Raise a toast to the New Year!

2012 has been good to me and I can't wait to see what the new year brings!  I've rekindled old friendships, developed new ones and now have a new found hatred respect for fitness.  This year my Husband and I joined a gym specializing in Israeli self defense (check out my first impression of Krav Maga)  and high intensity strength / plyometrics training. It has become a great stress reliever, has given me more confidence and is something we can experience together.

Jennifer Lopez studied Krav Maga in the movie "Enough"

I'm not one to make resolutions but I look forward to what 2013 brings us!

Here are a few toasts-in-pictures made with friends and family over the years :)

"Here's to the bright New Year and a fond farewell to the old;  
Here's to the things that are yet to come and the memories that we hold."

"May all your troubles during the coming year be as short-lived as your New Year's resolutions."

"Here's to you and here's to me,  Friends may we always be! But, if by chance we disagree, Up yours! Here's to me!"

"Here's to heat!
Not the kind that ignites and burns down shanties...but the kind that excites...and slides down the panties!"

"As you slide down the banisters 
of life, may the splinters never 

point the wrong way."

 Happy New Year !!!

Spam...

It's pretty typical to receive spam.  Completely annoying but I've come to terms.  Do you ever take the time to read some of these things?

I fall for it just about every time.  

• First, the disappointment settles in because they start out so promising - I'm convinced someone actually left me a comment!  

• Then, annoyance shows its ugly face - I could put the comment moderation / verification back on but I'd rather not annoy others.

• Finally, humor comes to save the day as I vigorously click delete. 

It never dawned on me that I would write about this non sense otherwise I would have saved some of the real good ones.  

What's the most ridiculous spam comment you've received?  Do you ever, for a split second, think they are real?

Spam update 12/29/12:  It just keeps getting better :)

	Yesterday, whіle I was аt woгk, my sister stolе my іphone anԁ testеd to see if іt can surνive a 30 foot drοр, just sо she can be a youtube sеnѕation. Mу apple ipaԁ iѕ noω dеstroyеd and she hаs 83 views. Ӏ know this іs entirely off topic but I had to ѕhare it with someone! Feel free to visit my page ; increase vertical jump fast on Magnetic Fridge Storage	Anonymous	at 4:11 AM
	I have fun with, lead to I found just what I was looking for. You've ended my four day lengthy hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day. Bye My webpage: online casinos in the usa on Witch's Spell Books {part 1}	Anonymous	on 12/28/12

Blog Crawl Volume 1

I generally stumble upon new (to me) blogs by spending way too many hours on the Internet or checking out a variety of link parties.  

So, I thought what better way to find all the hidden wonders out there then for you (the experts) to refer them to me.  

Big, or small, new or old...who/what are your all time FAVORITE sites to visit?

Food  Craft   Beauty News

D.I.Y.   Funny   Fashion  
 

Books  Writing   Health
 
Music Tutorials   etc.

If someone submitted your favorite then let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for your suggestions!

*** Please include your active link party HERE or refer one of your favorites.  We removed our old link party directory due to most parties being out of date.

...and the Liebster Blog Award goes to...

We've been nominated by Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof for the Liebster Blog Award.  What is that you ask?  I had no idea either until I went over to check out her cute blog and read the description where she had been nominated.  I borrowed her description below:

"The Liebster Blog Award is an award given by bloggers to up and coming bloggers, most of whom have less than 200 followers (or have been blogging for less than 6 months). It is to show newer bloggers that they are appreciated, and to help spread the word about new blogs. It was created to promote appreciation and recognition among the blog world. Liebster translates to “dearest” (or favorite/best) in German. It is also known as the Love Blog Award."

What an honor to be nominated - Thank you Jenna for thinking of us!

Guidelines:

1. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
2. Answer the questions that the nominator set for you.
3. Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.
4. Choose 11 new blogs you love and link them in your post.
5. Please leave me a comment on this post with the URL to your Liebster post so I can learn more about you.

