Archive for Around Our House – Page 2

Jan
12

Easy Valentine’s Crafts!

by Brandy

Valentine’s Day is on the way!  Let’s get going with some fun crafts!

I am loving the idea of these Seed Bombs made in the shape of hearts!

 

This is a fun way to use up some scraps!  Make some flowers that will not die!

Yummy Treat Bottles

 

Heart Garland made from magazine pages!

Source: craftig.com via Brandy on Pinterest

 

Squishy hearts made from recycled sweaters!

 

Yummy Chocolate…

3 Categories : Around Our House
Jan
11

Student Contests that are Open to Homeschoolers

by Brandy

Art Contest
Students submit a digital photo of any art (other than photography) and submit it online at www.celebratingart.com.  Two contests each year — Next deadline is April 3rd.  There are 10 winners in each grade division of K-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12 who will receive $25 and a full color book that includes their art.  Other artists of merit will be invited to be published.  There are no costs to enter or to be published.   Open to all students in the US and Canada. Each year we have several home schoolers who are among our national winners.

Poetry Contest
Students submit one poem 21 lines on any topic and submit it online at www.poeticpower.com or mail it to Creative Communication, 159 North Main Street, Smithfield, UT  84335.  Three contests each year with upcoming deadlines of April 12 and August 15.  There are 10 winners in each grade division of K-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12 who will receive $25 and a book that includes their poem.  Other writers of merit will be invited to be published.  There are no costs to enter or to be published.  Our website at www.poeticpower.com also includes a database that is divided by grade and subject and contains over 1000 lesson plans on how to teach poetry.  You can also subscribe to our newsletter with tips on teaching poetry.

Essay Contest
Students submit one non-fiction essay, 250 words or less on any topic and submit it online at www.poeticpower.com or mail it to Creative Communication, 159 North Main Street, Smithfield, UT  84335.  Three contests each year with upcoming deadlines of Feb 15 and July 18.  There are 10 winners in each grade division of 3-6, 7-9, 10-12 who will receive $25 and a book that includes their essay.  Other writers of merit will be invited to be published.  There are no costs to enter or to be published.

0 Categories : Homeschool
Jan
11

Wordless Wednesday ~ Responsibility with Linky!

by Brandy

I decided that this year I would participate in Annie Manning’s Let’s Do 52!  She has themes set for each week of the year and  I like the challenge that it creates for me.  This week the choice was Responsibility or Open.  I chose Responsibility.

It’s not to late to join up!  You can do this theme until Saturday and then a new theme will be posted.  You can set up a free account on flickr if you do not have an account already and then join her group.
52 Week Project Photo Paint the Moon Photoshop Actions PSE

26 Categories : Around Our House
Jan
10

Who Received our Doggie Gift Basket? #ILoveMyk9 #CBias

by Brandy

So I told you guys all about our shopping trip to gather items for a Doggie Gift Basket that we were making as a service project.  We chose to donate our basket to the local animal shelter.  You can view our shopping trip on Google+.

First we had to take all of our items and make it look all pretty and Christmas like.  The girls always have fun with this sort of thing!  They were anxious to get it all put together so they could take it to the animal shelter to check out the puppies.  I had to slow them down so we could keep it as pretty as possible.  But, for the most part I let the girls have creative control.

We chose to use the dog food dish as the base of our present.  You can see that we placed it on the blanket that we purchased.  Just set it right in the center.
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Next we took the big boxes of  Milk-Bone® Treats and used double sided tape to stick them together to keep them stacked in the dish.
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Fill in the areas on the sides with the  Pup-Peroni Treats and Milo’s Kitchen Treats.
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Tape the toys on top so they don’t fall off.
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Pull up the blanket on all sides and tie in a loose knot at the top.
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Add a pretty Christmas bow , a choke chain and a chew rope to the top to make it all pretty!
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After we had our gift ready we all jumped in the car and headed to the local animal shelter.
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Once inside we met with the animal control officer on duty.  She was super nice and very excited to see what we had brought.
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She talked to my girls a lot about her responsibility as an animal control officer.  Great educational moment right here!
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Then she took us back to see the animals!  The girls were anxious for this part!  They had some puppies that were cute as can be!  Those puppies couldn’t wait to get out and see us!  Look at this blur of cuteness!
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Just look at that face!
Pound Puppy

Morgan was so excited to find out that you only have to be 13 to volunteer at our local animal shelter.  All I had to do was visit the local police station and fill out a form.  Now we just have to wait for the phone call!

