Mom contests- to peel an apple

I really want to start a new feature- one that is all about us! Where we can show off our talents and even win some prizes! So today marks the day of the first contest- here are the rules.....
#1 Read over what is going on
#2 Go do it for yourself
#3 Go make a blog post about it
#4 Come link up with McKlinky so we can all come and ooh and awe over what you did!

Since today is the first installment I wanted to do something that has been on my mind since I was in college! I had a job as a nanny for a couple different family's and it seemed like most of the kids would only eat apples, mac and cheese and drink apple juice. (Now that I have my own kid I realise this is just a normal kid! hehe) Anyway, I ALWAYS wanted to be the one who could peel an entire apple with a knife in one swipe. I have now come to realize it is IMPOSSIBLE!

So here is my challenge- Get yourself a nice big apple, get a knife and go to town peeling it in the biggest piece you can possibly make! Once the piece gets cut, take it and measure it, and of COURSE take a picture and post it along with your blog post! I want to see if anyone can do this! If you can, I will bow down to you- as well as award you with a really fun prize of your choice of ANYTHING from either of my shops! (That is almost 100 things to choose from!)

SO come on moms, grandma's, aunts, cousins, nanny's- get your knifes and apples ready and show me what youve got!!! Make sure you leave me a comment so I can come check you out too! And make sure to leave a mention to this post and the contest in your blog post! Entries will end next Tuesday night- so let see how you do! :)

Wordless Wed

Great giveaway I want to win!

Brandy over at The Buzz is having an awesome giveaway for not 1, but 3 sets of super cute PJ's from Dillards! I have won 1, count it, 1 giveaway from a blog before, and I REALLY want to win these! SO here is the deal, go over there, put in your entry and PLEASE please PLEASE make sure you tell her that I sent you over there so I can get another entry! I NEED these and want some SO so bad! If anyone was wondering what they could gift me- PJ's would be it! I mean seriously, I wear pj pants every single night for the past 10 years and some of them expose my entire leg! or entire butt..... But regardless! hehe (and I am currently doing 3 pj swaps right now! That is how badly I need new ones!

McKlinky blog hop Tuesday

Today's blog hop is something to make you feel good!

I dont have a great joke, good news or an inspirational story I can think of off the top of my head- so whats the next best thing? Pictures of the baby right?!? Enjoy! Please take a second and click HERE and vote for her in the cutest baby contest! She is #14!

Cute baby contest

One of my favorite blogs is having a cutest baby contest! Of course I had to enter MY baby in it! SO please go vote for her! If you dont know which # she is, its #14! Thanks so much!!

Baby makin machine contest

Think about it Sunday

The holiday season is quickly approaching us! So my question tonight is "how do you get ready for the holidays?" Make a blog post on your site linking your awnser to here, and make sure to leave a comment telling me where to find your response!




Here is what we do! Halloween is all about costumes and fun for us! I am still trying to convince my hubby to take us to one of the 6 corn mazes in this town.... he hasnt given in yet! Once that is over we kind of fly by to Thanksgiving and try to get through school and finals. Thanksgiving is spent with family- not sure what we are doing this year!

The morning after Thanksgiving we are up early and ready to set up all of our Christmas decor! We spend the whole day putting up the tree, lights, ornaments, our plastic train ect ect. Then we usually make some sugar cookies, hot cocoa and sit and look at the tree! SO fun!

I am so excited to start all the prep work in a few weeks! And I am excited to hear about what you guys do to prepare!

Im an auntie again! :)

So I have been a aunt for a while, to these two little cuties....

The youngest is only 3 weeks old but we havnt gotten to see her yet :(


But I got a new little niece yesterday and I am SO excited! Tressy Shae Allen- she was 8 pounds 16 ounces! (HUGE for how tiny her mom is!) And 21 1/2 inches long to boot! But she is darling and we are super excited to have her in our family now!Being an aunt is So fun!

Crochet #1

Today I am going to teach you how to crochet! I realize videos would be better, but I dont have that much time or space on my computer! We are going to be making either a scarf or a dish cloth- either is equally easy, but obviously the scarf will take longer because it is at least 6 times longer, so you may want to try it for a second project! As for hook size and yarn, it really doesnt matter for this progect, but I would say to go with a RED I sized hook. Go to yoru local craft store or Walmart and ask someone how to find one. Then you will be able to tell where the sizes are and the differences once you have looked at them!

So here we go, lets get started!

Start with your yarn in your hand like this. You are going to make a slip knot.
wrap it around your fingers and pull it through. Now stick your hook it in and pull it tight.
Now you will take your hook, wrap your yarn over top of it and pull it through the loop. This is called a chain!
Continue until you have your desired size. Which is 30 stitches for a wash cloth and 20 for a scarf.
You now have a chain!
Always chain 1 more stitch than you will need, because this will now be put into the next stitch. So now what you are going to do is turn your hook so that the hook part is facing your left hand. Now put the hook into your second loop of your chain. wrap the yarn around the hook once it is through the loop, and pull through both other loops. (Leaving the last loop you wrapped)


You have just done your first SC or single crochet! You are now crocheting! WAY TO GO! Keep doing this down the entire row. Then make 1 chain stitch and turn your work.

