what i did today

I think I inadvertently went into a bloggy break.  So what have we been up to?

1. Halloween!  We spent the weekend getting the girls in and out of their costumes.  Saturday morning we tried to make it to a local festival but it was just too insane and turned around and went home.  Saturday night we thought we could hit a few neighborhoods but the only one we could find was at WalMart of all places.  The kids actually liked that quite a bit.  On Sunday we spent FIVE hours in between our old church, my parents’ church and my parents’ neighborhood.  We have two very packed pumpkins to show for it though.
2. I’ve spent lots of time running errands to different stores using up all my Swagbucks, eRewards and OpinionOutpost money to start Christmas shopping.  Having Christmas presents before December 15th is a huge deal around here.
3. I’ve been planning the girls’ birthday parties.  Tomorrow is Lexi’s birthday and Emma’s is in a few weeks.  They decided on a combined party at Build a Bear this Saturday.  Tonight’s task is making cookies and a cake.
4. I started my reading list for the INSPYs this year.  First up was Evolving in Monkey Town. I wish I could do a full review at this point but I’ll just say it’s messing with my head a bit.  The next one on my list is Hear No Evil, which has been on my list for awhile as it’s by one of my favorite Tweeple.
5. Budgeting, budgeting, budgeting.  We finished our first month of Dave Ramsey’s envelope system and in the past few days have geared up for another month.  With Christmas and Birthdays coming up, there’s a lot of shuffling going on.  Overall, though, the system has been absolutely fantastic.
6. I finally took the girls to see Toy Story 3 this Friday.  It started at the $1.50 theater which means my Entertainment envelope could finally afford it.  It was well spent as the 3 of us laughed hard and then, yes, I cried at the end.
7. Work.  I hate to add this boring one in here.  But it’s been high-stress, longer work hours lately.  Or maybe I’m just making it that way.  I don’t know.
8. Friday Night Lights.  The show is back for it’s 5th and final season which means it’s podcasting time again for FNLFans!  Anyone else loving the new guy Hastings?
9. Speaking of TV in general, I’ve really pared down my list.  The only shows I watch live are One Tree Hill, Vampire Diaries and Grey’s Anatomy.  3 shows.  That’s it.  When I get to it, I watch Parenthood, Modern Family and most recently Hellcats on DVR.  During the day, I’m also still working on catching up with Everwood, Chuck and The Office.  So yes, TV is still around but I’m not sitting in front of my TV for hours on end every single week night.  And I love it.
10. And finally, we’ve just been spending time with family and friends.  Whether it be having friends or family for or going to dinner or grabbing coffee with a friend or doing homework with the girls, my time seems to be spent off the computer.  Can you believe it?

Look what I made this weekend!

Can you believe it?  Someone has abducted Amy and has replaced her with some Martha Stewart rip-off.

See?  Even Scott could barely believe his eyes when I was using a hot glue gun and took a picture!

The best part about this wreath is that it was FREE.  Several weeks ago the girls gathered a huge bag of pine cones at my parents’ house and they’ve been sitting in garage since.  We keep talking about doing some crafts with them but for some reason Lexi balks every time I mention putting peanut butter and bird seed on them and that’s really all I’ve got in the pine cone-craft department.

So I’ve been wanting to change my wreath on the front porch for a while but with this whole budget thing it’s been hard to fork over cash for a wreath.  So after several googling sessions, I just decided to go for it.  My current wreath was one I bought from Wal-Mart probably 2 years ago.  It was a purple clustering of flowers.  Well, I just ripped the flowers off the styrofoam base.  I have to say, it was quite cathartic.  Then, I laid out pine cones around the wreath.   The smallest ones I fit around the middle and mid-sized ones for the middle and outer rows.  The largest pine cones didn’t work for this project.  I do hope to make some peanut butter bird feeders with Emma soon.

I started the wreath by hot gluing the smaller ones pointed towards the center.  The middle row I leaned the pine cones all clockwise, gluing on the bottom and sides.  The final outer row took a lot of hot glue but I pointed them all counter-clockwise, gluing again on the bottom and sides.     When I was done, I turned the wreath upside down and glued around the edges for extra hold.  I couldn’t believe how strong the hot glue held the cones though!

After the pine cones were done, we noticed the purple Styrofoam was still sticking out…note to self: spray paint foam before starting next time!  We went in the backyard and picked up some of those pesky acorns (sorry, squirrels!) and randomly hot glued those in the spots with the largest gaps.

My only cost was the bow I got at Michael’s for $1.19!   I thought I had bought some fall ribbon from the Dollar Store yesterday to match the gold bow but I could not find it in our bags.  Oh well.  If I get a chance to go back, I’ll pick some up.  Otherwise, it will be adorable with the red/gold leopard print Christmas ribbon I picked up at Michael’s for just a few dollars!