Awwww, pound puppy kisses!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias #ILoveMyk9

11 Categories : Around Our House
Jan
5

Multiple Streams of Income?

by Brandy

One of our biggest goals is to have multiple streams of income.  We are starting out slow, but one day hope to step it quite a bit.  I’m thinking after we purchase our own home that we can step it up to investing.  In the meantime, I’m looking into learning as much as possible about property investing for beginners.  I think with Jeremy’s skills that this would be a logical choice for us.

I know that you can make a pretty significant income if you have several investment properties.  Totally something to look into.  I know that some people are even buying overseas properties.  I doubt that would be a route we would ever be able to take, but imagine if you could?  How cool would that be?  Purchase a property in another country, have it leased out when you are not enjoying it for yourself?  Sounds pretty awesome!

For us though, I think it would be more of the “flipping” or even fixing up and renting out.  Have you ever owned investment property?  Was it difficult?  Did you enjoy it?  Hopefully someday we can get to this for ourselves.  Until then, we will just keep on working at it all.

4 Categories : Around Our House
Jan
5

Which is Worse, Failing or Never Trying?

by Brandy

Once again, I chose to answer one of the 50 questions from 50 questions that will free your mind.  You can see my first one answered from How Old Would You Be if You Didn’t Know How Old You Are.

So tonight’s question?  Which is worse, failing or never trying?

This is another question that can be answered more than one way.  It really just depends on what you are thinking about doing right?

I mean hmmmm…is it better to fail at Russian Roulette?  Or would it have been better to never have tried it in the first place?  I’m thinking it would be better to have never tried it, which would make it worse to have failed.

Now if you were talking about something that would not result in death if you had failed, then yea, it would be worse to never have tried.

2 Categories : Around Our House
Jan
5

Um, Can We Say YUM? International Delight Iced Coffee #IcedCoffee #CBias

by Brandy

I am such a coffee fanatic.  Hot coffee, cold coffee, flavored coffee, blended coffee….all of it.  L.O.V.E. Love it!  

When asked to describe myself I list myself as a Coffee Junkie.

When I heard that International Delight was coming out with an Iced Coffee, I had to be one of the first to try it.  I couldn’t wait!

It’s available in 3 different flavors.  Original, Vanilla & Mocha.  Before trying I thought for sure that I would have loved the Mocha the best.  I mean it’s Mocha right?  I normally love flavored coffee over plain coffee.  The time however I was shocked that I loved the Original flavor the best!  All of them were fantastic, but something about the Original just made me happy.
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I’m a loser…I should have taken a photo of all 3 varieties together and shown you.  However, we’ve had a rough couple of weeks. I consumed this coffee at a super fast rate and before I knew it, it was all gone and I had forgotten to get photos of each variety.  One of our friends had a massive heart attack 2 days before Christmas.  He was 39 and on life support.  He is a husband and father.  My first priority was to help his family.  He has since passed away and we are still trying to help them as much as possible.

Morgan really likes coffee.  I don’t let her have a ton of it, but sometimes it’s nice to share something special with my oldest daughter.  Some people think that’s weird…really?  A lot of kids drink soda all the time, my kids don’t.  I really don’t think it’s harmful for a teen to have a cup of coffee now and then.  Her favorite?  The Vanilla!

I love that there is really no prep.  Just the International Delight Iced Coffee in your preferred flavor, a cup and some ice!
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Pour over ice…
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Enjoy…
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Find them in your Walmart and Sam’s Club Dairy sections starting January 15th!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias

7 Categories : Around Our House
Jan
4

Wordless Wednesday ~ Sharing with Linky!

by Brandy

I decided that this year I would participate in Annie Manning’s Let’s Do 52!  She has themes set for each week of the year and  I like the challenge that it creates for me.  This week the choice was Sharing or Natural.  I chose sharing.

