking suspicion the giggles between texts had something to do with them. (I am so glad to have a little boy! )

Anyway, LJ leans over to me and says" teenagers" and rolls his eyes. Right now, he has no interest in a cell phone; but I know its coming which is why I am always checking out new phone ideas. TracFone offers a less expensive way to own a phone; with no contracts, no activation fees, no surprises.

Real TracFone customers

You can pay as you go online or get great deals on yearly plans with double points. It is flexible so you can choose a phone and a plan that is right for you. They also offer international calls at the same price as any other call.

I love my Iphone; but I don't think that is something I will get right off for LJ. He would just need a simple 'starter' phone.

So many features

I dont even want to start to thing about all the texting! I like the idea of having a prepaid phone, then I know for certain what the bills are going to be.

So many features

I still have a few years to decide on what phone to get LJ; but it is always good to be prepared. Do your kids have phones?

Name That Movie Monday #14

2011-09-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to Name that Movie Monday.

Last weeks quote,
Badges? We ain't got no badges! We don't need no badges! I dong have to show you any stinking badges! is from the Treasure of the Sierra Madre. It was filmed in 1948, so definitely did not see it; but I sure say the line all the time.

This week the movie quote is "My precious"... so easy, you have to get this. DH is a huge fan of this series and I hear new movie is on the way. Yeah!

Good Luck and see you next week.

C is for Camera

2011-09-08T10:53:00.000-07:00

Hello its Thursday again and time for my favorite ap.
This week is a list of my favorite aps for my camera or photos.

You already know of my love of Instagram. If you have yet to take a look at it, you really should. It is just super fun to make fun photos.

My next ap is PS- Photoshop Express. It's is on my list because it is available to both IPhone and IPad and its free! (Ah, free, my favorite four letter word.) You can take and share photos using the scaled down editing features. Some basic things it can do are crops and flips, brighten photos, add effects and borders. It is a nice lite photo edit system that you can do on the go and then post right to Facebook.

I also use the Photo Transfer ap often. It was one of the very first aps I mentioned when I started. You can take a peek at this review here.

Those are the top three camera aps I use most everyday. What do you use?

Name That Movie Monday #13

2011-09-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to Name that Movie Monday.

Last week quote was from When Harry Met Sally. Pretty easy quote there; but did you know that was Rob Reiners mother saying the line?

This week quote is one we always use. The funny thing is I have never seen the movie, so you see how movie quotes just come into our regular speech and we don't even have to see the movie for it to catch on.

Badges? We ain't got no badges! We don't need no badges! I dong have to show you any stinking badges!

Good luck and see you next week for the answer.
Hope you have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

A friendly game of One on One.....

2011-09-04T15:39:00.000-07:00

DH and LJ like to play basketball at a park near our house. We will all ride bikes up there and the boys will play One on One or Thunder.

Here is DH teaching the fine points of smack talk.

LJ actually has a pretty good shot.

Nice form, DH.

LJ took a bit of a spill and had to take, lets call it.... " a moment to collect himself".

But then right back up showing off his awesome jump shot.

LOL...time to put the camera away I think.

Hope you all are having a great Labor Day weekend.

B is for Boomstick, what an AP

2011-08-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

This weeks ap is another game and ties in nicely with this weeks Movie Monday,
Army of Darkness Defense. Muay-ha-ha-ha. You get to play Ash who along with his boom stick defend his castle against zombies. It is a very simple game, well designed, great animation. Oh and, it FREE. That is another very nice feature, not sure how long that will last, so you should take a peek now before that changes. Another fun feature is that many of the one-liners from the movie are used in the game. I don't know what it is about smashing imaginary zombies, just relives the stress of the day. Good clean fun.

Enjoy!

Name That Movie Monday #12

2011-08-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday and Welcome to Name that Movie Monday.

The quote last week I admit was probably hard; but like I said if you are into B flicks you may have seen this.

