Let the fun begin!

This is what I'll be doing for the next few days....

getting rid of all this stuff! It's garage sale time!

Seriously, how much stuff can one family accumulate! Geesh!

Wish me luck...

Oh, and Mother Nature, if you just happen to be reading my blog today, can you please make all this rain in Illinois move on over to Texas where they want it!

Thank you!

Winner, Winner....

Chicken Dinner!

Maggie drew a winner this morning before she left to go to school.

Do you want to know who she picked? Do ya? Do ya?

Well,

She picked.....(drum-roll please!)

RobbinsRoost

Congratulations!

An Easter Blessing!

May the glory
and the promise
of this joyous time of year
Bring peace
and happiness to you
and those you hold most dear,

And may Christ,
Our Risen Savior,
always be there by your side
To bless you
most abundantly
and be your loving guide.

~Author unknown~

This is one of my very favorite Easter hymns. It brings me back to my childhood when my Grandmother was leading the singing at our church. Her smile and excitement as she sang this hymn is how we all should be everyday!

Enjoy this blessed holiday with those you love and remember how much YOU are loved!

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Earth Day - Giveaway!

Friday is Earth Day and if you know me, you know that I like to use my reusable shopping bags. It doesn't take much, actually the hardest part is just getting in the habit of taking them into the store with you.

My favorite bags are the Chico bags that I have purchased on Amazon.com. (Hint: You could use your Swagbucks to purchase Amazon gift cards to get your own bags for free!...Still haven't signed-up for Swagbucks? You can do that by clicking here!)

I use my bags for ALL the stores I visit! Including but not limited to, Kroger, Walmart, Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx, Target, Dollar Tree! (you get the idea...I use them everywhere!)

When at the grocery store, I make sure to tell the cashier BEFORE she starts my order that I have my bags. Then I usually bag the items myself. I tend to put a lot more into the bags than the cashier would. They tend to put a few things in and go to the next bag.

Now using these bags doesn't mean I'm all "green", but at least I'm trying to do my part. I'm sure I'm slacking in other areas, like leaving the water run while I brush my teeth. I'll try to work on that one!

Anyway...in honor of Earth Day, I'm giving away two super-cute reusable bags for you to get in the habit with! Just stick them in your purse and shop, shop, shop away!


Please leave a comment on this blog post (sorry, FB messages don't count!) letting me know what you do to be "green!"

Winner will be announced Monday morning (4/25)

I'll leave you with the person who says it best!



Happy Earth Day!

I'm hooked!

I'm having a garage sale next week. Actually, a lot of people on our street are having a garage sale next week. (**If you are local, you'll want to make sure and stop by!**) And we do things a little differently here in my neck of the woods. The garages sales here start on Tuesday afternoons (usually 2-7 pm) to allow those who work to stop by and then resume on Wednesday mornings (usually 8am -12pm). It's a little crazy, but it works for us!

So I have been preparing, and currently my living room looks like this!

And it's driving me CRAZY!

As I have been going through things, there were some things that I wanted to sell, but didn't want "garage sale" prices for! So I listed those things on Craigslist. Never in a million years did I think I would sell the stuff so quickly! I was totally amazed. I guess I didn't realize that people checked Craigslist as often as they do. But it worked for me, and now I'm a little addicted!

The process is way easier than eBay. You can still post pictures of the item and then you don't have to worry one bit about the shipping. That is the part of eBay that I hate the most. With Craigslist, the people have to come and pick it up!

Andy keeps joking that about coming home to an empty house someday....he better be careful, or I might find some biking equipment to sell. **wink**

So what about you, have you sold or bought anything off Craigslist?

Just of few of my projects!

Can I just tell you how much I ♥LOVE♥ my new Silhouette SD machine! It is so awesome! I've been labeling and creating like a crazy woman!

Here are just a few of my projects!

the "Welcome" sign on my front door!
(please excuse the yucky fingerprints....darn kids!)

this fun cup is for my water! This is to test to see how well my vinyl stays on!
(sometimes it's not so bad to be the guinea pig!)

this cute little buckets are for Teacher Appreciation week coming up in May!
(if you my kids teacher and reading this blog right now, please act surprised!)

AND...how adorable is this?! This was just a little "thank you" gift to my girlfriend for keeping my boy one morning while I went to get these cute buckets at Target! Oh, and it's always a good thing to keep the neighbor with the swimming pool in her back yard happy! **wink**

Swagbucks!