It’s not to late to join up!  You can do this theme until Saturday and then a new theme will be posted.  You can set up a free account on flickr if you do not have an account already and then join her group.
52 Week Project Photo Paint the Moon Photoshop Actions PSE

4 Categories : Around Our House
Jan
2

How Old Would You Be if You Didn’t Know How Old You Are?

by Brandy

When I was reading Katie‘s 101 in 1001 list I seen her mention completing 50 questions that will free your mind.  Well, once I looked I wanted to do it as well.  So here I am with question #1.

How old would I be if I didn’t know how old I was…

Well…this can go two ways for me.

If I went by how I felt physically, I may tell you that I was 80 years old.  The pain, the memory issues, coordination issues, walking issues…all of that makes me feel OLD!

But when I keep my mind off of all of that I can give you a different answer.

So leaving the physical part out of it and answering the same question I would probably tell you that I was 18.  I like to do all the same things as I did then.  I still have a camera in my hand.  I still like punk rock.  I still dye my hair bright colors.  Dressing up is a band shirt with no hole in it.  I’m still wearing converse, going to concerts and hanging out.

So I guess I have two ages.  There is the 18 year old me and the 80 year old me.  How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?
086/365 Hangin' out...

2 Categories : Around Our House
Dec
30

101 in 1001

by Brandy

I totally stole this idea from Babes Rockin’ Mami, be sure to go check out her post as well!  Who stole it from someone named Amanda that I do not know and did not have a link to.  I hope you will in turn steal it from me!

The Challenge:

Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:

Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on your part).

Why 1001 Days?

Many people have created lists in the past – frequently simple challenges such as New Year’s resolutions or a ‘Bucket List’. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips, study semesters, or outdoor activities.

My start date is: Sunday, January 1st 2012

End date: Sunday, September 28, 2014

(To make this easy since I have a sick brain I used Time and Date to calculate 1001 days from my start date!)

I hope you will join me in this fun project!

  1. Lose 10 lbs
  2. See a new neurologist (the sooner the better)
  3. Take 5 short trips within Texas with the family
  4. Get a new Tattoo
  5. Sew something every week for one full month
  6. Quit smoking completely
  7. Take the kids to Disney!
  8. Declutter my bedroom
  9. Take a walk with the kids every day for a whole week straight
  10. Devote 30 minutes a day for a month to Wii fit
  11. Get an iPad
  12. Lose 20 lbs
  13. Have note cards printed of my photos to sell
  14. Take another trip to Hollywood
  15. Build Morgan a new website
  16. Lose 30 pounds
  17. Lose 40 pounds
  18. Visit family in Michigan
  19. Suck it up and go to the dentist
  20. Take one date night per month
  21. Declutter the office
  22. Restock my Etsy, it’s been empty for years
  23. Drink 64 ounces of water per day for a complete month {and then continue}
  24. Get dressed first thing every day all the way to my shoes for an entire month!
  25. Make Blackberry Brandy
  26. Eat completely100% Raw for a full 2 weeks (besides coffee…I won’t deny myself that)
  27. Eat completely100% Raw for a full 4 weeks (besides coffee…I won’t deny myself that)
  28. Get a physical every year
  29. Get a second DSLR
  30. Rent a cabin with the kids and Jeremy
  31. Get rid of all my old boots and shoes
  32. Take the family to a planetarium
  33. Take the family to Dallas on the train
  34. Take the family to the ocean
  35. Go on a cruise
  36. Join a church with the kids that we feel comfortable with
  37. Go to Turner Falls
  38. Visit the Wild Cat rescue near Wylie
  39. Buy a Lottery Ticket (I never have!) I bought 2 Texas Lottery Tickets TODAY!  1/2/12
  40. Move
  41. Camping for a full week
  42. Plant another garden
  43. Take the family back to Great Wolf Lodge
  44. Go to a wine tasting
  45. Go to the Dallas Aquarium
  46. Take a self portrait once a month
  47. Go to bed by 11 pm on weekdays for a week straight
  48. Go to bed by 10 pm on weekdays for a week straight
  49. Wake up at 6 am on weekdays for a week straight
  50. Wake up at 5 am on weekdays for a week straight
  51. Meet five new bloggers in person
  52. Attend a blog conference
  53. Go to Cadillac Ranch
  54. Visit a ghost town
  55. Go zip-lining again
  56. Make Apple Butter
  57. Take the kids to an apple orchard
  58. Take the kids berry picking
  59. Take photos of my scars
  60. Make a quilt
  61. Call my brother once a month
  62. Complete once service project a month
  63. Every task left undone at the end of this is $5 to charity
  64. Get a bike
  65. Ride that bike every other day
  66. Get a massage once per month
  67. Have a family portrait made
  68. Knit a baby sack for a photo prop
  69. Take Morgan to a concert
  70. Make a family cookbook
  71. Write a list of 50 things I like about myself
  72. Move photos to external hard drive once per month
  73. Dedicate one day per month to scrapbook with the kids
  74. Go to a comedy show
  75. Take the kids to a play
  76. Make a wreath for the front door
  77. Help  a friend start a blog
  78. Go canoeing
  79. Catch a 4 lb or larger Large Mouth Bass
  80. Go see Guadalupe mountains
  81. Get a new claddagh ring
  82. Fast for 1 day
  83. Fast for 3 days
  84. Fast for 1 week
  85. Go see a play
  86. Do a service project with the kids every month
  87. Cut out sweetened Tea
  88. Cut out sweetened coffee
  89. Start another business
  90. Plant a tree
  91. Take Morgan Horse Back Riding
  92. Jump on a Trampoline (maybe take a pain pill first)
  93. Jump Rope every day for a whole week
  94. Jump Rope every day for a whole month
  95. Go a full month without spending any money except bills and groceries
  96. Learn to shoot in the RAW
  97. Get Loudmouth Photography to 1000 fans
  98. Do a photo shoot (for free) that makes someone feel awesome about themselves, maybe an ill child or teen?
  99. Do the Master Cleanse with Morgan…it scares me a bit
  100. Eat bacon in a strange way…like a cupcake or something…. I had a Maple Bacon Cupcake made by my awesome baking daughter, Morgan!  1/11/12
  101. Inspire five four more people to do this {PLEASE let me know if you do!} KATIE!