Alright you primitive screw-heads, listen up. See this? This is my boomstick! It's a 12-gauge double-barreled Remington. S-Mart's top of the line. You can find this in the sporting goods department. That's right, this sweet baby was made in Grand Rapids, Michigan; retails for about one hundred nine, ninety-five. It's got a walnut stock, cobalt blue steel, and a hair trigger. That's right, shop smart, shop S-Mart!

That my fellow geek friends is Army of Darkness.

This week movie I think everyone will know... but do you know who the woman is actually saying the lines?
(That is your bonus question for the week.)

"I'll have what she's having."

Good luck!

Favorite Color Swap

2011-08-26T11:25:00.000-07:00

Because I want to gloat some more ( yes, I really am that shallow ) here is more about the swap.

Na-na-na-booboo stick you head in doo doo.( Thank you Tosh.o)

We each get partnered up with another blogger and will put together an amazing package of things related to their favorite color. This is my third swap and the first thing I do is go over to my partners blog and find all I can about the person. The big box of fun is awesome; but I really do love to meet and learn about my swap partner. My first swap partner was in the Netherlands, how cool is that. Without the internet, how else would you hook up with someone from another country? Check back in about 2 weeks to see all the goodies I sent out and what goodies came back. Yeah!

CameraPhone Friday #11

2011-08-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

Well this week totally got away from me. Yowza. Missed cub scouts and did not take any photos, I was tossed momentarily into an alternate dimension to where this week had not happened yet. But I did manage to get into Mamarazzi's Swap! Washoo... I missed the last one and have been holding her email in my in-box since March so I would not forget. ( can you say stalk much?) Whatever, in about two weeks you will all be jealous when you see the awesome fat lootz. Woot!!

So back to CPF.... I only have one today; but its my sweet LJ so one will hold me over. This is the first day of school, his teacher took all the kidz photos as they entered the door.

Have a great weekend all.

A is for App

2011-08-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

I have two aps for you to look at this week, so lets just jump right in.
The first one is a game. If games on your phone or ipad is to 'highbrow' for you then you are certainly on the wrong blog. I love computer games from puzzles to mmo's, so games is something I know. This addicting fun game is Plants vs. Zombies

Zombies...what more can I say?
It has great graphics, it is fun and easy to play. Basically, Zombies are attacking your home and you have a plethora of plants to help you defend and fight back the marauding horde of zombies. This game does cost 2.99; but I have certainly gotten my moneys worth of playing time.

The next ap that I have and use fairly regularly is Photo Transfer.

Since I have an Iphone, Ipad and a PC, I tend to have pictures that are inadvertently on one or the other. Even when I think I cleaned up my photos and transferred everything; there will always be that one random photo I want when I am posting a blog that I don't have handy.

This ap is also 2.99. For me, since I don't post from the same computer consistently, it just was a good purchase to have all my photos handy.

It is easy to install. The website has great instructions as well as videos to show you exactly how to transfer a photo from your phone to computer or from you ipad to PC and back again.

I would say this is one of my more 'fluff' aps; but if you are finding that you wish you could get a photo from you iphone to your ipad and you dont really want to hook up and sync, then this may be for you.

Happy 'Ap'ing.

Name That Movie Monday #11

2011-08-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome back to Name that Movie Monday!

The movie quote last week was;
Now there is someone who knows when hes got something good in his mouth.Well?

Answer: Funny Farm. Quite a funny film with Chevy Chase, you should check out if you have not seen it.

The quote for this week is:

Alright you primitive screw-heads, listen up. See this? This is my boomstick! It's a 12-gauge double-barreled Remington. S-Mart's top of the line. You can find this in the sporting goods department. That's right, this sweet baby was made in Grand Rapids, Michigan; retails for about one hundred nine, ninety-five. It's got a walnut stock, cobalt blue steel, and a hair trigger. That's right, shop smart, shop S-Mart!

This one I think might be a toughie for you since you are going to have to dig deep into the pop-culture-B- film genre; but it has a theme with things I am posting the rest of this week and truly one stupid funny movie.

