Green Stuff

Earth911 is a great resource for tips on recycling and local listings for stuff that isn't so easy to recycle like electronics, batteries and cd's.

Speaking of CD's, here is a site that recycles cd's at no charge, you just ship them.

Did you know that you can drop off your old worn out athletic shoes and Nike uses the parts to make different parts of sport surfaces and playgrounds?

Check out this article from Harvard Medical School.  Most drugs are safe and effective much past their expiration date.  Ok I suppose this is a bit of a stretch to be a "green" article, but it would keep some stuff out of the trash and save you some green!

And if you do have to dispose of any medications, Don't Flush Them!!!

Do you use reusable shopping bags and recycle plastic bags that you do end up with?

How cool is this

I decided I needed a new look for my plain jane blog and found this site from a scrapping site I frequent. Super easy to put a background while still using a blogger template so I didn't have to do much HTML crap. Here is a link to the post that explains how to use her most awesome scrapbook-esque backgrounds.

What's in your bag.

An Iowa Mom posted about a show and tell where her son decorated a paper bag and put 3 things in it that showed who he is.  So she shared if she had to do the same project what would she put in here bag.  And asked her readers to share what they would do.

Now assuming it was a grocery sack sized bag...  here's what I would put in my bag.

1. My purple laptop, it shows all of me, my digiscrapping, Pictures/personalities/artwork of my kids. Also I do some stuff for work on it too.

2. This one would be tied between my phone (blackberry) and my camera. But since my phone also takes pictures I'll choose my phone. I use it for everything. To do lists, shopping lists. If I lost my phone I'd probably feel like an arm was severed.

A glimpse into either of the above shows you pretty much who I am in it's entirety.

3. Coffee mug. I'm a coffee junkie. But I always use travel mugs, never paper cups. I'm nutso when it comes to as little waste as possible.

So now I ask you... what would you put in your bag?

Some days my kids drive me crazy

But never THIS crazy.  Just a random picture I found somewhere in surfing.  I'm cleaning off my hard drive to move everything to my new computer.  :o) More on that later!

Psycho bunny

It's Real Life #3

So this weeks assignment is "where the magic happens" And if I were a magician I would magically transform our bedroom into a much larger, serene oasis. At this moment it couldn't be farther from that.

Lucky for me today is laundry day and I had already pulled the sheets off the bed. Surprisingly the bare mattress is actually prettier than what is actually normally on my bed. I really want new stuff but like everything else the bedroom decor has pretty much been forgotten about. My usual sheets are a lovely cream, navy and hunter green stripe. Travis' pillow cases match, mine are a dusty blue, they coordinate perfectly I assure you. *grin* The bed is rarely made, okay, never made. For covers we have uber warm, huge, fuzzy fleece blanket adorned with a wolf that I snuggle under in the winter. For warmer weather we have a lovely tattered and torn "quilt" It's one of those cheaply mass-produced horrors that I've had for ohhhh maybe 10 years. It's white with lots of blue, some pink and yellow and a tiny bit of red. That red ties in perfectly with my "beautiful" red walls.

The red walls where the first color paint we threw up when we bought our house. The red was a rebellion against the white rental walls I'd always had. I wanted COLOR and this red was just the ticket. Too bad we actually did "throw" it up because we did a pretty bad job painting. We never painted out the trim and it REALLY needs it. I'm sure the trim was at one time white. Now it's more of a yellowish cream. There's chips and gouges and red brush marks from where we got sloppy thinking we were just going to paint the trim white anyway. So how do we explain the brush strokes on the white of the ceiling? Ummmmm no comment.

So here is the tiny closet used by Travis mentioned in last weeks post. This door is as wide as the closet actually is. And that door is not even as wide as a normal door! The closet is deeper than it is wide.

Don't you just love my dresser! I want a nice antique type dresser someday, in the meantime this somewhat qualifies as a dresser. Travis has a matching one on his side of the bed. On top there's the lamp that I made when I was about 20, teddy bear given to me by Travis, phone book, roll of toilet paper, and a nursing pad!?! I've been done nursing for more than 2 months now! There's also lotion, I most nights put lotion on my feet and hands when I climb into bed. Or for a back rub once in awhile. The massager on the other side was part of Trav's Christmas present. I gave him that and some massage oil to throw him off, his real present was a massage at the spa. The massager is good for the back but if used on the shoulders you feel like your rattling your brains! There's also a binkie for those mornings I bring Jayden into bed with me so that maybe I can get a few extra minutes of sleep. She's almost kicked the binkie habit. Oh and the baby monitor we use to be able to hear Jayden over...
...the fan that we have to have running in order to sleep at night.

We jacked up our bed so that I could use underneath as storage. Primarily stored under there are books that I don't have time to read. Favorite authors: Stephen King, Danielle Steele, VC Andrews.

Oh look here's a bunch of decorating books. I was a big fan of these when I dreamed of owning a home and daydreamed often of how fabulously decorated it would be. Hmmmmm now I own my home and it's been many years since I've opened one of these books!

Somehow I doubt my mini-blind window treatment with the caution tag still attached would be a feature in one of those books!

It's real life

So this is a little fun blog fest hosted by Jessica. She's a most awesome chick who I went to school with. Hi Jessica! ~Waves~

Ok so here's my real life, and I did no prepping either. Obviously! Oh and don't mind the typos, spelling and gramar errors. It's late, I have a migrane, and I'm really really tired. Being that it's "real life" and all, I didn't figure you all would mind!

Here's our fridge. Yup it's as dingy as it looks in the pictures. A new fridge is on my "need" list. As I ~need~ to not have to look at it's uglinessness any longer. It served us well. I think we paid like $50 for it when we bought our house 4 years ago. Among many things are: misc. pictures, at Trevor magnet with no picture of Trevor in it, daycare "care" sheets for the day, my "I can be reached at _____ " from when I went to Arizona for work in April. What's on top, who knows, I really don't care to find out.

Though chaos may reign in most of our house, my closets are fairly well organized. Except for the entry closet by my front door. That one is REALLY bad. I have an extreme lack of closet space. The one in our bedroom is barely big enough for Travis, my closet is in Jayden's room. Plus my "craft" closet is in her bedroom. Here clothes currently are in what used to be my fabric and craft cabinets in her room. I'm in trouble when she needs a real closet. I think at that time we'll probably have to move. This is my craft closet in Jayden's room. It's just a tiny little closet, too small really to be a clothes closet. My kitchen sink at the current moment is kinda nasty. Keep in mind with the flooding last week I worked every day and a ton of hours. Combined with the fact that we were to limit water usage. Ok so I'm making excuses. But darnit I'm tired! Of course next to the sink is my favoritest cleaning product, very vinegar spray.

The back of the toilet being a flat surface is a handy little catch all for all sorts of things. At the current moment it is home to my flat iron, hair dryer, the bathroom night light with burnt out bulb, and The Toddler's Busy Book. Oh yeah, don't forget the roll of toilet paper because we're both too lazy to put it on the holder, plus you'd throw out your shoulder trying to reach it if it were mounted on the wall. Last but not least is another bottle of vinegar spray. If you happen to use my toilet, please remember to hold the handle down while you flush because it doesn't flush properly if you don't. Oh, and you might even have to do this 2 or 3 times to actually empty the bowl. A new toilet is also on my ~need~ list.

Here's my "Kitty-toes" Me-ow! My favorite work shoes were at one point uber comfy. I don't know why comfy-ness in shoes wears out so quickly. I wish I could somehow insert the soles of my crocs in my work shoes. Alas, I can't wear crocs to work. It's specifically forbidden in our dress code. These shoes are on my ~need~ list. They have a Pillow Top™ Comfort footbed, sounds comfy right? My favorite everywhere-but-work shoes are fantastic, I'm a barefoot kinda gal and these things the closest to being barefoot without violating the "no shirt, no shoes, no service" rule most establishments seem to have. They were $1 at the Dollar Tree last summer. If I would have know how much I'd love them I would have bought 10 pairs! Don't mind the chipped toenail polish. I don't know what happened to them, I painted them last night! Damn cheap toenail polish (3/$1 at target dollar section what a bargain! ~sheesh~

I suppose currently my favorite room in my house is our office. Well it's where I spend alot of time these days trying to scrapbook (ok organize scrapbook stuff.) Peaceful retreat? Not really, it's too cluttered. I need to work on that. My peaceful retreat used to be the laudry room in the basement, but now our basement is dank and damp and not a fun place to be because I have to wear shoes.

Right now my kids are sleeping, but when I snapped their pictures Trevor was loading up his mega blocks dump truck with stuff a driving it around. Jayden is walking around, yup, she's finally WALKING. That's a new development in the last few days. She also does this funny little trick where she sticks her butt up in the air as she's trying to stand up on her own. She can't quite do it yet but it's only a matter of time.

Laundry???? Which pile are you talking about? This one over here or that one over there? That pile in the corner? Or the damp pile of towels in the bathroom? We have laundry piles strategically placed all over the house it seems. It's gotten better now that I was actually able to finally use water to wash clothes. My basement depresses me lately so it's hard to keep up on laundry.

And here's my self portrait. Any idea how hard it is to take a self portrait with little ones trying to climb over you? Of course you do! Why yes I just got my hair cut! And of course these are new glasses! I own more glasses than shoes. When I get bored at work I just buy new glasses! Shhhh! Don't tell Travis!

Contests!!!

Here's some more cool stuff I'd love to win:

Support breast cancer awareness... Loving all the pink and companies raisng money for breast cancer research. Here's a camera.

There's also a drawing for bedcovers

Please pry my fingers off the keyboard!!!

I'm blog surfing tonight. The whole dyson contest thing caused me to find all kinds of fun blogs that I had never seen before. Here's a few worth mentioning...

Mrs. Flinger- Hilarious post about bumbo sets recall. Don't click if you are offended by the "f-bomb" She has a really fitting acronym for it!

5minutesformom - She has a link with a bunch of contests. Woo hoo... gotta love contests

This is one of my favorites. I don't crochet anymore but their posts make me fall out of my chair! What would possess someone to make this. And even worse WEAR it!

I didn't realize you could actually make money blogging. I don't think I want to turn my little nook on the net into an advertisement though. I'm leaning towards the anti-consumerism "movement." LOL, at least until hubby has a new job. :o) Even then though I'll still be drawn to thrift stores and consignment stores. If I need new furniture I'm sure I'll be shopping antique stores. Buying used/reusing/recycling is much better for the environment than buying new. Plus... they don't make things like they used to!

Na na na na... I'm gonna win!

Being that I work at *insert-retail-chain-name-here* everyday I wander past the vacs and drool. Our vac is so old it spits out more dirt than it picks up. And this one is so so purdy! I fell in love with the purple one when I used it a few weeks ago at work. But pink is even better! Though, hubby I'm sure would refuse to vacuum with a pink vac. I suppose that's a sacrifice I will have to make when I win this beauty.

Thanks to aniowamom for sharing the link. I ~suppose~ I'll share the link to thedomesticdiva so you can enter too if you wish. Your efforts are futile though, cuz I'm gonna win! Neener neener neeeeener!

Taking less for granted

I was reading on this blog about a really sad story of a baby born with Trisomy 18, a fatal birth defect. I was reading this as Jayden lay sleeping in my arms. I wasn't so quick to put her down today. Reading about this family's struggle makes me have even more appreciation for what I've been given and hug my babies just a little bit tighter. Please pray for the Farley family as they struggle with the loss of their daughter Copeland.

I think I'll pass...

on having six kids. This is the funniest ebay auction I've seen. I know it's long but hilarious if you read all the way through. She also has a blog I'll have to check out.

Dumb Laws

Current mood: amused

I thought this site was pretty funny...
www.dumblaws.com
This is what I found about Iowa Laws
A man with a moustache may never kiss a woman in public.
One-armed piano players must perform for free.
Kisses may last for no more than five minutes.
Ministers must obtain a permit to carry their liquor across state lines.
Doctors who treat a person with gonorrhea must report this to the local board of health and include the disease's "probable origin".

Local laws:

Cedar Rapids -It is illegal to read persons? palms in the city limits.

Dubuque -Any hotel in the city limits must have a water bucket and a hitching post in front of the building.

Fort Madison (this one is the best) -The fire department is required to practice fire fighting for fifteen minutes before attending a fire.

Indianola - The "Ice Cream Man" and his truck are banned. ( I wonder what the ice cream man did???)

Marshalltown - Horses are forbidden to eat fire hydrants. (WTF???? In what reality are horses known to eat fire hydrants???)

Mount Vernon - One must obtain written permission from the City Council before throwing bricks into a highway. (Gee... do you think they're likely to give you permission?)

And I can't resist sharing some of the funniest from other states...

Cali - it is illegal to molest butterflies.
Persons classified as "ugly" may not walk down any street.
animals are banned from mating publicly within 1, 500 feet of a tavern, school, or place of worship.
TX - A recently passed anticrime law requires criminals to give their victims 24 hours notice, either orally or in writing, and to explain the nature of the crime to be committed. (Ummm sure. So if they give notice does that make it legal?)
It is illegal to sell one's eye.
It is illegal to take more than three sips of beer at a time while standing.

NE - If a child burps during church, his parent may be arrested

Illinois--One may not pee in his neighbor's mouth. (WOW)
FL - -You may not fart in a public place after 6 P.-It is considered an offense to shower naked.-You are not allowed to break more than three dishes per day, or chip the edges of more than four cups and/or saucers.
Montana ~It is illegal to have a sheep in the cab of your truck without a chaperone. (ummmm yuck!)
NY -
It is against the law to throw a ball at someone's head for fun.The penalty for jumping off a building is death.ummm ok... I wonder how many have been dealt with that punishment!
A person may not walk around on Sundays with an ice cream cone in his/her pocket. (what kind of moron would put an ice cream cone in their pocket anyway?)While riding in an elevator, one must talk to no one, and fold his hands while looking toward the door.Slippers are not to be worn after 10:00 P.

Canada -
You may not pay for a fifty-cent item with only pennies.Citizens may not publicly remove bandagesThe city is classified as a no-pee zoneIt is illegal to eat ice-cream on Bank Street on a Sunday.You can't drag a dead horse down Yonge Street on a Sunday.Michigan - A woman isn't allowed to cut her own hair without her husband's permission (man would I be in trouble if I lived in MI!)

And it seems many states have laws that restrict what goes on in the bedroom... such as snoring, sex toys, sex positions, etc.

I thought you all could use a good laugh.