Category: Holidays

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Crafts For All of Your Left Over Shims

Shims usually come in a pack. Ever wonder what to do with all of those left over shims? Well I’ve a few craft ideas for you to use up your shim stock.

1. Make a decorative piece of wall art by gluing the shims inside of a frame.

2. Create a beautiful sunburst looking wall mirror by surrounding a circular mirror with shims. If you turn the shims so they are stacked on each other and then lay them around the mirror it will look like a star burst. Cut the shims to different lengths for each point of the star.

3. Cover a planter box side with multiple colors of shims to add some texture and pops of color.

4. Staple a few to a piece of wood to make your own picture displays with no glass needed.

5. Stack a few shims together to make a Christmas tree and paint it green and leave the bottom shim turned vertical and stain it brown. I had to add this one in because it’s so close to Christmas. We actually made this one ourselves last year. It was quite easy to do and because shims are so inexpensive we got enough for everyone in the family to make one for themselves.

Do you have any fun ideas on ways to use up those shims you have laying around or even fun crafts to do with shims on purpose?

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My Best Friend Is Getting Married

My best friend, Jill, came over tonight for dinner. It was really great to catch up with her. She went home for the holidays and we haven’t got to spend much time together since before Christmas. We filled each other in on our New Year’s resolutions and updated each other with news from over the holidays.

Well, Jill had the biggest news of all. She is getting married and she asked me to be her maid or I guess matron of honor. I’m soo excited to help her plan her wedding. It’s not her first wedding but she has been divorced for 10 years and is starting over with an incredible man.

They want to have a big bash and invite all of their friends and family. Her first wedding was very small and just a few family members and very close friends. I think she wants to go all out and have a big giant party this time around.

I’ve been married now for 12 years myself. Some days it seems like we just got married yesterday and were sending out the wedding invitations. Other days it seems like we’ve spent more than an eternity together already.

I’m soo happy for Jill and Chris. I know it’s going to take a lot of planning and preparations, but that’s what best friends are for right?

 

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Planes, trains, and automobiles

Guest post by my friend Linda Bradshaw

To be perfectly honest, I never saw the movie “Planes, trains, and automobiles.” I know it was a comedy from 1987, and I guess the reason why I never saw the movie was because I was too busy working full time, taking college courses at night, and raising two young children. But from what I understand, the movie is about a few people that started out as strangers that were thrown together by chance when their plane trip “home” for the holidays went awry. Misadventures and hilarity and cussing ensued.

Personally I have great empathy for people that have been having troubles with their travel plans. One time when I was scheduled to fly on an airline that was called “People’s Express” I had to fly from Washington DC to Newark NJ to catch a connecting flight to Portland ME. When I boarded the plane at Dulles I was assured that the connecting flight in Newark was “on time” so I was confident that all was going well. I had a baby with me, and I did not want to be stranded in Newark with a baby. Lo and behold, when I got to Newark I was informed that the connecting flight had been cancelled and I had to wait for five hours for the next flight. Let me just say that was the last time I ever flew on that People’s Express airline! And from that point on I called that airline “People’s Distress!”

Fortunately, I have had really good luck whenever I have used the US Airways airline company. Although there have been a few times when the flight was delayed for about thirty minutes, the airplane was usually able to make the arrival gate close to “on time.” That has always been important to me because I usually have friends or family waiting for me at the destination airport to pick me up and I don’t want them to have to wait for hours for a delayed flight to land. Especially at airports that are not set up with comfortable waiting areas for customers that are stuck there waiting for the delayed flights to arrive.

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Our Family’s New Year’s Resolutions

Happy New Year Sign
photo credit: katerha

Every New Year many across the world set new goals to achieve or habits to form over the next year to come. This year is no different, except for the fact that we’ve decided to work really hard to hold each other accountable for what we’ve decided to do.