Awake at 6

Starbucks at 6:45

Old Navy at 7 for $5 Performance Fleece

Watch my dad race and match a PR at 8

Dishes and laundry at 10

Nap at 10:30

Errands until 2

Pick up the girls

Wal-Mart for gifts for parties tomorrow at 3

Start a pine cone wreath at 4

Dinner at 5

Finish a pine cone wreath about 6

No bake cookies at 7

Put the kids to bed at 8

A regular Saturday except for the $5 dozen roses I bought myself.  Aren’t they lovely?

Except I think that’s Scott picking his nose in the background.

Welcome to my life.

Today is KEY2FREE day for A21Campaign.  I briefly mentioned this organization from Catalyst but I want to share some more with you.  A21Campaign is an effort that attempts to eradicate human trafficking. I don’t know about you, but my heart breaks in a million pieces when I read these stories of women and even small children being sold and used.  Sometimes helplessness overtakes our sorrow but A21Campaign is in ACTION and attempts to help in four different ways.

1) Victim relief through the A21 Crisis Care Shelter

2) Perpetrator accountability through the A21 Legal Team

3) Victim after-care through referral to Restoration Programs

4) Structural prevention through A21 Prevent Initiatives

They are rescuing these ladies, caring for them and then holding the perpetrators accountable.  What else could you ask for?  Due to the anonymity of many of the victims and actually the location of the centers, we are not able to help in person as much as some of us would like in the US.  But there are things we can do. 

Most importantly is TODAY wear a key necklace as part of their KEY2FREE day.  Today you will have a chance to raise awareness for human trafficking.  Tell anyone and everyone that will listen.  There are 27 million people just waiting for us to do something about it.  As a bonus, if you wear a key, you can submit your photo and have a chance to win an iPod Touch!

Beyond today, there are things we can do to help this cause.  A21Campaign recommends 21 things:

I think just this post covers 1, 2 and 15!  So if you have a blog, consider posting about this today!  And beyond that, consider keeping this list handy and we can all make sure we are doing just as much as possible to FREE our fellow brothers and sisters.

Yesterday was the Carolina Renaissance Festival.  I’ve never been and I sort of expected the normal fall/state festival.  Lots of tents of food, maybe a few stages with different shows.  Well, boy was I wrong.  This thing was like a mini amusement park.  Not necessarily roller coasters but all the buildings were permanent and it was so much larger than I thought, winding back into the woods with food vendors, stores to buy the Renaissance related items, small rides, stages and even a little arena for some jousting.  This was the common view:

Lots ‘o people!  What should have taken us no more than 45 minutes to get to, took us THREE HOURS to get to this thing.  You have to go out to the middle of nowhere outside of Charlotte to get to it and there is this two-lane road that was 6 miles between the interstate and the festival that took us 2.5 hours to get down!  That’s literally going 2 miles an hour.  And that’s about what we did.  But it was one of those things where you’ve gone 1 hour and then 2 and you keep saying maybe it will get better and you really don’t want to REALLY waste your time by turning around and going home.

We managed to get in 45 minutes before it originally was supposed to close and then they extended the time an hour just because so many people were trying to get in.  So yes, it took twice as long to get there as it did to be there.  But it was quite the experience. The first thing that wowed us was this:

Because yes, that’s a person, not a statue. And performers would randomly show up along the path and a crowd would gather like for these two…uh, not sure what to call that…guys that stand on each other in weird positions.

But of course, we were pretty much there for the food.  The almighty turkey leg.

We also had some sweet potato fries and Heather got some pesto pasta salad that was pretty yummy.

We also let the kids do one activity.  Hello, budget!  Emma picked the jumpy thing that she did back at the beach this summer.  She went SUPER high and the guy twisted her rope right at the end so she would do a flip.

And Lexi picked this huge rocking horse.  And no, it wasn’t motorized, the ladies working it had to rock it for us!

But REALLY what we were there for is to see all the pretty costumes.  The environment is like none other I have ever seen.  Workers are all dressed up but festival goers can also come in their own costumes or rent ones there.  And the really kinda weird part is they LOVE having their pictures taken.  Scott walked around and just started snapping pictures and many obliged with a pose.

All the workers were so nice to the kids.

This one reminded me of Belle from Beauty and the Beast!

Even the ducks had costumes on!

We’re assuming King and Queen?

Weirdest one definitely went to this guy:

So Scott was in a really silly mood on our way out and walked by this guy and said, “My wife wants a picture with you.”  So I played along and this guy went for this posed that cracked me up.  Can you tell?

We were a few yards away and Lexi says, “Daddy!” and swatted him on the butt.  That’s the way to take up for Mommy, baby!  

