Hello everyone! I hope your Memorial Day weekend was sunny, fun + exciting! I have lots of photos to show you of our weekend, but first I wanted to dedicate a post to this awesome sale that Michaels craft store is running right now. Today through Saturday May 31st, you can get 50% off of one regular priced item with a coupon, available in the store. Also, they are giving out coupons for NEXT week, which are good for 25% off one regular priced item. What a sale!
If you have a Michaels in your area, go check it out. You might find something you've needed for a long time! I bought a Dremel-like tool that I've needed for oh-so-long, but never had the extra change to spend. Other things I could think of that would be great to use the coupon on include their large unfinished pine furniture like shelves, rocking chairs and cabinets, or OLFA rotary cutting mats! In our store, the largest mat retails for $150, so that coupon would come in darned handy!
In other news, I signed up for the Wilton cake decorating courses at Michaels as well. Classes start on June 4, and I am about as excited as a kid on their first day of school! I already have all the tips & bags and whatnots for the class, so all I have to buy is the practice board. Has anyone else ever taken the classes? I'd love to know what to expect, so let me know about your experience!
Look those weekend photos later on today!
spookily yours,
SM
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Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
what do we do with the elephant in the corner?
so, Spooky Daddy, Little Spooky & I went thrifting on Sunday, just because the weather had been so bad all weekend that we HAD to get out of the house. I have long said that I have "thrifty Spidey senses," and on Sunday, the idea just popped into my head that we needed to GO!
well, I usually tend to start at the front of the store and work my way back, because I know the good stuff is always at the back and I save it until last. Spooky Daddy, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. He goes straight for the good stuff! So as I was browsing the front, I failed to notice that he'd camped out with several large objects that he'd laid claim to, and he was trying to get my attention.
His first treasure was an orange and yellow Little Tykes picnic table that looks something like this. It was only $5, and we had to get it, because it is exactly the same one that I had when I was a kid. I can remember drawing so much at that table, and sitting indoors at it, watching the Golden Girls and Night Court while eating little pieces of cheese and Vienna sausages. It's amazing how $5 can bring back about a million great memories!
The second treasure he found was THIS THING!
The inside seems pretty well suited to holding a plant, and there's already a large hole in the bottom for drainage. I figure that if I fill the bottom with rocks, it should be great!
Spooky Daddy is working right now on stripping the red paint off, because as awesome as it looks all chipped & stuff, I wanted to restore it to it's original look, if I could locate a photo. Well, it took a whole lot of Googling, but I finally found a small photo of what it originally looked like on eBay. Someone was wanting to find an "elephant toybox from the 70s" in the want section.
Now I'm not so sure if I want to restore it. The original paint job is kind of crazy & not the best quality. I might base what I do to it off of this photo, because I REALLY like the idea of a polka dot elephant planter! But I think I will work on his face more. Let me know if you have any other ideas!
well, I usually tend to start at the front of the store and work my way back, because I know the good stuff is always at the back and I save it until last. Spooky Daddy, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. He goes straight for the good stuff! So as I was browsing the front, I failed to notice that he'd camped out with several large objects that he'd laid claim to, and he was trying to get my attention.
His first treasure was an orange and yellow Little Tykes picnic table that looks something like this. It was only $5, and we had to get it, because it is exactly the same one that I had when I was a kid. I can remember drawing so much at that table, and sitting indoors at it, watching the Golden Girls and Night Court while eating little pieces of cheese and Vienna sausages. It's amazing how $5 can bring back about a million great memories!
The second treasure he found was THIS THING!
It was only $2, and even though it is huge, we finally reasoned that we had to add it to our crazy collection because we had never seen anything quite like it before. We thought a while about what to do with it, and finally both agreed that it would be perfect to plant something in. I've had my eye on these small fancy braided fig trees at Home Depot since mom's day, and I think the elephant is the perfect container for one!
The inside seems pretty well suited to holding a plant, and there's already a large hole in the bottom for drainage. I figure that if I fill the bottom with rocks, it should be great!
Spooky Daddy is working right now on stripping the red paint off, because as awesome as it looks all chipped & stuff, I wanted to restore it to it's original look, if I could locate a photo. Well, it took a whole lot of Googling, but I finally found a small photo of what it originally looked like on eBay. Someone was wanting to find an "elephant toybox from the 70s" in the want section.
Now I'm not so sure if I want to restore it. The original paint job is kind of crazy & not the best quality. I might base what I do to it off of this photo, because I REALLY like the idea of a polka dot elephant planter! But I think I will work on his face more. Let me know if you have any other ideas!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
So, I went out for a ride yesterday while our Little Spooky was asleep. I'm attempting to diet & exercise more, and I wanted to visit the thrift shop down the street (which we affectionately refer to as "our" thrift shop!) so I figured bicycling was in order.