CameraPhone Friday #11

2011-08-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

We went to the county fair last weekend. You would not know it from my photos but we did other things beside eat.

It was also my sisters birthday, so we had a little get together.

(Wonder Twin Power in the form of.... Google that if you need to)

2011-08-19T08:05:00.000-07:00

The Internet is an amazing. The things you can learn seem to have no limits. As someone who spends quite a bit of time online, I do run across a few things that actually surprise me and today is no exception. I found a series of sites about e-cigs.
E-what?

Intrigued, I click further and find electronic cigarette reviews and learn that yes, the world does have electronic cigarettes. Apparently, with e-cigs you just get nicotine and not the tar, tobacco and other unpleasant, toxic ingredients. There is no FDA regulation so I have no idea if these work or not. (But it is on the Internet so it must be true,right?)

True or false, I do remember when I was little my mom and dad both smoked. I also remember them quitting. In my mind, it seemed they went from smoking one day to not smoking the next although I assume it was not quite that simple. I also have other relatives who still smoke and try to quit year after year.
So, if this actually helps people quit smoking, it would seem like a good idea.

By now, we have all known at least one person who has died from smoking related illness and it is clear cigarettes are toxic. LJ always asks me why people smoke. He knows it is toxic and is stumped when we are out and see people smoking. He always asks me why they are smoking and don't they know its not good for them. He says he is never going to smoke.

I hope he keeps that mindset and I think that maybe since he has so much literature and knowledge about smoking and the harmful effects that maybe he will never start. At least I have a couple of years before I have to start worrying about that, for now, I am just going to be the roll model and not smoke and hope he makes the right choice when the time comes.

.

First Day of School- Third Grade

2011-08-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Mixed feelings about the first day of school. I saw on other blogs having a back to school sign for first day photos and it was so cute, I had to try.    LJ was not happy about holing the sign.  I tried.
But, he was ....less than enthused. I figured I should not add insult to injury by forcing him into a photo shoot.
Oh wait, yes I am.   Muay-ha-ha-ha.
But, then, light-bulb moment. Quick adjustment,new sign later and I have a smiling new third grader.

Third grade, wow. I am somewhat speechless. Good thing I made the sign right.

I wonder why school starts on Thursday? To ease them back I suppose; but 'back in my day' we just started on Monday. (After I walked to school. Up hill. In the snow, with no shoes. Or something along those lines. ) And in case you have not yet had enough cute shots of LJ, here is one more on a Polaroid. You know to tie up that whole 'back in my day' thing I had going.

Swagbucks

2011-08-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

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Ad Rewards
Gambit
Trialpay (Offers & Daily Deals)
RadiumOne
Paymentwall
Super Rewards
Peanut Labs (Surveys & Offers) and Sponsorpay

If you haven’t done Special Offers before, you can choose from a variety of different offers (free, purchase required, games, surveys, watching videos, etc.), each of which pay you a Swag Bucks reward. Get started today and earn big all week long!

Plus sign up as a my referal and you will help me earn more bucks.

Name That Movie Monday #11

2011-08-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome back to Name that Movie Monday!

The movie quote last week was;

I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit-flavored one, and since then I have rather lost my liking for them. But, I think I could be safe with a nice toffee. (eats it)
Hmm, alas, earwax.
And that came from Harry Potter.

For this weeks movie, the idea came to me at an Oktoberfest party. The movie is old-school and funny; totally unrelated to Germans or Oktoberfest other than the enjoyment of fine meat products.

Now there is someone who knows when hes got something good in his mouth.Well? Do you think you know this one?