My 11 Random Things:

1. I absolutely love the smell of campfire.
2. I'm a sucker for romantic comedies and anything including Jennifer Aniston. 
3. I went to bar tending school which was a complete waste of time and money.
4. I love 80s music and 80s movies and even had an 80s Themed Party for my 30th birthday.
5. My Husband and I rescued 2 Great Danes and they have turned out to be the best "kids" we could ask for! 
6. I love to watch HGTV and the Food Network Channel!
7. My Husband and I enjoy learning Israeli self defense called Krav Maga.
8. I love the color green 
9. My favorite Holiday is Halloween - no question.  
10. I was a very picky eater as a child.  I've come a long way but I still can't understand how people enjoy to eat peas and beets...
11. I try to avoid confrontation at all costs.   

#5 - our kids

Questions set by my Nominator:

1. What is your dream home?

I'm drawn to cozy, log cabin, cottage type homes (I've never lived in one but always look twice when driving by).  Nothing too dark and stuffy though - lots of natural light with fresh and clean colors and accessories.

2. What is your favorite song and why?

Just one?!  I guess it would have to be "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green.  It makes me smile every time I hear it and I can't help but sing along - tone deaf and all!  I had the pleasure of seeing Al Green in concert about 10 years ago and it was amazing!

3. What's your family like?

Very small and very mighty.  We love hard, fight hard and are extremely protective of one another.

4. What is your favorite blog post you have ever done and why?

For the most part my posts are craft related but a year ago I posted something a little off topic.  I have a knack for pairing my friends up with their celebrity look-alikes which is why the Doppelganger post came to be.  I'm thinking of including a part 2 soon.... do you have a celeb look-alike?

My celeb look-a-like...as close as it gets anyway.

5. What are your favorite blogs and why do you love them?

• C.R.A.F.T. is one of the first blogs I stumbled upon and I continue to follow her to this day.  Her content is easy to follow and entertaining and I love the pictures she takes - everything is so crisp, fresh and airy over there.  Check it out if you haven't already!
• Polish the Stars is a great blog all around but I especially LOVE her Halloween posts!
• Halloween Crafts is an excellent Halloween resource and she has another blog called Truebluemeandyou that's packed with all the latest crafty and diy trends!

6. How long have you been blogging and why did you start?

Initially I started blogging 3 or 4 years ago - It started as a personal diary but truth be told I wasn't committed and had no idea how to navigate through blogger so I walked away and didn't know how to log back into my ideas.  They are now lost in space.  September of 2011 I decided to give it another try mainly to share with my friends and family back home (I now live in AZ while they all are back home in Ohio).  

7. Who is your hero?

Hands down - My Grandpa is my Hero.  I remember having to write about my Hero as a child and it was always my Grandpa.  

8. What is your favorite memory of all time?

I don't have anything specific but in general my favorite memories always include family trips to Twilight Isle on Manitoulin Island (Ontario, Canada).  Great times!

9. How do you want to be remembered?

Selfless and Hilarious

10. Who is your favorite author?

It depends on the day really.  I just like books in general - it isn't always about the Author for me.  I enjoy Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels right now if I had to pick one.

11. If you could meet anyone in the world, who and why?

Yikes - this one is tough.  I choose this person because I'm stumped and I just can't sit here any longer thinking about this question.  Kandee Johnson - she reminds me of one of my sisters and she's extremely entertaining.  

11 Blogs I nominate:

• Self Discovery
• The Frugal Vegetarian
• My Life With Three Boys
• Happy Misadventures
• A Bit O Whimsy
• Uglyduckling Transformations
• The Quirky Crafting Shmooglebean
• Hot Eats and Cool Reads
• Artsy Chicks Rule
• How I Keep Sane
• Brown Eyed Girls Boutique

*** Nominating 11 blogs for this award was a bit challenging for me 

1. It seems that most blogs I follow have been around quite some time and or have over 200 followers
2. I fear that those I chose may have more than 200 followers and or have been around longer than 2011.  Will this upset someone?   

11 questions for the nominees to answer:

1. What is your least favorite food?

2. What do you want to be when you "grow up"?

3. If you won the lottery (leg mega millions ), what would be the first thing you would do?

4. What is your favorite blog post you have ever done and why?

5. What are your favorite blogs and why do you love them?

6. How long have you been blogging and why did you start?

7. Are you a dog or cat person?

8. Scents trigger so many memories, what scent sends you down memory lane and why?

9. What was the last book you read and was it worth recommending?

10. Where is your dream vacation spot?

11. What is your favorite song and why?

Nominees: Please leave me a comment below with your Liebster post, so I can read up on you! Also, please leave a link back to this post on your blog.