Now you will do your first HDC or half double crochet- Wrap the yarn over your hook and put your hook through the next loop in your work.
Wrap the yarn over one more time and pull through the loop in your work. You should have 4 loops on your hook.
Now pull the last loop (The last one you just wrapped) through all 3 of the other loops.

You have just done your first HDC or half double crochet!

Now comes the DC or double crochet!
Wrap the yarn around your hook, put it through the next loop, pull through.
You will have 4 loops on your hook. Now pull through 2.
Then wrap again and pull through the last 2!
You have just completed your first DC or double crochet!

Now I want you to continue in a pattern of a row of single crochets, a row of half double crochets and a row of double crochets until you have your desired length! Look at you! You are crocheting!! Come back next Thursday for a lesson on tripple crochets, how to crochet in the round and how to read a pattern!

Wordless Wed

Tuesday Blog hop

Tuesday Blog Hop!

Todays blog hop is fill in the blanks- kind of fun! SO make sure you go sign up and do your own fill in the blanks!


You just found out you have one week to live. The first person you call is MY HUSBAND and say THE DOCTOR SAID I HAVE ONE WEEK TO LIVE, PLEASE GET THE REST OF THE WEEK OFF SCHOOL AND WORK AND COME HOME IMMEDIATELY! Immediately after hanging up the phone, you leave the doctors office and before heading home you go to THE TRAVEL AGENT so you can BOOK A VACATION TO HAWAII.

You gather your family at home that night and say MOMMY IS VERY SICK, BUT LUCKILY WE KNOW ABOUT THE PLAN OF SALVATION AND KNOW THAT WE WILL SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN IF WE LIVE TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT! then all of you together HUG AND KISS AND THEN PACK OUR BAGS TO LEAVE.

You book a three day trip to three different places because you've always wanted to HAWAII, TURKS AND CACOOS and THE BAHAMAS.

For two more days you spend your time reading THE BOOK OF MORMAN AND SCRIPTURES, writing JOURNALS FOR MY KIDS, and TELLING MY FAMILY HOW MUCH I LOVE THEM. You make sure you CALL OLD FRIENDS, HUG EVERYONE I LOVE and TAKE A LITTLE TELL PEOPLE I HAVE WRONGED THAT I AM SORRY... three things you know you should have taken care of but have been putting off.

The final day is too personal to write about but you wonder to yourself: why did I have to get a death notice before I finally did all those things this week?

The reason I'll probably keeping putting off all those things is BECAUSE OF MONEY AND PRIDE but I WOULD LOVE TO MAKE A BETTER EFFORT AT IT.

Friend Making Monday

its Monday again! Time for friend making Monday

Today's topic is "What are your hobbies and what do you wish were your hobbies?"

I am assuming all of you know what my hobbies are! Sewing, crocheting, knitting, blogging, crafting, making things to sell (I am having a but 2 get 1 free sale for my grand opening!) and give away and ect ect!

I WILL BE DOING A CROCHET CLASS ON THURSDAY ON THIS BLOG Please check back then to join us! get a crochet hook and some yarn and be ready!

Some things I WISH were my hobbies? Cooking, cleaning, scrapbooking, canning and that kind of things!

SO what are your hobbies? I would love to hear about them! :)

A fun way to make someones day!

We have had a family tradition going since DH and I have been married. Each year we make a plate full of goodies, print off a picture of a ghost and write up a clever message and pass it to 2 of our neighbors. The goal is to get them to pass it along to 2 people ect ect! Last year we did one to our neighbor and they did it to us the next day, so we had to make 4 sets of treats! lol So here is ALL you have to do
#1 Make a plate of yummie goodies! (I just used a chocolate cake mix and a can of butter cream frosting that I died orange and frosted the cupcakes with that and sprinkles!)
#2 Print off a cute ghost and a note that says something along the lines of "You have been BOO'd! Please enjoy these treats and copy and then hang up the ghost in your front window so people will know you have been hit. Please make 2 sets of treats within 2 days and give them out to 2 of your neighbors along with a copy of the ghost and the note! (dont let them see you!) Lets try to get this to as many houses as we can before Halloween! Dont spoil the fun!)#3 Pass out the treats! See how many neighbors you ca get these signs to! SO fun! (And you can always do more than 2!)

Enjoy!

Winner.....

So this week DH has had a HUGE week, 3 tests, plus it was AG week, which means we had to set up a booth for the sheep club as well as go to a HUGE banquet last night to chit chat with the lady who actually sponsored his scholarship. So he finally got his grades back for all his test tonight- 104%, 95%, 96% (he is a genius I swear! Highest score in all 3 classes!) ANyway, so we decided to go out to dinner to celebrate. We went to a wing joint that I dont care for so much, but DH loves it, so I agreed. As we were finishing our meal the waiter came and handed us some scratch tickets that that prizes like free desert, free entree, free drinks and such. We his was a free desert- AWESOME! Mine, well it was the GRAND PRIZE! 1 free entree a week for an entire YEAR! can you even beleive it?!? I couldnt! I still cant in fact! SO I guess I will be trying out everything on the menu and figuring out what I like best! Hehe!