Joy Shared Is Joy Doubled

Okay, so here's the deal.

No Andrea, I did not win the lottery. *chuckle*

Last month, Keebler's hard drive crashed. With ALL of my data on it. Everything. Product labels, family pictures, stock photos, product images, recipes, a million text and document files, and everything I had managed to salvage from other crashes. I should have known to back up, especially after this has happened three times, but, alas, I had not managed to do it yet when the drive crashed. Woe is me!

Over a couple of weeks (after I finished mourning the losses), Keebler found some of the product label images on CDs we had written for Kinkos to print for us, and I found my old website backed up on my hard drive, so some photos and the product descriptions were all still around to copy onto the new site. Then, yesterday, a friend I had taken the drive to to see if anything could be done with it, found all the data. Everything is retrieved! Soon I will have all of the items back, in one piece, and I will be able to back it all up!

Littlebit has taught herself how to read using her fridge phonics and word whammer fridge phonics toys. The other day, she asked "daddy, when can we go to the" then drew the letters z o o in the air. So she can read. Just one word are we sure of right now besides her name and zoo, but she's doing it, at least with sight words. Next step: sounding things out!

I have amazing new unschooling friends who invited us all to dinner for T-day, and the kids like each other (and us parentals) so much they want to do a kid swap so they can spend weeks at each other's houses!

The Radish is having potlucks again, with lots of great peoples, wonderful food, and fabulous conversation.

My mechanic gave me a fabulous gift early for Yule, that I don't really think anyone will be able to beat. (no, I'm not telling, it's a secret)

Littlebit Lost her first tooth in a really intriguing way that's story will have to wait until I get a picture of her face for the post.

I was featured on the front page of Gather.com, and I'm about to the point in my Gather points that I can cash out for a $50 check.

The greehouse blew down and Keebler found a new way to make the plastic stick together better, and I thought of a way to keep everything anchored more efficiently, so that when we put it back up it will be, again, even better than before.

My mother is feeling better about herself, helping out my grandparents, and slowly paying off the big debts that have plagued her for the past four years.

I've been loosing a little bit of weight again, slowly but surely.

We're almost done paying off all of the bills that we don't want "revolving".

I've developed a new cootiecide routine that works perfectly the first time.

The girls have woken me up every morning for the last two weeks screaming with glee and running through the house giggling. (not what I really endorse as inside play, but they're exceedingly happy playing together, and that's something we've never had. I guess they are truly sisters now (yes, they still bicker, boss, whine, and fight, so it's not a passing phase))

The house is, miraculously, staying mostly clean.

We're spending more time having fun together as a family.

I'm getting scads of freebies in the mail all the time now that I've started signing up for them every week.

I've already delivered my first Yule gift.

IA dropped off an ancient electric sewing machine the other day, right as I was getting ready to leave for the store.

My mother has taken the kids for most of the week this week.

Snow is predicted for tomorrow, lots of glorious snow, and we have snowsuits, a sled, snow boots, gloves, and plenty of food and hot cocoa stored away.

The ArtFoodFun website is starting to move in a forward direction due to a good friend having a spare moment and Keebler finally got a tiny bit motivated.

Keebler is finally a tiny bit motivated!

I have nearly $100 in Amazon.com gift certificates saved up that I earned for just being me.

I have some solid evidence against the being who has been making anon comments on the blog for the past several months (that you never see because comments are moderated) in some vain and useless attempt to try and make me feel bad (about what, I'm not sure) so I can file the police report. *grin*

I have about twelve blog post ideas set up in advance either for a specific date, or for when I can think of nothing to write.

My female rabbit kits are 6mo soon, and I will be able to really start in on production of rabbit meat.

I just heard about a new drug on the market called Modafinil that makes you not need sleep for up to three days in a row! It's non habit-forming, and doesn't cause the ups and downs that stimulants do. It's also over the counter! I so want to get some of that, oh the productivity that awaits me! *grin*

We moved the pond inside and the fish and plants are exceedingly happy with the arrangement.

Received an email from a really good friend who is usually so busy travelling that we don't see him often, asking us to come over and visit... Right after we had finished making a pie and were looking for a friend to visit! We spent several hours over there visiting,, watching films on his image wall, and making plans.

I've been invited (and agreed) to be involved in next year's Midwest burn. (like Burning Man, but here in Missouri).

