Lots Of Linky Love

I've been finding such useful, interesting, and inspiring stuff on the web lately. I thought I'd do a quick post to pass along some of these great links to some of my favorite people (that would be YOU!). Here goes...

1. Do you blog? Protect your blog by backing it up. It's as simple as a few clicks (I just did it and it took me literally about a minute and a half). Jen at Blue Yonder Design describes how to do it here. By the way - Jen is my wonderful designer who helped me with this blog's design and my new Photography website. She's just the best. If you're looking to have design work done (blog, button, logo, website, etc.), she's your gal!

2. If you want a more tangible backup (and have some money to spend on it), you could turn your blog into a book. I've been looking at doing this at Blurb.com. Here's where you can learn about it.

3. One of the very first blogs I ever read (and continue to read faithfully) is Like Merchant Ships. Although I've never met Meredith in person, I feel like she's a friend. Her blog has a simple peace about it. I'm always inspired when I read her stuff. She recently ran a post about a change in the laws dealing with children's clothes and toys. I could hardly believe my eyes! What would we (will we?) do without thrift store toys and clothes? Go read her article here, and tell her I say hi ;)

4. If you read this blog, you already know that Becky is a dear friend of mine. Well...she's been holding out on us all. Yes, she writes a personal blog. BUT she also writes a weekly devotional blog for our church's women's ministry. It's a treasure. Go see it...and bring an extra pair of socks because the ones you have on now? They're about to get knocked off! (By the way...leave her a comment to let her know you've been there. It's just the nice thing to do!)

5. Looking to become a better photographer? I found a great list of articles here. My favorite though, is this one.

6. Reader's Digest is giving away $30,000 to someone with just the right joke or funny story. Click on over and get signed up. If I win, I'm totally going to buy one of these beauties...with a wireless keyboard, mouse, new software, and this amazing screen. In the mean time, I'm taking cash donations. You can easily donate to my cause by simply clicking "send money" at PayPal. I'm kidding. Sort of. Not really. Oh...I really am kidding!

Sort of.

Read more...

Daily Read & Little House

These two have been on the top of my "to read" list for the past few days. Jesus Day By Day by Beth Moore has been so inspirational and sweet...one of those books that miraculously makes me see Jesus in new and deeper ways. That girl, she just has a way with words! (I searched and searched for a link for you to buy this great book, but can't find it anywhere. Strange!)

And I got this Digital Photography magazine the other day at Costco. I've barely been able to take my nose out of it! I blame it for single-handedly keeping me from the wrapping, baking, and packing I need to do. I found it on Amazon, and added it to my "Good Stuff" list over there in my right side bar.

That's a new do-dad over there - check it out. I'll list stuff there, but ONLY if I've tried it and LOVE it.

Oh, gang. Is anyone else feeling totally flabbergasted by the fact that it's Christmas in ONE WEEK?

Sigh. I grew up watching Little House On the Prairie, and it's seasons like this one that actually make me long for the pioneer days. Sure the outhouse, no running water or heat (or A/C!), walking or riding everywhere...it would have been hard work. Exhausting work. And of course the required natural childbirth thing would have been a drag (especially when you couple it with the no birth control thing). Oh, and mascara. I would have had to live without mascara. And Chapstick! (maybe I'm changing my mind)

But Christmas back in those days seems like it would have been sweet. Some simple pine boughs resting on the hearth. One or two hand-made gifts and maybe a single piece of sweets for each family member. A special meal. Everyone gathered around the fire to sing Christmas songs and play games.

Just call me "half-pint" (but please don't call me Mary...did it strike anyone else what a bum deal Mary got? Laura got all the attention and life turned out great for her. Mary went blind, found love anyway, had a baby, baby died in a tragic house fire, etc. Yikes. And all without a good antidepressant!).

Why is it that true and lasting simplicity feels like it's been gone for hundreds of years?

That's what I'd truly like to give my little family this coming year - peace and simplicity. Remind me of that, please, when I'm complaining about having to sort and store and clean up the gazillion presents I bought this Christmas. I'm my own worst enemy, I know.

And here I just wanted to tell you about my new reading material! Isn't blogging great?

Read more...

Christmas Shopping Ideas

We're going to Wisconsin for Christmas this year, so I've been doing ALL of my shopping on line - a new thing for me. I did everything at Amazon, and got all but a couple of items shipped for free right to my parents' house. Easy as pie! Getting them home again...will be another matter, I'm afraid.

