Things are Different 'Round Here

Did you notice, did you notice, did you notice, huh, huh, huh?

Things are different 'round here!  I've gotten a face lift! 

Wait, I didn't get a face lift, the ol' blog did.  She was ol' and all.

I feel like a girl who's gotten a new haircut and she's just waiting for someone to notice.

Did you notice my new do?  Do you like?

Shawntele at Simply Inspired Designs hooked me up with my redesign.  She was great to work with and listened to everything I wanted.

And you know how I like options in life?  Well, she'd humor me with options to choose from.  Even when there weren't options.  I'd ask to see things a different way and she'd stop what she was doing and create those options for me to see.  Because she's cool like that.

So.  Have a looksie around.  Some things may still need tweaking here or there, but I love this layout so much better!

My three main goals for the new look?
1. Clean the blog up.  She'd gotten really cluttered looking.  You know, like my house?
2. "Read more" posts on the home page and on search pages. To help with the clean up initiative and to aid in finding things faster when searching.  You're welcome.
3. Make finding recipes easier.   Number 2 on this list helped with that, but I also wanted a drop down menu with recipe categories for easier browsing.

With those three main things marked off my list, all the other little details fell into place.  I couldn't be happier.  I feel like a girl who's friend surprised her and cleaned her house while she was out of town.  Yup.  It's that awesome.

(By the way, anybody want to make that happen?)

Be sure and visit Shawntele's design website and her blog.  Oh, and if you're on twitter send her a tweet today @ShawnteleLouise telling her how awesome my new "do" is, mkay? Or you can drop her a note on her Facebook page.  I'm sure that would make her feel good if you did.

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Sick

Today I was going to post another clean out my basement giveaway.

But I'm sick.

Achey all over. Sore throat. Drainage. Do you want me to go on? Cause I will if you want me to.

I'm literally writing this post on my phone from my death bed.

Literally.

See?

What? Did you think I was going to post a picture of me on my death bed?!

I look like death warmed over.

Cause I'm on my DEATH bed, remember?

So yeah, no giveaway today. No fun post. No picture of my gorgeousness.

Hopefully you'll go on in life without it.

If that's even possible.

Now excuse me while I lie here all day.

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Let's Rethink Wall Decor

Hey, Lazy Moms!

Here's the thing.

Sometimes we all get stuck in a rut.

No?
I mean, think about your wall decor.
Do you tend to gravitate toward the
same things
when you're buying wall decor?
Or, maybe you've had the
same art on your walls since
1994.
If that's the case, it might be time to
take everything down and start from scratch.
Sometimes it's not even necessary to buy all new
things to hang on your walls.
Sometimes, it's just a matter of
how you place them.

HOW you display pictures
and wall decor

is serious business.

It says everything about

who you are.

I mean, something like this:

via

may do the job...

and is, admittedly convenient,

but it's a little predictable

(and I'm just gonna go ahead
 and say it...lazy).

If you don't want your wall decor
to say,
'Hi. I'm predictable and lazy"
then decide what you
do
want your wall decor to say about you.  

I have a lot of collages in my house.

This collage is fun, because it's just so random.
Adding the "R" and the "5" in the mix adds a little bit
of whimsy and surprise to the collage
("R" is the initial of my last name
and "5" is the number of people in our family).
I think what this collage says is,
"Hi. I don't take myself very seriously.
But, look at my cute kids!"
It works well for me.


I adore this collage from Pottery Barn!
It's fun but sophisticated.

Perfection.

Sometimes your artwork might say something
about you...
and then throw a curve ball.

This grouping of artwork says,
"See...I have a serious side."
But then you look closer and realize that the
art is really butterflies and moths.
Yeah...not so serious after all.

This grouping says it all.
A little bit of refinement,
but a sense of humor.
That's totally how my BFF's describe me
all the time.
Especially the refined part.

This grouping says,
"Welcome to my house. I had to put a coat rack here
to hold your jacket...but I wanted it to look pretty."

Pray tell,
what guest wouldn't love to
have such a greeting?

And sometimes, your collage will
say things that describe you perfectly!

