Friends Of All Ages

I'm a strong encourager of having a vast array of different friends. I think it's healthy to maintain friendships with people who are and are not the same age or background as you. You can really learn a lot from any relationship.

For example, I have an older friend. I'd tell you her age but (1) never divulge a woman's age without consent and (2) I actually don't know how old she is, even though she just had a birthday! You see, she's one of those people who believe age is just a number not a definition. If I had to guess I'd say she's early 70's maybe middle 70's? But she acts like she's late 50's- early 60's.

We started being friends last summer. She knew my mom way back when she was a little girl. They recently ran into each other again and when we moved back to town, we met for the first time. She needed some help with facebook (she's quite the avid facebooker) and her computer so I started going over to help. She's a professional quilter, she runs a small but very busy quilting business out of her home so when she found out I wanted to learn how to quilt we made a trade. I educate and help her with computer/internet/technology and she teaches me to quilt. Not a bad trade eh?

I've learned quite a few things from her this past year! Here's a few of them:

Age is just a number. It doesn't define who you are.

Just because you've lived a long time, doesn't mean you have it all figured out

You can teach an old dog new tricks. Never stop learning or trying new things. 

Nobody is perfect. If you make a mistake apologize. Even if it's to a salesman on the phone. 

Live for the moment and be spontaneous. Routines are nice but sometimes just decide to do something on a whim. 

What do you think? Do you stick to friends your own age/background? Or do you have a random network of people who influence your life?

 

Let Sleeping Bats Lie

I typically have horrible night's sleep. I have insomniac nights and light sleeps. I either go a couple weeks with 2-3 hours of sleep a night or I sleep off an on waking up every hour throughout the night. I've been like this for as long as I remember. Sometimes things make it worse. If I stick to a GF diet I sleep a million times better. But I haven't been the best at that lately. I'm such a light sleeper, that if a butterfly farts 5 miles away I bolt up and go "what was that?!?!" Ok, maybe not that bad.

I've tried sleeping pills and they tend to knock me right out. The only problem with that is I go from being a very light sleeper to not waking up at all when Jon comes home from work and climbs into bed. I don't even wake when our 80 pound dog jumps on me. So that's not ideal.

My next usual method of sleep aid is ear plugs and an eye mask. This helps a lot too. I use it when I really want a good nights sleep. But as I learned last week it also seems to put change my light sleeping to deep sleeping.

Case in point: If you follow me on twitter or facebook, you'll know that last week we had some little friends in our house. Jon woke up one morning at 430am for work and something flew past his head! He turned the light on to find a bat flying around the house. He couldn't get it towards the door so he grabbed a broom to help swat it out or knock it unconscious so he could grab it and throw it outside. According to Jon, the little bugger kept alluding him and flying from room to room. So early in the morning Jon was running from room to room, swatting, yelling, and ducking. He eventually cornered it and was able to grab it and throw it outside. But me, I stayed asleep the whole time. Didn't hear any of the excitement going on. I'd like to think I'd wake up to something!

But the bat story... it doesn't end there. Later that morning at around 1130, I was sitting at the breakfast nook enjoying my 3rd  2nd cup of coffee and blogging when I notice a beady little bugger crawl between the stove pipe and the roof and come in looking for his friend from this morning. I started freaking out. I stuck the dogs in their crates and grabbed a broom. I crept by the hanging bat and slid the patio door open. But the stupid thing didn't move. So I try nudging him with my broom along the roof towards the open door. I didn't think that you know, he'd be attracted to something moving. He flapped towards me so I turn and run shrieking. I get far enough and he's circling for another pass towards me. I scream and wave the broom. Yep, doesn't help he still comes in for it. By now my cat is all into the hunt and jumping at the bat any chance he gets.

So now we've got a scrappy cat, a circling bat, and a screaming girl. Every time the bat gets near me I scream. I just get calmed down and it comes towards us again. I'm sure this helps the neighbours to really want to come over and meet us! I decided to hide behind the nook and peak around the corner. I'm praying that stupid bat flies out the wide open door. Eventually the bat finds it and flies out. I rush over and close the door. And then proceed to light a very hot fire in the wood stove in attempt to erase any notion any of the bat population around here to try to get near the stove pipe.

