Some Recent Bargains!

Who doesn't like a good deal?  Especially on a shnazzy looking outfit to wear on "Date Day".  This morning Dale was kind enough to snap these pics before we went out the door so I could share on my blog.  

I know some people don't care for thrift stores, but I love to poke around in them.  True, some things are a undesirable, but I love it when I find something unexpected and it is on sale.  

Excuse the strange expression on my face, and the red eyes.  I think I was saying "Let me know when you are ready to take the pic" and , well, apparently he was!  

The white turtleneck I've had for so long that I didn't count in the cost of the outfit.  The cute argyle sweater was a whopping .49 cent (I just now realized that I don't have a cents sign on my laptop!) at the thrift store.  The skirt was around $2.49, if I remember correctly.

Now just to prove you don't have to only shop of thrift stores and yard sales to get a good deal, these boots I bought brand-spankin'-new at a Payless a couple of weeks ago.  I had to get winter boots for Jerusha and work shoes for Dale.  They were having a sale, and a had a cupon I received in the mail.  The money I saved from the sale and coupon paid for my boots.    Awesome!   It didn't, however pay for the water protection treatment I got to put on the boots, but that wasn't much.

BUT.... the best deal award goes to my husband.  Our big 15 passenger van didn't pass inspection because one of the tread on one of the tires was too low.  After nosing around and making about two dozen phone calls, my husband managed to find a brand new, heavy duty tire for our van.  Usually these tires cost around $200, give or take.  He got it for... drum roll please.... $25!  

Love those bargains!

Blessings,

Lisa

I. Need. Tea.

For the past two days I've been wrangling with some technical issues on my blog.  Long story short, I'm trying to do some changing up around here, and I seem to be such a techno-dork that I can't figure the simplest little computer trick.  After two days of these, calls to tech geeks, and questions on different geek squad boards, I'm still nowhere with my issue. I feel like this:

So, after venting to my best friend, and praying with her over my laptop issues, and several others that are weighing on me (car problems, for example), I decided it was time to just drop my technical acrobatics and just get on with my life.  

Enter the tea... nice, calming chamomile tea.  I even have "Anxiety Ease" in the diffuser.  I think from here I will work on some quilting, which brings me to the purpose of this entry.  Time to do a little crafting-catch-up.

I started a sampler class on Craftsy a while ago, and have moved twice since then.  Obviously, that means that the project has gotten put aside.  I finally decided to get it out and try to finish it up this year, at least to the point where I can call it a flimsy.  

Cleopatra's Puzzle Block

Friendship Circle Block

Drunkard's Path Block

Below is a snuggle quilt I just finished up... mark one off the UFO list!

 This is a custom FMG attempt on a WIP just for fun!

Fun Fact:  November 8th here was so warm I hung laundry out.  In North-Western PA.!

Okay, finishing up my tea and treating myself to some more quilting time.

Blessings,

Lisa

Homeschooling on a Shoestring

Sometimes families have to get a little... "creative" ... when raising children. Large family, medium family, or small, we all have our financial limitations. I think I can speak for a lot of home schooling families that even though we try and do as much as we can electronically, we still have a lot of copying to do. Recently, we had to replace the toner cartridge for our laser printer. My husband, who is our chief researcher on such things and got the following product online. Replacing the ink and toner can get very expensive. He has tried several strategies for the ink, each working to varying degrees. I'll post more about that another time. However, our best find recently was for the toner..





Feel free to click on the above affiliate link for easy access to the toner.   So far it is working very well!

Disclaimer:  Amazon's prices do change without notice.  When we bought the above product it was $17.50.  I just checked, and it is now $42!  Always check the price of your product before purchasing.

Whew! Lots of Hard Work

Yup, made it even though that Lit Theory class was a doozy!

Time for some chocoloate!

Out of the Mouth of Babes

I don't usually get into all the political stuff.  I don't debate, because I fail to see any edifying properties as a result.  I do make up my own mind, and I do vote.  I encourage you to do the same.  I also encourage my children... all ages... to do likewise.  Even if they aren't voting age yet, it is good for them to be aware of our country's politics.  Granted, some of my children won't be able to grasp the finer points of it all, since they are younger.  But, apparently enough is seeping through.

During breakfast this morning we were talking about Election Day tomorrow.  And Isaac, out of the blue came out with his opinion.  I videoed it, after asking him if he minded being on record for his opinion.  My 7 year old says.... (and the question prompts are mine, yes, but he had already stated his opinion a few minutes before without any prompting):

I'm not trying to offend anyone here, but the point of this is that you are never too young, or too old, to get involved and vote.  So,....

