Austin Charities List for CHRIST-mas

Austin Charities. Christmas. Austin. TX. 2012

http://www.cbofaustin.org/
Christmas Bureau of Austin
Adopt a family, register online & deliver gifts by Dec 23.

Austin Area Food Bank
Donate at the Dec 1 Downtown Stroll. http://www.austinfoodbank.org/events/downtown-austin-alliance.html
Donate at Wildflower Luminations Dec 8
Multiply your donations by giving cash https://secure3.convio.net/cafbtx/site/Donation2?df_id=7280&7280.donation=form1

http://www.austinchildrenshelter.org/site/DocServer/ProjectSanta2012_In-Kind_WishList.pdf?docID=6421
Drop off listed items to Austin Children's Shelter Thru Dec 22.

http://austin-tx.toysfortots.org/local-coordinator-sites/lco-sites/default.aspx
Marine Corps Reserves Toys for Tots

http://www.salvationarmyaustin.org/
Angel Tree, gifts for children of prisoners or donate to red kettle online


http://austin.culturemap.com/newsdetail/12-09-11-12-18-operation-blue-santa-delivers-joy/
Blue Santa
Donate an unwrapped tor during the Chuy's parade Dec 1 @ 11:00 am downtown
http://www.chuysparade.com/

http://www.brownsanta.org/
Dec 9 Run https://www.edsregistration.com/events/39
Eat at TLC on Dec 1 http://www.brownsanta.org/dineanddonate.html

http://www.kvue.com/community/Coats-for-Kids-2011-133552228.html
Coats for Kids

Buy a tree, they give books
http://www.austinoptimistclub.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3%3Atree-lot&catid=3%3Aprograms&Itemid=11

http://www.cbofaustin.org/%20 christmas

www.cbofaustin.org

identity analysis

I've always thought it is important to understand how other people work.  Some of the labels we put on people help us with that.  Like their love language, their learning style and their propensity to being clear minded in mornings or nights.
Then I saw a clever craft with just dates on it from a favorite blogger and I liked it.  Then it made me think of the initials, birthdates and helpful labels as a craft to frame.  One step further was to color code similar letters, numbers and traits of family members.  It shows how similar we are to our spouses and how similar our children are to ourselves.
I liked what it showed.  Our family is diverse  but connected.

Hymn Bird

When I was at Garden Hills Baptist Church, they were getting new hymnals. So, they were giving away the old, faded ones. I was thrilled to get one! It contained familiar songs I have sung since I was a child.

In held onto this sentimental book from the years l was first married for over 20 years! I always thought I would craft something with the music filled pages. And one day I saw a bedazzled paper bird ornament on a Christmas tree at a store, and I immediately knew that was why I was going to create with my old hymnal.

Here it is in it's stages of production:
Adhering the hymn pages onto card stock with spray adhesive,
Tracing and cutting out the shape and hot gluing 2 pieces (twisted together) of pipe cleaner,
Adorning with bow, bauble and acrylic stones, and
The finished product with "To and From, Merry Christmas" written on back...

Seasonal Time Off = Mom Stress

Keeping my only child socially fulfilled over the Thanksgiving & CHRISTmas breaks this year shouldn't stress me out like this!

But with no guest or travel plans for Thanksgiving, my stress is opposite to most moms...how to fill the time off we have with fun & memorable activities. Because most people make Turkey Day plans with their families, either near or far, our daughter will have fewer friends available to invite to hang out with her. She will text each one to come over or meet up, but will feel rejected when they don't respond or have other plans. I have seen this on several occasions and it breaks my heart for her.

Since we have no social plans for December, I feel it's my duty to create a fun schedule for her two weeks off also to soften the low off rejection and keep her busy.

Why not just make travel plans to fill the time? Because my husband enjoys the quiet down time. He gets very little free time working 60 hour weeks. And he loves to work with his hands on his projects when he has several hours at a time. Unplanned free time is the best gift I can give him!

So for years now, I've solved my dilemma of protecting his time & making hers enjoyable with careful planning. Searching fun activities she & I can do that give Dad some space during the day is a trick.

