Candle Holders Ala Dollar

Lately I've been seeing a lot of these Dollar Store candle holders on Pinterest.

No real tutorial needed.  I just used E-6000 and glued them together.

One suggestion.....You might want to get out a level when you are gluing them.  One of mine is a bit wonky.  The glue is thick and it is easy to end up with it thicker on one side than the other.  You then have a slightly leaning candle holder.

Here is a terrible picture of the final product.  (A photographer I am NOT!)  I'm going to use mine for the Senior Adult Christmas luncheon at church and I'm using Epsom Salt as the filler.  In real life it is actually very sparkly, snow like and pretty. 

Not bad for a $2 investment!

Wordless Wednesday - What I've Been Up To

Nifty Fifty

Last Wednesday my sister turned 50!  My aunt sent me a message on Facebook saying that she, my mom and my sister were going for pedicures and then out for pizza on Karen's birthday and why didn't I come and join them. (Not sure why I didn't think of that myself!). SO.....I flew to Portland Wednesday.

 The Birthday Girl!

Family Feet

Ages 50-73

Hard to tell from the group shot but I went for black and white polka dot!

After our pampering, we went to Mississippi Pizza

where Karen had a lot of friends come.

Marlene, Mom, Karen

And family.

 We had a great time and I flew back to Arizona on Thursday.  A quick trip but it was fun and I'm glad I went. 

Happy 50th birthday, Karen!

Menopause Moment....

Menopause sucks!

No one really tells you how much fun this is not going to be.  Mmm.  Maybe I knew but never believed it could happen to me.  I would never be "one of those" that ended up with a "middle age spread".  Afterall, I am a lifer at Weight Watchers.  Just haul my sorry self back to the meetings and get my eating under control again.  Right.

Then there are the hot flashes.  Or, as I prefer to call it, "my faulty thermostat".  Now, I live in Arizona.  Being hot is normal.   The difference?  I was out running errands the other day.  I walked into a store that was very cool.  My first reaction was that it felt so good to hit that cool air.  20 minutes later my body was still trying to actually cool off.  It is a wierd feeling to be in a 70 degree room and sweating.

Probably my least favorite part of all this are the short term memory lapses...

It was 10pm.

I was tired.

Washed my face.  Brushed my teeth.

Reached in my pocket to get my phone so I could plug it in for the night.

It wasn't there.

Looked in the bathroom.

Looked in my chair.  (Sometimes it falls out of my pocket there.)

Checked all over the house.

It was nowhere.

Finally decided I would call myself.

Guess where it rang?

In my bra.

I'm still laughing at myself over that one.  Laughter really IS the best medicine.  Learning to laugh at myself is a lesson I could have used in my younger days. 

Think this will never happen to you? 

It can. 

It will. 

Get ready.



2011

It Makes Me Giggle

Back in the day

When we were dating

Scott was a disc jockey

At 17 it felt pretty cool to be dating a DJ 

I listened to him every day 

Loved the sound of his voice

I also enjoyed calling in requests

Even ones that annoyed him

Like this

  I'm not in love with this cartoon version but it will have to do. I loved listening to John Denver back in the day.  Goes back to my hippie roots. 

I played the song for my girls this week.

Becky was annoyed.  (She is her father's child.)

Katy was inspired.

Inspired to find other annoying songs.

Like Tiny Tim's "Tiptoe Through the Tulips"

(Katy clearly got some of my DNA.)

Also played it for Scott.

He was not amused.

It still makes me giggle.  :)

The End.

Pinterest.....Christmas in August

Aren't these the cutest candy bars ever?  I do so love to decorate chocolate!  The link will take you to a free printable of the wrapper.  The hat is made with a single row of stitching.  Easy peasy!  Click HERE to get the instructions.

Can you tell I've got Christmas on the brain?  Love love love this Nativity!  Love the simple lines.  Ok, love the fact that even I could do painting at this level.  Love it so much that I am debating making 100 of them for my Senior Adult Luncheon this year.  Some of you that know me may need to slap me upside the head before I even begin making that many.....  Again, HERE is the link to the instructions.

This could be listed as "Why didn't I think of that"?  Epsom Salt snow?  Really.  Love this look.  Love the white on white.  Love the canning jars.  Simple Simon!  Here's the Link although you probably don't need one for this one!

