Mild Mannered Reporter By Day..... ;)

Can you EVEN believe Ashlyn wouldn't wear her special glasses at her Dreams Come True party?!?! She almost left them sitting on the table when we left, but....WELL. You know how I do.....😎 And, we're sooo excited, and thankful, for Dreams Come True making a dream of hers come true. <3 a="" href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank">

It's Time for a Fire Drill!!

I had planned a really deep, thought-provoking post today.....

BUT woke up to day 2 of another Headache-that-ruins-my-good-intentions. {Notice I said Day 2....which is why I didn't work on it ahead of time =( }.   It hurts.  Really bad. = (

Soooo.......I'm trying to get my kids to keep the arguing noise level down as I struggle to get anything worthwhile done and pray my large dose of extra-strength pain reliever will kick in.

I came across this....and am thankful that God gave me something to make me smile in spite of myself today.

Hee hee hee.  Ouch.  Laughing hurts at the moment, but sharing with you so that you can laugh, too. =)

Please pass the coffee ~ I need it!!

Another Stylish Blog Award ~ Ooh~la~la!!

Can you tell I'm playing catch-up this week?!  About two weeks ago, I was awarded the Versatile Blogger Award and my 2nd Stylish Blogger Award (thank you, Connie @ Green Family Life!!) on the same day.......and am just now following through with posting about them and passing them on!!  So many ♥sweet♥ blogs to choose from and choosing favorites has always been an issue with me.....

Fulfilling my obligation for 7 more things about me {yawn ~ try not to fall asleep! ;) }:

• I find it nearly impossible to choose favorites in many things (I know, I mentioned it above...is that cheating??), but.....
• My favorite color is ♥Hot Pink♥ (and I think it would be really nice if Blogger had a true Hot Pink option in their font colors!!)
• My favorite flower is a ♥Daisy♥ (I'm especially fond of Gerberas)
• My favorite beverage is water with lime (yes, really)
• I like to dress up for church on Sundays (it's often the only day I DO dress up & feel semi-pretty)
• I often like children better than grown-ups ; )
• I am a recovering perfectionist (and I think I will be recovering for the rest of my life....it's a hard habit to break - more in what I expect of myself than what I expect of others, though!)

And now......I'm passing on the bling to 7 more of my favorite stops for a coffee break ~ because every woman likes to be complimented {and that's ok.....we're made that way ~ just don't let it go to your head ; ) }........

• A Creative Spirit
• Homeschool Hoopla
• Chic Homeschool Mama
• Family Team
• From Mommy Calm to Insanity
• I Heart My Glue Gun
• Rub Some Dirt On It  (you have to go look at her blog header...I'll bet you a homemade chocolate chip cookie that you can't look at it without smiling ~ or laughing!!  Gets me every time I pop over!!)

Passing on the Versatile Blogger Award

A couple of weeks ago, I was delighted to find out I had been given a Versatile Blogger Award from Kristi at The Potter's Hand Academy!  I'm finally getting around to passing it along because I really do appreciate it.....unfortunately, better late than never seems to be becoming my motto!! ; )


The rules of the award are:

• Thank the giver.
• Tell seven things about yourself.
• Award fifteen bloggers with the award.

Although I have no idea why someone would want to know 7 things about me, here you go:

{And.....I am being honest and not using one of the 7 things I shared when I was given a Stylish Blog Award....are you impressed? ;) }

• I am afraid of heights.  Very.
• I am claustrophobic.  Extremely.
• I can't go to sleep unless my feet are perfectly clean.  If too much time has passed between my shower and bedtime, I have to wash my feet again.
• I can't stand for my feet or legs to be trapped or held down by anything or anyone.  If I don't have freedom of movement and mobility of my feet and legs, I might have a panic attack!!
• I am terrified of roaches.......or more specifically, in Fl. ~ palmetto bugs.  The really big, fat, ugly ones that can fly.  I am convinced that they are manifestations of Satan himself.  Really.....have you ever seen one?  Have you ever had one land on you????  If you have, perhaps you can understand.  If you haven't, give thanks.
• I have very strange dreams that leave me wondering when I wake up, "What in the world is wrong with me?!"  
• Bonus:  After looking over my list (esp. 1-6), I think I may need therapy for some of these issues.....

