Happy Halloween!

This year was a extra special Halloween since it was Aries first Halloween! I love my little guy and made sure we went out of our way to do some super fun stuff. We got candy and spent time together as a family. This year Aries ended up going as two different things. Our first trip out we went to the mall to trick or treat and it was super warm. So he went in his skeleton jammies for the mall and when we went around the neighborhood we dressed him up in his dragon costume.

I dressed up as the Tardis from Doctor Who. I posted each as a link so if you don't know who they are. Take the time to look it up, because it is the most awesome show ever.

Justin went as a demon and was super cool. Aries thought his mask was funny.

In the end we had a pretty good time and got us all some yummy candy! Next year is going to be twice as fun!

Decoupage

My newest artistic interest is in Decoupage. In some sense, it really isn't a new hobby, but a expansion of my knowledge and ability. Decoupage is essentially is gluing or pasting paper to another object or surface, which is something I do and have done on several projects. Just now with some very helpful YouTube tutorials, I have started expanding my skills. You can basically do this craft on any surface you can glue paper to. Through a google image search of Decoupage I found the images included in this blog, and I think they show the variety of projects you can do with this craft.

I think these shoes are super cool, and I would love to do a project like this myself, but have a theme and possibly paint them as well.

This plate above shows just adhering a simple image can make a awesome piece of art. This would be great for a guys room or around Halloween time. It was done well too, because you cannot even tell it was glue on.

The box above is my inspiration for a lot of old shoe boxes I have around the house. I like to use old shoe boxes to organize my craft supplies, bathroom stuff, and other small odds and ends. Why go out and buy some what pretty boxes at WalMart for $2-8 each, or go to a craft store and get them for $10-20 each?? They are so easy to make, and also make great gift boxes.

The table here is another neat concept. The current project I am working on is similar to this because it is a fully covered project. These can be very time consuming. For a surface that is going to get used afterwards, you have to use a secondary sealant normally. They do make Outdoor Mod Podge now, which is meant to stand weather and such, but it is probably easier to use a spray can of clear gloss like I do.

If this is a concept that interests you WalMart carries all the supplies need to get you started. Also, if you are in need of guidance, don't hesitate to ask YouTube. There are so many helpful and experienced crafters out there who just enjoy sharing their knowledge and made many helpful videos!
Instead of posting links to direct videos, I just advise you search 'How to Mod Podge' on YouTube. I hope to be posting some of my projects soon!

PS: According to my spell check 'crafters' is not a word, lol. Don't take a spell check to a craft store then!

November!

Wow, it is so crazy November is already here! I had a pretty good October, with the minor exception of Jeremy losing his new job. But I went and got my nails done for the first time!

I love how they turned out! Things are going well and I am deep into my Christmas shopping. I already have gifts for everyone in my household. I have no idea what to buy my brother and sister! I dont really know what they are into. I did purchase several Halloween markdowns today, but I have to say my favorite is the pumpkin piggy bank I got.

It was only $5 at Target!

Yay for October

I absolutely love the month of October. I love the leaves changing, the cool breeze, and of course Halloween! Dressing up is such a blast. I already have a cute sign on the door and will be putting up more decor soon. Our internet gets hooked up tomorrow and I am very excited for that. It means no more blogging from my phone and more interesting blogs as well. I really have no clue if I havr loyal readers or not. If I do I thank you all for keeping up with me and reading what I write. I love writing and love I get this outlet to do so. I will be uploading a lot of pictures and art I do after tomorrow. I just bought a new printer today that is also a scanner, so much better pictures of my art work to come!

