Shame on Leapfrog!!

I am at a place in my life where my main focus is on simplifying and going back to the basics. So, maybe that is what has made me a tad overly sensitive to this commercial. Cause let me tell you, it really gets my blood to boilin'! For real... this company that is supposedly all about education is bashing a book on TV? See, as a kid, I would have thought that giant encyclopedia of amphibians was awesome. And here is this idiot, dressed as a frog, all happy that these kids would prefer to have a book read to them, a book that is Spong Bob Square Pants that reads to them.... No Parent Needed, No Imagination Needed, heck.... basically No Brain Activity Needed.... AAARRRRRRRGGGHHH!!! OK, I have let myself get wrung up again.

See, I see it on Wednesday nights at church. I work with the kids, grades 3 through 7. I asked these kids to play charades. The influence of video games and the lack of cooperative problem solving was almost painful to watch. They can not think of things on simple terms. Everything was like video and TV today, ultra complicated and blown way out of normal perspective.

Anyway... I could go on. But I think you get my gist.

PS I do not think this is a bad thing for kids to have as long as it is part of a varied experience with books. I just think bashing a "plain ol' book" was the wrong approach for leapfrog to take and it got me a little tiffed.

Fabulous 2009 Calendars

As December apporaches, now is the time to start calendar shopping for 2009. Calendars make great gifts and calendars from etsy are an awesome way to dress your space up with some gorgeous art. Just with a quick search, I found some amazing calendars. Check out some of my favorites:

Calendar 2009, 11x8.5 by Olga Cuttell:



Lauren Alexander Art Calendar 2009:



2009 Calendar - New Modern and Contemporary Calendar - Three Trees - Chubby - Talisman:

2009 gorjuss Calendar:

2009 Screen/Gocco Printed Botanical Calendar:

Calendar 2009 - A Year of Photos:

Have you found your perfect calendar yet or have one you would like me to check out? Please post it in the comments.

New Finds: Colorful Art

Check out these recent discoveries of colorful stores in the world of etsy:

VintageNiki

givingtrees

deniseart

CutNGlue

Birthday Goodness!!!

Well, my birthday was on the 16th so I think it is high time to give a report of the birthday goodness that took place. I do believe I had a fabulous birthday! I mentioned in the post before this that I got an awesome CD from hubby and kids, but I did not mention I also got cheesecake... yum!!! As for my picks on etsy:

I got this beautiful necklace from the fabulous accessoryalamode

I am getting it stamped with "Trust in the Lord" and a pink pearl in the middle.





I also bought myself this cute tote from Midnightcreations









And, one of my favorite gifts was from my mom, BUTTONS!!




And I used those cool vintage beads to make these earrings:




which can be found in my etsy store.

Sunday Night Inspiration

I adore Alison Krauss. My hubby gave me a CD, Max Lucado 3:16 Songs of Hope, for my birthday that has Down to the River to Pray on it and it got me surfing on the internet, searching for more Alison Krauss. I came across this Jay Leno clip and thought it was very beautiful and wanted to share with others who might enjoy it.

Why Not?

Why not switch to a vegetable protein deodorant such as this wonderful deoderant by GudonyaToo? I know there are plenty of reasons out there on the internet to doubt there is any danger of using aluminum based deodorants (because I searched) but I also know there are some out here who believe there could be links between deoderant and alzheimers and deoderant and breast cancer (because I found those too). So, I guess my thought is: Why even risk it when there are fabulous, handmade, awesome working deoderants available on web sites like Etsy? I have been using deoderant from GudonyaToo for at least a month now and I LOVE it. I sweat a LOT (embarrassing!) because when I get anxious I sweat, and since I have a little issue with anxiety, I get anxious a lot. So, I figure if this stuff has me still smelling not stinky after 36 hours (which it does) then this is such an awesome alternative to that harsh chemical stuff that is mass produced... and where exactly is deodorant made....? Oh, but I digress. My point is, this stuff really works, it is great, so why not try it?

WooHoo! I won something!

Yay! I am so excited to win something! I won an awesome key fob from Sew Much Detail.
There are lots of awesome shops being shown off on the Fabulous Fun Finds blog. I highly recommend checking it out.

Really! You got to try this!

So, I have a bit of a mission in the bathroom... to find the ultimate in hygiene/skin care products.

I have done a lot of testing and trying of different hand made soaps. Many I have loved... some... not too impressed by, but one soap has stood out above and beyond the rest. I was surprised by the one that impressed me so much because I bought it at a local soap shop. I have ordered handmade/all natural soaps from the big names, the little names, the much bragged about and the stumbled upon and this is the one I reccommend.

