Procrastination, Success, and Awards...

This will be full of some random ramblings. I guess I can do that once in a while, seeing as how that's the name of my blog!

Today was a day I'd been procrastinating about for a long time. You see, I have a corner of the basement that is full of my stuff. And when I say "full", I mean to-the-ceiling "full". I've long since forgotten exactly what was back there. I knew there was some college stuff and probably children's books, and since I'll be teaching preschool this year, I thought it was a good idea to see exactly what was back there. Here's a sneak peek...

Does it look like a pile of junk to you? Well, that's exactly what most of it is! My pile for Goodwill is gradually getting larger and my pile of stuff to pack in totes is shrinking. Now, you might be wondering What is the procrastination part of this? Well, I'm procrastinating because I'm watching a baseball game instead of sorting through this stuff...

or this stuff...
Well, one tote plus 2 boxes of children's books later, the success part becomes evident. The aforementioned children's books have been weeded through and I have eliminated 2 whole boxes, bringing my total to 3 full totes! YAY!

The recurring item in my stash? I'll let you decide. Here's tote #1.

Yes, it's full of fabric. Not too bad, right? Let's move over to tote #2.

Yep, that's full of fabric too! Any guesses about the contents of tote #3, or tote #4, or tote #5? Or tote #? How many are there anyway? Well... a picture is worth 1,000 words, so...

Yes, my friends, that's 1... 2... 3... 4... 14 totes of fabric! Not to mention the bags of batting on top of the totes. So, I guess it goes without saying that I have plenty of purse-making material! Now if I just had the time.

I feel today was a partial success because I now know what is in all those totes, and all the fabric totes are stacked together and accessible! Now for those piles...

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Finally, on to happier things... Last week, my blog friend Ashley at Let Go, Laughing sent me an award. Thanks, Ashley! You should check out her blog. She's so funny, and she has a really great video there, too! Now I have to come up with 10 things I love. Okay, let me rephrase that. I have to come up with only 10 things I love.

1. Fabric--I think this is self-explanatory, especially from the above pictures.

2. Summer vacation--It's almost gone, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

3. Sharpie Markers--Can you ever have too many markers?

4. Telephones--Today my sister Erin called me when I was in the middle of my mess. Oh, how did she know I needed a break?

5. Barq's Root Beer--Yes, it has bite!

6. My camera--How many thousands of pictures have I taken?

7. Flip flops--You gotta show off those tan lines somehow!

8. Children's books--Once again, refer to above paragraph!

9. Books--When I'm not reading blogs, I usually have a good book to read. If only I had more time...

10. Friends--I'm looking forward to spending 3 days with a good friend. We graduated together--only the two of us--15 years ago and we're going to relive our "amazing" senior trip. Details to come.

Thanks again, Ashley, for this lovely award!

Here are some blogs I've been reading lately (and to whom I'm sending the awards):

1. Erin @ Ben+Erin=Samantha+Ryan

2. Sara @ Domestically Challenged

3. Kelly @ Kelly's Korner

4. Raechel @ Finding My Feet

5. Jessica @ Is It Nap Time Yet?

6. Kristin @ Girly Girl

7. Ace @ If You Think Round Is Funny

Top Ten Thursday

My blogger friend Sara started Top Ten Thursday, so I thought I'd join in. It sounds like fun! I decided to use her topic this week, since it's late and I'm not too creative right now.

So... here it is. When I'm not on blogger (yes, I have heard it happens) what top 10 websites can you find me on?


10. The Perpetual Preschool: I'll admit that I love finding patterns, templates, game ideas, craft projects, etc. online. Hey, why reinvent the wheel? If ideas work for other people and they're willing to share, I figure I'm being resourceful with my time to use their ideas instead of straining my brain to come up with ideas!

9. Microsoft Office Clip Art: Have I mentioned that I love to get pictures/clip art online? I haven't? "I love to get pictures/clip art online." There, I said it!