My husband has decided that this year he wants to commit to exercising at least 3 times a week. He usually says he wants to get in better shape. This year he changed it up a tiny bit and is going to set up a routine. He told me that he wants to work out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning before work. He doesn’t think he would be very successful adding a day to the weekend because the weekends we are on a different schedule and he wants consistency.

For myself, I spoke to my husband and I think it would be really great for us to work out together. So, like my husband, I too and going to commit to exercising 3 days a week. I know that having an exercise buddy will help keep us on track and motivated. I can’t wait to see how we feel once we’ve been exercising on a regular basis. I’m excited to feel a difference.

My children have determined that they are going to work hard at listening to what my husband and I say and do what is asked of them without complaining. I’m skeptical about this one. I don’t know where this came from. I love my kids but this doesn’t sound normal. I guess I shouldn’t complain.

I’m excited to see what the new year will bring for all of us. What are your New Year’s resolutions?

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Cute little gift

Jim has been dropping hints all school year that he wants a drum set for Joshua for a Christmas gift, and that he is hoping that the whole extended family will chip in a buy one for him. Most of the people in our family is completely ignoring him; they are tired of him expecting us to furnish his kids with presents every year while he gives our kids nothing! So this year I decided to buy one of the affordable cowbells at Musicians Friend and give that to Jim towards the drum set that he keeps talking about. I’ll smile sweetly and tell him that was all that I could afford, and that I hope it helps in some way to get him closer to the drum set that he wants. And I hope he doesn’t act indignant that I didn’t get him more.

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Giving Back to the Community

As a part of giving back to our community this year we have put together a few baskets to donate to families in need. We picked out a few toys to donate to children that don’t have any. We also did a culling of all of the toys in our home to make room for the new ones the kids will get for Christmas. We cleaned out three big bag fulls of toys to donate. The kids were happy to do it because we talk to them about how they can help others and make a difference even though they are so young still.

In addition to the toys we are donating, we’ve also put together food baskets and toiletries for men and women. I used coupons and got a large variety of health and beauty items for free or next to nothing. I always use these items to give to shelters. It seems silly not to take advantage of the sales when there are people in need that can use these things. Each toiletry basket has tooth brushes, tooth paste, body wash, deodorant, as well as a comb and a brush.

We’re taking everything to be donated this afternoon. We enjoy giving back to the community. How does your family or work give back the community you live in?

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Gift Bags or Gift Wrap?

Which camp do you fall into? Gift bags or gift wrap?  As a child I loved getting gifts covered in wrapping paper and tearing into the paper to see what was inside.  It was a thrill to hear the paper shred and discover what lay waiting behind that magical paper.  As I got older I stopped tearing the paper apart on my gifts.

Instead, I very carefully peeled it away from the gift, trying very carefully not to tear it so that I could use it again in the future.  My mother was always very grateful for the extra paper.  I folded the paper up nice and neatly in a pile and handed it to her once we were finished opening all of our gifts.

You can do the exact same preserve and reuse idea with gift bags, and a lot easier too.  You don’t’ have to worry about paper tearing or opening something ever soo carefully so you don’t put added wrinkles in the paper. Unless you crush your gift bags they are easy to reuse. Simply fill the bag again and you’re ready to go! You might have to add more tissue paper, but I even reuse that in my house.  I have a big box of tissue paper that I’ve collected from all of the gifts we’ve received and I just pull it out to stuff the bags as needed.

Reusing our gift wrap and gift bags is just one of the ways I save money for our family. So my question to you is, do you reuse gift wrap or gift bags? And which do you prefer?

 

 

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The Best Birthday Presents To Get and Give

What is the best birthday present you have ever received? Was it some elaborate and expensive gift or was it a service that some one provided for you?

I think the best gifts are those that tell me that the person giving me the gift really took the time to think about what I would like. I enjoy gifts that people give from the heart and of themselves. I love it when someone decided that they want spend time with me instead of just tossing a gift card in a car and calling it a day. Don’t get me wrong I love gift cards because I can pick out what ever I want to get for myself, but some times I would rather just spend an afternoon with some one and or maybe share a meal together.