Looking forward to seeing your answers  and checking out new blogs!! :)

Mardi gras bead necklace turned DIY bracelet

Stacking different styles of bracelets "Mr. T style" has become a huge trend these days so I wanted to create a few different styles and send them as Christmas gifts.  Pinterest offered a variety of different ideas - one of which I attempted (it didn't turn out as beautiful as the original) that later spawned into something I can call my own.  The original inspiration came from a great site called Honestly...WTF.  Her tutorial is clear and easy to follow but I didn't find my completed piece to be as cool as hers.

Directions below are to make the bracelet next to the red arrow.

Supplies

• I used 1.5 mm leather cord ( I wrapped it around my wrist once leaving a few extra inches on each end then doubled it by folding the cord in half).
• Brass ball chain a little shy of the diameter of your wrist.
• Waxed cord 4-5 feet (I think? I didn't really measure but basically you are wrapping this around the leather cord and ball chain - in between each ball)
• Hex nut or large button or bead

Step 1
Create a loop by folding the leather cord in half  (this will loop around your bead to clasp your finished bracelet). 

Step 2
Getting this started is the hardest part - place the ball chain on top of the folded cord and wrap the waxed cord around everything several times (just under the desired loop size). 

Step 3
Continue to wrap the waxed cord around every brass ball and leather cord.
Step 4
Once the waxed cord is completely wrapped around each ball, wrap it around the other end of the leather cord several times (replicating part of step 2).

Step 5
Thread the bead through the leather cord and tie a knot.

Ok, so the bracelet isn't so terrible but I thought it would be larger (I should have purchased larger brass ball chain). 

The bracelet I'm much more proud of consists of...

Supplies

• 1.5 mm leather cord ( I wrapped it around my wrist once leaving a few extra inches on each end then doubled it by folding the cord in half).
• Waxed cord 4-5 feet (I think? I didn't really measure but basically you are wrapping this around the leather cord and Mardi Gras beads - in between each ball on either side).
• Hex nut or large button or bead
• Mardi Gras beads (you should be able to make 2 bracelets out of one strand of beads.  Cut 2 strands of beads the length of your wrist).

Step 1
Create a loop by folding the leather cord in half (this will loop around your bead to clasp your finished bracelet). 

Step 2 Place 1 strand of beads on top of the folded cord and wrap the waxed cord around everything several times (just under the desired loop size).

Step 3
Continue to wrap the waxed cord around every Mardi Gras bead and leather cord.

Step 4 Once the waxed cord is completely wrapped around each bead, take the other half of Mardi Gras beads and place them on the other side of the leather cord.  Continue wrapping the waxed cord around both strands of beads and the leather cord.

Step 5 Wrap the waxed cord around the other end of the leather cord several times (replicating part of step 2).

Step 6
Thread the bead through the leather cord and tie a knot.
*Tip:  I used hot glue every so often to secure the string wrapped around the beads.

 I'm a huge fan of these Mardi Gras bead bracelets!!

Alderberry Hill 

craft-o-maniac 

The Girl Creative

Simply Designing

Flamingo Toes

My Repurposed Life 

DIY by Design

Crafty Confessions

carolynshomework

733blog 

I Gotta Create

Craft Junkie Too 

Back for Seconds 

Wait Till Your Father Gets Home 

Becoming Martha 

Chase the Star 

Create.Craft.Love 

Truly Lovely Blog

Nifty Thrifty Things

Artsy Fartsy Mama 

 

Ugly Sweater - My Ugly Attempt

Ugly Sweater parties have taken over and I'm a huge fan.  I'll take any excuse to dress in "costume"! 

Work puts on an annual "ugly sweater" day so I seized the day and took my opportunity.  I assumed finding the perfectly hideous top would be a simple task.  So I waited until the night before and raided the local thrift store. 

