Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Webby Wednesday: Camp Honeybelle and vintage giveaway

You know how we bought this house for $27,000 and you all said that was insane and incredible?  Well prepare to have your socks knocked off even further because today's Webby Wednesday features Nina, maven of the retro Etsy shop Camp Honeybelle, who bought her house for.....wait for it....FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS. That's one, then five, then just three zeros.

Ohmygoodlord, right?????  I too almost fell out of my seat when I found out.  You are not alone.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Top 10 Cheapskate Things I've Said

Being poor is a funny thing.
Well, maybe funny is the wrong word.  Maybe poor is the wrong word, too.

Let me start over.

Not having any money to spend at the moment makes you say ridiculous things.

Monday, August 29, 2011

I Don't Want to be Famous

You guys, I totally don't want to be famous.  I'm not talking Michael Jackson famous or Susan Lucci famous or even Snooki famous.  I don't even wanna be Barefoot Foodie famous.  'Cause famous folks deal with a whole lotta poo and I am NOT INTERESTED IN POO.

Friday, August 26, 2011

7 Quick Takes Friday: the best beer on earth and Malaria advice

(1)
A dear friend (you know who you are) treated us with a gift card as a just-because present.  She claims it was a thank-you gift, but I was like "You don't thank people when you give them lots of good advice and encouragement.  THEY are supposed to thank YOU." But the damage was already done, so we had to spend it.

I present to you: The Best Beer in the World

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Will you even see this? P_OBABLY NOT!

Okay you guys, I am stressin' over here.

See, I thought I would be fancy and get my own domain name so I could be all "I'm so fancy!  I have my own domain name!".  So I checked to see of www.HouseUnseen.com was available and then I was all "holy-macke....

Wait a second.

Dude...

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Paul, who wasn't born in the van after all...

Tomorrow is my boy's birthday.  Four.  He's four years old.  Four.  He's practically ready for his driver's license you guys!  God save us all.

Monday, August 22, 2011

5 Reasons my Marriage comes Before my Children

NB added 8/25/11:  Sometimes when I write, I assume that the people reading already know us and our back story.  How we are homeschooling our children because we can't bear to send them away for hours on end.  How we've never hired a babysitter because doing family activities is always way more fun than doing alone activities.  But the truth is, the internet is a big place.  Apparently people I've never met are reading this and a lot of them will just read the post and not click around further, so I apologize for not originally giving more history before my list.  I do plan on doing a follow-up post soon: 5 Simple Ways to Put your Spouse First, and I hope you'll see it has nothing to do with not caring for and loving your children.  It has to do with the marriage being the FOUNDATION upon which their happiness and security is built.  

5 reasons my marriage comes before my children

1) I am not married to my children.
See, my husband and I chose each other.  We made a plan and an agreement and a promise.  Because marriage is hard work, we had to vow, in front of all our family and friends, to put up with each others foolishness and care for one another despite any challenges that might leap out to derail our happy union train.  My first and most important promise was to him and his to me.  My children are the result of that promise.

My kids can be pretty selfish sometimes.  They can take me for granted.  They can look at everything I've done for them and find the one thing that they wish was different.  Or better.  Because they're children.  They are naturally selfish and unreasonable, which is why they need parents to guide them and feed them.  And that is also why I'm not married to them.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

My Pinterest Experiment

I just saw something hilarious on Pinterest and I said "by golly, I'm going to try that!".  (p.s. If you are not following me on Pinterest yet, get thine virtual hiney over there this instant!  Just clicky click over on that red Pinterest button and no, they are not paying me to make you do this.  Although they should.)

For all you non-crafty types out there: have no fear.  There is nary a hot glue gun nor circuit machine in site.  Just me and my handy dandy computer.

So here's the funny thing I saw.  Feel free to click on that bad boy to go to the original source.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Semi Silent Saturday- what the heck is this?

The seed packet clearly said "cucumbers".  It even had a picture of a standard, green cucumber on it.


So what in the name of all that is holy is this fine specimen growing in our garden?  What happened????

