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Family Friendly TMNT Memes plus Friday Frivolity

Sep 22, 2016 · 10 Comments

Welcome to another Friday Frivolity. This week your hosts have a Super Hero theme going. There are two things we are obsessed with in this house Super Mario Bros and the Ninja Turtles. But when I went to collect some Ninja Turtle memes, oh my! Some were absolutely horrid, even with safe search on. So I carefully gathered the following Family Friendly TMNT Memes for your amusement.

I usually try to keep this a politics free zone, but ....

[Tweet "Boyakasha! We've got your family friendly Ninja Turtle memes here. #TMNT #humor #ninjaturtles"]

If you are in the mood for some Ninja Turtle inspired food, I have a few recipes over on That Recipe:

And here's one of my favorite Christmas Ornaments:

I did mention we were a little obsessed with the Turtles, didn't I?

Now on to the link-up! 😀

Friday Frivolity Superbowl / Football Memes Edition! (Sort of, Not Really... ;P) Plus the Friday Frivolity LINKY PARTY - the blog link-up for all things Fun, Funny, Happy, and Hopeful!

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have four hosts and co-hosts we will also have FOUR FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other four blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

If you are a Blogger and need a laugh, do yourself a favor and head over to yadadarcyyada and read her post You Can't Handle the Blogging Truth. TRUST ME on this one. Find out how Scooby Doo, Ghostbusters, The Shining and more all relate to blogging.

The Hosts:

Host, Audrey, Friday Frivolity Superbowl / Football Memes Edition! (Sort of, Not Really... ;P) Plus the Friday Frivolity LINKY PARTY - the blog link-up for all things Fun, Funny, Happy, and Hopeful!

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

Audrey is a wonderfully eclectic blogger, who not only can cook up a storm over on That Recipe, but also writes at Munofore - "MUsings NOt FOod RElated." Munofore touches on humor, parenting, crafting, holiday ideas, tutorials, and more! Halloween is right around the corner and she has some ideas for non-kid themed Halloween Party that are great for teens and adults.

Friday Frivolity Host Sarah Eliza from Devastate Boredom

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google + // Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living life with laughter and intention! Her blog is your spot for Capsule Wardrobe how-to's and inspiration, humor, encouragement, life-hacks, Read / DON'T Read book reviews, and more! All of you fashionistas want to check out her latest post: Style Inspiration: Readers Choice Awards.

Host, Lisa, Friday Frivolity Superbowl / Football Memes Edition! (Sort of, Not Really... ;P) Plus the Friday Frivolity LINKY PARTY - the blog link-up for all things Fun, Funny, Happy, and Hopeful!

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin

Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! She has a great activity and printable to go along with Anna Dewdney's Llama Llama books.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! She reviews the Tangle Teezer brush in her latest post, which anyone with long hair (or parents of girls with tangly hair, will want to check out).

Calling all bloggers looking for an upbeat and supportive group of pals to join in hosting the weekly #FridayFrivolity par-tay! We are hoping to add to our ranks of dedicated hosts and co-hosts, and would love for you to consider joining the fun! Co-Hosts are welcome on a temporary basis (usually a month), while Hosts make a more ongoing commitment. 🙂 Swing by here to express interest and ask any questions!

Now time for the new stuff!

This a link-up for all things funny, fun, encouraging, hopeful, and happy. That includes free printables, giveaways, and other fun stuff to make us SMILE and start the weekend off on the right foot. If you're here in search of fun and uplifting reading materials, skip the rules and just start clickin'! Bloggy buddies, thanks for coming to par-tay! You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, and old posts are always welcome! There are three rules only:

An InLinkz Link-up

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Hollywood Themed Classroom Door Decoration

Sep 19, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Our Fun Run is next week so room parents had to put up a Hollywood Themed Classroom Door Decoration to help get the students excited to run and earn lots of money! You could also use this as a beginning of the year poster or anytime you need a Hollywood theme.

Quick note, our PTC chose Boosterthon to run our Fun Run. Boosterthon is not sponsoring this post. I had nothing to do with the selection of them to organize the fundraiser. BUT considering how they have run things the last three years the school has worked with them I would highly recommend them. If you want more information contact me via e-mail (audrey at munofore dot com) and I will put you in touch with our PTC to get more details.

How I made the Door Decoration

I started with these stars (affiliate link) I picked up at a local teacher supply shop. They had nothing else and I didn't want the face on it so I turned it upside down.

I printed and cut out a list of first names in the class and glued them to the top of the stars.

Then I glued a photo of each child to the star, but off center so you could see more of the star.

Rinse and repeat 24 times for each student just like this handsome fellow here. Though the other 24 students actually looked at me when I took their pictures. He's lucky he is cute sometimes.

I purchased 48" wide paper and had to trim it to 35" which isn't as easy to do as you might think over a 6 foot stretch.

I had printed and cut out the words I wanted so it was time to start designing. The first lay out was beautiful and symmetrical and... missing a place for the door handle.

And that is why I laid it out before gluing right away.

I saved my last two decorations at the bottom for gluing on at the school in case I had messed up my measurements and I needed them to hide a goof.

The kids liked it and finally understood why I asked them to pose like a movie star when I took their pictures. Hopefully we will earn plenty of money for field trips and other fun semi-educational activities. Now a month's break until Red Ribbon Week.

[Tweet "Show off your all stars with this Hollywood themed Classroom Door Decoration #funrun #classdoor"]

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Amusing Autumn Memes plus Friday Frivolity

Sep 15, 2016 · 5 Comments

It's almost here.... Less than a week away until my favorite season of the year.... autumn. Cooler weather (eventually) fabulous flavors, food holidays... ah happiness. And of course your Friday Frivolity hosts are ready to celebrate with our favorite Autumn memes.

728266 — I thought of Jess over at Babi a Fi when I saw this one.

201602_1718_cgibf_sm — We were in the mid 90s over the weekend, dropped 20 degrees by midweek and now are up to the mid 80s. My sinuses are thrilled.

14344770_1050159695082249_6257959328942380776_n — And it's really cold on the walk to school in the morning, but my kid is ditching his jacket before recess, and then forgetting it at school. UGH!

psl — Not a big fan of Starbucks or PSLs. Sorry, not sorry.

tnnua3b — But, now I want to see Dune again.

Almost as annoying as red velvet EVERYTHING for Valentine's Day. Yes, fellow Food Bloggers I mean YOU!

pusheenpie-365x600 — Especially reason #6

operation-fall_o_1833043 — Nature is awesome.

f49ed580-3a28-0133-9d4e-0af7184f89fb — I am a California girl, so I will just have to take your word for it.

201603_2107_gabih_sm — The course of true love never runs smooth.

meanwhile-in-an-alternate-universe — "Let's just blend this little rascal here, ha! Happy as we can be."

[Tweet "Celebrate autumn with a smile! Some funny #fall #autumn memes to get in the spirit of the season. #humor"]

Now on to the link-up! 😀

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have four hosts and co-hosts we will also have FOUR FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other four blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

Last year I discovered just how easy it is to make your own pickles. If you can boil water you can make pickles. These Pickled Cucumbers and Onions from Floyd Family Homestead look fabulous to me. And I love the idea of putting radishes in there too.

The Hosts:

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

Audrey is a wonderfully eclectic blogger, who not only can cook up a storm over on That Recipe, but also writes at Munofore - "MUsings NOt FOod RElated." Munofore touches on humor, parenting, crafting, holiday ideas, tutorials, and more! She's sharing ideas for room parents this week with an easy Pikachu Collection Box for all of those lovely box tops. Or let the kids make it to store their "stuff" at home.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google + // Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living life with laughter and intention! Her blog is your spot for Capsule Wardrobe how-to's and inspiration, humor, encouragement, life-hacks, Read / DON'T Read book reviews, and more! this week she shared some awesome deals on all natural puppy products on Amazon.

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin

Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! Her latest post explains how Groupon Goods can help you prepare for Christmas.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! She has a fascinating installment in her True Crime Series with a murder that happened in her neighborhood!

Now time for the new stuff!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Pikachu Box Top Collection Box for the Classroom

Sep 12, 2016 · 6 Comments

This year I ~~was suckered into~~ graciously volunteered to be Room Parent for my son's 3rd grade class. While it will take up a considerable amount of my free time at some points of the year it should also make great blog fodder. Like today and this fun and easy Pikachu Box Top Collection Box.

If you are here, you probably know all about collecting box tops. We do it for one reason: MONEY! It is a pain for everyone, but at 10 cents a pop for the BTFE ones and even more for some of the others, you just can't pass up free money. Most teachers have a little jar or plastic container in their classroom already, but I decided we needed a little something special: Pikachu.

My son's classmates are into the trading cards right now, and I think there is still enough hype leftover from this summer's Pokemon Go craze to get some smiles from the kids.

Supplies

oatmeal container
yellow construction paper (4-5 sheets)
scrap brown construction paper (or brown marker)
scrap pink construction paper (or pink marker)
scrap red construction paper (or red marker)
one chenille stem or popsicle stick
scissors
glue

Preparations:

Print the Pikachu face on one sheet of yellow paper. You may need to trim the paper to 8 ½ inches wide to get it to fit in your printer. Or draw the face by hand. I cannot draw, and in case you don't trust your artistic abilities here is a PDF file for you to print.