I came across these items on Amazon, and just had to point you their way! This "Guitar Hero" game is all the rage. We don't have it (yet), but everyone I talk to says it's positively addicting. I'm not sure - have you guys played it? The pictures on Amazon make it seem a bit "dark" for our family with small children. Is there a version where the makeup isn't so heavy, the skirts aren't so short, and the shirts cover the belly? When it comes to the innocence of my babies, I'm a prude, this I know. I'd love to hear your input on this product if you have experience with it.

Or, if you're looking to buy one up before they disappear, you can click HERE for Guitar Hero.

This toy, is my little guy's absolute favorite toy right now. Do you have a little one you're shopping for? This "Mozart Magic Cube" has been so popular with all my kids. Let's see...Thomas is 1, and Clara is 5. I'd say it's a good choice for kids in that age range. Click HERE to go get one at Amazon.

And finally...guys you can not go wrong with these if you're looking for a gift for your gal. Had an argument lately? You might want to think about going on the, um, bigger side when it comes to the diamond selection.

(Hubby - yes, pretty please! White gold will do just fine!)

Click here to pick up a pair of these beauties (they're 40% off!!).

Happy shopping, everyone!

Read more...

Like A Picture?

Want to buy a print of something you see here, on my photography blog, or on my Flickr?

As my 2 year old would say, "Cool dude"!

Click HERE for details on pricing and ordering.

Read more...

A Feast For The Senses

We went to the local Farmer's Market this past weekend. Boy, was I glad that I brought my camera! Everywhere I turned...something beautiful, something delicious, some sweet sound. It truly was a feast for the senses!

Can't you almost smell this bread? Okay, now multiply what's in your imagination right now by about 2,000 times yumminess - that's how good this bread smelled.

This woman is so talented! I can't imagine being able to paint like this.

I love it when the merchants display their colorful goodies in a pretty basket with a beautiful towel - so much more appealing than those sitting in plain plastic bins!

Just look at all those colors and textures! So pretty!

These tomatoes truly tasted like candy:

My absolute favorite part of the market? Free samples :)

Fall is definitely in the air around here. I love fall colors, don't you? Check out those dried corn stalks for $4 a bundle...makes me very thankful for the dried corn in my garden right now. It's going up on my front porch this weekend.

I have no idea what these are or what I'd do with them, but they're sure fun to look at!

Love these baskets full of yummy colors!

Our Farmer's Market used to be strictly locally grown produce, and was about 1/2 a block long. Now it has produce, baked goods, and all SORTS of art...and it's 3 full city blocks long! I had a great time visiting with photographers. It blows my mind...the idea of getting paid for my photos. I love it so much, I'll keep doing it without getting paid...but if I got paid?! Wow. Maybe I'll check into getting a booth at the Market next summer?

Check out these purses. Cute, eh? Yeah, well, they're made COMPLETELY out of duct tape. Yes. I said duct tape!

These giant pine cones were about the size of my 2 year old's head!

Speaking of my two year old...

And her beautiful big sis...

Boise is a great place to ride bikes. Check out these beauties! If I were to be a serious rider...and by that I mean serious like riding to the store and back...not riding for any sort of real competition. But if I were to have a bike? I think it would be one like this. Only the seat would have to be a tad bigger. Maybe about the size of Texas.

I was so impressed by this pretty store front all decked out for fall:

Why? Why can people not find a better place for their trash?

See? Beautiful. Now add to that some freshly fried donughts with sugar on top, some great girl time with my Mom and my girls, the crispness of fall in the air, meeting my favorite 'boys' (hubby, Dad, and my boys) for lunch...and there you have my Saturday.

Doesn't get much better than that!

Read more...

Looking For A Great Gift For A Nursing Mom?

Remember when I told you about my nursing bracelet? Well, I made one recently for my friend who has a beautiful new baby. She says it really works well for her too. And I had a BLAST making it...so the other night, I sat and made a few more while I watched re-runs of "CSI" :)

Would you like to buy one for yourself or as a gift for someone else? Here are the details:

~Cost: $10
~I'll pay the shipping (as long as you're in the US)
~To order, just drop me an email and let me know which one you want (click "contact" in my left sidebar)
~ Payment: Paypal or Revolution Money Exchange
~ First come, first serve





Purple:

Pink with Knots:

White/Clear:

Greens:

White/Clear with Blue: SOLD

Aqua with Stone:

Read more...

