Tip Tuesday: How to Jog...A Guide For Mommies

Who, Me?  Jog?

 Yeah, right!

I'm as shocked as you are.

It all started when I got this bright idea to exercise at least 20 minutes a day, six days a week starting in August...

Put Some Windex On It

Do you remember the dad in My Big Fat Greek Wedding?  Gosh, I love that movie.  It makes me wish I was Greek.  But I'm not.  So, I rarely use Windex.  Except for cleaning windows.  But, VINEGAR, on the other hand....

Yeah, now you know my new obsession.

Fruit Flies Meet Their Demise

While I'm on a vinegar kick, I've just got to tell you about my latest amazing discovery.  First my problem....  the kitchen was absolutely, utterly and completely overrun with fruit flies.  I do not know where they come from.  Nobody does.  They just show up.  In droves.

 I think they must have come in with the cantaloupe from the garden.  Did I mention that I grew cantaloupe???  From seed!  And it was perfect in every way.  And absolutely effortless to grow.  But that's another story.

Anyways,  the fruit flies were quite a bother.

Tip Tuesday: Amazing Vinegar

I've been meaning to tell you guys about my various vinegar experiments for quite a while now.  But I was concerned that you might think I'm weirder than I actually am.  Which would be hard for me to handle.  Since I'm already realllly weird.

Homemade Lipton Green Tea

I love this stuff!

I buy it on special occasions... like for company or vacation.

That's because it's expensive.  Especially for a drink.  Since we all usually drink water.

But, on one of those rare occasions when I did buy it, I saved the jug.  Since it has a "flex grip, smooth pour."  And what's not to like about that??  And then it turned out that last weekend we needed to bring a drink to a potluck... and it would probably be rude to bring water.  So, that brings me to my amazing discovery.... You can easily make this stuff AT HOME.  And on the cheap!

It's A Bummer

Sorry I haven't written much lately.  I'm taking this whole college thing alot harder than I expected.  It feels too much like a funeral.  I know he's busy and if he needs me he'll call.  But, dude, it's hard.  H-A-R-D.

The Big Day

Today was the day.
My first little fledgling flew the coop.
My boy went off to college.

Bye, bye, Jacob.

How I Roll

Girls, it's time for a confession.

I don't have a plan.

Back 2 School

Glad to see that the kids are getting good use out of their outrageously expensive calculator!

All these Back to School ads really crack me up.  Just today I saw a Wal-mart challenge to get all your back to school clothes for under $100.  Are you stinkin' kidding me??? For ONE kid??  And that's a challenge?  I think I could get all seven ready for under 100 bucks!

(except for the calculator, of course.)

Seriously.

Tip Tuesday: Taking Good Portraits with an Average Camera

Today's tip comes to you from my 17 year old daughter, Graci.  She is a total snapaholic.  She brings a camera everywhere and a good number of the pics on my blog come from her.  She doesn't have a fancy camera, so she spends a lot of time messing around with lighting and shooting angles to see what works best.  And she's gotten pretty darn good with her photography, if I do say so myself.

Today she's gonna show you how to use zoom to take a better portrait.

Monday Montage

 So, yeah, I went to the 127 yard sale. 

 It was one honkin' big yard sale.

I saw this table, which was perrrfect for my family of nine.  

I drove a mile through a farm field, dodging pedestrians and big trucks to find a parking place.

Then I walked back said mile dodging pedestrians and random antiques.

Getting more and more excited all the while.

only to find...

A Fall Garden

Welcome to my office...

It's time for a few Fall plants to go in where the Summer crops are finishing up.  It looks a lot more complicated than it actually is.  And next year I'm sure I'll have a better handle on it.  Hopefully!

So, here's what I'm doing...

Life on the Farm... Another Montage

Because I'm too busy to write words...

 I'll just show you what's been going on around the ole homestead in pictures.