Winter Makes Me...

I don't know. I don't love Winter. I love things about Winter; like hot chocolate, Christmas, New Years, lights, glitter, and candy canes.

By the way, I've been eating candy canes wrong my entire life! I used to suck on the end and make it into a pointy tip (to fight people with) and then I would break it off and eat it.

WRONG!

So wrong.

How to Eat a Candy Cane:

Just bite the thing and crunch it to death in your mouth.

The end.

Much more satisfying than making it into a pointy sword where you will inadvertently slice your tongue.

Anyway...House Update! Things will probably be a little bit slow between here and February-ish, what with preparing for baby/having baby/fighting bitter cold/funds/school/whatever else gets in the way. Which means I may or may not be posting on this very much. Who knows!

Consider yourself notified.

But! This will give us time to clean, I guess? I hate cleaning. On the upside-all of the nails are finally hammered in or pulled out in all of the rooms except for the ceilings. Yay! We finished off the rest of the wire My Honeypie got for *free* and I finished foaming the windows.

Yessssssssss.

Also, I am feeling especially grateful to everyone who has helped thus far, or those who even have had the thought of helping. I don't think we can say, "thank you", enough.

So thank you, to all of you!

You da best.

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is this week! Hooray! In preparation of such, I wish to share a poem:

Prayer of Gratitude

Please help me to remember:
Things are better than they seem,
For while I may be lacking faith,
I’m very blessed indeed.

At times I forget
How fortunate I am,
That I have all the little things
Other people lack.

Ears that can hear,
Eyes that can see,
A body that moves,
A voice that can sing.

A home full of love,
A heart full of peace,
A soul that is free to
Love as it’s pleased.

A big, wide, beautiful world
Where we can run and play.
An ever transforming masterpiece
As the seasons change.

And today I’d like to thank You
For everything You’ve done.
For giving us the greatest gift;
For giving us Your Son.

I wish to share my love
For your generosity,
So I’ll be thankful every day
For all the little things.

Now. Little things I'm thankful for
*not necessarily in order of importance*
for every day of November:

1. My Honeypie and BBFE (best friend for eternity).


2. My baby (still in the making).


3. My families.


4. My job.


5. My Honeypie's job.


6. Food.


7. Cooking skills.


8. The gospel


9. Missouri. OMGOSH YES I JUST SAID THAT.


10. Smiles.


11. Hugs. On occasion. You know how it is.


12. This apple that I'm eating right now.


13. Talents.


14. Freedom.


15. People who fight for our freedom.


16. Kind words.


17. Thoughtfulness.


18. Oh, freak, how about having a place to live?


19. Our house.


20. Temples.


21. The atonement.


22. The milky way! Yes, the candy bar too.


23. Guns. Yeah, I'm thankful for those.


24. Technology.


25. Animals. Because they are nice to look at. and because they taste good. (TURKEY!)


26. Modern day revelation.


27. Good mental health.


28. Common sense.


29. Seasons. and seasoning.


30. My bed. Duh.

What are you thankful for?

My Shabby Pumpkins

I got some little, styrofoam pumpkins from the Wal-Mart for $0.97.

Then, I made them pretty!

All covered from scraps and odd-n-ends that I had in my craft tub. I think the blue one is my favo. That's why it's sitting on my desk in the library :)

You've Been Booed!

Do any of you know what this "booing" business is/do any of you do this during Halloween? I'd never heard of it until this year. Basically, it's a way to get into Halloween and spread some spooky fun...I've never really been in to Halloween, but I think this is a super cute idea.

You take one a poem like this:

The air is cool, the season fall,
Soon Halloween will come to all.

Ghosts and goblins, spooks galore...
Tricky witches at your door.

The spooks are after things to do,
In fact a spook brought this "Boo" to you!

The excitement comes when friends like you,
Copy this note and make it two.

We'll all have smiles upon our faces,
No one will know who "BOO"ed who's places!

Just two short days to work your spell,
Keep it secret, hide it well.

Please join the fun, the seasons here .
Just spread these "BOO's" and Halloween cheer.

You have been BOOED! Please keep it going by following these directions:

1. Enjoy your treat


2. Place the BOO sign on your front door or visible in a window


3. Within 2 days, make 2 copies of this note, make 2 treats & 2 BOO signs


4. Secretly deliver to 2 neighbors/friends without a BOO.


5. Keep an eye on nearby front doors to see how far and fast it spreads by Halloween.

Then you leave them with a sign to hang up that says, "We've been Booed!" and they are supposed to hang it up and pass it along. Cute, no? I think I'm going to do it and start a little tradition.

Ideas:



[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="So cute"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="You can also download her printables."][/caption]

You can get free printouts if you don't want to make your own cards at these links:

Here.

Here.

These are really cute!

Here.

or here.

Oh, and consider yourself booed!

DIY by Brooklyn Limestone

Remember how I talked about that porcelaine paint? I was perusing on Pinterest and saw this picture:

and I was all like, "Cute!!" So I clicked on it...and the lady does a tutorial on how to make your own custom Halloween dinner sets. Love it! Just click on the picture or click here.

Reusable, Cute Halloween Deco!

I've never decorated for Halloween besides carving the obligatory pumpkin every year...but once the pumpkin is carved it sits out on the porch and you never see it, forget to light it, forget about it til it rots, wrinkles, and dies.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="and this is how I picture it."][/caption]

Then you have to get out the hazard suit to scrape it up and throw it away.

Gross.

Here are some reusable ideas for Halloween this year if you haven't already decorated. (Some people really love Halloween, okay?)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Spooky looking, but still classy. I love the silhouettes. "][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="What is up with the baby carriage on the left? Creep!"][/caption]

You could probably do this with paper plates and black construction paper or stencils and stamps.

Or you could buy really cheap, white porcelain plates from a thrift store/Goodwill/D.I. and use this awesome stuff called Pebeo Porcelaine Paint. Basically, it's this paint that you can use to paint on porcelain/ceramic, then you bake it in your kitchen oven and boom! You have new dishes.

I'm pretty sure it will start to wear off if you don't use some sort of protecting sealant after it has cooled. I used it a couple of years ago on some teacups. It comes in pen and bottle form.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="220" caption="Pen form"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="bottle form"][/caption]

I got it from Michael's craft store and they have lots of different colors, but I'm not sure if you can get it there anymore. Moving on!

*EDIT* I just found this blog post about painting glass and she uses a paint called PermEnamel. You can use it on tile, glass, and ceramic and you don't have to cook it in the oven! It is also oven, microwave, and dishwasher safe. Yes!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Fun and kid-friendly! Halloween should be fun, not scary."][/caption]

If you click on the picture above it should take you to the site with a tutorial.

This site has a bunch of cute Halloween blocks you can buy--or just get ideas on how to make your own!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="Like this!"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="358" caption="This lady has a tutorial on how she decorated her Dollar Tree pumpkins."][/caption]

Or you could go all shabby chic and do like this:

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="428" caption="This is what I plan on doing! You can never go wrong with glitter!"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="213" caption="Modge podge paper onto fake pumpkins."][/caption]

For those of you who love a holiday wreath:

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Use whatever colors you want! It's so glamorous. "][/caption]

and one more: Click here for how to make a "Halloween Tree".

These are all things you can do on your own and the best part is: You can keep them for next year!

Holla!