Oktoberfest in August

2011-08-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

We went to an authentic Oktoberfest last weekend. It was put on by my boss ( who is German ) and for weeks I heard nothing of wurst and sauerkraut and the amazing accordion band he hired. Now, to be honest, I was thinking this was going to be a bit of a bust. Accordion band? Really? How could I not snicker a bit? Well, the big day came and I have to admit it was super fun. The accordion band was great; not the old time weirdy polka music I was expecting. So I have to give a shout out to the Alex Miexner and his band for proving me wrong. The food was really good. The sausages were great.
Now, LJ was not as accommodating as myself. He only ate a pickle and a pretzel. ( better than nothing, right?) He also did not dig the band. He said, " ...unless you have not noticed, I'm not German. I'm Russian. ". Ok fair enough. We were headed towards an altercation ( aka, bribery to be good) when the mechanical surfboard machine arrived. Ahhh, the heavens opened and a light shown down and LJ had fun.
( aka, we had fun)

CameraPhone Friday #10

2011-08-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, am I the only one a bit shocked it's August? I feel so out of control, our only routine this summer was the complete lack of routine. I am finding it hard to get organized. I think with the first day of school in just ...gulp...11 days, we are going to have a tough first couple weeks. But its still summer now and we had a blast this week with a ROAD TRIP.

Here is Minion sleeping on my lap during the drive. Could he be any cuter?

We went to my sister's house and she has an amazing play struction. Of coarse LJ, was climbing and swinging from the minute we got there.

This is LJ and my nephew... or Luke and the Syth Lord if you get into the game. They played so darn cute. They would run up one side of the play structure and jump down all the while banging light sabers.

Totally what summer is all about.

One night we went out to dinner and I had this balsamic chicken. It was so good, I came home last night and gave it a try for myself. Gooey, carmely balsamic vinegar. YUM-O.

That was the highlight of my week... how was yours?

Name That Movie Monday #10

2011-08-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I flaked on posting this week. So if you were waiting and waiting for the answer to last weeks movie; it was from Tommy Boy. One of those funny films that has an abundance of one liners.

Here is the quote from this weeks movie. If you have been following my posts this last week, this one you should be able to guess even if you have not seen it.

I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit-flavored one, and since then I have rather lost my liking for them. But, I think I could be safe with a nice toffee. (eats it)
Hmm, alas, earwax.

See you next Monday, really. It seems even if you ignore Monday, it still comes.

Fun with Aps

2011-08-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

This will be a new weekly post on my new favorite Iphone or Ipad aps. I'm not techy or anything, just love to noodle and will pass on the fun things ( and even the not so fun) things I run across. If you have a favorite ap, let me know, I 'd love to check it out.

1. Instagram. If you come here week to week you will see almost all my photos are done using the Instagram ap. I just love Lord Kelvin as you can see from Camera Phone Fridays past; but there are many different skins to choose. It is free, easy and fun to use.
Another thing I love, is that it loads photos right to my facebook account or to an email account. So as I take the photo it can be immediately sent to DH; I don't have to go out and send a separate text or email.

2. TiKl (tickle) is a new ap, I just got over the weekend. My mother actually showed this to me, so I can guarantee this is an ap you need not be afraid to try. Essentially it turns your phone into a walkie talkie. I thought it was very cool and immediately uploaded it. DH thought it was dumb. ( phooey on him ) The down side I would say is you have your phone in hand essentially to get tickled since it is a push-to-talk system, so I will still use the phone for a regular conversation. But it did come in handy just the other day when we got separated in Target and I tickled my mom. " we are in aisle 33. Over." ( Yes, I like to say 'over'. Its more fun.) They have Ipad and Android versions so there is even some cross platform tickling going on. Last but not least, its free. Free is good.

Come back next Thursday for more FUN with Aps.

CameraPhone Friday #9

2011-07-29T07:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday!

This week our library had a Harry Potter event and at the moment LJ is into Harry Potter. (As a cute side note, my niece used to say Hopin Perry instead of Harry Potter... how cute is that?)

Anyway, there was a costume contest and he dressed up as Drako and his best little buddy was Harry.

Here there are when we first went in... they had to get 'sorted' into their houses. LJ drew Slithern, hmmm... interesting.

"Wands at the ready"... he is a very serious aK-tor.

Here they are together in a 'wizard duel'; the goof balls.

After the library we went to get ice cream. Can you guess what he is telling me?