Our landlord has since come out and we think it's fixed now and there shouldn't be anymore winged creatures making their way in here. But it was a little exciting for a while. Now what was my point to all this? I forget! But how was your week-end? Anything exciting happen?

Shop Love ~ Katie Blair Designs

Jon and I have started playing a new game. We call it "spot the blogger". Whenever we are spending the day in the city browsing, shopping, eating: we guess whether or not people we come across are bloggers or not. It started the day we went to the local book store. I had come across a blogger online who worked there, so while we were browsing for new books I had him guess which one she was. We had such fun discussing and analyzing whether or not bloggers have similar characteristics and personality types. So we decided to make a game of it. Is the cashier at Walmart a blogger? That girl driving in the car next to us, belting along the words to her favorite song? Anyways, it's a fun psychology project, you should try it! I've taken to playing this game while browsing on etsy! A couple months ago I came across an adorable shop with stationary products. I have SUCH a thing for stationary! Anyways, I read the shop owners profile and thought "hey! she writes and sounds like a blogger!" So I did what any good blogger does... I googled it! And sure enough she does! So I dropped her a message and she's just as darling as her products! I fell in love with her notebooks the only "problem" was I couldn't decide which one to get! So I ordered two and decided when they got here I'd be able to choose which one I liked more. Turns out I was wrong. I still LOVE them both.



 




But I'm still going to give one away! Teal is currently my favorite color so I decided to keep it for myself but one of you lucky readers have the opportunity to receive the yellow one!

I thought for a change of pace and for fun I'd make it super easy to enter. All you have to do is leave a comment saying what big, life-changing, brilliant idea or ideas you would fill it with! Giveaway closes Sunday August 21 at 11:59 pm PST. Winner announced Monday.

If you want to discover more about Katie and her shop check out her:

Etsy Shop: Katie Blair Designs

Blog: Katie Blair Designs~ Blog

Twitter: @katieblair

Facebook: Katie Blair Designs~ Facebook

Giveaway Winner

I had my trusty assistant help me with the giveaway draw today!

 

And the winner of the necklace from Shepherd's Daughter is...

 

 

Just a second, I'll zoom in a bit.

Congratulations Kelly!! I've sent you an email!

Thank-you everyone for entering! And thank-you Rachel for sponsoring this giveaway!

 

The time I made something off pinterest

Hi, my name is Carissa and I'm addicted to pinterest. I LOVE pinning diy/crafts! I really wanted to be crafty yesterday and I really wanted it to have to do with paint. So when I saw this pin I immediately grabbed my paints and went to work. I probably should have done it properly, you know sanding and all that jazz. But I am impatient and just wanted to do it! It turned out alright in the end.

I started with my plain old boring knife block. 

not so thrilling right?

And I started painting it blue. I had a pretty full bottle of it, and it was really old so I wanted to get rid of it. After the first coat it looked like this. Yep, maybe I should have sanded it. But oh well.

I decided to change the color to dark green. That way it'll match the kitchen. I used the rest of the paint in the bottle and it ended up being 3ish coats. Then I took my silver marker and drew all over it. I'm not sure why. I just felt like it.

Looks better now eh? If I get tired of this color in a few months I can always paint it again! Or if our next place is a different color I can paint it to match that!

I'll be back a little later with the winner of the giveaway!

House Tour part 2

Ready for part 2 of the house tour? But let's sit down for a minute and have a chat. I'm all about being real with you guys. I'm not perfect. And I like to think I don't pretend to be. Jon and I have been listening to a book on cd about birth order. According to it I am a "discouraged perfectionist firstborn". I won't go into a complete character profile on what that means but let's just say I tell myself I have to be perfect all the time.

For example, when we have company over I worry that my house might look too clean. Like I just cleaned it. Jon bugs me all the time about how I try to make the house look less clean but not messy. The other day just to appease him I took a few of my sewing projects and placed them on my desk to look "not clean" I was so proud of my growth and called him over to praise my efforts. He looks at it and bursts out laughing. Apparently it was too neatly placed of a mess.