This collage is one of my favorites in the house.
It says,
"This family is zany and silly! Come along for the ride!"

Tip: for a fun way to display your pictures, get a frame larger
than your photo. Rather than using a matte, use
scrapbook paper to create the look of a matte.
Just tape your picture on to the scrapbook paper,
frame, and voila!

Tip:hang expressions (like "giggle" or
 "boys will be boys")
 with your pictures! It adds fun to your
collage and it's unpredictable.

Tip: These frames all started out different colors.
I wanted a more unified look, so I
 spray painted
them all black. Don't worry about the color of the frames
when you're shopping! Find the SHAPE that you want,
then, spray paint them the color you want.

And...
my favorite collage in my house:

My mirror collage.
Every.single.thing. on this wall was
bought at either thrift stores or garage sales!
Once again, they were all different colors
when I bought them, and then
spray painted them all the same color.
Even though the collage was
primarily mirrors, I didn't want the
entire thing
to be so predictable.
So, I added a plate here, an initial there...
just to mix it up a bit!

Your groupings don't always have to be the same color!!!
In fact, if you want a more modern slant
then all of your frames should
be completely different colors!
For example:





via

So, take a long hard look at your wall decor.
Is it saying what you want it to
say about you?

If not, don't be afraid to take things down
and make some changes!

Until next time,
Happy Decorating!

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Guess Who's Preaching?

I'll give you ONE guess who's preaching this Sunday at our church.

And it's NOT Lazy Dad. He gets to preach EVERY Sunday at church.

No, no, it's someone who is incredibly gorgeous.......

ME!

As in M-E.

Yes, about once a year Lazy Dad forces me uh, asks me to preach against my will.  And I always oblige after I try to talk him out of it.

So yeah... this Sunday... it's ON. 

I get to preach on the heart and what lurks inside of it.  Something I wrote about recently in my Parenting the Lazy Mom Way series. 

Although, my sermon won't be about parenting the heart, it will be about another subject of the heart.  But I'll still get a good warm up for my preachin' on Friday's Lazy Mom Radio Show since parenting the heart is our subject for the show that day.

So.  Am I nervous?

Well, as the years go by, I get less and less nervous about preaching on a Sunday morning.  Because one should note that preaching on a SUNDAY MORNING is waaaaaaaay more scarey than preaching on any other day of the week. 

Any other day of the week and you're just "speaking" to a group of people, not "preaching." Am I right?  And I can handle the "speaking" thing any time.  Bring it on.  But throw Sunday Morning at me, and all of a sudden my "notes" become a "sermon" and my "speaking" turns into "preaching" and my "perspiration" becomes "sweatin' like a man."

Did any of that make sense?

Anyway, the first year Lazy Dad asked me I was BESIDE myself.  I kept trying to talk him out of it and come up with some excuse as to why I couldn't do it.  But he wouldn't listen to me (he has that horrible selective hearing disease men have).  So I literally couldn't sleep or eat for a month over it.

Okay, okay, I could eat.  You all know me better than that.  I confess I just threw "eat" in there because it goes well with "I couldn't sleep" and for the sake of blog writing continuity it sounded good together. 

So okay, the only thing I COULD do was eat.  I possibly may sorta kinda every once in a while stress eat, remember?

So yes, first year, I was SCARED TO DEATH.  But I survived.  Barely.

The second year, I wasn't nearly as nervous.  That time I couldn't sleep or eat for a week.  It was a total improvement seeing as the first time was a month of no sleeping or eating.

And the third year? Wait. Is this the third year?  Or is this the fourth year?  I've lost track.

Well, no matter, this year when he asked me I didn't even blink an eye.  I only tried to talk him out of it once by saying, "are you sure YOU don't want to preach?" But when he answered with "no" and I countered with "you're going to make me do this aren't you?" I accepted it without a single butterfly in my stomach. 

AND I have been sleeping just fine.  And eating.  Well, eating as usual.  Unfortunately.  (Why can't I have that "no eating" thing like other people in the world?)