I love date nights for gifts too! These usually involve a gift from more than one person too. My hubby of course and then who ever volunteers to watch our kids while we go out and enjoy ourselves. Babysitting is a fantastic gift, it gives me a chance to have some alone time to get out of the house to be an adult or run errands. I’ve also used baby sitting to just catch up on sleep.

You know when you have those really long weeks and you don’t get more than 5 hours a night for a few days in a row. Those are the times when I cash in those coupons that my friends make for me for a night of free baby sitting. My friends come pick up the kids and then I can go back to bed and I love it! If I’m smart I’ll try to plan ahead and see if the kids can do a sleep over so I can sleep in.

So I guess date nights and baby sitting are my top gifts. What is the best gift you could receive or have received?

 

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10 Budget Friendly Potluck Ideas

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It’s potluck time again.  This weekend we celebrate the service of our military and in doing so many of us attend or host a potluck.  Many people are on limited budget and can’t afford to spend upwards of $40 and $50 to go to a potluck.  I’ve put together a list of ideas that will feed a crowd and won’t rob your pocket book.

  1. Big pot of chili – toss some inexpensive beans in the crock pot with some tomato sauce and chili seasoning, add a pound of ground beef and you’re all set.  You can even be fancy and get some corn bread mix and serve it along side.
  2. Pasta Bake  – pasta can be bought for pennies. Get a few pounds of your favorite shape, cook till al dente and toss with your favorite sauce.  Pour it into a big casserole dish and sprinkle it with cheese. Easy Peasy.
  3. Baked Bean Casserole – again beans are cheap.  Toss them together with onions, celery, brown sugar, dried mustard, tomato sauce and a bit of barbecue sauce and you’re all set.
  4. Delived Eggs – a dozen will usually run you under $2. Add your favorite mayonnaise and seasonings.
  5. Homemade Bread – fresh baked bread is always a hit anywhere and you can make a loaf for under $1!
  6. Corn Chowder – buy your favorite creamy potato soup mix (Bear Creek makes an excellent one) and add frozen corn.  Everyone will think it’s made from scratch.  Simple, cheap and easy.
  7. Cupcakes –  are cheap and easy to make look impressive.
  8. Hummus – beans again… garbanzo beans, a little tahini , olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and you have a winner.
  9. Melon Skewers – some honey dew and cantaloupe scooped into perfect spheres served on a stick are a nice light choice.
  10. Baked Potato Bar  – a big bag of russets goes a long way with a dollop of sour cream and chives.
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Great Christmas Clearance Finds

This afternoon I ran to the store to pick up a few things I needed to get to make dinner. I’m making chicken parmesan and I needed mozzarella cheese, chicken, and parmesan cheese. Anyway, while I was there I browsed the clearance table at my grocery store.

You would not believe the great deals I found on some things. Publix had stocked a variety of toys for Christmas at decent prices to begin with. I found a bunch of items that will be good to use for birthdays, birthday parties my kids go to, and of course Christmas next year. I found some really nice puzzle sets for only $4! They were normally priced at $20 but because they want to move out the Christmas inventory they were heavily marked down. I also scored some really exciting play dough type toy sets. These were only $4 as well. I couldn’t pass up the deals. I got a few of each in sets for boys and girls.

I also couldn’t pass up the Christmas candy. I’m a chocoholic and I love when it goes on sale. I scored snowflake chocolates again this year for $1 a bag. I love getting 4 bags of chocolate for the price of one. They had a bunch so I bought 8. I know it’s a lot but I’m going to put it in the freezer and save it to make chocolate dipped strawberries for Valentine’s Day. Or at least that is my plan. There is no telling what will happen to the chocolate now that it has entered my home.

I’m so happy I found some great Christmas Clearance finds even though I wasn’t looking. It totally made my day a lot sweeter. Pun intended, I ate a bunch of chocolate on the way home.