Out With The Old.... In With The New

Original title, I know.... but if the shoe fits.

2012 had it's up and downs.  I'm going to try not to dwell on the negative and focus on the positive.  

This year I broke through a few fears and did things I thought I would never do for the first time.   

I went to my first blogging conference (BlogHer12). I took a train to NYC by myself.  I took a NYC cab by myself. I even ate off a NYC food cart for the first time.  

This summer I also went on my first cruise.  I have a bit of a fear of boats so that was a big deal for me.   It was a great time and we made great memories but I don't think it's "my kinda vacation."  

Then, in early December I had a table at my very first craft show.  It was an experience.  I have never felt so vulnerable before in my whole life!  I mean, going to the gyno is less uncomfortable then sitting there while people walk by looking at crafts you put so much into making.

Those are just a few highlights of 2012.  I'm looking forward to 2013 and what it has to bring.  

I can't believe that this year I'm going to lose one teenager and gain another.   Nicholas will be 20 and Thomas 13.  It seems crazy to actually think of it that way.  

It goes without saying that I plan to be more organized, more financially responsible and pay attention to my health in this coming year.  But the most important things for me in 2013 is to break through even more fears, be happy and positive. 

Happy New Year!          

    

My First Craft Show

Saturday I went to my hometown for my first ever craft show!

Let me take you back to the beginning.   Growing up in Somers, NY there was a huge craft show at my elementary school every year called Holiday Happiness.   I remember going as a little girl, a teenager in high school and even a couple times when Nicholas was little.  It is put on by the school's PTA as it's biggest fundraiser of the year.

Over the last 5 years I have thought about getting a table and selling some of my small crafts.   I never had the nerve, until this year!    I was super excited, went on the website printed out the registration form and sent in the money for my spot.
I had an idea of what I wanted to sell.   I knew I wanted to gear the majority of my crafts as "teacher gift ideas."   I thought everyone would enjoy getting something different for those poor teachers who get the same old mug every year!      I also would sell my burlap Christmas wreaths.  

All of last week I was busy crafting my little heart out.  (Yes, I waited til the last possible second)
I was a big ball of stress, nervousness and excitement that I was actually going to go through with something that scared the crap out of me.    

Somers, NY is about an hour and 15 minutes from my house.  So, the night before I went down and stayed at mom's house.  We had to be there bright and early, registration started at 7:30am.

This was my set up.  Can I tell you, sitting there in that chair next to my stuff, I felt like I was naked.
I wasn't expecting to have such an overwhelming feeling of being vulnerable.

I thought I had a good variety of gifts.  

• Decorated Square Glass Candle Holders (filled with rocks or marbles with a tea light) 
• Decorated Mason Jar (with matches inside and sandpaper on top to light them.) 
• Cork Mouse Pads (in 4 different fabrics) 
• Decorated Hand Soap Bottles 
• Decorated Purel Bottles
• Peppermint Foot Scrub
• Over-Sized Metal Snowflake Ornament/Decoration (could be personalized with stickers) 
• "Notes" Dry Erase Boards 
• Burlap Christmas Wreaths

Unfortunately, I only sold 2 of my wreaths and one of my friends stopped by to buy a few of the smaller things.  The show just doesn't get the crowd it used to.   I heard from some of the other vendors that it was set up a lot different then the previous years.       

It was a disappointment, I can't lie. I guess I just have to look at like, I have Christmas gifts all ready to give and that I put myself out there!  

#XSREGirl Casting Call At Palisades Mall

First off I'd like to say that I know I'm more known to talk about accessories for decorating your home, but today I want to tell you about a new store that's all about accessorizing yourself.     XSRE is a hot new store popping up in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland.   XSRE has a great selection of accessories for women of all ages in one superstore.  The selection in jewlery, handbags, footwear, kids, legwear, hair, intimates, novelties, belts, headwear, travel, cosmetics, pet, electronics, coldweather and eyewear is just amazing and all at affordable prices!     

This Sunday, November 25th from 2-4pm at the Palisades Center Mall in West Nyack, NY they are having an open casting call to be the XSRE girl.   A professional photographer will be there to take the photos.  The lucky fashionista will win a six month modeling contract and become the face of her store.  XSRE is also running a contest for all the girls who show up and have their photo taken, to have a chance to win gift cards by having their photo receive the most "likes on the XSRE Facebook  page.   