Our electric bill just came in today, and they owe us $11.00 ! (that means the winter heating assistance has come in for this year)

And it just keeps getting better every day!

To top it all off, some annoyances have come my way, and they haven't even phased me! Now that I know it's not unreal and "too close to perfect" I'm so full of bliss that the only thing keeping me from jumping out of my skin for happiness is my clothes!

I'm no longer afraid to let myself be happy! YAY!!

It doesn't have hardly anything to do with money, but it sure feels like winning the lottery!

Tags: Joy happiness bliss good things win lottery data recovery unschool reading unschooling The Radish loose tooth Gather.com Gather gardening garden greenhouse business home business success self esteem loosing weight cootiecide cootie lice treatment bolls weight loss children family quality time family time togetherness freebies free stuff yule website web site antique sewing machine sewing machine snow artfoodfun winter sledding snowsuit motivation amazon.com gift certificate modofinil blogging advance blogging no sleep sleep deprivation rabbits rabbit pond burning man midwest burn lottery christmas heating assistance winter electric bill free utilities winning the lottery friends

11 Goals In My Post-Thanksgiving Agenda

Ben over at Instigator Blog asks "What are your post-Thanksgiving goals?" for the post Thanksgiving goal writing project.

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year;

* I will recover all of my data from a hard drive I thought was dead and back up all the data, twice!

* I will attempt to recover the data from my other previously-assumed defunct hard drive, as I now think there may still be hope for it.

* I will continue to blog every day, even after NaBloPoMo is over, no matter how busy I get.

* I will manage to get the holiday pictures taken, gifts made, and most everything delivered.

* I will make the ArtFoodFun website into something that is at least functional and possible to make purchases from, even if my divatastic artist self recoils in horror at the way it looks. At least I'll finally have some form of functionality. After two years of nothing, working is a step I'll be happy for, no matter how ugly it is. *sigh*

* I will spend more quality time with my children.

* I will finish cleaning and organizing the closets.

* I will breed the rabbits.

* I will get the yarden clean and straightened out.

* I will post two new recipes to the blog.

* I will finish building the raised bed and fill it with leaves and compost.

What are your goals before December 25th?

Tags: Post-Thanksgiving Goal Writing Project instigator blog instigator rabbits cleaning recipes goals writing group writing project data recovery blogging gifts delivery presents holiday photo website web design web store ecommerce yarden gardening garden food not lawns quality time children Thanksgiving Christmas Yule raised bed compost

I don't really know what to say

See, when things are going good, and I mean REALLY good, I'm always afraid that if I share the news, something will happen to set it all into a downward spiral.

I have spent the last few days waiting for the other shoe to drop.

But I wonder too; is it just my aprehension that makes the positivity stop, or is it the simple cycle of things? When the world is so very beautiful and bright that it almost hurts to look at it directly, is it my perception or just that chance has decided to smile upon me in the same abundance, just this once, that it tears me down at other times? Have I finally put up with enough pain, and given enough joy to be able to reap my rewards? Is this turn for the better permanent?

Now I don't expect things to ever be perfect (they are still far from that now), but will this level of blissfull imperfection continue? I know I deserve this joy, these small breaks and simple pleasures that mean so much to me, so that is not the question. The question is 'how long will this last?'

Should I work myself to death in the hopes that this positive streak will continue until I get it all done? Should I just work at my usual pace and cherish my children and the good times the family is having right now? If I do work hard to get my current goals reached, will I die soon afterwards? (I've always said that I have too much work to do, and I won't die until it is all finished)

I was raised with negativity and bad luck. I know nothing else as a constant. Horses will run back into a flaming barn because they are frightened and the barn is their "safe place", only to burn and die. We are, as beings, so afraid of change that we would harm ourselves to avoid even positive movement.

Is all my fear just the simple fear of change? Will I concoiusly make my life worse just to escape the beauty in my life at this moment? For the sake of being comfortable in what I am used to? I know I should be rejoycing in the blessings and good fortune that have been bestowed upon myself and my family, but I can't stop looking over my shoulder.

How do you handle unexpected joy?

Tags: unexpected joy negativity pessimism optimism bad luck waiting for the other shoe to drop good times glass half full

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

A few weeks ago, Faithib sent me an email about a promotion for a free Senseo single serving coffee machine. I must've been too caught up in dragging my new toy all over town, bragging about it in person, and loosing myself in cup after cup of delicious, frothy goodness, because I seem to have forgotten to blog about it somehow. *blush*

The Senseo is, above all, a gourmet coffee machine that saves you money and time. Making 1-2 cups of creamy, frothy coffee in less than a minute, and starting at as little as $30 (with a coupon), it is one of the most frugal deals in fine home beverage creation. I literally have not had a better cup of plain, simple coffee, even at a gourmet coffee house.