Apparently you can no longer find ugly sweaters these days.  I went to 2 Savers and a Goodwill before I gave up and decided to make my own.  While at my final Savers I walked through the doors and took about 5 steps before seeing the ugly sweater Mecca.  Holy marketing genius!  Savers hand crafted ugly sweaters of all sorts and slapped a $20 price tag on each!  Unless I'm purchasing furniture at a thrift store I have a very hard time spending much more than $6 on anything.  This gave me many ideas though!  (also, I don't know that I could have worn one of these sweaters without washing it first).

Supplies: Christmas decor, sweater and hot glue

Step 1: Wash thrift store sweater

Step 2:  Map out desired ugliness and glue to sweater

Step 3: Proudly wear Ugly sweater

Cost: $10

• Thrift store sweater: $6 (this could be free if you have an old one you don't mind globing on the hot glue)
• Christmas decor: $4 (easily free if you have Christmas decor you don't mind parting with) - anything Christmas was 50% off!
• Hot glue: on hand

I got so many compliments on my sweater so I guess it wasn't as ugly as I thought!

Linked with:
funky polkadot giraffe
my simple.homelife
chic on a shoestring decorating
Its a Hodgepodge Friday
504 Main
the thriftiness miss
my repurposed life
the answer is chocolate
liz marie blog
wait till your father gets home

Gift Idea (nothing crafty here)

Growing up with a little sister isn't always rainbows and butterflies.  Especially from a child's point of view.  She always had to tag along, play with my toys and it seemed one of her favorite past times was getting me in trouble.  I was a very shy child and for the most part did as I was told.  Jaime on the other hand was loud and hungry for attention.  We laugh about it now but I remember getting sent to my room on numerous occasions for "biting".  What my Mother didn't know was that her 3 year old was actually biting herself (while smiling and staring me in the eye) then screaming and crying that I had bit her! 

We've had our ups and downs as all sisters go through I'm sure.  What we've learned through the years however is no matter how obnoxious we were to each other, we were always there for one another when it really mattered.  If it wasn't for my Sister I don't know how I would have survived our childhood and I appreciate her for who she has become and all that she has done for me.  She has become my best friend and I love that arm biting brat to the death. 

Six years ago, I moved to Arizona which was a very difficult adjustment for everyone.  I try to make it back as often as possible and she takes me in every time. I even have a room waiting for me! 


To show my appreciation I wanted to do something special so I created this Sister photobook from Shutterfly.  I'm extremely happy with how it turned out and I see these books as being great gifts in the future.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Turn your favorite photos into a photo book at Shutterfly.com.

Kids say the funniest things

Sisters of DesignDNA - Corie age 3, Jaime age 1

I'm not a parent myself but have been exposed to many miniature versions of ourselves over the years.  


Lately my interaction with children, usually at Walmart or the grocery store, has been less then pleasant.  I get lemon face at the sound of shrieking little ones running rabid at my feet and I'd imagine my discomfort has very little to do with my lack of experience.  


I mean, you parents can't be completely numb to the sound of screaming children right?  


I have a lot of Mom friends who love their mini mes more then anything on this earth but are very vocal about not liking other people's kids.  I get that.  The closest thing I have to human children are my younger sister's kids.  I was there when they were born (thank you for the best form of birth control - that's another blog post all together!) I lived with them for the first few years of their lives and maintain a pretty close relationship with them even 2000 miles away.  They are fun, beautiful little creatures who drive me absolutely bonkers.  They too hold the shrieking gene.  In fact, I make money off of this obnoxious talent.  I set the expectation that every time that blood curdling noise comes from their sweet faces, they owe me a quarter.  Let's just say I've made a buck or two in a weekend.  

I'm trailing from the initial purpose of this post.  Each day I giggle at the Facebook updates left by all of the Moms and Dads describing how completely hilarious their children are.  

First, I'd like share a few child hood stories of my own before getting into the real good stuff.

Me, age 6 - Jaime, age 3

• 8 year old (Me) : "Jaime, if you don't hurry you are going to be tardy!" (In reference to us being late to school)
• 5 year old Jaime (younger sister): "Oh yeah, well you have testicles in your head!"
• 8 year old (Me): "MOM! JAIME SAID I HAVE TESTICLES IN MY HEAD!!"
• 5 year old Jaime: "MOM! CORIE CALLED ME RETARDED!!"