Cut out the face and save the scraps.

Color the cheeks red, or cut two circles from your scrap red paper and glue it on.

Fold some yellow paper in half and cut out two arms and two feet. I did these freehand.

Fold some yellow paper in half and cut out two tails. Glue a popsicle stick or chenille stem in the middle to keep it from flopping over.

Cut out a tongue from the pink scraps (or color it in).

From the brown cut two long rounded rectangles and one smaller one to fit on the base of the tail for the stripes (or color it in)

Assembly:

There's nothing tricky to this part. Cover the oatmeal container with yellow paper (it takes about 1 ½ sheets). Glue the face on the front toward the top. Add the arms and feet to the front, tails and stripes on the back.

Then take him to school and let the kids stuff him full of box tops.

[Tweet "Make collecting those box tops fun with this #Pikachu Collection Box. #boxtops4education #pokemon"]

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Favorite Recurring Female SNL Characters plus Friday Friday Frivolity

Sep 8, 2016 · 2 Comments

Our Friday Frivolity Host theme this week is favorite comediennes. With the passing of Gene Wilder last week, I, like many people my age, have been thinking about his first wife, Gilda Radner. Which lead me to think about Saturday Night Live and all of the funny sketches through the years. So, for you youngsters out there I thought I'd share some of my favorite recurring recurring female SNL characters from the "olden" days. And, just a hint, I am using the term "female" loosely.

Roseann Rosannadana - Gilda Radner

I almost went with her Miss Emily Litella character which is another one I love but, ... oh, never mind.

Prymaat Conehead - Jane Curtin

Actually my favorite Jane Curtin moments on SNL are her deadpan Weekend Updates and Point Counterpoint. But my theme is characters.

The Sweeney Sisters - Nora Dunn and Jan Hook

Oddly enough I hear their rendition of Clang Clang Clang Went the Trolley in my head when I think of the song instead of Judy Garland's.

I am still trying to get the video to load but, if it still isn't appearing here - Google it!

Pat - Julia Sweeney

Well, I did say I was using the term female loosely. We may not ever know Pat's gender but we do know Julia Sweeney was female and she rocked it as the androgynous Pat.

[Tweet "The best old school recurring female characters from #SNL #humor"]

Now on to the link-up! 😀

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have five hosts and co-hosts we will also have FIVE FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other four blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

Even though we are well into September, I still chose 30 Activities You Can Do With Your Kids in September by Perfectly Imbalanced because its a fun list that doesn't have to be limited to September and can stretch into the rest of Autumn. And, they are still fun activities even if you don't have kids at home. My personal favorite is "Go to a doughnut shop and try one you’ve never had before". Oh yeah, we need to do that this weekend.

The Hosts:

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

Audrey is a wonderfully eclectic blogger, who not only can cook up a storm over on That Recipe, but also writes at Munofore - "MUsings NOt FOod RElated." Munofore touches on humor, parenting, crafting, holiday ideas, tutorials, and more! She shows off how she made a computer monitor stand from some scrap wood.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google + // Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living life with laughter and intention! Her blog is your spot for Capsule Wardrobe how-to's and inspiration, humor, encouragement, life-hacks, Read / DON'T Read book reviews, and more! this week she shared some awesome deals on all natural puppy products on Amazon.

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // BloglovinLisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! This week she shows us how to make Baklava Cheesecake. Let me repeat that BAKLAVA CHEESECAKE! oh my!

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! Mr. Babi a Fi, aka Anthony, gets a chance to answer some questions about fatherhood in her latest post The Daddy Tag.

Now time for the new stuff!

An InLinkz Link-up

Nine of the Funniest Letters Forged by Kids

Sep 1, 2016 · 14 Comments

September 1st is World Letter Writing Day. You know I keep up on all of these vitally important holidays. Since it is also Back to School time in most areas I decided to join the two and share some of the funniest letters forged by kids for our Friday Frivolity Host Letter Writing theme.

Technically this isn't a forgery, but as a former Physical Education Teacher I loved it so much I had to include it.

Nine Funny Letters Forged by Kids - parenting humor, teaching humor — Bone-idle-tus! I'm dying here! Olivia's Mom rocks.

Now on to the letters that are a bit more suspect...

Those are all funny, but this weekly behavior chart is my absolute favorite for the simple reason that it was done by my own erstwhile forger back in 1st grade...

[Tweet "Nine funny letters to or from parents forged by children. #lookslegit #parenting #teaching"]

Now on to the link-up! 😀

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have five hosts and co-hosts we will also have FIVE FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other four blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

I almost didn't choose this Death by Chocolate Mousse Cake from Marilyn's Treats because it was also featured on my Happiness is Homemade Party over on That Recipe (chosen by one of my party partners) and because I suspect she is going to share her Caramel Praline Topped Cheesecake recipe in our linkup this week and it would definitely be my feature next week. Do yourself a favor and check out both recipes and all of her other fabulous recipes and cooking tips.

The Hosts:

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

Audrey is a wonderfully eclectic blogger, who not only can cook up a storm over on That Recipe, but also writes at Munofore - "MUsings NOt FOod RElated." Munofore touches on humor, parenting, crafting, holiday ideas, tutorials, and more! She shows off how she made a computer monitor stand from some scrap wood.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google + // Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living life with laughter and intention! Her blog is your spot for Capsule Wardrobe how-to's and inspiration, humor, encouragement, life-hacks, Read / DON'T Read book reviews, and more! She shares her favorite stress relief coupons on Groupon.

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin

Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! She shares her favorite Early Learing Math videos.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! Her monthly feature recapping the books she read for the month always adds a few to my "want to read" shelf.

And a huge welcome to the #FridayFrivolity Co-Host for August:

Facebook // Twitter // YouTube // Instagram // Pinterest

Rebecca is a fun and eclectic blogger who writes about family life in North Wales on her blog, Becster! Her posts encompass parenting, travel, product reviews, tips for landlords, pop culture, and even her love of Formula 1 racing! Check out the adorable toddler room she created for her daughter.

Now time for the new stuff!

This a link-up for all things funny, fun, encouraging, hopeful, and happy. That includes free printables, giveaways, and other fun stuff to make us SMILE and start the weekend off on the right foot.

If you're here in search of fun and uplifting reading materials, skip the rules and just start clickin'!

Bloggy buddies, thanks for coming to par-tay!

You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, and old posts are always welcome!

There are three rules only:

An InLinkz Link-up

How I Made a Computer Monitor Stand for Free

Aug 31, 2016 · 4 Comments

Do you bend your neck to look down at your computer monitor? If so, you are unnecessarily straining your neck muscles. You could buy a fancy monitor stand to raise it to the proper height. Or you can be cheap like me and make one for free.

If you aren't concerned about ergonomics, you should be. Think about how much stress you put on your neck on a daily basis bending down to look at your phone. And if you use a laptop computer, like I do, you are hunching then too. My neck and shoulders were beginning to bother me, so I knew I wanted to hook up my laptop to the external monitor we had for the desktop. The problem was it was still too low.

According to SpineUniverse.com

When seated comfortably, the user's eyes should be in line with a point on the screen about 2-3 inches below the top of the monitor casing.

The biggest problem to a monitor stand, of course, is my inner Frugalista. In the past I have used an inverted plastic letter inbox tray like this one on Amazon (affiliate link). But, I wanted something a little nicer this time around.

In my scrap wood pile I found the perfect pieces to use that were leftover from the TV stand to bookshelf remodel. All I needed were wood screws and paint and I was in business.

The other reason I liked using the letter tray, was I could slide papers underneath that I accessed frequently but didn't want cluttering up my desk. I could have grabbed the tape measure to verify it was at least 12 inches wide, but my son's drawing pad was nearby.

I never did measure the wood, but the sides are about 3 inches high and the two top boards are about 13" wide by 11" deep when put together. You don't need yours that big. I was lazy and didn't want to cut the wood.

If your wood does not have lovely little holes already in it like mine, you will want to pre-drill the top board before screwing the top and sides together.

Then it was time for a quick coat of spray paint. Nope, I didn't even bother to fill the unused holes with wood filler.

Once it dried, I immediately put it to use.

Ahhh! Happy neck...

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Dieting Funnies plus Friday Frivolity Blog Party

Aug 25, 2016 · 10 Comments

Welcome to another fun week of Friday Frivolity. This week the hosts chose dieting or food memes for our theme. As a Food Blogger I have quite a collection of a wide variety of food memes to choose from, but in the end I opted to go with some of my favorite Dieting Funnies.

For those of you that saw my free funny stock images post, I told you I would find a place to use Watermelon Woman.

Dieting Funnies - a collection of funny dieting memes. food humor. — Oh the HUMANITY!

losing-weight-meme — I'd be almost transparent.

Dieting Funnies: add some humor to your diet with these funny dieting memes #humor #funny #dieting

This would solve America's obesity epidemic overnight.

Speaking of good fats.... time to insert a bit of shameless self promotion:

I have a free e-book on healthy fats available to subscribers of my That Recipe Newsletter.

