My Accidential Collection

I used to collect bookmarks. Now my books collect whatever can be used as quick makeshift bookmarks.

This has or does include the following:

coupons
receipts
toilet paper
tissues
business cards
things I can't remember because they were so random

Sometimes its a nice surprise to find random things in books I long forgot to finish.

Brittany Murphy

I was in the middle of watching Clueless when I found out Brittany Murphy died. This may not seem too significant but take into consideration that I almost never ever watch the movie. In fact, it was literally only the second time I had ever seen it. It actually felt kind of creepy. We even looked the story up in a second news source just to verify that it was true.

But alas, and sadly, its true.

We Aren't Pet People

Before

After

But we sure can grow pets. You can't really tell by the pictures, but trust me when I say, at least the alligator is much bigger.

These grow your own pets are the product of me at Michaels. They looked like soo much fun and like a great advent bag stuffer and I was right. We love our pets. Now we just need to remember to name them.

Any good ideas?

This is What it Looks Like Outside Right Now

I have not seen this much snow in my area since high school or maybe even middle school. It's great and so pretty but for some reason I still feel a bit sad today. Stupid roller coaster emotions.

My 2nd Love: Red Velvet

One night, before I got married, I searched for an hour and a half for a box of Red Velvet cake mix and could not find one anywhere (you really let me down Safeway and Wegmans). The other day I randomly saw that walmart had them, freaked out, and bought multiple boxes. So now I need to actually bake something. Perhaps I will try this.

Politics

I had decided to keep this blog separated from my other love: politics. I have another blog for that part of my life. No need to make people read about my politic beliefs unless they soo choose by reading my politic blog. But let me share a few things.

I am a bit too lazy for politics, but I do love it when my blood boils because of the idiocy of other people. When my blood boils because people are giving me their opinions when its clear they have no idea what they are talking about. When my blood boils because it's clear politics has become more about following the crowd and being hip than about thinking clearly about whats right and moral.

I love it when I work for a campaign and that candidate wins. When poll results are coming in and the election is tight. When you can feel your heart beating rapidly while you wait to see the results.

But there is a lot about politics I hate. I hate how it makes people mean, rude, and obnoxious. I hate how people disrespect their country. I hate how this country is too lazy to vote. I hate how so many politicians are immoral and corrupt, yet I also hate how we often forget to look past that and remember the good politicians out there. I hate everything that makes my blood boil, even though I love it when my blood boils. I hate how politics and the news can be so depressing that you literally have to stop indulging in it. And I hate when people don't respect or can't be friends with someone just because their social and political views are different.

But the reason this all comes to mind is because of one phrase I read today. It is "Women are not incubators." So to keep this blog still a bit absent from my political views all I'm going to say is that I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE THAT QUOTE!!!! But it makes my blood boil and that part of it I love.

Winter Wonderland

It's going to snow. It will not be worth it unless it means being stuck in our homes all weekend because the roads are too horrible to drive on.

I have to clean on Saturday. Part of me is so excited I have already started.

I have to wrap lots of gifts. Oh how I suck at it.

Oh and I also need to grocery shop by Wednesday, bake cookies and other treats, make Christmas cards because I bought the card making kit, send out more thank you notes, and read my books. This is why I need to get stuck in my house all weekend. So...LET IT SNOW!

Unique

"My mother used to always say...You could never trust a person with a dimple in their chin. I had a tough childhood."

"My dad has a cleft chin....in a very sweet anecdote, my grandmother always used to tell him that that is where the angel poked him to see if he was finished"
-from some random site


I have a cleft chin. I still am working on accepting it. I'm okay with it, but it certainly does not make me feel cute.

I can't figure out why I got so lucky as to get all the random unique features in my family, like the dimples on my shoulders.

I always thought I was under baked, but I found out recently I was over baked. So what happened to me?

