Friday, May 27, 2011

FUNK

You read that right: I said FUNK. That's what I'm in today.

I thought I would have a chance to catch up on the blog in the past few weeks, but boy was I WRONG! May has been crazy!

My family (mom, dad, and two brothers) all came to visit me for 5 days last weekend. While it was great to see everyone, it put me in a tailspin the two weeks prior to their visit as I tried to clean and finish up a million unfinished projects around the house before they got here(which of course means that I have tons of upcoming material for the blog!). But all that frenzied activity has made me tiiiirreed! I woke up cranky this morning and I can't seem to shake it.

So I turned to this little dude, who instantly changes his mood with a little "Dog Days are Over":



I love that he gets all cranky and starts whining until he hears the song start again. Everytime I hear this song, I want to break in to a dance similar to his!

So here is the full version of the song for anyone else that is having a FUNKY Friday! Let's turn it back in to a Feel Good Friday!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Spring has Sprung

While I was away from the blog, I completed a lot of projects. I'm going to try uploading a bunch of them now that we're back and running, but they may seem a little out of order. Since there has been a back log since St. Patrick's Day, I hope you'll stick with me if I seem to jump from here to there!

First up is the centerpiece I created for Spring/Easter. I used things from the Dollar Tree and the Target Dollar Bins to put together this super cute Spring display:

I bought the basket at a thrift store for $1.99 and filled it with floral foam from the Dollar Tree:

I even left it wrapped in the plastic packaging to keep the mess under control (floral foam sometimes tends to fall apart pretty easily when not wet). I used three rectangles for this size basket, cutting one in half to fill the two ends.

I found these cute bird houses in the Target Dollar Bins. They are supposed to be decorative plant stakes for your potted flowers, but they work great for this project! Just stick them right in to the foam:

Along with the floral foam, I also picked up some flowers and birds. These came in a three pack, so you get even more bang for your buck.

After sticking the flowers and birds in the foam, I covered the entire surface with floral moss (bought at Dollar Tree). I didn't glue it down, but it would probably be a good idea if you want to save this for future seasons.

When it's all done, it looks so cute! I put it on my seasonal dresser display in the living room, but it would also be cute as a centerpiece or on a mantle!

I also found this square picket-fence box at the thrift store and used the extra plant stakes to create a second display for my other table. I can't decide which one I like more- the basket or the picket fence! Good thing I can display both!


(P.S. Sorry about the poor picture quality! A new camera is at the top of my wish list!!)

(P.P.S. I don't think these items are available in the Target bins anymore so I'm sorry if I just inspired you to create something that you can't... but just wait until next year! Now as soon as you see them pop up in the bins, you'll already have a plan of what to make!)

Let's Move!

I am a huge fan of the First Lady's new campaign called "Let's Move," which encourages kids to exercise as part of a healthier lifestyle.

The campaign recently had a big boost in popularity when Beyonce wrote and choreographed a song for kids to learn and use as an exercise. Kids in elementary schools across the nation learned the dance and performed it as big groups at school functions. The song is pretty catchy, and the dance is easy enough that anyone can do it! See below:




I think this is a great idea and a fun way to encourage kids to be more active. I always love when celebrities step up and use their popularity for good, too. Way to go, Beyonce!

Here are a couple of links to videos showing the First Lady, Michelle Obama, doing the dance, as well as Beyonce surprising a group of students at their school:

Michelle Obama: http://youtu.be/LHabSqxjsEQ

Beyonce: http://celebrity-gossip.net/beyonce/beyonces-lets-move-school-surprise-502391#ooid=13OW1mMjo3NIOhgXJQeyySIkkFNTtopK

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

I'm Baaaack!

Oh my goodness- I can't believe it's been so loooong! It's hard to believe that March 11 was my last post- not only because, hello??? It's MAY already! But also because- has it really been that long?? Man. Time flies when you're living in chaos! :)

But seriously, between working some big events at work (here and here and here) and my laptop completely crashing in the worst way, I have had such a hard time getting back on here to post!

Let's start with the laptop crash of 2011 (as I will now infamously refer to it). We've been struggling with my poor, old laptop for some time now. I bought it in 2006 when I moved to Texas, so it's a good 5 years old (which is ancient in laptop years). It held on well for me through most of it's lifespan, but it really took a dive there toward the end. It caught a virus that we just couldn't shake, and it was all downhill from there. I was in the middle of some pretty heavy research one night mid-March when it finally decided it had had enough. It locked up and shut down and refused to cooperate. When I took it in to Best Buy's Geek Squad to diagnose the problem, even the "Geek" had to laugh at how bad it really was. (Oh, you want to put in a CD to check the hard drive content? Good luck- this little laptop will spit it right back atcha!) His recommendation: get a new laptop. Awesome.


So a couple of weeks and a nice hefty Best Buy bill later, here I am on my new HP Pavilion Laptop. I love it so far and I can only hope it treats me as well (or better) than my now peaced-out Gateway. Although there is still hope for that old guy- he's back with the Geek Squad now, trying to get made back into a shadow of his former self. If he comes out alive and kicking, the rest of the family will have a computer all to themselves! (and no sharing for me!)

So now that we're back and ready to roll, I've got quite a bit to fill you in on... I've done several projects in the last month that I can't wait to share, and made more decisions about the future of this blog. Being away from the blog for so long showed me how much I really do enjoy writing on here. I may struggle with what to share from time to time, but the important part is that this little space on the blogosphere really gives me the chance to put it all out there! So here's to a refreshed start and some brand-spankin-new content coming your way! Let's go!




(consider this a teaser picture of a future post about our mini-vacation!)