Now on to the link-up! 😀

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have five hosts and co-hosts we will also have FIVE FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other four blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

Linda from Paper Seedlings creates the most beautiful cards in all of the posts she shares with us every week. I had to feature her Starfish Friend Card because I am longing to be back on the beach right now.

The Hosts:

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

Audrey is a wonderfully eclectic blogger, who not only can cook up a storm over on That Recipe, but also writes at Munofore - "MUsings NOt FOod RElated." Munofore touches on humor, parenting, crafting, holiday ideas, tutorials, and more! She shares her Easy DIY Vision Board complete with Dan Akroyd in drag and Bubbles Utonium.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google + // Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living life with laughter and intention! Her blog is your spot for Capsule Wardrobe how-to's and inspiration, humor, encouragement, life-hacks, Read / DON'T Read book reviews, and more! She shares her favorite relaxing bedtime yoga videos from YouTube in her latest post.

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin

Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! She has some videos for us this week to, only instead of yoga she has Alphabet Songs.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! Another subject she writes about is True Crime, and she's got some great posts highlighted here. The Murder of Poor Kitty is fascinating.

And a huge welcome to the #FridayFrivolity Co-Host for August:

Facebook // Twitter // YouTube // Instagram // Pinterest

Now time for the new stuff!

This a link-up for all things funny, fun, encouraging, hopeful, and happy. That includes free printables, giveaways, and other fun stuff to make us SMILE and start the weekend off on the right foot.

If you're here in search of fun and uplifting reading materials, skip the rules and just start clickin'!

Bloggy buddies, thanks for coming to par-tay!

You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, and old posts are always welcome!

There are three rules only:

An InLinkz Link-up

Save

Easy DIY Vision Board to Help You Visualize Your Success

Aug 25, 2016 · 8 Comments

A few weeks ago, the International Bloggers Association had an amazing Twitter Chat about How to Create Actionable Vision Boards. I immediately knew it was going to be one of the central features of my new "office space" redesign. And like so many of my projects here on Munofore, I did not want to spend much money on it. So I rummaged around the house to make this easy DIY Vision Board.

What is a Vision Board?

Let's start with the basics. It is simply a visual reminder of a goal or mindset you want to achieve. It can be a physical board like I made, a Pinterest board or just a collage posted somewhere you will see it every day. If you've ever stuck a photo on the fridge to help you stay on a diet, that is a type of Vision Board.

Read the recap of the #IBAChat for a more detailed explanation of the theory behind Vision Boards and more suggestions for making yours successful.

How to make a simple Vision Board

This is hardly a new concept I've seen it done countless times with different materials as the base. I ended up just choosing a large piece of corrugated cardboard because that's what I found in the house.

Supplies:

the base - cardboard, foam board, wood covered with batting or foam, etc.

fabric - enough to cover your base and lap over to the back

ribbon - a lot of it! I used about 15 yards of ⅜" wide ribbon for my 2 x 3 foot board.

glue or staples

Directions:

Iron the fabric, ha ha! This old Hawaiian shirt had been stuffed in a box of scrap material for awhile. "Wrinkled" is definitely not in my vision.

Glue the fabric to the board.

Wrap the ribbon evenly spaced on a diagonal along the board. I spaced mine three inches apart which was a little too much. Play with it based on what you will be putting on your board and how you plan to affix the items on your board. Glue the ribbon to the back

Create a diamond pattern by wrapping the ribbon at a 90 degree angle to the first, weaving it over and under the first rows.

Since the ribbons were a bit too widely spaced, and I didn't weave correctly a few times, I wasn't able to slip the papers underneath the ribbon and have them stay in place. I ended up finding these Stikkie Clips in a drawer and used them (affiliate link, see disclaimer here).

You can use push pins depending on your base. I didn't want to poke too many holes in the cardboard when I want to move things around.

What to put on your Vision Board

Whatever will remind you of your "vision". Did you read the article on Vision Boards I mentioned above? If you are lost on what should go on your board you might want to check it out. Your vision can be personal, professional, spiritual, etc.

Mine has a little bit of everything:

Yes, I have Bubbles Utonium and Dan Akroyd dressed as Julia Child on my board. Hey, it's MY board, I can put on it what I want. And you should do the same on yours. Everything about the board is significant to me and your board should be the same for you.

[Tweet "Make this easy DIY Vision Board to help you visualize your success. #success #inspiration #vision"]

Free Printables

As a Physical Education major and a former employee of the YMCA, the symbolism of the inverted triangle of mind body and spirit is a powerful image to me. The theory is if you emphasize (or neglect) one side of your life at the expense of the others the triangle will no longer balance and will tip over.

If you would like to download the image for your own use, feel free to right click and save it. (just don't sell it or claim it's your creation, okay? thanks!)

For the 12 inspirational quotes, which I can swap out every month, I started with the Inspiring Quotes by Women post and added a few more. Don't worry gents, none of these are female specific. This file will give you 3" by 3" prints.

[Tweet "Free downloadable Inspiring Success Quotes. #quotes #inspiration #success"]

What is on your Vision Board?

I'd love to know what your vision for your life is. What would you put on your Vision Board? Share with us in the comments.

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Funny Baby Memes plus Friday Frivolity Blog Party

Aug 18, 2016 · 8 Comments

Every savvy marketer knows babies and cute animals are a great way to sell a product. And social marketers know animal and funny baby memes bring lots of likes and favorites and shares. We've had animals a few times on our Friday Frivolity host theme (wild animals and cows, plus I did a dog days of summer and a black cat for Friday the 13th) so today we are going with adorably funny babies.

1429594341_a-little-privacy — cute dog plus cute baby - score!

baby-memes-favorite-ever — oh, do I know some moms like this...

funny-baby-meme-sleep-2 — 8 years and counting.... the crying has been replaced with a discussion of his latest favorite video game... at 2 a.m. ...zzzzzz

funny-gangster-baby-meme-got-my-nose-pics — I always thought "I got your nose" was a little weird.

6a0133f30ae399970b01901c5ded9a970b-pi — I don't think mine got this messy on his first birthday cake smash, but I only gave him a cupcake.

birth_meme — They are supposed to come with a manual?!

michael-phelps-anger-face-memes-2 — Of course I had to finish with this one.

[Tweet "Adorable and funny baby memes. #babies #funny"]

Before we get to the link up did you hear about our $100 Back to School Giveaway? Be sure to check it out.

Now on to the link-up! 😀

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have five hosts and co-hosts we will also have FIVE FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other four blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

With almost 100 entries last week trying to pick a favorite was hard! But, since my garden is wilting in this 100 degree heat wave we have going on, I went with the tranquil garden photos that Helen from Pleasure of the Northwest shared in her Nowhere to Go post.

The Hosts:

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

Audrey is a wonderfully eclectic blogger, who not only can cook up a storm over on That Recipe, but also writes at Munofore - "MUsings NOt FOod RElated." Munofore touches on humor, parenting, crafting, holiday ideas, tutorials, and more! She shares some photos from her latest trip to Mission Beach in San Diego, California..

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google + // Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living life with laughter and intention! Her blog is your spot for Capsule Wardrobe how-to's and inspiration, humor, encouragement, life-hacks, Read / DON'T Read book reviews, and more! She has a cute DIY Tote she made by upcycling an old t-shirt.

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin

Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! She recommends some great Children's Literature Anthologies for stories, fairy tales and nursery rhymes.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! In her latest post she share some of her old schoolwork from when she was 5. Poor Mummy, ha ha!

And a huge welcome to the #FridayFrivolity Co-Host for August:

Facebook // Twitter // YouTube // Instagram // Pinterest

Rebecca is a fun and eclectic blogger who writes about family life in North Wales on her blog, Becster! Her posts encompass parenting, travel, product reviews, tips for landlords, pop culture, and even her love of Formula 1 racing! She takes us on a tour of the Welsh Slate Museum in Llanberis, Snowdonia.

Now time for the new stuff!

This a link-up for all things funny, fun, encouraging, hopeful, and happy. That includes free printables, giveaways, and other fun stuff to make us SMILE and start the weekend off on the right foot.

If you're here in search of fun and uplifting reading materials, skip the rules and just start clickin'!

Bloggy buddies, thanks for coming to par-tay!

You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, and old posts are always welcome!

There are three rules only:

An InLinkz Link-up

Save

Photos: Mission Beach and Bahia Resort in San Diego, CA

Aug 17, 2016 · 8 Comments

While on vacation last month I played around with some photo apps on my smart phone to take some photos of our favorite vacation destination: Mission Beach and the Bahia Resort Hotel in San Diego, CA.

From the hotel, Mission Beach and Belmont Park (a beach front amusement park) are just a short two block walk. We pretty much skipped Belmont this trip to maximize the sand and the surf time. We've been many times and always had fun.

Mission Beach, San Diego, California

Bahia and Mission Beach(2) — The Giant Dipper roller coaster, built in 1925, is visible in the left corner.

Bahia and Mission Beach(5) — They ditched me pretty much the second their toes hit the sand and headed straight for the water

Bahia and Mission Beach(6) — I couldn't decide between the two photos of them, so you get both.

Bahia and Mission Beach(4) — He's always writing something.

Bahia and Mission Beach(3) — And happily he didn't seem the least bit upset when the tide washed it away moments later.