Dare I say, I'm even excited to preach this Sunday?  I mean, Lazy Dad only lets me do it once a year.  Geesh, I've been waiting and waiting and waiting.  Listening to sermon after sermon after sermon of HIS.  I'd say it's high time I get a turn.  *cough* pulpit hog *cough*

Good grief.  Share the pulpit already.  I've been waiting forever.

Now, where's those brownies?

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Will You Take the Challenge?

I've been throwing around an idea in my head the last few days.

Then I decided it was probably better to throw around an idea outside of my head so other people could actually hear it.

Funny how that works better.

So last night on my Twitter and Facebook page I blurted the idea out for all to see.  And ponder.  And possibly respond to.

I was really surprised by how much response I did get.  Especially considering that most of you don't see my Facebook posts anymore because of the new Facebook changes.  (Waaaaaah!)  So for those of you who missed it, here's my idea....

I want to give up fast food for the month of October.... (here's the part that would involve you).... and I want you to do it with me!

*gasp*

I know, I know.  It doesn't sound very lazy mom-ish, but listen, being a lazy mom isn't really about being lazy, remember?  We just all have our lazy mom moments in life that we share with each other here for a good laugh and so we know we aren't alone in our utter lazy moments of mothering.

And for now, I want to cut fast food out of my lazy mom moments (at least for a month) and I want you to do it with me! (Aren't you so glad you read this blog?)

As soon as I threw the idea out there people started jumping on board.  So I KNOW I'm not the only one who lets our busy lives pull us through the drive-thru more than we should.

But also as soon as I threw the idea out there people started asking questions....
"Define fast food?"
"Does that include Subway or frozen pizza?"
"Do salads from fast food places count?"

And those are all good questions.  

So.  Here's the deal.  If you'd like to take this month long challenge with me and The Lazy Dad and our little peeps that live here, (yes, we're ALL doing it) here's how I'm defining fast food... anything that has a drive-thru.  If you can get food from somewhere and never leave your car, it's off the list people. 

Now, I do know SOME Subway's have a drive-thru (ours did in my hometown growing up) so if that's the case and yours does have a drive-thru, you should know I do NOT count Subway as fast food.  It's not very fast foodish in my eyes. So I'm not counting it. 

As for salads at fast food places, here's what I'm saying.... NO FAST FOOD.  Meaning, I'm not driving through a fast food place to get ANYTHING.  Not even a drink.  Nothing.  I'm not spending my money there.  Capeesh?  

And what about pizza? I'm not counting pizza as fast food, except for those $5 Hot and Ready pizzas at Little Ceasers.  Lazy Dad and I decided that that DOES count as fast food to us, so we will not be getting those either. 

But here's the beauty of this challenge.  If my rules won't work for you, you can tweak them to fit what's best for you and your family.  Just like anything in life, find what works for you and stick to it.  But I would really love it, if you followed this month long challenge using the same rules we are.  It's just more fun when we are all suffering together on the same page.  Right?  Right.

Besides, here's some side benefits from this challenge you should consider...
1. Weight loss.  Won't it be interesting to see how much weight we lose just by cutting out fast food for a month?
2. More money.  Depending on how much fast food you eat, this could save you big $$ people!
3. Better health.  We all know fast food is bad for us.  We've all seen the documentaries, the hidden cameras, the lack of quality of mass produced food.  So, I'm curious to see if I feel a difference in one month of no fast food.

SooOOooOOoo... who's in?  Who's going to take the month long challenge starting October 1st??  

Sign your name to the linky list below to say you're doing it!  And use the hashtag #NoFastFood on Twitter!



After you sign your name, grab our button to post on your blog or website if you'd like! 



<center><a href="http://www.imalazymom.com/2011/09/will-you-take-challenge.html"><img border="0" src="http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z54/staceyplaisance/no-fast-food.jpg"/></a></center>

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Keeping it Real

I've written before about how things aren't always what they seem. 

Yes, I like to keep things real 'round here.  Because even though being a lazy mom isn't really about being lazy, we ALL have our lazy mom moments.  Times when out of sheer desperation, exhaustion, a last ditch effort for sanity, or the like, we find ourselves doing a shortcut of sorts to help us get through another day of motherhood.

So in a continuing effort to keep it real on this here blog, I'd like to show you a couple of things that may not be what they seem.

