Day 31: Halloween

So, it's been a few days - and I know you're sick of me apologizing for going MIA! Today is the last day of the 31 day series - and I, for one, am happy about it! I wish I could have had 31 posts but it just didnt work out that way and sometimes you just gotta suck it up! No one is perfect!

With that being said I want to add a VERY special Happy Birthday to my dear nephew, Donald. He turns 14 today! I can't believe how fast time flies by! I was 13 when he was born, Yikes!!

And, as if you didn't know it, today's Halloween!! I am not overly excited, we have nothing going on - Riley, dressed up as Super Woman, will be with her mom. 

Plus we went to a Halloween/Surprise party a few weeks ago! That was great!!

I have a HUGE challenge starting tomorrow - more details another time... sorry to keep you waiting!

I am a little tired today, we stayed up to watch the new Sons of Anarchy episode last night .. anyone else have a show they just have to watch??

Thank you for joining me ... and don't forget to like my Facebook page!!

XOXO,

 

Day # 27: A New (old) Computer

Today, I am so excited to tell you that I got a new (old) computer!! Yesterday I bought a used MacBook from a friend, because she got a new one! I am so happy to report that I am actually writing this post from my house!! Not the library or my cell phone app!

I know, I'm a dork, I have been told many times, but this genuinely makes me excited! It was really starting to take a toll on me and my work, not having a computer at home. Story is a few months ago out cat spilled an entire glass of water on my laptop and fried the hard drive - we learned that day not to leave cups out with anything in them!

Here is a photo of my "office" and view for this morning! It's a (very) breezy 73 degrees right now :)

As I mentioned in Day 25, changes are coming and I am so excited for the ideas and dreams I have! I am starting a new 30 day challenge soon - can't wait to tell you all about it!

Enjoy your weekend, and for everyone in Sandy's path, stay safe!

XOXO,

Day # 25: Dreams

I have such wonderful dreams for this blog, well I think they're wonderful!

I can't wait till we finally buy a house, so I can share it with everyone. And then all the DIY projects and ohh what fun it will be!!
I can't wait to be pregnant ... Well I simply can't wait for that, but there are so many blog ideas I see floating around!
I want to share everything I pin on Pinterest!! From food to (again) our future home - this one will take a loong time! :)

These are the biggest things that come to mind when I dream about my blog, like I've got nothing better to dream about! There are also many more posts I'll think up as well! Let's just hope they don't come to me as I'm falling asleep! I never remember those thoughts!! :)

 

I absolutely love this!

What are your dreams? Better yet, what would you like to read about here?!

XOXO,

Day # 24: Eggs in the Oven

Well, that double post yesterday really fell through the cracks, didn't it? Our laptop at home is broken, so it's getting more difficult to blog on a whim! Hopefully that problem is fixed this weekend, as planned.

Today, I am so excited to let you in on a little secret that I found (as many as you probably have) on Pinterest! 

I made hard boiled eggs in the oven over the weekend, and they were great! I had read they would be easier to peel, but to be honest that was not one of the things I experienced. They were tasty though!

First, I put my eggs, straight from the fridge, into a cupcake pan. You can bake them from 325-350 for (approx) 30 minutes. I did 325, but next time I would totally do 350 for 30 minutes. I also say approx 30 minutes, since all ovens are not created equal :)

After 30 minutes in the oven, I put them in a bowl of ice water for 10 minutes. This was to stop them from cooking/baking/"boiling" further.

Then I ate them! MmMmm!

This may take longer than boiling your eggs on the stovetop, but I find it much easier. For one, I could never remember the details of hard boiling eggs, I have asked my mom how every time I've attempted it! (Right, Mom?!) Also, you can just stick them in the oven and go off and do something else, like laundry! That's what I did!

How do you like your eggs, and would you try this way?

XOXO,

Day # 23: Skipped Day & A Birthday!

Well, I completely missed yesterday, and I apologize!! 

However, TODAY is my sister's birthday!!

That is all I have today ... (shame on me), but maybe I'll get inspiration throughout the day and you'll get a double post!!


XOXO,

Day # 21: What's To Come?

