Skinny Jeans

This post is on skinny jeans. 

I've come to realize that times change.  But oh, how they stay the same!

When I was in middle school.  Skinny jeans were in.  However, they were not called skinny jeans.  No such thing existed.  My girlfriends and I would buy normal jeans, turn them inside out and resew the inside seam to taper in from above the knee down.  Cut off the extra, and we had our very own skinny jean.  We just didn't know it!

Now, you can just go out and buy a pair of these jeans.

I like the fact that my friends and I were ahead of the times.  I'm not mentioning how much ahead of the times we were! 

Knowing that we took initiative for what we wanted and created it sets it far apart from being able to go out and buy a pair. 

Who would have guessed that we could have marketed these jeans back then.  There weren't many choices in fashionable denim wear when I was growing up.  Stonewash was cool!

I'm not going into the whole skinny jeans on a guy thing.  I don't understand it, don't personally care for the look of it, and have decided I don't need to understand it!  I'm just saying!

I still like the look of the skinny jean.  However, now my idea is the Hello! Skinny Jean.  These are thigh slimming, stomach flattening, buttocks-shaping, leg lengthening, stretch blue jean. 

I need to get myself a pair! 

Relax and Read These!

It's Sunday.  Gosh, where did the week go?  Click one of the above links and surf some other fun blogs!

Too Full, So Here Are A Few Giveaways!

Yesterdays Thanksgiving dinner turned out wonderful.  My very first Turkey looked like something you would want to eat, as well as tasted as good as it looked!  Whew.  Can't tell you how nervous I was when I realized I was cooking my first turkey and there would be 14 hungry people if I didn't do it well. 

Also cooked dressing for the first time.  I didn't enjoy that.  It turned out really well, but I found making it frustrating.  I just kept adding liquid, and adding liquid. How do you truly know when enough is enough?  It had good reviews though, so I guess my method worked.

I'm currently too full to discuss anything else, so during my morning computer searches, I stumbled across a great giveaway.  3 Princes and A Princess 2 is giving away a George Foreman Evolve Grill valued at $129.99!

Another giveaway is at Shibley Smiles.  She is giving away a Nutra Sonic Professional Cleansing System.

 

So, run, walk, or hitchhike over to 3 Princes And A Princess 2 and to Shibley Smiles to sign up for these fantastic giveaways!  Okay, you can't walk, run or hitchhike over there, but you can let your fingers do the walking for you!

My Mistake

Back in May, I thought of moving my blog to its own domain.  That way one wouldn't have to type in such a long address.  Well, I thought of it, verified that the address was available, logged in to my GoDaddy account, and then?  I guess I did nothing. 

This week while trying to decide if I was ready to leave the Blogger world and enter Wordpress, I decided to take a class offered through April Showers.  With taking this class, I needed to grab some information from my domain name.  I logged into my GoDaddy account, and yep you guessed it.

Nada.  Nothing.  Zero.  No domain name of BlogBeDandy. 

I then went in to see if it was still available.  Guessed right again.

Nada.  Nothing.  Zero.  It has already been purchased.  And guess when that was?  MAY!!!  I can't help but feel that there is someone out there who recognizes domain name searches and purchases them for resale.  I'm usually fairly good at purchasing domain names when I think of them.  I think I currently own 7 of them.  But, not the one I needed now.

So, I purchased a new domain name.  And this blog will be moving. 

Our new web address will be http://www.latherlovelylife.com/.  It is currently in the design stage, and should be up and running sometime the first week of December, along with the Lather Lovely site. 

You won't have to worry, once everything is up and running you will be redirected to the new page until you can remember to add the new site to your favorites.  So, for now, Blog Be Dandy is still the place for you to check in at every day!

Oh, The Memories

When Kyle turned 6 in 2001, Jeff and I bought him a swing set with a matching play tower.  It was huge and had to be purchased in pieces and built.  It took Jeff a little over 4 days to build it.  It was so impressive that when we moved in to our current home, we moved the two play sets with us!

I have pictures that I would love to place here of that time, however, that was in the days of scrap booking.  Those pictures aren't coming off those pages and I'm not in the mood to scan and crop.  Sorry.

Here we are 9 years later and Jeff is again helping to put up a swing set.  My close friend has a son who is 2 years old.  When I babysat for him back in October, I discovered he loves, and I mean loves to go outside.  He needed a swing set.  A bunch of us pitched in to give him one for Christmas, but who can wait until Christmas when it comes to a 2 year olds happiness?

Could you tell this face, sorry you need to wait another month?

We delivered the play set yesterday afternoon.  Of course it comes in pieces and Logan was more than happy to help carry the pieces back.  He was also very pleased with all of the pieces just laying in the yard! 

And of course, there was the box.  Nothing like the imagination of a 2 year old and a 15 year old when it comes to a box. 

Kyle is hiding in the box and sticking his hand out through a hole, Logan is checking it out.

This was Kyle trying to get out of there before I could get the picture.  It is a little blurry, but I have the proof that he is still a little boy at heart!

As time progressed, Logan caught on to what we had.