My daughter's finished birthday plate. 

If I had just slapped these pictures up on a blog post and told you all I painted my daughter a birthday plate, you might have thought I wasn't a lazy mom... but instead a super mom.  Because, I mean, it looks like I wasn't a lazy mom... doesn't it? (it does, however, look like I'm a bad artist, and on that assumption you'd be totally correct) I mean, I painted her a birthday plate already.

But what you wouldn't know from looking at these pictures is that it took me three years to finish it. 

That's right.

Three years.

Now, it didn't help that the 'paint your own pottery' place I started it at went out of business, and that the next closest place to finish it was an hour away, but STILL. It took me three years... three birthdays went by with no plate... actually six if you count the first three years I didn't even start it... so yeah... no super mom here.

BUT, if I had just posted this picture of the finished birthday plate and told you all I made this plate for my daughter, you all might have ASSUMED I was some sort of super mom.  (Um, you would have, right??)  And I just couldn't live with myself if'n I did that.

Now.  Look at this picture...

It's a day at "the beach" with my kids. 

(I use the term "beach" loosely... Midwesterners call any strip of sand in front of some water a beach.  Cracks me up.)

And if I just showed you this picture one might think I was some amazing mother that took her kids for one last hurrah of summer before school started and that I have my whole life together and I get everything right all the time and birds sing on my shoulder while I smile and wash dishes.

And as much as I would like to tell you that that's the case... it's not. 

Far from not. 

VERY far from not. 

Well, okay, not that far. 

Maybe it's just around the block far.

(Okay, three blocks.)

But what you don't know by looking at our beach picture is that we had to go pick up my daughters finished plate that day, so I decided the night before to make it our one last hurrah of summer, and that because of my last minute planning the kids and I scrambled to get everything together, so I had the oldest make everyone's breakfast, while the middle made sandwiches to pack for lunch, and we all worked together to get there only to discover that there were rocks all on the bottom of this particular part of Lake Erie and it was a horrible place to swim for our last hurrah of summer.

(And yes, I'm well aware that entire last paragraph was one long run-on sentence.  I never said I was perfect at writing either people.)

SO.  I say all of that to say this.

Things are not always what they appear.  In blog land, on Facebook, on twitter... if someone's posting something amazing, yeah... it's probably not that great.

The End.

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Trouble in Paradise

Remember when I posted this status update on Twitter?

Well yesterday I found our toothbrushes like this.

Needless to say, I think there's been some "trouble in paradise."

--
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Parenting the Lazy Mom Way: Teach Them it's About the Heart.

Lazy Dad just started preaching a sermon series on the things that lurk inside our hearts. You know, the ugly stuff that's inside of us that we don't really want anyone to know about?  Yeah, that stuff. 

His sermon reminded me that as a parent, raising our kids to be great adults is really all about parenting the heart.  Because what's inside a person's heart is who they really are.  Everything a person does comes from their heart, so why aren't we more focused as parents on molding and shaping our kids' hearts?  And how do we go about doing that?

Well first of all, we need to teach our kids that it's all about the heart by pointing out when it is!  How can they know they have a "heart problem" if we aren't showing them when they do?

Often I say to my kids things like, "When you hit your brother just now, that showed me what's in your heart."  Or, "when you made that ugly face behind my back, all that did was show me what's in your heart."

My kids will often argue with me when I point out their "heart issues."  "But Mom!" they say, "he hit me first!"  or, "He made me do it!"

"No, no one makes you do anything, you do what comes out of your heart."

When we start to point out heart issues, our kids will begin to understand that everything they do is from the heart.  And that what's in our hearts is who we really are.

But hang on a second!  It's not just about our kids' hearts here!  It's also about OUR hearts.  *ouch*

Just the other night we were doing a lesson with our son and we were talking about the heart.  I used myself as an example of a heart issue by saying, "When I yell or get snippy with you, what is that really showing you about mommy?  What's in my heart."

I think it's important that our kids see that mommy and daddy are also working on what's in their hearts as well.  It's an ongoing process that takes a lot of work!  Hearts don't get molded and shaped overnight, it takes a lifetime.  That's why we should get a jump on it when our kids are young!  So they can reap the benefits of it earlier than we may have!

