There's a new kid on Pinterest

I'm sure you have heard of Pinterest.  If not, it's a place to "pin" all thinks (items, articles, sayings, recipes, crafts, etc.) that you find interesting onto a board.  You can have as many boards as you want and millions of "pins."  It's fun to go and look to get ideas.  It can also be a HUGE time suck (good bye two hours of my life that I will never get back.)

The other night, RT was on his phone.  He told me that he was downloading Pinterest.

Yea.
RT.
On Pinterest.
Strange, right?

He said that he wants to get some ideas on a desk to make for the office.  I'm sure that's what everyone says when they first sign on to Pinterest.  9,326 hours later......they have 1000 boards and 4,000,000 pins.

We shall see if this "desk" ever materializes.

It's October!

It's time for all things fall, pumpkins and Halloween!

I thought I would put some links to my past Halloween posts for you.  Take a look, make a craft and get in the fall spirit!

Halloween Crafts

Bat Pencil Cup
Extra Crafts - using construction paper, owls, witch, ghost, foam monsters
Mosaic Pumpkin - using paint chips
Mosaic Pumpkin - using construction paper
Owl - using construction paper
Pony Tail Craft - using ribbon
Pumpkin and Ghost - using Popsicle sticks
Pumpkin Magnet - using foam
Spider - using pipe cleaners
SPIDER
Spider (under $1 craft)
Witche's Hat


Recipes

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Enjoy!

Bella's Fantastic Hair Detangler

Bella's hair can get quite tangled.  I used to buy a hair detangler for her from the store.  Of course, after reading through the label and not being able to pronounce most of the ingredients I decided to search home made recipes on line.  I came up with a very simple recipe that we used for many years. Bella decided she wanted to take it up a notch and searched for a different recipe.  I'm not sure who to credit on this recipe.  All I know is that it works.  No tears and it smells great!

Here's Bella's recipe:

In an 8oz spray bottle add:

2 squirts of Aloe Vera Gel
5 drops of Glycerin
2 squirts of Vitamin E oil
5-10 drops of lavender essential oil

Add water to fill the bottle.

*shake before using

**Bella added lavender and Patchouli.  It smells awesome!

If you want to make it a leave in conditioner, just add two squeezes of conditioner.

Thanks, Bella, for sharing!

Almost Outta Gas

On mornings that I have to work and Nick is home (no work or school), I have to move his car.  I find it interesting to watch how his gas gauge changes daily.  It tells you how many miles until empty. Some days there's 180 miles until empty while other days there are only 38 miles.  I sure hope his gauge is correct. Running out of gas isn't fun. The gauge on his car varies and is sometimes related to when payday is or maybe whether he really needs gas in the car.

The other day I hopped in his car, started it up and put it in reverse when I noticed that the gas gauge said, "6 miles to empty."

Yes.  6 miles.

Thankfully our driveway isn't that long. I was afraid I was going to run out of gas while I was moving his car. 

"I'm sorry I'm late for work.  My son's car ran out of gas.................in the driveway."

Good thing there's a gas station a few blocks from our house.

Scare Crow - Girl Scouts

This year our troop decided to design and make a scarecrow for the arboretum.  The theme the girls decided to go with is, "Go for the gold," featuring a gymnast.  I think they enjoyed watching the Olympics this year.  Our scarecrow is a comparison of all the hard work that a gymnast puts in to work towards a gold medal and the hard work a Girl Scout puts in to earn her gold award.

We set up a list of supplies and our troop supplied the majority of what was needed for our scarecrow.  The arboretum supplied the form (which was two boards, a 2" x 6" and a 2" x 4" and a screw to hold them together).  We had to come up with a form for the body and make sure the scarecrow stays attached to the stand.  Also, that it holds up to all the elements.  The scarecrow will be outside for a month so it must withstand wind, rain, sunshine and possibly snow.

Our supply list:

black yarn
foam head
plastic bags (for stuffing)
blue guns and glue sticks
paint - face color, make up colors and black for hair (scalp)
body suit
ribbon for her hair
tights
pool noodles
PVC pipes (and connectors)
small round wood circles (for the awards)
gold paint
light green ribbon
sharpie markers (for the gold medals)
Coban
staple gun
Outdoor Mod Podge


This took a few meetings to do.  We had the girls work on their medals.  One side was their first name and the other side was their goal.  Examples: To be a better friend, do better in math class, be a better dancer, etc.

Then we divided the girls up.  We pre-cut the PVC to come up with a form for the body.  Some girls put that together.  They cut the pool noodles in half and surrounded the legs and arms with that and wrapped it in Coban.  Once that was done, we put the tights on the arms and legs and slipped on the leotard.

We cut two short pool noodles to fit inside the leotard.  They went on the sides to give our gymnast some shape.  We then stuffed her body with plastic bags.

For her head, we painted the face area and gave her eyes, eyelashes, and lip color.  We even added a couple stud earrings on the side.  We cut the black yarn for her hair, weaved it and stapled it to her head.  We used outdoor mod podge to cover her face (because of the paint).  We attached the head to her body and mounted everything onto the post.

After all of the hard work we put into this scarecrow, I have a new appreciation for all scarecrows.

Everyone that walks through the scarecrow exhibit at the arboretum can vote for their favorite scarecrow.  I will update you in November and let you know how our gymnast does, and if she holds up to the weather.

Hiccups

A hiccup is an involuntary contraction of the diaphragm that may repeat several times per minute.  taken from Wikipedia

For most people, hiccups last only a few minutes  -  Mayoclinic.org

That last part is key.

You see, when I get the hiccups, they can last about an hour.  I used to get them a lot when I was younger.  I tried every "cure" (they don't work) or they work one time (probably because I already had them for an hour or more).  When I was pregnant with Nick, he would get the hiccups all the time.  And guess what?  He would have them a long time.  When he was a newborn, RT videotaped him when he had the hiccups.  It's real cute to watch.  He is hiccuping and it doesn't bother him.  As time goes by and they won't go away, he starts to get upset and cries after he hiccups.  So, someone inherited the never-ending hiccup gene.

I have been pretty lucky the last few years.  I have avoided getting the hiccups.  The other night, just as I was climbing into bed, I hiccuped.

Me:  Oh, no.
RT:  What?
Me: I have the hiccups.
RT:  It's cute
Me:  This could go on for awhile

I turned off the lights and we were trying to sleep.  After about 10 minutes.

RT:  Are they almost over?
Me:  *hiccup*

I guess they weren't that cute anymore.

They did go away (finally) and, in the darkness I could hear a sigh of relief.

Today's Helpful Tip

Make sure that your mouth is closed and you don't breathe when walking by the port-o-potties.