Random 10 Tuesday

1) My new favorite quote:

A postive attitude may not solve all your problems. But it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. Herm Albright

2) Love this lip balm - not to soft, not to hard - just right!! It can be found at Bubble Tub

3) Hope everyone in the US had a wonderful Monday off!! Got to love long weekends.

4) Going camping and riding (ATV's) this weekend!!! WOOHOO! Here's a picture from last year. Going to the same place.

5) Please check out the etsy mini's on the side bars. All the ones on the left side are brand new shops!!




6) This is a really great book! 7) You really need to read this blog post Different Drug Problem. The whole blog is wonderful, but this post is soooo true!!

8) Got four soap samples from AK Photo n Crafts.

I've tried the Honey Almond and really like it.

9) It rained all day yesterday. The farmer's aren't to happy - but I don't have to water my garden!

10) Nathalie at Recuperation Nathalie is giving away this wonderful tea holder!! This is another uncycling shop and blog that I found. Please click on the link and enter the give away - it ends on the 30th!!

Sat. Update

Found another wonderful soap shop: 2 Virgos Designs. Traded a raggedy bag for some of her soap.

The different scents are:

Coming up Roses

Pumpkin Pie (smells just like pumpkin pie)

Lavender Fields

An unlabelled free one.

Lavender Dreams

and she also sent some incense.

I've used the "roses" one and really like it. The soap lathers nicely, smells great (but not over powering) and I can tell that one bar will last quite a while.

There is nothing worse then spending $4.50 on a bar of soap that lasts for only 6 showers. I've had it happen! That won't happen with this soap. I am very pleased with this swap!!

I won 2 give aways in the last 2 months. Got both prizes this week. The coin purse is from Tomato Tea, a wonderful shop on "Folksy". The coin purse is just the right size!! Love the little heart button attached!

The pendant is from a Give Away I entered on a wonderful blog: Jackkyll Scraps . She has an amazing shop: Suspended Imagination. I love pendants & flowers. Still have to decide what to hang it from.

Please visit the shops that have Etsy Mini's on the sidebars. All the ones on the left side are brand new shops!!

Hope everyone is having an awesome weekend!!

Random 10 Tuesday

Sometimes on Tuesday I have trouble coming up with enough material for a whole post. So I'm going to start "Random Ten Tuesday" and see how it goes.

1) Logan (son 2) broke his finger at work on Sat. This means at least 6 weeks in a splint.

2) Every weekend should be a long weekend.

3) We had sunshine for 2.5 days in a row!!! Why do we feel more energetic when the sun is shining?

4) Got the grass mowed today, supposed to rain tomorrow. It takes about 2.5 hours to mow the lawn and the 1/2 mile drive way with 2 six foot mowers.

5) OK - it's hard to come up with 10 random things to list. Might have to make it a shorter list next time.

6) What's the difference between Recycling & Up Cycling? If you know please tell me.

7) Aren't yellow Canaries cute?

8)I'm watching Dr. Phil with hubby as I'm making my list. Bo - am I glad we talked to our children about drinking & driving. Scarey show today.

9) Got the garden seeded. Doesn't look like much now, but hopefully in a few weeks I can post pics of plants p0king out of the ground.

10) I need 10 shops to donate their etsy mini's for on the right side of my blog next week - anyone interested? Or is anyone interested in having a give away on my other blog?

Weekend Updates!!

A while back I posted about a bag swap I was Hosting. Ended up swapping with two people (odd number of swappers). One of the bags came this week. I got this beautiful bag (and extra material) from Krystal at Sol Sisters. The bag is amazing!! The fabrics are wonderful (I love green!) and it's the perfect size. The sewing is just perfect, can you tell I love it? Krystal has a wonderful shop on Etsy with many different types of bags. Please have a look at her shop! Here are some pics of my bag.





I sold my first "Surprise Package"!! Someone purchased the $2.50 package, her favorite color is blue, so this is what I made and sent her.






