Leverage

Ugh, I've neglected this poor little blog so! Anyway, moving forward....

Over the summer I really got moved by the idea of leveraging your resources for the most impact on life around you. Some of us don't have much but what matters is using what you already have, plus your time and talent to be a good steward. I figured out that I'm a pretty good darn couponer. I've never been too embarassed to use a good coupon and I can smell them like a fly smells a picnic.

So, I began to collect things here and there as stores had their loss leader sales like folders for a penny, I had some coupons making items a penny, etc. I maxed out the number of items you could buy with any given sale or coupon. By the time the Stuff the Bus campaign rolled around this is what I had:

All of this for less than $1. There were also a couple of packs of Crayolas that didn't make the picture for some reason. (OK, picture-taking is NOT one of my gifts)I was so excited about what I managed to pull together. I hope some kid somewhere gets that small bit of excitement about what this new school year might hold as he or she cracks open that fresh new crisp notebook or pack of unsharpened pencils.

Wow Wednesday Etsy Sellers I Love

I have a serious purse problem. My love is not the fancy brands that typically bring a girl to her knees at the mere glimpse of their emblem or that parades down the catwalk practically on the kinetic energy of the oohs and aahhhs of the beautiful people. No, my love is the quirky, kitchsy, adorable, changeable, creative stuff.

This seller is a recent discovery and I just love her style. I like her offbeat patterns and the way she's not afraid to use color. I've been accused of the same thing in my decorating however, when they cough before they say it, it makes it seem like it might be a bad thing..

Anyway, check it out: Kirasma

Looks like she does diaper bags and custom orders too!

Just Like Faeries ;o)

I've been super busy creating some new goodies...here's a peek:

I'm just loving the felt stuff. I've got some beautiful crochet flowers that were made by another Etsian and they are so pretty that pictures don't do them justice:

the yarn has a really pretty sheen to it.

So I'm looking at my work table (never to be posted here. You would DIE if you saw it) and it's over run with new projects and ideas. It's like a horde of little faeries have been hard at work. Except it's me and I'm tired! LOL

Wow Wednesday- Etsy sellers I love

Today's favorite Etsy Seller is Old Barn Rescue Company. They do vinyl wall decals and art using vintage and reclaimed items. We've got to re-do Super G's room thanks to springing ANOTHER leak in our plumbing and spending a soggy evening tearing up carpets and padding a few weeks ago. We've finally decided on a color and are probably going with a muted teal-ish color (wow, how specific and technical was that?!)

and we'll need some fresh new ideas for the wall.

So far I'm completely in love with this decal from OldBarnRescueCompany's Etsy shop:

They even have one on sale, but alas the sale one is in brown and I'd like to do white. The white design we had looked so nice last time that I have a hard time not going with it again.

Mr.M loves this one, but I'm not 100% sold on the fact that we're really the cutie patootie sort:

Spend some time moseying around their shop. You're sure to find something you are going to love!

Spicy Bean Salsa Recipe from Allrecipes.com

So my cookout was a blast. All of the kids were incredibly well behaved and all around the same age. Gabby had a blast! If and when I ever get pics I'll share. My good friend April came to the rescue with this super easy and delicious side item recipe.

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
1 (15 ounce) can black-eyed peas
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 (4 ounce) can diced jalapeno peppers
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup Italian-style salad dressing
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, combine black-eyed peas, black beans, corn, onion, green bell pepper, jalapeno peppers and tomatoes. Season with Italian-style salad dressing and garlic salt; mix well. Cover, and refrigerate overnight to blend flavors.

Good grief does it get any easier than that? Ok, well short of driving to Costco and scraping the label off of one of their delicious entrees and passing it off as your own. Which I have never done. Which I will never do again. {{whistles}}

Anyway, she told me she always gets asked for the recipe when she brings it, and true to it's reputation I got asked 3 times for the recipe. Mine didn't even look as nice as the one in the picture! It makes a ton which the Kid Army was more than happy to take care of afterwards.

Mine had a lot of "juice" and I think that next time I will add 3/4 of a cup of Italian dressing instead and do a better job of draining everything well. It wasn't very spicy though so I added a can of green chiles and 2 tbsp of Cilantro. This upped the tasty factor but still didn't make it what I would consider spicy. Good stuff!

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My latest challenge

As we get older things just start to seem to challenge us more. I was never one of those people who had a VCR that blinked 12 and I could pretty much fake my way through anything else that came along. This whole blogging thing has driven home the point that the old gray mare just ain't what she used to be if you know what I mean. It's a struggle to not curse, throw a temper tantrum or some other unladylike reaction every time I try to understand how to change code on this darn thing.

I know why it's called code now, because it's a secret to anyone who is not a computer guru or is over the age of 15. I think HTML is really some sort of underground language and the little people will soon be staging their grand coup. Most of us won't even know it happened because we didn't DVR it.

anyway, I'm going to shamelessly post pics of The Cute One because they came out so darn cute:

Trust me, the cat had it coming....

here she is trying out for the Price is Right. Hey, Bob Barker she's not even 2 yet ok? Hands off but momma sure would like to win that showcase:

and here's the grassroots (pun intended LOL) of her path to the nobel prize for botany: Hey, a mom can dream can't she?! Look, one of us has to be able to grow something other than weeds and anthills and the future of our landscaping is resting on this girl.

Now my next challenge... trying to channel Martha Stewart {{cue chant music here}} for a side item for my Starting Point cookout. I'm so uncreative when it comes to these things. Time to start blog hopping to find that one recipe that's nearly dummyproof yet still fab. Yeah, that's probably not far off from that nobel prize.

Princess Leadfoot

ahh, so my assignment this week for Starting Point is to follow every single traffic law that exists to the fullest extent. Hereby this is your formal notice that it's safe to be on the roads again. Well, this week anyway. So how am I doing with that you wonder? Mr.M has been driving to and from work most days this week and I don't go too many places other than that so I'm making out remarkably well LOL.

The few trips I've taken I realize how quickly that even consciously thinking about doing everything 100% right, my speed still drifts up or I'm tempted to roll a little more than I stop. I mean, I'm in a hurry and what I'm doing is important so it's ok to do the little things right? Uh oh, I'm thinking not...

Speaking of driving, I used to love to drive. If I had a day off and enough gas I was pretty much game for any destination mentioned. I guess it's another sign of getting older that I see it pretty much as an inconvenience now. I have soooo many things to do (ahem, not that *blogging* is really helping that but I digress...) that I feel like I'm wasting time driving. I remember that feeling though of the windows rolled down and the radio blasting some great song and just belting that puppy out to my heart's content. Age wasn't the only reason the paint was peeling off of that car.

Come on baby, let's get out of this town
I got a full tank of gas
With the top rolled down
There's a chill in my bones
I don't want to be left alone
So baby you can sleep while I drive