Happy 4th of July 2010

Do something fun this weekend!


Make cute flags from popsicle sticks!


Decorate your toes!

Shop for some Scentsy wickless candles!


Eat yummy cake!

On the Bookshelf

A friend recently gave me a book she recommended titled A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel. She thought I would enjoy it since I had recently read The Glass Castle for MOPS book club and Half Broke Horses that was recommended by Charla, both by Jeannette Walls.
I will be starting it tonight- has anyone else read this one?

I just finished Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner this morning. I usually love the Jennifer Weiner books, but this one was not one of my favorites of hers.

Our next MOPS book club selection is The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. I'm looking forward to it as well because two of the girls in book club have already read it and loved it! Have you read it?

Last but not least... I finished I Will Carry You by Angie Smith a while ago. I had preordered this as soon as it was available and started in the day I got it. Loved every minute of her story as well as her blog. A total tear jearker... she is such an amazing person with a love for the Lord that is contagious.

A few recent cakes

I recently helped a MOPS friend with some of her cake decorating skills. She had some of the basic cake decorating tools and the Wilton decorating books but had asked me for some help on a few things such. I spent a few hours helping her to the best of my abilities and she finished with a really good looking Batman cake for her son's birthday. This pic was taken with my cell phone so it isn't the best. I'm looking forward to seeing what Shari does with her future cakes and hope she sends me some pics- she is moving to Australia soon!



I tell you I get some strange requests for cakes. I had one for a Medicare card for a man turning 65.

This flower one was for confirmation last Sunday. Their mom had their memory verses printed out and was going to stick them onto this one.

I can't remember if I posted this little one but it was a USA cake. They preschoolers at my house have been learning about the USA at school. This little one wanted USA on his.

Book Update- Kindle vs. Nook

Recently I posted about reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls for my MOPS book club. One of my blog world friends posted a comment that I should also read another Jeannette Walls book called Half Broke Horses.

I enjoyed Half Broke Horses but think I liked Glass Castle a little more. It was neat to see how they connected however. Thanks for the recommendation Charla!


Last night I started Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner. I have read and enjoyed several Jennifer Weiner books so I'm really thinking I will probably love this one as well.



Another thing about Charla is that she got a Kindle for Christmas. I have really been thinking a lot about getting one of these fancy pants reading devices. Hubby said I can use some of our tax money to get one for myself because he knows how much I love to read.

So, recently I have been looking into the differences between an Amazon Kindle and a Barnes and Noble Nook.

I have read articles comparing / contrasting the two, looked through reviews, and thought and thought about them.

The thing is... I don't purchase books very often. Usually, I get my books at the local library. I also look for several books at garage sales.

The last two books I got from the library- Half Broke Horses & Best Friends Forever are each $10 each in e-book form. That is $20 I could save instead of buying the books.

So now I am torn...I really want one, but don't want to spend the money on the books because I would buy books all the time!

Do you have an eReader? Which one do you have? What do you think of it?

5 Question Friday

I am going to participate in Five Question Friday from My Little Life. I found this last week and was couldn't wait til Friday so I could join in.

Here are the questions for today:

1. If you could, would you go back to high school?

Heck no. I hated high school and in fact I graduated a year early. I was only 16 and it was one of the best decisions I have made.

2. If a genie appeared and granted you two wishes, what would they be? (And, no saying "more wishes".)

My first wish would be for a baby, but I think I actually would rather have a uterus again so I could have the fun of getting pregnant, taking a test, telling my husband, and experiencing pregnancy again. So...the first wish is a uterus. Isn't that funny!

My second wish would be a winning lottery ticket. They say money can't buy love, but I do think it could buy me a lot of things I would like...new cars for both of us, a bigger house, student loans paid off, a motorcycle for Matt, a fancy pants camperk endless trips to Target...... I could go on and on....


3. What kids show do you secretly like?

Lets see.... that really is all I watch each day, but I can't say I really "watch" any of them. I might go with Handy Manny. He is just a nice guy.

4. What is your beverage of choice?

Right now I am on my second glass of wine but it might be a close tie with Diet Coke. Depends on the time of day.

5. What is something that you would change about yourself (or are working to change in yourself)?

You know what I really want to change? I would like to fix my feet. I am really self consious about my feet. They are so dry and ugly and I can't find anything to make them nice and soft. Hubby has very soft feet- totally jealous.

Top 2 Tuesday-

The Undomestic Momma has asked us for our favorite things about summer. Even though I don't like the hot hot days that we have in the midwest here, there are lots of things I do like about summer.



1. My birthday is in June and I love to start counting down about 6-8 months early. I love having a birthday get-together with friends. This summer I will be 32. Last year we had only been in our house for about 3 weeks and I actually don't remember what we did! For my 30th birthday, we got together with several friends and couples at a local winery. It was such a great night!



2. I also love spending time outside with friends for dinner and/ or drinks. Grilling out is one of my favorites for summer food! We are working on our (little) backyard a bit at a time to get it into a cute little spot for hanging out.


A few other things I love about summer are:

Garage Sales
Flip Flops
Camping
Pool Time
Gardening
Thunderstorms
Iowa State Fair



Be sure to check out The Undomestic Momma for more summer favorites!

ebook for Mother's Day

Favorite Crafts Blog has published one of my projects in their Mother's Day eBook. You can download the eBook for free and it is filled with easy peasy ideas that you can make for some great gifts.

One of the great things about this is that it features 20 different crafty bloggers. What a great way to check out some new blogs while looking for some ideas for mom.

Chelsey Hill of Pretty My Drink
Pat Sloan of Pat Sloan
Fawnda Norman of Fireflies and Jellybeans
Terri Ricioli of Terri Ricioli Designs
Sarah Surface of householder/surface
Vanessa Valencia of A Fanciful Twist
Little Birdie Secrets
Joan Gorman of Nini Makes
Molly Kozera of Bit O’Shine
Terri O. of Super Simple Crafts
Jennifer Juniper of Hope Studios
Alla Koval of My Little City Girl
Amber Dyer of Everything Except the Grill
Amy Anderson of Mod Podge Rocks!
Becky Kazana of The Fab Miss B
Betz White of Betz White
Rachel of La Fuji Mama
Niki Meiners of Niki Meiners
Cristin Frank of The Eve of Reduction
Vicki O’Dell of Creative Goddess