Snow Day

Day 10: Any photo you like for any reason.

I love nature, how can you not? To me this epitomizes spring. A new birth. A fresh breath. A bright awakening.

Distraction and Days 8 & 9.

So I've been distracted the last 24 hours with a new addition to our family.



Hi, I'm Parker!

A couple dogs in the neighborhood canoodled a while back so a neighbor had a litter of puppies she was giving away. I got the last one :) He is a Golden Retreiver/Chow Chow mix. Otherwise known as a Golden Chow. There isn't a ton of info online about the hybrid, so I'm not sure what he'll look like (other than a fuzzball) when he gets older.

 I did learn that there is a Chinese restaurant in St. Paul called Golden Chow Mein.

Jazmynn (our Black Lab mix) seems happy to have another canine around.

Now I have two pups to "help" me when I cook.

Now onto the challenge...

Day 8: A photo of something you enjoy doing.



This is a really old picture from a dance competition. Even though I haven't been on stage in forever, I still have to say that dancing is something I will always love doing.



 Day 9: A photo of yourself at least a year ago.



This is from November of 2009. I had just chopped my hair off. I loved it that short, but hubby wasn't a big fan. Fine with me, my goal now is to be long and natural :)

 Until next time,
Barbie

Day 7: A photo of something you stand for.

I could stand on my soapbox and give you a million reasons why we need to protect our home, but I'll just leave you with this:

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." ~Native American Proverb

Day 6: A photo of someone you love.

She got to play outside for a bit today. I can't wait for warm weather so we can be out everyday!

Day 5: A Photo That Makes You Laugh.

So. Me and my friend Kari, of Cupcakes and Cocktails, are really big dorks!

We were trying to go for an Akward Family Photos moment. Pretty sure we hit the nail on the head.

This should be our Christmas card this year {I like to plan ahead}. I better stock up on stamps, I bet this will be popular :)

 

Until Next Time,

-Barbie

3 for 1 special.

So I've been dragging with the 30 day challenge. Seriously, I couldn't do more than one day?! Well I'll play catch up right now.....and then stay on track!

Day 2: A photo of yourself when you were a baby

lame

Day 3: A photo that makes you happy.

I love A in jammies for two reasons: 1) she looks so sweet and innocent 2) she will soon be in bed ;)

Day 4: A photo of a place you'd like to visit.

Okinawa, Japan. Hopefully soon!

Until next time,

-Barbie

Happy Valentine's Day!

I have yet to get hubby's gift, but I know exactly what I'm getting and will head out in a bit to pick it up.

Surprised Sweetpea with a special breakfast this morning:

I have a lot of projects I'm working on today {#1 Procrastinator Award winner!} so I'll update throughout the day.

Update:

Aliyah got a package from Grandma today full of Valentine's goodies. She decided to model each one.



^^My favorite^^

  There were also some goodies for me for my birthday! Moneeeez, most of which has been spent at craft stores already, and this lovely book! For anyone who knows me it is the perfect book, I've actually been eyeing it for a while.

 

Then, since Aliyah has been bugging me to do a craft with her we made her a Valentine's Day shirt {that can be worn year round}

The craftmanship is sub-par, but I was in a rush. Aliyah picked out all the fabric and thread though, and I think it turned out really cute. I'll have to get a better picture sometime.

Did you get any goodies today?

-Barbie

How to make a 25 cent pillow in less than 25 minutes.

You will need:

- A great friend who is willing to take you thrifting for your birthday.
- A thrift shop having a half price sale.
- An Iron
- A Seam ripper
- Some Stuffing
- A Long handled spoon
- Needle and thread

Step 1. Go to Thrift Shop! If you need someone to go with you can always ask me :)



Sundays are half-price days here :)



Step 2: Have fun looking for pretties. Then find a place mat that has a a front panel of fabric and a back panel of fabric.



                         

                               I found two, and they were half price! (I'm a cheap date)



Step 3: Take home goodies and iron out any wrinkles.