Sometimes

I go to the library, check out a bunch of books, and read about half of them. I went tonight and as always its my goal to read all of them. Maybe this time it will happen. Maybe this time positive thinking will help. I can do it...I can do it...I can do it...

My Christmas Project

I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to make an advent calender but knowing I would not get it done before this week, I decided I would make one for the twelve days before Christmas. The project went as follows

1 - Buy the material you want to use. I decided I wanted two different materials. I've seen this done also with brown shipping paper decorated. I believe the brown shipping paper could be cheaper but would not last as many years.
2 - I choose what size I wanted to make the bags, remembering that I would loose some of the size when I made sewed because of the seams. I actually used a piece of paper folded as my guide. I did not spend the time cutting perfectly and I will explain later why.
3 - I went and used my moms sewing machine. I cut most of the bags on the fold of the material so I only had to sow two sides. You want to pin it inside out and sew it.
4 - Once you are done you can turn it right side out.
5- I did not spend the time cutting it straight and making the sewing perfect because you can not easily notice any issues once you are done. Some of my lines were far from perfect because I did not pay enough attention and sewed really fast but you would never know. I didn't even take the time to make the tops straight because it just does not matter that much. Unless someone takes everything out of it and inspects it closely, they would never know.
6 - The last few days I bought stuff to put in the bags. I filled them up then tied the top off with yarn.
7 - I tied two strands of yarn to the bar that the curtain like things hang off of (sorry can't remember the technical terms right now). I then used clothespins given to me at my bridal shower and pinned the bags to the strands of yarn I hung across.

You could hang them many different ways and in many different locations but I decided to use yarn across the window leading to the patio due to size and accessibility. I was going to originally put it in the bedroom but decided it would be to hard to get to daily and the window was not long enough length wise. Also, yarn is not the strongest material so the bags did pull it down quite a bit. I tied the yarn tight enough to bring it up a bit but did not want to put too much pressure on the yarn and the bar. The yarn is sagging a lot more than I originally planned for it to, but everything still looks great so I am not worried about it. In fact, it probably looks better sagging that much.

I hope to continue to do this every year. If I get tired of it, I will just change the material or get even more creative. One lady made Santa hats and filled them and it was so cute. Now that's an idea for when I start developing my crafting skills a bit more.

Well....happy Hanukkah beginning tomorrow :)

Chritmas Time Giveaway

I don't normally blog about the giveaways I enter but I love this one so much so I'm going to share it with you. The item you could win:

Today I’ve got another giveaway for Simple Mom readers, just in time for the holidays. Dayspring, who runs (in)courage, where I’m a monthly columnist, wants to bless someone with one of their best sellers — this beautiful Nativity Hurricane Trio.This is a set of three frosted candle luminaries, each set on a wood base, and backlit with metal silhouettes of shepherds, the three wise men, and the holy family.

Just click here and check it out for yourself. I promise you its worth it.

Oh Tree How I Love Thee

Kind of bad picture of the tree but you get the point. There are less gaps on the tree than the picture shows. Some of the ornaments apparently don't like to be photographed.

We decided to decorate our tree in silver and blue. Thanks to Target and Micheals we were able to complete our tree. Yay for gift cards that helped as well. It turned out more amazing than I could have imagined and really adds a lot to our apartment. Maybe we will leave it up all year round.

Dear Dr. P.,

It has been a while since I have gotten you at the local dessert shop. That is, it's been a while since I have had your lovely bottled version with sugar cane that is imported all that way from Texas. I think its about time I get you again. But the question is, do I just go this week and get a bottle or two of you to enjoy, or do I wait until Christmas and just ask for you as a present? Or how about both? I think you would agree with both, so I might see you soon.