The best book I've found on how to parent the heart is the Bible.  It's full of stories of people that had "heart issues" and how they either molded them or didn't.  And boy the stories really show the difference between the two!

But don't think that since the Bible is a great tool to parent the heart with that that means your church is the one who's responsible for teaching it to your children!  Cause they aren't.  And while we're on the subject, I've also noticed more and more schools teaching "character development" in their classrooms as well.  It's plain to see that a lot of parents have relegated this important part of parenting off on someone else, but ultimately parenting the heart is our responsibility.

What are some ways you parent your kids' heart issues? I always love hearing what you do! Leave a comment below to share with us.

Go to the next post in this series
or
Start at the beginning of this series

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A List of Random Things

1.  I got a cute email not too long ago.  From lazy mom Kimberly.  It was NOT a confession, it was a "testimonial" of the benefits of being a lazy mom.

I'd be remiss if'n I didn't share it with you all.

My 14 yr old & I were eating lunch & he mentioned how he'd go to the store for me since I have a headache. I told him something about feeling bad that the headaches keep me from doing the mom/housewife stuff I should do. He said I do a super job and I homeschool 3 kids, too. I said "But I don't even do that anymore much. You guys do a good job by yourself. You even cook your meals." Ki said, "But you are the one that taught us to be independent. In fact, you did such a good job teaching us to cook and do our own work- just think of it as Early Retirement!"

SO.. The benefit of being a Lazy Mom is... EARLY RETIREMENT!

I love it!


2.  I posted a funny video on my facebook and twitter the other day.  One of my favorite laugh out loud moments from the TV show Home Improvement.  (Especially the END!)



3. This Friday's Lazy Mom Radio Show is all about confessions!  Confessing our lazy mom moments.  You know, those moments all moms have when they take a "short cut" in parenting?  Yeah, that.  Here's one to wet your whistle.

I have a confession...or maybe just a brilliant idea? My 3 yr old has a severe baby-wipe addiction. He loves the way they smell, the way they feel, the whole baby-wipe experience. I've told him he can only have them if he cleans with them. My refrigerator, freezer and all my light switches are now sparkly clean thanks to his love of baby wipes. Lil' Man also loves the broom....which can be dangerous with a little person swinging it around the kitchen. I got him his own wisk broom and little dust pan and now send him under the table to sweep crumbs, dry Play-Doh, whatever. Just please, don't ever mention child-labor laws to him! ~ J.D.'s Proud MaMaw

And now that your whistle is wetted, I need YOU to send in your Lazy Mom Confessions, too.  Or if you are REALLY brave... call in to the show and share it live! 


4. Tis the season for S'mores. Well at least 'round these parts.  Now that it's getting cold again (boooo!) we like to light up our backyard fire when we have people over and make S'mores around it.  But how about THIS Lazy Mom Recipe for S'mores sent in by lazy mom Kellie.

S'mores Nachos

8 rectangular grahm crackers
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Break each graham cracker into 4 pieces. Pile pieces in ungreased pie pan. DO NOT USE GLASS. Top with chocolate chips and marshmallows. Broil 6 inches from heat for 30 to 60 seconds or until marshmallows are puffed and golden, watching to prevent burning.

Uh, YUM. Here's what Kellie had to say about her recipe...

I must confess, that I totally snaked this particular recipe from the BettyCrocker.com website because it had a nice picture, but my family and I love making these as a dessert on Taco night at our house. We have used several different kinds of chocolate-like substances (semi-sweet chips, broken up chocolate bars, etc) and you really can't mess this up. When you use a disposable pie pan like this, it makes clean up a breeze, too. However, cleaning the children proves to be a bit more difficult. :)

5.  I'm going to get a massage in about 30 minutes.  Lazy Dad bought one for me off of Groupon this Spring and I'm just now getting around to using it.  I'm super excited about it.  I LOOOOOVE massages. 

6.  Yikes! I only have 30 minutes!  See you lazy peeps tomorrow!

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How to Get Invited to a Party

Last Wednesday I posted on my personal Facebook page about a party idea I saw on Pintrest.