Bahia and Mission Beach(7) — Is it seaweed or kelp or both?

Bahia and Mission Beach(8) — We hung out right next to the lifeguard station.

Bahia and Mission Beach(9) — The equipment is ready for action

Bahia and Mission Beach(10) — Luckily it was a quiet morning on the beach for the lifeguards.

[Tweet "Sunny days at Mission Beach in San Diego, CA #sandiego #photography #beach"]

Bahia Resort Hotel

Bahia and Mission Beach(11) — We stayed in the building with the gorgeous tile walls.

Bahia and Mission Beach(14) — It's hard to find shells on the ocean beach, but they are plentiful here on the bay.

Bahia and Mission Beach(18) — I don't need my swim suit, I'm just going to play on the sand... Of course I knew better and brought his towel.

Bahia and Mission Beach(19) — The water in the bay is much calmer than the ocean, which this little fish appreciates.

Bahia and Mission Beach(13) — Mommy in the picture!

Bahia and Mission Beach(15) — Be sure to get my good side, darling! (we love heading to Bahia's private beach in the morning to hang out with the ducks)

Photos of Mission Beach and Bahia Resort Hotel in San Diego, California. san diego travel. beach photography. — View of Mission Bay from our room.

Bahia and Mission Beach(16) — And finally a word of caution: jumping on beds after waking up early and a full day of playing on the beach, plus walking and swimming and playing with your big cousins can be a recipe for disaster. Almost all healed now.

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10 Stylish Backpacks for Under $25 without TV and Movie Characters

Aug 12, 2016 · 9 Comments

Elementary kids want to have the "cool" back pack, which usually means their favorite TV or movie characters. Some parents object to spending money for their kid to be a walking billboard. And by the time they are in middle and high school, princesses and super heroes are lame, childish, passe, or whatever term the hip kids are using now. So to help your child be stylish but not a walking advertisement, I found 10 stylish non-character backpacks for under $25.

Disclosure: the links below are affiliate links, I may receive a commission for any purchases made through these links.

First, here are two for the younger crowd.

While the style may appeal to older kids both seemed to be on the smaller side.

This First Responders backpack is sure to be a hit with lots of little ones and Eureka Unicorn has plenty of animal friends if unicorns aren't their style.

Here are three with a more feminine flare:

The Cute Colorful Backpack on the left comes in 5 different styles and color combinations.

There's only one style or color of the Pug Print Backpack in the upper right. But if you love pugs (I do, I do!) you only need one to choose from.

This beautiful unicorn canvas bag comes in a number of styles including one with flamingoes.

And finally five with styles and colors for either gender:

Clockwise from upper left:

The Karessly Canvas Backpack comes in blue, pink and green and for a few dollars more you can choose a set with extra shoulder bag and wallet.

There are five solid colors to choose from of the Classic Daypack bookbag which holds a 15.6" laptop.

The Tribal Design Backpack comes in 5 different vivid color combinations.

There are 3 solid and 7 patterns of the Multipurpose Backpack.

The Leaper Lightweight Canvas Backpack has 17 color combinations to choose from, with a few for $25.99- $27.99.

10 Stylish Non-Character Backpacks for Back to School. #backpacks #style #BTS

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You might be a swimmer if... Funny Swimming Memes plus Friday Frivolity

Aug 11, 2016 · 10 Comments

For those of you that haven't heard, there is a little sporting even going on in Rio de Janeiro right now called the Summer Olympic Games. So, the Fantastic Five Friday Frivolity hosts chose it as our theme this week. I could have written a rant about the time-delayed commercial riddled misogynistic NBC television coverage. Instead I relied on the hours and hours and hours and hours marinading in chlorinated water as a competitive swimmer in my youth and had some fun with these funny swimming memes.

Fair warning, some of these might not make much sense to the general public (kind of like my Math Puns last week). But swimmers will nod their head and laugh. Share them with a swimmer you love today. 🙂

First let's start with the sadistic coaches. Kidding, I liked my coaches. Well most of them.

goggles — Especially for those of us that need corrective lenses outside of the pool.

Swimmers with indoor pools may not get this one. Here in California, with practice outdoors, we swam in all weather (the pool is heated you'll warm up once you start moving, are you afraid of getting wet?, oh, that lightening is way over there, etc.)

coach — If you can still walk after practice I haven't done my job.

brackets — Let's do this grueling set FIVE TIMES... as a warm up. Noooooooooo!

lanelines — If only this were true I might have actually been decent at backstroke.

There are some universal truths about all swimmers

body — All that work the coaches made us do sent our metabolism skyrocketing.

butterfly — You can try, but you will sink like a stone.

shirtchart2 — Substitute "thinking about homework" for "in the zone right now" and this is spot on.

And then comes race day

warm ups — I see spaces between swimmers - probably just a dual meet.

tumblr_m7iuyvLFjT1rujh0jo1_500 — There is no video evidence that I ever made an illegal turn on race day (in the very first turn of a 400 IM). But, luckily for Cammile Adams they now have it.

whale — Ha ha! I don't know why we do it, we just do.

e6402ba6d2b31a71cc72df69a836a2ae — Perspective: it takes 300 milliseconds to blink your eye. Michael Phelps won gold in the 200 Fly by 40 milliseconds.

[Tweet "Funny swimming memes that all competitive swimmers will understand. #swimming #humor "]

Now on to the link-up! 😀

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have five hosts and co-hosts we will also have FIVE FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other four blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

Peach Rosemary no churn ice cream from the Lazy Gastronome

My feature this week is The Lazy Gastronome's Peach and Rosemary No Churn Ice Cream. I love the fruit and herb combination, and of course the "no churn part.

The Hosts:

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

Audrey is a wonderfully eclectic blogger, who not only can cook up a storm over on That Recipe, but also writes at Munofore - "MUsings NOt FOod RElated." Munofore touches on humor, parenting, crafting, holiday ideas, tutorials, and more! She tells about the time she succumbed to the temptation of a piece of chocolate cake in this funny, if slightly delusional, post.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google + // Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living life with laughter and intention! Her blog is your spot for Capsule Wardrobe how-to's and inspiration, humor, encouragement, life-hacks, Read / DON'T Read book reviews, and more! She has started a new "Make Your Closet Awesome" Newsletter to go along with her NEW BOOK Secrets of the Capsule Wardrobe. You need to go check out both.

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin

Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! Her latest post is about bringing back the hankie with her frugal upcycling tip.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! Her most recent post is about the very real possibility of fraud from the "chip and pin" system. Watch your bank statements carefully!

And a huge welcome to the #FridayFrivolity Co-Host for August:

Facebook // Twitter // YouTube // Instagram

Rebecca is a fun and eclectic blogger who writes about family life in North Wales on her blog, Becster! Her posts encompass parenting, travel, product reviews, tips for landlords, pop culture, and even her love of Formula 1 racing! She is getting a head start on Christmas shopping with some ideas for toddlers.

Now time for the new stuff!

This a link-up for all things funny, fun, encouraging, hopeful, and happy. That includes free printables, giveaways, and other fun stuff to make us SMILE and start the weekend off on the right foot.

If you're here in search of fun and uplifting reading materials, skip the rules and just start clickin'!

Bloggy buddies, thanks for coming to par-tay!

You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, and old posts are always welcome!

There are three rules only:

An InLinkz Link-up

Save

Book Review: Secrets of the Capsule Wardrobe

Aug 10, 2016 · 13 Comments

Not only am I doing a book review, which is a bit rare on Munofore, but it is a Fashion Book! No, I haven't gone over the deep end completely. There are some very good reasons for me to read Secrets of the Capsule Wardrobe: How to Find Your Personal Style and Create a Happy, Confident Closet.

Secrets of the Capsule Wardrobe: How to Find Your Personal Style and Create a Happy, Confident Closet. Book Review. fashion books

Let's get the disclosures out of the way to start. The link above is an affiliate link and I will get a few pennies if you decide to purchase it. More importantly I should tell you the book is written by one of my blogging buddies, Sarah Eliza Louderback of Devastate Boredom, the founder (muse? instigator?) of our Friday Frivolity Link Party. I am not getting any type of compensation from her for this review.

She is probably nervous about what I am going to say, while the rest of you are thinking of course she is going to say she loved it. You are right. If I didn't like the book I would just have told her in a private message "great job for writing it" and never mentioned it to you. But, I do like it and I need it.

What is a Capsule Wardrobe anyway?

Louderback defines it as:

a curated collection of clothing you love, that you can mix and match almost exclusively. Nearly all of your tops should pair effortlessly with nearly all your bottoms allowing you to own LESS clothing, while maximizing the number of possible outfits."

Her main audience for this book is the Fashionista with a stuffed closet that can never find anything to wear and wants to "winnow" down her wardrobe.

That is definitely not me.

I am a Fashion Disaster these days. Like many Stay at Home Moms I have fallen into the trap of putting myself last. No one cares what I look like anyway, right? I just want to be comfortable. I don't have time to coordinate an outfit in the morning plus get the kid ready.

But, as Louderback points out, feeling confident in your clothes improves your mood. And the Capsule Wardrobe concept makes it just as effortless to wear a confidence building yet comfortable outfit as it is to throw on yoga pants and a baggy t-shirt (my normal attire).

