Sharing my swap!

I've had a box waiting patiently for me at the post office for a couple of days now. With my new work schedule, I am not home the hours that the post office is open, and my teenager has been somewhat forgetful of running an errand for me. I harassed him enough there was no way he could forget to go today, and I'm glad he went!

My delivery was the Local Flavor Swap, that I participated in through Chaotic Swap Goddess. You just never know what you're going to get when you join a swap. I am happy to say I am thrilled with the items Catie sent me representing her state of Washington! Let me show you a picture of everything together-

This was such a fun collection of things to sort through. And I have to admit, there is one item not shown in this picture-the box of Halletts Chocolates wasn't very happy about waiting at the post office for a couple of days. It is currently sitting in the fridge, trying to regain a recognizeable shape, so I can enjoy it tomorrow. Do you see the box hiding at the back of this group-the smoked salmon, how awesome is that! When my grandmother lived in Washington, she used to send salmon back to Indiana, I haven't had this in years. I wanted to dig in right away, but I think I'll wait until the weekend.

There was an interesting collection of postcards included-

Catie made notes on the postcards, the significance of the pictures, her memories. I loved reading every one of her notes.

There were also books about the state, as well as maps. My 22 year old son decided the wolves in the book were so cute, he should get one. I told him ok, he can have as many as he wants, after he moves to his own house!

And something I have never even heard of-Huckleberry honey? My hubby absolutely loves honey, so this will not go to waste, I can't wait to see what it tastes like!

This was such a fun swap not only to receive, but I enjoyed gathering the items to send to someone else. I was so excited about getting everything sent out, I forgot to take a single picture of the things I sent. And what a coincidence, Catie emailed me, saying she forgot to take any pictures of what she sent, so could I share pictures of the items with her.  Seems we were matched up as appropriate partners!  I think I'm going to keep an eye on the Chaotic Goddess, see what other creative swaps she comes up with! Make sure you check out her website for the Local Flavor Swap reveals, it'll be a fun way to get a new perspective on a few cities!

Thanks for stopping by

Trying something new

I love to travel, see new areas, experience the local flavor. With a new job starting up next week ( hmmm, don't think I've shared that yet), I won't be able to just get up and go whenever I want to anymore. But I found a way to still experience something new, and help someone else do the same. Let me introduce you to the Chaotic Goddess' 

Doesn't this sound like fun! I've done swaps over the years, usually they require a lot of paper cutting and gluing, so this sounded easy peasy! The rules were pretty simple: staying within a budget of $20-$30, not including shipping, fill a package with goodies that represent your town, or things specific to your location, for your partner. Since I've taken so long to post this, it's too late for any more sign ups, partners have been assigned. The boxes will be shipped out this week, so make sure you check back here to see what creative ideas my partner Catie comes up with to introduce me to her town, and check out the Chaotic Goddess to see what other people send. On that note, I've got a box to go pack up and get mailed out tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!

Still Plugging Along

Earlier this month, we celebrated my birthday. Some people like big parties, lots of people around-I like  to be home with my family, nothing big. My guys kind of struggled, trying to decide whether or not to even make a cake, since I have been diligent with my Weight Watchers, and losing the pounds. I made the decision easy, YES, chocolate cake! After all, Weight Watchers emphasizes eat what you want, just be aware, and account for it! My youngest baked the cake, and added a little creativity. Normally I would insert photo here, but I guess the pictures are on somebody's iphone, and I don't have it. It was cute though, trust me.

And my guys spoiled me with gifts. One son bought me a new purse, another one got me a barn star that I've been begging for-it looks perfect on my front porch. Hubby's gift I picked out for myself!

A friend of ours posted on facebook that she had some antique water pumps she was selling, from her grandparents house. I've been looking for one for the flower bed, so the timing was perfect.  She had two of the pumps, and a cast iron trough.

We bought all three pieces, and the argument began! Hubby wanted to strip the paint, repair any damage and repaint everything. I said that would take away the antique appeal.  In the end I just gave up and told him do whatever he wanted-easy to see what he chose.

I don't know if the value of the items is better or worse now, but after several layers of paint were removed, we could easily read the name Myers, and patent dates on one of the pumps. I think the antique look of the paint hubby chose was perfect, and the pumps look a lot better now.

