Jewelry Mish-Mash

These three Alex and Ani bangles were a nice garage sale find today.  At two bucks a piece, I figured I couldn't go wrong -- even if they were somewhat bereft of charms.  I can't believe how much people spend on them new -- so that was never an option for me.  But I knew I could fix these up just fine.  There were actually five of them, but I took a pass on the other two because the charms were religious -- which I am not!

To Tell the Tooth

We have been using a Cybersonic ultrasonic electric rechargeable toothbrush for years and years.  The first one was close to a hundred bucks.  We stopped being able to use it because it didn't hold a charge and the top wore down enough that the brush heads wouldn't stay on.  I found the replacement at Tuesday Morning for $39.

Plastic Update

This business of giving up plastic is not as simple as I thought.  Well, I didn't really think it would be easy.  I am making a point to buy liquid items in glass jars whenever possible.  But then there are some items you just can't find in anything but plastic -- like laundry and dish-washing liquid, hair products, deodorant, etc.  Unless I am at  a farmer's market, most berries are in a plastic container.  I would probably have to say my use of things like bagged salad and frozen veggies is also a fail.

This week, I mixed up peanut, cashew and almond butter to make my nut butter mix.  All of the containers were plastic.  That is all they had at the store I shopped at.  I will have to try better and check at Wegmans. The English muffins I eat for breakfast come in a plastic bag.

I will still try to buy as much non-plastic packaging as possible, but it sure is hard!

Garage Sale ROI

The Steve Austin doll which I picked up for a buck at a garage sale this past weekend has already realized a full return on investment.  He was welcomed into his new home with great enthusiasm and immediately put to work.  The Six Million Dollar Man is now partnering with "Nitro Man" and is the celebrity endorser for the Nitro Turbo-Torch.

Adventures in Stain Removal

 This pale version of tie-dye is my attempt to obliterate a stain that I could not wash out.  There was a grease stain from either something I dribbled or that splattered on me while cooking.  No stain removal technique worked so I decided to play with rubber bands and bleach.  I succeeded in getting rid of the stain and fading the shirt and while it's not perfect, it basically saved the shirt.

My Idea of Popularity

 

I am such a city girl.  The corniest things excite me when it comes to the country.  This is my best goat friend, whom I call Buddy.  He lives in a pen at Burnap's Farm on Lake Rd and Maple Ave.  Burnaps is a produce stand (and farm) that has a cafe.  We ate there on Friday night with friends.  I made sure we got there 15 minutes early so I could spend some time with Buddy.  I pick the clover flowers and feed them to him.  Of course, since he'll eat anything, I will just pick up straw or grass and give him that too.  I could buy a small handful of food they sell in a bubble gum dispenser, but I prefer to give him flowers to eat.

From Garage Sale to Garden

 My best camp tag-sale buddy and I went out on Saturday and brought along a special guest -- the owner's wife.  She was brave to come along with the two of us as we get out of control.  Maybe it was a good thing that all our driving around the back roads only turned up one garage sale.  Luckily, it was a very well-priced sale and I went as far as to thank the guy for that.   I spent four bucks and found two blue glass bottles with stoppers.  These were fifty cents a piece!

My Life of Pottery

 So, I've decided to indulge myself.  While I won't go over-board decorating with objects, I've decided I want to use a little bit of pottery to accessorize the living and dining rooms.  This "Black Betty" style teapot seemed to fit the dining room.  I can use it for flowers too.  I found it at a flea market this weekend for five bucks.  It is in perfect condition.

Tranquil Time?

I had really hoped that I would have more time to relax once I started working part time.  Yes, I imagined I would decompress more at camp, read and sip wine in my backyard, and just slow things down.  Alas, that has not been the case.

It seems that no matter how much extra time I think I have, there are chores, tasks, obligations and the like that seem to fill it all up.  In my fantasy world, I would get to spend time here and there at home in comfortable, clean clothes, sipping wine or tea, reading a book or playing my guitar.  Invariably, I am up and down the stairs, trying to time a load of laundry for optimal time efficiency while I run out to the store to grab what I need to make dinner.  I get dirt and spills on my shirt in the course of it all and turn into a housewife slob.