(By the way, I promise not to talk about Pintrest in every single post I write on this blog, but I had to today, mkay?)

I posted this picture on my wall.

Caramel Apple Dipping Party on Pintrest

And I said something along the lines of, "Someone invite me to a party like this ASAP."

And you know what happened?

Someone did.

For that Saturday.

Yes, in THREE days my friend Carrie put together a Caramel Apple Dipping Party.  Because even though she's a lazy mom, she loves parties.  And therefore she is my friend.  Because I like GOING to parties, but I don't like hosting them.

And okay, she's my friend for other reasons than that.

I think.

I'm pretty sure.

I mean, I think I'm pretty sure.

But anyway! She loved the idea when she saw it late Wednesday night and decided my ASAP truly meant ASAP, and threw the party on Saturday. 

Now that's what I call a true friend.

That and anyone who brings me prepared dinners "just because." (hint, hint)

Carrie's party was marvelous.  And even though she didn't have those trifle bowls, her dipping bar was no less beautiful.

And no less inviting. 
And no less exciting.
And no less DELICIOUS.

In fact, Carrie made the BEST homemade caramel dip EVER. I declared I wanted to sit in a hot tub of it. Which made a few people cringe a little, but overall was a statement I stood behind.

Here I am wishing I had a hot tub of the stuff.

And okay, I was a little hopped up on sugar.
And coffee.
And sheer joy.
Oh, and the fact that someone invited me to a party to dip apples in caramel and then dip them in toppings.

It was a dream come true.  And my dreams don't usually come true that fast, like, ever. 

So the moral of the story is this....

Attach yourself to people who like to have parties, make them your friend.  Then post on Facebook random things from Pintrest that you want to be invited to, hope and pray your "party thrower" friend sees it, and your dreams can come true too!

Amen.

(Now I'm going to post this party idea on Facebook and see what she does.)
(Oh! Oh! And then THIS ONE.)
(Oo! Oo! And then this one!!)

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Lazy Apple Crisp

This week we've had our first real cold snap here in "The North."

My beloved electric blankets have been awaken from their restful summer slumber and are back in full working force. And as much as I love my dear little electric blankets, it always saddens me to bring them out of their "off season" because it means that summer is officially over.  *sigh*

Another thing that reawakens itself this time of year is my baking skills.  Or the lack there of.

I like to bake during Fall.  Or wait.  Maybe I should say it like this... I ONLY like to bake during Fall.

So last night since it was cold here, and my sweet little electric blankets were humming along to warm my chilly toes, I decided it was time to have my first Apple Crisp of the season.

Now when I was growing up my mom (hi mom!) made a VERY lazy dessert called Dump Cake.  It consisted of apple pie filling, yellow cake mix and butter.  And we loved it!

I've made Dump Cake many times over the years, but one Fall I started experimenting with how to turn Dump Cake into an Apple Crisp.  Because I like a crunchy, yummy topping on sweet things.  And as good as Dump Cake is, it just didn't have that crunchy, yummy topping I longed for.

I discovered that by adding just two more ingredients (thereby keeping it still "lazy"), Dump Cake turns into a delicious....

Lazy Apple Crisp
(makes an 8x8 pan)

1 can of apple pie filling (21oz can)
1 pkg of yellow cake mix
Old fashion oats
nuts (I used walnuts)
1 stick of butter

In an 8x8 pan (no need to spray it beforehand) spread the apple pie filling out in the bottom.
Sprinkle the yellow cake mix as is, over the top of the apples. You don't make the cake mix first, you just sprinkle the powder on top of the apples.  You will use about half of the package of cake mix.  (I found a small 9oz yellow cupcake mix at the dollar store, so I used that this time and used the whole package.)

On top of the cake mix sprinkle the oats (as much or as little as you like) all over.
On top of the oats sprinkle on the nuts.  I used finely diced walnuts I had on hand.
On top of the walnuts put pats of butter all over the top.  I did 4 rows of 4 all over the top and didn't use the whole stick of butter (just had a nub left!).
Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until it's slightly browned and bubbly!