I was truly amazed by how easy it is to clean! All of the removable parts are dishwasher safe. The silver drain cover comes off to reveal a reservoir for spilled coffee that can be easily removed and dumped without having to drag the whole machine across the kitchen or office. It also has two different size inserts available for your machine so that you can adjust the strength of your brew by varying the number of pods you use. I could even send the 5yo into the kitchen to brew the coffee if I wanted to because the buttons have pictures instead of words under them, and the process is so simple. (not that I would, hot=burney badness, but I could) . We also like to use it to heat water for hot cocoa, hot vanilla, and spiced cider.

Heating the water only when needed, only in the amount needed, and turning itself off automatically after a bit saves electricity too.

There were some things I didn’t like about the Senseo, don’t get me wrong. The default reservoir is bit too small for my liking, holding only 4 cups worth of water. When the button says one cup, it means one cup, the measurement. I have to push the button for two cups under it to fill my huge mug for my morning ritual of thanks to the great and mighty goddess Caffeina. *wink*

I'm frugal to a fault, so when I saw that you had to buy specially made pods for the Senseo, I decided there had to be another way. I must have frothy tea too, I reasoned, I don’t want to pay that much for coffee when I can’t have my own custom blend, and I want my own primo coffee to be brewed this nicely. I needed to create a reuseable brewing pod for my machine! After talking with Ameryth about the idea, a couple of things came to light, I was going to have to sew, and this could get messy.

As usual with a difficult project, I set the idea on the back burner to stew for a while by itself. Only I wasn't alone in my idea. On a trip to the dreaded big box store, I found the Presto Mypod, a holder for your coffee that fits into your Senseo machine! Unable to resist, I bought it as well as the 100 pack of Mypod filters , which I will be making for myself out of regular coffee filters as soon as this pack runs out. It's a great adapter, low priced, and super-easy to clean like the rest of the Senseo, but I missed my 1/4" of froth at the top of my beverage. It is great for non-frothy things like potions and simple teas, but it doesn’t have the “frothing chamber” that the Senseo brand parts have, so I renewed my search.

I found the coveted large water tank for making more gourmet coffee with less trips to the sink (a must for entertaining), the Quick Cup refillable pseudo-pod that replaces the premade pods for the machine, and the Ecopad . Now the Ecopad is what I was really looking for. The idea that started the search in the first place. It is refillable, easy to clean, and replaces the Senseo pods seamlessly, allowing the full joy of the Senseo to shine through, froth and all. I’m so excited, I’m not even upset that somebody beat me to it. *smile*

After reading Faithib's blog post about her Senseo, I expanded my search and discovered a milk frother and a travel version of a frother that could be handily carried in my purse as well. Add in some heavy cream, natural cane sugar, and a flavor shot, and we’re getting into some seriously high-end coffee enjoyment that I suspect would rival even the most decadent coffeehouse treat.

Of course, the promotion for the free machine is now closed, so sadly I can’t tell you how to get your own for free, but you can still get a $20 rebate when you buy your new Senseo, even when you purchase the Senseo with gift pack that comes with extra gourmet coffee pods, a thermal travel mug, and other goodies.

I really wish The Radish had a Senseo with a large water resivoir and some reuseable Ecopads. It sure would save them a lot of previously wasted coffee, time, and electricity if they did. (Hint: give the perfect gift to your local infoshop, drop off a Senseo)

I know I sound a bit gushy here, but this machine gets better with each week I have it. Starting with amazing on first sight was pretty hard to beat, but the people at Senseo know what they are doing. The introduction of new gourmet flavored coffee pods on a regular basis, tea pods, and more, have made owning the Senseo an experience worth bragging about.

Freebie: Try Sumatra Blend for free! Sign up to receive a free individually wrapped coffee pod of Sumatra Blend.

Tags: senseo single serve coffee single serve coffee machine coffee pod gourmet coffee coffee frother coffee froth hot cocoa hot vanilla spiced cider review product review energy saving coffee refillable coffee pod reuseable coffee pod refillable tea pod reuseable tea pod free senseo machine free senseo free senseo coffee sumatre blend free freebie free stuff free coffee

Off With Her Dreads!