They aren't in their final destination at the moment, but once the flowerbed is under control, these pumps will look great with my wagon (which is currently hidden behind the butterfly bush)  If I can get my apples finished, maybe I'll get to that flowerbed this week.

Remember the bushels of apples from last week? After peeling and freezing all of them, we started in Saturday morning and picked all the apples from one tree, and then the pears. Along with the frozen sliced apples, I now have 10 pints of homemade apple butter, 20 quarts of applesauce and 4 bushels of apples waiting-I'm not even thinking about picking any apples from the second tree! If we have nothing else to eat this winter, we have plenty of fruit!  On that note, back to the kitchen I go.....

Crossing My Fingers!

I hope I can get this post in, before I lose my internet! We're brewing up quite a storm here in central Indiana, some much needed rain. But with the good, comes the bad-when it storms out in the country, the internet doesn't last long, so I've got to make this quick!

I promised to share some of my excuses for my absence. Excuse number 1:

The books are finally gone from my library. I spent what seemed like forever reviewing, studying, testing with a tutor, until finally, I have passed my state licensing, and have officially transitioned from an LPN to RN. I found the cutest keychain on Etsy that I just had to buy myself to celebrate! I didn't realize how much of my time I was spending on studying, and now I wonder how did I ever get anything else done! Now I am out looking for the perfect job. I think I've found it, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Excuse #2

I'm allowing myself some much needed time for paper therapy! I've probably spent more time cleaning out and organizing my papers than anything else, but I have completed a couple of layouts. I totally cased this layout from another consultant, but it was perfect for these race pictures of my son. I've had this Victory paper pack from Close To My Heart for several months, and this is the first layout I've completed. Using flip flaps that attach directly to the outside of the page protector, I was able to have 15 pictures and some hidden journaling on this layout. Here is a picture of the open flip flaps, revealing more photos:

And although this hasn't taken up much of my time, YET, I just have to share:

I recently received this wonderful RAK from my friend Vickie. This has got to be the cutest pincushion! I don't know how she does such tiny stitches, but the pictures just don't do this justice. With the handmade counting pins, this is perfect. There was also a LHN pattern that I am anxious to get started on. I love, love, love LHN, and this will be my next start-thank you Vickie!

Time to say goodbye-my service is starting to fade in and out-but my new blackberry bushes are getting watered, so I'm happy happy! Thanks for stopping by.

A Simple Woman's Daybook

Good morning my friends-

It has been a while since I've posted, all good reasons for my absence! I have so many wonderful things to share in the next few days, but I'm going to ease into it. I'm starting MY week today, with an entry I haven't done in a long time, sharing my simple thoughts:

Daybook Entry, August 6th

Outside my window, the sun is up, the birds are singing, begging me to fill the feeders. Since I was gone over the weekend, the squirrels emptied the seed rather quickly.

I am thinking that I need to get my to do list written out for today. I have a lot to accomplish, I'm sure to  leaving something off if it isn't written down.

I am thankful that the blue star banner is now out of my window. We were at Ft Campbell, Kentucky yesterday, and saw our son return home from Afghanistan, safe and sound.

In the kitchen the coffee is staying warm for me. I haven't had my first cup yet.

I am wearing my workout clothes. I don't like to sit around all sweaty, but I really needed to cool down a little before I showered.

I am going to the dentist this morning. I have rescheduled this filling twice already, but enough is enough, gotta go today.

I am reading-nothing. And it feels good. The schoolbooks are gone, and I've got time to do other things. I've got books on the shelves waiting to be read, I'm just not ready yet.

I am looking forward to a job offer from the company I interviewed with last week.

Around the house, it's quiet, and still. Hubby left for work a long time ago, the boys aren't up yet, it's just me and my thoughts.

A few plans for the rest of the week-youngest son needs to be registered for school, his senior year. The process of transferring from the online school back into the local school is a little unnerving for me. I'm going to miss that time with him. We need to get his classes figured out, get a sports physical, and back to school shopping. Classes start next week. I'm not excited.

A peek into my day

The apples are ripe in the trees. I've already been sharing with my friends, now I need to get some put away for us. I want to beat the deer to them this year!


Coffee's calling, time to get that list written out. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll be back again this week, so we can catch up a little more. Have a wonderful day!