Garden Clogs

I love Ladybugs. If it has a ladybug on it, I will most likely purchase the item. I just love them! Here are some garden clogs that I purchased awhile ago to wear around the garden I will one day have. A close up of the yellow design.
I will look so cute and bright wearing these around.
This pair is my favorite!
Here is a close up. Love the ladybugs flying around the daisy's!

I don't have a garden area in my yard. I do have flower beds along the front of the house and a ring around the large pecan tree in the back yard. I have a side yard between our detached garage and the wooden fence that I have claimed to turn into a nice little garden area. It's on my to do list. But I can't decide if I want a flower cutting garden, herb garden or vegetable garden. I will have to research each one and find out what would work best for that small area.

Hope your week is going great! If not, hang in there, it's almost over!

Thrifty Finds

More Pyrex bowls with lids!!!! Grand total of $6.00!!!!

What have you found lately?

Menu Planning Monday

Wow! It's already Monday! Where did my weekend go? We were very busy but had a great time. Time truly flies when you are having fun. Here is our menu for the week.

Monday-Best-Ever Cheeseburgers and Fries

Tuesday-Out after sons baseball game

Wednesday-Grilled Chicken and Vegetables Parmesan

Thursday-Double Cheese and Veggie Macaroni

Friday-Pizza and Salad

Saturday-Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

I have stumbled across some money saving, coupon saving, frugal advice, best deals shopping blogs. As soon as I get them all organized I will share them and what I have been up to over the weekend. My husband thinks I'm absolutely crazy now! I'll give you a hint: It deals with CVS and Walgreens! If you don't have a CVS card, go get one NOW!

Have a great day!

Friday Fun

1. When I fell in love the world stopped!
2. I love it when the flowers bloom and it heats up outside!
3. Oh no! The Internet connection is down, time to read a book.
4. Reality TV is the craziest TV shows ever.
5. Cheese and fresh bread melted together make a great meal!
6. I love the idea of being in a garden.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to the Memorial baseball game, tomorrow my plans include a flag football game and a school jamboree and Sunday, I want to attend church, get lost in my new book and then take son to baseball practice.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Spring Time Fun Photos

A day at the zoo to see the new baby giraffes. My son the catcher warming up the pitcher. Their uniforms look just like the major Astros team. Go Astros!

Fun at the Children's Museum. Art made with vegetables.
One of my favorite stores in Old Town Spring.Another cute store!
A lovely cottage shop in Old Town Spring.
Our newest family member, Fruity Pebbles. He was meant for my classroom but it was way too cold at school for him.
My nephew's birthday party. Hot entertainment at the party.
Love the smiles from my niece and brother-in-law!

Fields of blue in Brenham, TX.
My son!
Close up of my state flowers.

I hope you enjoyed the photos of what we have been up to on the weekends the past month. As you can see we have been busy.

Thrifty Finds

Here are 3 shades of green Pyrex bowls. They are well loved! I am drawn to Pyrex lately. I spent a total of $6.00.

What have you found lately????

Menu Panning Monday

I can't believe it's already Monday. The weekend just flew by for us! We had fun shopping at Academy Sports store. My son picked up some cool shades to wear while in the outfield. I'll have to see if I can catch him with my camera wearing them. We had a blast at the birthday party at Laser Quest. My son and I finally made it to one of my nephews flag football game and they finally won a game, so we are going again this weekend! Saturday evening we enjoyed eating dinner under the stars and watching Peter Pan with my sister and her kids. Sunday we didn't make it to church because we got back sooo late from the performance. We did our grocery run and then to baseball practice which turned into a scrimmage game. The other team decided to leave early because it was getting late, so our parents decided to play the boys. Oh my gosh! It was so funny. My son was pitching and pegged one of his coaches in the hip and struck out the other. It was a great confidence builder for the boys and very entertaining for the score keeper, me! I hope you had a great weekend and can't wait to read all about it!

Here is our menu for the week. I have some repeats from last week because it just didn't work out for me to cook.

Monday-Sweet and Sour Chicken

Tuesday-Grab a bite after baseball practice

Wednesday-Garlic Steak and Onions

Thursday-Grab a bite after baseball game

Friday-Pork Medallions with Cranberry Stuffing

Saturday-Mediterranean Chicken

What are you having for dinner this week?

April Pay It Forward Winner

Congratulations to Tamy 3 Sides of Crazy, you are the winner for my April Pay It Forward Book Exchange.

Please check back the first Monday of the month to see what book is offered for the Book Giveaway.

