DIY fun family frame with vintage scrabble tiles.

I have this empty skinny wall when you step inside my front door that is oh so empty. It's screaming for some art. I decided I wanted to make something to go there, and as a bonus I wanted it to have our family name(s) on it. Can I tie in my love for gray chevron? And scrabble? Done. and Done. So, here is what I came up with.

Here is the before:

 It's a holiday frame from Papyrus, and it's cute. Nothing wrong with it at all, I actually bought it because I love to decorate at Christmas with simple greenery and red berries. I included the 2 pictures below to show you the "new tag" $20. And, 2 years ago I picked this up at my local Goodwill store for $2.99. Quite the steal, eh? I decided that if I get tired of my DIY project frame here I can always peel off the letter tiles, steam off the paper, dissolve the adhesive and I'll have my Tidings of Comfort and Joy again. I do have a feeling I will like my scrabble frame though. I'll keep you posted.

measure and cut

 

  

                     

And, once I was happy with placement, it was all glued down. Here is the final product:

onederland.

I used to see lots of hashtags about onederland and now I get it.

I too have joined the group of people that are trying to get into the 100s. I want to lose about 100 pounds. Well, to make it easier to attain I should say that I want to lose 10 pounds, ten times. That makes the goals seem more realistic and hopefully I will be able to achieve it in a timely, and healthy manner.

Before I add any more links to the sidebar, I wanted to just post a short list of those I have been reading this week. For inspiration. And hope. And pictures! And tips. Encouragement. You know, I just need the support group.

the anti jared
sweating until happy
 the fit bee

simplifying sam

red star

curvyfitgirl.com

alifetimeloser.blogspot.com

 brookenotonadiet.wordpress.com

lessjess.blogspot.com

lilylove.com

amymoyers.com

jenmckenphoto.com

freedieting.com/tools

My favorite childhood books!

I can make a huge list of books I loved and read over and over again as a child. But, I challenged myself to make it a list of just five. That is quite hard actually. Try it. So, in no particular order, here are the five books I could not get enough of as a child. 3 of which I own currently and read to my own children. The other 2? Well, I just ordered those from my favorite bookseller of all time: http://www.abebooks.com/used

1. An Anteater Named Arthur has 4 or 5 mini stories within the book. All of them good, all of them sweet and honest. I loved the illustrations when I was growing up and it was easy to try and copy the style as we always had a red and black pen around the house. No need more more colors in this book. 

2. Be Nice to Spiders is the cutest! You will be sure to learn a lot while reading a heartwarming story that is super cute. The author of this book is so witty and charming. I grew up reading this book over and over and I have my original copy with a nice inscription from my grandparents one Christmas in the early 1980s. This makes the book extra special. I'm embarassed to admit that I did not notice that the same author wrote another of the books that made the Top 5 list here. Margaret Bloy Graham also wrote:

3. Benjy's Boat Trip. (Margaret Bloy Graham has a handful of great books I now know of) This book has it all. Great story, adventure, a great dog, a cat, and last but not least it has the same charm that all of Margaret's books have and the wonderful illustrations! I always thought back to this book whenever I saw a cruise ship for some reason. I'm glad to have my copy from when I was a wee one and I love to read it to my own 4 kids. We even have a stuffed animal that is named for one of the animals in this book!

4. I have not read Popcorn since I was a little girl. I am anxiously awaiting its arrival in the mail actually and then I am going to wait until night time and go ask my mother to read it to me. Why? Why would I do that at 35? because she is the one who used to read it to me over and over. We did not own the book, but she went to an ENT doctor weekly and I would go with her. She would pick up Newsweek and I would run and grab this instead and beg her to read it "just one more time". I'm pretty sure she hated the book after the first few times. I read this in the early 1980s. Frank Asch has several "Bear" stories and I intend to check some of the others out of the library on our next trip.

5. A Big Ball of String but Marion Holland. I forgot about this book after growing up. And, then a few months ago I saw it for sale in a vintage shop and gasped in happiness. I am also awaiting this books arrival to my house! Okay, if you happen to score a copy of this book, make sure its the edition from the 1950s or 1960s and not the 1980s or you will miss out on the wonderful illustrations of what this boy imagines himself doing with this BIG ball of string. This book inspired me, and I even tried creating a pulley system next to my sister's bed once with a basket, string and her shelving. This book rhymes if I remember correctly, but it's not too cutesy rhyming that older kids could not enjoy it as well. I think I will sign my copy once it arrives so my own children and grandchildren can cherish it.

For sale: All available for immediate shipping

Do you get 5 a day?

At the dinner table one night last week my family was discussing "people that don't even know what vegetables are" as my 9 year old phrased it. She told me about kids asking about the various vegetables in her lunch, in her sushi, as her "snack" in school. Then we talked about kids on a TV show we saw (It was either Nanny 911, or Wife Swap...something of that nature) and the kids had actually never SEEN some of the basic vegetables my family eats every single day. It was funny to me at first but then I realized it was sad. I wanted to go saute some kale for them or show them how good chard can be, or maybe just start with a basic power salad with raw spinach and strawberries.

I realized that there is another way for people who are not INTO eating them straight up, cooked or raw. So, you can drink your 5 a day! One shake/smoothie, or spread it out over the day if you want. Here is one of my favorites that I have dubbed the G-Bop. That's right. You can order a G-bop in my kitchen. (This is greens with banana, orange and pineapple). It's actually pretty wonderful.


Don't be nervous to try something new...you might be surprised at how much you like getting the added health benefits of getting in your daily quota of fresh fruits and vegetables...without eating the vegetable. More energy, and staying full longer are the first things I personally noticed with the G-Bop. Secondly, I was uh...more - regular. predictable if you will. And, no feeling bloaty or crampy as I would with a dairy smoothie/shake. This is a major win for me!

Kaptain!!!

I can't with this list.

Every year the Social Security Administration releases a baby name list. A site called Nameberry took a look at that list and pulled out the wackiest names. And, then I take the time to find you MY favorites because this is my space. nyah. As I put this out onto the inter-webs I must add that my children are: Kaya, Andrew, Benjamin and Emmaline and I have been criticized for mainly 2 of those names multiple times. I'll let you guess which two. I still adore both names for life! :D

From 2013, my favorites: (as in to laugh at and pray for them when their resumes start hitting the world) Sigh.

For the boys...
Kaptain. Kyndle. Kaptiain Subaru!
And for the little girls...
Vanellope or...
Charlemagne Pistol.
Kinzington Prezlee!

And, yes, people actually have now named their babies hashtag. I kid you not. 

FOR THE WHOLE LIST:

She is growing up. Oh my.

Tomorrow evening Kaya is going to her first ever dance. It's the daddy/daughter dance at school. I've heard a few of you talk about this and now I get to experience it. Well, kind of.

Last week we had a shopping date and sushi dinner. I got her her dress that night.

Last night I took aside two hours and flat ironed all of her hair which takes just about 2 hours if she's already washed/dried.

Today I took her out for shoes. I thought that would be easy peasy. Ha! First stop was Nine West where she fell in love with a pair of jade colored ballet flats but the WOMENS sie 6 was too small and 7 was too big, they did not offer half sizes. We went to 3 other shoe stores before just stumbling into Payless of all places where she decided "these are the ones". Partly out of hunger and fatigue and partly because they are close to matching the dress color. I really didn't want to take the flip flop route but OH WELL.

Then, one more store for nail/toe polish, a sparkly new headband and a pair of earrings. And, my entry would not be complete without pictures of what we bought. And tomorrow I will of course post pic of them all dressed and ready.