Friday Favorites 12-15-2018 & It’s How Many Days Till Christmas?

I guess I should be happy she’s under the tree this time and not in it.

Yes I really do know it is Saturday and not Friday but if you truly know me you understand how my brain works sometimes.

I normally do my best work under pressure, yep that’s my story, so I have really taken my Christmas shopping down to the wire this time. Although, I saw a friend yesterday and she had barely done any shopping so I’m not the only one.

I know I say this almost every time I post but it really has been a crazy time. I took a couple of extra days off last week to try to use some vacation days. Well actually Mark and I had to go Nashville on Thursday for a Doctors appointment at Vanderbillt Medical Center for his kidney. He has to go every four months. Even though it is a four hour drive each way we drove over and back the same day. We leave out at 5:00 am. Because Nashville is in the Central Time Zone and we are in the Eastern Time Zone we gain an hour going to Nashville. We have gone over and spent the night in Nashville and that is easier except for all of the fur babies having to be farmed out. I am happy to report that everything was excellent. Blood work was great!!!! We are always a little apprehensive going and it is such a relief to get a good report. The kidney is now seven years old and I always have to remind him that of course it’s doing great it’s my kidney haha haha.

I Made a Birthday cake last week for my nephew Tyler who turned 17. It is so hard to believe. I was there when that child was born and it seems like yesterday. He and his brother always request my Butterfinger Cake or you may know it as Candy Bar cake. It is sooooo simple to make. I guess I should be glad that is the one they always choose.

Last Saturday I worked because we were having Santa pictures and I wanted to be there to see all the children getting their picture made with Santa. Oh how I wish I had skipped going to work that day because I drooped my phone and shattered it. I had one of those protectors that is melted onto the screen, don’t ever get one of those because they don’t peel off. I don’t have the insurance on my phone and it was going to cost about $150.00 to $200.00 to get if fixed. Mark and I had been talking about getting new phones so that is what we did. We got the phones on Thursday and we love them. We got the Xs Max. I was really excited about the camera on it and it is great!!!!!

I spent all day yesterday Christmas shopping in Knoxville with my sister. We always have the most fun. We have our shopping down to a science we divide and conquer. We also leave plenty of time for coffee and food breaks. We usually wind up laughing ourselves silly all day long.

Here are a few of my Friday or Ummmm Saturday favorites:

My new phone case. I love it.

This Terry’s Chocolate Orange Ball. It seems like I see these mostly at Christmas time but they probably are available all year-long. You break this little ball into individual little segments like oranges. They are delicious. Try it!!!!!

These lotion bars I have been making. My hands really tend to be dry during the winter months and these lotion bars are amazing. I will have a post about these soon. I am making some for Christmas gifts.

I told you last week that I was a little on the fence about this Kokie eye liner. I have decided I love it. You can get it at Wal-Mart or Target. It takes some getting used to. You have to practice with it a little but I really like it. It is about $7.99. So affordable enough to give it a try.

The little bins they have at Target when you first walk in. There is nothing over $3.00 or $5.00. I love these. There are some really unusual things that you find you just can’t live without.

My homemade peanut butter balls. I make them every year. It is something my family demands of me.

The best Christmas movie of all time. Scrooge starring George C. Scott. This is a family tradition at our house. We watch it every year.

And the fact that my husband got a great report from his doctor is the best thing of all!!!

Here are just a few favorites what are some of your favorites this time of year?

Love your day your way!!!

Friday Favorites 12-7-18

Happy Friday, Here are some of my Friday Favorites for you:

Last week was my mother in law’s 85th Birthday. She is living in an assisted living center so Mark and I went there to celebrate. My two sisters also came and it was so much fun. She said it was her best Birthday ever.

2. I am loving these lip gloss sticks from Kokie Cosmetics. I got some of these at Walmart. It is a fairly new (to me anyway) brand and I love these. I am also trying some of the liquid eyeliner but I’m still not completely sure about that. I will let you know.

3. This is the latest book we are reading in my book group. I haven’t finished it but it is great so far. Don’t let the title Baby Teeth fool you. It is quite a thriller so far.

4. This wreath. I love it and I am going to try to make it!!!

5. That I live in a town where a duck crossing is still a real thing.

6. This Video you have to check it out: It is so Christmasy fun!!!

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Happy Friday

Love your day your way!!!!

How Much Stuff Do You Need?

When I was growing up we lived in a very small house. I had six brothers and sisters and we didn’t have a lot of stuff. When I say stuff I mean extra things like a lot of extra clothes, shoes, toys, etc. We lived a very simple life with simple pleasures and those were some of my best most fun memories ever.

Flash forward to today. My house is bursting at the seams with “stuff” most of it things I don’t even use anymore. I am ashamed to say that I have found clothes in my closet with tags still on them. I had bought them and put them in my closet and forgot about them. What a waste.

I am blessed to have what I need and then some but do you ever find that the more you have the more stressful it becomes. Clutter is something I hate. Too many decisions can cause extra stress. I have heard that 80% of women only wear 20% of their clothes and jewelry. I really believe this is true.