Mother's Day
Tomorrow is Mother's Day. Don't you think we should get a long weekend? We've earned it!! I was supposed to come up with something for us to do. Our oldest is not home this weekend, the closest ATV derby is 2 hours away, so I am at a loss as to what we should do. What are you doing for Mother's Day?

What's been Happenin'!!

Last week I had a birthday. My sister-in-law took me out for coffee in the morning, and gave me this great pot with flowers for on our deck!! I can put it outside for the day, but it's still to cold at night to leave it there, so it has to come in. I can't wait till I can get the other pots out, go to the green house to buy flowers and set them up on the deck. I'll take pics then too.

The last time I had pics of my garden I believe it was under snow. It's all clear now and I saw a few weeds starting already!! I hate weeds! Unfortunately it's a little to wet to get in there with the hoe or tiller. We usually plant the 3rd-4th week of May, so planting season is almost upon us!! I have all my seeds, just need a few things from the green house - peppers, tomatoes, flowers, and onions. Just got my asparagus roots in the mail today!! Now I just have to find directions on planting the asparagus, this is a new venture for us.

Luke - son one - came home on the weekend. He wrote his last exam on Friday morning, so he has officially now completed year one in the Mechanical Engineering Technology Course at college. WOOHOO!!! He was very happy! The second term they had to make a stirling engine in one of the courses. This is what it looks like.

You sit it on a cup of boiling water and it runs! I have no idea how it works, but it's really cool. Actually you can make it run on ice too. He had a lot of fun making it, emailed home a couple of times about what colors to use. But black is his favorite color -so - I was surprised at the purple piece!

Any ideas on what I should post about on Thurs?

All About Me

I found this on a blog this week, while blog hopping. I should have bookmarked the blog - but forgot. Oops. It looked like fun and didn't even take that long to do!!
So here it is: All about Me!!



A is for Age: 47 (I think, when you get to be this age the memory just isn't what it used to be)
B is for Beer of choice: NONE - stinky!! More of a rum & coke girl
C is for what you Can't wait for right now: Summer holidays
D is for your Dog's name: Rascal
E is for Eggs - how do you like them?: In an omelet, with bacon, onions, green peppers, cheese and hashbrowns.
F is for Favorite TV show at the moment: Extreme Home Makeover
G is for Guy: Brad
H is for Home town: Altona, Manitoba Canada
I is for Instrument you play: Piano
J is for Juice: None - to cold, would rather have coffee
K is for kids: 2 boys (Luke-19 and Logan-17)
L is for Last food you ate: Roast Beef, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies
M is for Marriage: yep - 20 years
N is for Name: Audrey
O is for Over night hospital stays: giving birth, tubes "tied", carpel tunnel surgery
P is for People you can't live with out: Family
Q is for favorite Quote: "Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly."~ St. Francis De Sales ~
R is for biggest Regret: Not going to China with friends ( just got engaged thought I should plan wedding instead - could have gone to China and still had time to plan the wedding)
S is for Something most people would be surprised to learn about you: Very impatient (LOL)
T is for Time you woke up today: 4:18am - crazy.
U is for UFO's - do you believe in them?: No
V is for Veggie you love: peas
W is for Worst habit: procrastinating (spelling goes too at this age)
X is for X-rays you have had: both wrists more than once
Y is for Yummy food you've had today: cinnamon bun
Z is for favorite Zoo animal: Tigers

If you grab this and post your version on your blog - please let me know - I would love to read it!!

Here are some crafts I have just relisted, or are sorta new. Just click on the pic to take you to the listing on Etsy!!

What I'm up To!

A few weeks ago I posted a bag swap and had 12 replies!! It's been a lot of fun. I ended up swapping with two people. It was either that or not include myself. One person likes green and I posted a pick of the bag she will receive (along with some extra goodies) a while back. The other person likes pink, which is not a color I would normally work with. This is the bag she will be receiving ( along with some other pink goodies).

