The cutest little Indian

I was sick for the majority of last week. I started feeling poorly on Sunday and it seemed to get worse as the week progressed. By Thursday I was feeling better so I went to help set-up the Thanksgiving feast at Harrison's school. I was in the midst of cutting the turkey when I started feeling poorly again. I am not sure if it was the turkey or if I just wasn't completely well but whatever it was, I had to go and sit down.

I could have been on my death bed and I would have wanted to be at Harrison's program. And I am so glad that I was. His class dressed up as Indians and did a few songs for the parents. Harrison knew the words to all the songs. They were all darling but of course I thought Harrison was the cutest little Indian.

How Many Shopping Days Until Christmas?

I am being reminded already by the barrage of television advertisements, store flyer's and Wish Books that have arrived from Toys R' Us, Walmart and Target that there is only six weeks to finish our Christmas shopping. That's just 40 days or 960 hours or 57600 minutes. However you look at it, Christmas is getting closer. And forget about getting it all done by December 1st like I plan to every year. I haven't bought the first thing yet.


So I decided that I should try and get one step closer by at least putting down on paper the people I shop for along with the gifts I want to buy for them. Only problem is that once I got the list of people down on paper, I got stuck with the whole gift list part. Once I started thinking about their needs, wants, and personalities I just went into a catatonic state and realized that this year was going to be no different than the last five when I sweated every purchase as if I were making the decision of a lifetime.


I mean if I had unlimited funds, then gift buying wouldn't be a problem. Did you say you wanted a flat screen television, no problem. Or that cashmere sweater would look good on Aunt Bitsy, no problem. But realistically, I am on a budget. A very small one. And while my list of recipients isn't all that long, it's big enough to send one thrifty, budget conscience shopper (me) into cardiac arrest.


I thought Christmas was suppose to be one of those wonderful fun-filled enjoyable times of year. I mean it's all about the thought, right? Bull. I have put lots of thought into some of my gifts only to be told by my husband or child that what I bought was weird or not something anyone int heir right mind would want.


So this year, I am vowing to make it different. I am going to buy nice, affordable gifts. Gifts that everyone will love. I have scoured the internet and found a few interesting sites. And if these don't help me, then maybe they will help you.


http://www.etsy.com/: My new favorite site for all things handmade and homemade. You will find everything from art to clothing here. Check out the belts at Applina's shop.


http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/: They have fabulous gifts for those who love to pamper themselves. Check out the sweetest soft robe for only $39.50.


http://www.cafepress.com/: They have some very cute t-shirts, mugs and bags. One of my favorite t-shirts says "Who are these kids and why are they calling me mom?"


http://www.cooking.com/: For the chefs in your family. They have good prices and an excellent selection. Plus a flat rate shipping of $4.99 making the deals even sweeter. On my list this year is the Kitchenaid Mini Chopper and OXO mandoline slicer.


http://www.blurb.com/: Check out the photo books at this website. They are reasonably priced and most sizes are available in softcover and hardcover. They also can publish your blog entries in a book.

http://www.swoozies.com: Check out the cute monogrammed items available at this site. I particularly like the monogrammed insulated lunch bag.

http://www.perpetualkid.com: This site claims to have "unique gifts to entertain your inner child". Check out the stocking stuffers for those on your list with a great sense of humor.

http://www.amazon.com: This site has it all. Well at least almost all. But I like their selection of books. One of the big hits this year is the Dangerous Book for Boys and there is even one for the girls, The Daring Book for Girls (although I don't know that this is as big a hit).

http://www.givesimple.com: I love these cute polka dot tea towels and matching oven mitts. They also have some nice jewelry and handbags.

http://littlemissmismatched.com: This is the greatest concept in my book. Socks that actually never matched to begin with. A youngster (or someone young at heart) would love these. They even have change purses and pouches to match.

http://designmommarketplace.blogspot.com: Check out this website for a lot of unique websites for home and family.