8. K-LOVE: While searching for the perfect clip art, template, preschool idea, etc. I make the time more enjoyable by listening to great Christian music.

7. Scholastic Book Club: What preschool teacher doesn't love children's books? I think I'd love children's books even if I weren't a teacher. My absolute, all-time favorite? Corduroy My new favorites? Click, Clack, Moo.... Dooby Dooby Moo... Duck for President...

6. Ebay: Looking for something that is absolutely impossible to find? Check Ebay. Someone else's junk just might be your treasure, and you might even get a great deal!

5. Google: Need information? Just "google" it. Encyclopedias are so 1980! (Love you, Mom!) My new favorite? Google Analytics

4. Twitter: What better way to waste the hours away and stay up-to-the-minute on how people are spending their day!

3. Heather Marie Designs: Sometimes I'm uploading new items, most of the time just checking to see if I have any sales. Check it out!

2. Hotmail: Who writes "real" letters anymore?

1. Facebook: Status updates, comments, farkle... so much to do, so little time!!

Well, there you have it... my top ten list. Stop by Sara's blog to read more lists from people and join the fun next week. Hmmmm, what will the topic be, I wonder?

Not Me! Monday

It's time once again for Not Me! Monday. Well, let's see how fast I can crank this one out!

On Tuesday, my sister Becky came with her 4 kids. We went to town and I did not decide to get my hair chopped, even though I'd just gotten 4 inches taken off a month ago. Nope, I'm totally brave enough to get 8-9 inches cut off at one time, and I would never waste money to cut my hair twice in a month.

While doing the garage sale thing this week, I absolutely did not buy more children's books. Especially since I have 2 completely jammed shelves in my preschool room and countless more in totes at home, there is for sure, without a doubt, definitely not a chance in this world that I would buy more!

Since it was so hot this week, although not Kansas City hot, my sister and I took the kids to the beach one afternoon. Knowing the icky feeling my hair has after swimming, I surely went straight home and took a shower and washed my hair. Right? Yeah, that's definitely what I did. What I didn't do is wait until 2 days later to wash it. Because that would be gross. And I wouldn't want to be gross, would I?

On Thursday, I did not make a spontaneous decision to buy a new fish at the pet store. Flippy, the fish in my preschool room, has been lonely since his buddy Rainbow died before the end of the school year. So, I was not feeling sorry for him and finally gave in to get him a companion. Now here's hoping he doesn't get ick.... but that's another story.

This week I did not have a crazy idea and email MckMama about it. Knowing how busy she is, I was not completely shocked when she emailed me back 2 days later! What was it??? Oh, you'll just have to wait for the timing to be right for her. She's kinda busy right now!

Since today is the first day I can sew uninterrupted since a month ago, I am not sitting at the computer catching up on blogs, seeing what's happening with all my online friends, reading/writing emails and blog posts... Nope, I'm being totally frugal with my time and making every minute count!

Well, if you're wasting time goal-oriented like I am, check out MckMama's blog. There are a bunch of people there who are not time-conscientious. Happy Monday everyone! How long do you think it took me to write this post?

Favorite Vacation Spot

While perusing blogs a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon Kelly's Korner. Recently, she posted about her favorite vacation spot. Since the summer is winding down, what better way to s-t-r-e-t-c-h time than to dwell on my favorite vacation spot? I must admit I can't narrow it down to one, so there may be several.

Probably one of my favorite places on earth (and one of the most beautiful, I might add) is Alaska. Last summer I spent nearly 7 weeks in Wrangell, Alaska, visiting my grandma and aunt and uncle (to see many more pictures and read the complete account of my journey, click here). What an amazing, wonderful, picture-crazy summer! Here are a few of the highlights, and I'm quite sure you'll agree with me about the beauty of this corner of the world

This is downtown Wrangell. Great little shops, which I frequented frequently. Is it grammatically correct to say that?

Petroglyph Beach is one of my favorite places on Wrangell Island. It's the perfect place to find ancient carvings in stone...

mysterious abandoned ships...

millions of seashells...

and breath-taking sunsets.

