Hello world

It's me.

I've been sitting at this computer too long so my eyeballs might fall out whilst I type this.  I think we should use the word 'whilst' more often, don't you?

Jovey came up with a theme for her Daddy-dearest's birthday this month, and she is adamant that I get on the computer to work on the details while she is napping.  Thus the eye strain.  I cannot, can not (k)not (I can't help but immediately think of the Winnie the Pooh movie every time I say cannot) do it or I will face her wrath.  It turns out she has wrath.  She's three.  We're so in trouble with that one.  ;)

Anyway, here I am after looking at all the Star Wars crap to create that I can possibly handle.  Don't tell Dave, it's a surprise.  Also Jo's idea. . . well until she buckles under the pressure of having a secret.  She did tell him moments before he opened his birthday gift last year, what was inside.  Her stamina can only last so long.  Miley on the other hand, a pro.

You may be wondering if Jovey even knows what Star Wars is. . . well yes and no.  She knows about the Star Wars Rebels cartoon on Disney and has watched that with Dave, so she is sure that he LOVES Star Wars.  She's right, he does heart it.  I don't know his level of admiration, but I'm sure he'll like her theme choice.

That is of course, if I can get anything done for it.  I feel we are stupid busy right now.  Other people may not agree with that assessment since I just posted a pic on instagram of Nilla's painted toenails.  ;)

I've found the answer to surviving the stupid busy parts. . . doing something silly and simple everyday despite it all.  Even though I had lots to do we stopped and went outside to paint our nails and then the dogs nails too.  It was worth it.  I need a little bit of nothing space to keep sane. . . and then back to our regularly scheduled days.  Yesterday the girls and I played super heroes, but I of course, was the villain.  I was made to play that part.  And I got to catch the girlies and give them squeezes and kisses.  It really is the best game.  So there you have it, key to success when you are swamped with busy-ness.  A small moment of simple nonsense every day.

Pure wisdom right there.  ;)  Yeah whatever, but I did just think of some other things to share.  Ready?

OK, so I was pointed to this site called ipsy.  For $10 a month they will send you a bag of makeup samples.  Different every month and in a cute new bag as well.  You fill out your preferences and skin/hair/eye color info and then get samples that would work for you.  I love this kind of stuff and it's fun to get happy mail each month.  I don't know what I'm going to do with all the makeup bags though.  Miley is thrilled to get them!  I don't know how long I'll subscribe, but for now it's been a fun little treat and I've got some good stuff too.  Totally useful.  You can review the products from your bag on the site and you get points to get more stuff and also it helps them send you even more useful items.  So there you have it, if you feel like getting yourself a little gift or sending someone else some, it's a nice service.  Ipsy.com

Second site that we've found useful recently is Vidangel.  We are picky about what we watch.  I don't want to put garbage in my head or body, except maybe chocolate covered cinnamon bears.  Oh I wish I had some of those right now.  Anyway, edited movies are hard to get and I don't want to buy everything anyway, enter Vidangel and their lovely rent an edited movie feature.  You can even tell them what kind of edits you'd like.  And it's $2.  Goodbye visits to the Maverik Redbox.  Ok, we haven't really been to a redbox in forever anyway, but now I can just stream it to my AppleTV with minimal effort.  If you're in the market for similar fare I would point you their way.  Oh and AppleTV is pretty awesome as well.  We may have been late coming to that party, but Dave has made up for it with his gusto about it now.  ;)

Has Dave mentioned his awesome pants to you yet?  I'm sure he has.  Oh. My. Stars.  I once had a friend in high school that thought the Kirby vacuum was the coolest invention and tried to persuade us all to buy one in speech class, constantly.  I thought he was crazy, and then I married him, well not him, but Dave has turned out to be similarly nuts.  Side note:  For reasons of full disclosure, I do admit that we have a Kirby vacuum and I do heart it, but it wasn't his sales pitches that made the decision for me,  . . . at least not consciously.  Huh, weird.

