Guess What We're Doin'...

So far...not so great.

Tour de Yard Sard

Last time we hosted a yard sale, I made a bunch of signs that said, "Yard Sard"...so now that's what we call Yard Sale. Hahahha! I don't know what I was thinking! (Obviously)



Anyway, this is a lil tour of my all time favorite yard sard finds. They are by no means all that I've ever found at yard sales, but like I said, these ones keep my smiling for differerent reasons.



Don't let these beauts fool you. They are a pair of cast iron birds that sit atop our fire mantle. They are my love birds :) And they weight a TON. I picked them up for $10/pr: I just love Italy. Some day, maybe JD will take me there. Until then, I've always got a soft spot for things of Italy and these prints took me there. I got them both for $15:

Here's Ryan and his 'practically brand new' bike. We picked it up for $25:

This lil slide has really earned its stay. Both kids have used it non stop at lately, the favorite thing to do with it is stick it in the kiddi pool. Who knew that for $10 we could have our very own water slide:

Gage's all time favorite. $3:

And these are some of my girlie-ma-bobbers. I picked up these gobblets $2 for all (12):

This is one of my more recent finds. I just love it. JD rolled his eyes when he saw that I wanted yet ANOTHER set of dishes. *smile* I picked up the whole set for a table of 8 for $10:

And here they are in action: hahahaha! My goal is to have a completely different antiquish place setting for a table of 12. I'm on my way...I think I've got enough for 6 different settings as of late! (can you tell I'm just a wee bit excited about this???) I'm even collecting different antique napkins. Can anyone say "DINNER PARTY???" Alright, who's coming???

This is an oil painting and I love LOVE it! Not sure who the artist is and truthfully, I picked it up just for the frame (because it's wood) for $5: There's a signature in the corner but ???

This is one of those items that was on my list for a long, long time. It's tupperware and my mom still has it. It's THEE perfect pancake pourer. I have a Pampered Chef one that is glass, but it's too heavy (and it's a messy pourer). It's also great for measuring hummingbird food :) I picked this up for $.50:

This is super heavy glass that fits my overflow of agates perfectly. I'm not real sure what it is- candle thing perhaps? I leave these rocks on my coffee table and the boys love to put them in the back of their pick up trucks :) $1:

I got a set of two leaded crystal antique end lamps with shades last year and was sooooo excited about it! JD had to do a lil electrical work but now they're great. $15 for both:

I hang this in my pink bathroom. Again, with the Italy thing. It was $1:

This is another leaded crystal lamp. It's SO beautiful when it's lit! It was a bit spendier at $20 but worth every penny:

A few weekends ago, I picked up this lil down throw pillow that matches my bedding perfectly! It was $1:

A few years ago, I picked up this dresser for $40. JD refinished it and we added some glass drawer pulls. I really like how it turned out! And it really does close all the way but what can I say, I was just snappin' pics :)

So there you have it. I hope you enjoyed my yard sard tour. I would love to have company! If you want to go next Saturday, let me know! Maybe JD will let me sneak away from my own yard sard!!! Hahahahahaha. He's so funny. I set the whole thing up and then walk away. I get all attached to things and then refuse to sell them. You should have seen me last year when JD sold my treadmill!!!! Even though I hadn't stepped foot on it EVER, I wanted to keep it.

Packrat? Maybe :)

Oh, and here's the BIG secret to successful yard sarding:

OBIE'S JAVA MOCHA!!!! (and I am totally not kidding)

Thoughts with NO pictures

(because my memory card is FULL and I'm having a tough time pushing 'delete')...yes, even though they are on my puter....and my external drive....and on this blog....I know, I'm a memory-savin', can't part with even the bad pictures kind of dork.

I have a few things to get off my chest and, well, this blog is the venue so pardon me for a sec.

First of all, Gage is sick. He's got pink eye, a teeny cough, and is just plain sicko. He wants to be held all the time (which is actually kind of nice since he's never been a hold me kind of kid). But he's sick and I can tell he's sick of it. Poor lil guy!