I won't show everything - that wouldn't be fun! Hopefully everyone has mailed their bags! If you are ever having a swap - let me know. They are a blast & it's fun getting gifts in the mail!!
If you love to enter give aways - you really need to check out this Spring Give Away Carnival. Last I checked there were 40 give aways listed, and some of them are amazing!!

Look What I Made!!

I've actually been crafting this week. Have to make presents (give away gifts), and gifts for the "Craft it Forward" I posted last week, or was it the week before? Purple and Pink seem to be popular colors. They aren't something I would usually craft with, but if that's their favorite color ...

So here is a pick of a gift one person is getting, she like purple:

I've been doing quite a few blank note cards w/envelopes for people as extras in an order or part of a give away. They are quite a bit of fun actually. Should have taken pics of the ones I sent last week. Oh well.

It felt like Christmas today!! This is what I got in the mail - all from Bovine Bubbles and Hog Wash. Got to love her products. I am going to be so soft and smell so good!!!

Soaps:

*Almond Coconut Smoothie

*Rice Flower & Shea

*Creamy Coconut

*Earth Child

*Vanilla Spice Bar

*Bamboo Charcoal Bath & Body Bar (son uses it to control acne - works really well)

*Cherry Almond Buff Bar (have it in the bathroom, helps clean the men's hand after working in the shop)

*Pillow Fights & Slumber Parties (isn't in the picture. It's a lovely light pink color and smells amazing. I bought it to add to a swap I'm doing and promptly put it with the rest of the swap, forgetting it when I took the picture.)

Butter Creams:

Creamy Cocobanana

Fresh Picked Apple

Honey Bee Sweet

Lemon Lush

Mulberry Hand & Body Lotion (for Sister-on-law's bday)

Please check out Bovine Bubbles, she also has wonderful jellies & jams, and is making new soap weekly.

TWITTER: Does anyone twitter? I just signed up today (audreyscrafts). Not quite sure what to do now. Any suggestions?

Something New

I'm going to try something different for 2 listings in my Etsy Shop, and I'll also have links on the sidebar too. The listings are "Surprise Packages"!! The prices on the listings are:

1) $2.50 plus $1.50 shipping, for a package worth $5.00 or more

2) $5.00 plus $1.50 shipping, for a package worth $10.00 or more

Here is what could be in the package:

*blank note cards/envelopes
*or coasters
*or an upcycled bag
*or a hand painted ornament
*or scrap booking supplies
*or something I haven't tried yet.
*or any combination of the above.

Please state your favorite color at checkout.
You can make requests, if I have it or can make it - it's yours.
Items will not be like those in the pictures, these are examples only.

Our youngest son had some excitement this week. Logan was taking Diesel Mechanics as a vocational course in school. He is in Grade 11 this year, but has gone as far as he can with the mechanics courses, and is now a Diesel Mechanic Apprentice. That means that he now has to buy a tool box and his own tools. So on Tues. Brad and Logan met the local Snap On dealer to check out tool boxes and Logan bought one!! Very exciting stuff. He had the Snap On dealer deliver it to work, so we went to town today to take some pics of it. I haven't seen it yet and Luke wanted to see some pics of it too.

I think I'm hooked on the auther Kay Hooper. Almost finished the third book in this trilogy she wrote. It's as good as the first two. Still reading the "Stephanie Plum" series too. They are so different I don't have to worry about forgetting what is happening in which book.

Did you have anything exciting happen during the week? Tell us about it.

Please check out the give away on my other blog. The link is on the right at the top.  If anyone is interested in having a give away - I'm looking for items for May and June.

Hope everyone has an awesome Sunday!!

Weekend Update

Well - last weekend the snow was melting and I thought I would be able to show you pictures of my garden this weekend, minus the snow. Unfortunately we got close to 6 inches of snow starting on Tues. and ending Wed. Night. These pics were taken on Tues. evening. Don't have to worry about mowing grass or planting the garden for a while yet. 