This past year, I've pinned many crafts and fun things we can do together over the holidays. Thank God for Pinterest! She & I will work together in the kitchen and practice timing dishes to finish at the same time. We'll set a pretty table. I'll have her help me pick a few crafts to do, and we'll buy the supplies at the hobby store. We'll bake and surprise neighbors with goodies in cute containers. We'll practice random acts of kindness. We'll send out our photo cards & share in the fun of opening other's greetings. Etc.

What stresses you out about the impending holidays? How do you cope?

Kitchen Designer/Artist

Melissa Pakebusch  has been a real asset to me.  She is helping me make decisions for my kitchen remodel and studied interior design at UTSA.  She also happens to be a talented artist and loves to paint animal portraits.  You can see a few of her paintings at her etsy shop.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/PetPortraitsByMelis
She'd love to make your pet into a cool piece of art for you to display in your home.
631-813-3081 or melissa.pakebusch@gmail.com

Monica's Art

My friend, Monica Phillips, is such a creative person. She found these mirror frames at Hobby Lobby. They were marked down a ton, so she bought them. They are over 5 feet tall, and she knew they would be perfect over her fireplace. She found this gorgeous material at Interior Fabrics and assembled it. It's breath-taking!

No More "I'm Bored"

As we head into the second month off from school, I have yet to hear it.  "I'm bored."  My dearest Emily has been home with me daily and she has accomplished a lot.  She's even taken to making dinner for our family of three plus one pooch.

She's done several weeks of pet sitting for neighbors, worked as a mother's helper for a few hours once a week, and works diligently on the list of things to do I create for her. (Which, by the way, takes several hours on Sunday to create.)

Today, when she said she was going to play outside in the 100+ degree heat I was thrown off guard.  Filling her own time playing outside with neighbor friends/classmates is the best way to kill several hours of the long summer days!  And she gets tired and sleeps well too.  But there sits the list of things I have for her to do for me and to pass time.  It's a place where I have to wait it out to see if she can juggle the things she needs to do versus the things she can rollover to tomorrow.  I know she's not aware of the time of day, so I'll have to tell her when it's time to begin cooking dinner.  She is an excellent cook and enjoys it, but has my dirty dish syndrome.

One of the things I resourced for her to do is math work, and I'm amazed how much slips by this girl in class.even thought she's attaining above average grades in math.  I know it's part of the use it or lose it that occurs in the summer.  I'm finding out which math principles she "learned" but has forgotten.  Like adding fractions.

She is also doing Listening Therapy with our friend, Angie Lindinger.  And I'm amazed at how listening to music for 30 minutes while reading or doing another activity besides screen time, a day can improve her listening skills and song word memory.  Currently, Angie has her working on improving her cursive, fine motor skills, with her listening therapy.  Angie@educateaustin.net.

Since she has gotten a new ipod touch game, she has been having trouble managing her screen time.  She has has unlimited screen time and likes to be alone in her room.  Not only does this interfere with her list of activities to keep her brain sharp and help me around the house, it turns her attitude into the entitled one.  So, a couple of days ago, I started limiting her screen time to 2 hours per day.  She blew thru that in one sitting of Mine Craft!  So, this morning it occurred to me that I can have her earn one more hour a day by doing her list of items.  We started this today and we'll see how it works, but for now I'm feeling quite empowered.  I broke it into a set of 3 activities.  She'll earn 30 minutes for making dinner, 10 minutes for required summer reading with her headset on for 30 minutes, and 20 minutes for correctly finishing today's math sheet.

Then she wants to go out and play.  Ugh!

Boosted Immune System Culprits

It just occurred to me that I've been well for a long time. No cold, flu, infections that start with allergies, etc. I used to get colds a lot, especially in the spring and fall here in the allergy capital, Austin, TX.

I attribute this to several lifestyle changes over the years. Some may seem common sense and some may surprise you. But I assure you they are worth the trouble (and expense) to my health.

Wanna know what I did differently?

1. Keep my purse off the kitchen counter where food prep happens. For me, this meant reserving a 2 ft part of my 6 ft long island for a catch-all area, including my germy purse bottom. And using only 4 ft for cutting raw or cooked meat, veggies, fruits. Who knows what bacteria I picked up from the grocery carts or bathroom floors? Keep your food prep area holy.

2. Investing in a reverse osmosis water system. By drinking less chlorine and other water cleaning chemicals, my immune system was boosted immediately. We got it hooked up to the ice and water dispenser on the fridge too. It's nice to have better, safer water easily accessible at home! Yes, it's pricey but my family and my health is worth it! And it tastes wonderful too!