All in all, a trip that is certainly not worth 3 hours of travel for but definitely worth experiencing!

Even before I was 100% sure I was headed to Catalyst this week, I was emailing Amanda about a possible meet-up.  I’ve been a “fan” of Amanda for quite some time.  Probably before she even knew I existed.  But for some reason she was always one of those bloggers I connected with.  I felt like we were just “the same”.  Yes, many differences but just one of those people I wanted to be friends with in real life.  Through Amanda I “met” her childhood friend and blogger Mandi and knew she and I, too, would hit it off.

Well tonight I got to meet those two wonderful ladies.  They picked me up at my hotel and took me to a local French bakery for some yummy dessert.  Yes, I know it’s kind of a scary thing that I had two practical strangers pick me up and drive off with me in a strange town.  But it’s certainly not the first time I’ve taken that kind of risk and every time it’s paid off.  I love my bloggy friends!  And once again, it paid off in leaps and bounds.

We talked for a solid 3 hours about everything from Francis Chan to Justin Timberlake and just as I expected they are every bit as lovely as they seemed.  I had a BLAST talking blogging and social media with them.  I’m so grateful they were willing to take that risk with me.  What a way to start my Catalyst experience!

I came in the door from Teal for Toes on Thursday night to find two sick little girls.  They were both feverish and stayed that way through Friday night, missing school on Friday.   With Scott working, we stayed pretty low through the weekend.  It seemed to be a cycle of Tylenol, cartoons, cooking, reading, couponing, eating between the 3 of us.  We all ventured out to church Sunday morning.  The kids spent the afternoon with IL’s while I had to work some and catch up on laundry.  I thought we were in the clear but by late Sunday Emma’s fever was back and she was home today from school.

It some ways it was a really good weekend.  We were not tempted to eat out or shop since the kids were homebound.  I was able to catch up on all the laundry and straighten up.  I mean, I washed the kitchen trash can out for crying out loud.  You know you’re caught up with cleaning when you drag that thing outside to clean, right?  So yeah, although the kids were high maintenance–Emma actually crawled in bed with us JUST to throw up Friday night.  “Mom, I knew I was going to threw up so I came in here”  THANKS–but otherwise it was nice not to be too busy.

This week all attention is on preparing for my trip to Catalyst on Wednesday evening.  I’ve already packed the kids clothes for their overnight and have already picked out my clothes for the trip.  I told you I was caught up!   Actually tomorrow night I have to make an apple pie for Lexi’s class and am on blog duty over at OneTreeHillBlog so I’m making sure I don’t have too much on my plate for tomorrow.  Aren’t I being such a grown-up?

After all this time inside, I am going to be SO ready for a road trip, probably annoying poor PJ whom I’ve never had a complete conversation with outside of email with incessant talking.  Sort of like that poorly written, run-on sentence I just typed.  Can you tell I’m ready to get out?  Maybe I should have blogged my way through the weekend.

One thing I can’t wait to tell you about is the Hunger Games series I’ve completely devoured over the last week.  I think it’s the best fiction series I’ve ever read…even over Twilight.  Yes.  I know.

And speaking of books, I’ve been selected/volunteered to judge Creative Non-fiction in the INSPYs this year.  It’s basically bloggers’ awards for Christian literature.  I can’t wait to read my books and I’m so excited to help award a writer!

So I think that’s enough random and catches you up!  Hope you’ve started your week well!

Tonight I got a pedicure and it wasn’t a normal pedicure for a few reasons.  This pedicure went to a good cause and it wasn’t just my desperate feet!  The best kind of pedicure right?  Teal for Toes is an organization that helps raise awareness about ovarian cancer.  Ovarian cancer has been known as a silent killer because it’s usually too late before women are diagnosed.  However, there are symptoms you can look for. 

• Bloating
• Pelvic or abdominal pain
• Difficulty eating or feeling full quickly
• Urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency)

The idea behind Teal for Toes is that women get their toes painted a funky teal color, usually giving an open door for people to ask about it.  That gives you the great opportunity to let people know about these symptoms of ovarian cancer. 

The second cool part about the pedicure is it was done at the Ballantyne Spa which is, for you non-Charlotte folks, a spa attached to the Ballantyne Hotel where the likes of Tiger Woods and other celebrities have been known to hang out while in town.  And since we were getting salon service, the spa was open to us all day!  Melissa got there early and hit up their gym and pools.  Melissa’s two sister-in-law’s and I were able to join her after work where we had some time in their hot tub, resistance pools and sauna before heading upstairs for our pedicures.  While the time seemed to zip by, it was some great girl time and such a treat along with the pedicure for such a great cause.

Be sure to check out their site to see if you have a local participating salon!