Discount codes and the Halloween Grinch

Confession: I don't love Halloween.
I don't love all the candy. (I actually am not a big candy fan at all, so that works in my favor. If people handed out cupcakes, I'd be in big trouble though.)
I never prepare my kids' costumes in advance. (Mom of the Year.)
I'm okay with the happy, fun, sweet costumes but don't like the gruesome gory ones.
I'm a bit of a Halloween Grinch.
We did carve pumpkins over the weekend, despite me grumbling through it all (under my breath.)
And you know what? I survived. Ha! The kids love it. It's making good memories for them. That's what I always tell myself.

I do a lot of other good "mom things." But Halloween doesn't do much for me other than make me stabby. (get it? stabby. Ha.)

Okay enough with my grumbling... In case you never noticed, I have some awesome advertisers over there on the right sidebar!
And frequently they're kind enough to introduce themselves to you, sometimes even offering you discounts to use!
Check them out. I am sure you'll find something you love.

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My Creative Peace: Funky.Boho.Hippie.Upcycled Love. Hi there! My name is Robin Norgren and I am a girl with braids in her hair and hope in her heart trying to let my little light shine in the world. My work is mostly inspired by funky, hippie, bohemian stylings. I hope you find items in my shop that inspire you to live a more creative life. All items are one of a kind. This shop is a off shoot of my etsy shop Well of Creations offering funky hippie one of a kind crocheted goodness. Thank you for taking the time to peek into my space.

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Tippy Stockton Jewelry : It all began when I inherited my Mom's jewelry box after she had passed away. It's funny, I never remembered her wearing any of these amazing jewels. I've always been a girly, girl so I just knew at that moment that I needed to go on a hunt for vintage and other sparkly things. My dream of having my own site came true this week when I officially launched TippyStockton.com. I feel blessed beyond belief and I know that my angel is never far away. Patricia lives in Edmonds, WA and spends a great deal of time in her little Studio that sits under a huge spruce tree.
Purchase $75 in merchandise, and I will throw in a pair of my JEWEL earrings for free (a retail value of $30). Exp. 11/15.


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Sew Gracious : decorative pillow covers . home decor . accessories
Pam's lifetime of sewing experience & love of pretty things make each Sew Gracious special. Brand new to the Sew Gracious line : Decorative Pillow Covers! SG Pillow Covers are a beautiful, affordable way to spruce up your space! Available in pairs or to mix & match. More home items are coming soon!

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Heart of Virtue is a site filled with information, tips, and ideas for raising Godly girls. Their book "What Every Girl Should Know" is a personal favorite in our household and it would be great for youth groups or Sunday School classes.

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Minky and Me says: Sewing is a passion for me and I'm glad for the opportunity to share my creations with others. I specialize in blankets, tag alongs, custom clothing and so much more!

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Pink Lemonade says: Hello. I am Paige. A 15 year old homeschooled teen. Follower of Jesus. Daughter. Sister. Blogger. And owner of Pink Lemonade. I love my family and friends more than anything. I love crafting , shopping, cooking, thrifting, and sewing!

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Buster and boo was born from a love of antiques and writing. I am a once-or twice published writer, and learned to type on a manual typewriter. I love working with these old, wonderful typewriter keys. For me, these keys turned into jewelry is a way to honor these old machines, and preserve a bit of the past. With each set of keys that I find, I wonder about how this machine was used - for what purpose. Was it in an office? A garrett? A college? These keys are a bit of a glimpse into the past. Reclaiming the keys is glorifying the wonderfulness of typewriters, and turning them into a mini piece of heirloom jewelry that will last a lifetime.
Enter the code "rustedchain" and receive 15% off!

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burlap+blue was created by Linda, who wanted a way to stay creative while staying at home with her toddler boy. We specialize in vintage-inspired, handcrafted goods, including dessert pedestals, personalized coaster sets (great wedding gift!) and personalized matching games for the kids! My blog, www.burlapandblue.com, has tutorials, home inspiration, and giveaways (check in Tuesday for a $75 giveaway to my shop!!).