3. Worked and volunteered several years around preschoolers which exposed me to things that my body now fights off easily. Followed by working at a hospital which exposes me to different things my immune cells recognize and attach quickly. If you get a chance to be around little ones who attend a preschool or Mother's day out, take it!

4. Scrubbing with bacterial killing soap a few times a week and using anti-bacterial gels at the hospital. Plus longer hand washing with no antibacterial soap at home with more friction-making moves. Preschools and hospitals are great places to find immune boosting surfaces! Go visit people you know in the hospital or volunteer to work with kids at church!

Your body has to learn how to fight and exposure to the enemy is part of this process! Our bodies are smart, don't be afraid to let them go to battle.

However, people with immune system deficiencies should not take this advice!

While 1 & 2 are about staying away from germs, 3 & 4 are about safe exposure to them. It's always a balancing act!

Gag Me with a Spoon

Lying in bed this morning, I took a normal breath and realized something was wrong! My tween was smelling up the entire upstairs with a Bath & BW spray that instantly gives me a headache. I quickly covered my face with the sheets to protect myself from a migraine reaction. But my anger raged beneath the covers.

She has been told not to spray that stuff near me or like a deodorizer in her room, next to ours. She is old enough to remember a warning like that!

It is an improvement that she cares about her personal hygiene. So while angry and breathing thru the bed linens, I think of things with which to be thankful about her. And my negative emotion subsides. I come up for air and realize the purple cloud has dissipated, so I get up.

Once I get into my morning routine, I soon forget how rudely it had started.

Later, with coffee in hand and iPad on my lap, I'm grateful I didn't have to take an Exedrin Migraine with breakfast!

And that purple bottle of stinky stuff is going into the trash before there is another incident. Plus I'm going to have to open her bedroom window and run the fan to send the rest of the poison outside, gag me with a spoon!

Note: Do you get headaches from ordinary smells that don't seem to bother others? You too may have a chemical sensitivity.
http://www.multiplechemicalsensitivity.org/

Follow Up to Eggs that Make History...

These are the finished 3 dozen egg creations from Easter.  My daughter and I used pins and nasal aspirators to blow out the insides of one dozen eggs, but it was tedious; so we decorated the rest of the two dozen as hard-boiled eggs.

We used several techniques including using the PAAZ color tablets.  But we added two tabs in each bowl of vinegar water to intensify the colors.  Next year I want to try the Kool-Aid suggestion.  We used oil to marbleize, glitter pens for dimension (but they dripped before drying), and sharpies.  The hard boiled eggs were easier to color because they sank in the dying liquid, while the hollow eggs had to be filled to submerge in the dye.

I'm saving the hollowed ones, since I nuked them for 20 seconds and let them dry before coloring for 24 hours (per directions listed on previous post).  They don't smell and haven't faded, so we'll compare next years to this years and see if we can improve on our designs and ideas.

Happy Mother's Day today!

Tween Obsessed with Twilight Series, My Fault?

Did I encourage the obsession by withholding my 11 year old daughter from the Twilight series until I thought she was ready?  Or is obsession just part of tween life?  I remember listening to the same Imperials tape over and over as we skated in my parents basement for hours.  Looking back, it must have seemed obsessive to my parents, as well as,  driving them nuts!  But we were good kids and not in trouble.

Someone referred to teens as two year olds with hormones.  I believe it.  Two year olds happily watch reruns of their favorite shows like Barney (Marissa), Dora the Explorer and Max and Ruby.  They also sass at mom and dad, but with simpler words.  Sounds like my tween!

Emily's reading these 600+ paged Twilight romance novels, which is something I never could do.  Reading is good, right?  She insists that I should read them too.  Well, I tried and started New Moon but wasn't into it, like alot of other moms were.  I've disappointed her because I quit reading and haven't picked a team. Yes, she's seen the movies over and over too, but she likes the books better.  But what worries me is she keeps dwelling on the story. What's the big deal?

I know they pull away about this time, and their peers become their mentors.  Parents instantly become stupid.  She has  become more recluse.  That's not all bad, I've been pushing for more independence and am getting that part of development too.  When I engage her in conversation or ask her to do something she smarts back with disrespect.  Not allowed!  I've been working on which times to call her out and which times to ignore.