Why am I telling you this? In an attempt to work through my overly perfectionistic tendencies I decided to not clean the house before I took pictures for the tour. And know what? the pictures are driving me crazy! I can see everything that needs to be cleaned or organized and think "I can't post that!" But I'm keepin it real. So I posted part 1 and now part 2. But don't judge me if you see something out of place. Or if the garbage container is almost full. I'm growing. :)

Alright, now that half of you have either closed this window or skipped that part... let's get on to the tour!

 

When we left off last time we had yet to see the kitchen, office, and living room. This picture is looking into the (dark) kitchen and to the living room.

Jon's fresh baked cookies and of course coffee!

The office/craft room comes with a glass door and a cat that peeks through.

Want to play Ispy again? Spot the mokopo pictures!

How can you tell I used to work in retail and did a lot of merchandising? My craft supplies are all neatly hanging on my board! My neglected Accounting school work to the right. Material waiting for my next projects! And a painting I did last year.

 

The living room. We found one set of couch legs, but not the other. Don't ask me why or how they got separated! But somehow one set is still missing! Grr! It might look a little strange having the couches facing not in front of the tv. But I like watching from a ways back and Jon moves the other couch when we watch movies or play wii. The rest of the time we enjoy all the windows!

 

We had a wood fire for the first time the other day. It's been getting a little chilly at night and Jon really wanted a fire. It is August right?

That's his pride and joy on the left. his fish tank.

So there ya have it! That's where we're living now. We love it! Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Wee Bit Wednesday

Leigh Ashley is back with a wee bit wednesday! Click on the above button to head over and play along too!

{one} what's your guilty pleasure tv show?

the hills were my big guilty pleasure show but since then probably the bachelor. 

{two} ear piercings on men: yes or no?

I'm not a fan. It suits some guys I guess. 

 

{three} do you have dish or comcast?

neither.

 

{four} what's your favorite current fashion trend?

I seem to be pinning a lot of outfits with ruffles. 

 

{five} if you could learn to do anything, money not being an issue, what would it be?

to fly an airplane.

 

{six} red or white wine?

white wine.

 

{seven} what type of food is your favorite (ex. italian, mexican, etc.)

Italian 

 

{eight} hp or mac?

Mac. I LOVE my mac!

 

{nine} what color is your bedroom?

It's white right now. Renting so can't really paint it. 

 

{ten} what's your favorite form of exercise?

Zumba, kayaking, hiking.

Apple Picking

One day, when he was a little puppy, Butch decided he was going to love riding in backpacks. From then on whenever he found a backpack on the floor or saw someone grab one, he would desperately try to stick himself in there and go along for the ride. This can get annoying at times, like when you're running out the door to work/school. Or when you come across people at the post office who are trying to shove their mail in their packs. A few times we'll go looking for him and find him in the backpack so just to appease him we'll hang him on the bathroom hook or off the elliptical trainer for a few minutes. Most the time it's pretty handy and cute. Like when we're on a long hike or when we're biking. His latest backpack adventures has been mowing the lawn.



 

A few evenings ago Jon was out mowing the lawn with Butch. And I was working in the garden.


 

My main goal was to pick a lot of crab apples but Kudjo kept bringing his tennis ball to be thrown.


 

I had already thrown a lot for him and was trying to hurry and get the apples picked as the bugs had started coming out and I didn't want to get eaten!


 

I just about had a bag full and I was starting to get easily distracted so I decided to throw some crab apples at Jon every time he mowed nearby the tree.

 

It turned out to be a lot of fun so every time he went by I pelted him tossed apples at him. I started to get better aim and one go-around I made my mark a few times. The next time he went around he had one in his mouth, I looked at Butch and he did too!


 

Turns out one of my missed apples landed in the backpack and Butch had decided to hold it in his mouth for the ride. He held it there for the next half hour or so until Jon jolted the lawnmower and Butch dropped it. But as soon as they shut the mower off he ran right over and grabbed it again. When he's cute like that it makes me forget how annoying he was earlier :)

Fall Package Swap!!

This year especially, I've really been anxiously waiting for fall. I don't know why I've wanted it so badly this year; perhaps it was because we never really had a summer? But I digress. I love Fall!! There's just something about it. The air is crisp, leaves are crunchy, and there's an excitement in the air. Whether it's about a new school year, a new job, or you're inspired by the change all around us in nature.