Throughout the year I have tried to reduce the clutter in my house and life. See my post about clearing the clutter part 1. I have tried to be more selective about what I bring into my house. If you saw the things in my basement you might doubt this is true. But I have been clearing, organizing, donating, and getting rid of things I don’t need or haven’t used. It really frees my mind. My husband is the worlds worst pack rat. He doesn’t want to get rid of anything. I found an old Linda Ronstadt T shirt in his closet that he has had since high school. He refused to give it up because he says its a collectors item. He has lots of things like that. Right now some of you might be saying “Linda who?”

I often push clothes that I don’t wear or can’t wear to the back of my closet. After a certain amount of time if I haven’t worn them I take them out and get rid of them. Hmmm yes I admit sometimes it might be a few years. What???? Someone could be using those things.

I am starting with clothes and accessories and books. I have already donated things to a local organization several times this year and hope to do this at least once a week until some of this is out of my house and mind.

Here are some things I have found helpful to ask yourself when trying to decide if you should hang onto those clothes or other items

1 Does it fit? If I outgrow something I really love, I put it in a tub and store it in my basement. I will give it a time frame of 6 months or a year or maybe until the next season. If I still can’t wear it then, I give it up.

2. Is this in style? I am not one to go for a lot of trendy items but if you are, look at those items and if it is not something you can make work then give it up.

3. Do I look good in it? If you don’t like how you look in something then you’re not going to feel good wearing it.

4. How long has it been since I wore this? If it has been more than a year then chances are you don’t like this item enough to keep it in your closet.

5. Would I buy this again today? Maybe your taste in that particular type of clothing has changed. Maybe you don’t feel good in a particular color that you used to like. So if you pick something up and say “why did I buy this?” You probably won’t wear it again.

6. Is it stained or damaged? If it is and you can’t fix it you’re probably not going to wear it. I had a pair of Sperrys, I dropped some oil on one of them. It made a huge spot. I couldn’t get it off and I couldn’t bear to give them up, I had only worn them twice. They sat in a box in my closet for about 2 years. I finally gave them up last week.

7. How many of this item do you have? I have a type of shirt I love. I tend to look for that particular type when I shop. Right down to the same color. How many of one type of shirt do I need? How many pairs of black pants? You see where I’m going with this.

8. Could someone else benefit from this more than I can? If you are holding on to it and you know you’re probably not going to wear it think of how it might benefit someone else.

These are just some of the questions I ask myself when I am trying to declutter. It works on other items as well.

I guess one reason I hang onto these things is because I didn’t have a lot of extra things growing up and maybe it gives me security. But I know now that “stuff and things” can’t give you security. It’s just “stuff”

So how much “stuff” do you need?

Love your day your way!!!

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday everyone I hope your week was great. As I promised this will be a weekly post to share with you some of my favorite things from throughout the week. O.k here we go:

1. Some books that I am currently reading. I recently joined a book club and Monday night was my first time attending. I really enjoyed it. There are about 19 ladies in the group and we will meet at a different person’s house or a restaurant every month. We met at one of the members’ houses on Monday and she made baked spaghetti and Christmas punch and several other people brought salad, garlic bread, and dessert. We discussed the book for that month and gave it a score. And then all the scores are averaged to determine what everyone thought of the book. Each person picks a different book each month and the books are already picked for over a year so you have lots of opportunity to get the book and have it read. This is the book for November:

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I loved this book it is about firefighters but not about them fighting fires throughout the entire book. This is not a book I would have normally picked but I loved it. This is what I love about our book group there are so many different kinds of books. This book scored a 3.59 out of 5.00 from our group but I liked it a lot better.

I am also reading the Girl In The Blue Coat . This book is set in 1943 Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. A teenager, Hanneke Bakker, delivers smuggled goods on her bicycle until she is asked to help look for a missing teen who was being hidden in a neighbor’s house.
This book scored a 4.09 out of 5.00 from our group.

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2. I am also loving this mascara by Revlon, it is not clumpy or messy and it goes on very nice.

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3. This journal. It is called, Me A Personal Journal, I ordered it when we were at the Gift Show in Gatlinburg a few weeks ago. If you are interested I can get you the information for it. It has a place for events that are going on, hopes, goals, new ideas etc. and then a full page to write whatever you want. I love this and have been keeping it beside my bed so I can write in it every night.

4. This hair spray is amazing. When I went Black Friday shopping last week Penney’s had this on sale for $7.99. It is usually $12.00-$13.00 and up when you buy it on Amazon or at a beauty supply shop. You can also get it at Walmart at the hair salon but it still is a little pricier than what I paid at Penney’s. This spray is light weight and adds texture to fine or thin hair. It also boosts volume and hold for any hairstyle without heavy buildup. Love it!!!

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Last Friday when my sister and I went black Friday shopping we went to see this move. Instant Family. It is wonderful and heart warming and will just leave you with the best feeling. We loved it. You have to go see it. Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne and Octavia Spencer do an awesome job in this movie. We laughed so much. Watch this trailer.