To ease my worried mind and if she's so intrigued by Bella and Edward's romance, I think I'll show her my wedding shower book.  And we can look over her dad and my wedding album again.  I can talk about the four and half years Greg and I  dated and hung out together and how much we couldn't wait to be together.  How he would call me everyday and I would call him right back so his parents didn't have to pay for long distance.

I got to date and be engaged for a year and have a fairy-tale wedding.  Starting a family was hard but our story includes getting the best kid I could have asked for...her!  She loves hearing about her adoption and watching her baby videos.

She's almost 12 and she's not into boys much yet, except for participating in the silly games at school.  She still prefers hanging out with girls and I'm thankful for that.

Eggs that will make history

Like many American moms, I have done the pre Easter ritual of egg dying with my child.  Sometimes we invite friends over to make fun holiday memories with us, but this year it's going to be just the two of us.  And we'll plan, buy, set-up, create, clean up and display our work together as a process not just an event.

Since March, I have created a board for Easter egg ideas and have gleaned many more ideas than I could have come up with on my own.  I have 37 pins on by Eggs/Easter board.  http://pinterest.com/shawneepooh/eggs-easter/ Wisdom is learning from other's mistakes.  It's a time and frustration saver in any setting...even eggs!

You don't have to be an artist to create something beautiful!

This years dying egg project with Emily is going to be different.  We are going to use hollow eggs instead of boiled ones.  She is ready for the next step in this traditional childhood activity.  She can do it through adulthood and continue to come up with, or copy, creative egg decorating ideas.We will hollow out our eggs with the pin and nasal aspirator.  Yes, we'll be frugal and eat the eggs.  I'll check allrecipes.com for a great recipe for strata, quiche or omelet.  We may even tighten our skin with some of the whites, who knows.

One pin suggests dying eggs bold solid colors with dry kook-aid powerder...http://www.heyjenrenee.com/2011/04/kool-eggs.html

Another pin shares a marble technique http://crafts.kaboose.com/marbled-eggs.html

Venn diagram with a black sharpie or texture eggs with white puff paint on white eggs for an elegant look http://www.readymade.com/blog/design/2011/04/20/modern_easter_eggs

In one of our future Easters, we'll give a go at making Pysanky, egg decorating with traditional Ukrainian fold designs using wax resist.
http://www.livinginseason.com/tag/ukrainian-eggs/

I'll post some pix when we finish.  I hope I've inspired you to make developmentally appropriate craft memories with your children!

US Map, places I've been

 States that I have been in at one time or another.

Fibi's Color Changes

This is Fibi as a puppy.  She was born January 13, 2010.

This is Fibi almost 18 months later in June, 2011.

She is a havi-bichi-poo.  Her mother is a Havanese, her father is a Bichipoo (Bichon Frise/Poodle).  She came from an Austin breeder and I highly recommend Deb and Steve!!  They are at www.storybookpuppies.com. 

Fibi's color lightened up as you can see but is still beautiful!  She is a great companion dog and is great with children.  

She is a great Lap Lander with a Licker License!

We gave her a first birthday party and several of the neighbor dogs came!  

She is definitely an important part of our family.

Summer Calendar for Child Activities

It's my motherly job to fill in activities for Emily's 12 weeks of summer vacation.  When you have an only child who is social, it can be difficult to have a fun summer.  You have to schedule playdates, because you are not guaranteed the children who live on the block will be home to play outside.  Plus, the Austin, TX summers are brutal and playing indoor is safer most of the time.

So, like the past 3 years, I've created a calendar template and shopped for fun things for her to do.  It takes hours to plan and organize, and this will be the first year I don't hit up my group of friends to sit her during the day while I work in the mornings.  This year's summer calendar will be much easier for me.

So far we have three major activities, a family wedding, a week of church day camp, and a week of overnight Christian camp.  Plus I'll add in the annual favorites, like VBS volunteering and art class at Laguna Gloria.