I had my first review at the library and got a raise! I am really enjoy working there. Books and I were meant to be together for sure. When ever I go to Des Moines we always stop at Boarders. I love this book store. It is wonderful! I love that they have a dollar book table and then they always have great sales too. I almost always find a wonderful book on sale that I love. This last trip I got a huge book called 'The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead'. It has over 900 pages of vampire information. I plan on reading everything. I am pretty vampire obsessed. I have been reading the House of Night book series. Justin has a Boarders membership, so when we buy things he earns points.
He was able to find a ton of vampire stories for me. He is into the 39 clues books. So he keeps up with them on there.
We still have a ton of unpacking to do, we have kind of took a break from that. I have been keeping an eye out for Christmas shopping. Holden is the hardest one to buy for. I took him over to his girlfriends house today. She is really nice and I like him spending time with her. He always has nice things to say about her.
I bought Coco a doggy shirt on sale at WalMart. She has been wearing it for a few days, and it looks really cute. I got it for her because she always seems to be cold lately. We still have all the puppies here. I really want to sell them. You just don't realize how much dogs can poop!!
Chris has been working weird shifts the past couple of weeks. He will work like 12 to 16 hours for a few days then be off work for 3 or 4 days. It has been hard on him.
I made up treat bags of Halloween candy for the three of us. I got the candy on sale on the first. The boys really liked it. Oh and I had Mickey with me when we went, and I got a dozen cupcakes to split. We don't really need 12 cupcakes for three people. So I gave them six and took six home.
Sam is a pathetic cuddle monster of a cat. I am trying to write this and he comes and throws himself across my right arm. He just purrs his heart away. Zoe has been super loving as well. I wonder if it is because she wants attention or because it is cold out.
This fall has been going pretty well so far.

Things are starting to come around for sure. Which is really good. I got hired at the Maytag Dairy. I will be working full time there. Then I will be part time at Wal-Mart. It will add up to more then when I worked at Prairie Meadows, plus there will be no huge gas bill and I get a discount. The only down side is I am not sure about if I get benefits or not. If I do it won't be until next year, which isn't too far off. Justin and I have already started some Christmas shopping. I think we are going out to Prairie Meadows for Halloween. I am going to dress up and enter the costume contest. I am the happiest I have ever been since I found Justin, he is just wonderful to me. I couldn't have asked for anyone better. We finally got the house appraised, and I turned into the paper work to my bank. The other place I was going through was a scam I think. They wanted me to pay before I was approved. Which I can't come out of pocket for that kind of crap. I am trying to get extra for the refinance so we can combine our bills and lower all our monthly payments.

Yesterday WalMart had pumpkins for only a dollar, so I went and bought three of them so that Mickey and Holden each had one to carve and then Justin and I are going to share one to carve. I think is will be a lot of fun. We have been spending a lot of time over at my moms house. She and I have been doing a lot of swap-bot stuff together. I have been having so much fun with the stuff I do on there. I get so excited to see what I am getting in the mail next. I mailed out three packages for two swaps today. I haven't been home yet to check my mail, because they are tearing up the road in front of my house. I guess they are hoping the road doesn't fall apart again this winter.

Stuff

Well, I thought I would throw it out all at once. I am posting stuff I have to trade or sell, stuff I need or want.
Things I have to Sell or Trade:
Full size mattress set with a frame
two smaller working tv's
bathroom sink
two lamp shades
sewing machine table with machine in it, older
a dorm fridge(like a mini one)
a recliner, a living room chair
two end stands for like in a lving room(wood)
small computer desk on wheels
a kitten(well, we are trying to find spooky a new home, lol)
paint ball gun(with some extras)
nice poker chip set in a wood case

Stuff I want or need:
dog food
cat food
cat litter
welcome mat for my front door
plastic storage containers
canned food
halloween decor
gravel(anything I can put in my driveway!)
bricks
surround sound speakers for a tv(I have a tv with no sound and that will fix it)
baking pans and cookie sheets
tupperware(doesnt have to be name brand, just need stuff with lids!)
queen size bed sheets
cat or small dog collars