A while back, A friend of ours had a cootie scare, and I did our usual all-natural treatment to everyone in the house just in case we had been accidentally exposed.

We found something out during this adventure; shampoo does not flow easily through a congo. A congo happens when several dreads decide that it would be a fabulous idea to get together and have a party, combining to make one massive, inseparable, fat dread. This was not going to work for the preemptive cootie strike, and something was going to have to give.

I filled Ladybug in on the situation. Either we were going to have to tear or cut the congo into it's separate dreads again and maintain them as separate entities from now on, or they were going to have to go entirely. Now she's been talking about cutting off her dreads for the last 6 months or so, so this wasn't as big a thing as one might think. She loves her dreads, but isn't the greatest at caring for them, and wasn't quite patient enough to learn properly when she got them so they sort of started out on the wrong foot. They didn't really look like she'd planned them to either(even after almost a year and a half), so she decided to lop them off and start over some other time if she decided to do them again later. I cried a little like I knew I would.

We agreed on longest length leftover for the least amount of pain, and I began my work. I left two dreads at the front of her face so she could still have a bit of "personality and attitude" to her hair (as well as learn a bit more about how to properly care for dreads on a lesser scale) one inch of undreadded roots and two inches of dread beyond that were left once I finished mangling her head with the scissors. Cooking fat, vegetable oil, and about an hour under the hair dryer later, we were ready to try untangling the dread bits I had left in her head and cut it for style. It was a long and difficult process for us both, but after much howling, a lot of brushing with both fingers and comb, two washes, and a cut, I sent her to bed.

In the morning, we cut again, dry this time, for style, and another wash, to get off all those annoying hair bits that get stuck to you when you get a haircut. French style pixie cut with antennae, and we had a happy customer. Everyone else seemed pretty happy too (especially grandma, who never liked "those things" anyway. *chuckle*

Now Ladybug has her glorious shampoo commercial hair back, and still retains a couple of dreadlocks to play with, put beads in, and (soon, she says) put a couple of bells in for the holidays. *grin*

Hey, it's her head, right?

Tags: dreadlocks head lice lice locks locking dreads hair dreadlock removal hair cut congo

Freebies

Give yourself a great gardening gift in the middle of winter! Free Herbal Expedition Kit incldes tea, recipes, herb growing tips, herbal guide, and herb seeds from Celestial Seasonings. Because spring is always just around the corner.

Coty is offering a free sample of Mary-Kate and Ashley Coast to Coast fragrance .

Free sample of Airborne's new powdered travel version.

Crazy imagemap advertising for your blog. Add an image to their map and get a link to your blog on their site. Plenty of free image blocks still available. *smile*

The EPA is offering a free CD-ROM on environmental literacy, a poster, and online courses. The EETAP program ships to the US, Canada, and Mexico. You can find the order form by clicking the corresponding link in the free EPA education materials for teachers offer profile.

Receive a free calling card with ten minutes of talk time from CallingCards.com. The calling card code will be emailed.

Free music at http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com/

Free sample of Swiffer Duster.

Pepsico wants to give you a free subscription to "Smart Spot", their healthy living magazine.

Free Homeschool CurriculumSpelling Course http://www.splashesfromtheriver.com/spelling/index.htm

Reach Access Daily Flosser sample pack.

Free Fancy Feast Snow Globe via print & mail order form.

Limited time offer, Sno -Way is offering a free hat or gloves on their website. That hat looks really cozy!

https://www.storesonline.com/site/444982/form/22180 receive a free copy of Jeannie Deva's recommended Vocal Warm-ups from Voice Studios in Boston.

Get free nail polish from Sally Hansen.

Send a soldier a thank you card for the holidays. You pick your design and Xerox will print it out and mail it to a soldier on your behalf. Please visit this site for more information. I may be against the war, but by golly I support the soldiers. After all, it's not their fault they were ordered to go over there, right?

Tags: freebie freebies free stuff free things gift holiday samples sample present gift basket

Defeat the Affluenza Pandemic

"Protest Turkey" is completely hand-drawn with a mini optical mouse in Paint Shop Pro. "Protest Turkey is about 7x8 inches and took 30 minutes from start to finish.

Resist mindless consumerism and focus on friends, family, and community instead this weekend. This year, tell big business your family is more important than their profits. Put your money where your mouth is and keep your cash in your pants.