Fun Friday

1. The last time I lost my temper I had to walk away and calm down!
2. Children not listening,being selfish and rude is what I'm fed up with!
3. The next book I'd like to read is Miss Julia Takes Over by Ann B Ross.
4. My family reunion in May is what I'm looking forward to.
5. If you can't get rid of the skeleton(s) in your closet, better lock the door!
6. The best thing I got in the mail recently was a scrapbook kit from Little Red Scrapbook.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hanging around the house with my son, tomorrow my plans include shopping, a Laser Quest birthday party and picnic while watching Peter Pan at the Miller Outdoor theater and Sunday, I want to attend church and baseball practice.

A co-worker and I always pass in the hall at the same time at lunch time. She's leaving with her kids and I am dropping mine off. We always admire each others outfits and ask about what new items we have purchased and have you seen the latest catalog from such and such store. We like the same kinds of things. Well, this sweet lady surprised me by giving me a reward card for one of my favorite shopping destinations, Talbot's. I am so excited! I can't wait to go shopping. So I have a gift card from DH and this reward card I might do some damage!

Not much fun this afternoon. We had a lock down situation at our school. In case you don't know what that is, we had to secure all outside doors and get the kids huddled together with the lights off and be quiet because there is something outside that is not safe. My kids were scared. I calmly explained what we were doing and that we must practice just like a fire drill. We were this way for about 30 minutes. I could hear the police helicopters circling the school and I just started praying silently for our safety. At the end of the 30 minutes we were all safe and sound and the kids acted like nothing had happened. There was a police chase in the neighborhood. That's all I know right now.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Easy Living

Today I want to share with you a product and some sites that are helping me around the house. I work full time outside the home and my evenings are very busy running from piano, sports activities and social events, so I need all the help with the daily cleaning, organizing and cooking I can get.



Several years ago I joined a Bible study group led by my childhood friend Pamela and she introduced me to Fly Lady. This is a wonderful site that gives you a fly zone, which is an area of your home, to focus cleaning and decluttering for the week. This has really helped me stay somewhat on top of this around the house. Also, she has tips and instructions on how to clean and I especially love to shine my sink. Go check her out!



Another site I have been using lately is Kraft Foods. I love the menus for dinners. It really helps with the planning of our meals and writing up my grocery list. We eat out way too much and I am trying to make an effort to prepare meals at home. They have a 1 Bag 5 Meals section and its exactly what it says. You can get a large bag of groceries and have the ingredients to make 5 meals. My family has enjoyed each meal I have prepared so far.



A new site I have found is Home Sanctuary. This site is similar to Fly Lady in that is gives you a task to do everyday to help create that sanctuary, we all want in our homes, in all the small things we do. She has a daily task to complete like, post the monthly memory verse, love your dude, and create a hospitable entryway, to earn points. Then she has a monthly drawing at the end of the month for wonderful Christian based items. I love her thoughts that she shares each day and feels like they were written just for me.



Lastly, I want to share a product I have seen on other ladies blogs. Mrs Meyers cleaning products are fabulous! It took me awhile to locate and finally purchase this product. I love the scent and it cleans everything so nicely. If you haven't tried this product, splurge and pick some up. It will make your home smell so clean like you have been Spring cleaning.



Well, I'm off to complete a task! Have a great day!

Thrifty Finds

I found these great Pyrex pieces at the Salvation Army store over Spring Break. This lovely piece I only paid $4.00 for. I spotted it at an antique store in Spring, Texas selling for $50.00!!!!! And I think mine is in better condition than theirs.

A sweet little bowl.
I picked up these two mugs. I don't think I will start collecting them but you can't beat the price, .50 for each. I think I know someone who would like to receive these!

My total shopping spree was $8.00. What have you found thrifting recently?

Menu Planning Monday

I have decide to participate in Organized Junkie's menu planning. You can learn all about by clicking on her name.



Here is my menu plan for the week:

Monday~spaghetti, corn on the cob and bread.

Tuesday~Son has baseball game so we will grab a bite after game.

Wednesday~Asian Beef Stir Fry

Thursday~Son has baseball game so we will grab a bite after the game.

Friday~Frozen pizza and salad

Saturday~Pork Medallions with Cranberry Stuffing

Sunday~Garlic Steak and Onions

All of my recipes are found at Kraftfoods.com. I clicked on the 1 Bag, 5Dinners: Healthy Living.

So what are you having for dinner this week???

Friday Fun

1. I love springtime in my home state.
2. Special K and bagels are foods I love to eat for breakfast.
3. It seems I'm always searching for a fun place to visit.
4. Reading is a great way to end the day.
5. I think I need to color my hair.
6. Fuzzy's pizza is what I've been craving lately.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to catching up on some TV and/or movies tomorrow my plans include sons baseball game and organizing/cleaning around the house and Sunday, I want to attend church, read and then baseball practice.