So back to Dave. . . he found these pants at Costco that he loves and talks everyone into buying.  I mean EVERYONE.  I mock him for wearing his 'Costco uniform' to work everyday.  Yeah he bought that many pairs.  If you have not been given the sales pitch, do not feel slighted, feel lucky, immensely lucky.  ;)

And my eyes just fell out.  So peace out internet people.

CRAFT time: Making Old Books

I've made a few old books now, and I thought I'd share what I've figured out in the process.  So let's make an old book shall we?

Here's the trick, use mod podge and paper towels.  Yep, paper towels.

This is how to make it look like a leather bound book, without having to find leather.

For the base:  I have used old three ring photo albums as my base, or boxes, or an actual book.  The process is the same.

Cover with mod podge and apply paper towels.  I used white ones, with the imprinted design facing down, but with enough manipulation even a design will be hard to see in the end.  I use matte mod podge because it just shouldn't be too shiny.  In the end I usually seal it with a satin glaze if it needs more shine.

You can see the box on the right is covered with a layer of paper towel already.  Be sure to go around the edges.  Open it a few times while it's drying to make sure it doesn't dry shut.  The brown pieces are also covered in paper towel/glue and then painted.  You can paint while still wet, but too much painting can cause ripping of the towels.

The paper towels/glue can be scrunched and folded to make nice ripples and texture.  I add mod podge on top of the towels as well as underneath (with a paintbrush, am I giving all the pertinent information here?) so that the wrinkles and folds all stay put.  It is easier to manipulate if it is thoroughly saturated.

This one is a box, not a book, but I just need it for a prop and not to cast actual spells so it works.

The trick to adding things to make the cover more three dimensional - chipboard.  As you can see from the earlier picture I did that book in chipboard pieces and then glued and papered it around the edges again to the box.

The protrusions on the binding are twisted pieces of paper towel glued underneath the cover layer of paper towel.  See anything works really, cause it all gets covered up in the end.

On this next book I used chip board to make the frame and then put brads through it.  Build up as thick as you want and glue/attach to your base.  Then cover it with gluey paper towels and paint and you have and old and spooky book.

This book was made from one of those old sticky page photo albums.  The sticky pages were aging nicely and so I took out the binding and tied it with ribbon into the original binder.  Insert old pics and this spooky book is ready to go.

I've also used tissue paper in place of paper towels.  That book is still in my Halloween storage so I don't have a pic handy.  The texture comes out different, and tissue paper is more fragile than paper towels, but it's still interesting and something fun to try.

There you have it, something to get you started making old books.  Do it. ;)

My December hacks

Gifting. . .

I like to do neighbor gifts, but people are so weird about food these days that I decided not to bake for anyone this year.  It's a lot of work and it may be just thrown out, who knows.  Instead, I decided to give them the gift of smell.  ;)  Like baking, but not.  Here's what you put into a jar or bag. . .

• 2 slices of orange
• 2 slices of lemon (I put a whole one in though to fill up the space)
• 1t. allspice berries
• 1t. whole cloves (these two spices I put in a little bag inside the jar)
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• handful of cranberries

On the tag I put the directions:  Add to water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Be careful that the pot does not boil dry.  Add more water as needed. When cool, you can store it in a jar in the refrigerator to use later.

The smell of Christmas in a jar.  And I got rid of a lot of empty jars I had on hand.  Boom.

Hack no. 2. . . Advent calendar

We have an advent calendar that has little doors to hold. . . something.  I don't think a kid should get a gift or candy every stinkin day, so in ours we decided to put pieces of paper that had an activity or something on it to do.  You can find many sites on the internet with suggestions.

I made way more than we will actually need, but didn't put them in the calendar.  I only do a couple of days at a time.  I go through my pile and decide what we have time for in the next couple of days and then put them in.  I can't plan a whole month in advance, and this way no one is stressed with completing a suggestion that doesn't work for that day.