This is something Jaime and I still reference to this day.  I can see where a child might get tardy and retarded confused but where my 5 year old sister first heard the word testicle is beyond us!

Me (3) and Jaime (1)

I also remember being a child and saying "Mom" so many times that she finally told me to stop and call her Sherri.  


I'll alwasy remember learning where babies came from.  From the neighbor kids.  For a few hours I was convinced that a MAN grew a baby in his head.  His head would open up and the baby would come out.  My Dad suffers from migraine headaches so I thought for sure he was having a baby!

 

Funny Facebook Posts and Random Quotes

Audrey, age 7

• "I always fee like I'm being watched.  By a duck or something."
•  "Audrey gave me a hint of what she made me for my birthday.  She said it's made with toilet paper and love.  LOL!"
• Audrey was 4 years old. I asked her if she wanted some cheese. She said " I don't like American Cheese" I said "since when?" She said "since the 80's"
• I made a healthy pasta dinner one day and the kids didn't like it. Audrey told me it tasted like drain pipe.

It's What's For Dinner...

• There was this picture of Obama in the paper. He had his hand raised in the air kind of like he was waving. Audrey at 3 years old said "He wants a five dollar foot long". This was back when Subway had a ton of 5 dollar foot long commercials on TV. Not sure if you remember or not...

Olivia, age 4

• My daughter describing what she thinks a crush is that she has on a boy. "It means you love them and don't want them to know."

Barb, age 4 (Audrey's Mother when she was a kid)

• "Boys have a pinochle and girls have a bagina"

Braden, age6

• "So my uncle Adam is the one with less hair because when you are bald, you are just bald you know!"

Garrett, age...

• After getting a bad spider bite, he looked at his Mother and flicked his wrist, doing the Spider Man web blast and said "it's not working!" he was so upset he didn't become Spider Man. 

 

I wanted to take it step further and interview these fine young Americans.  Here are some of the answers.

Why do you like being a kid?

• "I get to play with friends and eat more sweets." - Jaida, age 10
• "Because i don't have to work." - Kylee, age 10
• "Because it's the best thing ever and I get to play soccer, it's the best thing in my life, it's like never being here but it's like you care about it." - Sel, age 5
• "Because I'm alive." - Audrey, age 7
• "When you get older, you can't do as much stuff and you have to pay people to do things for you." - Kendahl, age 10

 What advise would you give your parents?

• "Don’t be so dorky! My mom spends all of her time on the internet- doing her homework.  Parents should let their kids have fun.” - Ella, age 8
• "Don't eat until dinner." - Javi, age 6
• "Instead of being stressed, relax and have fun like kids do." -Jaida, age 10

Tell me about a funny time in your life.

• "When I went on a roller coaster and I threw up a little bit and swallowed it." - Olivia, age 8
• "I ran into a wall." - Javi, age 6
• "Today for example, we were playing hide and go seek with Jason and he kept making pit farts!" - Karsyn, age 7
• “When I was at school we were practicing writing cursive and when we got to the letter “P” this kid Jonathan started yelling “Pee!”  Everyone laughed so hard that apple juice came out our nose.” - Ella, age 8

What do you want to be when you grow up ?

What do you think makes a person pretty?
 

At what age would you consider someone to be old?

What is the hardest thing about being a kid?

Why do you think the sky is blue?

• "Because God made it that way."  When asked why it's not green or purple - " Because, that is not how the sky exists.  It's got to be blue, we asked him to make it blue, and God painted it because he likes blue.  It is his favorite color!"- Sel, age 4
• "It just is." - Ryleigh, age 11
• "So you can see the sun." - Javi, age 6
• "I have no idea, really." - Karsyn, age 7

Does anyone else have funny kid stories?  They sure say the darnedest things.  Pure, honest and no shame.  Sometimes that can be a formula for embarrassment if they over-share in public.   

Thanks to the friends who helped me with interviewing their children and sharing these hilarious stories!


P.S.
I recently stumbled upon a pretty hilarious site called Not Safe For The Fridge.  Here you will find rogue artwork created by your imaginative children.  Audrey's Mom, sent me a great piece her daughter's friend constructed.  

If you have unsafe art you want displayed for the blog world to see, submit at notsafeforthefridge@gmail.com


Those dogs play funny...