I have a love/hate relationship with games.  I "think" I don't love to play games.  Shannon and Peggy ALWAYS bring games to our family get togethers.  I ALWAYS complain.  They "force" me to play.  There is lots of laughter and in the end I have a good time.  This Christmas Bingo game caught my eye.  Love the fact that it is not only printable but it is formatted to 5x7 size so you can send it to your local 1 hour photo place and have a great print of it.  I could probably play Bingo.....without complaining....much.  Here's the link!

Ok, peeps, now you've got some of my favorite Pinterest Christmas links!  Now I need to get off the computer so I can get some actual (vs. virtual) crafting done! 

Hello Pinterest

This is Katy.

She reads my blog.

You won't find her on my list of followers.

She does, however, remind me when I haven't posted in awhile.

It's been awhile.

Like maybe a month?

I've been distracted.

With Pinterest.

I think it might be a disease.

Pinterestitis

I've got it.

Bad.

Have you tried it yet?

It really is addictive.

In the last couple of months since I started I've pinned 802 items.

802 possibilities

for cooking

crafting

partying

etc.

I'll never get it all created.

Try it.

You'll like it.

(Evil laugh)

Click on the button

on the right side of my page.

The red one that says Pinterest.

Need an invite so you can have your own distraction?

Send me your email address.

Vacation #2 and the Striped Room

The girls' idea of vacation.
(Too much sun for me.)

Give me a cup of coffee, a book and a shady place to read.

(Now THAT'S vacation!)

 

Katy decided she wanted to paint her room black and white.  The MINUTE we got home from the resort she started unloading her room!  I have to confess.  I was stressed about black and white stripes on the wall but I (mostly) kept my mouth shut.  It is only paint, afterall.  I was pleasantly surprised at the results.  Katy did an awesome job!  It gives her room a more grown up (and rather chic) look! She will be spending the first 2 years of college living at home so I figure this is her "dorm at home" room.  She was anxious for her dad to see her work.  He is a white walls kind of guy.  (Boring!)  He told her that would not normally be his thing but he thought she'd "earned her stripes".  Ha ha.  He can be a funny guy sometimes.  Great job Katy!

Headed for home....

10 days away from home is a lot.

Family reunion was great.

Temperatures were great.

I loved seeing the color GREEN again.

I loved spending time with family.

Time to say good-bye.

See you next time.

I can hardly wait to get off the plane and see this face!  :)



Family Reunion

This weekend was the White/Hipp Family Reunion.  There was a lot of food, fun and silliness! Our first event was on Friday night.  We had a picnic in the park.  There was a blues band playing at the park that night.

Brother and Sisters!

Mark, Marlene and Karen

Quilts were used as backdrops for everything.  This is one that my late grandma made.  As you can see, we can never stay serious.  :)

Second event was a cookout at another park.  We grilled hot dogs and hamburgers at this one. 

Love this veggie idea!

 Final event was an afternoon to look at family heirlooms and pictures.  The day ended with a banquet and a time of sharing stories.

 My mom made this quilt.  We used it as a backdrop for family pictures.

We can NEVER stay serious!

My aunt was a workhorse!  Fran was the main planner for this family reunion.  Lots of work!  Thanks Fran!  :)

Uncle Ray's t-shirt pretty much sums up the weekend!

Why is it so hard???? (Rant Warning!)

One year ago today I started this blog. 

One would think after a year that I would have it all figured out. 

I don't. 

Lately all it does is make me feel guilty for not posting on a regular basis. 

I keep telling myself that I will do better......next week when my schedule eases up. 

Next week comes and goes and nothing changes. 

I am a stay at home mom. 

Doesn't that mean that I have lots of time on my hands?  (I get that a lot.) 

One year.

365 days. 

91 posts.

Averages out to once every 4 days.

Not great.

Not terrible either. 

Next year's goal?

How about once every 3 days?

(Baby steps.)

Thank you to my faithful readers!

You make me smile.

You've encouraged me.

I'll see you......in 3 days.  ;-)

The End

Summer is Here

Arizona dust storm.  One minute the sky was fine and I was getting ready to head to the store.  Before I even got out the door everything changed.  And yes, I know my photography skills are sketchy sometimes but the sky was REALLY this color!