I know some of you may be thinking the content has been few and far between this past week, I apologize for that! As you may know, I started this blog on August 29th - and on October 1st signed up (at the last minute) for the Nesting Place's 31 Day series.

I have totally been having a blast with my "Our Home" series, but seem to be struggling to bring you interesting content - and I don't want you to come here just for nothing! I plan to spruce it up a bit, I did a few artsy things this weekend and have plans for more! Please bear with me!

In the meantime, Tyler and I went to our very first Halloween (surprise Birthday) party last night!! It was such a blast! I ran out to Walmart to pick up a costume, and ended up with the flapper, and Tyler dressed up as Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy. He also wore a hooded sweartshirt from the show, but he was getting a bit warm by this time. All he was missing was the motorcycle!

Stay tuned for my upcoming posts on cooking, cleaning and DIY projects at our Home!

Please leave me some feedback, I would so greatly appreciate it!

XOXO,

Day # 20: Laundry day

Well today is laundry day! I try to get ALL our laundry done every Saturday! They usually all get washed and dried.. Put away is a whole other story!

Right now load #2 (whites) is washing, while load #1 (blacks) is drying. Loads 3 (colors) & 4 (towels) are waiting in line, or technically on the floor :)
Now I'm off to Walmart, publix and the library (to get some Shaklee work done!) I hope everyone is having a great Saturday!!

How do you do laundry?

Xoxo,

Day # 19: Family Fun Fest

Back on our Random Sunday, I told you a little bit about the Family Fun Festival. Well I have finally got my photos together so I can give you more of the fun!

After Church, and breakfast, we all went home to change and headed out to the FFF (Tyler, Riley, Grandma Rose and myself), which was held at Mounts Botanical Garden. It is so lovely there!

 

The first thing we did was wait on line (about 20 minutes) for the pony rides!! This was Riley's first time ever, and she loved it! We went back as our last stop but just before her turn it started raining so they closed up .. bummer.

 

Look how much she was loving this! It also puts into perspective just how big she is getting!

Riley also had a blast in 2 bounce houses and this awesome slide!

We had planned on painting pumpkins, but just 2 hours into this 5 hour event, they were completely gone! So Riley got her face painted, as a butterfly, but someone didn't get any pictures of that! (silly me.)

I have some really great things planned for this weekend so be on the look out for awesome ideas coming from Our Home!

 

XOXO,

 

Day # 18: A Trip to the Park

Tyler and I always carpool to work, and earlier this week I was an hour early! So I decided to take a walk to the park and see the sights!

This is only roughly a half mile walk round trip from my office

I love to come here and just watch the water

& the birds! :)

 

I sat at the bottom of these steps for about 20 mintes, just relaxing.

 

The water is so beautiful and clear!

What a view!! I would love to be able to buy a house in this area!

XOXO,

 

Day # 17: Positive Reinforcement

Good morning all! Today I would love to share with you a project that was featured as a guest post on my friend Sarah's blog, Pampered Daughter Thrifty Wife.

Like many parents, my husband, Tyler, and I struggle to figure out what is the best way to raise our daughter, Riley, who has just turned 6 and started a brand new school this year.

As I was perusing Pinterest, as I so often do, I saw this amazing idea! I thought it was so great! I went and got the supplies you see pictured above, but I didn't buy anything. I found the bowl in storage from our wedding last year (it was part of our "Candy Bar"), and used Riley's paints :) 

The bowl needed a lot of cleaning, as you can see! I used my Shaklee Basic H2, all purpose cleaner, to clean it, and it only took about 30 seconds! :)

Then I painted the bowl to say "Caught Riley Being Good". She is so excited about this project! We have her every Thursday and every other weekend, and I told her about it two Thursdays ago and said it would be ready when she came back. The first thing she asked when we got home this week was, "Where is that bowl we put stuff in when I'm good?" LOL.

On Saturday, we went to the beach for a friend's Birthday Bash and took advantage of the opportunity to collect rocks and shells, which she later painted, to fill Riley's bowl. Another idea that I thought was great, instead of buying rocks, marbles or anything else to fill the bowl.

On Sunday, after Church and breakfast, Riley spent some time painting a couple of the rocks and shells. This part of the project is not done, but we have time before she fills her bowl.

