POST OF RAMDOMNESS

All kinds of thoughts are rambling around my mind with nothing broad enough to dedicate a whole post to.  So come take a stroll around my brain for some randomness...

Our family started a Biggest Loser Competition the first of January.  Some have dropped out, some have kicked butt and some (me) have gradually lost a few pounds.  My current total is 15 lbs.  My goal is 30 lost by March 31.  I am going to have a serious talk with myself about how to make this happen.

Chicken Pot Pie is wonderful comfort food for me.

I usually do our taxes and am SOOOO dragging my feet this year.  Let me check.......

um nope.....

I still don't want to do them.

I have a LOVE/HATE relationship with Facebook.  Love that I can keep up with friends and family. Hate it when some facebook 'friends' never post anything of their own but cruise everyday looking for a way to contest something I post about. (This person has complete opposite views about things than I do and always feels the need to contend and leave smart aleck comments.)  Said person has been unfriended by me.  I don't know why I didn't do it sooner, what a POWER RUSH!  Who needs friends like that?

I am in a winter time funk. 
 Can't stay focused,
want to sleep in late,
 unmotivated to shop, cook, clean, read or craft.

I could seriously sit and cruise the internet ALL! DAY! LONG!

TODAY I AM SADDENED TO HEAR THAT TWO MORE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS DIED BECAUSE OF THE SHOOTING YESTERDAY.  WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO??? My heart breaks for their families.

And That Concludes My Mindless Ramblings For Today.  I couldn't even find a picture to post, it is that random.

Pinterest Inspired Projects

Once again Pinterest has inspired me and I actually made a couple of projects.  To the left is the finished project.  It is made with a scrap piece of 2x6, some scrap book paper and some embellishments.   Below is the inspiration I found on Pinterest.  Her blog is called Lovely Little Snippets and this particular post is all about using up scrap pieces of wood.  Lots of cute things to see.

The next project is also done with a 2x6 scrap piece of wood.  The inspiration for this block came from
pinterest but unfortunately the link was messed up so I am unable to give credit for this one.  I just love the way this word is written.
Be YOU tiful.  What girl or woman couldn't use this reminder.

I am so glad some brilliant person somewhere had the vision to create Pinterest.  It is such a great place to go for ideas and inspiration.  I now have two more projects finished for my bazaar thanks to all that great "Pinspiration".

BEGINNING BAZAAR INVENTORY

 I have decided to do an in-home bazaar in November.  Kinda scary, to say the least.  I have done craft fairs and bazaars in the past but never one in my home, this is new territory I am venturing into and is quite exciting.  I know that I need to get an early jump on my inventory, starting with supplies I already have on hand, I dug out an old calendar holder I bought at Goodwill last year.  I had even sanded it down and painted it but then it got set aside. 

Here is a close up shot of the finished project

This is the calendar holder from GW.

Next I chose some coordinating scrapbook papers.

I cut twelve 12" wide strips measuring from 2"-3.75"

Next it was time to lay out the strips in a complimentary pattern.

I just used regular all purpose white glue to adhere the strips to the board.

I then cut vinyl lettering on my Silhouette using some family rules that are pretty generic.  Mostly common sense rules for any household.

I did add some bling and embellishments, polka dot ribbon down the sides and some sequins and flowers to different areas.  I then took some tulle and tied a bow at the top.  Hopefully this is the first of many items finished before November.

I hope you all have a wonderful three day weekend.

MS PAIGE UPDATE

OK, so we are three weeks into this new puppy adventure and this is what we have learned and what she is learning:

She knows her name and comes when called, um, that is when she chooses to come.

She is learning to fetch and actually is coming right along with that.

She has discovered where our clothes and shoes are housed and routinely drags them out and proceed to chew on them. (Dirty socks and underwear are her chew toys of choice.)

Her favorite place to explore and hang out is in our master bath shower.

She loves to chew our pant legs and shoes while we are trying to walk.  She especially loves shoes with laces.

She believes that biting your hands is great fun...she is also learning what the word NO means.  After approximately 93,467 "NO's" she sometimes complies.

She can now jump off of places more than two feet high and thinks it is quite fun.

Hearing the door open to the closet where her dog food is kept will catch her attention from 2 miles away.

We are STILL working on the whole 'go to the door when she has to go potty' idea.  We are far more trained in this area than she is, every fifteen minutes we go to the door to let her out.  (Let's just say we need to have the carpet professionally cleaned SOON.)

She is definitely  bonding with us all and gets so excited when company comes.  One thing she has mastered is that she doesn't tinkle when she get excited. (Thank goodness).

I am sure we are in for many more adventures with her,I am not looking forward to the day when she starts to dig in the yard, flower beds and garden beds.

PINTEREST ETIQUETTE

As you are well aware I am quite fond of Pinterest and all it has to offer.  So many wonderful ideas have been shared that have inspired so many people to try new things.  With that being said, I found this link that confronts one of the issues that has arisen with all the pinning that has taken place.  I know I find it frustrating when I "pin" or even "like" something on Pinterest and when I go to the link it is either just from a picture file like Flickr with no link to the original souce or the link it sends me to is on someone elses blog or web site and I have to search through many other articles to find the one I am interested in.