Finding my personal style

When I completed her exercise to look at my wardrobe and pick out the clothes I love and make me feel good when I wear them this is what I came up with:

A dress, two tops and a pair of jeans. And there is no "probation" pile for me. The rest of my clothes I would sort straight into the donate/ rag pile. They don't fit, I don't like them, they are falling apart, etc. If Clinton and Stacy were to come to my door and ask me to be on What Not to Wear, I'd have saved them the trouble of the torturous 360 degree mirror and just tossed everything on the spot! I know I need help.

I have two big problems when it comes to building my wardrobe: one I am cheap and two I have no idea what I should be wearing. So what do I do? On the rare occasion I do buy something new, I grab an on sale pair of sweat pants or jeans and a cheap t-shirt and hope they fit when I get them home to try on.

How the book can help

Louderback has great exercises to get you to think about what styles and colors make you feel good about yourself. She doesn't tell you:

exactly how many pieces to have
what brands to wear
what types of clothes to have (pants, skirts, etc.)
what colors to wear
what your style should be based on your coloring or body type

Instead, she walks you through the thought process for coordinating a look that is uniquely yours and makes you feel good about yourself. And she makes you feel like this is something anyone, even a "fashion don't" like me, can easily do.

While I am not going to go on a mad spending spree, slowly but surely I am going to make a more conscious choice when I do choose new clothes. Even if I only shop from my beloved clearance rack occasionally. After a quick read through and a little thought I already have a much better sense of the colors I like, necklines I like (and don't like!), and what types of pieces I need to start adding to my new wardrobe. It's a start!

So whether you are a confident fashion forward woman or clueless about coordinating your own style, this book has something to offer you.

Oh, and Sarah, great job on completing the book. 😉

Get your Geek On with "Sum" Math Puns plus Friday Frivolity

Aug 4, 2016 · 9 Comments

I love a good pun, and have quite an extensive collection of punny memes. There were so many ways I could pare down my collection to share with you for the Friday Frivolity Host theme of "puns". Since school starts in 6 days, and I am a geek at heart, I decided on a Back to School theme with these Math Puns.

Fair warning, some of them are ultra-geeky. If you don't get them you can share them with your nerdy friends or Math Instructor husbands... oh wait am I the only one?

mathpics-mathjoke-mathmeme-pic-joke-math-meme-haha-funny-humor-pun-lol-smart-hate-teacher — My husband, the College Math Instructor, will tell you the red section should be much closer to 100%

curses — I thought it was hysterical myself... #geekpride

7778734_f520 — I get it and I have friends, many of them as nerdy as I am that will laugh at this.

$mathpics-mathjoke-mathmeme-funny-math-pics-haha-joke-meme-pun-pi-loneliest-number-forever-chicken-co$ $49529-Math-pun-bA4X$ $49527-Math-pun-Vt9r$ $Math-Puns-are-the-First-Sine-of-Madness$ $math-puns$

[Tweet "Get your geek on with "sum" funny Math Puns. #geekhumor #humor #math"]

Now on to the link-up! 😀

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have five hosts and co-hosts we will also have FIVE FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other four blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

Arlie Beach Whitsunday Australia https://www.kathleenaherne.com/airlie-beach-whitsunday-australia/

I have had a "thing" for Australia since I was a child. I must have been an Aussie in a former life. Someday I will make it Down Under and when I do Arlie Beach in Whitsunday is now high on my must visit list thanks to this post from Kathleen at The Blogger's Lifestyle.

The Hosts:

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

ATTENTION BLOGGERS: Audrey is organizing a Back to School Giveaway and would love for you to participate. The more the merrier (and the bigger the prize). Get the details here.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google + // Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living life with laughter and intention! Her blog is your spot for Capsule Wardrobe how-to's and inspiration, humor, encouragement, life-hacks, Read / DON'T Read book reviews, and more! Check out her hysterical Pokemon Go post for funny memes and crazy real-life stories about the popular app!

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin

Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! Her latest post is "Passport to Fun: Italy" -- all the recipes, music suggestions, costumes and more that you'll need for an awesome Staycation "trip" to Italy!

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! Her most recent post is her flash-fiction horror story "Secrets" -- such fun shivers, and the story just won a magazine competition too!

And a huge welcome to the #FridayFrivolity Co-Host for August:

Facebook // Twitter // YouTube // Instagram

Rebecca is a fun and eclectic blogger who writes about family life in North Wales on her blog, Becster! Her posts encompass parenting, travel, product reviews, tips for landlords, pop culture, and even her love of Formula 1 racing! Her latest post is a peek into the life of Ginger Spice... hint: Ginger showed up somewhere unexpected! ;P

Now time for the new stuff!

This a link-up for all things funny, fun, encouraging, hopeful, and happy. That includes free printables, giveaways, and other fun stuff to make us SMILE and start the weekend off on the right foot.

If you're here in search of fun and uplifting reading materials, skip the rules and just start clickin'!

Bloggy buddies, thanks for coming to par-tay!

You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, and old posts are always welcome!

There are three rules only:

An InLinkz Link-up

Save

My idea of roughing it... Glamping Memes plus Friday Frivolity Blog Party

Jul 28, 2016 · 11 Comments

Welcome to another fun week of Friday Frivolity. Our host theme this week is Glamping. Oh wait, it's camping. I haven't been camping since my days as a Girl in Green. We used to go as a family too. And my husband spent many summers camping on the beach with his family. But now? These glamping memes are more our style.

Glamping Memes - funny memes about glamping and camping in style. — I jest! My friends know better than to ask me.

[Tweet "Glamping memes for the non-adventurous camper. #glamping #humor"]

[Tweet "Camping? Surely you jest. Glamping is more my idea of roughing it. #glamping #funny #camping"]

Now on to the link-up! 😀

The Hosts:

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

Audrey is a wonderfully eclectic blogger, who not only can cook up a storm over on That Recipe, but also writes at Munofore - "MUsings NOt FOod RElated." Munofore touches on humor, parenting, crafting, holiday ideas, tutorials, and more! She shared some photos of her recent non-camping vacation to Knott's Berry Farm.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google +// Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living a life full of all of her favorite things... friendship and connection, laughter, books and music, furbaby love, minimalism, wellness pursuits, Paleo-ish cooking, and on and on! If you need a laugh, and don't we all, check out her Crazy Things I Have Seen in Texas: Antique Shop Edition.

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin

Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! Go get her recipe for Scrumptious Salmon Meatballs.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! Take a look at what she won this month and read how she enters and wins so many contests.

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have four hosts we will also have FOUR FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other three blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

I have two features this week from some very stylish ladies. You may or may not have noticed I have yet to feature a fashion post on FF. It probably has something to do with being unhappy with my body and completely lacking any fashion sense.

But Shelbee (the crochet vest) and Veronica (the tribal print) are inspiring me to move beyond my t-shirts and yoga pants.

Now time for the new stuff!

This a link-up for all things funny, fun, encouraging, hopeful, and happy. That includes free printables, giveaways, and other fun stuff to make us SMILE and start the weekend off on the right foot.

If you're here in search of fun and uplifting reading materials, skip the rules and just start clickin'!

Bloggy buddies, thanks for coming to par-tay!
You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, and old posts are always welcome!

There are three rules only:

[Tweet "Come join the Friday Frivolity - the #linky party for all posts fun, funny, hopeful and happy!"]

An InLinkz Link-up

A Fun Day at Knott's Berry Farm

Jul 26, 2016 · 6 Comments

Last week we snuck over the great Orange Curtain that divides Orange County and Riverside County in California and spent a few days at Knott's Berry Farm and hanging out with family visiting the area.

We passed right by the more popular and well known theme park (aka The House of Mouse) for a variety of reasons. Mainly because we know even at age 8, our son only lasts a few hours at a theme park and then he's ready to go. At $300 to walk through the door, that's an average of about $100/ hour. For a kid that isn't that into their movies and characters, it's not worth it to us. I am not knocking D-land, but just offering another attraction down the road for your vacation consideration.

We had a package deal with the hotel so the tickets were discounted. Knott's offers loads of discounts, never pay full price for tickets without checking online first. I guess now's a good time to mention this is not a sponsored post.

Have some fun on the rides

We arrived just after the park opened at 10am in order to beat the crowds and the heat. We got lucky and had no waiting on the three rides we went on.

Knott's Berry Farm - photos of a fun day at Knott's Berry Farm Theme Park in Buena Park, CA. — Grand Sierra Railroad in Camp Snoopy, with scenes of the Peanuts gang camping out.

None of us are into thrill rides. For those that are, there are plenty to entertain you. All kinds of flips and twists and heights and ugh! I'm dizzy just thinking about it.

Fun adventures hidden throughout the park

Over in Camp Snoopy we found a nice rickety rope bridge that led to a refreshing waterfall cave.

Git your learnin' on in Ghost Town

The rest of the day we just explored the park which has plenty of educational opportunities and fun buildings tucked around every corner.

We didn't go over to the full scale replica of Independence Hall complete with a cast of the Liberty Bell this trip. We've been before and J loved it. It's actually outside of the park close to the water park across the street. Very cool and it's free! I'm sure we will go back again and spend more time when we get to US History in fifth grade.