I thought it would really fun to participate in a Fall themed package swap! I was thinking about 3 items?

You can interpret it in several ways: things that remind you of fall, your fall comforts, things inspired by fall. 

I brainstormed a list of things that make me think "fall". I'm not saying necessarily to include them in your package. But hopefully they'll give you some fall inspired ideas!

-leaves, pumpkins, apples

-Colors: brown, charcoal, plum, orange, olive

-jewelry, scarves, journals, fall soundtrack, stationary (Tom Hanks and bouquet of sharpened pencils anyone?)

-hot cocoa, apple cider, snacks.

You can make or buy your items.

Sign-up by September 5th. I will pair everyone up and send you and email the next day. Please send your packages by October 5th! You can start putting it together now, then once you know your partner's info you'll have a month to send it! Please don't sign up and be lame and not send a package. It's sad. And this is something that will hopefully be really fun!

So what do you think? Sound like fun? Are you in??

To sign up:

-either leave a comment below with your email address

-or email me at kissedafrogblog@gmail.com

I'll send you an email and tell you what info I need from you!

If you know anyone else who would love to participate, spread the word!

Blog on Fire!

My friend Kelly Michelle from When the Time is Right thinks my blog is so smokin' that it deserves the Blog on Fire Award! Thanks!! Click the link above and go check out her blog!

According to the award rules, I must indulge Seven Smoldering Secrets and then pass it on! I don't really have all that smoldering of secrets so how am I just tell you seven things you might not know about me. Those are kind of like secrets!

1. I hate the show 2 1/2 men. I'm thinking I might try watching it again now that Ashton Kutcher is going to be on it. He might make it pretty good. But those other guys annoy me too.

2. I eat watermelon and pizza with a fork and knife.

3. I'm double jointed in two places in my hands

4. I cry at movies. When I watched Up for the first time I bawled the whole time. For happy and sad reasons.

5. I am really shy. If we were to meet in person, I would be super nervous and sick for days before! But once you get to know me I talk a lot.

6. I am a huge germ-a-phob about garbage bags and toilets. I used to be really bad but have been working on it. I seriously used to change and wash my clothes and hands if I even brushed against one.

7. I love buying hats. But I ALWAYS look bad in them. Don't believe me? Just ask the stack of hats I own.

A few blogs I think are on fire are:

Betty @ It Takes 2

Rebeccca @ Weight Wars

Aleks @ Aleks Handmade

Bibi @ Simple Summit

Sarah @ Sunlight After Rain

Christianna @ The Girl With The Blue Bow

Head over and check out their great smokin' blogs!

Shop Love and a Giveaway!

Yay! After a brief hiatus Shop Love is back! And I'm featuring a really great shop today! Meet Rachel from Shepherd's Daughters!



I asked her some questions and here is what she had to say:

Why did you decide to open a shop? Wow, there's a ton of answers to that question. Originally, I had opened the shop to just share my creativity. I was very inspired by people who had a story to each of the jewelry they owned. I wanted my shop to be that one place that people could get that from.

How did you come with your shop name? My name, Rachel, literally means a shepherd's daughter. I am honored to know that this stands to be true in my faith as well. The name Shepherd's Daughter became something I could address to any woman I came across and with the kind of goal I had for the shop, I saw it fit best.

Your favorite thing to make in your shop? This is tough. Every item in my shop was made with joy. If there was something I made and did not like, it never made the shop. If I'd have to choose one thing, it would be my perched necklace. It's also something I personally wear almost everyday.

Any advice for people thinking of opening one? There's so much! Before you open up a shop, have a goal set and work towards it. Research which host is most viable for you (etsy does not necessarily work for everyone, unfortunately). make sure to budget wisely and make sure that every aspect of your resources is included in the cost of your product or service, otherwise, you could get short-changed and burnt out.

to get creativity rolling, have a pad and pen (or journal) with you at all times. I hate forgetting a great idea!

Lastly, but most importantly-- have fun with your shop. Take joy in the things you make and do because then you will take pride in them and we all know that confidence is your best form of advertisement.

Anything else you'd like people to know? I am having a closeout sale! (don't worry, I'm simply switching URLs and updating the shop a little bit. In the meantime, I need to clear out my inventory. Use CLOSEOUT50 to get 50% off of all purchases. ;)

Thanks for having me, Carissa!