Our list of things includes treats to make and eat, games, traditions like looking at lights and making gingerbread houses, events like the live nativity, and simple service.  Today the paper said to smile at everyone to spread Christmas cheer.  See, some days need simple ones like that.  Miley is thrilled with them all, but every time she goes to open a new door I hear her chanting, 'gingerbread houses, please be gingerbread houses.'  Soon kiddo, after I go grocery shopping.

Shipping. . .

I never have boxes that are the perfect size, and I refuse to buy boxes.  I get them in the mail all the time, so we recycle and by recycle I mean Frankenstein.  That's right, I use it as a verb.  That's what I call the boxes that I reshape to fit the gifts I need to send.  Some end up looking better than others, but it's not what's on the outside that counts anyway, right?  I like to wrap my gifts before sending them instead of shipping straight from the source, usually, so we do a lot of Frankensteining around here to get everything to it's destination.  The perk is that it throws off the recipient, because the box says it came from xyz and yet who knows what I actually put inside.

All you need is a box cutter and tape.  Have at it.  The post office loves me, I'm sure.

There you have my Christmas tips.  You can call me Martha if you'd like.  ;)  No don't, I changed my mind.

creating rust

Crafting tip for the day:  fake rust

I'm tired of making this year's costumes and already looking into next year's.  Lost interest.  Finished first though, well mostly.

I think the joy is gone in part to the extensive rusting I had to do to Dave's costume.  Dave loves it though.  So I thought I would help you all make something rusty today since it seems that's all I've been doing.

Our costumes are from the Wizard of Oz this year, except I can't ever do something straightforward, most definitely if it is not scary.  Miley wanted to be zombie versions, but I believe we have dipped into that bucket far too often, so instead our costumes are just slightly twisted versions.

For instance, Dave will be the tin man, a very rusted out version of the tin man.  I used silver poster board to craft his suit.  (He wouldn't let me buy a rivet gun, so poster board was the next best option) I found it at Hobby Lobby and if you are in need of a similar item it is linked with the pic.  It was a pain to find around here, so I thought I'd share if you were experiencing the same problem.  ;)

So, since it is a smooth/glossy surface, paint isn't really going to work on it.  You can use modge podge and then dump cinnamon onto things to make them look rusty, but I thought that would be messy when it rubbed off and would be quite strong smelling as well.  You could seal it with poly spray to maybe contain shedding and the smell, but then you'd lose the difference in matte and gloss finishes.  Maybe for a different project it would work better.  For me, I stuck with paint.




I used this stone textured spray paint on Dave's costume last year to make his sculptured appearance.  Luckily I still had some on hand.  I sprayed it in places on the poster board, and varied the intensity of the spray as well.  It's gray with black flecks in it so it blended pretty nicely with the silver board.

After that dried it was time to paint.  I used acrylic paint in two shades of orange, two shades of brown, and a yellow.  That's the key to good rust; texture and varied colors.  Also, looking at photos of real rust is useful.

Where the spray paint was lighter I would dab on the paint and then wipe it away to make it stick to the texture and look like smaller rust spots.  I used my fingers and now have fresh new skin on my finger tips.  I really should remember gloves.

The thicker spray paint got the heavy dose of paint on top, dabbed on, mixing colors together.

Wallah, faux rustiness.  You think it wouldn't take long, but Dave is not a smallish person.  ;)

How to impress a 6 year old

Decorations!

Well who doesn't like party decorations?  As for me and my house, they are necessary.  People always ask who I invited over when they hear or see the decorations. . . I only decorate for the birthday girl/boy.  No matter who is coming over, the party atmosphere is for my special people.  On this day it was a simple family affair and that was perfect for us.

The theme this year was RAINBOWS!  As in Miley's favorite color.  ;)

Door streamers are a sure hit, and super easy.  Take a plastic table cloth and cut strips.  I folded it and used a rotary cutter so it went fast.  Tape to doorway and you've got a decoration to run through all day long.  We hung ours a little higher so the girls wouldn't step on it and immediately rip it off.

The rainbow was simply crepe paper strung all around our living room.  Much to our surprise it stayed up all night and through Miley's birthday.  The texture on our ceiling makes taping things to it obnoxious.  I won't be doing a texture in my next house, it impedes our decorations.