Serve with ice cream or whipped cream (or both!).

To make a 9x13 sized version, just use 2 cans of apple pie filling and the whole package of cake mix!

So easy, so lazy, so delicious, so YUM!

Oh, oh, oh!!!  I almost forgot!  I was about to throw my apple pie filling can into recycling when I realized, WAIT A MINUTE!  What would Traci Romine do with this cute little can???

And lookie what I did!  Lookie what I did!! I turned it into a cute little decoration for fall....

(it looks cuter in person, I promise)

And I'm in the process of painting my first jelly jar per Traci's FABULOUS "Decorating the Lazy Mom Way" post this Wednesday.  I'm gonna paint another one as soon as I have an empty jar to use and I'm going to group the three together on this cake stand and put on my dining room table for fall!

Eeek! Aren't I all "Traci" like and stuff?!?!

I truly thought it was a stroke of genius and am quite proud of myself for being so "decorative" and "crafty."

And "frugal" and "green."

And "awesome" and "gorgeous."

What?

I had to sneak those last two in when you weren't looking.

Enjoy your weekend!

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Stuff I'll Never Do

On Pintrest I have a whole board dedicated to "stuff I'll never do."

(Okay, there was that one thing I actually did do.  But that was a rare spurt of inspiration that struck me after midnight.  And I think I may have forgotten I wasn't crafty.  And okay, I may have been hopped up on Diet Pepsi, but who can say for sure?)

Anyway, here are a few things I have on my "stuff I'll never do" board that I'm pretty sure I will never, ever do.

Love this for growing herbs in your kitchen.  You know, cause I'm such a great cook and gardener and all?  On second thought, yeah.... never gonna happen.

Ahahahohohehehe. Yup, never happenin'.

*Pfff!* As if I would have the restraint to scrape off the filling of the Oreos without popping the whole thing in my mouth.  In other words... ain't hap'nin.

Cute idea! I want three made out of my favorite old board games!  But yeah... only if you make it for me, cause it AIN'T. GONNA. HAPPEN. (said in my best Ross Perot voice.)


But probably the one you can dern near bet will NEVER, EVER, EVERRRR happen, is this one.

Seeing that I'd DIE. This is never. happening.

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Heelys

A couple of years ago when Heelys hit the shoe scene, they were a huge hit.  Raise your hand if you remember this?

(I see those hands.  Thank you.  You can put them down now.)

We didn't jump on the Heelys bandwagon with our kids even though several of their friends had some and our kids wanted some.  Not sure why, just never did.

Then this August, Heelys offered me the chance to order a pair of their shoes and review them on this little ol' lazy blog here.  I think what they really wanted was for me to order a pair of their shoes for myself, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  Considering I jiggle to much.

Put a jiggly lady on Heelys and I'm pretty sure that's a bad YouTube video waiting to happen.

And I didn't want to become an overnight YouTube sensation over something that stupid.  Nope.  I don't EVER post stupid things on YouTube.

Okay, in hindsight, maybe I should have done it. 

Anyway, I ended up ordering some super cool Heelys for my boys to enjoy instead. Yes, one pair of shoes for both boys.  I could do that because even though they are 19 months apart, they wear the same shoe size. What can I say? It's a blessing.

Oh, and by doing this I became the superest, coolest mom ever in their eyes.

I even let them "go shopping" on Heelys web store and pick out the shoes they wanted. Which totally added to my coolest-mom-ever factor. They both settled on this cool pair of Heelys.  They really are super cool. But not as cool as I am for letting my boys get them.

I have to say, when the shoes arrived in the mail I was VERY impressed with the quality of the shoes.  Not only do they look really nice, the material of the shoes was really good quality.

My boys were so excited to take their new Heelys out for a spin that I had to force them to read the written materials that came with the shoes before they were out the door to try them out!

Just look at their faces!

No really, look at their FACES.  And nothing else.  Not at the dying roses, the messy table, the stuff sitting on the stairs behind them.  Just focus on their faces, and not my poor housekeeping skills, mkay?

Their first time trying out the Heelys wasn't too bad, but they just didn't feel like they "got it."  So we tromped back into the house and pulled up Heelys instructional videos. These helped a lot!  So out they went to try again.