I know, there is paint on my craft table.



Step 4: Use a seam ripper on the bottom corner to make a small hole.

Step 5: Start stuffing.



Note that you will want to have more stuffing than you think you need.




Work slowly with small clumps.


Step 6: Use spoon to maneuver stuffing inside. If you just try to shove it all in at once you will end up with an awkward, lumpy pillow. Start at the opposite corner from the hole and fill slowly, checking to smooth out any bumps or craters.

Coming to life!

Step 7: Once it is filled to your liking close the hole with a small whip stitch.

Step 8: Admire. OOOO! AHHH!

The original cost of the two place mats was a whopping $0.90. Half price = $0.45. All other supplies I had on hand.

This is a super easy project, even for those of you who "can't sew". No need for a machine, just a needle and thread. The stuffing part is the hardest, only because it's the most time consuming. You end up with a one of a kind pillow! You will see these pillows again in the near future.....

And the 30 day challenge: Today is suppose to be a baby picture. I asked my sister to take a picture of a picture for me since all those things from years past are at my parent's house in the Midwest. Well, I'm pretty sleepy, and my sis isn't home yet to send the pic, so you'll just get a double dose tomorrow.

I know, I know, I was going to work realllllly hard on being consistent with the challenge, however my main goal is to just blog more, and you got a pretty cool blog today :)

More pillow power tomorrow {and a very cool surprise!}

Until Tomorrow,

Barbie

I'm linking up to:









30 Day Challenges

I've heard alot about 30 day challenges lately, and I think I'd like to try some out.

My friend Elisabeth at The Happy Yoga Mom is trying to recruit others to do a "30 for 30" challenge.



She is my blogging mentor :)



The idea is to pick 30 items from your closet and wear ONLY those items for 30 days. Accessories aren't included, but shoes are. Sounds like something I would benefit greatly from since I tend to wear jeans and a sweatshirt most days (isn't that the unspoken mother uniform?)

However, I want to wait till the weather warms up a bit so I can throw in some skirts and dresses.....including a birthday gift I bought myself!

Hooray for gift cards!!

So, I'll start my challenge of challenges with a photo one. I figure this will {hopefully} get me to blog every day. I have so many ideas, it's just a matter of making myself blog them!

I'm gonna do this:

Day 1: Me on my birthday a couple weeks ago.

Day 1: A photo of you.

Day 2: A photo of yourself when you were a baby

Day 3: A photo that makes you happy.

Day 4: A photo of a place you'd like to visit.

Day 5: A photo that makes you laugh.
Day 6: A photo of someone you love.
Day 7: A photo of something you stand for.

Day 8: A photo of something you enjoy doing.

Day 9: A photo of yourself at least a year ago.

Day 10: Any photo you like for any reason.

Day 11: A photo of a night you loved.

Day 12: A photo of when you were happy.

Day 13: A photo of one of your favorite movies.

Day 14: A photo of your best friend (s).

Day 15: A photo of you and a family member.

Day 16: A photo from your childhood.

Day 17: A photo from a trip you'll never forget.

Day 18: A photo of your town.

Day 19: A photo of your favorite thing from school.

Day 20: A photo of something you ate today.

Day 21: A photo of somebody you find attractive.

Day 22: A photo that you associate a good memory with.

Day 23: A photo of something you want to do someday.

Day 24: A photo of what you want to be when you grow up.

Day 25: A photo that inspires you.
Day 26: A photo of your favorite subject in school.
Day 27: A photo of something you are looking forward to.
Day 28: A photo of something/somebody that made your day.
Day 29: A photo of your favorite person from history.
Day 30: A photo you find beautiful.
 
I like this one as a starter because I don't have to take a picture of myself everyday. I'm still in hibernation mode, it isn't pretty.
 
Are any of you doing challenges? How are they going? I'm horrible with consistancy (like I've said before), but I'm going to try realllllly hard :)
 
Until TOMORROW!
-Barbie