On "Black Friday", my family stays home and enjoys each other's company while stringing the popcorn and cranberries for the bushes outside, or goes out to visit friends. But we don't ever purchase anything.

For twenty-four hours starting 12am the day after Thanksgiving and ending at midnight that night, my family buys nothing in a protest against the rampant consumerism and the shopping lunacy that strikes our nation during the very time we should be sitting down with our families and friends and reflecting on the joys, pleasures, and blessings we have in the togetherness we share.

We refuse to participate in the wholesale slaughter of the economy and people's lives via retail massacre for those twenty-four hours. Love isn't about spending money or presents. Besides, we have the rest of the year to shop. We even changed the business website (ArtFoodFun.com) in honor of the occasion.

Take today to really consider your buying habits year-round and the global impact of the way you live. Is there something you think should change? How many things do you really need to be happy?

For more information, visit AdBusters.org and Wikipedia.com.

Need more? Get "Affluenza" the book. Get the movie or the other information on it too if you want, just don't buy it today.

In today's corporate-run economy, the only thing that matters is the almighty dollar. What message do you want to send? How will you vote on November 24th?

Technorati Tags: affluenza pandemic, affluenza, crafts, string, cranberry, popcorn, popcorn string, cranberry string, Protest Turkey, art, Black Friday, Buy Nothing Day, Family tradition Del.icio.us Tags: affluenza pandemic, affluenza, crafts, string, cranberry, popcorn, popcorn string, cranberry string, Protest Turkey, art, Black Friday, Buy Nothing Day, Family tradition Flickr Tags: affluenza pandemic, affluenza, crafts, string, cranberry, popcorn, popcorn string, cranberry string, Protest Turkey, art, Black Friday, Buy Nothing Day, Family tradition Furl Tags: affluenza pandemic, affluenza, crafts, string, cranberry, popcorn, popcorn string, cranberry string, Protest Turkey, art, Black Friday, Buy Nothing Day, Family tradition

Thankful for The Little Things

The farming industry estimates that NAIS could cost more than $100 million annually if implemented on a mandatory basis for all farmers.

While I doubt the government will keep it this way for long (NAIS is supposed to go mandatory in 2009, not now), it is still an interesting token gesture.

I'm also pretty sure that this is just another trick to try and make those who fight against such easily-abuseable legislation let our guards down, but at least they aren't going to try to push it through any faster than they had previously said they would, and that's something to be thankful for, right? *smile*

"He who controls the food, controls the world" -Anon

Libby Quaid of The Associated Press writes that Animal identification won't be mandatory; "Hoping to dampen widespread opposition to the animal tracking program, the Agriculture Department has decided it should remain voluntary. "Really embracing this as a voluntary program ... will help the trust issues that some farmers and ranchers have raised about the national animal identification system," said Bruce Knight, undersecretary for marketing and regulation." (check associated press website for full article)

It's just a little thing, but if we're not thankful for the little things,what is there? *smile*

I hope your day went beautifully!

Tags: nais national anuimal identification system government ploy placate activist associated press article news farming

Come See Me: Gather.com Frontpage!

I just got two emails from the Gather.com staff in my inbox. Never before have I had a private message from them, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I had my hopes up. Come to find out, I should have expected better than the best!

I have been recognised for my contributions on an international website that I have only been a member of for a little over a month to such an extent that the site editors have decided to feature me (from their many millions of members) on the front page of the site! *hops around excitedly*

Here's the first message they sent me;

"Dear Kryistina,
On behalf of the editorial team here at Gather, I am very pleased to inform you that we are featuring members who enjoy making crafts, and you have been chosen to appear on the Gather homepage.
Congratulations! Your icon will be featured on Thursday, November 23, 2006 from 6:00 a.m. EDT. Be sure to tell friends and family to go to Gather.com to see your great efforts recognized.Best regards, and thanks for contributing to Gather!"

The second note stated that I was to be featured on Friday, November 24, 2006 from 6:00 a.m. EDT! I take this to mean that I am going to be featured for two days running! I've never heard of that before on gather, and I am SO excited! *grin*

Come join me here, and take part in the fun!

Tags: blogging blogger blog showcase blog recognition myspace crafts gather crafty gather.com front page feature featured

Bonsai Thanksgiving Trees

Back when I posted the Thanksgiving tree craft, I hadn't given much thought to the space requirements for such a large project. Luckily, Heather mentioned it in the comments, and two more great ideas were born.