This time... they got it!





The verdict?  Heelys are pretty fun.  Once my 10 year old (in the video) got the hang of it, he stayed outside playing on his Heelys the rest of the afternoon.  I'd rather him do that and get some exercise than play video games all afternoon!

Do your kids have Heelys?  What do you think of them?

--
Heelys provided me with a pair of shoes to write about on my blog. No other compensation was received. Opinions expressed are my own.

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Pretty Painted Jars

"I'd rather have roses on my table

than diamonds on my neck."

  ~Emma Goldman

Well...okay, maybe that's

a bit

of an overstatement.

But flowers most certainly

make me smile!

There's just something

so friendly and inviting about them!

I try to have flowers in the house

most of the time,

but especially if we're going

to have company.

If you're going to buy flowers,

then you're going to have to have

something pretty to display them in, right?

I typically use my beloved

Ball mason jars

(source)

The beautiful blue adds a pop of color

and fun to any flower

arrangement.

But.

Not everyone has a

collection of mason jars.

So, what's a girl to do?

{enter Lazy solution}

Make your own

beautiful jars, of course!

What you'll need:

1) jars! Lots of empty jars. Jars from your fridge! You know...

like that little jar of olives you bought for that party last year (because

everyone knows that olives are fancy!). But you kind of forgot about

it...and...you should probably throw those olives away!

BUT KEEP THE JAR!

(and give it a good washin' too, because...you really

should have thrown those away a while ago!)

The more jars, the better.

The more variety of shapes,

sizes and heights the

better too!

2) paint!(I prefer spray paint. Not necessarily because

it will work better than, say, an acrylic paint...but just because

I have a personal motto in life:

"If it isn't breathing, it could probably

 use a fresh coat of spray paint."

3) gloves (optional) I like to wear spray paint on my

hands like a badge of honor! I've always wanted to be an artist!

 I think my resolve to never wear gloves is really

just me pretending to be one.

So.

You've got your (spray) paint.

You've got your old olive jar, a salsa jar,

mayo and jelly jar.

(and cleaned them)

Next, you just go to town spraying

the inside

of your jars.

If you're using another type of paint, just pour

enough paint into your jar to coat the inside

by swirling the paint around in the jar.

No need for a brush.

Then set your jars outside to dry.

 I chose these colors because they go well with my

decor, and I already had them on hand.

Choose whatever colors make you smile!

And it really is that simple.

Then, go to the supermarket and pick up

a $7 bouquet of flowers for yourself

and make mini arrangements.

Don't be intimidated to make your own flower arrangements!

I can't make a large arrangement to

save my life!

But making small arrangements in jars,

easy peasy!

Cut your stems the size of your jar,

and just start placing flowers in.

If it looks like there's too big of an

empty space, add a flower!

If there's too many pink flowers together,

put a yellow one in to break it up.

There's no right or wrong way to do this!

Just start...and you'll be surprised

 at how great it turns out!

And when you're done,

place your beautiful jars wherever

you want to feel happy!

Maybe your kitchen is a sad place.
Maybe being in your kitchen 4 hours a day
makes you sad and weary. And tired.
Oh, so tired.

(of course you'll want to  remove the flowers while you're cooking
on the stove or in the oven. You don't want your
flowers to wilt...or catch on fire)

Maybe you're having guests over

and want a nice surprise for when they

go to the restroom.

Maybe you just want to add a

little color to a bookshelf.

Maybe you want to group them

all together and place them on a cake stand

to create a centerpiece.

Maybe you have a home office,

and you want something pretty in there

when you do the bills so you won't be

depressed.

Maybe you're obsessed with

milk glass

and your husband has instructed you to

stop blowing his entire paycheck on it,

so you want a cheap look-alike alterative.

Guaranteed to make you smile!

Imagine how cute these would

be at a bridal shower,

or just a get-together!

You can coordinate with the

colors of your decor.

Another idea:

use orange and black paint

for Halloween!

Then put mums in it for a nice

fall touch!

The possibilities are

endless!

Have fun with it!

Until next time,

Happy Decorating!

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