I Haven't Laughed This Hard In AGES!

We watched this new game show, "Hole In The Wall" tonight. Good grief...I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

These poor doofuses are dressed in quite the getup...red helmet and knee pads...and it looks like they've been wrapped in aluminum foil. NOT flattering, to say the least. When I first saw them, I thought, "Either this is a joke, or the prize is about 5 million dollars!" There's just no other way you'd see me in a suit like that.

They have to try and arrange their bodies to fit through the hole in the wall before the wall pushes them into the water (or they break the wall). It's hysterical. Ben (my 6 year old) kept saying, "Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me!" I'm with ya buddy.

Check it out...

Read more...

Hello, My Pretty

Have you ever seen such beauty?


This, my friends, is what a terabyte looks like...otherwise known as a trillion bytes, or 1,000 gigabytes. And it makes me very, very, very happy!

I bought this at Costco tonight for $200. A friend tells me I should have held out until the price went down...but I needed space NOW. And I don't think $200 is all that bad for a thousand GB!!! Yeehawww!

Read more...

Get One Of These If You Can!

We just bought a Wii and a Wii Fit (it was our one big splurge after selling the rental building I told you about). I'll tell ya...it's changed my life! Well, okay, that might be a little dramatic.

But I went from talking about exercise and it's benefits (not to mention the ever expanding size of my rear)...to actually doing exercise about 5 times a week. I'm boxing. I'm running. I'm doing yoga and strength exercises. I'm improving my balance, my posture...and yes, my weight.

And it's actually FUN. Most days, I stop the sweating and heavy breathing after 45 minutes or so only because mommyhood demands my attention, not because I'm exhausted or bored. It's revolutionary, I'm telling you!

The hardest and most painful part of the Wii Fit was actually finding one for sale! The buggers were selling out withing half an hour of being put on the shelves, and I had a heck of a time getting there in time.

Give it a try! And when you do, let me know how you do on the Super Hula, okay? I rock at the Super Hula!! (if you can push past the exploding heart and burning thighs, it's lots of competitive fun) :)

Read more...

Are Debbie Meyer "Green Bags" Worth It?

I'm a sucker for a good infomercial. I've spent way too much money on fantastic looking products on TV, only to get them home and realize that they're junk and that I've just wasted my money. So I've been skeptical of Debbie Meyer "Green Bags". The commercials claim that they'll keep your produce from spoiling over really amazing amounts of time.

I finally broke down and bought a box of 20 for about $12. I found them in my grocer's produce section (not by the other ziploc bags and such).

Before taking them all out of the box, I decided to do an experiment. I took two bananas off of a bunch that I'd just purchased. One went in the bag, and the other didn't. I put them aside in the same corner of my kitchen so they'd see the same light and temperature conditions. After 3 days, I compared them, and here's what I found:


You can see in this following picture that the banana in the bag looks like it just came off the bunch. The stem is firm and still green. The other banana...not so. The banana is starting to show signs of aging and softening.


Interesting, but compelling? Not really. BUT THEN....

Then, I cleaned a bunch of grapes that I planned to bring on the airplane for our vacation. I couldn't fit them all in the carry-on, so I put them in a green bag to see what would happen.

You know how grapes practically whither in 30 minutes once you take them off the stem? And how they get a bit soft and slimy even if you leave them in the fridge?

Well, take a look at these beauties:

Folks, these grapes have been off the stem for 15...FIFTEEN...days. That's more than two weeks! And these grapes were still crunchy!

That did it for me. I am completely and totally sold on these bags. I'm going to do some shopping and try to stock up before my garden produce really starts coming ripe. I'm so thrilled to have found these things!

Now, if Miss Meyer and her people could come up with some sort of facial cream to take care of my signs of aging. I'm tempted to poke a few holes in a green bag and sleep with one over my head tonight! :)

Give 'em a try, they definitely work for me!

BTW...I did a post last week Wednesday, but never got around to linking it to WFMW. If you'd like to read about the Best Parenting Tip Ever, click on over.

Otherwise, head back to Rocks In My Dryer for more WFMW tips.

Thanks for stopping by!

Read more...

My 2nd Home...

I've been having some fun with my photos and Light Room. Come see me at my vacation home...my photography blog...to take a peek :)

Read more...