Breaking Beauty Rules

I remember reading about seven or eight years ago, that scrunchies were "out."  No one who had any style (except maybe the Olsen sisters), would be caught dead wearing them. This week, I found a ton of them for a buck at the Dollar Tree -- of course I had to stock up!  Other things I've read: never cut your own hair or do your own eyebrows.  Ooops, I do both of those things too!

Smell the Roses

I didn't have to wake up to smell these... just unpack my grocery bag from Aldi.  When I see bouquets of a half dozen roses for $3.99, I'll generally go for it.  That is such a good price for a little something out of the ordinary.  My favorite color for roses, is yellow.  While these aren't super luxury florist flowers, they are still roses!

Storage Wars

 

I have been conscientiously working to organize our clutter in the master bedroom.  One problem was not having enough room for TBGs shoes.  He doesn't have too many pairs, but they are a size 11.5 EEEE.  They take up a lot of room.  The solution was to buy cheap shoe racks from Wallies.  I put one set set together to clear up the space around the central AC register.  I had extra room from relocating the cedar chest to the hall.  One problem is he had no place to set his overnight bag.  Spare clothes and the bag ended up on one of my hampers or my dresser.  Not anymore.  Now there is a place for it.  There is also a spot for him to stash his bi-pap carrying case.

Avoiding Plastic

I have resolved to stop buying anything in a plastic container, unless I can't avoid it.  After seeing news articles about the growing masses of plastic in large bodies of water, reading how the bottom has dropped out of the recycling market, resulting in a shortage of entities to take and re-use the material, I have decided the most responsible thing I can do as a citizen of our planet, is to avoid contributing to the waste cycle.

Baking Soda Obsession

I use baking soda multiple times per day.  It is probably my most used household item.  The best thing about this product, is that it is cheap.  It is also gentle and an effective cleaner.

Rewards....

Busted!  OK, I have been known to tune in to Dr. Phil.... It's on when I get home from work and I watch it while I eat my lunch.  It makes me feel better about my life to know it's not in the least messed up or dysfunctional.  A wreck I can't help by drive by and look at...

Taking a Knee

My partial knee replacement was done on June 1, last year.  Only wanting to have the inner side of the knee removed, I was surprised to find I had the scar down the middle once I woke up.  The orthopedist told me he did it that way in case he got in and realized I needed a full replacement.  I stayed in the hospital over night and really wished I'd stayed at least another day.  The first 24 hours I was home were excruciating.

I am a Re-User

This strange "Spider Mon" baby t-shirt from Jamaica made it home with us because The Big Guy's BFF has a baby.  We don't care about gender and got it even though it's for a little girl. It is cool.  It didn't seem to make sense to me to wrap it or bag it in a cutesy pink baby theme either.  Our friend doesn't know other babies and what a waste of paper.  Instead, I used brown paper wrapping that came from a package we got at work.  I see sheets of brown paper packing material and I have to grab it, fold it up, and bring it home.  I've been using it for gifts for years.

Facelift

 I've given my blog a facelift, which I do every couple of years.  The main motivation was that I decided to update my profile picture and I also wanted to move to a format that had more white space.  I'm not sure if it's an improvement or not!

This effort took place in the middle of the night so I could try out different formats and "test drive" them.  It was pretty frustrating because I'm color-blind and blogger does not show any information when you hover over a color or color scheme.

Get Your Irish Up

 A Happy St. Patrick's Day to all who celebrate.  We did not celebrate on the actual day, as we drove out to check on camp.  We do the Buffalo parade.  In our town, there are two to choose from.  The Old South Ward has their parade on Saturday the 17th.  The City of Buffalo always has a parade on the Sunday following the holiday (this year on the 18th).  I picked up all the green we need to wear.  I don't own much in the way of green clothing, because I am color-blind and green is a tough one for me.  The bow is for me, the big hat is for The Big Guy.

Girls Morning

This morning I had a nice "girls morning," with just me and Teddy.  TBG went snow-shoeing with his GF Melissa.  We were intentionally separate!  There is no way I could treck five-plus miles, over hill and dale.  Plenty of snow was to be found at Chestnut Ridge park and I want my guy to  be able to take advantage of that.  I also wanted to spend the morning taking pictures of some of my favorite things in North Tonawanda, where I am now working.  I've been dying to share Cats Like Us with my readers.