Today was a pretty good day all together. I got the house appraised first thing this morning. Then I took a bog box of stuff over to my moms. It was so big and heavy that I had Jeremy come over and help me load it up. Then we both went over to moms and hung out there for a little bit. She needed me to run a box to the post office for her, for one of her swap-bot swaps. She is really getting into that. I am glad too. I left a bunch of my stuff over there and I need to bring it back so I can actually get my swap stuff done. I need to get more of my ATC's done. I did a cute Halloween one tonight. I still have to do another, and I also need to to do a red themed post card. Then I am also doing breast cancer awareness ATC's. I got some cute little patches to use for one ATC I am doing that is pink punk rocker girl themed. I am really excited about that one. I think when we moved to the new house I am going to get a large bulletin board and put all my ATC's that I get in trade up there. So I can display them. The ones I have gotten so far are really cute and I really like them. I have been sending extras, but I don't think I am up to par yet with other swappers. I don't get rated as much as I would like. Not that I get bad ratings or anything. I just want that extra heart. But I am still enjoying it, I can't remember the last time I was this creative. Then me and my mom are thinking about selling ATC and scrap booking kits. I was working on punching out little kitties, hearts, and party hats today. My thumbs hurt really bad. Justin and Jeremy were nice enough to help me though, which was really helpful. I even brought Mickey over to the house today. Holden was being bad and she wasn't so I thought I would treat her by taking her with me for a few hours. She played on rock band and actually finished a song! I was pretty proud of her. She played it several times to get better at it. Which is really awesome she worked hard to get better at some thing like that. She is only six. I am so lucky to have a great little sister. I am pretty sure that we are going to find Spooky a better home. I can't seem to get her litter trained and I am already having a hard enough time with the dogs and such. I have enough animals as it is. I will make sure she goes to a nice place, where she won't get abandoned or hurt. She is a good cat, but I need to focus on the animals already in my life. I don't think it will be hard to find her a good home. I would have to say over all today was a pretty good day. Jeremy ended up treating us to dinner at Perkins. Which was nice and actually pretty fun. I think Justin and I actually embarrassed him because we kept talking about sex and stuff. I don't think anyone heard us, but who knows. It was fun though. We came home watched a few episodes of Ghost Hunt. That is a new anime we are watching and it is pretty cool. It is basically what the title says, and each episode I watch gets me a little more interested.

Happy Halloween!

Me, Mom, Mickey, Holden, and Todd all went trick or treating together. It was a lot of fun. We went walking done the streets in me and moms neighborhoods. The kids did pretty well. We went to the church after that. They had whats called Trunk-or-Treat. People sit in the parking lots with their trunks open and the kids trick or treat there. Then we went to the hospital. By the time we all got there, we got through pretty quick. So it wasn't too bad, besides it was hot. Then we swung back by the church again. Finally we went and ate at McDonalds. They were having .59 cent cheeseburgers today. Mom bought us all dinner. Which was really nice of her. We went back to moms and unloaded. I had Todd bring me home, and I showed him around my house some. It is wild because I own so much stuff. But he has to work tomorrow, so we said our goodbyes. I have to say I had a overall Awesome day.

Wow

Ok, I guess I haven't written in a while. I am sorry for that. I have been super busy. Usually write toward the end of the day, and my boss has me working everyday this week. So it sucks. But is good, because I am getting tons of hours. I was on register all day today, which wasn't cool. I did nothing but run all day long. I sent a lot of text messages though, lol. I work tomorrow then I have the entire weekend off. I am going to get tons and tons of cleaning cleaning done then. My house is trashed. Zack got a lot of cleaning done today, mostly getting boxes out of the house. I have a date next Tuesday that I am extremely excited about ( and kinda nervous too). I want to get a lot of unpacking done between now and then. I want the house to look really good, in case we decide to come back here, because he is coming here. I just can't wait!!

I think I will be carving my pumpkin this weekend! That should be fun. I wish I could have decorated more for Halloween, but since the move date got pushed back, most of the decor is lost amoung the packed stuff. Coco is super tired. She spent the last few hours running around like a freak! She can be one psycho pup. But I love her so much. I just don't see how I could live without her. She is my baby.