Want to see some of the gorgeous things she has in her shop?? Here's a few of my favorites! Click on each picture to visit the listing.

Jasmine-Inspired Swarovski Chandelier Earrings

 

Geometric Sea Foam Love Earrings

Perched Necklace with Freshwater Pearl

 

Rachel has also offered to giveaway a necklace from her shop!

To Enter:

Tell me what was your favorite thing you did this summer? 1 entry

Follow missrachelb publicly on GFC. 1 entry

Follow @shephrdsdaughtr on Twitter. 1 entry

Follow Kissed A Frog publicly on GFC. 1 entry

Follow @blogkissedafrog on Twitter. 1 entry

Tweet about it. 1 entry

Please leave your email in the comments so we know where we can contact you at.

Giveaway will close in one week, thursday August 25th. Winner will be announced the following day!

At Odds

[caption id="attachment_1447" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Kudjo"][/caption]

Night-time-can't-sleep me promises day-time me a lot of things that never happen.

Like:
-to exercise. more often. and harder.
-to eat better. perhaps meals. and healthier.
-to drink less coffee and more water.
-to have more patience and to stop getting in the middle of drama.
-to spend less time on the computer and more time doing other things.
-to pin less. heart less. like less. (yeah, you know what I'm talking about)
-and to give myself a break sometimes. because maybe, just maybe. I'd be sleeping instead of making these lists in my head.

House Tour part 1

Hey there! Thanks for stopping by! How was your drive? Did you find the place ok? We still have some things in boxes and not all the pictures are hung on the wall. But if I waited until then to show you the place, it'd probably be christmas!

Come on in. Don't let the look of these three fool you. They're not usually this calm when they meet people. Their tails are wagging fiercely, they're barking/yapping, and guarantee you'll be licked a few times. Just walk past them and take your shoes off.

This is the entry way. You'll see the pets or parts of the pets in most these pictures. They weren't sure what I was doing but they kept an eye on me while I went around the house.

Our bedroom looks bare. It doesn't feel that bare! There are pictures on the walls you can't see! And we have a few more we want to put up still. But you can see the night stand I made in high school woodworking class. And the quilt I made last winter. Plus a piece of Kudjo on the floor.

The ensuite bathroom/laundry room; aka my bathroom.

Let's play Ispy! Spot Jello necklaces!

My orchid that will probably die soon! I am not the best with keeping plants alive.

Jon's bathroom aka the main bathroom. His orchid is almost dead thanks to the cat knocking it off the sill. Course it helps if we remember to water it. Can you spot the book he's been reading? It's How to do everything by Red Green. He LOVES it!

I'd show you the spare bedroom but right now it doesn't look pretty. Jon uses it for his clothes, the dog's crates are in there, and most the boxes we haven't unpacked yet are in there! But that concludes the first part of the house tour. Next week, part two!

Favorite Place To Blog From

Back in college once a month there would be what was called "open dorms" One month it would be the guys dorms; the next month the girls. It was always interesting to see where people lived and in some cases how much cologne they thought they needed to spray to hide the dirty laundry smell. And when it came to my turn it was funny how I'd (unconsciously?) try to create a certain atmosphere in my apartment. The same holds true today. Make a new friend, head over to their house for the first time, and inconspicuously glance around and think hmm so this is where they are when they facebook chat me. They do exist outside the virtual world. Or perhaps I'm the only person who does this?

I thought it would be fun to share today where my favorite places are to blog from. And if you like, share your favorite places too!

 

This is my desk in my craftroom/office. My window straight ahead looks into the garden; and the window on my left looks at the yard and lake area.

This is where I'll often blog first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee or late in the evening with a tired dog on my lap.

When the weather is nice out I do my blogging from the deck. Or as in the case of the other day, my skyping. I'm sure my neighbor next door loved hearing the random topics 3-way skype call the other morning!

A great view and great blogger friends to catch up with!

This spot gets great sunsets, so you'll probably see a few pictures inspired by that!

And this is my favorite and usual blogging place of choice. I sit at the nook and blog away. Or not pictured, on the other side!

Where are your favorite places to blog? I'd love to hear about them! Leave a comment or link-up!