A fisherman's dream!
The mountains are absolutely gorgeous!

LeConte Glacier... there are few words to describe this awesome place. You have to experience it for yourself.

Nearly indescribable...

Another reason to enjoy the view...

a once in a lifetime experience.

McCarthy Beach State Park is definitely another of my favorite vacation spots. We've been camping here for years and it's one of the best things about summer. And what's not to love? Shallow sandy beach, towering pine trees, beautiful lakes, showers, and... delicious ice cream cones at the gas station!! The best part of camping? Spending time with family, of course! (For more of our Camping 2009 experiences, click here or here.)

There you have it. Two of my favorite places in the world. How about you? What is your favorite vacation spot? I'd love to read about it. Go to Kelly's blog to read about other fabulous places on this beautiful Earth God created for us to enjoy!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday. This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I've been on vacation in Kansas City, and shopping was most definitely not one of our pass times. Our destinations? Absolutely not fabric stores. With several totes of fabric at home, there is no way that I would need any more. I don't know... somehow it just jumped in my cart and begged to be brought home!

Speaking of Kansas City... any idea how stinkin' how it is there? We saw temps this past week in the high 90s. Added with the humidity, the heat index was over 100. Well, what do two highly-sophisticated, not at all redneck sisters do on such a hot day? Erin and I definitely did not join Samantha in her kiddie pool in the backyard. And we did not get completely drenched in the process. Hey, what are buckets for, anyway? They were just sitting there begging to be filled with water and dumped over sisters' heads!

Sunday was my big driving day. I did not pray for clouds, because it's much easier to drive without the 100-degree sun beating down on you. It's always a challenge to keep myself entertained in the car, especially when driving alone. In reading the road signs, for a split-second I did not have a sickening feeling in my stomach. It's was more than the fact that I don't like Chinese food. Normally this wouldn't have grossed me out. The title of the restaurant? Hunan Chinese Restaurant. Driving past at 70 mph, I for sure did not misread this as Human Chinese Restaurant. Oh, I'm so thankful that double-take reassured me my eyes were playing tricks on me!

Driving through Iowa, I was impressed with the clouds (that I prayed for!). Not wanting to stop every five minutes, you would not have caught me snapping pictures as I was driving.

I did stop for this shot!

After being in KC for two weeks, I did not become accustomed to the heat... therefore, feeling the 60 degree temp when I arrived home in Minnesota, I definitely did not shiver when I got out of the car!

I almost hate to admit this, but today as I was driving through town, I most certainly did not see a red maple tree. I tried to look the other way and ignore that it was there, but I was already sucked in. My eyes were drawn to the brilliant color and before I knew it, I was seeing red leaves! Fall colors??? You have got to be kidding me! It's NOT time yet! I'm not ready. Yikes, so much to do!

So there you have it, a brief synopsis of what I did not do this week. Join the fun next week!

The Award Goes To... UPDATE

So today my sister Erin was checking out my blog. Our conversation went something like this...

Erin: "No, that's not your first award."
Me: "Well, I don't know where the other ones are."
Erin: checking her blog... "Yep, here it is. April 6th. See?" Showing me her blog...
Me: "Oops, didn't know about them... or what I was supposed to do with them. Now I'll have to redo that post."
Erin: "Yeah, you will."

So, here are my real first blog awards. From my sister Erin. From April 6, 2009. As in four months ago. I'm so ashamed.

Here are the awards and their rules...

The Lemonade Award

Rules:
If you are given the award, put the logo on your blog or post.
Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.
Next, nominate 5-10 blogs which show GREAT ATTITUDE and/or GRATITUDE!
Be sure to link to your nominees within your post. Let them know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

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The Friendship Award

The friendship Award: "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated."

Rules:
Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

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Kreativ Blogger Award

Rules:
1. Post the award on your blog, and link to the person who gave you the award.
2. List 7 things you love.
3. List seven blogs you love.
4. E-mail or comment on those blogs to let the people know you've given them the award.