The hanging clouds are poly-fil attached to foam wreaths.  I sprayed the wreaths with spray adhesive for a little extra stick and then used pins to attach the stuffing.  I tied fishing line to the wreath on two sides before I attached the stuffing so I could tie it for hanging.  I made three to hang from the ceiling and a few more for shelving.

I tried using balloons as the base for the clouds, but it was more work than it was worth and they were a bit unwieldy.  The foam wreaths were light enough and stable enough to use, but I was annoyed I had to purchase them.  I like using stuff from my own stock, but now they are added to my stock so I'll be good to go for my next project.  I disassembled the clouds, they are easy enough to put back together if needed.

For over the window I just stuffed the stuffing between the rod and ceiling.  Easy peasy.  I made the raindrops from vellum cut into the shape of drops and then sewn together in a continuous line.

Miley helped me make the pom pom banner by threading pom poms onto baker's twine.  Easy and cute.  The flowers I made from paper napkins for a previous birthday party, but worked for our theme this year and so we pulled them out of the party box once again.  I don't keep all my decorations, but I'm glad I kept these ones.  They've been quite useful probably because they are bright and girly and my two kiddos are these flowers in human form.

I hot glued skittles to a wooden M for her rainbow initial centerpiece.  She was in rainbow heaven.  My girl loves decorations.

Finally, our family tradition is to put up a picture mobile for birthdays.  I print out pictures of the birthday person and hang them on the hook over our counter.  Miley made this tradition happen and I am so glad she did.  It's been fun to see pics of her through the year hung up to celebrate all of it and what's more to come this year.

I love to decorate for birthdays, as you will find when you receive your birthday package from me in the mail (see this post), if you haven't already.  I'm done with that project, finished, wahoooo!  Everything is ready to send out to you happy birthday people.  Until then here are some pics of Miley opening up her gifts.  I love catching the open mouth, wow face when she opens them. . .

Jovey was muy impressed with all the gifts as well.

This next gift was from Jovey and Miley was very appreciative and even let her help open it.  What a super big sister, like the card said.  ;)

Thanks Great Granny Nina for her big surprise!  She couldn't believe it!  Days before she requested this exact doll for her birthday.  Crazy.

Miley wants me to tell you all a big THANK YOU for the gifts and cards.  She has loved and played with them all, all over the house.  She is too easy to spoil.

Jovey was equally thrilled with her baby.  Like doesn't set her down, ever, thrilled!

Our Miley's birthday ended with a yummy coconut cake, her request, which looked just like a cloud for her rainbow themed party.  Perfection.  She made us sing the cha cha cha version of the birthday song as she took her sweet time blowing out the candles and wishing for more wishes.  ;)

I asked Miley not to turn 6 and she told me that she had to because when she was 6 she would be 'gooder'.  I'm hoping that means her grammar, and attitude.  It's been a long summer.  ;)  She also said she had to get older because she wants to have a boyfriend some day.  Oh my stars.

Everywhere we went she told people it was her birthday and they all guessed that she was 7.  What?!  Dang growth spurt.  She also got free stuff all day and so now she's very eager to go more places next year and see what she will get on her birthday.  ;)

If only we could have birthdays every day. . .

PSA

What is the flu?  Well, apparently that is a question that cannot be answered by many.

My poor hubby is in the thick of sick season and so we're going to dispel some common misperceptions about sickness today. . . This public service announcement brought to you today in an attempt to lessen the amount of questions asked my husband on a daily basis. ;)









How you'll feel like crap:  
High fever or feeling feverish/chills, body aches, headache, dry cough, sore throat, tiredness, red watery eyes, runny nose. . . Does that sound like a head cold?  Yeah it does, except head colds don't cause high fevers generally or serious body aches.  The flu is also fast onset, no feeling it coming like you do a cold. Pretty much you feel like you were hit by a rather large bus.  If you have the flu you know it.

