Monday, July 27, 2009

Sooo Kids...



The rims before...


(here is a second draft of this post! Worked on
it forever but computer froze & I lost it all-here goes again!)

I was inspired by Macaroni & Glue's Dear Kid Sunday series she has been posting http://macaroniandglue.blogspot.com/2009/07/dear-kid-sunday_26.html but since there are 3 of you I figured I'd change it up a bit and here is the start of Sooo Kids...



Grinding the rims...

Sooo Kids,

This past week has been full. I finally quit my part time job that I was beginning to resent and am so thankful for that! Hopefully no more naps for me and I can actually drive you to & from friend's houses again :)

I'll start with Nic: You've come a long way baby :) I'm very proud of you! You have been very busy working on your 1987 Jeep YJ! You started last Sunday by grinding down the aluminum rims-wow, that was a lot of work! You got 2 new wheels put on the rims, we just need to get the other two done now!

After all the grinding came the primer, only to find out that Dad picked the wrong primer for aluminum! So, off with the primer and on with the correct one! Then it was sanding, adding Black Gloss, sanding, adding Black Gloss, etc., I think you ended up with 4 coats before they looked great! Then you were on to taping so you could add the red! I must say, even with your shaky hands you did an awesome job, especially filling in the skinny "Jeep" on the rims!



Primer



2nd coat of Gloss Black.



First coat of red.



Getting ready for all the concrete!

Then, Dad needed help with the concrete for the pad at the bottom of the deck stairs as he was sore after falling off a ladder this week (he was lucky!). You moved, mixed, and poured twenty three 80lb. bags of cement on one of the hottest most humid days we've had this year! WOW!



The finished pad!

And finally, you finished off the week by putting the wheels back on the Jeep and giving it a bath for the first time since you purchased it in December, I think it looks so much better! A little elbow grease goes a long way :) Keep up the good work! I love to see you motivated about things :)



The rims made it back on the Jeep :)



The dirty Jeep-dirty from being in the garage!



All cleaned up and looking good :)

Next I'm on to Linz: You had a pretty quiet week. Baking cookies and brownies and cookies (oh and breakfast on Saturday!) Then Dad finally brought home the ice cream you'd been asking for and you made ice cream sandwiches with the cookies! Yummy!! You also decided it was time to clean your room, and really clean it! You're doing a great job.....but now I have bags & boxes of stuff to go through :0 Oh, and I put the A.C. in your room even though Dad said no A.C. this year (don't blame him since we are just now getting summer weather!) But, you're Daddy's Princess and he didn't argue with me after I told him we couldn't even put the screen back in your window-so not even a fan would work! You all got The 99 for dinner and had a fire while listening to Big Al :)

And finally, my little Punk: You are a social butterfly! I think you stayed home once this week and that was because I made you (oh the horror!). But the best part of the week was going to the Nickelback, Hinder, Papa Roach, Saving Abel concert with you! I loved it! But then, you just had to go "up" the Cape with your friend's family. I think they have adopted you or something as they see you more than we do! I guess that's sort of OK, just no more sunburns! Oh, and invite her over here more often so it's more "even" as far as welcomes go :)



Two concert tickets: $80
Concert shirt: $35
Italian Sausage, Fries, & Soda: $18
Beer: $24
Going to the Nickelback concert with my Punk: Priceless!
Happy early birthday Buddy!!!

I love you all...

Friday, July 24, 2009

Friday Finds!




So today I've found a few cute things on Etsy! First, these firestarters from DECAcandle are super! I've used some in the past, but I think it's time I bought some more after all the rain we've had! I like this better than the kid lighting the fire with gasoline! Talk about SCARY!

You can see a lot of other wonderful items in DECAcandle's shop by clicking here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7351960 so check it out!



Then, there were all sorts of "Geeky" things in this great shop Geek Details! You really need to see all the cool items she's come up with! I was cracking up, loving it all ~ OK, so maybe I am a Geek :) The Vampire's Suck pin was one of my favorites! Then the Alice In Wonderland inspired decanter set, Pour Me, Drink Me! So many great wonderful geeky items can be found be vising Geek Details Shop Here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6183139

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Let's GO GREEN!


Today is the start of the Etsy Twitter Team's Go Green event! For complete details about this event please visit our blog at: http://etsytwitter.blogspot.com/

But in the mean time, I just wanted to share a few tidbits! Search Twitter for #GGETT to find out about some of the sales, tips, and products our team is offering! There are some great recycled, upcycled, green items in handmade! Some shops are offering a sale, some are offering free shipping, etc.

We are offering a special Scavenger Hunt with prizes! Please click the link above to our blog to see how you can win prizes as you GO GREEN WITH THE ETSY TWITTER TEAM!