I hope that you will find one of these websites helpful. Now I need to sharpen my pencil and start crossing those names off my list.

Oh and if you do happen to be one of those people with unlimited funds, can you add me to your Christmas list?

Christmas, already?

Yesterday Harrison and I were riding down the road. I was lost in my own thoughts and enjoying the tunes playing on my Ipod when I heard a shriek coming from the rear of the car. My first thought was that Harrison (who was the only other one in the car) had mashed his finger in the window, or got his tongue stuck in the juice bottle. I hit the brakes and turned around (only slightly because I was after all driving down the road at 45 miles per hour) to ask him what was wrong. Well, turns out nothing was wrong, he had just spotted the newly hung Christmas decorations that were adorning every light post on the road. This apparently had sent him into a frenzy of what excitement? I don't know. After I explained that he couldn't scare mommy like that, he rolled his eyes and said "But mom, they really messed up because it isn't even Thanksgiving yet." My thoughts exactly little guy.

I need some of that face cream

It's funny how when you are young, everyone over the age of ten seems old. When I was young, 40 seemed incredibly old to me. And if you were 60 then you definitely had one foot in the grave. And 80, well that was just too old to fathom. Oddly enough as I approach 40, I think don't think of it as old age anymore. And when I think of 60, I think of the benefit of senior discounts. And I know plenty of 80 year olds now who get around quite well and really don't seem terribly old to me.

Harrison and Haley were watching Hannah Montana and Billy Ray Cyrus came on the screen. Not the old "Achy Breaky" Billy Ray but the new and improved "Ready, Set Don't Go" version. Harrison looked over at Haley and said "You know he's like Mammy's age." Mammy is his great grandmother who happens to be in her early eighties. So if Billy Ray Cyrus is indeed that old and looks as good as he does, I might need to get me some of his face cream. I figure if I start using it now in a few years I might look like this.

We can all dream, right?

And God said, "It was good"

I took Harrison to the doctor today and while we were waiting, he picked up one of those Bible Story books. The first story was the one about the Creation of the World. It went into a great amount of detail and since I didn't have time to read it all and didn't feel that he would get a whole lot out of the long version, I shortened the story a bit, enough to get the point of the whole story across. I figured that he pretty much got it until this evening when he recounted to Haley the story of how God created the Earth. Here's Harrison's version:

"On the first day God created that ship, the Mayflower. And on the second day he created the land. Next came all of the animals (only he says it aminals)."

Of course at this point I am curious as to when he thought people might have been created, so I asked. Harrison said matter of factly "God created people on the same day Jesus was born."

I suspect we have some more Bible reading to do. Perhaps next time I shouldn't skip over so many parts.

My first classes

I taught my first class at the scrapbook store on Tuesday night. When we first moved to Charleston, I went and visited the store and talked to the owner about teaching some classes. My motivation was to meet some new people but in addition, I like the discount that comes along with teaching.

So, anyhow I came up with several ideas for classes and we settled on doing a fall layout class and a squash album class. The class I just taught was on the Fall layouts. I had a total of 7 people sign up for the class but only 3 could make it the night it was scheduled. Thankfully I still get paid for the people who purchase the kits even if they didn't make the class.

I taught them how to sew on paper. It's funny how doing something new totally intimidates some people. I had one lady who laughed at herself because she was afraid to sew on a $1 piece of paper yet she would go and buy expensive fabric and sew on it and mess that all up and not think a thing about it.

While the layouts I came up with are not my usual style, I think they turned out pretty cute. I had to use a limited amount of supplies to keep the cost of the class down and each layout had to have some sort of sewing on it. Here are the three layouts I taught:

Guess whose birthday?

Happy Birthday David!

Sometimes, we seem to take for granted the people we love the most. It doesn’t mean we don’t care. It is just that sometimes, life gets crazy and there isn’t time to do it all or say it all. Especially today, I want you to know how much I appreciate the loving things you do and how much I admire you for being the kind and giving person you are. I hope you know how very much I Love You…not just today but always.