7 Categories : Around Our House
Dec
30

We Went to the Lone Star Circus Last Night!

by Brandy

It was absolutely amazing!  Wow!  The kids and I had such a fantastic time!  It was small and you felt like show was just for you!   The Lone Star Circus is Dallas-based non-profit circus.  Last night was sold out and so is tonight’s show.  But if you head over now, maybe you can still score tickets for the weekend?

There is a discount code you can use to save 10% on your tickets!  Save 10% on any performance by entering LSC in the promo code box atwww.LoneStarCircus.org.

Ticket prices range from $20-$45.  Tickets are available by calling 214.740.0051, or visiting online at www.lonestarcircus.org.  For group sales information, contact Mark Doyle at markdoyle@lonestarcircus.org or 214.237.2515.

The weekend show times are as follows:

  • Saturday December 31st 2:00 pm, 5:30 pm
  • Sunday January 1st 2:00 pm, 5:30 pm

The location is:  Rosewood Center for Family Arts (Dallas Children’s Theater) at 5938 Skillman Street in Dallas, TX 75231

Check out some of the photos I was able to get last night!
The Contortionist
The Sky Dance
The Clown
The Cowboy

2 Categories : Around Our House
Dec
28

Wordless Wednesday! A Special Request!

by Brandy

My friend Reece has his second heart attack 2 days before Christmas.  He has a wife and 2 young children.  I have set up a facebook page and a website where I will be hosting an auction to help the family out.  Reece has no insurance and is currently on life support and he needs a heart transplant.  His job was the sole income of this family.

The auction will have a lot of services that are based in DFW as well as items that can be mailed.  So please take a moment and fan the facebook page just in case you see something you would be interested in bidding on.

My Wordless Wednesday is dedicated to this family and the photos below are all images I have captured.  Thanks!

1 Categories : Around Our House
Dec
27

Ideas for a Doggie Gift Basket! #ILoveMyk9 #CBias

by Brandy

We love dogs!  I am totally not a cat person!  If you know me at all, then you know that I am pretty much terrified of cats!  I seemed to have passed the “terrified of cats” gene onto my youngest daughter Emma.  She likes to look at them, as long as they can’t get to her!
Emma doesn't like cats...