And this is how the bowl currently sits, with 3 rocks/shells, because she has done her homework and reading like a champ! I am thinking, though, that her bowl will start filling up quickly if we add one just for doing homework! However, it will encourage her to do the work and read for extra time which is, in the end, our main goal!

I really hope you all enjoyed seeing how we made this project, and I hope you come visit me for updates on how fast we are filling the bowl!

XOXO,

Also Linked up at:

Parlo & Logi

Day # 16 We Made It

Well, we made it half way through this month! I am so excited! I want to thank you all for taking the time to read my blog. I was so unsure of myself starting this but I am really loving it!

As of yesterday, I have hit 1,000 views since my very first post on August 22nd!! I was beyond ecstatic. You can see that in my Facebook post yesterday! BTW, I apologize for not sharing my Business & Personal Facebook pages with you sooner. It's just one of those things that get away from you!

I hope you all continue to join me and finish out my 31 Days of Our Home - any beyond! I'm here for the long haul! :)

 Here's a cute little pic after our family haircut day on Saturday!

I wish I had remembered earlier to get Before & Afters!

XOXO,

Day # 15 A Guest at Our Home

Good Morning! Today I have a guest post from my friend Billie at A life of Grace & Bliss! I am so excited to share this with you today! Please show her love by viewing her blog as well!

I'm a busy wife and mother who works outside the home three days a week and I have to busy school aged kiddos with after school activities.  Sometimes my house looks like a train wreck.  I try to keep on top of it, and I have a schedule for it so it doesn't get out of hand too often.

What makes me crazy is when my CAR looks like a train wreck.  I don't like a messy, unorganized car!

Do you know what I mean?  Do you find coloring books, crayons, toys, cheerios, crackers, pretzels, empty juice boxes, extra clothing and other belonging in your car every week?  I try to empty out my car every Friday.  When we get home from school, the kiddos know they are to take in their back packs and then come back out and get the rest of their belongings that have gotten scattered throughout the week.

Then one day during the weekend I try to go out and CLEAN my car.

Here are the before and after shots - and boy let me tell you... it's quite a transformation!

First, I have the kiddos clean out the clutter - since most of it belongs to them, I don't feel guilty about enlisting their help.  They helped create the mess, they can help clean it up, right?

Here are the nasty before shots

Dirty upholstery and control panels

 Dirty Floor mats

Gross floor mats

trash basket runneth over... not a good kind of surplus, let me tell you!

And do we even want to take a peak under the seat?  Sure, why not!

  But then I got out my Basic H2 - mixed to all purpose strength - just 1/4 teaspoon to 16 oz water and went to town.  I sprayed everything in sight and followed up with my trust micro fibre cloth.

I wiped the leather, the dash, the columns, the vents, the doors and door frames, the handles, the buttons... if it was wipeable, I wiped it!  Then I cleaned my windows with Basic H2 - windows formula - 2 drops to 16 oz water, and shined those puppies up!

I vacuumed under the seats, YUCK! Vacuumed the carpets and sprayed all those nasty floor spots with the all purpose strength Basic H!  I emptied my trash container, and waited about five minutes for the floors to "soak."

Rubbed those darn spots with my micro fiber cloth...and WOW!  Those carpets are clean!

The leather and the dash are dust free; my windows are streak free and clear!

I emptied the trash basket, gave it a quick spray with the all purpose cleaner, and a fast and easy wipe down, then I lined it with those grocery bags we all have lying around waiting to be recycled.  I just fold them up into squares and keep four or five under the liner bag.  That way, when one is full, I just pull up the next one and place it in the basket.

Makes a great trash container - so we don't have soda cups or juice boxes rolling around willy nilly in the floor board making more messes on my nice clean carpets!

And there you have it.  A nice clean car, ready for the weekend adventures and the busy week to come.

You can do this, too.  Whether you drive a compact car like mine, or a super mamma mini van, it's easy to invest 15 minutes a week into keeping your car clean and ready.  It feels great to get in and have it feel almost as good as the day you brought it home!

Happy traveling!

We do it all,

Only By His Grace,

Billie Ross


 That was just great!! Thank you so much for showing us how you get your car so spotless!!

XOXO,