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Guts.


But Beki, why are there only 4 pumpkins instead of 5? Oh yeah... because Beki was busy grumbling supervising and taking photos.



Happy Halloween to you!!
Tell me, do you love it? Hate it? Don't care?

Come fly with me { Giveaway! }

As we were on our way to the airport recently, driving through Kansas, a hot air balloon floated right over the road above us.

I grabbed my camera and snapped a few pictures through the dirty windshield.






It was so pretty!

Because I got a good night's sleep last night...
and because I had a relaxing morning today...
and because my kids are all behaving...
and because I'm wearing fuzzy Mickey Mouse lounge pants...
and because the sun is shining...
and because I just like you...
Let's give away a $25 gift certificate to The Rusted Chain!

Just leave a comment answering this: Have you ever been up in a hot air balloon?

For additional entries: Facebook this, tweet it, blog it, pin it on pinterest.
(please leave additional comments for each thing you do.)

We'll draw a random winner soon.

Happy Day to you!

Fingerprint Friday

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of god
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of god
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of god
So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? Here's how to join in.

1. Blog with your interpretation of God's fingerprints. Be sure to link back here so others can find the entire list of participants!
2. After you've posted your blog, sign the Linky below. Have fun exploring the other links as well! Please only sign in if you're participating. Hopefully this will make us look at things through fresh eyes throughout the week!
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I don't know what this plant is but I saw it over and over while we were at Disneyworld and I love it! It's such a pretty pop of color and contrast between the green and purple.

Happy Friday to you!

It's magic.

A few more photos from our Disney trip.


Clockwise starting at top left: 1. light up train 2. castle at night 3. Pete's Dragon (do you remember this movie? I LOVED it when I was a kid.) 4. Fall decorations 5. Electrical parade


(clockwise from top left) 1. rapping percussion comedian chefs (they were awesome!) 2. Toys Will Be Toys 3. Nemo ride 4. Soarin' - my favorite ride ever. 5. the big EPCOT ball 6. a cranberry bog 7. sticky sugary mess 8. a random line dance party broke out in the middle of the Coke shop. Fun! 9. Mickey pretzel


(clockwise from top left) 1. Rockin' Roller Coaster (fun but too loud for me because I'm an old lady) 2. Sully that we named our dog after 3. Tower of Terror (SO FuN!) 4. the big hat 5. water tower with Mickey ears 6. Are we having fun yet?! 7. Carl from Up. (gosh I love that movie.) 8. the kids at a sticker station 9. Mickey topiary


(clockwise from top left) 1. Me and The Boy (don't know what kind of weird face he was making) 2. Pooh and The Baby 3. Mickey ferris wheel 4. Disney Jr. show (The Baby said, "Those are not the real ones. Those are just puppets. The real ones are on tv.) 5. Pluto, Minnie, and The Baby


(clockwise from top left) 1. Mickey and Minnie topiaries 2. Thunder Mountain Railroad (we waited in line over an hour for this. Ugh.) 3. Splash Mountain (zippety doo dah, zippety ay..) 4. Pumba 5. carousel 6. Stitch, Lilo and Woody in the parade 7. Alice! (love her.) 8. Mickey 9. Get an idea and stay with it. Dog it, and work at it until it's done, and done right. ~Walt Disney




Saying goodbye...

We're recovering.
The laundry is all done. And by done, I mean washed and dried and piled on the couch.

Most of the suitcases are put away.

I still haven't been grocery shopping since we got home so we've had a lot of sandwiches for meals this week. (Mom of the Year!)

We're getting there...

Do you do amusement parks? Do you like roller coasters?

A little surprise...

We've been gone.

Last week we went on a safari.








Okay that's not entirely true.
We took the kids on a surprise trip.
The first day, we went to Silver Dollar City in Missouri.
I didn't even take my camera so I don't have a single photo to share.

Then that night, after their baths and right before bed, we told them that they were flying out to Disney the next morning!



We had a superhero on the plane with us.




One of my favorite quotes.