My activity brainstorm  list for last year looked like this...
Bake goodies and deliver to elderly neighbors

Bike/walk  trails in Austin   http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/trails.htm

Bird watching

Camp in back yard

Clay bead project  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ5v8wY2mV8

Go to overnight camp for a week

Kayak or canoe

Learn Spanish

Make a craft and sell on etsy.com

Make and serve a formal dinner to parents

Stargazing with planetfinder app

Swim Barton Springs

Take a painting class  http://theartschool.amoa.org/

Try geocaching  http://www.austinexplorer.com/Default.aspx?Category=Geocaching

Email/skype friends

Visit a farm or ranch  http://www.boggycreekfarm.com/pages/tours-of-the-farm.php

Visit and research Texas historical markers, take pictures, document

Volunteer at food bank, soup kitchen or animal shelter for a day

Volunteer at VBS

TX Nature Challenge

Something new this year is the actual physical calendar.  I used the MS Word 2007 calendar creator.  There is a quick helper for it at http://www.microsoft.com/education/en-us/teachers/how-to/Pages/create-calendar.aspx

I've put the three known activities on it and will use it to fill in the rest in pencil as summer draws near.

If you have any additional activity ideas or suggestions, please send them my way!!

Shot Glass Snack Tip

Here's my shot glass snack tip:

Put a single serving of a salty dipping snack, such as pretzels in a small bowl around a shot shot glass filled with your favorite dip.  Now you can eat your snack in front of the tv without having the bag of pretzels and a separate bowl for your dip.  It's ingenious, I think.

Sharing tips and ideas are fun for me and I'm collecting  many various ones on Pinterest.  You should follow me there, I've scoured the site for tons of tips.  But I must warn you, I've gathered so many ideas I could never implement them all.  It's somewhat overwhelming to have more tips than time or energy.  But yet I still continue to surf and fill my pin boards.

I must admit the snack bowl idea is something I've been using for a while, because I love dipping salty snacks into creamy dips.  The small pretzel sticks work better than the ones shown, but you get the idea.

About dips, I'll never forget what my UT Motivation Class  professor told us.  He said the best parties have three or more different tasting dips, because it keeps people at your party longer.  Why?  It's because your taste for the each dip satiates, or gets bored,  after a few bites of it.  

On that note, I want to point out that all of our senses satiate.  For instance, have you ever noticed we stop smelling the sinky skunk musk after a few minutes of being exposed to it?  Same thing with our husband or wive's nagging, we tune out our families voices; like our kids stop hearing our reminders.    God made us so the familiar gets desensitized.  We get accustomed to things and stop appreciating them...it's in our DNA.  So, it takes work to not be desensitized in our world.  Like appreciating the beauty of the Texas hill country when we drive past it every day.  It takes work to listen after we hear the voice of our loved one tell us the details to a story.  It takes work to be amazed at the wonders  of nature around us after living in it for a while.  

Reading blogs of busy women

I'm really fascinated by reading blogs in my extra time.  As I send off my daughter to school I have time to surf the web for pleasure and company.  Here are a few of my favorites...

Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman.  You can see her on the food channel or read her blog at http://thepioneerwoman.com/.  She is a wonder woman who illustrates her life thru photos and blog on a routine basis.  She has a busy life and seems to glide thru it with ease. She really inspires me to cook, love my husband and family and enjoy being a country girl at heart.

Three sisters, Jamie, Jodi & Jen,  who blog their fun (and busy) family lives together.  One sister is inspiring me to bake.  I am more of a cook, but she bakes a pie a week.  It reminds me of my friend, Dawn, who shares a meal with her mom and boys and they always have a different pie each week.  http://eighteen25.blogspot.com/

Then there is Kristen, who writes about marriage.  She is a thought provoking woman who spends more energy into her husband than most I know.  She also has written a book encouraging busy moms.  I like shopping her blog ads too.  http://wearethatfamily.com/

I'd love to hear what your favorite blogs are.

Retipping

I am such an internet info junky. I love to research tips that can help me or help someone else. You've heard of the term "regifting," so I've titled this post as "retipping." Passing along wisdom about saving money by shopping for stocking stuffers in February-December. It doesn't just happen, it has to be planned.

Like, I just found this list of stocking stuffers online and it reminded me how much money I spend on stuffing one Christmas stocking...about $20-30. I know that's crazy, but I remember loving the stocking more than the gifts under the tree. Maybe it's because there were lots of little items.

Action to take:

Make a list (or a mental list if you can do that) of who's stocking you fill at Christmas. Use the list below as a starting point, pick items from the list and plan a time to buy the gift, incorporating it into your weekly grocery shopping list or look for them when you are shopping sales, endcaps, and bargain bins at your favorite retailers in Feb, March, April--throughout the year. Create a storage place (hiding spot) for the collected items and shop with purpose.