Passing along the ♥bloggy love♥ and the award to some of my most frequented blogs (15, however, does not cover all my favorites ~ one reason it took so long to respond to my award is having to decide who to pass it on to!):

• Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
• Mama to 4 Blessings
• Home with Purpose
• 3 Four and Under
• A Little Spinach
• Breath of Life
• Seams Inspired
• Mom's Mustard Seeds
• Welcome to Our Good Life
• Glass of Sweet Tea
• Therapeutic Crafting
• The Way I Sew It
• The Joys of Home Educating
• The Balch Bunch
• Quest for Real Food

Hoo Are You???

Joining in this Hop....just for fun =) 

1. What is you favorite summertime snack?

fresh fruit on top of vanilla Greek yogurt when I'm being good....
ice cream when I'm not =)

2. Do you tan at all? (tanning bed, outside, spray, etc)

yes, but I lose it more quickly than some members of my family.....my husband, daughter, and youngest son turn into Bohemians and keep their tan for a long time.  I can get dark, but lose it more quickly.....and now that I'm getting OLD, I'm a lot more concious of damage =)

3. What is your favorite activity to do outside?

beach or pool.....must have water in this heat!

4. Do you recycle?

Why, yes....we do!

5. How hot is it where you live today?

Suffocatingly.....forecaasted high today was 95, but I think it was hotter!  I saw a friend who lives near me post a photo of her car  temp. reader at 105!  Plus, lots of smoke and ash falling from nearby fires.  Please send rain!

Happy Homemaker Monday

Yes, I know I already did a blog post today.....but I've not posted as much lately, so it's okay ~ I can go a little crazy and do two!  Plus, my kids used all the hot water and I'm waiting for it to return for my Calgon-Take-Me-Away experience. ; )

The weather in my neck of the woods:

Hotter than I want it to be!



Things that make me happy:

• having hot water for my end-of-the-day bath  =)
• homemade Mother's Day cards
• This:

I was coming down the stairs and heard my husband say to my 9-yr.-old who was bouncing off the walls,  "Don't you have something to do?!" just as I hit the last step.  Without missing a beat, Robert bounced over to me and said, "Oh, yes....I definitely do!" and gave me a big hug, then followed me to the kitchen.  "I'm going to watch Mom cook dinner.......she's a lot better to watch than Food Network!" ; )

Book(s) I'm reading:

Quite a few......several for book reviews.  "The Traveler's Gift" and "The Final Summit" by Andy Andrews, "MacArthur:  America's General" by Mitchell Yockelson and Stephen Mansfield, and "I Am His" by Rita J. Platt

Also, "Things We Once Held Dear" by Ann Tatlock.............just because I like her!



What's on my TV today:

I don't know..........Jeopardy was on earlier.  My husband can't miss an episode. =)
I am planning on watching yesterday's episode of Army Wives online once I get everyone to leave me alone ; )


On the menu for dinner:

We had Lemon Pepper Chicken, Broccoli and Carrots with Whole Grain Angel Hair Pasta ~ it was yummy!

On my To Do List:

More than I want to think about right now!

New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:

Cilantro Chicken with Ginger

In the craft basket:

Next project:  A backpack to be cut out, quilted and sewn

Looking forward to this week:

No homeschool co-op, getting end-of-year testing over with {I think this calls for a homemade ice cream celebration!}, beginning the task of painting my boys' room

Tips and Tricks:

Magic erasers are amazing.  I will never be without one.

My favorite blog post this week:

Not much blog reading last week......

Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):

See post above

No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):

it actually does need words ~ this has always been one of my favorite pics of my then LITTLE girl and my BABY boy ♥

Lesson learned the past few days:

It's really not worth getting all worked up over.  Really.....and getting all worked up over it rarely makes it better, anyway.  Save your energy for better things. =)  {insert whatever gets YOU worked up where you see the word "it"}

On my mind:

Vehicle shopping, and......do you think I've got enough hot water for my bath yet??

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

"But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23-24).

We Interrupt This Normally ♥Sweet♥ Blog.....

.....for a somewhat frivolous and useless post!  Only somewhat frivolous because I'm linking up with The Homeschool Village today for February's Fantastic Finds.  If you're visiting from The Homeschool Village, please feel free to ignore the first part of this post and scroll down to my Fantastic Find (look for the Homeschool Village button), and may I offer my apologies ~ my brain is all over the place today and if you notice my blog header.....I suppose I'm feeling a little more Sassy than Sweet! ; )  I do have a GOOD find.....be patient with me.

First, my rant:

Why, oh why, oh WHY must they discontinue products I have fallen in love with???  Seriously....WHY???  I recently found out that the company who makes my skincare and make-up products has gone out of business.  This is a major ordeal for a girl with problematic skin that stages a rebellion at the mere thought of changing products.  No kidding.  I took me YEARS to find the perfect line.....and I log on to reorder, and literally told my computer screen, "Noooooo!!!  You can't do this......I need you!" 

I love this skin care line.....because my aggravating, oily, sensitive, break-out prone skin loves this skin care line.  I also loved the fact that it was a small, independent company in a world of corporate  monopolies.  I ♥ the little guys.  And I woke up this morning to yet more rebellion at trying new products when I looked in the mirror ~ and I know true beauty is on the inside....but it's really nice when the sight of you doesn't scare people. *Sigh*.

In light of this devastating disclosure, I'm giving a shout-out to a few of my very favorite products (and I am not in cahoots with the product manufacturers ~ I am just a big fan):

I'm not sure why it took me so long to try this, but I am hooked!!  I think I avoided it, thinking it was something along the lines of the sugar-laden energy drinks that are all the rage now.  I'm a label-reader, and once I took the time to read this one, I discovered that it's full of good stuff!  Wow!!  It's amazing!!!  I think I might be able to conquer my to-do lists with this little mighty booster!  I also think I need to find it wholesale.  I need lots of it.  It's awesome. 

Next, we have my absolute most favorite hairspray.  And I've tried lots of hairsprays.  I ♥ this one ~ it only takes me a little dab and I'm done.....and is the only one that will hold my hair (long hair is heavy!).  I know it says Instant Freeze, but I seriously only use a little bit and it leaves my hair less stiff than the others because I don't have to use as much.  It smells good, too.  I like it.  A lot.

And now, because I ♥ CHOCOLATE, and ♥ it VERY much.......my indulgence that leaves me feeling not-so-guilty:  Zone Perfect Double Dark Chocolate Nutrition Bars.  *Sigh*  The let me have my chocolate with a little less guilt.  Without ruining my protein-to-carb ratio that I try to maintain.....and are sometimes a quick meal replacement when I'm too busy or am on-the-run and don't have time for a real meal.  I may be slightly addicted.....but I'm okay with that.

And now, I'll stop.  But I think you should buy these products.  I'm absolutely sure that you should......because I don't want them to ever, ever be discontinued.  I need them.  Every day. ♥

I wonder if I've lost my Homeschool Village linker-uppers yet.  If not, your perseverance of reading through all that nonsense has paid off.  I promise I'm not this flaky all the time, so please come back!  Here's the real find:

 

One of my children is a very reluctant reader, much to my dismay.  His weakest area is also spelling and grammar, regardless of the fact that we drill him and focus on it A LOT.  With his two siblings being good readers and also much better spellers, I 've always thought if I could find a book series that he could "get into" that his weak areas would naturally improve (at least a little).  It worked for my daughter and my other son.....but they also seem to be naturally inclined that way.

