September 11, 2015

USE YOUR WORDS - September 2015




Today’s post is a writing challenge. This is how it works: participating bloggers picked 4 – 6 words or short phrases for someone else to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once and all the posts will be unique as each writer has received their own set of words. That’s the challenge, here’s a fun twist; no one who’s participating knows who got their words and in what direction the writer will take them. Until now.

At the end of this post you’ll find links to the other blogs featuring this challenge. Check them all out, see what words they got and how they used them.

I’m using: 
robust ~ strength ~ core ~ phoenix ~ blue ~ mother

They were submitted by: Sparkly Poetic Weirdo



Links to the other “Use Your Words” posts:



 Baking In A Tornado

 Spatulas on Parade

 The Momisodes

 The Bergham’s Life Chronicles

 Stacy Sews and Schools

 Sparkly Poetic Weirdo

 Southern Belle Charm

 The Diary of an Alzheimer’s Caregiver

 Dinosaur Superhero Mommy

 The Angrivated Mom

 Confessions of a part time working mom

 Someone Else’s Genius

 Climaxed

 Evil Joy Speaks

 Never Ever Give Up Hope

 Eileen’s Perpetually Busy

 Searching for Sanity 



 She had a large, robust family and she took great pride in it. Her children were her everything. Her reason to keep going in a difficult life. Being a mother was the most important thing in the world to her, her reason for being. Her reason for breathing. 
 But things happen, like they always do. 
 Her family was torn apart by a monster. 
 She had to go. She took most of the children with her but one chose to remain behind. 
 The pain in her heart from the one child deciding not to go with her nearly tore her heart in two.  Her blue eyes were constantly swimming in tears. 
 But she had to find the strength in her core to rise like a phoenix from the ashes of heartbreak, violence and betrayal. 
 She had to keep going on the hope that one day all of her children would one day be under her roof, safe, sound and happy as they had never before been. 





September 7, 2015

Blog with Friends - Back to School











It's Blog with Friends time again!! WOO HOO!! I am so happy to be back with a new tutorial for you!! It feels like it has been AGES since I had a new tutorial!! I think the last one was a Blog with Friends! 

Anyway, this time around I have an easy peasy nap mat cover for you. Super fast, super easy!!! 

My cousin's little boy is starting preschool and they requested that the parents have covers for the kids' nap mats. 

Viola!




What I Used 

Less than 2 yards of fabric
Zipper
Coordinating thread


STEP 1



With the fabric folded in half, like it comes off the bolt, I put the nap mat on it and cut the fabric.
You want to leave several inches at the top and bottom as well as the sides for seam allowance, room for it to be folded, and room for it to spread out when the child lies down on it. 
Make sense??


STEP 2



Sew the zipper in the top.
I guess I'm a little rusty at this tutorial thing because this is the only picture I took of the zipper process.

You are going to fold the fabric over at the top by 1/4" and press.

Fold over 1/2" and press.

Place the zipper on the wrong side of the fabric and pin in place.

Sew the zipper.

I did a double row of stitches for reinforcement.



STEP 3




With wrong sides together and your zipper open, sew the 2 open sides together. 

Turn right side out!

Slide your mat inside.

Zip it up!

You're done!!!!!



So, what do you think?? Fast and easy????


Don't forget to click the links to all the other posts!!! You know they're going to be AWESOME!!!!!





Karen at Baking in a Tornado has this DELICIOUS recipe for Kit Kat Brownie Bars. OMG!! I NEEEEED THESE!!!!





Lydia from Cluttered Genius has the perfect list for you - Favorite Sites for Teaching Online. As a homeschooler this is AWESOME!!!!





Melissa from Home on Deranged has a great post about Apps to Use and Apps to Lose for the School Year





The Lieber Family has a great tutorial for making a Personalized Pencil Pouch AND a More Organized School Year. AWESOME!!!!





Eileen from Eileen's Perpetually Busy has a wonderful tutorial for making a special display for Take a Trip Back in Time





Robin from Someone Else's Genius has an awesome tutorial for this GORGEOUS Back to School Wreath! Love it!




Joy at Evil Joy Speaks has a tutorial for a Back to School Homework Table! SO cool!!!

Make sure you click on all the SUPER AWESOME links!!!!




September 4, 2015

Secret Subject Swap - September 2015



Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This week 16 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts.







Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:



 Baking In A Tornado

 The Momisodes

 The Bergham’s Life Chronicles

 Stacy Sews and Schools

 Dinosaur Superhero Mommy

 Spatulas on Parade


Sparkly Poetic Weirdo 

 Southern Belle Charm

 The Angrivated Mom

 Confessions of a part time working mom

 The Lieber Family Blog

 Cluttered Genius

 The Diary of an Alzheimer’s Caregiver

 Someone Else’s Genius

 House of J Chronicles

 Climaxed





My subject is:


“Do you believe that people can be forced to do what's good for them?

It was submitted by: Confessions of a part time working mom .



The short and sweet answer is no, you cannot force someone to do what's good for them. 

The thing is, that is very subjective. Good for them by whose standards? Mine, yours, theirs? What I think is good for someone maybe the complete opposite of what they think is good for them. 
We all have different opinions about everything under the sun.

Now, I obviously don't mean things like drug abuse or drunk driving. Although, in those cases you still can't force someone to not to them. I wish we could. The world would be better off if we could. 

That being said, the world would NOT be better off if some of us were able to force our will, and only our will, upon others. It really isn't up to us to decide what may or may not be good for someone else. We haven't walked in their shoes. We don't know what's driving their decisions. We don't know their options. 

Oh, people try every single day to make people do what THEY think is good for them. But if you're like me, that gets your back up. When someone tries to force me to do what THEY think is good for me, without any thought to who I actually am, and what I actually stand for, or where I have actually been in my life, they are more likely to meet with resistance or out right rebellion. 

I'm not necessarily proud of that. I am usually such a people pleaser but sometimes even I can be contrary. LOL 

Most times people think you are asking for advice when what you are really asking for is an ear to listen to you, a heart to feel for you, and arms to hug you.