Secondly, we totally scored yesterday yard-saling (just so you know, this was before Gage got, what I call level 2 sick and pre doctor visit). At our first stop, we scored a "practically brand new" bike for Ryan. $25! Total steal. Ryan was super excited and kept thanking me the entire day.

Oh my gosh, speaking of thanking....and good manners and all....we went to TJ Maxx last week and they are remodeling the entire store. Back by the bathrooms, they have a guard standing duty so people don't sneak out the back door with arm loads of goods. Anyway, Ryan had to use the restroom so I was standing in the hall watching the rr door and watching Gage dink around with some toys. The guard walked Ryan to the bathroom and as the door opened, he said "Thank you, sir". Such a well-mannered lil boy we have. Ha!

Back to yard-saling.

I'm hoping to put together a lil story will all my favorite yard sale finds...some day. Because seriously. Yard saling is where it's AT.

We are hoping to put together a yard sale of our own by next week. I am drooling over a new camera so I'm goin' all girl-scout tween and throwing a yard sale to 'earn' some cold, hard cash for this new obsession.

Secretly, saving money for something you really really want feels good.

And I realize it kinda sounds lame because, like JD says, "Why don't you just go buy it?"

Well, because. That's why. I want to save for it...if nothing else, just to see if I can. I'm looking seriously at the Nikon D90 and I totally realize that it's a professionalish grade camera and I'm somewhere underground in terms of photography world but here's the deal: I want a camera that takes pictures that are crisp - like looking through a window. And the Nikon is it (I think).

I'm going to come no where near earning the price of the camera at the yard sale but it'll get me going in the right direction. Besides, I can always put together a car wash or go door to door for pop cans! Hahahaha.

Okay, I'm going to press 'delete' on my camera. I really am.

Oh, and lastly- my hubby is the best. He called me this morning at 7am and the first thing he said when I answered the phone was, "I'm okay". And he was. Okay, I mean. He had to, as he calls it, 'get physical' at work and spend a good amount of time doing paperwork. But he's okay. And how great is it that that's the first thing out of his mouth? Does this man know me or what?

Top of the weekend to ya'll (that's Irish meets cowgirl- which, by the way, I am neither)!

What's a RAT?

Welcome to my world :)

Fishers of Men

You might be wondering where these guys went...a few weeks ago, we went fishin' with some brand spankin' new friends. Friends that I actually met {bloggin} if you can believe that!


Here's Darrin and this is {his} pond:


And this is his wife, Angela. I guess it's probably {her} pond too. And just so you know, getting your pics taken constantly is just one of the many perks of being my friend :) (Brooo-Ha,ha) I told her that this should be her new facebook profile picture. What do you think?We went fishing (and BBQing) near a pond on their farm.


Here's Trey (their youngest boy) eatin' some of the bait :) And just so you know, it's Velveta and every single kid ate some! Hahaha

Dylan (their oldest boy) who just so happens to be one of the best Gator drivers I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. There's just something about fishin', you know?

Something fun.

Something magical.

Something exciting.

Something {new}


This was the trip when I got {lucky} and snapped some really cools pictures...My friend, Lindsay (another blogging buddy but that's for another post...) was kind enough to morph it into my new banner! (Thanks Linds)gotta love a sunset picture! Can you see Mt. Adams in the distance? So cool! It was such a neat way to get to know new people and we had so much fun!

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I guess if I could tell a {different} kind of story about this fishing trip it would be this:

I hate to admit it but I've always been a kind of hermit. A lot like this one actually.

picture from (myanimalblog.wordpress.com)

I just would rather stay at home - dink around the house - dink around the yard - talk to my own 'kind' - laugh with my own 'kind' - feed my own 'kind'. I just like to be at home, okay? I'm a teacher and should probably be a bit more 'public' and all but sometimes I just use up all my public words for the day and wanna stay {home}.

But God's been workin' on me. He's been pushing me to {connect} and {fellowship} and learn with ... new people. He's been pushing me to reach out...and up...and left...and right...and he's been teaching me to {fish}. Fishin's not really my thing, ya see. So it's kinda tough.