I Got My Garden In!

Yippeeeee!!!


I'll tell ya what...it is MUCH easier to do things like plant a garden and two flats of annuals when you're not waddling around pregnant! As much as I enjoyed being pregnant, it sure it nice to have my body back.


Here's what I planted this year:

3 tomatoes
1 red pepper
4 jalapeno
3 rows of carrots
3 rows of red onions
1 row of corn
2 pea bushes (who knew they came as a bush these days?!)
3 zucchini
an then we have raspberries coming in too


What are you planting?

I had a blast helping my two big kids plant their very own gardens this year. Hubby sectioned off a part of the garden for each of them, and they sorted through the seed packets to choose what they wanted to plant. I can't wait to see how they enjoy watching the fruits of their labor begin to sprout!

I found the best garden glove this year: the Wells Lamont latex coated glove. They give protection from nasty thorns, keep my nails relatively free from dirt, are latex coated so I can really grip with them, are thin enough that I can move my hands naturally, are also thin enough that they're not hot, AND they have a fairly tight fitting cuff so that stuff doesn't end up in my glove. They're not exactly pretty, but I love them! I had to buy a men's size because the women's were too small for me. Does that mean I have "man hands"? I hope not.



I have a great gardening tip for you. I can sum it up in two words : Miracle. Grow.

You organic gardeners out there probably aren't all that impressed with me right now, but I love the stuff! I just sprinkle a little bit of the blue powder in the bottom of the hole, mix it in with the dirt (so bare root doesn't come into contact with the fertilizer), plant my plant, and water thoroughly. I also sprinkle a little bit into the trenches when I plant seeds.


Leave a comment and share your favorite gardening tips!

Read more...

The One Sling I Couldn't Live Without

When I was pregnant with Thomas, I started feeling all anxious and sentimental that he would be my last baby. I felt like maybe I would just never ever...ever...let him out of my arms since he would be, well, my last baby.

I saw a woman wearing the New Native Baby Sling in the store one day, and I knew I had to have one. It would be the perfect thing to enable me to keep my babe in my arms until he turned, oh...36 or so.

The first time I carried him in it was when he was about a week old. I had to gasp! It felt like being pregnant again. Except without the swollen ankles. Or the heartburn. Thomas spent a lot of his new-babyhood in that sling. Here he is when he was about 2 months old:



He'd get all snuggled in, and just crash. I had my hand free. I had a happy baby. And most of all, he was close to me.

Here's me steam cleaning the carpet after the dang dog...oh, never mind. The point is, see...free hands...I could get stuff done even while holding my precious babe. And even though I was still supposed to be taking it kinda easy. And even though I was still wearing nothing but maternity clothes.


And here we are two months later, so Thomas was about 4 months old. And look! I'm wearing my normal jeans! Yahoo! That reminds me...the sling is also really nice because it hangs over the waistline of your pants, thereby hiding the rubber band holding your jeans together. Just you never mind. But see? Still holding baby near, and still able to care for my 3 other little monkeys.


Here he is sitting up in the sling when he was about 6 months old. I love the adaptability of this thing...Thomas no longer wants to snuggle all day long. He wants to look around and grab and interact. He can still do that in this sling. And I can still slip him little nibbles of my ice cream. I'm worried about him after all. I mean look at him...he's practically wasting away to nothing!


Lest you think I never put him down, here's proof. It's not an excuse to show cute happy baby bottom pictures. It's not. It's NOT, I tell you! See...proof....there's the sling in the background. See? This IS a sling related picture.


And so is this one...see the sling in the upper right corner. It's a great sling. I love it. You should get one.


Oh. OK. I admit it. This is a cute happy baby rear-end picture. And no. That is NOT a lifted hospital blanket he's lying on. It just looks (a lot) like one. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.


And here we are using the sling in just the past couple of days. I don't use it quite as much as I once did because Thomas would rather be rolling around on the floor or sucking his toes. And even with the best sling on earth, your back is going to start aching while carrying around an 18 pound baby. The kid just has to get down from time to time. He HAS to, I tell you...

....or maybe not.

********************************

PS. I was in no way paid or encouraged to write this post by the folks at the New Native Baby Carrier Company. I really do love this sling just that much.

PPS. Folks from the NNBCC...if you'd like to pay me, I won't complain. I happily accept payments via RevolutionMoneyExchange.com!

Read more...