Tuesday, December 31, 2013

New Year's Resolutions Chalkboard


Do you set New Year's Resolutions?
I am not very consistent at it, but usually have a few goals that I am working on and try to encourage my kid's to do the same. 

Our family motto "We can do hard things", because I feel like doing easy things makes no one great.
I've been wanting to make a sign w/ our family motto for years, and finally decided to make one with chalk paint, so we can each write down whatever "hard thing" we are trying to do.
Tonight each of us is going to set some goals, and we will write it down on the chalk board and hang it in my mommy command station, so we are reminded of it. 

2012 was the year of my 40x40 and I ran a marathon in 2013, I'm really not sure I can top either of those.




Thursday, December 19, 2013

How to Wish High School Teachers an Extra Merry Christmas



 So before I spent my days watching soap operas and eating bon bons, I was a high school teacher.  While elementary teachers can make out big at Christmas, pretty much anyone teaching anything higher than 7th grade gets hosed in the gift department.  


We all appreciate those that teach our teenagers, but buying them all gifts can be a little daunting (and pricey). I bought a 14 pack of gum at Costco and made little gift tags.


Voila.  14 little packets of holiday cheer for under 8 bucks.

Note to self: If I ever own a candy or gum company, I am going to name all my products that are easy to make puns out of. 

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

One Million Views

Tales of a Trophy Wife
So yesterday afternoon my blog hit one million page views!!!! I know that some blogs get that much traffic on a daily basis and it took me almost 3 years, but this blog had always been more about my personal journey than anything else, and  I thought I would do a little Best of My Blog.


My daughter's 14th Birthday Party- Night Owl Party wins for my most popular post. I guess we all love owls.

Whether it was eating cheese in Wisconsin or making a fool of myself on Let's Make a Deal, I documented my journey completing my 40 x 40 goals. Thanks so much for cheering me on.



My marathon training only got the occasional mention in the blog, but I couldn't wait to write it up and tell all of you that "I Ran a Marthon!!!"


I reviewed a lot of books on the blog ( I didn't count), but my favorites since starting this blog were Code Name Verity and Major Pettigrew's Last Stand,  and Unbroken.
I do a lot of sewing.  It was fun to do my Sewing 101 Course and help readers make skirts, pillows, and just be more comfortable in general with sewing.

The most popular sewing post was this Wrinkle Maxi Skirt, but my favorite was this skirt and blouse:


I started this blog, shortly after moving into this house and have done tons of DIY projects, but my favorite is still our playroom.




I don't love to cook, but do have a few recipes that I shared.  When people asked for one, it was easy just to say "It is on my blog". I even bought a crock pot and came up with some meals that didn't completely suck.

I have shared a little wisdom with you like how we survive road trips with kidsor how we rent out a home w/out a property manager

I even let out an occasional rant like "Why I Think Trophies are Stupid."


I tried out a lot of stuff I found online to see if it would really work for me. 

This will be post #627 full of bad grammar and photography.  Thanks for joining me on this journey.






Friday, December 13, 2013

Christmas Apron



Aprons make the perfect homemade gift.  

 It's much less stressful than trying to make them something for their home, that they might not like or even worse trying to sew someone else clothes.  

Who doesn't like a fun and flirty apron?  Also they are very figure flattering and can hide all those extra holiday pounds.

This one is is based on McCalls 6860. I left off most of the embellishment, b/c I like things a little simpler. 

All the fabric was under $20 and I knocked it out in the better part of an afternoon.  Despite the photographic evidence to the contrary-I did iron it.

My Mom is one of those people that loves to cook for her family.  I'm giving it to her tonight, so this year she can cook up some Christmas spirit.


Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Neighbor/ Teacher Gifts


Are you looking for some quick, easy, and cheap gifts for neighbors, teachers and friends?  Here are some of my favorite ideas:


 
  Owl want to wish you a Merry Christmas gift bags

Ice Cream Gift Card Holder



Sonic Gift Card Holder

"Soda-lighted to spend one Happy Hour with you each day!"


There are 10 ideas from me.  I'd love to get some ideas from you. It's December 12th and I am getting a little desperate. Please link up below or leave me a comment and share your cheap, easy and awesome ideas. 

Please only link up your gift ideas:)

To see where I link up or to add your party, please click here.
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Monday, December 9, 2013

French Toast

I wish I could say that my blogging absence has been due to the fact that I have been off doing something extraordinary, but mostly I have been wasting too much time playing Pet Rescue Saga. I also just got a new computer and it is just such a pain getting everything set up and figuring everything out. Change and technology are not my friends.

Friday, my youngest had to to get a molar pulled.  He was a super brave an co-operative patients. After we got home and the numbness wore off and the emotional stress caught up to him, he completely fell apart. Amid this emotional breakdown, he requested waffles or french toast for dinner.  I thought we'd try and combine to the two and it actually worked!
 I just dipped some bread in the typical egg and milk mixture and put them in the waffle iron.  I pressed down hard so it would make all the little waffle marks.

I topped with some apples that I had cooked with brown sugar, butter and cinnamon and a little whipped cream.

They were so good, we ate them again on Saturday.