Antibiotics, please?
Sorry, but antibiotics won't help with the flu.  You'll need an antiviral like Tamiflu, but then it may only shorten your suffering by a day or two.  It will also make you less contagious to others.

Don't touch your face, EVER:
Flu viruses travel through the air when someone infected coughs, sneezes, or talks.  You can pick up the virus from touching anything that they have touched as well if you touch your face afterward.  The flu can last from a few days to two weeks.  Complications like pneumonia and bronchitis or ear infections can occur in some people, even healthy people.  It can also exacerbate any chronic health problems you may have like asthma or congestive heart failure.

Why you're not experiencing vomiting and diarrhea?

The stomach flu, is in fact not the flu at all.  It is a misnomer for gastroenteritis.  If you are experiencing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea (and probably feverish and achy), my friend you are the lucky recipient of a nasty little virus that will most likely clear your system in 24 hours.  Do not take any anti-diarrhea meds, you'll just prolong the misery.  You want to get rid of the nasty stuff so consider the eruptions of your bodily fluids progress in that regard.  Drink clear fluids in small portions until you can keep it down.  Add crackers, and you're on your way to good health once more.  Small children may have vomiting with the real influenza, however, so keep an eye on them.

Getting the shot:

The flu shot will not protect you from the stomach flu.  I wish.  It also will not give you the flu.  Nope.  It's a dead virus or attenuated, which means it won't infect you or anyone you come in contact with. Null, void.  The nasal kind and the traditional shot, same deal.  The flu shot covers a range of different viruses that the CDC is predicting will be the most prevalent that coming season.  Is it foolproof?  No.  But it is better than nothing.  You need a new shot every year as well.  The flu viruses change continually.

Flu deja vu?
Can I get the flu again if I've already had it this season?  Why yes, yes you can.  Because there are more than one strain of flu virus you can definitely pick up another one.  Unfortunate, but true.  Flu season starts around October, but doesn't peak until February, so there is lots of time to get the flu.

Is it a big deal?
Yes.  You don't want the flu.  You definitely don't want it if you have any other health concerns and you don't want your children to get it.  In 1918 it killed tens of millions in a global pandemic.  The flu is serious, causing deaths in this day and age as well.

Dave gets a flu shot every year, because it's just a very good idea especially in his profession.  I've not been so diligent, until recently.  I've had both kinds of shot (nasal, needle) without incident.  My girls have been vaccinated as well.  I know there is a fear of vaccines in our country these days, but I think they are forgetting what those diseases look like, feel like. . . that is what should be feared.  Don't overestimate the vaccine side effects while underestimating the diseases you are protected from.  Just my two cents.  ;)

Wishing you all good health this year. . . We've already had the stomach flu at our house last month, so we're hoping for smooth sailing for the rest of the winter.

travel bullet points

Deet tastes bad. . . and you can't wash it off your hands or you'll get mosquito bites on your fingers.

Don't sleep in Germany. . . On our way to Ethiopia we had a few hours in Frankfurt.  That airport is the worst.  Huge.  Reassigns gates multiple times.  Once we found where we were supposed to be I lied down and fell asleep.  I'd been awake for over 24 hours at that point.  When I woke up, I must have had bad dreams cause I was panicking thinking I lost Miley and then looking around, couldn't remember where I was.  Do not fall asleep in Germany.  I didn't make that mistake on the way back through.  Instead eat pastries, those are good there and you'll need the sugar energy to walk the 5+ miles to your gate(s).

Classy travelers. . . the conversation quality and type of people vary depending on your destination.  For instance, on the trip back into Vegas. . . not so much the same as any of our other flights.

Unbirthdays are birthdays. . . Miley was very upset with us when we returned home, because apparently we had forgotten her birthday.  We did not make her a cake or immediately sing to her upon arrival.  She swore that she was now 5 and needed to go to Kindergarten.  I guess they had an unbirthday party in school for the kids with summer birthdays while we were gone.  It was an official birthday for Miley.  I asked her when her birthday was, and she assured me it was in August and now.  Ok, well, my bad.