Because I'm not talking fishin' for fish.

I'm talkin' fishin' for people.

When was the last time you put some {bait} on the line? (and by bait, I mean....and invitation....or a need....or a hope/dream/fear) When was the last time you made someone's day? Someone who you don't normally connect with? Don't normally 'deal' with? When was the last time you literally went out on a line - a fishing line?

Believe me when I say, I'm much MUCH more comfortable in my shell.

For me, it's a daily struggle because it doesn't come natural. I like my {home}. I like my {own} but sometimes, I feel called to something different. Sometimes I feel called to fish. Do you?

Mathew 4:18-20 "As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20At once they left their nets and followed him."

Lil Weekend Update

This is gonna be a lil weekend update. Translation: total randomness; run while you can.

While we were visiting Idaho, I got this great idea to re-visit a little place called "Grouse Creek Falls". I remember JD taking me there years ago when we were dating and having to ford his 1990 Ford Escort through the river to get to it...I remember how strikingly beautiful it was and what an impression it made the first time I saw it.

JD remembers none of this, much less how to actually GET back to it. So when we arrived in Sandpoint just before sunset, I had a WILD idea to go find it...with our kids...and my brother....and his three kids...and their two dogs.

It was an adventure.

I like adventures. But I don't like 'choose your own adventures' if you know what I mean.

Anyway, we finally found it but it wasn't like I remember. The was no river to ford. In fact, the off-road 'gem' that is Grouse Creek had been discovered by others. It had gone from a local secret to a state park. BIT of a difference in terms of trail traffic.

I've never thought of myself as one who would be lost with kids....no food....wearing flip-flops and no coat....in North Idaho....at sunset, but as we approached the "this trail is not maintained" sign, I started to find myself in an eerie situation. Turn back while I can or discover again, the beauty of the falls.

We marched onward. With flip-flops. With Gage on my shoulders. In the mud. Balancing on logs. In more mud. Up a cliff. Over logs. Up home-made stairs. Over hills. And onto rocks. Here she is in all her glory: Grouse Creek Falls.

So as you gaze at these pictures, please understand this. What is beauty when you are a teen (and immortal) is not beauty when you are a mother (and no all too well how life can literally slip from your fingertips). So you can imagine how long I wanted to stay above these raging waters and 'take in the beauty'.

Note the death grip (and how much fun Ryan is having standing

"right next to me...do not move":

I finally handed Gage off to Jason so I could peek over the edge for myself:

and alas, a family portrait to document our 'never again'. Someone else can have Grouse Creek Falls. I've got kids to protect :)

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In other news....

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I came home on Tuesday afternoon to a husband eagerly awaiting my return. He was able to score {some} asparagus from a local outfit for $.75 per pound. So I had sink fulls and sink fulls of this:

Translation? We get to can up 50 pounds of pickled asparagus.

Yeah us.

Just what I want to do right after I get home from work. The good news, though, is that JD pretty much had all the prep work done and we were geared up for the assembly line. The ingredients were set out:

The spears were clean and ready to be trimmed:Using the new cutting board with a cutting LINE (oh, so important when trying to cut A LOT at a time):

The brine was made and awaiting a boil:
The only thing we had to do was blanch it for one minute and rip it out of the boiling hot water:
Note the gloves. Ah, the story of the gloves. Jane (the recipe giver) uses gloves and assured JD that, "IF my memory serves me correct, her hubby George just picked up the boiling veggies with his gloved up hands".

Cuss words later, my memory evidently did not serve me well. Oh, and the plastic gloves almost melted to JD's hands. Whoops.

But, four beers for him and one margarita for me later....

we had the time of our lives canning 50 pounds of asparagus.

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and before I go, I just haveta say that we too, had a flat to fix along side the road this year....must have been the year of the flats...

I {heart} faces

This is a first time entry for me :

The theme is 'silhouette'

Check out http://www.iheartfaces.com/ for some more great silhouettes!