I am still unsure of my Halloween plans, but I will be doing something. If I had more friends, then I would throw a party. Although I am still not sure if I would because I think I would freak out about the time someone spilled something on my new carpet. This is the first carpet I have ever owned that was nice, and clean.

I have gotten two more boxes unpacked, which is good, because I having a hard time finding my pants! I am frustrated though because I can't find the pedal to my sewing machine. It must have gotten separated in the move. I really need it because I bought these huge curtains and I had to split them in half for them to fit the windows. Well now I need to sew up the edges and I can't! I wish I knew where things were! Like we couldn't find the cat food all day long. It was beside the fridge all along, but the cat wasn't happy yo have had to wait. Chris found Zoe laying in the bath tub earlier. She usually lays in the lizard tank under the heat lamp. Oh, and then she owns the windows.

I am going to try harder to keep up on my writing. I love to write, so I just need to make time for it. I ams till collecting those HyVee receipts for the heating aid this winter. I have a stack I need to take over to my moms house. She has a little envelope that she is keeping of them.

I have a fairly long day tomorrow, I have to run a lot of errand. I have to go and buy food, then I have to go to the bank, I would really like to stop by the salvation army, and then Chris wants to take me out to eat since I haven't been in a while. He is going to be running errands with me so it should be fun.

Cleaning Done

I a ton of cleaning done today. I am so happy with our new home. Chris took his college entrance exams today. I am so proud of him. If it weren't for his parents ruining his chances at college when he got out of high school, he could have been done by now. But this is better any way because the schools in Iowa are so much better then South Carolina schools.
Anyways, Coco is peeing most of time on her puppy pads. I am so proud of her. I love that she can be a super hyper little thing, but then is my little lap buddy too.
My job interview went well, but I don't think it will work out because they are wanting a bunch of short shifts that would interfere with my GoodWill job. So I probably won't end up there. But thats ok, nursing homes can be kinda sad.
I found a bunch of my Hallloween decor today!! I put a bunch up, including this awesome string of lights that are really cute, they are little pumpkins. Oh and I carved a pumpkin on my facebook. It is cute. I let Mickey and Holden do one too. They had fun with it.
I am getting excited though, because my mom is going to have a Halloween party/House warming party. I think we are going to have our house warming party some time early November.
Chris has been a total sweet heart to me today, but then he feels kinda bad about this morning. I went in to wake him up and he scratched me. He didn't mean too but I was supposed to wake him up and he got grumpy. He felt so bad. It is ok though. He is in making chili spaghetti for dinner. He is such a good cook. All the boys are. I am one lucky girl. Me and Zack have been getting along better lately. Which is good for everyone. I am just glad we got so much done around the house today. The living room is useable, the kids are in watching the movie Cars. Zack is too. Today has been pretty good.

Fall

This post is inspired by my friend Linda. She was starting to feel a little down, so I told her some of the things that cheer me up.
When I was out of state, I was in a place that wasn't pretty. Or enjoyable.

But now I am in Iowa. I love it here. It is beautiful. The way the leaves change to different colors of golden brown and red oranges. Each tree on it's own time and schedule. It is so beautiful to see the leaves fall one by one and be swept away by the wind. I drive past the elementary school as it lets out and kids run and jump and play in the leaves. The breeze is crisp and cool. Then it rained today, and it was cold and dreary for a bit. Then after the rain is that fresh smell that only nature can provide. Everything washed clean, fresh and new.
I am so thankful for these things, because once you don't have them, you miss the beauty. I missed enjoying this season. I love Halloween and the weather.
I picked up Holden and Mickey from school the other day, and Holden points out the window all excited and says"Look Panda! Half that tree has red leaves and the other half is still green!"
He is eight years old, and I am so glad he can see how amazing that is.
This is my home and I love it here.