For me, I've always recycled as much as possible, all of our returnable bottles I've always returned~usually when I have about $50.00 worth~that's a lot of cans & bottles! We also have recycling bins on the deck for plastic, metal, & glass, the paper & cardboard stays in the house! The paer & cardboard are usually used to start fires~our family has fires indoors & out all year round. There's nothing like chilling out by a campfire roasting marshmallows & chatting with the teens~yes, they still hang out with us :) Or sitting by the fireplace on a frigid winter night to warm your toes! A lot of the cardboard is also used for shipping packages, making templates, etc.

I have a compost pile where shredded paper, grass clippings, leaves, kitchen waste (fruit & vegetable peels, leftover or over-ripe fruits & veggies, coffee grinds, etc.) go into and eventually gives me wonderful compost for my veggie garden! Our family of 5 usually has 1 bag of "trash" per week because we recycle so much!

I also try to give away as many items as possible that our family has outgrown (everything from clothes & toys to books or kitchenwares) Freecycle is a wonderful way to keep items out of the landfills! Search for a local Freecycle in your area! You can give away items you no longer need or want as well as get items from others that they no longer want! Recently I received literally thousands of dollars of darkroom equipment from Freecycle! I got everything from enlargers (yes plural) to tanks, timers, books, vintage cameras as well as vintage lenses! I'm very excited to get to build a darkroom & start developing my own black & white film! That was how I first found my passion for Photography, when I saw my Grandpa's own developed works as a child. I've been hooked ever since :)

Also, my son goes to our local recycling center with his uncle and they have found everything from bikes, tablesaws, tools & lawnmowers to computers! All of these items were "being recycled" but they only needed a little work to make them "new" again! I can't tell you how much they have "rescued" but it has been a LOT!

These are a just a few ways my family tries to be "Green". How about you?

For my part during the Go Green With The Etsy Twitter Team, I have added a new "EARTH Friendly" line in my shop! A few of my "Green" items are also listed in my Christmas in July section, with more items being added soon (I'm working as fast as I can!) And I'm offering FREE shipping for the rest of July!

So go click on our team blog link above to see the wonderful shops participating and see how you can win cool prizes from the Scavenger Hunt!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Sunday Sampler






Here are a few samples of what the Etsy Twitter Team has to offer for our Go Green event! Check them out! Search "EtsyTwitter Team" on Etsy with the words recycled, upcycled, green, etc. to see so many more wonderful "Green" items! We are having the Go Green With The Etsy Twitter Team Event starting July 21st!

From top to bottom, these items can be found by searching these handmade sellers on Etsy:
PrettyCheap
scrapwithstyle
InMyHead
DeeJayPhotography
SalonDarte

Sorry I don't have clickable links, but I need to get up at 3AM and am really needing my pillow :)

Friday, July 17, 2009

Today is Frantic Friday!



Yes, I'm frantic trying to get caught up on everything! Going away for a weekend has really thrown me off!

So to start off, I'm going to share this week's Etsy Twitter Team member's Shop of the week. It is Beadwork By Amanda and she has some absolutely gorgeous items in her shop! "Aztec Summer" shown above is the most stunning piece in her shop, I love the colors and could not imagine putting that together! Amazing!

She has a lot of cool items in her shop, like pendants made from old circuit boards! You really need to take a moment to check out the shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5003489

I have also been trying to prepare for the Etsy Twitter Team's GO GREEN WITH THE ETSY TWITTER TEAM event that is coming up from July 21st through July 27th. Take a moment to visit our blog and find a lot of "green" items from our shops, as well as a scavenger hunt and more! www.etsytwitter.blogspot.com More to come on this event soon...right now I'm being a taxi driver to the 3 kids, 2 of which are leaving for the weekend! It just never ends :)

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Wordless Wednesday

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Twitter Tuesday!



After a very tiring, but fun, and sunny, 4th of July weekend I'm trying to get back into the swing of things :) So here we have it! The Etsy Twitter Team's Shop of The Week!

This week's shop is LMcreation! The shop features all sorts of lovely items like business card holders, purses, wristlets, wallets, ipod/phone cases, eyeglass cases and more! You can see a few samples of the wonderful work here on my blog, but you really need to visit LMcreation's shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5573262 to see all the beautiful pieces available! Check it out :)

Thursday, July 2, 2009

3 for Thursday!


With the 4th of July just days away, I thought I'd share 3 web sites, 1 gives you tips on photographing fireworks and 2 that have spectacular fireworks photos!

The first site, Photojojo.com (I love this site!) offers 11 Tips for Taking Sparkling Fireworks photos!
http://photojojo.com/content/guides/11-tips-for-sparkling-fireworks-photos/

This next site, BetterPhoto.com, has pages of Fireworks Photos! Very inspiring!

http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/dynoGall2.asp?catID=290

And this last one, digitalpicturezone.com, has 35 Spectacular Fireworks Photos. Spectacular indeed!


http://www.digitalpicturezone.com/digital-pictures/35-spectacular-examples-of-fireworks-photography/

Have a safe and Happy 4th of July!
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