Kids in Trees

My son and nieces and nephew climbing the tree at my parents church after the Easter egg pick up.

April Pay It Forward Book Exchange

It's time for another one of my free Pay It Forward book giveaways.So, I have one book to give away this month.

From Barnes and Noble:
Family and friends are the center of life in the South, and kitchens the center of Southern homes, so there is no better way to celebrate Southern traditions than a book on entertaining. From the heartfelt love in Grandma's dumplings to the stomping good fun at a hoedown, Southern entertaining is special. This book will help everyone to be as gracious, warm, and entertaining as Deborah Ford herself. She can't help sharing-it's the Southern way.
Puttin' on the Grits covers all the details of hosting festivities large and small. From mint juleps to charm lessons, Deborah reveals the colorful secrets behind why Southern women are such consummate hosts and captures the famous combination of elegance and wit that has become the GRITS calling card. Puttin' on the Grits even includes a discussion of how to be the kind of guest who gets invited back. Whether popping a cork or cracking open a six-pack, every hostess can now be the belle of the ball.

If you'd like to win this book, here is what you must do:
1. On your blog, write a post about this giveaway and then link back to my post or Overwhelmed with Joy. I am sure your readers would appreciate learning about the chance to win a book. You must complete this step to be put in the drawing.
2. Leave a comment to this post. Be sure and leave a way that I can get in touch with you.
I'll announce the winner on Monday, April 21. So be sure to check back.
Best of luck!
To enter more book giveaways, check out Overwhelmed with Joy.

No Housework Day!

Housework is something you do that nobody notices until you don't do it. ~Author Unknown

No Housework Day is your chance to do anything, except housework. Better still, have someone else do the chores for a day. Housework is a daily, seemingly endless and repetitive groups of tasks. It often goes unrecognized and worst of all..... taken for granted. But, watch out! If the dishes aren't done, or there's no clean towels, somebody takes note.

There's two ways to celebrate this day:
If you normally do the housework around the house, cease and desist for this day. Instead, kick back and enjoy the day. Relax and do anything, except housework.
If you are a spouse or significant other, do the housework for your mate. It gives her (or him) a break from the housework. And, you just might get an appreciation of how much work it takes to keep up the house.
This is one daily celebration that I will be participating in today. We have a busy day with the Astros home opener and son has baseball practice and I will not have much time to do anything around the house. Thank goodness that my cleaning lady comes tomorrow!

Do you have a favorite area to clean in your house or product that you use? Please let me know.

Today is School Librarian Day

School Librarian Day honors those who serve our young students so well in the local school libraries. The education of young minds needs to be nurtured and fed. Feeding those minds with good quality, yet challenging reading material and reference materials is what school librarians excel at.
Take a minute today, to appreciate all the hard work that a school librarian does daily, and the patience the librarian displays, as he or she aids our youth. You may choose to show your appreciation to School Librarians in a variety of ways, including:
Give the librarian a big smile and a big "Thank You!"
Tell you librarian that she is doing a wonderful job.
Send an Ecard
Buy an age appropriate book or reference material, and donate it to the library

Since I work at a school, my classroom honored our Librarian by making her cards that stated how much we appreciate her hard work. If I could go back to school, I would definitely become a school librarian. I so wish I had stayed longer and gotten my masters to be able to share the love of books with lots of children. Oh well, maybe when my son goes to college we can go together.

Have a fabulous weekend!

International Children's Book Day

International Children's Book Day encourages reading, and promotes the love of books for children. The best and fastest way to develop our young children into intelligent human beings is by teaching them to read. Instilling a love of reading promotes a lifetime of learning and enjoyment.
Libraries celebrate today with story telling hours and other events for young children. You can celebrate today by giving a new book to each of your kids. If they are too young to read, spend time reading stories to them. Its a great and memorable bonding time for you and your child.


Since 1967, on or around Hans Christian Andersen's birthday, 2 April, International Children's Book Day (ICBD) is celebrated to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children's books.

Each year a different National Section of IBBY has the opportunity to be the international sponsor of ICBD. It decides upon a theme and invites a prominent author from the host country to write a message to the children of the world and a well-known illustrator to design a poster. These materials are used in different ways to promote books and reading. Many IBBY Sections promote ICBD through the media and organize activities in schools and public libraries. Often ICBD is linked to celebrations around children's books and other special events that may include encounters with authors and illustrators, writing competitions or announcements of book awards.

Check out these sites for more information:
http://www.ibby.org/index.php?id=269

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Children

This is one book on my wish list.

Have a great day!