HELP!! I need your suggestions!!!

Every once in a while... a mood strikes... and right now I'm in the mood to... PURGE. Meaning I hate clutter. Things that I don't use, don't like any more, STUFF... I want it GONE!

Right now it's our "office" that is the unfortunate target. It has long been (well ever since we've lived here), the catch-all room, where all our STUFF went that didn't have a home. Well. No. More. If it doesn't have a home, and isn't something we need, well, it's gone.

Sometimes this is a problem... Here's my problem.

I love sending and receiving cards. Especially from my hubby:) So between the 2 of us we have lots of cards from waaaayyyy back, birthday cards from my 1st birthday, special cards from family and friends that I just couldn't throw away. Cards from our wedding and shower. And now cards from when Evan was born. The pile is only going to get bigger from here. Hopefully as more children are added to our family, then there will be birthdays, graduations... The list just goes on!

So here's the thing. WHAT CAN I DO WITH THEM!?!? Besides keeping them in a worn out old shoebox that only takes up SPACE. Which is something we DO. NOT. HAVE. in this house.

Should I create some sort of a scrapbook? Make something with them? But how can I preserve the sentiments written inside if I make something out of them???? AAAHHH!!! Stuff like this almost drives me crazy.

I hate clutter so much that stuff that only sits around in boxes must GO. But stuff like this I don't want to part with, but it takes up such precious space!

On another note, I have the same question for something completely different. Magazines. How do you keep the ones that are inspiring, like as in ideas that I want to keep in mind for decorating, crafting, organizing, etc. I hate to keep the entire magazine around because, well, they take up SPACE. And also because who has time to sit around and hunt through a pile of magazines to find a particular idea? So any ideas as to how I can handle this problem as well?

I would soooo greatly appreciate any suggestions you all have for my dilemmas:)

I'm knitting!!

Yes, this really is my first ever knitted anything:) And it was fun. Excuse the horrible self pictures, and don't look too closely at the hat, perfection it is not!!

And now for a much cuter model:)

Knitting was something I thought was totally out of my reach, but this was very fun:) Granted it's the most simple of simple knitting but I'm hoping to get better. I already started another project, a tassle hat for my little cutie, made out of the cutest browns and blues, I can't wait to see it on him:) Next I'll have to make something for James, he said gloves... or socks... or mittens... or.... Hmm, we'll have to see what I can come up with:)

Monday is baking day.

Or at least it was this week. To be comfy is a must when baking:) The lovely slippers I got for Christmas from my bro. And, well, if the only apron you own is a Christmas apron, then it's just Christmas all year round... I do have a lovely green apron with pink cupcakes and red cherries on the way from my mom, a belated Christmas present. Can't wait for that:)


S0 I have this fabulous cookbook, full of nothing but COOKIES! It was given to me many years ago as a gift and I do really love it but I'm kind of in that rut (where I only make 1 or 2 recipes out of it), so I decided to shake things up a bit:) I'm starting at the beginning and my goal is to make every one of the cookie recipes at least once. That's my goal. Ok, so I didn't set a time frame for this so it may take years. Literally.:) But I'm keeping track of each recipe that I make and jotting down notes as I go. So here's recipe #1 that I tried for the first time: Oatmeal_Crispies Yummy! Ok so I'm the kind of baker who tweaks things to suit my mood at the time:) The recipe asked for shortening, I used butter. I don't know why but I just like to use butter better than shortening. I'm weird. I know. Shortening tastes good in cookies too, but I just imagine all of that FAT sticking to my gut. Ok. So butter's certainly not any better. Oh well, like I said I'm weird. Well all that to say. Um, I think shortening would have worked better:) The cookies taste wonderful (oh btw, I also added 1/4 tsp more cinnamon than it asked for cause I like cinnamony cookies:)), but they really ran while baking therefore causing some square cookies because they ran into each other. I'll be trying shortening next time. Really. I bought some when I went grocery shopping today:)


The second recipe is: Cranberry_Chip_Cookies. Oh my. These are good! These I like, but since the cookies I bake are mostly for James' lunches during the week (I try not too eat them, you know, they stick to the hips, ahem, right, wish I could say I DON'T eat any...) and his opinion is very highly considered when it comes to making these again... They're just not his favorite he says. Well, ok, they were fun this time:) Oh, and these asked for both butter and shortening and since the above cookies ran so much I did use the shortening that it asked for and they turned out better:) But, I did reduce the heat in my oven after the first batch came out REALLY dark, not burned, but darker than what I like.
So after all the cookie making, I turned to my Martha_Stewart_Baking_Handbook which I got as a Christmas present from my mom 2 years ago. My goal for that book is the same as the cookie book (and has been for the last 2 years!), so this is why I say this may take me years to get through, it already has:) So yes, I'm on recipe #5 or so for this book, sigh... Anywho, I made the buttermilk biscuits from that yet to go with supper. Those were yummy too!

Oh so much baking in one day, it was a good day:) Oh, and I had JUST enough flour in the house to make all this. Whew! Next time I'll make sure I'm better prepared:) Stocked up on that flour at the grocery store today! So sometime in a few more weeks, once all these yummy cookies are gobbled up, I will be making some more. Fun:)

All Boy

Evan is without a doubt, all boy... He is an explorer. He is a thrill seeker. He LOVES to be held high in the air and be brought back down quickly. He giggles in anticipation of the "fall". He gets terribly frustrated when he can't make his hands do EXACTLY what he wants them to do. He loves peek-a-boo and pulls off the blankie or whatever is covering his face and has a huge smile for us:) All of this makes me smile:) Having a boy is so much fun. I'm sure our lives will never be dull as long as he is around:)

Here I was sitting on the couch with him on my lap and of course he's looking around for SOMETHING, and finds the blanket and starts pulling on it (and then the first place it goes of course is his mouth). So I put it on his head.

Mom, this is boring...

Let's play Peek-a-boo!!!


This is much more fun!!!

He is rolling over, and rolls across the living room. But only in one direction, so he gets stuck:) And believe me he lets us know when that happens, afterall it's so frustrating that his 4 1/2 month old body won't do EXACTLY what he thinks it should!!

We're working on sitting... Let's just say he's not quite a pro yet:)

Yay! My favorite buddy, the elephant...


Oops, I tossed him over to the side, no worries, I can get him...

Or, I'll just let him there, this is too much work!!

Ah, yes, I love my little sweetie:)

Frugalista? I wish...

Am I good at being a frugalista? Uh. No. Do I want to be one? Yes please!! *sigh* I just don't have the knack some people do with coupon clipping/sale matching/rebates, and getting $40 worth of goodies for $2. Oh I try, but with my limited tiny little town with a grocery store and good 'ol Wally World as my shopping options... Well, it's a little tough.


Ha. My definition of finding a good deal? Wandering through the Christmas clearance aisles at forementioned Wally World, finding a box of 12 candy canes for 17 cents. Woohoo!!! And yes I did buy them:) Just cause I don't think I've ever bought anything for 17 cents before:) Ah yes, that really makes me seem like a frugalista, huh?


My favorite thrifty thing to do though is to go garage saleing and finding ugly things for pennies and turning them into something useful and pretty! I love it:)




These pics aren't the most recent of my little guy, but they're the most recent ones on my computer so they'll have to do for now:)

Poor baby, he has to go for another round of immunization shots today:( I pity him so bad!!! But I pity myself almost as much:( I can't stand to see him in pain like that. So to put it mildly I'm dreading it REAAAALLLLYYY bad.

Well I hear the little guy stirring in his crib so I should go and say goodmorning to my little sweetie:)