Logan checking out the picture of the play set on the box.

And here, he discovers the slide.  Who needs to attach it to have fun?

And then, there is my son.  Who kept Logan a little occupied, but mostly occupied himself.  For instance, I glanced over at him and he had a piece of the play set hanging on his head.  When I asked him what he was doing, he said "Look, I'm Lady Gaga!"  Gotta give the boy credit for his imagination!

Lady Gaga Himself

Unfortunately we ran out of sunlight and had a tired and hungry little boy on our hands.  Logan, not Kyle!  We headed inside and when Logan realized he couldn't go back outside he wasn't happy.  To which point we left.  (Sorry Kim)

We will be back tonight to finish before sundown.  I will post final pics tomorrow!

Monday Morning Ramblings

Well, the show didn't get any better and I officially have a cold.  Typical of me and the week of Thanksgiving. 

Craft Fairs are a lot of work for us vendors.  Not too mention the time we put into them.  One of the best benefits of craft shows are the other vendors you meet. 

This past weekend we were placed across from Jo and Tony from Y Not Jo's.  Their product is the Arm Buddie.  They also had these cool wine glass candle holders and marshmallow shooters.  If you have never seen a marshmallow shooter, you need to be on the look out at your next craft show.  These pvc pipe guns are the coolest thing.  You load them with mini marshmallows, aim, blow and it shoots the marshmallow out.  Jeff and I were their target practice for the weekend.  I found mini marshmallows everywhere in my booth as we were cleaning it out!

Okay, I have to confess, I'm not 100% sure that his name was Tony.  I'm sorry.  The weekend takes a lot out of you!  Also, Tony, if that isn't your name ( I know it was Tony, Terry, etc) I'm blaming the marshmallow to my forehead shot that you hit me with!

Another two weekends and another two shows.  Smaller in size and venue, but just trying to get the name out there.  Also finishing the website.  Yes, for those that have followed me for a while, I've been saying that.  Procrastination, remember?! 

Oh, one other thing.  I signed on to my blog yesterday and realized I had a bunch of new followers.  Thank you, by the way.  It's nice to have you!  And then I finally realized where they came from!  Blog Be Dandy was featured on Healthy Home Blog.  Thanks Charla for the shout out! 

Busy week ahead.  I'm making the turkey this year for Thanksgiving.  I obviously had a momentarily common sense melt down when I volunteered for that one!  It will be my first and there are 14 of us this year! 

Have a wonderful Holiday week!

Craft Shows and My Dad

Today was the first day of my second craft show during the holiday season at Mixons.  I did this show last year while my husband was in Las Vegas.  And no, I wasn't invited seeing as it was a guys weekend.  My Dad was visiting that week and got roped in to helping me.  With the show last year, helping me only required him to sit outside in beautiful weather and talk to me most of the day.  And even at one point, as I was out front of the tent talking to some people and glanced in, my Dad was sound asleep in his chair.  No, it wasn't all that busy.

Well Dad, cuz I know you are reading this,  you didn't miss anything new this year!  The weather was beautiful as always.  The people just didn't show.  And then to top it all off?  I think I'm getting sick.  Nothing makes for a longer day than feeling horrible and having to sit in an uncomfortable chair and wanting nothing more than a nap.  I totally get my Dad now and how he could sleep at a craft show.  All though, he wasn't sick, just enjoying the weather which he certainly was not getting in November in upstate New York!

So, at 6:30 p.m. I hopped into bed.  I woke up at 9:00 p.m.  It is now 11:40 p.m. and here I am.  And I still feel like crap!  Which is why I can't sleep.   And all I can think is I have to do this again tomorrow?  UGH.

Anyway, miss you Dad.  Wish you were here.  And I totally understand why you skipped this week this year!

Another Big Weekend

I'm currently prepping for another big weekend for my soaps.  We will be at Mixons Fruit Farms Fall Festival.  Wow, say that three times fast!

Prepping this week by getting supplies in and making soap!  Yesterday was a new batch of Oatmeal and Honey.  I didn't have this at my last show, but personally it is one of my favorites! 

Also did some gift baskets for a friend of mine.  Have to admit, they turned out quite well.  I did take pictures and I will post them tomorrow. 

Happy Hump Day!

Sticker Shock

Received my Cobra paperwork today.  Yes, that means I'm not working.  Another story for another time, but not for this blog!

Anyway, I am still reeling from Sticker Shock. 

Why can we not get health care that is affordable and available?????

I went through this rant while a good friend of mine was dealing with the health issues of her son.  We have the best care in the world in this country, but you better be able to pay for it!

So, I'm off to start digging through for insurance.  Don't you wish you were me?

Relax and Read These!

Click and Take A Break Reading all of these other blogs! 

I'm taking today off, if you haven't already noticed!

Lunch with Kyle

Today I had lunch with Kyle. Jeff is off at the Redneck Yacht Club for the weekend, enjoying a well deserved overnight stay.

At lunch I forced Kyle to leave his IPOD in the car and actually carry on a conversation with me. Our discussion covered, video games, paint ball games, more video games, and then, wait for it...CHRISTMAS WISH LIST!