VOTE!

Blessings,

Lisa

Hello?

Finally!  I'm trying to get back into posting here, especially since my grandmother commented that she "hadn't seen anything new in a long time.  Ahem."

Okay, so I got the hint!  And since my grandmother was the one that got me interested in quilting, this post will be about a quilt.  :)

I made this quilt a while ago.  It was sitting in a stack with some UFO's, longing for a home.  The perfect opportunity came through a young lady we are acquainted with from a State Park near us.  She and her husband were expecting their first child.  The colors are neutral, because the gender of the baby was left for a surprises.  I also thought the color of the outdoors would be nice, since she and her husband are both the outdoorsy types.  She loved it!  And had an adorable baby girl last spring.

Just to quickly update on all our doings, since graduation, the family has been in a whirl of college prep for the twins, who are currently at Maranatha Baptist University in WI, and Benjamin is attending Miracle Mountain Ranch for their discipleship program in Spring Creek, PA.  Yes, that's right, we are down to 4 kids!  People keep asking me if the house seems empty, or if life has slowed down.  The answer:

No.... and

No.

If anything we are just as busy, if not busier.  You see, the kids that are still home are younger, and need more attention.  We are flying around for art lessons, music lessons, and Josiah is in dual enrollment classes 3 nights a week.  Dale is still working two jobs, and I am still in college.  I'm officially a Junior now, but the difficulty of the work has ramped up.  Also, I just started writing for the Odyssey, and online publication.  Feel free to check it out.  My first story won't be out for another week, but there is some nice contributions to peruse in the mean time.

There... grandmother... are you happy now?  :)

Blessings,

Lisa

Busyness!

I hang my head in shame here for such a long interval between my blog posts!  At least I would, but honestly, life has been very busy since the last post in February, that there is no shame, just a large family's busy life.

We finished out the school year with flying colors!  Esther and Elizabeth graduated from High School.  In one weekend at the beginning of May, they had their evaluations, SAT's, 18th birthdays, then the following Monday flew to Florida for a month long trip to visit their Grandparents before Graduation on June 4th.

Aren't the girls' just beaming in the above picture?  Oh, I have to explain about the surprise diploma we handed out.  Dale had finished up his Master's course,  the diploma came about a week and half before graduation.  So, of course I hid it and worked his presentation into the program.  And of course, I didn't mention it him!  Long story short, he was indeed surprised.  That is no small feat, let me tell you!

Oiy Vey.

While they were gone we went to Williamsburg.  It was WONDERFUL!  I don't know why we haven't made the effort to go before?  There'll be a whole different post on that trip later.  Also, during the twins' trip, I had three quilts to finish up for graduation presents.  One for each of the twins, and one for their friend who was graduating with them.  With all the busyness of the day I never even got pictures of them!  I think the other mom did, so I will email her and see if she can send them to me.  *Head slap*.  I guess the important thing is that I got them all done on time, which was a huge relief.

Those of you who have been on the blog before, or are familiar with the family, know that we have four birthdays we celebrate in May.  I also did a cake for Senior's night during the volleyball season.  Here are some samples of my playing around with confectionery:

This is the cake for Senior's Night at Volleyball.  The numbers on the jerseys are the numbers of the four seniors on the team.

This was for the twins' birthday dinner.  Their candles are their initials. The base was two 9 by 13's with horse heads carved out of two square pans of cake. 

This one is self-explanatory.  :)

This cake was lots of fun.  It was made for Boys' week at camp this year.  It is showing the go-carts spinning out and running into each other. The base is white cake, vanilla frosting dyed green.  The carts and wheels are made out of rice krispie treats covered with fondant, cones,  and the lettering is out of fondant.  Caleb helped me with the sculpting. 

This cake was made back in March for a Leadership retreat at camp.  Ephesians 5:15 was theme verse.  Don't worry, that is edible ink on the fondant. 

After graduation Dale and I went away to The Quiet Place in Naples, NY, to celebrate our 25th anniversary.  It was just what we needed after such a busy couple months of preparation! I was also still in college classes right up until the day before we left for our trip.  Thankfully we both survived. 

I hope to get back to more regular blogging.  I know, you have read that before.  Bear with me!  I'm a college student still, and the work isn't getting any easier!  But, blogging is fun, and I know certain family members like to see what we are up to (Hi Grandmother!).

Blessings,

Lisa