Okay, I know I've said this before, but you just have to check out Swagbucks.

I have earned over $200 in Amazon gift cards just for searching for the things I would be searching for anyway!

Isn't that just CRAZY!

Maybe you are already signed up for Swagbucks but don't really know what to do. Here is my recommendation.

*Download the Swagbucks tool bar and use the search engine for everything...even your everyday favorites like Facebook and Etsy. Every time you type something in the search box you have the possibility to win. I seem to win the most when I am searching. So use that tool bar search tool for EVERYTHING!

*Each day when you login, you can win a Swagbuck just for having the tool bar. You can also win by going to the home page and doing the Daily Poll, just by voting you get a swagbuck. Then do NOSO, skip thru the ads and at the end type in the words for two more swagbucks. They also have a section called Trusted Surveys, just by going there you get a Swagbuck! This is an easy way to learn big bucks if you qualify.

*Check out the Swagbucks Facebook page...This is a great way to keep informed of whats going on.

*I am also signed up to have an email sent to me from SwagBuck Tricks. This site will email you when there is a code out. There are usually "codes" a few times a day to help you earn more Swagbucks. Basically it's just a copy/paste deal. If you get it great...if not...no big deal!

*Then get people to sign up under you....when THEY win from searching YOU win too!

Now please understand that my $200 in Amazon gift cards has NOT happened overnight. I have been doing this Swagbuck thing a little over a year now! And, if you are not into Amazon gift cards, there many other gift card/prize options available. The $5 Amazon gift card is the best deal available that I have found.

This is a great way to start saving for Christmas now! I used a huge portion of my Swagbucks to purchase Christmas gifts last year! It was awesome!

I watch a lot of you guys play all these crazy "games" on Facebook...so why not play a little game on Swagbucks and get a real reward....free money!

Sign up here!

Let me know if you sign up....I'll try to keep you updated on how and what to do!

Oh, and I'd love to hear from anyone out there who can confirm that they too LOVE Swagbucks....and any tips you might have to share with us too!

Bloggy Break!

I'm taking a little bloggy break while I learn how to use my new Silhouette machine!

I'm having so much fun, but I promise to be back soon. Just wait till you see all the new projects I'm doing!

Birthdays!

I had a GREAT birthday yesterday!

The weather was warm and windy (very warm for our neck of the woods....we actually broke a record yesterday with 83!)

I enjoyed receiving several birthday wishes from my church family!

I had a lovely brunch with my family here!

I received lots of cards, texts, (some money too!) and even a caramel apple (YUM)!

I received some beautiful pink roses from some dear friends (who are also my neighbors!)

I was "surprised" by my hubby and kiddos with this....
remember this post!

I spent the evening listening to music (loud music as you can tell from Maggie's hands over her ears) at WinterJam 2011! Worshiping and praising God! A great ending to a wonderful day!

Thanks for making me feel so special!

Music

Everyone loves music!

There are so many different types, young or old, there is something for everyone.

Music has changed for me over the past few years. I used to be a Top 40 listener. Whatever was playing on the popular local radio station was what I listened to. I did the easy listening thing while at work and then on the car ride home, I would turn it up and listen to the dancier type. Now don't get me wrong, I still like those types of music and I LOVE to turn up the dance music when it's time to get things done! (something about loud music helps me get movin!)

But something has changed, it's probably just me getting older, but I used to like the music because of the beat or rhythm, not really paying that much attention to the lyrics. Sure, I knew them, but I just sung along, not really caring what I was singing about. That has changed.

For the past few years, I've been listening to the Christian radio station, I don't have to worry about what my kids are listening to, and I honestly think the kids love it just as much as I do. There aren't any words being bleeped out because they aren't appropriate, and the messages are good. But what I've noticed the most is that now, the music isn't just about the beat and rhythm...it's about the words. It's about the story, or message the artist is trying to get across. And guess what, it's a wonderful thing.

Here are just a few of my favorites, take a minute and just listen to the words...I hope they can help you just as much as they have helped me! Oh, and there are plenty more....these are just a few of my favorites!

This one is just a great reminder that we are loved no matter what!



This one is about my every-day life and again is a great reminder that we are all so blessed!



And this one! After talking to my girlfriend about something I was really struggling with, she sent me the link to this song! Now, every time I hear it I think of her! (You know who you are!....Love you!)



Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!