I was visiting because of the secret project I am working on. And oh, I so wish I could tell you about it! I'm terrible at secrets. But I can't tell, because then it wouldn't be a surprise when it's done. So instead, I'll sit here and tell you about how awesome the thing I can't tell you about is! haha!
Anyway...
I took the camera along with me, intending to get some lovely shots while I was out. Of course, I snapped a few photos of the first thing I saw, and then the battery died. I should've checked, I guess.
But, the photos I did get are of an storage building behind our little neighborhood pizza joint, Gino's. There is a lovely mural that wraps all the way around the building. I only got photos of one side, though. So when I am out again with a charged battery, I will show you the other sides!
P.S.- the inside of the restaurant also has painting by the same artist on the wall. Mostly vases & urns, and some wine bottles if memory serves me correctly.
These photos all have lots of little details in them that you can only appreciate when viewing the photo in large or original size. To see the larger size, simply click the photo, which will take you to a 1024x768 size on my Flickr account. If you are on a high speed connection and would like to see the original size, go to My Flickr page!
This is the side with the "entrance."
Closeup of the faux-entrance
I love this part the most - the vegetable stand!
The little signs in the bins have names & prices on them, too.
Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone out there had a great weekend!
I was visiting because of the secret project I am working on. And oh, I so wish I could tell you about it! I'm terrible at secrets. But I can't tell, because then it wouldn't be a surprise when it's done. So instead, I'll sit here and tell you about how awesome the thing I can't tell you about is! haha!
Anyway...
I took the camera along with me, intending to get some lovely shots while I was out. Of course, I snapped a few photos of the first thing I saw, and then the battery died. I should've checked, I guess.
But, the photos I did get are of an storage building behind our little neighborhood pizza joint, Gino's. There is a lovely mural that wraps all the way around the building. I only got photos of one side, though. So when I am out again with a charged battery, I will show you the other sides!
P.S.- the inside of the restaurant also has painting by the same artist on the wall. Mostly vases & urns, and some wine bottles if memory serves me correctly.
These photos all have lots of little details in them that you can only appreciate when viewing the photo in large or original size. To see the larger size, simply click the photo, which will take you to a 1024x768 size on my Flickr account. If you are on a high speed connection and would like to see the original size, go to My Flickr page!
This is the side with the "entrance."
Closeup of the faux-entrance
I love this part the most - the vegetable stand!
The little signs in the bins have names & prices on them, too.
Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone out there had a great weekend!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Feeds & Updates by Email!
So, not too long ago I started learning all about feeds & readers and I found out a whole bunch of stuff I didn't know. I'm not exactly up to date on a lot of things, I guess! Anyhow, you can subscribe to my feed (courtesy of FeedBurner) OR if you don't use a reader, you can just enter your e-mail address into that little box to the right, and every time I post, FeedBurner will send the text of my post directly to your inbox. I mostly did the e-mail option for Granny & Mom (HI GUYS!) because I know they keep up with us on here.
That's it. Subscribe..... now!
That's it. Subscribe..... now!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
WeeRide Carrier, and the fun of bicycling with your child
Life has been a little hectic & stressful lately, but we have managed to have a pretty good time! Summer has been creeping in, even though admittedly the nights here haven't felt too summery yet - almost down in the 40s! I'm not complaining, though. Warm days & cold nights are perfectly fine with me.
So, since it's been nice, I try to take our Little Spooky out somewhere every day that I am home from work. A few Sundays ago, we took our new bike seat out for it's first ride. It's a WeeRide Kangaroo Carrier, and boy, is it awesome! My friend has one for her little boy, and we borrowed her bike a few times to use it. After that, we had to get one for ourselves. I was lucky enough to find one completely by chance at the local superstore, out of the box for just $25. Here's our ride:
You can sort of see the WeeRide (it's yellow & blue) in this photo, but I will have to get a better photo of us actually on the bike sometime. Since it sits between your legs, I feel more in control & safe. I like having him right in front of me, because we can talk about what we see while we ride, and I can also steer with one hand and hug him with the other :) Here's a photo of a child in the Kangaroo Carrier from the company's web site, www.weeride.com
Admittedly, the styling of the seat causes you to adjust the way you'd normally ride your bike - you have to pedal with your legs spread apart a bit. But, I agree with the site's FAQ section that addresses this issue. It basically says that a modified pedal stroke is worth sharing the fun of riding with your child. And, it's not like you're going on a major ride with a toddler or anything. It's for fun! Usually he's good for 30 min to an hour, and then he wants to get off and play.