If you are in the area and know of any young, hip, fashionista-type girls who want to try out or just have a fun day of shopping head on over.       

Disclosure:  This post was compensated by The Blogger Connection. 

DIY Reusable Weekly Menu Board With #TBCcrafters

Hello everyone, it's another Thursday and that means another great round of "Thrilling Thursday Crafts" with The Blogger Connection Crafter Group.  (#TBCcrafters). Last week I had so much fun going around and seeing everyone else's projects.  It put a new found fire under my butt to get the ideas I have out of my head and actually create them.

This week I'm going to share how I made this Weekly Dinner Menu Board.

Lately I've been trying to be very good about planning out my weekly dinner menu by the sales at my local grocery stores.     I've always either written out the menu in notebook or on some sort of printable I've found searching the web.    I don't know about you, but I'm so overwhelmed with paper everywhere and no where to store it, display it or organize it.   My "desk" is my coffee table in the living room.  It does make it hard for me to be organized and productive.     I'm working on a solution to that.

So, when I was thinking about what project I could do for this week, it came to me to make a pretty, reusable menu board.  One that I could display in the kitchen without having a piece of paper taped to my fridge. (pet peeve of mine, BIG TIME)    

My kitchen is mainly blacks, whites and neutral colors so I knew I wanted it to match all that.
Damask is my favorite pattern right now so I took a clip from a picture I had on my computer and created the "Dinner Menu" as a Word Document, then printed it out.  

In my travels to Goodwill I found this frame with a tag on it for $4 but it was my lucky day because they had just changed the half price color to red and scored it for only $2.

Next I carefully took the frame apart, it was tricky separating the picture from the mat (it was professionally done)  Then I painted the mat black with regular spray paint.

 I waited for that to dry and put the whole thing back together cleaning both sides of the glass while it was all apart.   All that was left to do was to tie a ribbon around a dry erase marker and attach it to the frame so it's handy and always where I can find it.

There it is... I think it came out cute and it looks perfect in my kitchen!  

Do you have a Thrilling Thursday craft you'd like to share?   All you have to do is put the link to your blog post in the linky below AFTER commenting on this post.  Then make sure you add the button somewhere in your post.  

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Wordless Wednesday

Welcome Winter?

It's only November 7th.   I don't know about you, but I am NOT ready for winter just yet! 

Because You Just Have To Laugh.

I had all great intentions of posting some sort of DIY project today.  I have the ideas, supplies and even have some pictures taken.   But it just wound up being a bad day for me.

I've been so sick for the last few weeks.  First, I was fighting a nasty sinus infection/bronchitis and then this weekend I caught a horrible stomach bug from my 3 year old grandson Tyler.  It.Was.Not.Fun.
Even though I'm finally feeling better physically, I'm still pretty worn out mentally.    Every little (and not-so-little) thing set me off today!   Finally, I had to get out of the house and get some air.

So, instead of not posting anything at all and staying pissy for the rest of the night,  I figured I would make myself laugh and try to get out of my funk.     The first place I go for a laugh is my Pinterest board "Just Cuz I Love It."  It's where I pin funny photos, sayings, ecards and anything that gives me a good chuckle.  
And then I saw it, this photo....

 
On Pinterest this photo brings you to a post on HaHasForHooHas.com titled "The Fart That (Almost) Altered My Destiny"   My friend Cheryl  had sent me the link to this post a while ago and said it was the funniest thing EVER and that I had to go read it.  Hey, it's got the word FART in the title, it's gotta be funny right?    OMG funny doesn't even describe it.  Hilarious doesn't even give it justice.  
I would like to give props to Anna for a very very well written post!  It won't only make you laugh, it will make you laugh so hard you'll cry.  (and maybe even pee your pants a little too)
Honestly, it took me a good 20 minutes to get through the whole thing.  But you've got to go read it for yourself.   That is, only if you are not offended by bodily functions.   My advise before clicking the link is that you make sure you have time set aside and that you've gone to the bathroom.     

Enjoy!  

Personalizing Fake Pumpkin For Fall Decorating #TBCcrafters

I was so excited to hear that The Blogger Connection was doing this awesome weekly Blog Hop for craft lovers.    I'm not what you would call a "hard core" crafter at all.   I love to putz around with small, easy home decor kinda things.    So for the first week of this blog hop we are going with all of the above.   

I'm not going to get into some long tutorial because as you can tell it's super simple to do.   