So with no further adieu, I present to you, bonsai Thanksgiving trees!

Mini Wall Tree

Supplies
* A paper grocery bag
* Colored construction paper (for leaves)
* Tape or Glue stick
* Family & friends
* Black Marker
* Envelope or Small Basket
* Scissors

Instructions
* Trace someone's forearm and hand out on grocery bag and cut it out.

* Cut several different types of small (1") leaf shapes out of multi-colored construction paper.

* Glue stick (walls wipe down pretty easily with water) or tape the tree to the wall.

* Put the leaves and marker in the basket or envelope, and place on the floor under the tree, or attach the the wall.

Standing Centerpiece Tree

Supplies
* Brown posterboard (or cardboard with brown construction paper glued to it.)* Colored construction paper (for leaves)
* Glue stick
* Family & friends
* Black Marker
* Small Basket
* Sissors

Instructions
* Trace someone's arm and hand on the posterboard twice and cut out carefully, being sure to make the bottoms as flat and straight as possible. (You may want to forgo thumbs in favor for a few extra fingers to make "even" limbs on your tree. Height of tree depends on how much arm you trace. Extra-tall trees may require additional support -cardboard, coathanger, etc.-)

* Cut several different types of small (1") leaf shapes out of construction paper.

* Cut trees in the middle (one from the bottom going upwards, one from the top, pointing down) about half-way through, and slide together to make stand upright.

* Place standing tree in a small basket.

* Put the leaves in the basket. (If the basket is deep, you may fill it a bit at the bottom with some crumpled brown paper. For very shallow baskets, some tape may be desired to add extra stability to the tree.)

* Display tree in prominent place in the home such as the center of the dining or coffee table.

* Place marker and gluestick in the basket as well, or on the table nearby.

Family photos with the tabletop tree are great to add to a holiday scrapbook for keeping the memory alive forever. It's even a great gift for the hosts of your celebration.

The standing centerpeice Thanksgiving tree is my addition to The Box Doodle Project.
---------

As family and friends think of things they are thankful for, they can go write/draw their thanks on a leaf, gluing it to the tree. By the end of the day you have a beautiful autmn tree, and everyone is bursting at the seams with warmth, comraderie, and appreciation.

If making the tree in advance, or taking it to a family gather elsewhere, you may wish to premake and attatch a few thankful leaves yourself so that others get the idea.

Creating these quicker, smaller trees of gratitude is a great way to keep the kids busy while you prepare for the feast. If several families are getting together, one adult or older child can guide all of the kids in creating their own personal tree to take home and appreciate blessings on for the rest of the month. An added bonus, they compost beautifully, making for a nice earth-friendly craft. *smile*

What a great way to get the holiday spirit flowing.

Thanks Heather, and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Tags: craft crafts November Thanksgiving Thanksgiving craft family craft November craft art artist children kids kid child cheap inexpensive grocery bag craft paper bag craft autumn tree Thanksgiving Tree small bonsai tiny centerpiece fun beautiful

Ameryth, Thanksgiving, and Light-Chasing Dogs

First things first; To me, Thanksgiving has nothing to do with pilgrims, but everything to do with closeness to friends & family, and celebrating a good harvest. To learn more about what really happened at the first recorded Thanksgiving, read "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your High School History Textbook Got Wrong" by James Loewen, a former university history professor.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

We went to a friend's house for an early Thanksgiving on Tuesday. We just got back home today after a great sleepover. It was fantastic! Magnificent food, great fun and conversation, as well as old friends and new, including a happy suprise that I should have expected, but didn't. *chuckle*
I brought over the Thanksgiving tree, and we watched the dog attack the flashlight beam (and the flashlight too). The kids wrestled, played, ran rampant, and had the time of their lives trying to take down the elf at random intervals during our visit. Great gaming was also to be had, with much promise for future get-togethers. Littlebit seems to have found a new bestest buddy, and they played quietly and peacefully for hours.



Thursday, we do it all again with more great friends, closer to home. *smile*

May you and yours have a wonderful day, no matter where you are. Enjoy the family, food, friends, and more. Count your blessings, and be sure to remind those you hold dear that they are a cherished part of your life. Take a moment to wish well and send thoughts of comfort to those who are alone during this time of togetherness and sharing. Tell someone you love them on Thursday.

Loving you!