He is a little stinker. I am going to save these photos and one day, when he brings home a nice girl, I am going to break them out. Oh yeah, right after the baby bath pictures.

Payback is coming my young patawan. Oh wait, that's a different book.

Crate Training ideas

2011-07-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

One of the main things I enjoy about blogging are the comments. We all love comments yes; but many comments are helpful and the free sharing of ideas is awesome! Lee-Ann left a comment on my puppy training post about crate training. I have a crate and have kind of been using it; but maybe I should take a closer look. I have it in a room tucked away because its ugly and so of coarse Minion does not like to be in there. Who would right? He wants to be with the family.
So I started looking around and there are some awesome crates out there. ( I think these are all from Joo&Main, one of my absolute drool spots.)

Here is a nice sleek silver one.

Or if your taste runs more towards wood furnishings, here is a really cute one.

This little black one looks like it could be a nice ottoman or coffee table too.

All of these are pretty expensive; but I am sure a less expensive version can be found. I am going to re-think this crate training. Thanks Lee-Ann.

Name That Movie Monday #9

2011-07-25T08:00:00.001-07:00

Welcome back to

Did you get last weeks quote? If you did not... you really need to go to school for a proper edumacation.
"Real tomato ketchup Eddie?" is from the movie Vacation.
Chevy Chase at his best!
(Well, its a close tie between this and Fletch.)

This weeks movie quote is for my brother as today is his birthday. Happy Bday little bro!

Tommy Likey, Tommy Want Wingy!

This is really a famous quote. It even has its own facebook page. So, can you name that movie?

CameraPhone Friday #8

2011-07-22T11:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone!

LJ will kill me for this photo; but he was being such a ham. We got this new kennel for our puppy and even before Minion could get in, LJ was in barking at me. So I did what any pet owner, I mean mother, would do; document it with a photo.

Last week was Lego camp. LJ LOVES.LOVES.LOVES Lego camp. This is Mario and Luigi Plaza.

Lastly big shout out to my nephew for winning his baseball tournament. ( I think the trophy is taller than some of the boys)

Gratz!

That was my week in photos... I know short...but there is always next week!
Have a great weekend!

Puppy Training- Week One

2011-07-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

It has been two months since we got our newest bundle of joy; Minion.

Overall, he has been a really good dog; but we are still working on potty training. I really need to get that under control to keep DH happy. (The other night Minion left a little something special on the small rug in front of the kitchen sink. DH had the misfortune of wanting water in the middle of the night and got a little something extra between the toes. Yeah...that one was fun. ) So, potty training and overall good dog manners are at the top of the list. To make sure that happens, I signed up for a puppy training class. It is a weekly class which LJ and I are doing together. I figure its a little mom/son outing as well as good for Minion.

Last night we got on our bikes and headed to class.

We learned about "loading our marker word" and playing the "name game".

Loading a marker word is a way to help the dog associate that a certain behavior is good with a treat. If you have ever seen dogs trained with a clicker, it is the same idea except instead of the clicking you use the word 'yes'. The name game is pretty much what it sounds like, getting the dog to look to you when you call.

We started with a small bag of treats. ( The treats should be really small and good for the animal. You don't want to end up with a fat, unhealthy dog.)
We said the marker word(yes) and then gave Minion a small treat. We did this over and over.
Every time I said 'yes', I would then give Minion a treat and in short amount of time Minion was watching me at all times.
Next step was to call his name ( only one time ) and when he made eye contact, I said 'yes' then gave him the treat. This we did over and over as well.
During the entire training, whenever I caught him doing something good, I said yes and immediately gave him a treat. You need to have the treats handy because it is super important that they get the treat right away for this to work.
He did a really good job and considering there were 9 other dogs in the room, I think he did a great job.
We also worked on SIT and he seemed to catch on to that very quickly as well.

We have to work on the above all this week, each day twice a day, for about 10 minutes. We will also be working on loose leash walking. (This one should be interesting because when LJ is around Minions feet don't seem to ever touch the ground. He wants to carry him everywhere. )

Yeah for week one!