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Friday, August 19, 2011

7 Quick Takes Friday: The one with the embarrassing video

This has nothing to do with anything.  It just made me laugh.
(1)
Okay, I don't really know much about sports but I'm pretty sure that there are more than 4 people on a basketball team.  Am I right?  'Cause the ludicrous foolish unsmart female employee at the store courtesy-laughed in my general direction as I stood near my surprisingly-well-behaved quartet of children on Thursday and said (through mostly clenched teeth) "Wow. You have enough to have your own basketball team!".  Um....no.  Not only do I only have four kids, but two of them are not even large enough to dribble a regulation sized basketball yet.  That team would certainly lose and I do. not. like. to. lose.  No losing!  Only winning!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Happiness Is a Monkey Butler

This morning I read an article about how stay at home moms need help and shouldn't be ashamed to ask for it.  All I could do is nod knowingly in appreciation and share a little happy sigh of contentment.  And do you know why?  Why I was so knowing and appreciative and happy and content?

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Webby Wednesday: Magnetic Catholic with promo code!

If you are a Catholic mom or know a Catholic mom or have heard of these mysterious creatures called "Catholic moms", it is you lucky-tastic day.  It is also your lucky-tastic day if you are Catholic of any age or gender or are not Catholic but are interested in history and art because seriously can you study history or art without hearing about the saints?  That's what I thought.

Hold onto your hats, folks of any age or gender of any faith, because you are about to find out about a super clever new idea and you will say "I need to order right now!" and I will say "Wait!  Here's your code for 20% off any item in the store!" and then you will leap out of your seat, take out your framed photo of me and....

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Not Back to School: "student" photos!

Not Back to School Blog Hop

Despite the fact that I think my children are, like, all amazing and wonderful and stuff, I realized when I sat down stood up at the kitchen counter to write this that people I don't know aren't gonna wanna look at a random photo of each of my kid's sweet, smiling faces.  'Cause that is boring.  Check me out with my high level of self-awareness.

Aha!  Collage of Antics!

But because I am a neanderthal, I've never made a photo collage before today.  I know, right?!?!?  I should just get in my time machine and go back to my cave.  Those bison aren't gonna draw themselves, ya know.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Getting Medieval on You

Look at this!

A custom coat of arms designed especially for us and our craziness.

You've met her here before and she'll be back again for Webby Wednesday for her brand spakin' new 2nd store (which I will not reveal to you today, because I am crafty and spy like), but I just couldn't resist sharing this with you RIGHT NOW.  Visit Melissa on Etsy (her original store, of course).  She's so clever!

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Sunday, August 14, 2011

Overcoming Fear

It's a sneaky thing, Fear is.  I talk a big game about not being afraid.  Letting your hope be bigger than your fearReveling in the peace of Christ.  And sometimes I can actually manage to do those things.  But only because I'm not afraid of the things people are usually afraid of.  I'm not afraid of natural disasters or disease or poverty.  I'm not afraid that my family will go hungry even during our times of greatest need.  Most of that is completely out of my control.  And somehow things have always worked out.

The generosity of my friends, and of men and women I've not even met, has been mind boggling.  At the very moment when I teeter on the brink of despair, a light of hope shines into our home, the Holy Spirit working through the lives and actions of so many wonderful people.  No.  I am not at all afraid of going without.

What I am afraid of is pity.  I'm afraid of not being that effervescent person I was told I should always be.  I'm afraid of failure.  To fail at what I've set out to do seems infinitely worse than not allowing myself to try at all.  I'm afraid that someday, when you're finished with my miniscule corner of the blogosphere, you'll feel less happy instead of more joyful.  That you will leave thinking of me instead of my message, our story.  And suddenly I am living in fear instead of hope.  See what I mean?  Sneaky, sneaky Fear.

Friday, August 12, 2011

7 Quick Takes Friday: week in photos

Exhausted.  Happy.  Totally wiped out. Absolutely giddy.  Really, really tired.