First I started with  fake foam pumpkins from Walmart, Mambi Stickers from Michaels, polka dot ribbon and raffia.   For my bigger pumpkin I used the numbers for my home address and put the pumpkin outside in the flower box with some mums.   

For my next project I used the littler pumpkins as personalized place settings at a brunch with my high school girlfriends.  I even found black and white polka dot napkins to complete the whole look.  If I really wanted to be O.C.D., I could have brought a matching tablecloth with me too.  All the girls were excited to take home their little personalized pumpkins.    I figured they would be cute on their desks at work.        

See, I don't think cute crafts and home decor projects need to be involved to make a big impact.   

Do you have a Thrilling Thursday craft you'd like to share?   All you have to do is put the link to your blog post in the linky below AFTER commenting on this post.  Then make sure you add the button somewhere in your post.  

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Wordless Wednesday...Happy Halloween

Relax... It's Lees Carpet

While at BlogHer12 in August, I was invited to the "Relax, It's.. Lees Spill & Chill Spa Party"   I was excited, my first BlogHer party ever!!   Unfortunately, due to a mix up as to what floor/room the party was in, I didn't find right place until they were just cleaning up.   BUMMER, right?   Nope, they ladies were very sweet and took pity on me and my new buddy Diane and invited us in.   We got the "quick" version of what had gone down earlier.   First we met Julie Edelman "The Accidental Housewife"  OMG, she is a rip.  I loved her from first site, with the rubber gloves and martini in hand!    She gave a demonstration of how totally awesome this carpet is.  (This was filmed earlier during the actual party)

The carpets came in so many styles and colors to choose from.

Here are the features that make Lees Carpet durable and great for any home with high traffic, kids and pets.
* EverTex™ fiber technology offers permanent stain resistance without any topical treatment.

* EverTex™ flexible yarn system creates softness that allows toes to sink in even if stains can’t.

* ExtraLoc^® backing uses double the density of woven support strands for a super-tough carpet that stands up to heavy traffic. 

I was offered to choose a color and style of carpet to try out in my own home.  I picked a lighter color, thinking I was going to be getting some new couches.  That didn't pan out, so  I figured I would put this carpet to the ultimate test!  My 19 year old son's dorm room!  Scary!  

This picture was taken after it had been in his dorm room for about 2 months.    He lives in a 3 bedroom suite with 5 other boys.    So you KNOW this gets it's fair share of wear and tear.   (yuck, I don't even want to know) 

But there it is... it looks just as new as the day we put it in.    AMAZING!  

I plan on using this rug in my living room when he is home for the summer.   

If your looking to replace your flooring, I suggest you check out a Carpet One retailer near you.  Also, you can check them out on Facebook and Twitter 

Disclosure:  I received a rug to review, opinions are all my own

Wordless Wednesday

Bulls Bridge Kent, Connecticut 

I get a pit in my stomach everytime I have to go through this bridge while driving the back roads to my friend's house in New York

Hanging Out With Friends From McDonalds, Newman's Own, Green Mountain and Oh Yeah.. There's Free Coffee For A Year!

***Closed*** 

Giveaway:  Free Coffee once a week for a year!

Only valid in New England & Albany, NY 

(except Fairfield County, CT)

Last Monday I was invited to participate in a chat about one of my favorite beverages, COFFEE!  

Not just any coffee, but Newman's Own Organic Coffee that is served only at McDonald's here in New England.   

The live virtual coffee tasting/chat featured Nell Newman, President of Newman’s Own Organics along with local McDonald’s Owner/Operator Wayne LeBrun and Green Mountain Coffee experts

*  The history of Newman’s Own Organics coffee with McDonald’s in New England

*  Behind-the-scenes info and tour of the Green Mountain roasting plant in Vermont

* Roasting process and taste of Newman’s Own Organics McDonald’s blend

At 9:50am I made myself a cup of Newman's Own Organics coffee (light and sweet) in my Keurig and sat at my computer for the event.     You can check it out for yourself  here.

 I had a lot of fun chatting with everyone and learning all about the process.   I have to say I was so impressed with how serious they all were about making sure we get the BEST cup of coffee when hittin' MickeyD's.    They are so passionate about their jobs and coffee,  I guess that's why they are all very successful. 

Now for the BEST part of this whole post. THE GIVEAWAY!  

My great friends at McDonald's have given me, not 1, not 2 but 3 punch cards for  free coffee at McDonald's for a year!  You will receive one free small Newman's Own Organics Hot Coffee each week for a year!  Yup, that's 52 free cups of coffee!  Awesome, right?  