We like to do service projects and since it is the Holidays it was a perfect opportunity to fit some in!  It’s so fun to give to others and see the expressions on their faces, especially when it is unexpected.

So we are making a Doggie Gift Basket!  We will be giving ours to the local Animal Shelter.  They always need things and we hope to make some dogs a bit happier this holiday season.

We headed to Walmart to get everything we would need.  You can view our shopping trip on Google+ to see all the great items we seen while we were shopping.  They have a huge selection of dog treats and toys!

We scored a great deal on the dog treats we purchased.  We picked up two boxes of Milk-Bone® Treats and on each box was a coupon to save $2.00 off of either Pup-Peroni Treats or Milo’s Kitchen Treats.  By getting two coupons I was able to get one bag of Pup-Peroni Treats and one bag of Milo’s Kitchen Treats at a great discount!  Score!

Since we are giving our gift basket to the animal shelter we chose a big metal food dish.  If you are going to be donating to the animal shelter be sure to only purchase metal food dishes.  They do not use plastic so that they can avoid spreading sickness and disease.  They also love choke chains.  These are used a lot when a dog is being adopted out.  They are very affordable so they make a great item to include.  Toys for puppies to chew on and play with are also a great addition as well as all the dog treats.  The animal shelter loves to receive blanket and sheets!

Be sure to come back to see my next post showing how we arranged the Doggie Gift Basket as well as photos of my girls delivering it!  Also, follow the conversations on Twitter with the #ILoveMyk9 hashtag!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias #ILoveMyk9

5 Categories : Around Our House
Dec
26

The Start of a New Holiday Tradition #CBias, #DisneyCFK

by Brandy

Last week I told you that my family was taking part in the Champions for Kids Simple Service Project by filling a stocking with Disney Themed items and donating it to be given to a child in need.  It’s a good way to encourage a giving spirit in my kids.

A lot kids didn’t get anything for Christmas.  It’s really very sad.  I look at my own kids as they open their gifts and know how heart breaking it must be not to see that Christmas morning joy on a child’s face.

So we signed up for the project on the Champions for Kids website and then we headed to Walmart to get some fun Disney themed items to fill our stocking.  You can see our whole shopping trip by visiting our Google+ story.

Emma, Lauren and Morgan had a great time shopping!  They chose to shop for items to fill a stocking that would make a little girl happy.  Our local Walmart ran out of the stockings that we wanted, so we did purchase our stocking elsewhere.

I was so impressed with my girls!  They had no problem picking out things to give.  There was no selfishness or sadness about wanting to keep these things for themselves.  We took all of our purchases home and got busy wrapping them all up.

Prepared to stuff!

We kept everything themed with Disney Princesses and Tinker Bell.  Lip Balm, jewelry, bubbles, stickers, a Tinker Bell doll and Even a Tinker Bell wallet!  We also added a single serving Hot Chocolate mix!
Preparing donations!

We couldn’t fit everything into our stocking, so we just carried those separately to take to donate.  The girls and I decided that we wanted to take our stocking to the Fire Department that is local to us.  Considering how many house fires happen during the Holidays we thought this was a good idea.  The girls remembered how last winter their friend that lives across the street had a house fire caused by the fire place.

They wanted to make sure that another little girl had something special to cheer her up in case that was to happen again.  Also, we know that the fire department will make sure that the stocking goes to a good home.

Morgan would NOT get in the photo and Emma was too shy.  I was so proud that Lauren went up and handed over the stocking and presents to the firemen and had her photo taken with them.  She has come such a long way!
Lauren taking part in Champions for Kids!

You can learn how you can get your family involved by visiting www.ChampionsforKids.org.  Also, be sure to follow @champions4kids and like the Facebook page.

How do you teach your children to have a giving, serving heart?

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  All opinions are my own.  Be sure to follow the conversations on Twitter by viewing the hashtags #CBias, #DisneyCFK.

10 Categories : Around Our House
Dec
24

Merry Christmas!

by Brandy

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

4 Categories : Around Our House
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