Over too soon

Wow! My eyes are screaming right now. I think I've read/visited more blogs in the past 12 hours than I have in the 6 months I've had my blog! But what fun it was to meet new SITS-tahs and share the comment love. I even found time to teach 5 classes in between :) My fingers lost feeling a couple of hours back, and were it not for spellcheck, I wouldn't be able to type coherently anymore. So thank you for stopping by, and I promise to visit as soon as I can blink again. So excited about all the new blogs to visit...

Blogathon

I am a relative newcomer to the blogging world. I started this blog in June as a way to keep our out-of state family (i.e. everyone) current on our "goings ons". Through the blog world I've been able to reconnect with old friends, make new ones, and just be in awe at what people create with 5 minutes free time. One of the sites that has helped me find my way is SITS. That's Secret is in the Sauce, a blog dedicated to recognizing and supporting bloggers. Each day they have a feature blog and link you up to some of their favorite posts, and throughout the week they have various giveaways from some amazing sponsors. You visit the blog and leave some comment love. Because nothing is sadder than a post without comments. It makes me sad to see "0 folks are keeping up". But with SITS, whenever you see the button, you comment away, and make sure to visit all your vistors' blogs. Do you see the bloggy chain of love this creates? I've stumbled into many a blog by way of SITS, but here are my top 5 finds:

1. Heather @ Mindless Junque. She's one of the founders of SITS and I love her quirky observations on life (and her fireside chats).
2. Kat @ Mama's Losin' It. Hi.lar.i.ous. I laugh out loud when reading her blog. She has such a fun and entertaining family, and they are all fair game. And her header alone makes it worth it.
3. Cherry @ Cherry's Jubilee This is where I go to drool. She has such cool and eclectic decor and I have attempted to re-create several things without success.
4. Emily @ Little Momma and Co. Wow! This momma does it all, from cooking, to painting, to sculpting clay jack-o-lanterns, I am worn out just reading through her blog. She has such a fun style. I love her blog layout!
5. Tricia @ Fabulous since 1961. Tricia has such sincere and funny posts. even the most routine thing takes on a whole different flavor when she blogs about it. Her family is sweet and she shares both the the good and bad times they've had.



So thank you SITS! Have a fabulous blogathon day!

Fabulous fun finds

While "taking it easy" on this holiday weekend, I've had ample time to explore the wonderful world of etsy, and handmade items. How excited was I to find a blog dedicated to fabulous fun finds! And even better, they're having a giveaway! 44 wonderful, amazingly creative handmade items, just in time for the holidays. Go check it out .

Frightful and delightful

Columbus Day weekend usually means one thing: a trip to visit Big Tex and all the fried deliciousness that is the Texas State fair. I mean how often can you try crispy fried cantaloupe pie, fried moon pies, fried cake on a stick, fried banana splits, and chicken fried bacon. But, the broken toe from yesterday has made a trip to the fair but a dream. Instead, I treated myself to the Hershey's dunkers from Pizza Hut while working on Halloween decorations :)

Paper Dolls for Boys had some creepy looking specimen jars. The young un and I tried our hand at a few creepy concoctions:

I found some unfinished frames at Hobby Lobby and always have plenty of scrapbook paper begging to be used:

Just a Girl had some fun (and glittery) Halloween inspiration. I didn't have the patience to do all the bones, so I just chose a skull:

I know I have more decorations somewhere in storage, but this is a start. I have one more project to finish up, but just can't seem to get it to turn out how exactly how I want. Maybe tomorrow I'll get it right...

Word of the Day

accident prone (ak-si-duhnt-prohn)

adjective. tending to have more accidents or mishaps than the average person. Example: Breaking your little toe on the strap of your child's crocs.




*** Here's the breakdown: Young un was walking backwards. I turned him around. As he turned, he stepped on my foot. I jerked said foot away, but the poor little piggie got stuck in the strap and snapped. I can assure you that it did not weee weee weeee all the way home.***

Is it just me, or is everyone a bit on the tense side?

Honestly, I don't know of a time in my teaching career when I wasn't stressed (ok maybe there was a week or two at the end of June). Add to that the chaos of an Election year, the current economic fiasco, the storage building search for fall decorations, the aftermath of a garage sale still lingering in my garage, and the end of fall baseball, it's a wonder I even remember where I live most days. A girl needs someway to work out this frustration, even when surrounded by 120 middle schoolers. My solution:

Click here for your own bubble wrap! (But be careful with your volume!)

Giveaway Winner

And the winner is:

Lisa of the flimfam!
Congrats Lisa... I hope you'll enjoy the season 2 DVD and your special surprise! Thanks to everyone that entered. You are gonna love this season :)