I know I will try to be better about pinning and linking to the proper source from now on.  Now that I am nearing 1000 pins I am not sure I will go back and check each one but I will try to make sure I have the correct source to link to from now on.

One other thing that I have noticed about Pinning is the description of a particular picture.  I don't think people realize that you need to put a brief description of what the picture is of rather than your opinion of it.  For instance if there is a picture of a beautiful wedding cake that you adore then put something like "Beautiful Wedding Cake", NOT, "Susie would love this" or "Cute".   By appropriately identifying what the picture is makes it easier to SEARCH for a particular item.  To see what I am talking about type in "I love this" or "Cute" into the search box and see how many pictures pop up.  You will see everything from adorable puppies to outfit ensembles to baby photo's and everything in between.  I have even seen things like this " : 0)" in the description area. 

Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings, I hope it explains a little about some common courtesies associated with Pinterest.

PINTEREST INSPIRATION FOR THIS WEEK

SO SORRY IF I AM OVERDOING IT ON THE PINTEREST POSTS, I JUST CAN'T HELP MYSELF.

THIS IS WHAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION THIS WEEK:

Here are the links if you want to see more about these projects:

Plates

Entryway

Shelf/Cart

Bag

I GOT A PROJECT FINISHED

Pinterest Inspire Me Again.  I found a quilt at Sweetwater's blog that used Moda Jelly Roll fabric.

I finally finished this rag quilt I posted a few posts back.

I made it with this roll-a-way bed in mind.  It is a small bed that folds up, we use it for grandchildren when they spend the night.

Paige the puppy still thinks I made it for her.  She thought she would pose with it to prove to everyone that it belongs to her. Hah, right, good try Paige!

I am having some funky camera problems so this didn't take as clear as I wanted. I wanted to show the stitch I used down the center of each strip.

So that is another Pinterest inspiration done.  Oh how I love me some Pinterest.

PSSSSST..................I HAVE A SECRET GUILTY PLEASURE!

I debated on whether or not to share my secret guilty pleasure, after all I am opening myself up to scrutiny or maybe even some criticism.  Maybe a little finger shaking and tongue clicking but here goes...

I AM ADDICTED TO WATCHING THE BACHELOR AND THE BACHELORETTE.

There I said it!   Whew, that feels better.  Now that you know my secret addiction will you still be my friend?  I can just see it now, my followers will drop like flies, the comments will stop, other blogs will make mention about the poor soul over at Shady Creek Lane that is a hopelessly lost and confused about reality.

I get so excited when a new season begins.  Monday nights from 8:00-10:00 you will find me cuddled up in the recliner with my fleece blankie watching all the drama.

I certainly know and understand that the whole format of the show is to create "the perfect backdrop for romance" in every episode by flying the Bachelor/Bachelorette and their potential husbands/wives to exotic places around the world.  Who couldn't fall in love in those circumstances anyway.  Put me somewhere tropical with warm breezes and I'll bet I could fall in lust, um love too.  Well put a really hunky, rich, handsome, successful, sweet, perfect on the surface male there and I think I could give it a try for sure. (That is if I were young, successful and beautiful...and single.  I am still a little in touch with reality you see.) 

This season we have Ben, the bachelor, and these 25 gorgeous beauties.

Not necessarily my type Ben but then again I am old enough to be your mother, hah!. 

In every episode there is my favorite and this season it is Kacie.  I am rooting for her all the way.

And there always has to be the dreaded WENCH to keep things stirred up.  This season it is Courtney.



I know most of you that take the time to read my blog will most likely be shaking your heads at this post, wondering about my own well being and sanity but hey, sometimes I need "fluff" to help me not get so caught up in things that really matter, like the economy and politics. 

Speaking of politics, we are in the middle of an election year and I think those running ought to have Rose Ceremonies to eliminate the candidates, that way they at least get a beautiful rose and don't feel so kicked to the curb.

Oh ya, and Chris Harrison would be a great debate moderator too.

WHAT ARE YOUR GUILTY PLEASURES? 

PINTEREST INSPIRED PROJECT

This was a quick project I was able to put together this afternoon with stuff I had on hand.

I love the POP of red with the bow.

Here is the inspiration I found on Pinterest.

Mique from Thirty Handmade Days made hers using wrapping paper whereas I used vinyl lettering on a painted canvas.

Can you believe that Valentine's day is only 12 days away?

It seems like I just got the Christmas stuff put back in the attic.

WE HAVE A NEW BABY

I would like to introduce you to the cutest brown-eyed blond baby that has joined our family.

She has caused quite a stir around here.  Everyone has stopped by to hold and cuddle her. 

.

(Did I get ya?  I'll bet you were expecting me to announce another grand baby.)

Her name is Paige and she is a 6 week old Labrador retriever.

 

Do you remember a few posts back where I talked about my rag quilt?  Well it still isn't finished.

It seems little miss Paige decided it must be for her.

 She is quite the little sweetheart.

She loves to sleep on laps...

 ...and on forbidden quilts.

Grandchildren laying on her doesn't even phase her.

She sleeps, pees, poops, eats and sleeps some more.  I have forgotten how much work a puppy can be.  It's like having a newborn, awake every 2 hours at night.  I sure hope she gets the whole "go to the door when she has to go to the bathroom" down quickly.  Until then we are stocked up on piddle pads and Nature's Miracle pet odor/deodorizer.