I'm going to make this easy and quick because I want you to get your card ASAP, so you can start using it right away!     Remember, this giveaway is only valid in New England & Albany, NY (except Fairfield County, CT) 

Rules:    * Leave me a comment telling me how you take your coffee?   (Mandatory)
              (Make sure you leave your email address so I can let you know if you win!)  
              *Extra entry, Follow me on Twitter @DecoratingDork (leave a comment telling me followed and your Twitter handle)
              *Extra entry, "Like" my Facebook page The Decorating Dork
The giveaway will end on Thursday Oct. 4th at 11:59pm.   I will choose the winners on Friday Oct. 5th using Random.org.

GOOD LUCK!  

Disclosure:  I was given a Keurig machine and coffee for participating.  

Crafting with Beer Cans

In my family we make a big deal out of birthdays, even the adults birthdays.  

My brother James'  birthday is Sept. 11th.  A horrible day to have to celebrate your birthday, right?  

James not only has to share his birthday with one of the most horrific days in our country's history but in 1984 just 2 days before his 16th birthday our oldest brother was killed in a car accident.    So needless to say ever since then he really has a hard time around his birthday.  He actually hates it.  

My mother, sister and I always try to make his birthday extra special.   Every year we make him some sort of goofy kid-like cake just to make him smile.

Last year I made him a cake with a Bud Light beer can on it.

This year I decided to make him a cake using actual beer cans!  Of course I first got the idea from Pinterest. (where else?)  I mean what was the purpose of life before we had Pinterest?  Really?

First I got all the supplies...
* Cheap plastic tray from Goodwill for $1 to use as the base
* Elmer's foam board
* X-acto knife
* Clear packing tape
* Ribbon
* Beer.. lets NOT forget the main ingredient in this cake! (44 cans to be exact, it's his 44th birthday after all and I'm all dorky like that)

 It was  so simple and way fun to do.  I just know my brother is going to LOVE it.  How could he NOT?   I wouldn't mind getting one of these for my birthday. 

                              FIY:  44 beer cans, yeah that was the HEAVIEST cake I ever had to carry.

The only thing I would do next time is.... USE MORE TAPE!  I mistakenly thought the cans would miraculously just stay together with that pretty sheer ribbon wrapped around them.   Not-so-much.
The first turn out of my driveway and the whole thing tipped over and came apart in the back of my truck.

Beer Can Cake  FAIL.....

One can exploded all over and I  prayed the whole way to my mom's house that I didn't get pulled over.  

My car stunk like booze, big time!   When I got to my mom's we fixed it all back up like new and even took a beer can from her fridge so there were still 44 all together.   Wouldn't want to jinx his B-day in any way!  Duh

I wish I had gotten a pic of his face when I brought the cake/present out and put in front of him.  His smile was worth it all! 

Now I'm sure you're wondering what's in the cute cake carrier marked "Celebrate."  Well, that is James' actual birthday cake that I made.   It was a Long Island Ice Tea cake.  I know, I know... that must sound weird, but like I said we try to make my brother's birthdays "extra special."   The long story short of it is, that while on our Family Cruise in July my brother drank Long Island Ice Teas from sunrise to sunset and let's just say even though he is a BIG guy, those suckers got him, shall we say, a little tipsy.  (ps. you can also find anything and everything with a quick Google search)      

Do you make adult birthdays extra special?  What's the funniest/ most unusual cake or gift you've ever made?   

September 16th... Wife Appreciation Day?

Did you know that today, September 16th is known as National Wife Appreciation Day?
Yeah, neither did I.
I happen to catch a post on Facebook this morning by Duncan Hines mentioning it.    Of course I had to check out Google to see if it was a "real thing."   Why? I don't know!  It's not like anything about the day would change if it was, but when ya gotta know, you gotta know!

The first website I found was DaysOfTheYear.com  their definition was... "There are few cultural cliche's quite as entrenched as the supportive, caring, considerate wife. But believe it or not, it’s not all a big con; the bond between husband and wife runs deep, and it’s important to recognise that level of commitment and dedication to a partner. Wife Appreciation Day encourages husbands and partners to surprise their wives with gifts, recognition and above all, appreciation."   

