Happy Thanksgiving

Have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving. :)

You Get What You Pay For

Just when we thought it was safe to turn on the TV again, last week it was confirmed that there will be a run-off for senator in Georgia. What?! Are you kidding me?! Apparently our voters can't make a decision or maybe we are just gluttons for punishment. Do you people enjoy being bombarded with dozens of robo-calls?! And what about being subjected to the onslaught of the "I'm-not-really-being-negative-but-just-stating-the-record-he-says-she-says" political doomsday commercials?! Not to mention having a mailbox crammed with political junk mail?! Please, wake me up when it's over. I'll be hiding in blog-land until December 2.

And in other news~

I was tagged last month. And completely forgot about it until I was going through old emails. Here are the rules:

1. Write about 5 specific ways blogging has affected you, either positively or negatively. 2. Link back to the person who tagged you The Charm House 3. Link back to this parent post 4. Tag a few friends or five, or none at all 5. Post these rules— or just have fun breaking them.

Yep, just the kind of tag I like, the kind with no rules. You know by now, I'll not be tagging anyone else. I'm busy avoiding life. . .er. . . selecting our next senator.

But I will oblige part of the tag and relate how blogging has affected me:

Until about a year or so ago, I really didn't know much about the whole blog-world thing; I was busy raising our children, washing a million loads of laundry, and quite frankly, couldn't imagine why anyone would spend valuable laundry time sharing bits of their personal lives with complete strangers. But when I launched my website, I was encouraged to start a blog as a means of augmenting the e-biz. I wasn't even sure if I was young enough for the FaceSpace and MyBook generation, but true to form, I jumped right in head first and started this little piece of blog-land. It was a little sketchy at first, but I managed to figure out the mechanics with relative ease. (And by "relative ease" I mean fear, intimidation, and panic -- I had no idea I would be asked to decipher strange-looking letters to participate in this new network. Have you guys felt as stressed as I did trying to figure out those verification letters before posting a comment?! I swear I thought my eyesight was failing.)

Anyway, in order to make this blog-venture entertaining (for me as well as for anyone crazy enough to stop in and read it) I started writing about our crazy family life. With four kids, a myriad of dogs, an errant vampire bat in my laundry room, a rabid skunk, text-message shenanigans, my sad sewing skills, Homeland Security issues, mammograms, winning a turkey raffle, interesting news articles, and one 18 pound cat named Friendly . . . it seems that I had lots of material. I have found great joy (or maybe cheap therapy) by writing about our adventures. And amazingly, Dear Reader(s?) here you are!

Double the Fun!

Come one, come all! Spooky Time Jingles is listing new items TWICE in December, so stop over on December 1 and 13 for all of your handmade Christmas needs. (And besides, it's way better than trudging through the malls.)

More of The New Kids on the Blog

Oh yes, it's Spooky Time Jingles update day. Check it out here for the Spooky stuff. And here for the Jingly stuff.

Running Around Like a Chicken With It's Head Cut Off

I recently received this award called the "Superior Scribbler." It's always nice to be noticed. :) Thanks Michelle!

Here's a list of the rules:

1. Post the award on your blog.
2. Link me for giving it to you.
3. Link the originating post here
4. Pass the award on to five more deserving people.
5. Post these rules for your recipients

Now the part about passing it on. Oh. . . I'm so not good at this part. I guess it's the middle-child in me that finds it hard to pass along these sorts of things. There are so many in the blog-world that are deserving and it's simply hard to choose. It seems to be my lot in life. "Decisive" is definitely not my middle name.

For the record, when I was a kid, I was always "It." Not that I didn't enjoy a good race or a fun game of tag; I just couldn't ever seem to catch anyone. Oh there was always the easy pickings of the deer-in-headlights-kid or the kid on crutches who was more slow and awkward than I was. But everyone seemed to tag them-- they were always the go-to kids, the slow pokes. And I often just didn't have the heart to tag them too. Besides, it was just easier to run around half-heartedly chasing the others, so as not to hurt anyone's feelings. So, in keeping with my middle-kid, people pleaser heritage, I've chosen to just give some links for you, dear Readers, and not the "tags."

I have laughed out loud over the past months at some of the posts offered at these sites. Have fun: Momo Fali, The Pioneer Woman, Barking Mad, A Bit Squirrelly, The Mental Pause

(P.S. Some of these may be rated PG.)

(P.P.S. Alias Liz Jones, I didn't get a chance to wish you well before your 3.00 ran out at Typepad. So sorry to see you float off into the blog-o-sphere. And please be sure to send my regards to your chicken. See ya around.)

Thank You

A special note of thanks to the brave men and women who have served our nation. Happy Veteran's Day.

The Circle of Life

Gas prices are around $2 a gallon in our area. Woo Hoo -- road trip!!!

My Homage to Seinfeld

Or, in other words. . . a post about nothing. When all else fails, post a gratuitous picture of a kid or an animal. My arch nemesis, Friendly.

Love in Action

I am continually amazed at the character of the coach for the Georgia Bulldogs, Mark Richt. He and his wife are an inspiration.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Finally a chance today to catch up on blog-land. Whew, it's been one busy fall. I think I know how Santa must feel from September through December-- it's probably his busy season too. At least he has "people" to help in his workshop. My "people" include teenagers and an 18 pound cat who thinks he owns our house. (Come to think of it, so do my teenagers.) I can bet Santa probably hasn't been enlisted to help fill out an 18 page college application, or to help plan a rehearsal dinner for his oldest kid, or to find milk for someone or clean underwear. I don't even think Santa has kids, which is probably how he's able to get it all done each year. For the record, my family is pretty tolerant of their distracted mother, and they all seem not to mind stepping over drying papier mache heads, or sweeping away glitter before dinner. All in all, it's a wonderful life. :)

Here are some of the things I've been working on instead of dinner. It looks like snowmen and candy canes have been my favorite motifs lately. All of these designs are available now at Glitter and Grunge.