Suspected criminals. . . this is how I feel about airports.  Everyone is guilty until proven innocent.  The security is so weird and so different in each place we traveled.  Not all metal detectors are made equal.  I went through SEVERAL and each one reacted differently.  Sometimes I got a thorough frisking, others just let me through.  In Ethiopia you go into a kind of waiting pen before boarding a plane.  A glass box that lets you see the rest of the airport shops, restaurants, and bathrooms, but offers you no access to them.  Make sure you pee before you go to your gate, just FYI.  Water bottles are contraband in almost every airport except Germany.  They didn't mind them, or wearing shoes through the metal detectors.  Who knows.

Bombardiers. . . I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to help myself and say bomb in an airport.  You think about it too much and it's bound to happen.  In Houston there were regular loudspeaker announcements reminding us not to make inappropriate jokes or we'll be arrested.  That didn't help me not think about it.  I don't think Meet the Parents has every played on an airplane.

Dave can't be trusted. . . I was trying to be nice and pick up one of his bags after it went through the scanner.  He was putting his belt back on and refilling his pockets.  That's when I was asked to open it up and there we found he stashed an evil water bottle.  He reappeared after my tongue lashing.  He'll pay for that one.  ;)

Khartoum. . . is the capital of Sudan.  We stopped there, twice. Not something I noticed on the itinerary before we left.  It's very hot there.  The Sahara desert looks amazing from the air.  I don't know much about Sudan, but it made me a little nervous.

Paper products aren't a necessity. . . for people in Ethiopia.  I don't know how, or why.  I'm very glad we packed TP and tissues.  Seriously.  You pretty much have to pack everything you'll need or you'll live without.

2005 . . . Ethiopia uses a different calendar than the rest of the world.  They have 12 months with 30 days and an extra month that is a week long.  They are about 7 years behind us.  They also tell time differently.  Noon to us is 6pm to them.  It's all very surreal to go back in time like that.  Every date and time had to be calculated when talking with anyone or dealing with paperwork.  It was weird how foreign it was to even think it was currently 2005.

five books. . . that's how many I purchased on my Nook before leaving.  I was sure I would run out before we got home.  I ended up reading a couple chapters of one book.  That's it.  Reading made me drowsy and sleeping was uncomfortable and mostly impossible, so instead I watched a dozen lame movies.  They really need a better selection.  The neck pillows (kuhi comfort) we got were very nice though, if only they could have helped my poor cramped legs.

Don't eat the cheese sandwich. . . and the turkey may not be turkey either.  Airplane food was interesting.  I was never served the cliched peanuts, hmmmm?

chalk dust

I may have mentioned before that I do not like chalk.  Yeah, still don't.  I see photos of people who have walls in their house painted as chalkboards and I shudder a little.  That is a lot of chalk dust to live with.

I can't help but buy art supplies when I see them, even if it is chalk.  Look at all those colors!  Kiddo's last set of chalk was left in a bucket in the rain, but we found a use for it too.

Painting trees. . .  What was needed:  Some soggy chalk (which held up pretty well actually), a paint brush, water, trees, a kid and her mom who like to paint.

Rub the wet chalk on the branch use a wet paintbrush to spread it even more and blend it into other colors.  It doesn't hurt the trees and it added some nice color to our yet-to-be-spring landscaping.

The chalk went on much brighter on this tree.  I don't know why, the bark didn't soak it up as much?  It last forever too.  We did this in March and we still have the colors today.

I painted the fence/wall outside for kid to use to her heart's content, but the patio and driveway still saw their share of color.  I may have contributed a little.

It's not a tumor it's a bun.  ;)

That was Miley's ferris wheel.  She is really looking forward to the fair already.

Here is the mostly finished wall project.  I'm thinking about adding a border or something to clean up the edges, but haven't decided yet.  It totally works though.

If you are wanting to make your own chalkboard paint all you need is to add dry un-sanded grout to your paint.  Buy it at a home improvement store.  You don't need much, like a couple Tablespoons to a cup of paint.