Have you noticed that there's not a whole lot of good fiction series out there for boys?  I had been checking out a youth sports series from the public library, but when my other son (they have the same reading level....his is above-average, while his older brother's is average) brought me one wanting to know what !@#$% meant, I was less than impressed.  Seriously, is that necessary?  I realize that I probably should have been born 100 yrs. ago, but I really despise profanity.  I despise how profane, rude and crass our society has become.....and even thought the actual word wasn't printed in the book, it's like saying "this is a bad word and when you're older you can read what it is, because when you're older it's ok.....and that's what grown-ups do".  He was half-heartedly reading the series anyway, so I kept searching.

I wanted a series that would appeal to him, but also reinforce good values and character traits.  We homeschoolers, we're so picky ~ aren't we?  A good friend of mine recommended a series she recently discovered, and I bought him the first 4 books for his birthday.

He was actually excited to receive them.  Frank Peretti is one of my MOST favorite Christian fiction authors and I have many (if not all) of his books in my collection, so he was fully expecting them to be good.  Lo and behold, over the next few weeks, I would find him curled up in his bed, propped up with pillows, happily and contentedly READING.  He would often come to me, telling me how good the books were and giving me a play-by-play of the story line.....and asking when I could buy the remaining books in the series.  This is the child that we would have to threaten with dire consequences to get him to complete his required reading time each day.....and reading ONE WHOLE CHAPTER was an effort (not because he couldn't, but because he didn't want to).

I also found several series for kids by Jerry Jenkins, another of my favorites, and have them bookmarked for when he finishes this one.  I knew he had the Left Behind Kids Series, but was unaware of the others.

Also, for some good non-fiction History reading, we've found these by Peter Marshall to be wonderful.  There's a series of three books.....and all three of my children used these as part of their reading time, without complaint!

Now that I've got him hooked, I think perhaps a whole new world has been opened to him.....I hope, I pray.  We shall see if his spelling, grammar and writing efforts improve.  I'm ordering the next 4 very, very soon.  :: )

Happy Homemaker Monday

Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

The weather in my neck of the woods:

Things that make me happy:

• The first REALLY good night's sleep I've had in a long time
• Finding my 3rd grader happily doing schoolwork on a SATURDAY morning
• A good cup of coffee with Mint Chocolate Truffle creamer to help wake me up in the morning
• A new Sweet Diva order  : )

Book(s) I'm reading:

• Teacher's books & textbooks in Math, Language Arts, Writing, Spelling, Bible, Science and History on 3 different grade levels 
• The Postcard by Beverly Lewis
• Pattern book
• One Hundred and One More Devotions for Homeschool Moms by Jackie Wellwood

 What I'm enjoying on TV:

TV?????????

 On the menu for dinner:

Garlic and Herb Roasted Chicken
Mashed Potatoes w/ Gravy
Peas (yuck - an act of love) and Carrots

Recipe I tried or want to try soon:

 Red Lentil Stew

Making this week for History enrichment......my daughter is studying Biblical History and just read that Esau traded his birthright for some of this stew  : )

On my To Do list:

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Schoolwork
• Sewing
• Cleaning

 In the Craft Basket:

More than I have time for  : )

Looking forward to this week:

Being better than last week!

Tips & Tricks:

Hmmmmm.......

Never underestimate the trouble your serial bird-killing cat can cause with the neighbors!

My favorite blog post this week (mine or other):

 Free *cute* apron patterns

Tip Junkie

No words needed (favorite photo or photos, yours or others you want to share):

Lesson learned the past few days:

Never try to be Super Sewer/Designer on a day when nothing is going as it should.....makes your bad day worse & your seam ripper becomes your best friend.  Some days were made for giving yourself a break! 

On My Prayer List: 

• Husband's new job (Glory, Hallelujah!)

Devotionals, Scripture reading, Key Verses:

Colossians 3:1-4
If then ye were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth. For ye died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory.