Chanin's Corner

Amy Clipston Books: Contest Time! Enter Today!

2011-04-13T12:34:00.000-04:00

Amy Clipston Books: Contest Time! Enter Today!: "Hi Friends! It's time for a contest! In order to enter, you must enter the question below by leaving a comment. There will be four winner..."

The Moms Next Door: Pony-O Streamers Tutorial

2011-04-13T10:15:00.000-04:00

The Moms Next Door: Pony-O Streamers Tutorial: "I love putting my girl's hair up in a pony tail in the summer! It keeps it out of their face and keeps them from getting their popsicl..."

My NEW BLOG

2011-03-17T11:51:00.000-04:00

I just realized that I forgot to come over here and tell everyone about my new blog! I took it over for a blog friend of mine! I'm so excited about it! I will be doing Reviews and Giveaways! I actually have one going on right now!!! Go HERE to check it out! While you are there follow me please!

If you sell anything, on Etsy for example, and would like me to feature it on my site or do a giveaway, please contact me via mommysreviews@gmail.com!

As for this site....it's going to be going to the wayside! I'm going to be concentrating on my Mommy's Reviews and Giveaways site and doing my Blog Designing at Doodleblogs! AND I actually have something else in the works....so I will let everyone know about that...but the best way to follow me is on Twitter or Facebook!

Anyway, there are lots of exciting things happening over at Mommy's Reviews and Giveaways, so check it out!

Talk to you later! :)

Mommy's Reviews and Giveaways: Twitter Hop Thursday!

2011-03-17T09:10:00.000-04:00

Mommy's Reviews and Giveaways: Twitter Hop Thursday!: "Welcome to Twitter Hop Thursday, hosted by Simply Stacie, The King’s Court IV, Little Yaya’s, Kelly’s Lucky You and Dear Crissy. HOW TO P..."

Matthew 25: Ministries: Disaster Update: Earthquake and Tsunami

2011-03-16T12:04:00.000-04:00

Matthew 25: Ministries: Disaster Update: Earthquake and Tsunami: "As Japan races to contain the nuclear crisis, Matthew 25: Ministries is continually collecting aid to be sent once these circumstances stabi..."

Simply Awesome Printables: Birthday Subway Art

2011-03-14T10:19:00.000-04:00

Simply Awesome Printables: Birthday Subway Art: "Head on over to eighteen25 to grab this awesome birthday Subway Art printable. They have it in this version and a boy version. They also ..."

Matthew 25: Ministries: Diaster Update: Earthquake and Tsunami

2011-03-11T13:19:00.000-05:00

Matthew 25: Ministries: Diaster Update: Earthquake and Tsunami: "A failure in the cooling system has caused a state of emergency to be declared at a Japanese nuclear power plant as the possibility of radio..."

The winning Blog Design!

2011-03-08T11:19:00.000-05:00

Sorry it has taken me so long to post again! I have been busy spring cleaning around the house and doing blog design! I wanted to share with you the blog design I did for the winner of my blog design giveaway!

The Winner was Jill of Women Who Do It All {or at least try}! Her blog is now installed and looking awesome! Go check it out by clicking on the preview below!

If you want to spice up your blog, please visit my blog design site at Doodleblogs! I have $5 premades, Premades, and Custom Blog Design services for your Blogger Blog. I have just switched over from Livi and Me Blog Design to Doodleblogs, so please become a follower now that my site is up and ready to go! I will be adding many more Premades soon! Thanks!

Matthew 25: Ministries: Spring Cleaning

2011-03-04T19:24:00.000-05:00

Matthew 25: Ministries: Spring Cleaning: "'Why would anyone want this?' The item in question was a pair of jeans that were clearly out-of-style. For those we serve, style is not of..."

Blog Give Away Winner!

2011-02-09T13:54:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Jill of Women Who Do it All! She won my blog design give away!

Thanks to everyone who entered and commented! I will have some special deals available for all of you soon! :)

Jill - I will be contacting you soon!

Kung Fu Panda 2

2011-02-04T11:34:00.000-05:00

My girls LOVE Kung Fu Panda! So when they saw the previews for Kung Fu Panda 2, they were jumping up and down with excitement! :) The movie comes out May 27, 2011 and stars Jean-Claude van Damme, Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman and Jackie Chan.

We can't wait to see it! Check out the videos!

Have a great weekend! :)

Free Printable Birthday Tags!

2011-02-02T11:43:00.000-05:00

Told ya I was gonna start giving out more freebies! Here is one for you! Printable Birthday Tags! Just print out on white cardstock and cut out close to the outline, punch a hole in them and add a ribbon to attach to the present! Looks super cute! Above is a picture of one I made for a birthday party my daughter was going to. Enjoy! :)
Birthday Tags

My Grandpa....

2011-02-02T10:27:00.000-05:00

Donald Eugene Canan Feb 2, 1923-Feb 2, 2007

Today would have been my Grandpa's 88th birthday...but he passed away 4 years ago on this day. The top picture is me and my Grandpa when I was probably about 3 or 4 I think and the bottom one is my Grandpa, Me and my Grandma when I was around 22 I think. I'm terrible with remembering dates....ugh.

Anyway, I just wanted to write a little post to remember my Grandpa because he was the BEST Grandpa ever. He was the kindest man you could ever meet and he cared for and loved his family unconditionally. Some of my best childhood memories are with him and my Grandma when I stayed with them in Florida over summer vacation. My favorite was waking up in the morning to the smell of their coffee and walking out to the kitchen table where they would be reading the paper and finding that Grandpa already went out in the morning to get us Dunkin' Donuts donut holes! I loved that!

I miss my Grandpa so much and always will! Do you have a grandparent that you miss?

Simply Awesome Printables: Adorable Valentine Prints

2011-01-30T19:53:00.000-05:00

Simply Awesome Printables: Adorable Valentine Prints: "Here are a couple of 5x7 Valentine printables I found over at Daffodil Designs! I think both of these are awesome and would look great..."

Simply Awesome Printables: New Year's Resolutions Posters

2011-01-30T19:52:00.000-05:00

Simply Awesome Printables: New Year's Resolutions Posters: "I know this is a little late, but I think these are great to remember any time of the year! When I was over at Daffodil Designs, she h..."

Freebie Friday!! Owl Love You Digital Scrapbooking Kit!

2011-01-28T12:54:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share a quick freebie with you all today! This is a digital scrapbooking kit that I made a while back...I guess 2 Valentine's Days ago when I was a designer. Well, today I decided to share it with you for FREE today! I hope you like it! Download Here!

If you like freebies, then please become a follower! I plan on giving out many more freebies of all kinds and also doing several give aways!!!

Have a great weekend! :)

Record Year for Matthew 25 Ministries in 2010!!

2011-01-27T15:37:00.000-05:00

Today I had to do a post to brag on my dear hubby a little bit! He works so hard at what he does so I had to share! As you may or may not know, my husband, Tim is VP of Matthew 25 Ministries here in Cincinnati, Ohio. M25M does disaster relief and humanitarian aid and gives to the poorest of the poor. They do great things! Visit their website at www.m25m.org and check them out for yourself when you get a chance!

This is my husband in Haiti helping at one of the orphanages.

Anyway, on to their record year! Here is some info about 2010 for M25M:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The final (unaudited) numbers for 2010 are in, and we did even better than we reported in December. Matthew 25: Ministries had a record year, indeed.

In total, we shipped 581 truckloads of aid to the poorest of the poor.
These containers carried 13 million pounds of desperately needed products to people in need here in Greater Cincinnati, throughout the U.S., and to 18 international locations.
We had 22,000 volunteers give of their time.
We had 88 new corporate donors.

But here's the truly important number: With your help, Matthew 25: Ministries reached 14.5 million people in 2010. Wow! Thank you for your support and for making all of this work possible.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After you read more about Matthew 25: Ministries, you will see how great they are, so if you were wanting to find somewhere to donate to this year, please consider giving to Matthew 25! You can donate right online and if you live in the Cincinnati area, you can also donate your time by volunteering!

Here is a little button I made to show my support for Matthew 25: Ministries! If you decide to support them too, please feel free to grab this button to use on your blog! Thanks! :)

Simply Awesome Printables: I love you coupon!

2011-01-27T15:19:00.000-05:00

Simply Awesome Printables: I love you coupon!: "Ann over at Hotcakes made these sweet I Love You Coupons! I think I will print these out and have my kids make them for their Dad and ..."

Simply Awesome Printables: Printable Valentine Cards

2011-01-27T15:18:00.000-05:00

Simply Awesome Printables: Printable Valentine Cards: "These adorable printable cards can be found over at Secret Agent Josephine! I am really digging these! Aren't they awesome!&nbs..."

Simply Awesome Printables: Valentine Candy Bar Wrappers!

2011-01-26T12:07:00.000-05:00

Simply Awesome Printables: Valentine Candy Bar Wrappers!: "I have always loved candy bar wrappers and always want to make some, but never do....BUT I found these adorable wrappers over at Anything Bu..."

Wordless Wednesday & Blog Hopping! :)

2011-01-25T20:31:00.003-05:00

Thanks for stopping by my blog! Please leave a comment and follow and I will be sure to follow you back! :) Please take a look around and be sure to visit my other blogs! The buttons are in my sidebar ---->

Simply Awesome Printables: Love is All You Need Printables

2011-01-25T18:29:00.000-05:00

Simply Awesome Printables: Love is All You Need Printables: "I found these cute little printables over at Are They Twins? They are 5x7 prints that you could print out and put in a frame! A-..."

Simply Awesome Printables: Valentine Subway Art!!!

2011-01-25T18:28:00.000-05:00

Simply Awesome Printables: Valentine Subway Art!!!: "I know how you all love Subway Art, right? Well I found this little cutie over at Thrifty Finn! Isn't it just awesome! I k..."

Simply Awesome Printables: Financial Notebook Printables

2011-01-25T17:31:00.000-05:00

Simply Awesome Printables: Financial Notebook Printables: "Today through BlogFrog, I found Carrie over at Dittle Dattle! She has done an awesome post about how they keep their finances in line ..."

Are you a Smarty Pig?

2011-01-25T10:43:00.001-05:00

I don't remember how I found SmartyPig, but I'm glad I did. I have to admit, I'm terrible at saving money...terrible... I'm a spender and unfortunately, so is my husband! We don't even have a Savings Account, we use an alternate checking account for saving, but nothing stays there... it's sad really. BUT 2011 is a new year and I'm trying to make a change for the better as far as saving goes (and paying off debt!).

So, I signed up for SmartyPig online and automatically have money taken out of our checking account 2 times a month. My first savings goal is a $1,000 Emergency Fund. You can see my little SmartyPig widget on my left sidebar and it will track my progress.

Anyway, the thing about SmartyPig that is cool is that you can share your savings goals with other people and even let them help you fulfill them! You can link with Facebook and then other people can see your goal and add to it without getting any of your account information!!! How cool is that? I thought it would be cool for a couple getting married and saving for the wedding or honeymoon or someone having a baby, a kid saving for college, anything like that!

SmartyPig is free to join and there are no fees to withdraw your money! In fact, you can actually earn money by using SmartyPig! You really need to go check it out for yourself....BUT WAIT...one of the ways you can earn money is by referring people. You can refer up to 100 people and earn $25 for each person!!! So...I would love to refer you if you are interested! There is no easy way to do that yet through their site except for sending an email...but they are working on it! So if you would let me refer you, I would really appreciate it so that I can add to my Emergency Fund! :) Just click on Contact Me at the top of my blog and send me an email asking me to refer you to SmartyPig! Please and Thank you! Then you can refer people you know and earn yourself some money too!

Simply Awesome Printables: DIY Brownie Bags

2011-01-24T17:13:00.001-05:00

Simply Awesome Printables: DIY Brownie Bags: "These bags are so adorable! What a great idea to put a brownie or special cookie in to give to all your valentine's! :) Pick up ..."

Simply Awesome Printables: iPhone Printable Valentine

2011-01-24T17:13:00.000-05:00

Simply Awesome Printables: iPhone Printable Valentine: "These are adorable, aren't they? I know that my kids would absolutely love these! Very cute for them to pass out at school too, don't ..."

Simply Awesome Printables: Keep Calm Valentine Printable

2011-01-24T17:11:00.000-05:00

Simply Awesome Printables: Keep Calm Valentine Printable: "I love these Keep Calm Printables that have been showing up everywhere! I had Thanksgiving & Christmas ones in frames in my living..."

Menu Plan Monday - Jan. 24th

2011-01-24T11:14:00.004-05:00

I have said in a previous post, that I am starting a new "Menu Plan" system that I found. Well, I have done it for, well, this will be the 3rd week. So far, my family has loved every meal I made from it except one, which they liked, but could do without. Anyway, what I'm talking about is 5 Dinners 1 Hour. You can click on the button below to go to the site to learn more about it! Basically, each month you will receive 4 weeks of menus so you can cook 5 dinners in ONE hour! It's only $15.00 for a 3 month subscription. That is only $1.25 per menu!

So, I am using 3 menus from 5 dinners 1 hour this week and 3 nights my husband will bring food home from the chef at his work for only $12 a meal to feed our family of six! Not too bad and we support his work! The other meal will be a favorite of ours and I will be posting the recipe for it later today on my recipe blog. So check back if you are interested!

Monday: Crock Pot Potato Chowder

Tuesday: Meal from hubby's work

Wednesday: Meal from hubby's work

Thursday: Grilled Teriyaki chicken, rice and broccoli (from 5dinners1hour)

Friday: Meal from hubby's work

Saturday: Grilled Turkey & Swiss Sandwiches & Veggie Soup (from 5 dinners1hour)

Sunday: Roasted Chicken Wings & Veggies and Green Salad (from 5 dinners1hour)

Check out more menu plans at www.orgjunkie.com !

Also, be sure to go to THIS POST for your chance to win a Custom Blog Makeover worth $70 from my new business, Livi and Me Blog Design!

100 Followers!!! Time for a Give Away!!! :)

2011-01-21T22:48:00.002-05:00

Oh my gosh! I am so excited! I hit 100 followers today! That is really exciting to me! So, to celebrate I am doing a giveaway! Since I just started a Blog Design business, I am going to give away 1 FREE Ultimate custom Blog Design (worth $70)! You can check out the details of what that includes HERE!

All you have to do to win is comment below telling me why you need a new blog design!

Want extra chances to win? Become a Follower of Livi and Me Blog Design and/or become a Fan on Facebook of Livi and Me Blog Design! You will have to go HERE to do those things. Them come back and comment ON THIS POST, ON THIS BLOG for each thing you do! So you actually have 3 chances to win! Deadline to enter is February 7th! Winner will be announced on February 8th! Good luck!

Please tell your friends because the more followers and comments I get, the more I will discount the blog prices for everyone else for my Grand Opening Sale! :)

Thanks to all of my followers!!!! I love you guys!!!! Good luck! :)

Mommy Time - How do you escape the madness?

2011-01-21T11:41:00.001-05:00

Today I'm linking up to Mommy Madness Friday Blog Hop!

Today's theme is Mommy Time - How do you escape the madness?

For me, reading is probably my favorite outlet. When everyone is in bed, I can finally go lay down in bed and read a book on my Nook (that my wonderful husband got me for Christmas!). I usually end up falling asleep while I'm ready, but that's OK, luckily on a Nook, you don't lose your page! :)

I'm also linking up to Fun Follow Friday! Click on the button to join along! :)

Ur Bakin' Me Crazyy!

2011-01-20T21:35:00.000-05:00

Today I designed and installed a blog designer for a friend's daughter. Her daughter, Megan, loves to bake, so she started a blog to share her yummy recipes with the world. Well, as you know, I am starting a blog design business so I offered to design her blog for her (as a gift) and she agreed to let me do it! Yay! So here it is! Click on the image to go to her blog to check it out!

Working on my new business!

2011-01-18T22:25:00.000-05:00

I am so sorry! I am being the biggest slacker ever on this blog! BUT I have been a little preoccupied setting up my new business, Livi and Me Blog Design! I am working hard to get some freebies and $5 Premades finished and up on the blog to get started and then I will move into doing Semi-Custom Blog Designs. Wondering what that means? Well, go check out my new blog and see! :P

Seriously though, I really need help spreading the word. If you could visit my new blog and become a follower or a Fan on Facebook I would really appreciate it, so much!!!

I will also be trying to blog more here....Promise!

Welcome 2011!

2011-01-03T14:30:00.000-05:00

Yay! So excited for 2011 to be here! I am on a mission this year! First is to pay off bills by cutting back on monthly expenses, such as groceries! I am trying a new system and I will tell you about it after I try it out this week!

Second, be a better housekeeper! I am going to try to follow Clean Mama! I love her blog, she has the best ideas! If you need to get on the ball with cleaning, check out her blog!

Third, I am going to try to MAKE some money for the family by starting a blog design business! I am so excited to get this up and running! I am basically just starting today! So please, visit my blog at Livi and Me Blog Design and become a follower to help me get going!!! Please??

Anyway, more about all this later! I gotta get to work on my blog designing! :)

Simply Awesome Printables: Color In Christmas Printables!

2010-11-23T12:26:00.000-05:00

Simply Awesome Printables: Color In Christmas Printables!: "I found these awesome printables from The Candy Tree! I adore them because my kids can color them in! They LOVE coloring, so this is right..."

Simply Awesome Printables: Thanksgiving Printable Party Package!

2010-11-19T14:16:00.000-05:00

Simply Awesome Printables: Thanksgiving Printable Party Package!: "Wow!!! Look at all this! Can you believe you can have all this FREE? Isn't it beautiful! I love it! You want it for yourself? Go HERE..."

Simply Awesome Printables: Sticky Holiday Printables NOW ON SALE!

2010-11-17T14:21:00.000-05:00

Simply Awesome Printables: Sticky Holiday Printables NOW ON SALE!: "Yay!!! I have finally gotten my Sticky Holiday Printables for sale at ETSY!!! You can print these out as many times as you need! Below ar..."

Simply Awesome Printables: God is Great Prayer Wall Art

2010-11-12T10:19:00.000-05:00

Simply Awesome Printables: God is Great Prayer Wall Art: "I have seen so many great Subway Art printables out there and I really like that style. For a while now, I have been wanting to design some..."

Freebie for you! Paisley Polka Dots Cluster Frames!

2010-11-09T12:00:00.001-05:00

Hello! Hope everyone's week is going ok so far...I have had 2 sick kids since Sunday...no fun at all! :(

Anyway, for those of you who have been following me blog for a while, know that I did digital scrapbook designing for quite a while. Last year, I retired from my store because I didn't have the time to design anymore. Well, now, I am getting back into designing, but in a different way. I am making Printables and sharing links to other awesome printables at my new blog, Simply Awesome Printables.

That said, I have decided to bring some of my digital scrapbook kits out of retirement and sell them at a VERY discounted price to you! I'm hoping to make a little Christmas money, since money has been a little tight this year.

Here is a little freebie for you that matches the kit that I am putting up for sale today. The kit is called Paisley Polka Dots. It has 14 papers, 36 elements and a full matching alpha!

Download Frames Here

This is a digital download through Payloadz. You will be directed to Paypal and then to the download links.
$2.00

Here is a Layout I did with the kit!

So please follow me if you would like to buy more of my kits! I will be posting more and more in the next couple of weeks! Thanks! :)

Also, please be sure to visit Simply Awesome Printables and become a follower there for lots of awesome printable freebies!!!!

Happy Fall Printable Banner!

2010-10-30T11:03:00.002-04:00

My awesome designer friend, Belinda of Dylabel Designs, made this adorable digital scrapbooking kit, Owl Fall For You! I thought it would be a perfect kit to make a printable banner with for you to hang up in your home! Be sure to visit Dylabel Designs to see some awesome layouts with this kit and the link to purchase the kit for yourself!

Print yours out below! Be sure to download as a PDF or it may not print properly! Thanks and enjoy!
Sap Happy Fall Banner

Be sure to visit my other site, Simply Awesome Printables, to get some more great FREE printables!

Linking to: The DIY Show

Halloween Cupcake Toppers!

2010-10-27T22:48:00.000-04:00

I made 3 sets of Halloween Cupcake Toppers for you! You can download the first set here on this blog, but I would like you to visit my Print 2 Party blog to pick up the rest! That is where I will be putting all my own free printables from now on, so please follow my blog if you are interested in getting more of these! Thanks so much!

Download Here

For more Halloween Cupcake Toppers go HERE!

Cupcake Topper Freebie - Punked For the Boys

2010-09-24T22:04:00.000-04:00

Dylabel Designs and Leslie Bodoh have a new release out today called Punked for the Boys! Isn't it cool? I love it! I made some Cupcake Toppers for you with this kit! They are free. All you have to do is download, print, cut and use! Be sure to go HERE to get the kit for yourself at Elemental Scraps!

Download Here

Want more free cupcake toppers? Please got to my other site, Print 2 Party, and follow me so you don't miss any! Thanks!

Walgreens: October IVC Coupon Booklet

2010-09-22T11:26:00.000-04:00

Walgreens: October IVC Coupon Booklet

Do you Menu Plan?

2010-09-22T10:23:00.000-04:00

Meal Planning 2.0

I do! I have to or I would go absolutely crazy! I don't like having to decide at the last minute what we are having for supper. If I did, we would eat out every night! haha

Anyway, right now over at Menu Planning Central, you can get HALF OFF their menu planning system! It's a great tool if you don't want to have to think too much about menu planning because it is all done for you! So head on over there by this Friday, Sept. 24th to take advantage of this promotion!

Menu Plan Monday - Sept. 20, 2010

2010-09-20T20:30:00.001-04:00

We have been spending way too much money on food!!! I have to cut back on our grocery spending! This week I was determined to not spend over $100. I decided to use some food we already had around the house and only go to Aldi's. I ended up spending $80.69! Yay!

Here is my menu plan for the week:

Breakfast: Cereal (which we had plenty of from last week), waffles ($1.29), muffins (from pantry staples)

Lunches: lunch meat sandwiches (ham $2.99), ramen noodles, PB & J, leftovers

Supper:

Monday: Hot Dogs & Brats, French Fries, Grapes (Buns $0.79, Grapes $2.48, Brats $2.29) Had hot dogs and partial bags of french fries)

Tuesday: Pancakes, Bacon & Eggs (Pancake Mix $1.39, Syrup $1.49, Bacon $2.89, Eggs $0.79)

Wednesday: Crock pot Potato Chowder ($5.50 for all ingredients)

Thursday: Red Robin - Noel's Birthday - her choice!!

Friday: Bubble Pizza ($4.82 for all ingredients)

Saturday: Homemade Mac-n-cheese and sandwiches (for the girls, we are going out) (had plenty of elbow pasta and bought sharp cheddar $2.99)

Sunday: Crock pot Chicken with Black Beans and Cream Cheese ($9.41 for all ingredients, with extra chicken breasts and salsa)

Total for ingredients in meals: $34.84!!!

My groceries also included a gallon of white milk, 1/2 gallon chocolate milk, toilet paper, paper towels, garbage bags, 2 hand soaps, butter, 2 boxes fruit snacks, 1 box fudge brownies, 1 box swiss rolls, 1 box rice crispy treats, 3 bottles of apple juice and a couple other odds and ends.

For more great recipes visit orgjunkie.com.

Halloween Cupcake Toppers!

2010-09-15T10:22:00.001-04:00

I have been working on some stuff to put in my Etsy shop and finally have some Halloween Cupcake Toppers ready for you!

You can buy them in my Esty Shop or you can also win them!!! All you have to do is go to my Print 2 Party blog and become a follower and leave me a comment there telling me which one you like the best! I will pick 3 winners on Monday, Sept. 27th!

Our Bathroom Makeover!

2010-09-07T19:17:00.000-04:00

So what did you do over your Holiday Weekend? Me? Aw, not much....just remodeled our master bathroom!!!! Yep, we HAD to! My hubby, Tim, was actually just putting new caulking around the tub, but when he pulled up the linoleum by the tub, the sub-floor underneath was rotted! EWWWW.... It's ok though, because the bathroom really needed updated anyway. I'm pretty sure that it hadn't been altered (except a new light fixture) since the house was built. Since we plan on eventually selling our house, we really needed to fix up the master bathroom being that it is already small, it has to look good!!!

So here we go....here are some before pics. Plain, nothing special...

Ignore all my junk on the counter! haha

And the new!!!! Woo hoo! We actually ended up using wainscoting on the walls because when we pulled out the countertop and cabinet the wall was a mess! They way they installed it originally was absolutely crazy! Anyway, my husband patched the wall, but we still weren't happy with the result, so we covered up the messed up wall with wainscoting and I'm so glad we did! It turned out beautifully and Tim said that it wasn't hard to install at all....I know it wasn't for me....haha.

Here is the awesome floor that Tim put in...I helped a little bit! These are actually peel and stick tiles from Lowes and grout from Home Depot. Yes, you can grout peel and stick tiles and they look like real ceramic tiles!!! It looks awesome! We love the way these turned out! What do you think?

I did the painting and decorating, but my husband did all the other labor! We got the cabinet and sink at Home Depot along with the wainscoting. I got the shower curtain and rug at Kohls. I got the shelf and accessories at IKEA and I got the towel hooks, ring and toilet paper holder at Target! I had a great time shopping!

I changed my mind....

2010-09-03T11:38:00.000-04:00

OK, so I changed my mind...I'm not moving my blog! Why should I? All of you wonderful followers are here! Why should I make you move? That was so silly of me!!! I am going to stay put and just modify this blog...sound like a plan? I thought so!

So, this week was my first official week as a SAHM!!! So exciting! I had planned on cleaning the house...didn't happen! I have been running around all week enjoying my new found freedom! haha Playdates, shopping, going to the park, visiting friends, you know, normal mommy stuff! haha In my defense, the weather was too nice to stay in and clean. I have to take advantage of the nice weather while it is here, right?

Anyway, I really am going to start posting to my blog more, I just have to get on track here. Get my crap together, so to speak! So, stay tuned! I'll be back!! :P

New post on my new blog....go there now!!! haha

2010-08-24T19:38:00.001-04:00

In case you didn't get the memo....I've moved! Please go HERE for my latest post and please follow me there!

I will be hiding this blog soon! Thanks! :)

Moving to a new blog!!!!

2010-08-16T11:26:00.000-04:00

I am moving to a new blog!!! If you are interested in following me there, then please visit Watering the Flowers and follow me!!! I am starting a new blog because I am starting a new chapter in my life as a stay at home mom! I plan on redecorating, doing crafts, scrapbooking, organizing, saving money and all that goes along with being a stay at home mommy of 4 girls and blogging about it!!! I would love to see you at my new blog!!! Thanks!!!

It's been a long time....

2010-08-05T11:22:00.000-04:00

Hey! I know it's been a long time since I have posted anything...sorry about that. Life got crazy on me and I decided to take a break. I'm sure you understand, right? Anyway, I am going to be back to blogging, but I am going to start a new blog and leave this one behind. I will let you all know when I change over of course!

In the meantime, I wanted to share something with you that I found yesterday! It's called thredUP!! If you have kids and don't like having to deal with selling their gently used clothes and like to buy gently used clothes, then this is a site for you!!! It's basically a clothing swap through the mail! You pick a box of clothes you want and pay for the shipping and then you list a box of clothing and when it's ordered, you send it out and pay nothing!!! I just ordered my first box yesterday, so I will let you know how it goes!! Be sure to check it out HERE!

I've been inspired! :)

2010-05-10T13:09:00.001-04:00

My daughter's and I on Mother's Day yesterday!

I don't know if any of you read Janae's Blog, Pink Moss, but she is starting a fabulous new site called "In My Daughter's Eyes". I'm so excited about her new site...you see Janae has 6 daughters and I know she and I will have or will be going through some of the same struggles with our daughter's ...although I only have 4!! haha Anyway, her new site is going to have letters from lots of women around the world written to their 12 year old selves! How cool is that??? You need to check out this site!!!

Anyway, why am I inspired? Well, honestly, I was thinking about stopping this blog. I felt down about it...I wondered, does anybody even read this (besides my sister, I love ya, Kylie!)? Does anyone really care what I have to say or what I am doing day to day? Maybe...but probably not...I don't know...maybe they do?? Well, whether anyone is reading this or not, I have been inspired to put more "real" content into my blog. Most of what I write is "fluff" or meal plans or scrapbooking...stuff like that, which isn't all bad, right? It's just that I'm not sharing ME! I mean, I have 4 girls! I should definitely have stories or advice to share, shouldn't I? I am a Mom, a Wife, a sister to 4, an Aunt to 4, soon to be 5, I should be sharing that stuff! The good stuff, the tough stuff, the funny stuff and the sad stuff....the stuff people can learn from or just enjoy reading.

So....that said, I'm going to try to pay more attention to my blog. But not at the expense of my family. That has been my problem...finding the time to write on my blog. So I may not write every day...it may only be once a week, but I will try to do it and I hope that some of you will read it and comment. Please comment, please let me know you are out there!! Please?? :)

I think I got everything off my chest for now! More soon! In the meantime, go check out Janae's site, In My Daughter's Eyes! Her button is in my sidebar! :)

Menu Plan Monday - April 26th

2010-04-26T09:50:00.000-04:00

So this week I'm trying some meals from the new meal planner I bought at www.myfamilymenuplanner.com. So, here goes!

Monday - Hash Brown Skillet
Tuesday - Fiesta Cheesy Chicken
Wednesday - Cream of Chicken and Rice Casserole
Thursday - Pork Chops BBQ
Friday - Meatloaf
Saturday - Chicken Parmesan
Sunday - Eat at my Mom's house

For more great meal plans, visit www.orgjunkie.com!!

Chance to win Dylabel Designs new kit!

2010-04-25T20:33:00.000-04:00

Dylabel Designs has a brand new kit coming out on Friday, April 30th and you have a chance to win it! Just visit her blog, HERE, and try to guess the name of this new kit! Whoever gets the closest to the name wins!! I've seen the kit and it is CUUUTTTEEE!! You will want it! I will have some cupcake toppers for you also made with this adorable kit! What are you waiting for, go to the blog NOW!

Baby Shower!!!

2010-04-22T09:08:00.000-04:00

I know I have been missing, but truly, I have been busy...This past Sunday I hosted my sister's baby shower. I worked my butt off making everything for it, cupcake toppers, diaper cake, party favors, food (with the help of my wonderful stepmom) and decorations. It was a lot of fun though and it turned out beautifully! I didn't have to do it all alone though, luckily! My niece, Marlee, and my girls and my Stepmom and sister, Krystle helped me prepare, thank goodness for them!!!

Anyway, I did a cute little farm animal theme that matched her decorations for the baby's room! I used almost all printable decorations that I made for the party!! Interested? Visit my Print 2 Party blog! Here are some pics of what I did!

Well, I gotta go for now and try to tackle the mountain of laundry in my laundry room! I can't seem to catch up!!! Ugh!!

Cupcake Topper Freebie - Chickadee

2010-04-14T10:52:00.007-04:00

I have another freebie for you today!!! Some more adorable cupcake toppers using another great kit by Dylabel Designs, Chickadee! I thought these would be perfect just to dress up some Springtime cupcakes or even for a Baby Shower, what do you think?

Get the entire Chickadee Kit Here!

Download the Cupcake Toppers Here!

If you don't want to miss out on other Cupcake Toppers, become a follower on my Print 2 Party Blog! Thanks! :)

Cupcake Topper Freebie - Spaced Out

2010-04-13T14:08:00.008-04:00

Have you seen Dylabel Designs new kit, Spaced Out? If not, here it is! Isn't it just out of this world!! haha Seriously though, I think it is fabulous. I'm here today to share some cute Spaced Out Cupcake Toppers I made for you with this kit! You can download them from a new blog of mine, Print 2 Party. I am just starting this blog, but soon, I will have many more cupcake toppers for you to download and other printable party supplies!! Exciting news, huh??? Anyway, on to the goodies!

Buy Dylabel Designs Spaced Out kit HERE!!

Download At the Print 2 Party Blog

Menu Plan Monday - April 12th

2010-04-12T14:19:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Menu Plan Monday! I am on a mission to organize my recipes and also make meal planning easier in my house! First thing I am doing is planning weekly meal plans and typing them up along with the recipes and grocery list for the week. This is my first week of doing this and I hope to continue. However, I'm not promising to do this EVERY week, because sometimes other things in life just get in the way and I may not get it done, I'm sure you know what I mean!!

Anyway, here is my meal plan for this week. I numbered the days instead of assigning a meal to each day so I can pick which meal we are having which day and what day I want to have leftovers. This week is "Cereal Sunday" for us. We usually have a big meal after church either eating out or at my in-laws, so for supper we just eat a bowl of cereal. The kids think it's fun and it's fine with my husband and I, so we do it!! :)

Day 1 - Ranch Burgers, French Fries, Grapes
Day 2 - King Ranch Chicken, Green Beans
Day 3 - Crockpot Taco Soup
Day 4 - BBQ Chicken, Easy New Potatoes, Corn
Day 5 - Pork Chop & Rice Casserole, Fruit Smoothies
Day 6 - Leftovers
Day 7 - Cereal Sunday

Download this meal plan below, grocery list and recipes included in download!

Download Week One Meal Plan

Get more meal plans at www.orgjunkie.com!

Ultimate Blog Party 2010

2010-04-09T09:51:00.002-04:00

Hello! Welcome to my blog!! My name is Chanin and I am a stay at home mom of 4 beautiful girls, 12, 6, 4 and 2 1/2 years old. As of April 12, I will have been married to my wonderful husband, Tim, for 7 years! He is the most wonderful man and father. Sometimes I will talk about his families non-profit here in Cincinnati, Ohio, Matthew 25 Ministries. It is an awesome non-profit that gives to the poorest of the poor and does disaster relief. My husband traveled to Haiti in March to help the children in the orphanages there. He is truly amazing!

While I am staying home, I am also doing child care for 4 other children, planning menus, cleaning the house and trying to organize our house and life!!! This blog used to be a digital scrapbooking blog because that is what I used to do in my spare time, but now it is turning more into a Mommy blog and I hope to share more of my experiences with all of you. Right now I am working on a Cleaning Schedule Sheet, Monthly Menu Plan Sheet/Book, and much more to organize my life and family!!

I also really enjoy reading, watching movies, and finding new recipes for my family. Oh, did I mention that I have a recipe blog also? Well, I do! I put the recipes my family really enjoys on recipe cards and they are there for you to download and print out on a 4x6 photo paper! I just stick them all in a photo book and it works out really well! You can visit my recipe blog HERE!!

To keep the cost of my book reading and movie habit down, I use paperbackswap.com and swapadvd.com!! Do you use them?? If not, you should check them out! You just list the books or movies that you are finished with and you get credit for each one you send out, you just have to pay postage. Then when you want a book or movie, you request one (with your credit) and someone else sends it out to you and you pay nothing!!! It's great!! If you decide to try it, click on the links below and I will get credit for you signing up!! Thanks!! :)

I do have a recipe to share with you for the blog party...something you can sit back and enjoy while checking out blogs!! A Yummy Strawberry/Banana Smoothie!!! Yum!!!

Download Recipe Card Here

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please leave a comment and let me know you were here!! I will be sure to stop by and say hello on your blog also! :)

Sad and happy news...

2010-04-01T13:34:00.000-04:00

I really wanted to post yesterday and Tuesday, but some things were going on with my friends...one of them really needs your prayers!

On Tuesday, I found out that a dear friend of mine was in an accident AND a day later tried to kill herself. I went all through school with her and have remained friends with her, but unfortunately, we are not always able to hang out and talk. I live over an hour away from her now... Anyway, she has had a rough life and has had addiction problems for most of it. No one knew exactly how bad these problems were though... She has 2 daughters who are 14 and 7 and are the most beautiful and wonderful kids. They are currently staying with my friends parents while she is trying to get her self "cleaned up". I just ask that you pray for her and her kids. They are going to be going through some rough times.

Then yesterday I got some happy good news!!! My dear friend and neighbor gave birth to an adorable baby boy!!! He was 7 lbs. 3 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long! I wish I had a picture to show you how cute this little guy is, but I don't yet...when I do, I will get it posted. I watched his big sister, Jazmyn, yesterday while she was at the hospital and boy was she excited!!

Today I found out that my other neighbor, who has 2 girls and is pregnant, is having a boy!!! It seems like everyone is having boys!!! What is going on? My husband is going to want to try for a boy...I can just feel it!! lol

Well, hopefully I will have more news and a better post tomorrow. Until then.....

Friend Makin' Monday: Spring Trends

2010-03-29T09:54:00.001-04:00

Amber, over at {aefilkins}is hosting another week of Friend Makin' Monday! Today's topic is Spring Trends! Which ones do you like? Click here to join in on the fun! Here are my choices!

Strappy Sandals!!

Across the body shoulder bags!

Ruffles!!

Thick Braid Pony Tail

Pretty color pallettes!!

Have a great Monday! I'm going to see the Sneak Peek of the Clash of the Titans movie tonight. I will let you know how it is!!

And....I just got an email from The Girl Creative blog and I can't believe it, but I won her giveaway for the Believe necklace from Bella Michele Jewelry!! I'm so excited! You can see Diana's original post here! I will do a post about it once I receive the necklace!! :)

Puppies and Rainbows....

2010-03-26T13:44:00.001-04:00

Sorry I have been missing all week...

At the beginning of the week, I was just too busy to get on here. Then....on Wednesday when I actually had time to post something, my computer got a virus!!! How annoying! I think it is fixed now, but what a pain!

So, here is the update for the week...

On Saturday, we went to the SPCA to look at the DOGS and think about getting one. NOT A PUPPY!! Been there, done that, didn't want to do that again....but I fell in love while I was there! I couldn't help myself! I am such a sucker for a cute puppy! They only had 2 puppies there and one of them was this adorable little Border Collie, who we now call Lily Belle (Lily for short). I couldn't leave without her, and I didn't. So far she has been awesome, except when we took her to vet for her first evaluation, she had fleas, tapeworms and kennel cough! Ugh! She is medication so hopefully everything will clear up soon. Here are some pics of my new little baby, Lily! Isn't she adorable? I'm sure you will be seeing much more of her!

That night, I made those awesome rainbow cupcakes that I have been seeing all over the place! I just had to try them and they turned out great! If you haven't seen them or don't have the recipe, you can get it here, which is where I got it!

The rest of the week was crazy, as I said before. I got out the girls Spring and Summer clothes to go through and then what do you know? It snows today!!!! Go figure!! lol Still don't have them put away though, so I guess it's ok...

I should have a post every day next week...just hope I have time. I'm in the middle of a project too! I'm working on a 30 day meal plan book for myself and if it turns out well enough, I may share it with you....we will see how it goes!

Have a great weekend! We are off the an Easter Eggstravaganza on Saturday at our church with the girls! What are your weekend plans?

I'm also linking up to New Friend Friday at The Girl Creative! Click on the button to go find yourself some friends!!! :)

A Giveaway at The Girl Creative

2010-03-19T08:51:00.003-04:00

Remember those necklaces that I told you about yesterday that I want so much? Well, The Girl Creative is giving one away!!! I'm so excited...I hope I win...

Anyway, I wanted to share and give you a chance to win too! Just visit The Girl Creative for your chance!

While you are there, you may want to join in on New Friend Friday! I'm so excited about that too....it's my first week participating! Come join in on the fun!

Oh yeah, and I finally got some new recipes up over at my Recipe Blo g!! Buffalo Chicken Dip and Cheesy Crockpot Potatoes!

Pretty Little Necklaces

2010-03-18T13:56:00.002-04:00

I've been so wanting one of those adorable stamped metal necklaces lately. You know the ones, right? The ones that have cute little sayings stamped on them and then little beads hanging down around the metal...well, it's just not in the budget right now to buy one of those.

The other day I was was Michael's (craft store) looking for some things for my sister's baby shower that I am hosting and saw these cute little pendants hanging there calling my name....Chanin....Chanin....come buy me, you know you want to....

Well, they were right, I did want to buy them. They weren't EXACTLY what I want, but they were close enough for me to buy them and then go home and make my own version of those cute little necklaces that I want so much.

Here are my versions of these cute necklaces. I just used some beads and stuff that I already had at home from my past jewelry making days and whipped these up! I thought that they turned out pretty great and can't wait to actually wear them somewhere!

I'm linking up Strut Your Stuff Thursday over at Somewhat Simple! Go on over and check it out for more great ideas on how to Strut Your Stuff!

A Heart-To-Heart With The Haiti Relief Effort

2010-03-17T11:39:00.002-04:00

As you may or may not know, my husband went to Haiti last month to do disaster relief with Matthew 25 Ministries. This article and the one below are about his trip. I hope you will take the time to read them. I am so proud of him for the work he does!! That is my hubby in the middle of all those kids in the picture above!

A Heart-To-Heart With The Haiti Relief Effort

Posted using ShareThis

Spreading the Word One Click at A Time

2010-03-17T11:36:00.005-04:00

Spreading the Word One Click at A Time

Posted using ShareThis

Giveaway at Pocket Full of Posies!!

2010-03-17T10:37:00.000-04:00

I know I already posted once today, but I was just over at Pocket Full of Posies and they are having a fabulous giveaway! I'm so excited! I actually already have one of there systems, but I would love another to give to my sister as a birthday present in May!

You can win one of their Meal Planning systems!! It includes:

1 Monthly Pocket - Lots of great designs to choose from!!
4 months of recipes (80 recipes)
16 ingredient lists
How To instructions

I have found this to be very useful in planning our meals and they have GREAT recipes! I have saved money knowing exactly what I need to buy each week at the grocery store!!

Want one for yourself!!! Head over to Pocket Full of Posies for your chance to win!!!

Pink makes me happy!

2010-03-17T10:16:00.001-04:00

PINK mosaic, originally uploaded by katiescrapbooklady.

Yesterday I was in a sad, funky mood. Nothing seemed to be going my way...long story...may explain later. Anyway, today, I am going to be in a better mood, get things done, be happy...really, I am. So to start out my day, I was looking on flickr for some pink photos - since pink is my favorite color ( I do have 4 girls!! lol). This is a cool collage of pink pics that I found that I wanted to share with you...it makes me happy, I hope it makes you happy too!!

Have a great Wednesday! I know I should have done green since it's St. Patty's Day, but hey, I'm not Irish!! haha

Friend Makin' Monday - a day late.... :(

2010-03-16T12:45:00.001-04:00

I love Amber's blog and participated in Friend Makin Monday before, but I kept forgetting, so when I went to read her blog today, I saw yesterday's post and decided to join in anyway, even though I'm late!! Here goes!!

I am....Mommy, Chanin, Channy, Mama, Honey, Snowflake, Sis

I think....everyday about how I can make money for my family using my photoshop.

I should...stop trying to make money and just enjoy the time I have with my kids more...

I dream....of being on vacation somewhere warm, sunny and with a beach!

I want....a new HP Slate when it comes out!

I know...I need to calm down sometimes..

I don't like...winter and dreary weather!

I smell...my yummy strawberry banana smoothie I just made!! Soooo goood!

I hear....the Imagination Movers on Disney and my washer running.

I fear....that I am not always the Mom and wife I should be.

I usually...say too much or speak before I should...yikes...

I search...everyday for new Mommy blogs I like to read.

I miss....my Dad and Stepmom...they live in Florida...I'm in Ohio...

I always...cry at sad movies and shows.

I regret....nothing, really. Everything I have done got me where I am.

I wonder....who my girls will be when they are grown.

I crave....Dr. Pepper!

I remember...having so much fun as a kid growing up in an apartment complex. We were always outside and enjoying being a kid!

I need.....a time out!! lol

I forget....a lot of things, Mommy brain has taken over!! :)

I feel....sad today...not sure why, just feels like things aren't going my way right now.

I can....rollerskate.

I can't....snow ski.

I am happy....out seeing a movie and eating popcorn with my hubby!

I lose.....track of time when I am on the computer.

I sing....awesome when I am by myself in the car! Especially Maroon 5 or Nickelback!

I listen...to crying and whining all day long....long....long....

I shop.....as little as possible with my kids along!! haha

I eat....Special K for breakfast almost every day.

I love.....my family! The whole bunch of them!!

Visit Amber's blog to read some more!

Menu Plan Monday - March 15th

2010-03-15T10:42:00.000-04:00

This week ended up being cheap because I already had almost everything in the freezer! Yay!!

Monday - Hamburger Stroganoff (from last week - forgot the sour cream)

Tuesday - BLT's & Macaroni Salad

Wednesday - Sloppy Joes & Fries

Thursday - Pasta Bella

Friday - Bourbon Chicken & Rice

Saturday - Chili Dogs

Sunday - Eat at my Mom's - Yay!

For more great menu's visit orgjunkie!!

Grasshopper Fudge Cake - Yummy!

2010-03-14T15:24:00.001-04:00

Last night I made this yummy cake that I found on the Betty Crocker website. It's called Grasshopper Fudge Cake and let me tell you, it is delicious - if you like mint, that is! It tastes like one of those Andes Mints, but bigger and in cake form...weird, I know, but still good!! Go HERE to the Betty Crocker website to get the recipe.

Woo Hoo!!! New Blogger is awesome!!!

2010-03-13T19:03:00.002-05:00

OK, so my blog looks a little crazy right now, right? Well, I'm sorry, I can't help myself! I've been messing around on the new Blogger Template Designer!!! It is soooo cool! It lets you do so many things that you usually have to pay people to do or download a template from elsewhere! I plan on sprucing this blog up more later, but for right now, I'm leaving it!

So if you have Blogger....go check it out! Here is a little video the Blogger Team prepared!

Living On a Dime

2010-03-11T14:28:00.002-05:00

I bought this book sometime about 1-1/2 years ago and I love it! I just wanted to share it with you because there are so many great recipes and tips in here to save money. This is my "go-to" book when I am looking how to make something that is inexpensive.

Tawra Kellam (one of the authors) also has many other great e-books that you can buy! She is a wealth of great information! Click on the book above to check out what she has and get your own book!! You won't regret it!

Bedroom Makeover!!

2010-03-10T10:45:00.003-05:00

I wish I had "before" photos to show you of our bedroom, but unfortunately, I forgot to take those!! Ugh!! But to enlighten you, our room was a dark green color on the bottom of the walls and a dark beige color on the top with white hand painted flowers and vines painted on the beige right above the green. UGLY!!! At least, I didn't like it. It had been like that since we moved into our house 4-1/2 years ago. I have been dying to redo our bedroom...at least paint it!!

So I set off to Lowe's while Tim was in Haiti and bought some paint! I actually picked a different color first, a greenish blue color, but man, it was nasty!! So back I went and found this color, Bird Song Blue! I love the color, it is very peaceful and really opens up our small bedroom.

I didn't really do too much to the room, as we live on a budget, of course. The furniture is the same, the bedspread is the same, I haven't painted the trim yet and we need new carpet, but this is a good start!

So here is what I did: Paint, Lowes. Lamps, Target. Curtains and Curtain Rods, Ikea. Shelf, Ikea. New white sheets and little blue pillows, Ikea. Other little decorations, Target and Ikea. For everything I paid about $260.00. It was actually more than I wanted to spend, but having my bedroom feel like my own, is priceless!!!

Have you redone a room lately? If so, leave your link, I would love to see it! Next for me is the living/kitchen area!!!

Success at the grocery store!!! Woo hoo!

2010-03-09T14:13:00.003-05:00

Last week I found Savings Angel and thought I would give it a try. It is my new mission to cut back our grocery bill! We spend WAY too much money on food! I have never been a very good coupon clipper, I never thought I saved enough money to make it worth my while....do you ever feel that way? Well, the cool thing about Savings Angel is that you can pick a store and they tell you what is on sale and what coupons go with the sale to give you the best possible deal!! They even give you links to print out coupons!! It is awesome!!!

So, last night I went to Kroger with my Savings Angel list in hand and my coupons that I clipped from the Sunday paper, All You Magazine and online. I was excited to see how much money I could save....Well, I saved $72.57!!!!! Woo hoo!!! And this was my first attempt! I think that is pretty good!! It comes out to a savings of 37% of my bill! I was so proud of myself!

If you would like to try out Savings Angel, you can try it for free for 30 days and see how it goes! Just click on the banner below! If you sign up, I get credit for it, so I would love if you would sign up through me! Thanks!

Menu Plan Monday - March 8th

2010-03-08T16:20:00.005-05:00

I'm running behind today, but I still wanted to get this posted!!

Monday: Crispy Chicken Breast Strips, Fries

Tuesday: Bourbon Chicken over Rice, Green Beans (didn't end up having this last week)

Wednesday: Lasagna, Corn, Garlic Bread

Thursday: Fried Egg Sandwiches, Sausage Links

Friday: Homemade Pizza

Saturday: Sloppy Joes, Cole Slaw, Chips

Sunday: Hamburger Stroganoff, Corn

For more great meal plans, visit orgjunkie.com!!

Freebie Friday - Template

2010-03-05T11:17:00.007-05:00

I know it has been a while since I have given you a FREEBIE, but today is the day!! Woo hoo! I made this 12 x 12 Template when I wanted to make some wall art for my daughters' rooms. You could also use this for a summary page for a month or whatever else your creative mind comes up with! I hope you enjoy it! It is only is .psd format. It will be free until next Friday and then it will go on sale in my Payloadz for $1.00.

Download Here

Here is the page I made for my daughter's wall. It is pictures of her through the year of 2009. I thought it turned out pretty cute!

I decided to bring back some of my old stuff and sell it for cheap - everything will only be $1.00 or less. It's like a $1.00 scrapbook store! :) Anyway, things in my life may be changing soon and I am just trying to make a little extra money for my family to help pay off some debt we have. I figured every little dollar helps, right?

Purchase Here for only $0.50!!

I'm Shredding!

2010-03-04T10:53:00.003-05:00

I decided that I wanted to look good in a bathing suit this year! I'm tired of not liking what I see in the mirror...so I got Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred! This is my 3rd day and I gotta tell you, it is rough!!! I was so sore after the first day that I wanted to give up already, but I didn't...I stuck with it and I am even more sore now...but I feel like I am making progress! I am really going to try to make it through the 30 days. I may miss a day here and there because of things going on, but I'm going to do my best!

Has anyone else tried this workout before? If so, what were your results? Did you stick with it? How long did it take you to move on from Level 1? Share with me!! Motivate me!!! PLEASE!!!!

Do you read me thru Feedblitz?

2010-03-03T15:40:00.002-05:00

As you can see, I am revamping my blog....please excuse the ugliness right now. I will get it fixed soon....

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I will be cancelling my Feedblitz account soon. So....if that is how you read my blog, you may want to just become a Follower instead (at the bottom of my page currently). Most of you are probably following me from my Digi Designing days anyway. I may still do some of that, but for the time being, this is going to be more of a Mommy blog.

I hope you continue to visit me even without Feedblitz!! Thanks!!

Vistaprint...a good deal? I don't think so....

2010-03-02T08:28:00.003-05:00

I don't think I have announced it on here yet, but my sister, Janae is pregnant with her second daughter. It has been a rough road for her after having miscarriages and now having to give herself a shot 2 times a day during the pregnancy!! I don't know if I could do that! Anyway, she is due at the beginning of June, around my little Ashlyn's 3rd (I can't believe it!!) birthday!

So I, being the big sister, get to do the baby shower!!! I am so excited!! My niece Marlee, Janae's 11 year old daughter, is going to be helping me also. She is so excited to help so she feels like she is a part of things and I am happy to let her!

Well, I designed the baby shower invites the other day and planned on ordering them through Vistaprint because I thought that would be the cheapest way....well, boy was I wrong! I needed 50 invitations and they were going to end up costing me $42 plus about $15 for shipping!!!! Ummmmm....I don't think so....

Then I got one of my brilliant beyond brilliant ideas that I have every so often...lol! I called our local Office Depot and asked them how much it would cost for them to print my invitations. Well, they could fit 4 on a page and only make 2 cuts in the paper and they can print them on glossy cardstock!! Woo hoo!! OK, so what is this going to cost me? A grand total of $8.67!!!! I'm doing a happy dance!! Can you believe the price difference?? Craziness I tell you!

So here is my words of advice...do not get things printed online without checking with your local office store first! I ran into this same thing when I had our 2010 family calendars printed as Christmas presents. Online to order, they were over $30 EACH! When I got them printed at Office Depot, they were only $15 for TWO!

Here is her cute little invitation I made! She is doing a cute little farm animal theme. I blocked out some of the info for privacy.

Menu Plan Monday - March 1st

2010-03-01T13:46:00.004-05:00

Decided to get on this train again!! lol Here is what we will be eating this week:

Monday: Leftover Perfect Pulled Pork, Crock Pot Cheesy Potatoes

Tuesday: Pasta Bella, Green Beans

Wednesday: Pancakes, Bacon, Scrambled Eggs

Thursday: Bourbon Chicken over Rice and Corn

Friday: Egg Salad Sandwiches, Chips

Saturday: Pizza Night

Sunday: Eat at my Mom's house!! Yay!!

For more great menu plans, visit orgjunkie!!

American Idol Favorites

2010-02-25T11:11:00.004-05:00

Any American Idol fans out there? I decided to watch it again this year after taking a couple years off. After the performances last night and the night before, my favorites so far are:

Didi Benami

Casey James

I really like Didi's voice, even though they said she wasn't original enough. She seems sweet and her voice is cool. Casey is a cutie pie, in my opinion. I loved the song he say last night! Anyone who sings Bryan Adams gets my vote, but Heaven is one of my favorites and I thought he did a great job with it!

I hope these 2 don't get voted off tonight! We will see what happens! Who are your favorites so far?

New Recipe and update on my hubby!

2010-02-19T11:40:00.003-05:00

Well, right now my hubby is on his way to Haiti on a Charter plane from Florida. He sent a cute video message to the girls from the iphone he is using on the trip. They loved it and immediately had to make him one to send back on our Flip Video camera. I will update you when I know he has arrived safely in Haiti. I also hope to have pictures to send you!

While he is gone, I plan on getting a lot done! I will be cleaning out our laundry/storage room, which I started today. I will also be decluttering most of the house! We have too much junk and luckily, I know the perfect place to donate too, Matthew 25 Ministries!! :)

I also have many recipes to put on my recipe blog for you, but that may take a little more time...I'm working on it though. I did post a new one today for Beer Cheese Dip! It is awesome! It is totally addicting! Head on over to my recipe blog and get it!!

My husband is going to Haiti...

2010-02-16T10:55:00.002-05:00

Sorry it has been forever since I have blogged! Bad blogger, bad blogger! I know!!! Well, hopefully I will be updating more soon. I keep saying that, but it doesn't seem to happen does it??? I will try...

But for right now, I just wanted to write and tell you what is going on in my life. Most of you know that my husband is VP of Matthew 25 Ministries here is Cincinnati, Ohio that does disaster relief and provides for the poorest of the poor. Well, they have gotten a group of Medical doctors and nurses to go down to Haiti to help (mostly the children) that can't afford care...they are now charging for the "FREE" care in Haiti!! So sad.... So anyway, my husband will be leaving this Thursday and will be gone for 9 days. I am asking that you please pray for him and his team! They will need all the support and prays they can get!

I plan on doing my own fundraiser soon to raise some money for these trips Matthew 25 will be taking to Haiti in the future also and I would love your support! If you have any ideas or would like to help in any way! Please let me know! Thanks so much!!

Tweet Tweet Necklace Give-away!

2010-02-02T14:06:00.004-05:00

Hope everyone is doing well so far this week! Today I have a fabulous give-away to announce!! My good friend Belinda, of Dylabel Designs, is giving away one of these beautiful necklaces!! They were made by, yours truly! That's right! My Mom and I are starting an Etsy store selling glass and tile pendants! The store is not open as of today, but here is your chance to win one of these pendants before you can buy them!!! You need to go to Belinda's Blog, for all the details!

If you are interested in buying one of these beautiful pendant necklaces, please visit my new blog at www.littlekismetshop.blogspot.com and follow me so you will know when they are in the shop!

Also, if you are a designer and are interested in doing your own give-away, please email me at littlekismetshop@gmail.com for more information!!

Recipe Cards Freebie For You!

2010-01-28T16:52:00.003-05:00

I know I have been slacking on my blog lately, but still, there is just so much going on around here! I don't have time to post much today, but I wanted to give you a free set of Recipe Cards! I have really been trying to get my recipe blog updated and these are the cards I am using for the recipes! You can go HERE to my Recipe Blog to get them! Enjoy!

I will have more news for you soon!!! My Mom and I are opening an Etsy shop with some really cool pendants for sale! Can't wait to share them with you!

New Releases and Project 365

2010-01-15T09:18:00.005-05:00

Hope everyone is having a great day! I have soooo much to do today around the house! I have to finish painting Cora's bedroom, put everything back, clean the house, take care of the kids, etc, etc.!! I am glad that it is Friday though!

Today I have a couple of New Releases to share with you! The first one is called Love, Sweet Love by geniaBeana Scraps! You can get it here on sale for only $3.30!! She also has some great glitter styles, glossy styles and flair to match!!

Here is the page I did with Love, Sweet Love!

Then their is Dylabel Designs' new kit called Sweet Nothings! This one is also on sale and you can get it here for only $3.25!!! And if you visit Belinda's blog, you can get some free Word Art that matches the kit and links to get some super cute quick pages!! Woo hoo!!
Here is the layout I did with this super cute kit!

And, believe it or not, I have been keeping up with my Project 365 pages thanks to Weeds and Wildflowers! It makes it so easy being able to just plop my photos on the pages and journal and be done with it!!! I love it! So here are my pages for Week 2!!

Well, I'm off to work on my many projects of the day!! Hope everyone has a great weekend and next week I will have some FREEBIES for you!!!!!!

Be sure to visit my post from yesterday if you want to know how you can help the victims in Haiti! Thanks!

A way to help victims of the Haiti Earthquake

2010-01-14T21:16:00.004-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted since I promised to post more, but things have gotten crazy around my house! First off, we started re-doing my daughter's bedroom and the very same day, the Haiti Earthquake happened. Well, since my husband does Disaster Relief for Matthew 25 Ministries, he became VERY busy! He and the rest of the staff and volunteers at M25M are working very hard to get aid to Haiti.

You can go here to visit their website to see ways you can help! Please know that anything you donate, cash or otherwise, will be put to good use to help those in need!! M25M has an outstanding track record and more than 99% of cash donated actually goes to the cause!!! That is awesome!!

Matthew 25: Ministries has already scheduled sixteen shipments of aid to depart as soon as they can confirm access to the affected areas. They also have a team going to Haiti later this week.

Want to help?? Go here and you can donate money to the cause. If you are in the Cincinnati area, you can drop off canned and nonperishable food, personal care products, cleaning products and/or first aid supplies.

Thank you so much for listening and your support! Please pray for all the victims in Haiti and their families and friends.

Project 365 and yep, I'm still alive!! :)

2010-01-11T12:54:00.003-05:00

Hello out there!!! Sorry it has been so long...I have really been slacking on my blog, I know...but I have been getting other projects finished and worked on!! More about those on another day though. I don't have much time to post because it's naptime right now and during naptime I have been doing my Wii Fit Plus! I LOVE it so much and I have lost 4 lbs. since New Year's Day, so that is awesome!

Anyway, I am really trying to do Project 365 this year! I am not going to post a picture every day, but I will post my weekly pages here! Since I don't have a lot of time to scrap anymore (since I started watching a newborn Jan. 4 and soon another one Feb.8) I bought an awesome kit from Weeds and Wildflowers that you can just fill in your pictures with! The pages are already done for you! How cool is that!! I think I should be able to keep up with it...I hope...we will see!

Anyway, here are my first week's pages!! I will also try to do a better job with my blog. They may not be long posts, but there will be posts.... :)

Countdown to Christmas Update

2009-12-18T10:15:00.004-05:00

Well, I haven't been doing to good at keeping up with my Countdown to Christmas...ugh! We are having an party on Saturday night and I have been pretty busy preparing for that - cleaning, making food, decorating, etc.! I am actually really busy today too! Our basement, where we are having the party, is a mess! I also watch kids in the basement, so I have to find a place to put all the little things that make big messes!!! Should be a fun day....lol!

Anyway, here are some pictures of some of the things we have been up to during our Countdown to Christmas!

We colored wooden ornaments, we made popsicle stick trees, we volunteered at Matthew 25: Ministries, we made fudge, toffee, Pretzel Rolo Turtles, cupcakes, cookies and Peppermint Bark, we made penguins for the front yard and I made a 2009 Family Christmas Star. We have also watch many Christmas movies too!

Tonight my hubby and Olivia and Cora are going to see "A Christmas Carol". It is a play and it is great! I saw it last year, this will be Cora's first year, so she watched "Mickey's Christmas Carol" this morning so she would understand the play tonight! :)

Well, I'm putting the computer up for the day so I can clean...probably won't be back until Monday, but I should have some more recipes and recipe cards for you then!!

I'm linking up to Liz over at Sugarplum Creations!! Be sure to stop by and check out everyone else's Countdown to Christmas!!

Free Recipe Cards for You!

2009-12-17T10:35:00.003-05:00

I totally missed posting yesterday! I was super busy cleaning the house and making necklaces (which I still owe you a tutorial for...I will get to it, I promise!). Anyway, I have also been trying to get my top 30 meals on recipe cards for myself and also to give as a gift to friends so that they can Meal Plan with me!! I couldn't find any recipe cards that I liked, so I made my own in 3 different sets of colors! Today I am sharing the first set with you in Wintery colors! I made them in 4x6 size so that I could just type them up and then print out as pictures and put them into a photo album.

I hope you like them! You can get them here or also on my Recipe Blog! Enjoy!!
Download Here

Here is a recipe for you too! These are like the chocolate No-Bake Cookies, but with Peanut Butter!! Soooo good!

Scrap it to Me Tuesday - Week 3

2009-12-15T08:24:00.005-05:00

Here is my page for the week. I wanted to scrap a page with my hubby and I, because for some reason, there are not too many pictures of us together. I used a kit by Flergs called Carver and a template from the cookie exchange at Sweet Shoppe Designs.

If you don't know what "Scrap it to Me Tuesday" is, then click here!!

Decorate a Tree and Help the Poor!

2009-12-14T13:05:00.006-05:00

Today I want to tell you a little something about my family's organization, Matthew 25: Ministries.

During the holiday season, I know a lot of you probably donate to a charity or volunteer. There are a lot of places out there asking for your time or money, I know it. But I want to introduce you to one more...but they are a little different. Why? Well, over 99% of the money that is donated to Matthew 25: Ministries goes towards their programs to send goods to the poor!!! Over 99%!!! Isn't that amazing?

Bottom line is, if you donate to Matthew 25: Ministries, you know your donation is being used the right way. It is not going towards the staff so they can drive fancy cars or live in big houses, it is going to the people who need it, the poorest of the poor!!

Just a little tip for you when you donate: Be sure to ask how much of your donation actually goes towards the cause. You may be surprised at what you hear! If you are not happy with what you hear, think of Matthew 25: Ministries and consider donating to them.

One way you can donate to Matthew 25: Ministries this holiday season is by decorating their Christmas tree! Of course, this is easier if you live here in Cincinnati, Ohio because you can actually stop in to buy a bulb, put your name on it and hang it on the tree! Or you can always send a check by mail if you aren't close and they can put your name on the bulbs and hang them on the tree for you!!

Of course, you can always just donate, too! Believe me, it is going towards a great cause! You can learn more about Matthew 25: Ministries by clicking here to visit their website!

I will be sharing more with you about Matthew 25: Ministries in the future! Thanks for considering them!

I will leave you today with Matthew 25: Ministries' Mission:

The mission of Matthew 25:Ministries is to fulfill Matthew 25:34-40 of the New Testament by providing nutritional food to the hungry, clean water to the thirsty, clothing to the naked, affordable shelter to the homeless, medical care to the ill, and humanitarian supplies to prisoners.

The people we help are not receiving a handout, but a helping hand. It is only when a person’s most basic needs are met, that one can become self reliant. Because of this belief, Matthew 25: Ministries has always placed an emphasis on education, job creation and providing aid to children.

Want to learn more? Click on the button below!

Get yourself "Something"!!

2009-12-14T10:51:00.003-05:00

My husband found this cool site today called, Something Store! Basically, you pay $10.00 and they send you "something"! What a great idea for White Elephant gifts! We are having a party this Saturday, so I ordered a couple "somethings" in hopes they will be here in time for the party! Part of the fun is that I won't even know what my White Elephant gift is!!

So, you might want to go check the site out and possibly order yourself something! I will let you know what we got after Saturday, hopefully! If not, we will still be giving the "somethings" to someone!! :)

A cool new toy and cute video!!

2009-12-11T13:09:00.010-05:00

I have so much I want to write about today! I want to do my Countdown to Christmas update for you, but I don't have time. My house is really a wreck and I need to clean it up! It will make me feel better...yesterday I had a bad day...

Today will be better, but I have to make it better! I have to take charge of my house, my life, my feelings and move on!

I will try to post this weekend with an update of all the fun Christmas stuff we have been doing, but I'm not promising anything at this point!! :)

Anyway, this is a quick post about our new toy! We got a Flip Video the other day when we were out Christmas shopping for the girls! We have a camcorder already, but we NEVER use it because it is too big and it always needs charged and it uses those silly little tapes and basically, we are just lazy to lug it out!!! lol I really wanted something new, something smaller to record the girls because I felt like time was slipping away and we weren't getting any of it on tape.

We saw the Flip Video and HAD to have it! It is so little and cute and takes great videos! I can just carry it around in my purse and you just plug it into your computer to download the videos and charge it! How cool is that!!! I know there are several different models, but we got the Flip Video Ultra HD and we love it!

Here is a cute little video I made of my youngest daughter the other night when she was getting ready to go to bed. She likes to sing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". This is her version!

Win a HP TouchSmart Computer!!

2009-12-10T08:56:00.003-05:00

I was so excited when I read about this giveway over at Kelly's Korner! Then I learned that there are actually 5 Bloggers giving one of these cool computers away! All you have to do is comment and then there are also extra chances to win by blogging about it and tweeting about it!

Ever since the first time I saw this computer advertised on TV, I have wanted one! I, of course, entered to win at each blog! This would come in soooo handy with my 4 girls (and my husband and I too, of course!). You can read more about the giveaway here!

Here are the 5 bloggers that are giving one away! Be sure to visit each one for your chance to win too! Kelly from Kelly's Korner, Stephanie at A Year of Slow Cooking, Jen at My Charming Kids, NieNie at The NieNie Dialogues, and Sophie at BooMama.

***PLEASE NOTE***
I am not giving one of these away, you must visit the blogs listed above to enter to win!!

You can make a Garland Tree!!

2009-12-09T12:01:00.006-05:00

The other day at Lowe's I saw the cutest Christmas Tree that was made out of garland. I almost bought it, but it was like $15.99 if I remember right. I was like, Whoa, that is a lot of money for some garland, right? I looked at the tree more and saw that it was really just garland wrapped around a wire tree frame. "I can make that!" I thought!!

So, here is my version and I will share with you how I did it. I went to the local craft store and bought a few Styrofoam cones (I am making 3 trees all together). Then I found some of the "loopy" type garland, because it looks the best. Then I got out my trusty hot glue gun and, starting at the base of the tree, started putting hot glue on the cone and then attaching the garland and wrapping it around (and up), gluing as I went. When I got to the top I just glued the end (I had to cut to length) to the top of the cone! That was it!

You can, of course, add something to the top for a star or something, but I just kept mine as is! They look great and are so sparkly!!

One word of caution, be careful when attaching the garland to the hot glue so that you don't burn your fingers!!

If you try this, please comment and show me some pics!!

(Please ignore the stuff in the background! I had to do this on the kitchen counter because the girls were coloring at the table!! )

Scrap it to Me Tuesday - Week 2

2009-12-08T10:17:00.004-05:00

Well, I am going to try this again! I had a few people participate last week, which I appreciate soooo much! Thank you!! I want to see if I can get at least 10 people to participate this week! That would be great!! If you missed the first week and don't know what "Scrap it to Me Tuesday" is, then read this post first! And as a reminder, be sure to link up to your BLOG, not a photo gallery please, thank you!

Here is the LO I did this week! I used a new kit from geniaBeana Scraps called "Dream a Little Dream"! I love the colors in this kit. So pretty and peaceful!
Here is the awesome kit! You can get it at GDS and Elemental Scraps!! It is on sale right now for 30% off!
Please link up!!!

Countdown to Christmas - Week 1

2009-12-04T14:04:00.003-05:00

I am joining Liz over at Sugarplum Creations for the Countdown to Christmas. I love her blog and once I saw that she was doing this, it inspired me to do something with my girls every day until Christmas to make this year special and memorable for them! It has been fun! The girls are really enjoying themselves! Here is a recap of our week!

We got the printouts off of a great site called Activity Village. Lots of great stuff there!

I got the cutest Christmas lists for the girls to use from Pocket Full of Posies! It is a free download!
These little angel patterns are also from Activity Village! I printed ours out on cardstock so that they would be sturdier.

Tonight we are going to a little Christmas Village where the girls will get to ride a little train, visit Santa and look into the windows of little elf houses. We have never been there before, but it is only 15 minutes away. I will post pictures later!

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Can't wait to see what everyone else has done! If you would like to join us, go link up at Sugarplum Creations!!

I HATE Ironing - A Product Review

2009-12-03T15:16:00.007-05:00

I HATE ironing! There, I said it! And....I really stink at it! Of course, I don't do it much, probably because how much I stink at it and because I HATE it. Wait did I already say I hate it? Sorry....I just really, really do!! My poor husband, he needs dress shirts for work and they are always in a big "waiting to be ironed" pile in the laundry room. I always promise, "I'll get to them," and I do....eventually, the day he needs one!! I put it off, I admit it...

So anyway, the other night I couldn't sleep and I was watching HSN (Home Shopping Network) and Joy Mangano and her "My Little Steamer" came on. She said that this was the perfect thing for people who hating ironing!! That's me, I thought!! Is she talking to me? Does she know how much I hate ironing? So I made a spur of the moment decision and ordered it. Well, I should say "them", you get two of them!! A big one, which isn't really that big and a small travel size steamer (so cute!). I got the black because I thought if it looked manly enough, maybe my hubby would want to use it too!! lol

The other night they arrived from UPS!! I was so excited! I finally got a chance to really try them out today because we have a "work function" of my husband's that we are attending tonight and he needed one of his shirts ironed! Perfect opportunity to try out my new toy!! Well, I have to say that I LOVED it! I ended up steaming 5 shirts!! It did really well!! It took me a few minutes to get the hang of it, but after I did, it was all good! The shirts turned out great! The only thing that I wasn't prepared for is how heavy it would be!! My little stick for arms felt very weak and tired after holding that steamer up for so long! Made me think that I really need to start working out!! lol The only tricky part was where the buttons are, the bottoms of the shirts and the collars. Some shirts I'm thinking I may still need to iron the collars, that is yet to be seen.

All in all, I would highly recommend this product! Especially if you hate to iron, like I do! I am going to keep the little travel size one in our bedroom for quick morning touch-ups! It is perfect for that. The bigger one will stay in the laundry room beside the wretched old iron...

You can get a Set of My Little Steamers at HSN right now for only $29.95 plus $6.45 S&H. They come a lot of yummy colors!! If you have one or get one, let me know how you like yours!!