At any rate, there's my satisfied mom endorsement for the WeeRide. If I can offer you two tips, here they are -
-First, understand the way the seat mounts to your bike. I've found that my women's bike has a top bar (the top of the triangle that makes the bike frame) that is too low and slanted. A men's bike is better styled to use this carrier, since they usually have high, level top bars. Also, I had to purchase longer bolts to mount the hardware to my bike, because the top tube was too thick to use the factory bolts it came with.
-Second, I fee like the yellow & blue carrier I have is lacking in padding. Being a crafty person, I may try to fashion some cushioning for the back of the seat. If you're not crafty, I would recommend springing for the Kangaroo LTD, which is much more plush.
And now, a few photos from our most recent bicycling excursion!
This playground is on the bike trail at our city's park.
I took this one of us with a 10 sec timer! Talk about a dash.
We took a whole backpack full of snacks - including pink marshmallows!
Well, that's it for now. If anyone reading this has a WeeRide carrier, I'd love to share photos & stories!
So, since it's been nice, I try to take our Little Spooky out somewhere every day that I am home from work. A few Sundays ago, we took our new bike seat out for it's first ride. It's a WeeRide Kangaroo Carrier, and boy, is it awesome! My friend has one for her little boy, and we borrowed her bike a few times to use it. After that, we had to get one for ourselves. I was lucky enough to find one completely by chance at the local superstore, out of the box for just $25. Here's our ride:
You can sort of see the WeeRide (it's yellow & blue) in this photo, but I will have to get a better photo of us actually on the bike sometime. Since it sits between your legs, I feel more in control & safe. I like having him right in front of me, because we can talk about what we see while we ride, and I can also steer with one hand and hug him with the other :) Here's a photo of a child in the Kangaroo Carrier from the company's web site, www.weeride.com
Admittedly, the styling of the seat causes you to adjust the way you'd normally ride your bike - you have to pedal with your legs spread apart a bit. But, I agree with the site's FAQ section that addresses this issue. It basically says that a modified pedal stroke is worth sharing the fun of riding with your child. And, it's not like you're going on a major ride with a toddler or anything. It's for fun! Usually he's good for 30 min to an hour, and then he wants to get off and play.
At any rate, there's my satisfied mom endorsement for the WeeRide. If I can offer you two tips, here they are -
-First, understand the way the seat mounts to your bike. I've found that my women's bike has a top bar (the top of the triangle that makes the bike frame) that is too low and slanted. A men's bike is better styled to use this carrier, since they usually have high, level top bars. Also, I had to purchase longer bolts to mount the hardware to my bike, because the top tube was too thick to use the factory bolts it came with.
-Second, I fee like the yellow & blue carrier I have is lacking in padding. Being a crafty person, I may try to fashion some cushioning for the back of the seat. If you're not crafty, I would recommend springing for the Kangaroo LTD, which is much more plush.
And now, a few photos from our most recent bicycling excursion!
This playground is on the bike trail at our city's park.
I took this one of us with a 10 sec timer! Talk about a dash.
We took a whole backpack full of snacks - including pink marshmallows!
Well, that's it for now. If anyone reading this has a WeeRide carrier, I'd love to share photos & stories!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Google doodle contest, grades K-12
I just saw on the Google homepage that they've opened voting for their k-12 doodle contest - (Voting Homepage here!) I was really impressed by the younger categories! To be honest, I think the youngest group division, K-3rd grade, showed the most imagination.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could hold on to that kind of creativity forever? But alas, we grow up and begin to think that fish wearing socks and kangaroos working at grocery stores are just silly ideas, and we resign ourselves to more mundane adult ideas like stock portfolios and 401k's. So sad.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could hold on to that kind of creativity forever? But alas, we grow up and begin to think that fish wearing socks and kangaroos working at grocery stores are just silly ideas, and we resign ourselves to more mundane adult ideas like stock portfolios and 401k's. So sad.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Owly
So, I just found out about a series of graphic novels that I'm going to have to check out, called Owly. The first & coolest thing that grabbed me about them is that they're totally text-less! Owly's creator Andy Runton's site has a teaching guide that offers lesson plans on using the graphic novel series in the classroom - and showcases how the books' lack of words can be used to inspire students of all ages who might've fallen behind on their reading skills.
When I read them, I'll let you know! Has anyone reading this read (or should I say interpreted?) the Owly novels? Do tell!
When I read them, I'll let you know! Has anyone reading this read (or should I say interpreted?) the Owly novels? Do tell!
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