I've been stressed-out and not feeling too great lately. So I decided I was going to celebrate the day and appreciate myself!  Hell,  if I don't who the hell else will?
While out on my weekly pilgrimage to the store for the Sunday newspapers (coupons, coupons, coupons) I grabbed myself a bouquet of flowers.   I went home put them in a vase, made myself a cocktail and put my feet up. (for 5 mins... then it was time to start dinner)   *Sigh*

Did you know what today was?  Did you know there is something to "celebrate" everyday?   Like Wednesday is "Talk like a Pirate Day?"  or that  Friday is "Miniature Golf Day?"  I'm going to try to celebrate more in the future.  Why not?

Wordless Wednesday

1st Day of School 2012

                                                                Thomas 7th Grade          Tyler Pre-K 

#BagItFoward 2012

I was so excited to be able to be a part of Elmer's #BagItFoward campaign this year.   When I found out I was chosen to donate some quality school supplies to a teacher or student of my choice, I knew exactly the person.  
I have a friend Dora who is a Special Education teacher in our middle school.   She has a classroom of about 15 kids (6th-8th grade) who mostly have behavior issues and can't be main streamed all day.   Her job is a tough one.   The students in her class not only have behavioral issues and learning disabilities, some of them don't have good home environment.  Dora is GREAT with them, she loves them all like a teacher, mom, big sister and an aunt would and should.
I emailed Dora to let her know I was donating supplies to her, she was so overwhelmed and grateful.  I asked her to make a "wish list" and sent her the link to the Elmer's website so she could get some ideas.  She said she really needed things so she and the kids could work on projects together.    She loved the Painter's Paint Pens (and so do I), glue sticks and glitter glue.  The rest was up to me... yay!

I went to Walmart to check out what I could get.

Glue, Glue and more Glue....  Perfect for any and all kinds of projects.   

 On Dora's "wish list" was glitter glue, Painter's paint pens and stencils so her and her students could do projects together.    The swirl glitter glue is so cute, but I think we all know what my favorite Elmer's product is.... the Painter's Paint Pens!  love, love, love, love, love...

  Here's Dora (Mrs. Carr to her students) with her basket of goodies.   We delivered it right to her classroom while she was getting it all ready for the 1st day of school.   If you want to read and see more photos from this shopping trip, you can check out my Google+ story.

Now, I have to tell you a few more things about Elmer's new App called "Elmer's 1st Day of School" 

For every photo uploaded, Elmer’s will donate one product to The Kids in Need Foundation

(KINF) up to 200,000 products.  When I uploaded my photo of my son and grandson on their 1st day of school this was the number of donations to date.    I'm sure it's way more then that by now!  

I urge you to go download the app and upload your photos!  It's an awesome and easy way to give to kids in need.    

Here's a list of links that you just HAVE to go check so you can see for yourself 

 how awesome Elmer's is! 

• BagItForward.org http://bagitforward.org/
• Elmer’s on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Elmers
• Elmer’s on Twitter http://twitter.com/elmers
• Bag It Forward on Pinterest http://pinterest.com/cbsocially/bag-it-forward/

• 1st Day App download http://the1stday.com/walmart

Happy 1st Day of School Everyone! 

“I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and and Elmer’s.  #BagItForward #CBias #SocialFabric”

Wordless Wednesday

The Unexpected Lunch Date 

  

The only time I go out to lunch is with my girlfriends.  But today I got to "lunch" with my oldest son Nicholas.   It was really nice to just spend some one on one time with him.   He is an amazing, smart, funny (hate to say it) young man.  

What's Your Decorating Style?

I get email newsletters from Better Homes and Garden almost every day it seems.  I save them until I actually have the time to read them and click on all the links that interest me.  

Well, today was the day I was able to check out a few.  I saw a link for "what's your decorating style?" and figured what the heck.   

I really do like most decorating styles, except super modern.  I'm just not a fan of it.  

I was curious to see what this quiz would say my style was and the answer .... Cottage.
I do love Cottage Style, but I'm not sure I could live with it.  It's a lot of white if you ask me, and I'm just too much of a slob to be hanging out on a white couch (slipcovered or not)
I did wonder if that's because I chose hydrangea as a flower you would find on my coffee table, or that I chose the slipcovered chair?  I didn't really hate any of the options it gave as answers, So I went back and did the quiz again.  
The 2nd time it said my style was..... Polished Casual
That sounds more like my true style. Although,  I don't think that if you walked into my house right now you would call it "polished" anything!