I've added a few personal ideas in all caps to this list, and below is the original website for reference.

I've also mocked up a list for my daughter below. Happy Shopping and Saving, because your thinking ahead!!

Emily's Stocking Stuffer Idea List:

Bobby Pins & Hair Clips

Gel Pens & Markers-look for during school supply sales

Lanyard Charms/Key Rings

Makeup Brush Set

Admiration Note from Parents-jot down notes thru out year of prideful moments

Chocolates-Halloween sale items?

Journal

150 Stocking Stuffer Ideas from Jenn's Blog:

1. $5 gift cards (Starbucks, McDonalds, Amazon, Borders etc).

2. A favorite candy (my mom always got us those plastic candy canes filled with M&M's)

3. Decorative cupcake liners (I found some great ones here)

4. A favorite magazine

5. Camera strap cover (like the one I gave away here) - note, that giveaway is closed!)

6. Packets of flower or herb seeds for planting

7. Personalized stationary

8. Slipper socks

9. Silly putty (another thing I always got as a kid)

10. Rubber coated paddle attachement for a mixer like this one

11. Monogrammed iPhone Case

12. Nail polishes

13. Sharpie Pens

14. Chapstick

15. Hair bands --(BOBBY PINS, FROM CLEARANCE AT WALGREENS, CVS, TARGET, ETC)

16. Small crosswords puzzle book

17. Crayons--(GEL MARKERS, DURING SCHOOL SUPPLY SALES)

18. Body wash

19. Piggy Bank with coins

20. Personalized M&M's that say Merry Christmas

21. Clip on book reading lamp

22. Measuring spoons or cups

23. Cute wine stopper

24. Scarf - this is a great site for fashionable accessories

25. Stickers

26. Monogrammed coasters (there's a great how to here)

27. Lottery tickets

28. Deck of playing cards

29. Rubix cube

30. Loofa

31. Hair clips--(SHOP SALE BINS AT ULTA, WALMART AND GROCERY STOREs, ETC)

32. Cuticle set

33. Jewelry

34. Batteries

35. Cooking extracts - vanilla, mint, orange etc.

36. Mittens

37. Scented candles (this site always has things like that & you get a credit for signing up)

38. Bookmarks

39. Fishing lures

40. Knitting or Crochet needles

41. Lotion

42. Play Dough

43. Golf tees or balls

44. Matchbox cars

45. Memory card

46. Cd's

47. Tools

48. Wash/Dish rags

49. Diaper genie refills (you laugh, but I would love those in my stocking!)

50. Specialty olive oils such as this one

51. Eyeshadow

52. Unusual pastas like this red chili linguini

53. From the Kitchen of labels like these

54. Gardening gloves

55. Tickets to the aquarium

56. Address book

57. An orange - to shape out the toe of the stocking!

58. Ice scraper

59. Small digital camera

60. A teasing comb for all the southern girls

61. Cookie cutters

62. A good book

63. Retractable ID or key holder--(CHARMS FOR HER SCHOOL ID LANYARD)

64. Makeup bag

65. Nice wooden spoons

66. Gift card to go see a movie

67. USB Drive

68. Small photo frames

69. Wallet

70. Personalized water bottle like this one

71. Speciality teas - here is one of my favorites

72. Garden markers (for herbs etc)

73. Scented antibacterial kitchen hand soap

74. Pumice stones

75. Travel sized games (connect four, uno, etc)

76. Gourmet spice mixes

77. Small sketchbook

78. Fridge magnets

79. Stencils for crafting

80. Tickets to go see a musical performance

81. Kid paint set

82. Extra Wii controllers

83. Small calendar for your purse/backpack

84. PJ's

85. Wristlet to hold a small digital camera like this one of mine from one of my 1st blog posts!

86. Wine glass charms

87. Freezable teether's

88. Osis Dust It click here

89. Monogrammed onesie or tee

90. Money clip

91. Set of markers

92. Gourmet hot chocolate like this one

93. Ring holder

94. Wine aerator

95. Cufflinks

96. Pedometer

97. Personalized purse mirror like this one

98. DVD's

99. Cell phone car charger

100. Child sized harmonica

101. Luggage tags

102. Personalized coffee cup

103. Travel alarm clock

104. Baby legs

105. Personalized mom bracelet or necklace with children's birthstones

106. Perfume/Cologne

107. Speciality chocolates such as See's

108. Mini tripod

109. Cute umbrella

110. Earbuds

111. Flower bulbs

112. Monogrammed baby wipes case (this site always has unique kid gifts on sale - you have to sign up for free, but it's a great resource!)

