New Blog

Hubby started saying how there are not a whole lot of popular sites for real mom tips on decorating, shopping, child rearing, cooking, etc. Well there are a lot, but you have to look real hard. So I am starting my new venture with a new blog (haven't done that for a while).

Everyday Mom Tips

Frudal Friday: Homemade Gifts

Vicki has posted some great ideas about making your Christmas gifts this year to save money. I wanted to add a few that I have tried and that I will be doing this year.

Over the years, I have attempted to make some gifts- a fleece blanket for my niece and hubby (no sewing required, just cut some fringe on the edges), a Big Church Bag for another niece made from a simple square of fabric with some embellishments, and some picture ornaments. Mostly, I do my best to not make it look too crafty and many that don't require too much pre-planning. Projects that take the fewest amount of items to create are also good. Simple is the best plan!

Here are some of my ideas...

If you work outside the home, you often have some special friends that you may want to give a gift, but you do not want to spend a lot of money on. Like Vicki pointed out, food is always great. I have made peanut clusters (3 ingredients- how can you beat that), pickled vegetables, and eggnog cookies. These are all simple, but not so common, food items.

A new favorite this year are sugar scrubs and bath salts. All are very simple and very reasonable for gift costs. Find some nice jars and you have a great gift.

And let's not forget, cookies in a jar. Who can beat a premade jar of homemade cookie ingredients!

Pictures in frames always make a nice gift too. My mother never displays a picture unless you give her a frame too. There are some great photo crafts from HP you can find or even a photo memo board. You can even make it a project for your kids so it can be an extra special gift for grandparents.

We also are doing a special gift for my parents this year. The local shop class made Adirondack wooden chairs and ottomans, sold them at a special price for teachers. We are going to stain them for my parent's lake house. This is cheaper than purchasing them already stained and we will make them a little special with some personal touches.

And as Vicki stated so well, it is not about the gifts or the money, but the celebration of Jesus' birth. "For to us a child is born, for to us a child is given..." In these tough economic times, do not worry about the gifts you give, but be more concern with the love you share.

Smart Moms Blog Carnival

Thanks to Vicki for hosting the Smart Moms Blog Carnival. Vicki has her own blog at Simply Vicki. Make sure you check her and the other postings there.

This carnival is sponsored by Smart Moms Smart Business forum as part of our $25 US American Express gift card give away. If you have not already, check it out!

The topic for this carnival is balance.

Having started back to work after a great summer off, the meaning of balance means more this time of year than any other.

I am not only a wife, mom, and teacher, but a volunteer, club member, church member, and Moms group leader.

That requires a lot of balance (and a good husband).

Balance is important to keep you sane! Without a balance of your personal and business life, one or the other will be off kilter and make you crazy!

Being off balance in your personal time and volunteer time will make you the champion of volunteerism, but a loser with your family.

All of areas I have to balance are important to me, but I occasionally have to remind myself that God and family are the most important and need to be given the priority.

If you find yourself off balance, make a change. Give something up. Say no.

It is not easy or maybe not what you want, but sanity is a much better option!

Bloggy Carnival Winner

I had a great first time response for my Bloggy Giveaway. I am giving a choice of a $10 gift certificate to one lucky winner chosen randomly! There were so many great comments that I could not manage to choose the best so I requested that someone that had not read the comments choose a number 1- 184 (even though a few repeated, I did not want to exclude or make judgments on comments)...

The lucky name chosen was Emily B.!

Emily B said... I am thankful for my health and my family's, my wonderful fiance and my great dog. Life is good and I am thankful for that.


Thanks for all those that entered and I appreciate your posting your wonderful comments. Everyone should read them for a good pick me up!

And check out the other Bloggy Carnival Winners and check back in October for the next installment!

Bloggy Giveaways- Check Mine Out

I am participating in the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Blog Carnival. WOW! There are already over 700 entries!

For my giveaway, I am giving a FREE $10 gift card to Starbucks OR Walmart (your choice). All you have to do is comment here on one thing you are thankful for. The one I find the most interesting or the most inspiring will be the winner. The winner will be announced August 1.

***additional information added July 30- I am going to accept comments until August 1 at 11:59 pm- I just love reading how everyone is thankful! I am also going to use a random number drawing to choose the winner- there are just too many good ones. Thanks for stopping by!

Scategories for Moms Part 1- Come Play!

Play Scategories for Moms...
Either cut and paste this onto your blog or copy it and paste it into the comment section. We will play a few times over the next few months- with different categories or different letters!

The goal is to find as many ORIGINAL words for the selected categories. You can review the selected posted entries to see what was already stated. Every word must start with the given letter. The first word cannot be the same as another section (ie., taco bell as a restaurant, taco as something in the grocery store). Double words are allowed with either the first or second word beginning with the letter, but extra credit is given for double words with the same letter as the first letter twice.

This week, the letter is T.
Here is the list...

Restaurant

Artistic Material

A reward

After school activity

Dinner

Medicine

Way to Say No

Item Found at the Grocery Store

One Thing Found in Your Purse/Bag

Vacation Location

Type of Snack Food

Type of Drink

Click here to support breast cancer research by purchasing an original Breast Cancer No Excuses T-Shirt

Tips for Work at Home Moms

I am participating in the Smart Moms Tips for Work at Home Moms blog carnival.

I love working at home. Even though I also work outside the home, my internet businesses bring in a little income each month. It is so gratifying to see the progress I have made over the months with the Smart Moms.

My tip for work at home moms is to watch your time on the computer. It is easy to neglect housework, children, and a husband when you are having to accomplish so many things on the computer. Beware of your time and be sure it is not taking over your time with your family. Set business hours and stick to them! Be thankful for the opportunity to work from home and do not take the rest of the family for granite!

Click here to support breast cancer research by purchasing an original Breast Cancer No Excuses T-Shirt

My Best WAHM Networking Tip

I am participating in a Blog Carnival with Suzanne at The Moms In Business Blog. Our topic, The Best Networking Tip.

My best networking tip is to actually get out and network- online and offline! Sounds simple, right? But so many work at home moms don't get out of their house and don't join online groups. They work hard on their sites and blogs, but they are not out there promoting what they have to offer.

First, online solutions are easy for work at home moms with internet access. You meet some great and resourceful people online by joining quality online forums or groups. Some mom forums are not the greatest for networking because they are about being a mom, not a work at home mom. Others are great for both. It is all about what you are looking for.

Two terrific online forums for work at home moms are the Smart Moms forum and Mommy's Helper Forum. Read more about making new online friends at my work at home mom blog.

Second, offline solutions are also easy but sometimes harder to find. Join moms groups or community service organizations. The local Chamber of Commerce is also a great resource to meet other business professionals. I think sometimes work at home moms don't see their business as a business and do not think they are worthy of a business group. This is so incorrect! Find a local group and meet some local contacts. They may not be the main source of revenue, but you never what might result. And they are a great source of ideas and support.

No matter how you network, you must network! Networking is one of the most important parts of your business. Make sure your incorporate networking into your home based business.

All Women Blogging Carnival

I am participating in the All Women Blogging Carnival hosted by the 4fabmoms.

Our post is to be about something humorous that happened as a mom or a humorous story about a child.

My post is about my oven catching on fire. While it does not seem funny, it was, even if you cannot read it in my not so humorous writing. My husband finally purchased the damaged part and we now have the full sized oven repaired, but I still love my little counter top oven.

As a mom, you never know when you will be called to be a nurse, a fireman, an electrician, or a chef. There are so many hats, I cannot list them all!