And then there was food

They had some fantastic looking food, including healthy options like fruit.

Don't be too impressed, he knows our rule: healthy food before junk food. As soon as he ate the apple he begged to go back to the candy store we had passed. 🙂

But wait, there's more!

And for those that aren't interested in the kiddie rides, thrill rides, western educational experiences, wide variety of shows, scrumptious food or the Peanuts gang, I did spy these as we were wandering.

[Tweet "Fun for all ages at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA. #photography #travel #knottsberryfarm"]

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Things I Miss About Childhood plus Friday Frivolity Link Party

Jul 21, 2016 · 4 Comments

What a wonderful week I have had spending time with visiting family. Including my munchkin, we had kids from 8 to 23. Which put me in the right frame of mind for our Friday Frivolity Host theme: Childhood. And it made me quite nostalgic for my own childhood. So, without further ado, here are some things I miss about childhood.

Things I miss about childhood - naps, pillow forts, hot lava, scented markers and more. nostalgia. childhood memories. — Oh please! send me to my room to be alone and think too!

If I close my eyes I can smell them now. Mmmmmm! (the picture is an affiliate link to buy them and relive the memories yourself)

The Laff A Lympics and and the eerily similar prime-time non-animated "Battle of the Network Stars" (google it kiddos). Yup, some high quality thought provoking entertainment there. Full episodes are available on Amazon video.

[Tweet "No more Adulting! Things I miss about childhood. #nostalgia #childhood"]

Now on to the link-up! 😀

The Hosts:

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

Audrey is a wonderfully eclectic blogger, who not only can cook up a storm over on That Recipe, but also writes at Munofore - "MUsings NOt FOod RElated." Munofore touches on humor, parenting, crafting, holiday ideas, tutorials, and more! She gets her frugal decorating mojo on with this Summer Fun Beach Towel Wreath.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google +// Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living a life full of all of her favorite things... friendship and connection, laughter, books and music, furbaby love, minimalism, wellness pursuits, Paleo-ish cooking, and on and on! She has a roundup of cute and affordable tote bags in her latest post ($25 or less!).

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin

Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! She reveals her list of read aloud classics she used when she was teaching her second graders. A few may shock you....

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! She has a book review and lists all the books she read in June, I always fill up my Goodreads when I read her book posts.

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have four hosts we will also have FOUR FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other three blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

My featured post is this fun twist on an Egg Hunt from What Happens at Grandmas: Dino Egg Diggers. She earned some major Grandma points with this activity, I'm sure!

Now time for the new stuff!

This a link-up for all things funny, fun, encouraging, hopeful, and happy. That includes free printables, giveaways, and other fun stuff to make us SMILE and start the weekend off on the right foot.

If you're here in search of fun and uplifting reading materials, skip the rules and just start clickin'!

Bloggy buddies, thanks for coming to par-tay!
You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, and old posts are always welcome!

There are three rules only:

[Tweet "Come join the Friday Frivolity - the #linky party for all posts fun, funny, hopeful and happy!"]

An InLinkz Link-up

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Seven Things I Don't Post on Facebook #sorrynotsorry

Jul 20, 2016 · 13 Comments

The great thing about Facebook is there aren't too many rules. We can all post what we want and not post things we don't want. Each of us can set our own guidelines even if the choice is "I have no guidelines". Personally, I made a conscious choice about a few things I don't post on Facebook or any other social media.

Birthday messages

It's no secret I am not a big birthday celebrator. I stopped caring about my special day when I was a teenager. It has nothing to do with my age, which I will leave at "almost AARP eligible." I just don't care and haven't for decades.

Perhaps it's that attitude that carries over to my birthday greetings on Facebook, or lack there of. Or maybe it's because I fear forgetting someone and that will offend them. "But she wished happy birthday to that mutual friend and not to me, she must hate me." Oy! I don't have time for that drama.

Blanket rule - no birthday greetings. Except my nephews and nieces, when I remember. And I don't even type those messages anymore. I hand the phone to J and tell him to say Happy Birthday to his cousin. Then, I have to fight to get my phone back after he puts in all of the emoticons and stickers.

Just in case your special day might be ruined by my failure to type a ubiquitous "Happy Birthday" on your wall, this is for you:

happy-birthday-starwars-cat-meme — Grumpy Cat plus StarWars, two of my favorite memes collide. Happy dance time!

Rants about today's youth

I am pretty sure when Adam and Eve bit into the apple, God lamented "What's the matter with kids today?" Paul Lynde just added the music. I read it on the Internet somewhere so it must be true....

Adults have been complaining about the youth of their day since the dawn of time. And yet humans are still here. As a whole, kids today aren't more lazy, rude, ignorant, disrespectful, etc. than my generation. Life is different for them, not easier or harder. Just different. They need to have a different skill set than I did. They will adapt. And then they will probably complain about their kids...

A new profile picture for the latest cause du jour

Millions of people changed their profile picture in support of France after the attacks there. But how many people changed them a short while later when something similar happened in San Bernardino, CA? Or how about in Iraq? How long are you supposed to keep it up, a day a week, until the next "let's all change our profile picture" event?

My political views

My vote, my business. Yes, I do my research and vote for what I think is best. I just don't see the need to broadcast my views.

About the superiority of my religion or denigrate any other

I have friends that are Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Baptist, Episcopalian, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian of other denominations or no denomination, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindi, Agnostic, Atheist and probably another 50 other designations that I can't think of at the moment.

I am Catholic and will occasionally make remarks on my page that only Catholics will understand. It's a rare thing. I am not trying to convert anyone. I will never tell someone their faith tradition or practices are wrong. I have blocked more than one friend that does. My newsfeed, my choice.

Hyperbolic odes to my husband or child

But, if my husband were more like Ryan Gosling, I might...

hey-girl-pin — Just kidding, I already have a Star Wars/Happy Cat meme, so I needed Ryan in here somewhere.

My husband refuses to have anything to do with Facebook. I won't let my 8 year old use my account. If I have to post a gushing public tribute to them to let the rest of the world know how much they mean to me then I might be doing it wrong.

Copy and Paste

There are five Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in a 31 day month every 6 years. And the Chinese use a different calendar anyway. Copying and pasting a Facebook status will not improve your feng shui and bring you prosperity. Fact check on Aisle 3!

It's my fault there are no more unicorns. Sorry, not sorry.

[Tweet "Seven Things I Don't Post on Facebook. I hope you aren't offended. #socialmedia #sorrynotsorry"]

My timeline, my choice not to post. I am not judging anyone that does post these things. I hope you aren't offended that I don't. And if you are, feel free to unfriend me, I promise not to check and get upset. I have better things to do.

How about you, do you have your own set of social media rules? Are there things you don't post on Facebook or other social media? I'd love to know.

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Funny Cow Memes plus Friday Frivolity Blog Party

Jul 14, 2016 · 4 Comments

In honor of Cow Appreciation Day on July 12th, the Friday Frivolity hosts have decided on Funny Cow Memes as our host theme this week. Well, I chose and forced them to go along with it. Stick me with Lip Sync and Lip Dubs, will you? Well, I will just pick cows! Mwa ha ha! How do you like those cow patties? I hope they had as much fun as I did putting together their collections. Be sure to visit them for more bovine funnies.

funny-pics-cow-at-a-trampoline-party — Just a few bounces and BOOM! You are over the barbed wire and off to Chick-fil-A!

Why-did-the-cow-return-to-the-Marijuana-field-meme — Cow puns moooove me.

Funny-Cow-Meme-My-Grandfather-Was-A-Knight — And one more pun for good measure.

childhood-logic-chocolate-milk-cows-funny-lawlz-meme — Good to know I am not the only one that thought this!

cow_breastfeeding — One of my all time favorite Far Side cartoons.

funny-world-of-cow — YES! I found a Star Wars cow meme!

[Tweet "Funny cow memes to make you smile. #cows #humor"]

Now on to the link-up! 😀

The Hosts:

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

Audrey is a wonderfully eclectic blogger, who not only can cook up a storm over on That Recipe, but also writes at Munofore - "MUsings NOt FOod RElated." Munofore touches on humor, parenting, crafting, holiday ideas, tutorials, and more! This week she turned an old skimboard into a whimsical garden sign.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google +// Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living a life full of all of her favorite things... friendship and connection, laughter, books and music, furbaby love, minimalism, wellness pursuits, Paleo-ish cooking, and on and on! If you want to know more about Capsule Wardrobes you want to check out her latest post on a Business Casual style.

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin

Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! This week she shares a recipe for Sweet Potato Waffles.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! This week she details the history of New Moons Sindy which is a fun read for doll collectors like me.

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have four hosts we will also have FOUR FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other three blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

My featured post this week is Crazy Things I Quit to be Crazy Happy by About Life and Love. As I went through her list I found myself saying "Yes, oh definitely yes!, I need to work on this one, etc."

Now time for the new stuff!

This a link-up for all things funny, fun, encouraging, hopeful, and happy. That includes free printables, giveaways, and other fun stuff to make us SMILE and start the weekend off on the right foot.

If you're here in search of fun and uplifting reading materials, skip the rules and just start clickin'!

Bloggy buddies, thanks for coming to par-tay!
You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, and old posts are always welcome!