113. Passport holder

114. Raw honey like this

115. Small digital picture frame

116. Webkinz

117. Snow cap

118. Digital luggage scale: here's one

119. Chalk

120. iTunes giftcard

121. Digital measuring tape

122. Bubbles

123. Watch

124. Wine thermometer

125. Tickets to the zoo

126. Speciality coffee such as this one

127. Bath toys

128. Monogrammed burp rags

129. Makeup brush set

130. Binoculars

131. Barbies

132. Child "character" flashlights

133. Jewelry box

134. Recipe cards

135. Swiss Army knife

136. Belt

137. Small lint roller

138. Key chain

139. Baby rings to attach toys to a carseat

140. Coloring book

141. Birthstone earrings

142. Throwback candy - Pez dispensers, pop rocks, nerds, fun dip.

143. Kindle

144. Scrapbooking supplies

145. Personalized fortune cookie (you can have your own message put into them)

146. Universal remote

147. Hand sanitizer

148. Silly Bandz

149. Family Christmas ornament

150. A handwritten note from Santa (OR PARENTS SAYING HOW MUCH THEY ADMIRE THE CHILD)

http://jennasjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/150-stocking-stuffer-ideas.html

How to keep your home tidy.

Some of my friends think my house is always clean, but it's not.  It's tidy.  Like most housewives, I struggle to stay on a cleaning schedule.  But I pick up and put away daily, no problem.

Is it an OCD thing for me or was I just trained right?  Everything has a home and put it back in it's place...was the rule at my parents house.  But they didn't have nearly the number of items in their home in the 70s and 80s as we do in the 00s.

I try not to over-buy.  I love the days I drop off a garbage bag full of  unwanted items at Goodwill, but then I head to Target to get more!  We live in an over-advertised, "must have it" society.  And we rationalize buying more than we need because our friends do it.  And those of us with a child or children are even worse at making sure our kids have what their friends have, plug-in or wear.

So how do we break the "cycle of acquisition," so we CAN keep our homes tidy?

Dave Ramsey, Suze Ormon, and my husband, Greg,  suggest we don't spend it if we don't have it.  But then the ad comes on for the newest time saver product.  Or something we've been admiring goes on sale.  It gets in our head and it's only a matter of time before we rationalize buying it and head to the store.

It becomes one more new item that needs a home in our home.  And if it never find a proper place to be, it will float around the house and land in open spaces where it becomes clutter.

We know what it means to "Go Green," but may I suggest we also "Don't Go Get."  How about we learn to be content with less.  Go on a "materialism" diet.

WWF Helper: A cheat app or a helper app?

I admire people with large vocabularies and who are avid readers.  Usually the latter comes with the former.  I've been working on reading more and bought myself a kindle, but I'm a picky reader.  I'm very careful what information I put into my thoughts.

One of the ways I've been building my simple vocabulary is to play Words with Friends via the iphone.  I have been playing for over a year and have learned tons of new words.  Around the beginning of my journey with WWF, I found an app to help me.  I use it when I cannot find a word in my vocabulary to fit the board.

I've told some people who play with  me about the helper and some use it too. I don't use it as a crutch and try to come up with words on my own first.

I've also learned, by playing, the strategy to the game (although I'm sure there are more tricks I'm not aware of). Placing tiles to gain the most points is a personal goal, but to win every time is not.  I'd say I'm in the middle, winning some and losing some.  I also enjoy the back and forth with my FB friends.

So, when I posted on my page today asking if it's cheating to use the WWF Helper app, I was not surprised to see alot of Yes posts.  My hubby thinks it's cheating more than helping, but he also thinks taking cholesterol meds is cheating.  By using the helper, I have boosted my confidence in the game and built up a better vocabulary, sticking with a game that used to intimidate me.

I am a woman of integrity and my purpose is not to win every time but mostly to learn.

All comments welcome!