7 super quick takes involving photos, with single sentence captions.  I know I can do it!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Our Schoolroom- a photo tour with sleep deprived commentary

Remember when I started painting the den and playroom with abandon a few weeks ago?  And then I reorganized the whole dang place?  The motivation for that ridiculous level of insanity was two-fold: 1) to finish in time so that our surprise guests would not feel like they were visiting a dungeon and 2) to get moving on our very first homeschool room evah (that's how fancy people spell "ever").  Done and done.

Okay fine, it's not totally done.  I still have some organizing and decorating to do, but seeing as we have almost a month before we officially start school, I'm definitely doing an unhealthy amount of self back-patting over here.  This is what we have so far...

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Webby Wednesday: BettyShmetty Giveaway and Discount!

You got up this morning and looked at the calendar.  "Wednesday..." you mumbled.  Sigh.  Sigh because dweej used to do her snazzy Webby Wednesday posts.  Sigh because you like winning things and getting discounts on stuff and she has been letting you down.  "Give me my Webby Wednesday!" you demand.  Well mope no more, dear readers, because  (cue conga line music) a new Etsy store with a new giveaway is here for your Wednesday enjoyment!

Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Sexism in the New Millennium

Yesterday I read this post by Simcha Fisher on ncregister.com.  It is such a beautiful reflection on the inherent holiness, the beauty, of personal relationships.  Even in its messiness and potential for heartbreak, real human interaction is, in the end, sanctifying and Good.  The kind of Good that Jesus was in this world.  We knit ourselves to His ultimate sacrifice through the simple act of loving one another.  Giving up our selves the sake of another.

I enjoyed it, I shared it on facebook.  I went on with my evening.

And then today I read this article from babble.com.  All about gender selection via sperm sorting followed by artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization.  Controlling.  Impersonal.  Distant.

Saturday, August 06, 2011

Surprise Visit!

Have you ever planned a crazy, unexpected surprise for someone?  And then had it actually work out?  I have been mostly offline for about 24 hours now because my friend E. from Temecula and her two daughters arrived yesterday afternoon, completely and totally surprising my sweet daughters and filling them with joy and disbelief and gratitude.  We have less than 24 hours left in their visit, so I'm going to run, but not before leaving you with these:


Thursday, August 04, 2011

Homeschool Curriculum Prep: Some Awesome Ideas

Okay, if you are just not interested in hearing all about my brilliant/fun curriculum (term used very loosely) ideas for the next school year, just clicky here on this cute button...
and read all about how my hubby and I met (our entire engagement story) instead.  Rach will be putting it up as part of her weekly series.  She's such a sweet girl and lives in the fabulous Lone Star State, so please give her lots o' lovin', okey dokey?

But I should warn you, the following post is SUPREMELY ENTERTAINING AND INFORMATIVE and you will wonder what everyone is talking about if you don't read it.  Or possibly not.  Either way, you're welcome!


Monday, August 01, 2011

Den Reveal! Den Reveal! Celebrate the Den Reveal!

We're pretty much basically almost practically done painting the den!!!!!!  Yipee!
Technically this picture was taken during the winter when my girls found out school was cancelled, but seriously...imagine me just as jubilant when I walk into that formerly devilish room!

"But, dear psycho woman, what is all this "almost" chatter?  What the heck are you doing posting when it's not totally finished?"

To which I respond "Duh!  I've watched enough HGTV to know that it only has to be good enough to photograph."

Translation: There is a wall (or 3) that are still not quite done, but YOU don't need to know that in order to appreciate the awesomeness of this transformation, right? And remember, you can click on any of the photos to make them ginormous.

So let me remind you what it looked like the day we got here...

And what it looked like the day we started painting (again, I've watched enough HGTV to know that you do NOT clean up the room for the 'before' picture.  In fact, if you can find some soiled laundry and a wet dog to further disgustify the photo, all the better)...

Okay seriously....are y'all ready for this (dun dun dun dundundundun dun dun dun dundundun)?

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