There are three rules only:

[Tweet "Come join the Friday Frivolity - the #linky party for all posts fun, funny, hopeful and happy!"]

An InLinkz Link-up

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DIY Fun Garden Sign to Brighten Your Yard

Jul 13, 2016 · 5 Comments

We have had some of our giant lilac plants die in the yard this year, leaving big empty spots. I can replant them, but it will take awhile for them to get that big again, so my husband and I decided to add some fun decorations to brighten up the yard and fill in. The newest addition is this fun garden sign I made from an old skim board.

I bought this beauty about 20 years ago at a rummage sale. I had always planned to make a table out of it for my tropical themed room. It never happened and I have been holding on to it every since.

It is now quite beat up and could not be used in the water for very long. But it was perfect for my purposes. First, I scraped off any chipping coating with a wire brush.

I only sanded briefly because I did not want to smooth out the weathered look. Then came a few coats of white spray paint.

Once dry it was ready to be painted. I could have attempted to hand paint the letters, but I wanted them to look neater than I could ever do. So I decided to go with some rubbed ink jet print outs.

To create the words, I wrote the saying in Word using Word Art. For this one I split it up into five different Word Arts so I could have differing sizes. Before printing I chose "flip horizontal" for each one. When printed and placed on the white board it reads correctly. Then I rubbed each letter with a pencil so the ink would rub off on the board.

Then it was time to paint. I used the leftover acrylic paint from the TMNT Handprint Christmas Ornament. It may not have been the best choice, but I did not want to spend any money on this.

I found some pictures of wild flowers (Eschscholzia californica and Zauschneria califfornica to be exact)plus a lady bug and butterfly. I figured I would do the same technique. Except, it only works with black ink. Or at least it only worked with the black for me.

So I traced around the flowers and insects with a pencil, flipped it back over and rubbed that.

I painted everything except for the black, which I didn't have. No amount of mixing was going to give me the right color so I grabbed a permanent black marker and filled in the details.

I didn't even need to do that much detail because it will be viewed from at least 8 feet away. I sprayed it with clear lacquer after letting it dry overnight.

I just nailed a few small nails in the back and ran a wire between them for hanging. And here it is hanging on the fence.

For those that aren't following me on Instagram you may have missed the gazing ball story. My husband splurged on this at the store and I remained a bit reserved about it until night time. There is a solar powered light inside!

The sign and gazing ball are not as beautiful as a 6 foot high and wide ceanothus, but at least it isn't a huge bare spot as you look at the TV room window anymore. Stay tuned for more ideas we have.

[Tweet "Fun Garden Sign - repurpose an old skim board into a whimsical garden sign. #gardenart #upcycle #DIYwin"]

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1970s TV Commercials with the Catchiest Jingles plus Friday Frivolity

Jul 7, 2016 · 9 Comments

Your Friday Frivolity Hosts are sharing their favorite funny TV commercials. Let me get my old lady voice ready. *Ahem.* "Back in my day, we didn't fast forward the commercials. We watched 'em, and we loved 'em. The commercials back then had real jingles. Jingles that would stay with you for days." To those of you of a certain age, I apologize in advance for any earworms caused by these vintage 1970's commercials with the catchiest jingles. Annoying tunes that stay with you for daaaaayyyyys.

Hold the Pickle Hold the Lettuce...

Wouldn't you like to be a pepper too?

Meow, meow, meow!

Cuz' Oscar Meyer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A.

She can bring home the bacon. Fry it up in a pan.

So, did you remember some of those? Or are you a youngster that simply cringed at the hideous clothes and crazy hairstyles?

[Tweet "Commercials from the 70s with jingles you can't forget. #tvcommercials #earworms #jingles"]

Now on to the link-up! 😀

The Hosts:

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

Audrey is a wonderfully eclectic blogger, who not only can cook up a storm over on That Recipe, but also writes at Munofore - "MUsings NOt FOod RElated." Munofore touches on humor, parenting, crafting, holiday ideas, tutorials, and more! She gets her frugal decorating mojo on with this Summer Fun Beach Towel Wreath.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google +// Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living a life full of all of her favorite things... friendship and connection, laughter, books and music, furbaby love, minimalism, wellness pursuits, Paleo-ish cooking, and on and on! She lists her 3 favorite puzzle apps for relaxation and stress relief.

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin

Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! She shares her twist on Chicken and Waffles with us this week. YUM!

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! This week she reviews the Japan Funbox that I know my son and husband would LOVE!

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have four hosts we will also have FOUR FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other three blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

My featured post this week is this great repurposed bathroom shelf from an old chair from My DIY OL. Promise me you won't freak out when you get to the page. It is in German, but I always get fabulous ideas from Uwe's page even if I don't quite understand what he is saying. Google translate usually gets me through.

Now time for the new stuff!

This a link-up for all things funny, fun, encouraging, hopeful, and happy. That includes free printables, giveaways, and other fun stuff to make us SMILE and start the weekend off on the right foot.

If you're here in search of fun and uplifting reading materials, skip the rules and just start clickin'!

Bloggy buddies, thanks for coming to par-tay!
You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, and old posts are always welcome!

There are three rules only:

[Tweet "Come join the Friday Frivolity - the #linky party for all posts fun, funny, hopeful and happy!"]

An InLinkz Link-up

Save

Make a Dried Rose Shadow Box Display to Preserve Memories

Jul 6, 2016 · 18 Comments

This Dried Rose Shadow Box is a lovely way to preserve and display roses. And it is quite simple to create.

I started with the roses photographed in this post. They were a sweet anniversary gift from my husband which was extra special because it isn't something he normally does. So, I wanted to come up with a new way to save and display them instead of just sticking them in a vase or taking the petals off for potpourri. Been there done that.

Before the petals could begin to fall I tied the roses and baby's breath gently together and hung them upside down in my closet where they wouldn't get damaged by a certain wild 8 year old.

I found a great shadow box on sale at Hobby Lobby (not a sponsor of the post). But, I didn't want the glass because it probably would have smashed the roses. So, a quick tap of the hammer over the garbage can and it was ready to paint.

Dried Rose Shadow Box - simple but beautiful way to display dried flowers.

Silver would have been okay, but antique white goes much better with where I plan to put this.

Once the frame was dry I gathered my supplies.

After I decided on the layout it was time to break out the glue gun. Luckily, I saw a display of glue sticks on an end cap just after I got the paper for the background because I was down to the evergreen scented sticks.

After I glued the roses down, I slipped in some of the baby's breath.

Then added the leaves on top of the roses to cover up the stems a bit.

And DONE! Just how it was in my vision.

It goes perfectly in my "antique rose" themed bathroom which I am almost done remodeling.

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More Floral Projects

Love Heart Cross Stitch Pattern - free printable cross stitch pattern of hearts spelling the word LOVE. — Antique Rose Wreath

mason jar filled with potpourri and christmas lights with text overlay "lovely lighted potpourri jar" — Lighted Valentine's Day Potpourri Jar

close up of silk sunflower — Use Silk Plants to Brighten Your Home

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Sources for Free Funny Stock Photos plus Friday Frivolity Blog Party

Jun 30, 2016 · 7 Comments

Today the Friday Frivolity hosts are sharing some of our favorite Funny Stock Photos. If you are a blogger, you know you need a "pinnable image". And if you aren't the best photography, stock photography can be your best friend. Non-bloggers might also find themselves needing fun photos for presentations or just a good laugh. Here are a few of my favorite places to find free funny stock photos.

Warning! All of these sites have free to use photos or free to use with attribution. Just be careful, because some of these sites also have paid options when you search in order to pay for their site. Be sure to check the license on any photo before using.

Gratisography

If you receive our weekly e-mail letting you know the party is open you have probably seen these images:

The photos are all the creation of the immensely talented photographer Ryan McGuire of Gratisography. I haven't found the place for it yet, but expect this one on a blog post here soon.

Pixabay

These cute frogs are courtesy of Pixabay

Free Images

And here are some meerkats from FreeImages because meerkats make me smile.

Morguefile

Morguefile's photos require you to alter the photo (e.g. make a meme out of it) or provide photographer attribution. Deemac1 has quite an extension collection of animal and nature photos including this gem.

Open Clip Art

If clipart is more your style, I'd recommend OpenClipArt. The only mosquito I want to see.

More Sources

If you want even more resources for free to use, free with attribution and paid stock photos, you need to check out this great resource from the International Bloggers Association. Katelyn lists over 50 sites with free or $1 photos. WOW!

[Tweet "5 Sources for Free Funny Stock Photos and clipart #stockphotos #clipart #blogging"]

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Now on to the link-up! 😀

The Hosts:

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

Audrey is a wonderfully eclectic blogger, who not only can cook up a storm over on That Recipe, but also writes at Munofore - "MUsings NOt FOod RElated." Munofore touches on humor, parenting, crafting, holiday ideas, tutorials, and more! She gets her frugal decorating mojo on with this Summer Fun Beach Towel Wreath.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google +// Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living a life full of all of her favorite things... friendship and connection, laughter, books and music, furbaby love, minimalism, wellness pursuits, Paleo-ish cooking, and on and on! If you want to know more about Capsule Wardrobes you want to check out her latest post on a Business Casual style.