Love Yours Truly,

Elizabeth

P.S. Can you believe there was ever a time when I hated and despised you? I hope you have forgiven me for that. I was a young adolescence with bad taste then.

eBay

I had a dream last night that an earring I had got stepped on and was broken (it was actually quite depressing). I remembered it as I was thinking about all the things I have bought and/or bid for on eBay. The earrings from the dream were used for my wedding. I got them incredibly cheap on eBay from a seller in Asia. Ive gotten other things on eBay including books, ties, and kitchen stuff. Many of these items became presents for birthdays and Christmas. All for incredibly low prices. I love eBay.

My sister buys a lot of jewerly on eBay, also from sellers in Asia, because you can get it way cheap without decreasing the quality.

What do you think about eBay? What have you purchased on there?

Cheers

I just ordered this tie from Cyberoptix for my brother. Its a long overdue birthday present. He asked for it after I made the mistake of showing it to him. It reminds us of a childhood event involving my brother and a bus. I heard good things about these ties, which is good because it was expensive, so hopefully it turns out well.

So i'm caught up on birthday shopping and have already started on my Christmas shopping, so though my bank account is not doing well, I am doing well.

How about you? Have you already started on your Christmas shopping or gift making yet?

Friday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Friday was my birthday so I did what I love best - Shopping. I got up at 6 with my sister and we went out. We did not get up early to find the best deals but more to avoid the traffic that would occur later on. I got the following :

-Balderdash for half off at Target.
-Some presents which can't be mentioned on here.
-A sweater that wasn't on sale but that I finally had the money for.

This is the sweater I bought. Picture taken on Sunday at Great Falls. We took my sister there so she could take pictures of the waterfalls and she took some of us while waiting for the lighting to get the way she wanted it.

- Cute Christmas stockings on sale at Kohls for 6$ a piece.
-I got a wallflower and refills at Bath & Body Works on sale for way cheap. I had heard good things about the wallflower and wanted to try it out. I love it so far. It makes our kitchen and living room area smell sooo good.
-An apron that was half off at World Market.
-A mug set from World Market. They make perfect soup and cereal bowls. They were not on sale but excited me too much to not buy them. Plus they were cheap anyways. We have used them 3 times already and I adore them each time. If anybody is unsure of what to give their friends for Christmas I think they would make a great gift.



Then Jon and I went out and got him multiple pairs of jeans that were on sale and also got our Christmas tree which I talked about earlier. It was all in all a fun shopping day.

In the evening, I took a break from shopping and we went into D.C. for a birthday celebration. We first went to Ben's Chili Bowl, which if you live around here you have probably heard about, if not already gone to. It was on my list of things to do eventually and it just happened to be right by Lincoln Theater, which was our next destination. Ben's Chili Bowl was really crowded so we got a quick dinner consisting of a Chili Dog and chips, then went again later that night when it was less crowded and got another Chili Dog and some Chili Fries. 3 Chili Dogs in one week, heaven right there! My judgment was that the place does deserve most of the hype it gets. The chili is sooo good. The Chili Fries were the best I have ever had but I have also decided I just don't like Chili Fries. It was certainly a fun experience minus the crowds and I recommend going to Ben's Chili Bowl at least once. Just go late at night when the crowds have thinned.

At Lincoln Theater, we saw The Fantasticks. We were able to get half off tickets thanks go Groupon so we went without knowing anything about the play. But it ended up being so awesome. It was such a funny play. It was soo well done, the actors and actress had amazing voices and were so good in their roles, there were so many cool tricks in the play, and it was also so well written. It was one of the most enjoyable experiences in a while, and that's saying a lot. Too bad though that sitting down so long made me so tired and I kept falling asleep during the second act. It made me sad because I kept missing out on the goodness going on in front of me. Some of my favorite parts of the play were when they did tricks with lights and fire. I am unsure of how they pulled them all off but it made me so giddy to see.

It was a long but fun filled day. Thankfully, Saturday we were able to just sit around, clean, get things done, eat, and watch movies the whole day. There was no where we had to be and nothing we had to do. It was way relaxing. And we watched Hannibal (edited) for the first time. Such a creepy but good movie.