7 Things I Love: (you know the answers everyone usually says, so I won't say God and family. Those are "of course" answers.)
1. my camera
2. ice cream
3. air conditioning (since I'm in KC and it's 100+ "real feel" temp today!)
4. fabric
5. computers
6. vacation
7. sunsets

7 Blogs I love (and also the ones to whom I'm passing the awards... I know there are more than 7, but for as long as it's taken me to post this--4 months--I figured I can have more!))
1. Erin's
2. Becky's
3. Vijini's
4. Jessica's
5. Katie's
6. Nicole's
7. Sharalee's
8. Sara's
9. Adrienne's
10. Ashley's
11. Kristin's
12. Raechel's

Erin was very "kreativ" in her post, the one in which I actually got these awards. She mentioned that she had been procrastinating in writing her post about the awards. And it was only 5 weeks. Hmmmm... what kind of an award do you get for procrastinating for 4 months? One-third of a year? Four flips of the calendar? A whole season ago?

I'm not sure what kind of award there is out there for me, but in the meantime, I'm borrowing keeping Erin's procrastination award. Because, frankly, I think I deserve it.

If you read the small print, here is what it says... I'll find a picture for it later... Jump over to Erin's blog and ask her if she's found that picture yet. **HINT HINT She hasn't!

Thanks for the awards, Erin, and next time (if there is a next time), I'll try not to appear so ungrateful by waiting four months to acknowledge them!

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ORIGINAL POST

ME!!! My friend Ace over at If You Think Round Is Funny... sent me this award--my very first (or so I thought--explanation following). Now I get to pass the fun on to others. So here goes...

For this award, save the picture and add it to your blog, then in a post, acknowledge the blog and blogger who gave you the award. Be sure to post a link to his/her blog (If You Think Round Is Funny...). Next, pass the award on to 15 other blogs that you love to read. (I know I can't count, because I don't have 12 blogs listed below.) And be sure you let everyone know that you've given them an award! Have fun!

Here are the blogs I love:
Erin at Ben + Erin = Samantha & Ryan
Becky at The Swanson Six
Vijini at Life on Earth with God's Grace
Jessica at Is It Nap Time Yet?
Katie at A Day In The Life
Sharalee at A Tale of Three Kiddies
Nicole at The Chronicles of My Three Peanuts
Sara at Domestically Challenged?
Ashley at Let Go, Laughing
Adrienne at Another Ordinary Miracle
Kristin at Girly Girl
Raechel at Finding My Feet

So to those of you who give me reason to procrastinate something to look forward to (reading your blog updates), THANK YOU!!

Down on the Farm...

Deciding to take advantage of "cooler" temps yesterday (high of 86), rather than wait for today (high of 99), Erin, Samantha, Ryan, and I travelled south to Overland Park, KS, to visit Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead. What a fun place for kids... er... I mean adults to play.

The kids enjoyed feeding the goats. Even Ryan, who seemed hesitant at first, ended up very excited to chase the goats while yelling "Goat!" at them.

These goats saw Samantha coming and backed her against the fence before she could get food ready for them.



Isn't he adorable? So is the goat!

Samantha was having a blast.

Pumping water from the pump like Great Grandma and Great Pa used to have.

Ryan just chillin'.

Pony ride!

Just like a real farmer.

Bottle-feeding the baby goats was so much fun!


Indian House



Anyone know these two?




The pretend milking cow. Too bad it didn't work.

Cowgirl Samantha

Mom finally let me out of the stroller!


Samantha was "mining" for gems. And was beyond thrilled when she found some beauties buried in the sand!

Pleasant Ridge schoolhouse... the year 1869

Samantha had fun being in a "real school," as she called it.

Just a couple more years, Ryan.

Don't they look so innocent?

It was a very fun day, and we definitely were tired when we left. Of course, hitting Sonic on the way home wasn't a bad deal!