I haven't created anything this week. Just can't seem to get the energy. I think menopause is starting. Have good days when I have lots of energy & get lots done, then days where getting up to make breakfast and doing the simple chores just seems like to much work. Days when "being organized" seems like a dream, I just go from one thing to another, but don't get anything done all the way. Can't seem to focus.

Okay - we'll end that train of depressing thought here. One to something more fun!!

provided by: www.allthingschristmas.com


Is that too much fun? One year I had 1/2 my shopping done for the boys by the end of April!! Got lucky and found Lego & Knex on sale (1/2 price) at a toy store. Total Fluke! No - I haven't started shopping yet. Would if I knew what to get though. Really hate the rush before Christmas - people seem to loose their manners.

One the right side bar and also on the left close to the bottom are many shop mini's with bags. I love bags!! Please check out their shops - I promise - you will be amazed. Also please check out my previous post (1 down) about the BAG SWAP I'm having. Join if you can.

Sunday Update

It's amazing how dependent we are on electricity. When I was pregnant with our youngest (17 years ago) the hydro was out for about 36 hours. Back then we had a wood stove in the livingroom and could heat part of the house with that. Actually heated up soup and made hotdogs on the stove too!

This time however we didn't have a wood stove but do have a very nice BBQ! We put it in the garage out of the wind, rain & snow and managed to have warm meals. Didn't realize how often in a day I would use the microwave to heat up my coffee till I couldn't do it anymore! Can you say "withdrawl"?

We do have a small generator so we did have a few lights, could watch T.V. and run a small heater. Kept the kitchen/diningroom/livingroom area at about 15C (59F), the rest of the house got down to 11C (52F).

Since I couldn't be on the computer or do laundry or vacuum (bummer LOL) and school was cancelled for those two days - I got some cards made. I need to put something in the middle of these yet.

I read two books and started a third.

1) Not to bad. Took a little while to get into, but it picked up about 1/4 of the way through.

2) I'm quite enjoying this series. It has some suspense, dead people, tiny bit of sex (or implied), and can be quite funny at times. Will definitely finish the series.

3) Almost finished this book. This is the first book I've read by Kay Hooper. Luckily I picked the first one in a trilogy! Usually I'll pick a middle one by accident. It's really good! Features a FBI unit with psychic abilities. Already have the next two at home. Should finish this one tomorrow while hubby sleeps through the nascar race, and get another one started!!

What did you do for excitement during the week? We have spring break this week - YIPEE!! We were planning on going to Fargo ND for 3 days - but they are worried about flooding this week - so I'm not sure what we'll do.

Updates

Don't have anything specific to post about today. So I thought I'd update on some other posts that I've done.

GARDENING:

This is a pick of what my garden looks like today. I have my seeds - the asparagus roots are apparently coming closer to planting time. Will try and take pics of the garden as the summer progresses and post them.

The snow needs to melt, though it's been quite warm the last few days. (+6C tues.) Today's high is supposed to be -4C. It's still freezing at night - which is a good thing - don't want the snow to melt too fast and have flooding. Manitoba gets a lot of water from North Dakota and they have a lot of snow!! We have a creek that runs past the west side of our yard. This is what it looks like today.

The water should be on the lower part of the yard in a day or two. In 1997 we had to sand bag the house to keep the basement from flooding, hopefully that won't happen this year.

BOOKS

A few people suggested reading the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, when I did my post on books. So I went to the local library. The happened to have it in - so I read it. The book was actually quite good and now I'm waiting for book 2, "Two for the Dough" , book three came in tues., "Three to get Deadly". If they are as good as book one - I'll probably read the whole series in the next few months.

I'm almost done "Into the Fire" by Suzanne Brockmann. This is part of her "Trouble Shooter" series. I've read all the others and found out there are 2 more coming out this year!! WOOHOO! Can't wait!

BIRTHDAY

My birthday is in April. There will be two give aways on my other blog - but I'm thinking of doing something on this blog too. Something just for my followers. What would you like to see? Something I've made or a gift certificate for my shop? Any ideas? All ideas are welcome!