SimplyPom

Old Dominion Soap Company is a great little shop. I blogged about one of my visits to the shop a while ago. Since the purchases that day, I have made an internet order to purchase 6 more bars of the soap and have been using them. I have very dry skin and eczema so I was ecstatic (can you tell?) to find a soap I loved.

It is snowing in Idaho

Holy cow! I knew this was going to happen. Winter is going to totally sneak up on me. I just came across this photo in miss courageous' photos in flickr and it really kicked my butt into gear. I am the type who buys a cute beach print fabric and plans to make a cute tote for the summer. I miss the first summer, and decide I am definitely not going to miss next summer. So, I keep seeing the fabric during the winter, and think, as soon as it starts getting a little warm, I am going to make somethig beachy... but surely it is too early now... So, now it is fall, the fabric is still in my stash pile. Why? Because darn if the summer did not come and go like a flash again. I really just need to flip my creating schedule and make summer stuff in the winter, fall in the spring, winter in the summer and spring in the fall. LOL!

Training Wheels - Just Say No!

I honestly believe this is a must have for every child wanting to learn how to ride a bike. We bought our daughter a Strider Running Bike for her birthday when she turned three. It is an adorable pink bike. Well, my girly girl, who is not a big fan of biking quite yet, was more interested in her princess stuff and it wasn't long before her big brother had swiped her new bike out from under her.

His bike was a John Deere bike with training wheels and it had been a struggle to get him to ride it. He just did not feel comfortable with the tippy feel of it and constantly turned back to the little kiddie tricycle we have. Well, it was not long before he was zipping around on this pink Strider Running bike. He would build ramps and little bike trails all over our backyard. The thing weighs barely anything so it allowed him total control. He would even ride it over the compost heap. So, not too long ago, my husband went ahead and dug out the John Deere bike and took the training wheels off, put my son on it, and he was riding a two wheel bike in two days!! I don't mean just going straight, he could make a U-turn in the street, I was floored!

My best friend in town bought one for her kids (she has 4 kids aged 5 and under) and within a few weeks the two older ones were riding their big kid bikes and the 2 year old was riding the strider.

And.... even cooler, the customer service rocks!!! My son somehow broke the seat on ours. I emailed the company and they were sending out the new seat within that day!!! So cool!

Thoughts on Made in China

This post mainly inspired by this documentary I saw on Discovery channel:
Koppel: The People's Republic of Capitalism
I do not like posting controversial thoughts, and I am not sure if this is going to upset anybody, but I have had some thoughts rambling around in my brain and I feel like I want to think it out via blogging. So, this might ramble a bit.
I have been trying to support the shop local concept. I like the concept of supporting local businesses. I switched my prescriptions from Rite Aid to the local pharmacy, owned and operated by one of our local guys. I have been anti-buying mass produced items from foreign countries.
Then I saw a documentary on China and the economy in that country. That really tore me up, seeing how poorly that country lives and how much some of those girls depend on the meager income (and I am talking meager as in $20 a week). So, I was feeling bad thinking I should only buy local when they rely so heavily on their factory jobs.
But now I am getting upset. My thought is this.... all this talk about raising the minimum wage here in the US and other things, like the vast amounts of Made in China items lining the shelves... are we not as a country condoning the mistreatment of chinese citizens and other cultures who are similarily underpaid by importing from them. If I go and take advantage of that super low priced electronic gadget at WalMart, am I just as responsible for the way those individuals are having to live? I feel like we are taking advantage of every one of those people working their tails off, making next to nothing and here we are, as a country demanding more money for jobs that are exactly the same. Which means employers will continue to move their companies to other countries to take advantage of a Government that does not give its citizens much protection from being taken advantage of. I get the feeling that as long as we are doing OK (which I do realize, our country has plenty of problems, I just mean relatively), then we are fine with taking advantage of the cheap prices produced at the expense of other humans.
Isn't there a middle ground?
What are your thoughts on all of this? Any thoughts on a solution? Are you for a rise in minimum wage? I just want to think this through with you guys.

WooHoo! I have been tagged!

I have been tagged by Stephanie, check out her awesome blog: Three Loud Kids

Here are the details:

1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog - some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here are my 7 random facts:
1. I can never stick with one thing. I get obsessed with a hobby or idea, spend all my time doing that thing for a while, then get bored and move on to something else.

2. I adore fall, it is my favorite season.

3. I just started a new job as a church secretary.

4. I have been to three different colleges and am still never got a degree.

5. I am a huge chicken when it comes to conflict and am always second guessing everything I say.

6. I love taking pictures of nature.

7. I love my cat, Greta, but I am pretty sure she does not like me, LOL!

Here are the 7 people that I am tagging!

Andy Mathis

The Peach Tree

Little Peanut

retro mama

Valerie at Felted Treasures

Twiddlestix

Lisa from Teddy29