What is your Decorating Style?  Do you know?  Do you want to know?
You can take the quiz yourself, as many times as you want til you get the answer you like best! LOL

 

Getting Back Into The Swing of Things

 My son Thomas and niece Abby in San Juan

I got back from an 8 day family vacation on Tuesday and I'm still not back into the swing of things just yet.

My father decided he wanted take the whole family on a trip before the kids get too much bigger. We had an awesome time on a Carnival Cruise Ship that left from New York, stopped in San Juan Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Grand Turk.
It was the first time my husband, sons and myself have been on a cruise. Which was part of the reason why my dad chose that type of vacation.
I knew it was going to be different.  Of course in normal "Tina-Fashion" I freaked out and was very anxious about being trapped on a boat in the middle of the ocean for that long.   I also knew I wasn't going to be able to use my phone or bring a laptop and the thought of being "out of the loop" was just as terrifying. 
I have to say, being unplugged wasn't that bad.   I missed talking to a few friends who I talk to every single day, but other then that, the withdrawls just weren't there.  Shocking, I know!    
I'm glad my kids got to have that experience and see places they've never seen before.  Although going on a cruise with a group of 12 people isn't very relaxing.  It's hard to keep track of everyone all the time.
Don't get me wrong, it was great and we had a lot of fun and sun!   I'm just more of a beach house girl, Chris likes to fish, Tom loves to play in the sand and Nick loves the ocean waves.   Next year for sure! 

I'm happy to be home. I do miss Lenardo, he made my bed everyday, then turned back my sheets and left a towel animal every night.   I miss Watson and the other waiters at dinner.  They were all so nice and cute with their foreign accents.

 
Now it's back to my reality of laundry, cooking, cleaning and getting this blog back on track for BlogHer!
(which is in exactly 2 weeks)  Holy Cow, that's scarey!

Have you ever been on a cruise?  I would love to know what your thoughts are on the whole experience.

Working Weight Watchers... Again

Yup... started Weight Watchers again!  It's got to be my 5th or 6th time going back. 

It' so hard, it sucks.  I just have to keep in mind that it sucks worse to feel the way I do about myself then to have to give up eating what ever I want, when ever I want.   

Of course leaving for an 8 day family cruise on July 9th and having to see hundreds of other women at BlogHer in August might have something to do with my decision to start up again.   But hey, whatever works right?

I really need to work on tracking my food.  I'm horrible at it.  I usually write down breakfast, sometimes lunch but by the time dinner comes around I can't be bothered.   For me night time is the hardest, it's when I tend to snack the most.   So, I'm sure that could be why I don't like to track.  It's some sort of mental game I play with myself.  
The other thing I'm horrible at is exercising.  O.M.G. it's the worst!  Doesn't housework and shopping count?  I am not a fan of sweating for any reason!   I wish stress could burn calories, I would weigh about 95lbs.     

I could really use some good / low point snack ideas.  So if you are on the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus program and have ideas to share, I would love to hear from you.

Making Fabric and Cork Mousepads

Original Pin from ModernDayMoms.com

It's a good ol' Pinterest inspired project again.  I love me my Pinterest!

I've had this pinned on my DIY Inspiration board for a while now.  I really pinned because I liked the shape of it.  I actually don't even use a mousepad.

Today I'm going to lunch with my girlfriends to celebrate my birthday.   I always like to bring them a little something when we get together.  It's just what I do.
I knew they would love these mousepads and I knew they would be easy to make quickly!

I had everything already except the fabric, so I ran to Walmart to grab some.

Mousepad Prep

First I cut the cork into my shape using an X-Acto knife.  Then cut the fabric to the same shape just a little smaller (shrunk the template I used for the cork on my printer)  I used adhesive spray to glue the fabric to cork.   That's it, DONE!  It's as easy as that!

Tomorrow I Turn 24...I Wish

If I could turn back the clock 18 years,  I would. In a heartbeat!
(Quick, it's a quiz.. can you figure out how old I'll be?) 

I know, I know.. I'm not suppose to look back and have regrets or wish things different but I just can't help it.
Birthdays don't normally freak me out.  I didn't care when I turned 30 or even the  BIG 4-0.

I guess it's because I'm not happy in my life right now.  Scratch that,  I KNOW it's because I'm not happy in my life.   I could go on and on and on and on about all the things that make me unhappy but what good would that do?           

I have to make some BIG changes in order to get out of this funk I'm in.  
Change is good, right?
Decisions are easy, right?