Tags: Thanksgiving family you choose friends family fun video photo sleepover

Ice Skating

Last Saturday, the girls and I went to the Festival of Lights kickoff celebration at Jordan Valley Ice Park and the Springfield Cardinals stadium. It was amusing, and we enjoyed the walk in the brisk weather, but we were really there for the first free ice skate of the year.

We love to skate. Not that any of us are particularly good at it, but we love it all the same. We own our own skates, (Frugal is$20 once instead of $2.50 eleven times a year), so we don't have to pay for rental, and nothing could be better than free, so we do every free ice skating we hear about. *smile*

Littlebit has a pair of kids double runner skates , and Ladybug has normal skates. Littlebit's are just like my first ice skates. They have one central blade coming from the bottom of the skate shoe which splits to a double-bladed skate at the bottom for extra stability and easier learning.

While I was looking for a link to Littlebit's skates to show you, I saw these kids strap on skates that buckle to the actual shoe and have even wider runner placement than Littlebit's. Now I don't know if those last ones are allowed at the ice rink here, but they are inexpensive, and sure do look fun. *chuckle*

We met some good friends, and as usual, Ladybug went to the center of the rink and talked some poor hapless (helpful) soul into teaching her some new moves. Now if she can just keep her ankles straight all the time, she'll be set! *chuckle*


We'd like to see you next time we go, so here is the calendar for the rest of the free skates this year.

* Thursday, November 23rd
3:30-4:30pm

* Friday, November 24th
9:30-10:30am

* Friday, December 1st
6-7pm

* Saturday, December 2nd
2:45-4:15pm

* Saturday, December 9th
2:45-4:15pm

* Saturday, December 10th
4-5pm

* Saturday, December 16th
6-7pm

* Saturday, December 23rd
7:30-8:30pm

* Monday, December 25th
3:30-4:30pm

* Tuesday, December 26th
Noon-1:30pm

Don't forget warm clothes and gloves. See you there!

Tags: community events free events free things family downtown springfield missouri springfield downtown springfield ice skating ice skate free skate jordan valley ice park jordan valley ice rink festival of lights

Radish Rocks

The potluck was amazing lastnight. We met a bunch of cool new people, hooked up some possible business deals, visited with old friends, made plans for the future, danced, played, and partook of much great food.

Now that's what a community potluck dinner should be!

Tags: community events free events free things family potluck potluck dinner dinner downtown springfield missouri springfield downtown springfield

Fill in the Blanks

Here're the highlights you've missed while I've been so busy these past couple of weeks.

I left my purse somewhere three times, Ladybug lost her cellphone (anyone have a cell that's sim card compatible they want to give away?). We applied for and received the Thanksgiving food basket, got another copy of Ladybug's SS card, replaced the black ink cartridge in the printer, and went to a clothing bank to look for holiday gifts. We finally found a new home for the rattie girls, and while we were there I fell in love with the most adorable ruby-eyed cream rex boy(he looks like my Hidiki did at his age), but didn't get him.

Ladybug's been really disrespectful lately, taking back, being rude, not listening... I am displeased to say the least, and I will revoke privileges if I have to in order to make my point.

Littlebit fed the boys a couple of days ago and accidentally left the cage door open, which of course led to the boys running rampant in the living room. I'm a bit nervous at night in general (finishing projects, listening for the girls, etc) and Hearing things fall over didn't help matters much, as we couldn't see a culprit (this was before we discovered the escape). Let me tell you, there's nothing freakier than a little ratty nose and hand on your foot out of nowhere when you didn't know there were any out of the cage! Serious Eek factor there. Lucky for us, we spend a lot of time with the boys, so they came when they were called so that we could get them back into the cage again. Keebler thought it was cute that they all headed straight for "mommy" when they escaped. *smile* I kind of have to agree, it was really sweet to know how much I am loved by my little ratty boys. *smile*

We verified that there is no way that I can retrieve the information that was on the crashed hard drive by myself, so we sent it off to be looked at by a friend.

I had to call Paypal to get access to my account again, and, amazingly (from what I expected with all the bad press on the company), they got it right on only the second call! *smile* I may yet be able to go to all of the scheduled holiday events. We weren't sure about gas money, but now we'll just have to wait until we get it in my bank account to make sure. *smile* I'm all happy and hopeful now.

Tags: update life lifestyle fill in the blanks rat escape rats pocket pets lost cellphone preteen angst paypal customer service