Yes, Kyle still makes a list at the age of 15.  Hey, I realized a long time ago that a list is the perfect thing.  One, it allows Kyle to vent out all of the items he would like without it being repeated over and over.  It also, for the next two months, allows me to say "Add it to your list" every time he asks for something.  It is like a reprieve for my wallet. 

So, as he rambled on about the items that will go on his list this year, I started realizing that Thanksgiving is only a week and a half away.

One item that I love about Christmas time is being able to play Christmas music. I have a wide arrangement of Christmas CD's and they start being played the day after Thanksgiving. Today, I discovered that there is a CD out by Dave Barnes who is one of my favorites! I saw his video for one of his Christmas songs and it features another favorite of mine, Hillary Scott(of Lady Antebellum if you have been living under a rock somewhere)and the video features Jennifer Love Hewitt. I thought I would get you all thinking of the upcoming Holidays.

Yeah, you can thank me later!

Yeah, There's That

Here is an example of a conversation I had with my 15 yr old son last night.

Me:  "You have got to get working on your homework.  You are failing a class and if you don't get your homework done, you will be failing another."

Him:  "I'm doing it."

Me:  "What is IT ?"

Him:  "I have to read this book."

Me:  "You are lying in bed with the lights off, how the heck could you possibly be reading that book?"

Him:  "I was going to turn the lights on."

Me:  "I suggest you turn the lights on NOW and get to reading that book before you get too far behind."

Him:  "Whatever.  I'm not failing anyway."

Me:  "Your current grade is a 43?" (and at this point my voice is at a fever pitch)

Him:  "Yeah, there's that."

Me:  "Huh?"

My son struggling in school is not something new or out of the ordinary.  He just doesn't like it and never has.  There seems to be a strong disconnect with schools and how they interact with boys. 

For example, I was looking at the book he is reading.  I can understand his disinterest.  I read every day.  EVERY day.  I love to read.  I will read anything and everything. 

I wouldn't read this book.  Not interested, doesn't sound interesting and I couldn't be forced to be interested in it.  However, I find myself having to be the good parent and tell him he has to read it and get his homework done.  Seeing as he doesn't like to read, I may as well have just banished him to a life with no IPOD. 

One good thing, he doesn't read my blog either!

Favorite Thing...For Now

This is my favorite thing, for now anyway:

Yes, it is my FoodSaver.  (Minus the fish that is in the picture!)

Yesterday I went to our local discount warehouse and purchased enough food for a month.  It took me over an hour to repackage everything.  This was my stash when I was done.  So worth the time!

I buy steaks from a local restaurant here in town.  I can't beat his prices and his cuts of meat are just fabulous!  Normally I bring them home and vacuum seal them.  When it is time to use them, they appear fresh and look as if I placed them in the fridge the day before.

These have been in my freezer for about a month

Last week, I bought four more since I was down to my last two.  I was in a hurry the next morning, threw them in a ziplock bag and stuck them in my freezer.  Yesterday after sealing all of my new purchases, I was organizing the freezer and came across this.

Don't you just want to cook these right up?

I've learned my lesson.  I now vow to take the time and seal all of my purchases when I get home.  The extra time it takes, is worth it in the long run. 

It's Been Personal

I know I have been gone a few days.  Okay, almost a week. 

I have had a few personal things going on, and just couldn't bring myself to be cheery enough to blog. 

BUT, I'm back! 

Hunsaders finally ended last weekend.  It was a long 3 weeks.  I did however sell a lot of soap! 

Most popular?

Camo Soap

Second in line was my new Spa Bar.  It smells just like what a spa smells like when you walk in.  That relaxing, lavender, eucalyptus, chamomile smell.  It is dreamy.  I don't have a photo of it, because I kept selling it all.

The last day of Hunsaders they allow trick or treating for all of the kids.  All of the craft vendors bring candy and kids come around in their costumes.  Well, some of them anyway.  We will give candy to anyone!

I especially love this part of the event.  We live where there are no trick or treaters.  In the 8 years we have lived in this house, I only had trick or treaters once about 6 years ago.  I had forgotten to shut the gate and two teenage girls appeared at my door.  Since I don't ever have any trick or treaters I don't buy candy.  So, these two girls received giant Hershey Bars that I keep for when we make smore's.  As their eyes lit up, I looked at them and said " Don't tell anyone where you got these and don't come back again next year!"

I'm still amazed I woke up the next morning and my house hadn't been toilet papered!

Anyway, back to all of the little kiddies walking around in costume. 

This one boy came by.

Okay, he's a jet plane.

Nope.

Ummm...

Alright, now he sort of resembles a military tank, but I'm still a tad baffled.

And then, he stops.  Makes some sounds and folds himself onto the ground.

He is a Transformer! 

I really wish I could have taken a better photo from the front, but this little guy had quite the crowd around him.  The one I should have taken a photo of, now that I think of it, was his Mom!  She made this costume!

It is now time to realize that October is over and we are now officially in Holiday mode.  Seriously, where the heck did 2010 go?