New Year New Me... well sort of!

Wow, last year was a BANNER year for me! I think I MIGHT have averaged one blog post every three months! Not my most shining effort!  I tend to stew on blogging ideas wanting the post to be PERFECT and then never get around to writing them before they become irrelevant and out dated.  Well this year I hope to change that! My goal this year is to write something at least once a week.
Think I can do it?
Yeah me neither, but I'm gonna try! LOL

Of course, I wouldn't be up to speed in the blogging world if I didn't post about new year organization!  First up on the "Let's Get Organized Agenda" is a new addition to my refrigerator door. As you read through my next few blogs (yes I actually have a PLAN for the first few weeks!) you'll see that I LOVE to copy great ideas. But I am definitely a recreate the wheel kinda gal! I like to take the original idea, research how other people are doing it and them shape it to fit me. Well that's just what I did with this handy little tool! A while back I saw a blog about grocery lists. This super creative lady, who's blog I cannot remember for the life of me, had created an itemized grocery list that contained everything her family generally bought at the grocery store. Then when they ran out of something all they had to do was check it off on the list.She always had a running list of what they needed and then just grabbed it on her way out the door.

Well this was great for us except that by the time I was done creating my list is had to be printed on LEGAL PAPER! I mean really... we're a family of three! That HUGE grocery list was a little ridiculous. Not to mention that it would take me DAYS to get around to printing out a new list when it was time.

Enter my fabulous smashing together of ideas!! I found a terrific way to make homemade notepads from a fellow blogger, Skip to my Lou. (This time I remembered to grab a link so I could give credit where credit is due.)
I then began the process of shrinking my grocery list down to a manageable size that was still legible and Viola! I now have this handy little grocery list notepad that hangs on my fridge but now it fits nicely in my purse!

P.S. I also learned that there is no better motivation to spruce up an area in the your home than to put pictures of it on your blog!

Learning with Lapbooks

Blessings have been all around me lately! I am thanking God for the doors He has been steadily opening. Let me catch you up to speed on the most recent thing I am doing. As I'm sure you know by now, I like to talk. Well now people will be paying to hear what I have to say! As of today I am the newest author for Media Angels, Inc. I have written a Thanksgiving Lapbook and have two more in the works as we speak!! I have wanted to be a writer since I was a little girl and thanks to my dear friend and mentor Felice Gerwitz that dream is finally coming true. God started me on this amazing journey a year ago when He led me down the path of homeschooling my son Braydon. Now that lifestyle and all that goes with it has erupted in my life! Our wonderful family has supported our decision whole-heartedly making the change in our lives that much easier. Now I am able to take two of the gifts God has given me and mold them into one terrific product!

Thank you to everyone who has supported me during this entire process and a BIG thank you to my sweet hubby! Randy has cooked dinner, tended to Braydon, done laundry and virtually been Mr. Mom in these last days before releasing the book. I could not have asked for a better helpmate! God has truly shown His faithfulness to fulfill His plans for me! I'm just trying to learn to stay out of His way.

A garden for fairies... a gift for me.

Last night Braydon and I planted a Fairy Garden. I'm sure you're thinking that's kinda silly or childish but I have to say it was tons of fun! It was actually MY project but he jumped right in with both feet and before I knew it he had taken over the entire planning and I found that the only thing left for me was the LABOR!! SHEESH!

It did give us an opportunity to research container plants together. So once again I learned that homeschool happens anytime and anywhere! I am still that mom that's trying to do schedule each and every lesson and make sure all things tie into each other nicely covering all subjects and all areas.

How lucky are we to have such a patient Father? You'd figure by now he'd have given up on me as a homeschool mom and lost all hope for Braydon (with me as his teacher) to become a functioning member of society. Instead, He takes my hand, one more time, and gently guides me back to the path He has laid out for me. The path that is PERFECT for ME! The path that is created for no other BUT ME! The path that I turn from from daily thinking I can do it on my own.

Be grateful for His patience! Be accepting of His guidance! And be aware of the times when He loves you enough to take your hand, one more time!

God Bless!

Industrial Style Flex Lamp

Our latest project! I got the idea for this awesome light out of the Lowe's Creative Ideas magazine I get every month. We aren't sure if this is where it will stay. We're thinking of making another one, hooking them together and hanging them over the large window in his room.
This one only cost us like $14! Not bad for a neat light that nobody else has! And it goes great with the industrial/grunge look he has in his room!

Instructions are as follows:

Cast a cool glow with this high-style, low-cost lamp. Grab a utility knife and follow these easy steps to create your own flex lamp.

Instructions

• Step 1: Cut the square ends off the Flex-A-Spout.
• Step 2: Fold the rope light in half and push it through the Flex-A-Spout. Be sure to leave the electrical plug hanging out of one end.
• Step 3: Twist the Flex-a-Spout into the desired shape.
• Step 4: Plug in the rope light, and you’re ready to glow

Note: The Flex-A-Spout is not part of the HVAC department. The spout can be found in the Rain Gutter / Downspout department.

You will be grateful for this tip as I spent two weeks searching for it and could not find it! LOL

Enjoy!!