Show and Tell Friday

Kelli, please allow me this show and tell. I know it's not the "typical show" and tell but I want to share my teaching blog with all the wonderful home schooling moms you have visit your site. Yikes, that almost a run-on sentence. LOL. It's called Cafe Class, (Cafe Cl*ss) and I'm really quite proud of it. I'll have a lot of information that could be applied to students K-3. With some activities adaptable to higher grades. Plus I plan to share resources, and websites of value. Please stop by and visit my classroom on the web. It will become more and more meaningful to home schooling moms. I love center based learning, hands on learning, and seasonal projects. Thank you for your time, Trudi M
Cafe Cl*ss

Wowzers, Great blog!

I don't do this very often, but I just stumbled upon a great blog. I love mosaic art. I havn't done much, but think it is so pretty. Well this blog is a real feast for the eyes. Please check it out. MosiacCottage

New Habits Here I Come... Agian

I love the blog called the Lazy Organizer. I haven't been there all summer and shame on me. She has great tips and useful tips. Every Saturday, she encourages you to set a small goal that will become a habit. To say I have poor home management habits is an understatement. I think I drove my mom nuts when she was here this summer. *sigh*

Well, I can't be totally perfect right? So here we go again. First goal, and remember I'm a slow learner, lol, so I may not add something new every week. Gosh, I also don't like to fail.

Goal 1: Tidy the hours for 20-30 minutes per day. Maintenance cleaning I guess you could call it.

I'll let you know how it goes. Have a good weekend.

Daily Chicken Soup For The Soul

I just found Chicken Soup for the Soul's own website. On the site, is a wealth of information. The coolest part of the site is the option to sign up for a daily email. Each day you get a different story derived directing to your email. How cool is that?! Sign up today, I know I did.

Please give me some feedback...

Some of you have mentioned that my blog wasn't loading. I was having the same problems and thought it was my Internet connection. I eliminated some of Htmls on the side bar and I think this has helped. Please let me know.
I'm signing up for the class from The Big Picture Show, please post if you are going to sign up. I think it looks fun. See my August 31 post.

Hobby Lobby Coupon

Hey all, this is something that I take for granted. However, I've learned through conversations with co-workers that not everyone know this... So if you don't, here you go. Every other week, Hobby Lobby has a printable 40% off coupon. It can be used as often as you want: print it, one coupon per person, per visit. I use it a lot in the classroom with the students. We go there and shop for supplies for crafts and can get some really good buys. Heck, I need tissue paper right now and I'll save 40%. We're starting to work on crafts for our classroom to sell. I'm going to call our little cottage industry Teens Create, and I plan to list on Etsy. (I've mentioned this in past posts.) We need money for the kids to go shopping, out to eat and to use public transportation. With the budget cuts around the state, I'm not getting money to do these learning activities with the kiddos.
Here's the link for the coupon: Coupon here I come...

Labor Day Activities

Picture from wedsite

Well, dear Hubby and I stayed busy, but not too busy. I've been really tired since starting back to school. We went to the Blue Berry Festival in Plymouth IN, on Saturday. It is a really large festival with sporting events, tracker pulls, concerts, tons of arts and crafts and gobs of food. We go for the food and crafts. Jr. went with us, so we hit the midway too and he rode a few rides. It was a good time, but warmer than I would have liked. I saw a really cool product related to the scrapbook. All your work is done on line and then you can have the company, called Heritage Makers make a bound book out of your pages. I haven't investigated it too much, but wanted to share the link. There's also a consultant opportunity... Looks kinda interesting.
Heritage Makers, check them out. Let me know what you think and if you worked with them.
Sunday we slept in and boated. It was a beautiful day.
Monday I started to "put the garden to bed". Learned that term last year. IE, I pulled and cut back dead flowers. It looks so much better. We've had a lot of rain so the plants got a little out of control and some were just done.
I hope you all had a good and restful weekend. Four days and the weekend. Yeh!

On Line Class by Big Picture Show

Here's the advertisement for the work shop.

"The power of YOU. The question is not whether we will have challenges in life, it's what we choose to do with it that matters. Learn strategies for maintaining a positive perspective as well as how to choose joy in spite of it all as we embark on a journey of empowerment, faith in yourself, and loads of fabulous projects. "

It is a eight week course and it's just in time for what I need. As I mentioned in my last post, I'm having trouble with my creative spirit right now. I need a kick start for sure. This sounds like what the creative muses ordered.

Here's the link: http://www.bigpicturescrapbooking.com/choosingjoy.php

This is a well established on line learning site. I've done other things with them. It would be great fun to do it with several of you... We could share and chat. If you decide to sign up let me know. I plan to after I get to the bank and get some money in my debit account. It sounds inspirational and creative. That's what I want to just-start my for Christmas.

I hope some of you want to do this with me. Post here if you plan to do the workshop, please.

Have a restful and playful Labor Day weekend. The weather here is suppose to be fabulous here. All my best.

Great New Magazine...Home Grown Hospitality

I recently purchsed this great publication by Paper Crafts Magazine. It has the most charming projects in it. The editor really captured how I feel about my daily like, crafting and homemaking. I so want a healthy balance. Here's what she wrote: "Have you ever wondered how life gets so busy and complicated? Do you want to learn how to simplify, but still be able to make handmade items, gifts, and cards for your home, friends, and family? Learn to live a “Simply Complicated” lifestyle from this brand new special issue, Homegrown Hospitality, brought to you by CK Media. This issue is full of great ideas on how to celebrate and document both the momentous occasions in life as well as those meaningful everyday moments. You’ll find inspiration for neighbor gifts, handmade cards, scrapbook albums, cake decorating, organizing, sewing, quilting, and much, much more. Make each moment matter by simply sharing a little of your newfound Homegrown Hospitality. " I just love that term, "simply complicated". How about you? Pretty much sums up what I want right now in my life. I don't want to be bored, but I want things simply organized and decorated. *sigh*

The editor has a blog too. Home Grown Hospitality

It appears she updates the blog almost daily. Check it out.

Paint Chips, Don't Repeat My Mistakes

Hi all, gosh I am struggling the balancing act of blogging, homemaking and working again. Yikes, I want more time in the day. Or better yet, better time management. All in good time, I hope.

I've done a lot of painting over the years. I've selected paint colors I love and some not so much...

This post relates back to my red door. We gutted and moved into our home in less than a month and a half. I don't recommend this! At that time, I made some very quick paint sellections at the store. Some turned out and some did not. Those are the ones I am now correcting. Here's my tip; take the time to go to the store of your choice and pick out paint chips. Choose as many as you like in the hue your are considering. Hang them in the area, you plan to paint. Some will be obvious "dont's" and others will be possibilities. Look at them in different lights, and eliminate as you go for several days. Chances are you will end up with a color you like. Any time I have taken the time to do this, I've been very happy with the color. When I've made a split decision, I am not always so pleased. Please keep in mind, paint colors all have a base color to them, red, blue, green, yellow, gray ect. Those base colors make a big difference in different lights. That's where the mistake of a poor color choose will usually come from.

Lowes, Valspar paint happens to be my favorite. It has great coverage and a low odor.