Weekly Round-Up

Since my last weekly round up I....

.... saw my darling baby sister Rachel star as Wild Cat Katie Brown in a melodrama.

... finished up a little-known Agatha Christie novel that I really enjoyed called Crooked House.

... enjoyed hosting the John and Susan for munchies and Ticket To Ride - Europe, even though we lost mighty!

... made a Shutterfly coupon book with Mom.

... did some crafting with the lovely Elizabeth--I'm still working on that book for Alex!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Cost of Contacts for a Year

I was curious how much contact solution I go through in a year, so I wrote the date on the bottle when I started using it:

I finished it off this week.

So since it lasted 7.5 weeks, that means I need to buy a bottle roughly 7 times a year.  At $9.27 a bottle and 52 weeks in a year, that means I spent about $64.89 a year on solution.  That's really not that much.  But if I spend the same amount on the cleaner, I might want to see how much it would cost to get an updated prescription for my glasses.

This obviously isn't a solution to all of your financial problems.  But it would be an easy way to figure out how much you spend a year on everything from cereal to toothpaste.  If you are trying to decide if you want to make your own _________, this might be a useful exercise.

New Beard Oil Video

Here's what my Handsome Husband has been up to:

(Psst!  If you watch all the way to the end, it moves him up in the search results for YouTube!  A happy thought!)

So there's your bit of Entrepreneurial Eye Candy for the day :)

Sunday Thoughts: Lent

My favorite insight about Lent came from a total stranger.

Someone had offered him cookies, and he said, "No thank you--I gave up sweets for Lent.  So I'll just say, 'Thank you, Jesus.'"

Lent is also, of course, about disciplining the will.  But in addition, if every time I do my Lenten penance, I remember and am grateful for the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, then it will be a fruitful Lent.

Saturday Cleaning

I've taken so many BEFORE photos of chaos lately that it's starting to bug me that I don't have any AFTER photos to post!

So today, I'm cleaning/organizing.  I can't take it any more!  Wish me luck..... :)

(If you never see me again, you know that the dust bunnies ganged up on me and finished me off.)

Odd Museums

I'm posting this here so I don't lose it.   (And yes, I have been to the National Roller Skating Museum in Lincoln.  It's small, but fun.)

Someday....

https://www.yahoo.com/travel/51-weird-museums-across-the-u-s-one-for-every-110046510552.html

Quotables: Tenacity

Tenacity is when you follow your heart -- when the whole world is screaming to get back into your head.

~ Sonia Choquette

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

You are such a blessing in my life!  

It's wonderful to have a sister who is exactly the sort of person I would pick for a friend.  Love you!

Good news

The price of groceries appears to be going down just a bit.  That's a nice surprise.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here's to friendship, to siblings who laugh together and help each other, to parents who cherish their children, to children who are devoted to their parents.

Here's to all kinds of love.

Life Hack #9: How to get organized without buying anything

Here is the before.

 

The problem?  Lots of wasted space.  Lots of inaccessible items.  General chaos.

I used stacking boxes in order to make better use of the space.  It isn't ideal, but I'm trying to use a space for something that is not intended, so it is inevitably a makeshift solution.

The black box on the lower shelf is empty.  It's used as a riser.

Weekly Round-Up

We got some snow…..

 

I’ve always loved that look of snow coating the trees like delicate lace.

A good time to do gardening planning.  I'm hoping I can re-use this chart next year.

I’m probably the only person yesterday who scavenged for scrap metal and went to the Chicago symphony.  (The tickets were a gift.)  The concert left me breathless!  The first part was poems set to music by Richard Strauss, and I loved the interplay between the music and the words.  (There was a translation in the program, although Dearest Love said it didn’t quite do it justice.)  The second half was Beethoven’s Fifth, and oh it was magnificent!  So regal and moving, such passion!  I was in ecstasy!

Afterwards I bumped into all kinds of folks, including a professor from graduate school.  I had been Dr. Olson’s Research Assistant, and I was teasing him about finishing the book I’d copied all those pages for.  It turned out that he had finished it ten years ago!  So I was glad he’d put all that work to good use.

The metal scrapping also netted something interesting.  At first I thought it was a sculpture:

Then I decided it was a tea pot.

It appears to be welded together out of….. I’m not sure.

Today I'm helping Mom with a photo project.

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Playing with Photoshop

I played around with Photoshop to so I could simplify the background on some pictures of my latest upcycle fashion project, a scarf made from old T-shirts.  (These also make use of Belovedest's new green screen.)  Here's what I came up with:

What do you think?  

A Valentine's Day Gift for Both of You

If your sweetie has a beard and you don't like how scratchy it is, get him beard oil for a fun and unique Valentine's Day present.  Over time, it will soften his beard, plus make it a little more well-behaved.  (We haven't got anything to make him well-behaved, just his beard!)

My husband's company, Charlemagne Beard Oil, sells 2 ounce bottles for less than most companies sell one ounce bottle.  (A bottle lasts around 6 weeks, depending on the beard and how liberally the guy uses it.)  If you order today, you are likely to get it before Valentine's Day.   The scent most ladies prefer on their men is Coronation.

Wishing you and your belovedest many more years of love!

A Mildly Humorous Video of Me Playing Panda Darake

The more challenging (and typical) way to play Panda Darake is like this:

But as you can see, I have enough trouble with the easy version....

Life Hack: Badly Designed Belt

A Life Hack in Pictures... and no, the belt didn't break.  It came that way...

 In Slow Motion....

Auntie M Has a Blog!

For all you folks who like to cook and entertain.... but don't have large fancy kitchens, check out:

Four Eyes and A Stove

(Yes--This is the aunt who throws the great parties! :)  )

January March Budget Numbers

We are more or less half way done paying off our house, if you count what is it worth.  (It's gone up in value since we bought it.)  You've got to celebrate the milestones, big and small!

My Dearest Husband is already thinking about the mortgage-burning party!  :)

In other news....
Income from the Amazon link for January was $3.40.  Thanks for purchasing through the Amazon portal--it may never make me rich, but it always makes me feel appreciated!

Sunday Thoughts

May God bless all those who work hard in all this cold and snow to keep the power on!  May He guide their hands and keep them safe.