Tiny Eden

Monday, December 3, 2012

Week 25: I am a SLACKER!

Hello, Friends!  Here I go back to slacking again.  This blog is going to cover the last 10 weeks of Pinterest projects.  I am sad to say that most of them contained vinegar and baking soda.  Boring, I know. 

On a more exciting note, I went to Orlando for the CF conference in October.  I had a wonderful time with one of my co-workers, Shekina, as well as many of the other disciplines from my hospital.  Shekina and I spent a whole lot of time hanging out with Dr. Caplan and he was definitely the party animal.  He kept us out way past our bedtime! 

I feel like fall came and went.  It is my favorite season and I am kind of bummed that it is just about done.  Although, I feel like Mother Nature here in GA never got the memo that summer ended.  I can't deal with this 75 degree weather in December!  Sam and I did go apple picking in October.  The only problem is that once we go into the apple farm, there was a sign saying that there were no more apples left to pick!  The farm does have bins of apples so we didn't leave empty handed, but I think we would have had more fun actually picking them off the trees ourselves.  Either way, the drive thru the mountains with the leaves changing color was well worth the trip. 

Sam and I also got to go home for Thanksgiving.  I was able to go up there a little bit earlier than Sam.  I went to my first Army football game with my mom, Dana, and Stina.  So much fun!  We also made our annual trip to Stew Leonard's.  One nite, I babysat Matthew for a few hours.  What a character he is!  Stina now calls me her BFF and she is growing up into a beautiful little girl.  There was a ton of food made and consumed on Thanksgiving and the day after.  My mom, dad, Gramps, Brian, Dana, Sam, Stina, Matthew, and myself all squeezed in at the table.  The kiddie table didn't last very long.  As soon as Matthew sat down, he fell backwards in his chair and Stina looked so lonely sitting by herself.  Maybe the kiddie table can make an appearance next year.  Of course, we also made our annual Black Friday trip to the Christmas Tree Shoppe. I got to spend a whole lot of time with my Gramps and had a pancake breakfast with him and spent the whole day with him.  I always love all of the stories that he tells me.  Can't wait until I see him again.  Before making the trip back to NY, I got to meet Julie's triplets and went to Lisa's baby shower.  It was great to see Kathleen, Julie, and Lisa again! 

This weekend, Sam and I put up all the lites and Christmas decorations.  I got some great wreaths when I was in Michael's in NY.  A big thank you to my dad who drove to NY for Thanksgiving so he was able to drive all of my stuff back to GA.  I added some battery powered candles and some bows and we put one in each of the nine front windows.  We opted to do that this year instead of putting lites in each window.  I found some great hooks at Target and those came in handy when I was putting decorations outside.  They are velcro hooks!  So simple, any idiot could have thought of that and now someone is making millions!  Insane!  Anyway, the tree is up and decorated, stockings hung on the fireplace, and hot cocoa set on the kitchen table.  Also, for anyone else who gets a fake tree (Sam is allergic to real trees, BOO!), I found these great things at Michaels called Scentsicles.  They smell like pine and you hang them in your tree.  I am loving the smell that they are emitting!  Let's see if they last!  Usually, we don't decorate until closer to Christmas, but I never really put up my autumn decorations because things just got really busy this fall and also my sister and brother-in-law's nephew is coming down here on Friday for an interview for Emory's medical school.  Fingers crossed he does well, although I have no doubt in my mind that he will do a great job! 

Before I get into my Pinterest Projects, I need to profess my love of Christmas movies.  I love them all, but my favorite is It's a Wonderful Life, although that is my favorite movie of all time.  Next up is Christmas in Connecticut which I just purchased at the Christmas Tree Shoppe for a steal at $4.99.  Following that is The Bishop's Wife, Miracle on 34th Street, Bells of St. Mary's, and then The Man Who Came To Dinner.  I love old Christmas movies.  There is something about them that gives me the warm fuzzies.  I found a great blog that has a list of all of the movies that will be played this month as well as their airtime and channel.  I know it says 2009, but it is for 2012, I promise!  http://itsawonderfulmovie.blogspot.com/2009/09/christmas-schedule.html

On for my Pinterest Projects.  I have added vinegar and baking soda to my laundry.  It really does make everything smell fresher and it makes my clothes softer.  Sam kept saying that we needed to get a new dishwasher because our old one was stinky.  I put some vinegar in a measuring cup on the top rack and ran a cycle.  Then I sprikled some baking soda in the bottom of the dishwasher and ran another cycle.  If Sam thinks that there is no longer a smell, then I can guarantee that it worked!  Our dishwasher is the original one that came with the house when it was built in 1979.  It is old, but no longer smelly!  Another little trick that I learned was putting some vinegar in a measuring cup in the microwave and then letting it heat up a little.  The grease and residue wiped right off and the microwave no longer smelled like food.  I was impressed by this one!  The next little tip that I used was putting Dawn dishwashing detergent and vinegar in a sponge that has one of the soap dispensers attached and I used it to scrub the bathtub.  I was not feeling this one as much.  To clean my tub, I usually use soft scrub and I found that my Soft Scrub does a better job and does not require nearly as much elbow grease.  The tip that I was least impressed with was putting baking soda in your toilet and letting it sit.  Apparently, all you have to do is flush the toilet and it is sparkly clean.  Well, I sprinkled it, let it sit for about an hour, and then flushed.  Nothing happened.  So, I flushed again.  Being that I am rather environmentally conscious, I was a little apprehensive to flush again, but I did.  The cleaning session ended with Soft Scrub, a toilet brush, and 3 wasted flushes.  Speaking of being environmentally savvy, we switched our plastic anti-mildew shower liner (p.s. they are never anti-mildew!) to a cloth one.  As soon as I start to see a tad bit of mildew, I throw it in the washer with some, you guessed it, baking soda and vinegar.  Works like a charm!

Just a shameless plug for PhoebeLu's - I have an order for 4 Name Frames as Christmas presents from one of my friends as well as an order for 30 Christmas cards for Stina's preschool.  I will be sending my check to the CF Foundation before the end of the year!  If you are interested in any of my projects, let me know!  It is not too late to order Christmas gifts from me!  I also made 30 s'mores on a stick for our respiratory therapy appreciation day.  They were a big hit and everyone was saying that I should add those to the items that I sell.  If anyone is interested in those, please let me know!  I can whip some up for you! 

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season!  My resolution for 2013 is going to be to actually keep up with my blog.  I know I say this every year, but 2013 is going to be the year that I do it!  I promise!

"Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?" ~Clarence - It's A Wonderful Life

"Every time you hear a bell ring, it means that some angel's just got his wings."

"Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends."
"George Bailey, I'll love you 'til the day I die." ~Mary Hatch -It's a Wonderful Life

"Merry Christmas, movie house! Merry Christmas, Emporium! Merry Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan!" ~George Bailey -It's A Wonderful Life



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