Walk!

A couple of days ago the kids and I decided to go to the park. My rule is that we can go to the park if we walk, which for us takes about 10-15 minutes. I do this for 2 reasons: I want the exercise, and it saves on gas. I wasn’t convinced that they would go for that because it has been quite hot here, but thankfully the park is well shaded which provided some relief. As it happens, this was the one day where I wish I had driven because my daughter fell off the monkey bars and hurt her arm, so I ended up walking home with her and my son while my other daughter stayed and played with a friend. When I called later that day to tell my daughter I was going to walk to come and get her, I got a phone call a couple of minutes later saying that her friend’s mother had offered to give her a ride home. Her friend’s house is only a 5-10 minute walk from here, so I was mildly amused when she said that the mom had asked her if our car was broken.

Now maybe she was being thoughtful because it was hot, and she knew that Lindsey had hurt her arm (but was since feeling better). But it got me thinking about how people seem to have forgotten walking – our oldest and most reliable form of transportation. There is pro-exercise ad campaign in our area that shows a mom and her son in their car, and they literally pull out of their driveway and drive to the house next door where she drops her son off and says, “Call me when you’re done.” Most of us aren’t quite that bad, but it was an effective way at illustrating their point.

Rediscover walking! Get a little exercise, and save money from less gas used and less wear and tear on the car.

Welcome to my blog!

Everywhere I turn there is talk of cutting back: smaller cars and less driving, less eating out, fewer and closer vacations just to name a few. Personally, so far I haven't had to do a whole lot of cutting back. Do you know why? I have been living pretty frugally out of necessity for the past almost 10 years now. Although I am far from perfect, there is a lot that I have learned and would like to share. And I am always looking for new and better ways to save some money.

This blog isn't only about being frugal though, hence the name. Being frugal all the time can make a personally seriously uptight, and feeling deprived if you're not careful! The thing is, I think people are a little confused about the difference between wants and needs. If you can figure that out, instead of feeling deprived you realize just how many choices are available to you. It's a matter of deciding what is most important to you and what would be a wise use of resources, whether they be money, time, or the environment.

More cards

I realized that I hadn't posted my card exchange creations for a little while, so here's the latest:

It's a little hard to tell, but the blue card is Cinderella in the middle.

More from Santa's workshop

I need a bumper sticker that says, "I'd rather be crafting!" I really enjoy doing stuff like this, and it's a good thing since I have 5 million projects that I need to get done before Christmas. I saw these for the first time about 3-4 years ago at a craft fair in Indiana (remember these Emily, Mitzi?) and have wanted to try making them ever since. What a satisfying project! The pictures just don't do them justice though.

Yet more cards...

Dare I say, Christmas cards?

OK, just so everybody knows, I feel very strongly about waiting until after Thanksgiving before talking about Christmas. However, in the crafting world there are reasons to be getting in the holiday spirit early. I'll never get my projects done in time if I don't! Here are my first 2 Christmas card attempts of the season - made at 10:00 pm last Saturday night so that I could have them ready as samples at church the next day. Once again, I must sing praises to my Cuttlebug. I am having so much fun with it!

Craft 'till you Crash!

I am trying to get November's layout and Craft 'till you Crash items done this week, so here's the first installments! And just so you know - I'm not so presumptuous as to think that my designs are oh-so-wonderful. It's just that nobody else is willing to step up and help yet!

For those who haven't seen them before, those are plain old ceramic tiles in the easels, stamped with a special kind of ink called Staz-On. After the ink is dry you seal it with Crystal Effects (or you could probably just use clear nail polish) and voila! You can use the tile as a dry erase board! I think it's a fun, inexpensive gift idea - and as you can see, you can have one for every season!