I have lots more photos to share with you, but today I'm focused on tackling the seemingly impossible mountain of work that's built up.
11 days away creates a scary amount of work.

***Do you have a favorite vacation spot?

Fingerprint Friday

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of god
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of god
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of god
So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? Here's how to join in.

1. Blog with your interpretation of God's fingerprints. Be sure to link back here so others can find the entire list of participants!
2. After you've posted your blog, sign the Linky below. Have fun exploring the other links as well! Please only sign in if you're participating. Hopefully this will make us look at things through fresh eyes throughout the week!
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Creepy? Yes. But so incredibly fascinating as well!
The details are amazing.
God is so cool.

Happy Friday!! (Please leave your links in the comments section again.)

Never enough...

All of the orange ones, we grew ourselves.
The funky bumpy cool ones, I bought at the Farmer's Market.



We have at least 15 or so more that are about ready to cut.
And I love it!
There are never enough pumpkins to me.

The lady at the Farmer's Market told me that at the end of the season I can gather the seeds from all the heirloom ones and grow them ourselves next year.
So hopefully next year we'll have an even better variety!

p.s. Lilo felt like she's not getting enough blog time lately.

Pumpkin Spice Coffee at home!

This is one of my favorite Fall treats.
And so easy!
There's no pumpkin in it. But the flavors we love are really not about the pumpkin anyway, are they? They're about the spices.

Before you brew coffee, sprinkle cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and cloves in with the coffee grounds.


I wish I could tell you precise measurements but I don't measure anything. And I don't know how much coffee you're making.
So just put a healthy helping of spices in with your coffee.
You don't want it to have wimpy flavors. Wimpy coffee is for wimps.

Brew as normal and then add Vanilla or Pumpkin Spice creamer!


Yes, I do have a ridiculous amount of cream in my coffee. And I'm good with that.

Enjoy!

Fallish

The weather: crazy beautiful lately.

Even last week when we (finally) got rain: crazy beautiful.


I may have intentionally splashed in a puddle or two.
Does it feel like Fall in your area yet?

Fingerprint Friday

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of god
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of god
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of god
So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? Here's how to join in.

1. Blog with your interpretation of God's fingerprints. Be sure to link back here so others can find the entire list of participants!
2. After you've posted your blog, sign the Linky below. Have fun exploring the other links as well! Please only sign in if you're participating. Hopefully this will make us look at things through fresh eyes throughout the week!
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The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1

(The linky site is giving me fits this morning, so just leave your link in the comment please.)

Martina McBride

The other day word quickly spread through our little town that a big event would be happening that evening.
Martina McBride would be stopping in to make an appearance!

She's currently doing a cross country tour on a pink Amtrak train to promote her newly released album, "Eleven", and to promote breast cancer awareness.
The tour ends in New York City at the end of the week where they will light the Empire State Building pink.

So about 3 hours before she was set to arrive, I called some friends and said, "You wanna go??"
We arrived early and waited. And waited. And waited.



Martina is a Kansas girl, so this was a hometown crowd.
And plenty of Kansas' finest came out to greet her.

My friends and I all had teeth. And were wearing real pants, not pajamas.
Which made us stand out from the crowd.

Mr. Orange Shirt here, was easily 6 feet, 4 inches. Broad as a barn. And lifted a young teenager up on his shoulders.
And stepped in front of my 5 foot 4 inch self.


Luckily my friend could step up on a park bench and get a much better view than me.
So I handed her my camera and she took all these pictures.

Finally Martina came out and spoke for a few minutes.




A lot of her male crew members were wearing these hot pink Converse, which was so cute!


The train is stinking awesome! It's only making 11 stops across the country.



I didn't get any special perks like this friend of mine. *ahem* (click here.)
In the end, this was as close as I got. But that's okay. It was still a fun time with my girlfriends... being thankful that we have our teeth, laughter, jeans, and knowing that if anything terrible ever happened to any of us, we'd be there to love each other through it!


p.s. If you haven't heard her song, or seen the video for I'm Gonna Love You Through It, click here! Grab your tissues. It tears me up every time.