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin

Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! Her monthly Passport to Fun Series takes us to India in this post.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! This week she asks (and answers) How can we help our children learn sharing?

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have four hosts we will also have FOUR FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other three blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

My featured post this week is: 10 Outrageous Dessert Pins that will Drive you Crazy from Sinea at Ducks 'n a Row. I almost didn't chose this because I fear if you go check it out, you might not come back here. M'eh check it out anyway. So much deliciousness.

Now time for the new stuff!

This a link-up for all things funny, fun, encouraging, hopeful, and happy. That includes free printables, giveaways, and other fun stuff to make us SMILE and start the weekend off on the right foot.

If you're here in search of fun and uplifting reading materials, skip the rules and just start clickin'!

Bloggy buddies, thanks for coming to par-tay!
You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, and old posts are always welcome!

There are three rules only:

[Tweet "Come join the Friday Frivolity - the #linky party for all posts fun, funny, hopeful and happy!"]

An InLinkz Link-up

Summer Fun Beach Towel Wreath

Jun 29, 2016 · 9 Comments

Another season, another reason, for making.... a new wreath for the front door. To celebrate summer and add a burst of color to the front porch I made this Summer Fun Beach Towel Wreath with odds and ends from around the house.

I originally considered a pool noodle for the base of this summer wreath. But the sad boy eyes I got when I mentioned it to the 8 year old sent me looking in another direction.

Finally, I decided on an old beach towel. How old? I am not sure exactly, but I saw it in a picture from 1987 and it was probably several years old by then.

Next I went rummaging through the house and yard for things we no longer use or have multiples of. Like the swim goggles - he has five pairs!

The big purple thing was a sun shade for a baby float. He's eight, I don't think he can get his shoulders through the center of the float any more. I grabbed my seam ripper and removed it from the wire in two pieces: the center complete with mesh (which became the bow) and the ribbon like trim around the edge.

Beach Towel Wreath: The base

I inverted the towel, wrapped it around the metal circle then wrapped some of the purple fabric around like ribbon. I secured with a safety pin instead of sewing because I am lazy. 😉

I hid a loop of wire underneath the ribbon at the top for hanging.

Beach Towel Wreath: The decorations

The toys needed a bit of scrubbing to remove years of mud and debris.

One of the few items I had to buy was this mini kite.

The kite was needed because I had a vision of everything being tied on with kite string a la Charlie Brown.

Finally, I hung the end of the kite string off of the bow.

Beach Towel Wreath: The greeting banner

It still needed a little something else, so I found some scrap pink material to make a banner. I had to buy the fabric paint and stamps, but I barely used any paint and the stamps are all reusable I don't think it should count in my final cost.

summer fun wreath(1) — I found dipping the stamp in the paint resulted in a mess, so I smoothed the paint with a brush for a cleaner look.

[Tweet "Make a fun summer wreath with items you have around the house. #upcycle #summer #crafts"]

The kite was $5 and the paint and stamps were another $5-7 (both were on sale) making this come in under $15, with lots of yellow fabric pain and foam stamps for other projects. I like the results, and my husband actually complimented it, which is worth a million dollars to me.

Other wreaths in my frugal wreath series:

Festive and Frugal Easter wreath made with decoupaged eggs, ribbon, mesh and fabric scraps. — Festive Easter Wreath

Repurposed Garden Hose Wreath - festive gardening themed wreath made from an old hose and some colorful kids gardening tools.

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Dog Days of Summer Memes plus Friday Frivolity

Jun 23, 2016 · 3 Comments

Are you ready for the summer? Are you ready for the good times? Are you ready for the sunshine to come down? Your Friday Frivolity crew has chosen Summer as our theme this week since it is now official. The first two memes that popped up when I searched for summer memes were both of adorable dogs so I just decided to run with the Dog Days of Summer Memes and present you with a collection of cute and funny summer dog memes.

[Tweet "Dog Days of Summer memes: cute and funny summer dog memes #humor #dogs #summer"]

Now on to the link-up! 😀

The Hosts:

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

Audrey is a wonderfully eclectic blogger, who not only can cook up a storm over on That Recipe, but also writes at Munofore - "MUsings NOt FOod RElated." Munofore touches on humor, parenting, crafting, holiday ideas, tutorials, and more! In her latest post she offers five basic blogging tips (or blogging pet peeves, depending on who you look at it) to increase interaction and traffic.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google +// Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living a life full of all of her favorite things... friendship and connection, laughter, books and music, furbaby love, minimalism, wellness pursuits, Paleo-ish cooking, and on and on! If you want to know more about Capsule Wardrobes you want to check out her latest post on a Boho Style Wardrobe. Even if it isn't your style she has some great info for you.

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin

Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! She has some fun activities and a free printable for the preschooler book The Princess and The Pony.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! Bloggers should check out her great list of 25 Facebook Groups to Boost Your Blog.

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have four hosts we will also have FOUR FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other three blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

My featured post this week is:How to turn and Ikea Kitchen Cabinet into a Pool Sign from Kreative K. I am on a mission to add some color into our drought and ant damaged yard and I love the idea of taking a cabinet door from the damaged bin at Ikea (thrift store, etc.) and making a functional sign with it.

Now time for the new stuff!

This a link-up for all things funny, fun, encouraging, hopeful, and happy. That includes free printables, giveaways, and other fun stuff to make us SMILE and start the weekend off on the right foot.

If you're here in search of fun and uplifting reading materials, skip the rules and just start clickin'!

Bloggy buddies, thanks for coming to par-tay!
You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, and old posts are always welcome!

There are three rules only:

[Tweet "Come join the Friday Frivolity - the #linky party for all posts fun, funny, hopeful and happy!"]

An InLinkz Link-up

Save

Five Blogging Basics Every Blogger Should Know

Jun 22, 2016 · 24 Comments

I am far from a blogging expert, but I do visit many many blogs every week. And, my dear fellow Blogger, I have to tell you, some of you are driving me crazy! This is not going to be a Wall of Shame post. I am not trying to be mean, even thought I am tagging this as a "rant". Instead, consider it a suggestion list from a reader of five blogging basics I wish every blogger would do.

Easy to read colors and fonts

Yes, pale pink is pretty, but not for a font color for an entire post on a white background. Script fonts are lovely, but so hard to read. Text on a busy background is not only visually unappealing it can be unreadable.

make sure you have a good contrast between the background color and the font colors. Light on dark or dark on light.
save the script for graphics
tiny fonts are hard us on old folks

Jess over at Babi a Fi has a great post on Digital Inclusion, which is intended for those with disabilities, but naturally makes a blog easier to read for everyone.

Ads should not cover your post.

Pop ups and ads that slide over the post are annoying!

I know there are experts that insist you must have a pop up to encourage subscribers, but can you at least set the timer to let me read a little first before begging me to join. Do you want a salesperson asking if you are ready to check out as soon as you walk into a store? I don't know if I want to subscribe, I haven't read anything yet.

A new one I have seen lately is the ad that slides over from the left. Which is okay, if you have a narrower theme. But if your theme goes across most of my screen I have to wait for the ad to load completely so I can close it so I can read your post. C'mon, do you want to do that just to read an article?

Easy to find Social Media buttons.

I love your article, I want to follow you on social media. Where are your social media buttons? On your about page? Halfway down the sidebar? Readers don't want to work that hard.

There is a debate as to the most effective placement, in the header or near the top of your sidebar. I have both just to be safe.

But wait, there's more: if you know you have social media buttons, are you sure they work? I have seen three bloggers this month that put the buttons on their page but they point to the wrong place (e.g. Facebook goes to Twitter, the link goes nowhere, or the link is actually to share the home page).

Easy to comment.

If it is too hard to comment, I won't. I don't want to be forced to join your site or a third party site just to say "I loved your post." I don't want to type some mystery code or do a math problem.

Personally, I am not a big fan of posting to Facebook or Google+ to comment. Why? My mother stalks me on Facebook and I don't want her to see every single thing I do and say. 🙂

If you are really worried about SPAM comments, install Askimet (not a sponsor, just an awesome product) and review all comments before they post. Mine is set to review the first time someone comments only.

Easy to share.

I'd love to share your post on all of my favorite social media channels. Please make it easy for me. These days every post should allow you to easily share on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, at a minimum. The default Blogger and WordPress sharing options are better than nothing. You can get fancy and add a plugin like Social Warfare (<-- affiliate link, I may receive a commission for any purchases through that link).

But, at least have some way for people to easily share your post..

If you want to step up your game and Be a Social Media Boss I have a post over on the International Bloggers' Association about fine tuning your blog to help your message be shared.

Five Blogging Basics every blogger should know. #bloggingtips #petpeeves Click to Tweet

Your turn: what are your blogging pet peeves? You don't have to name names. But, if you could tell a newbie blogger something to look out for what would you tell them?

Happy Father's Day, Darth Vader!

Jun 16, 2016 · 7 Comments

A collection of Darth Vader Father's Day memes to remind us all that parenting is hard with rebellious teens.

Fathers-Day-quotes-memes-Instagram-19 — My son would probably argue his dad is cooler. Shh, don't tell Anakin.

Funny-Darth-Vader-its-hard-to-be-a-father — Ask any father of a pre-teen...

12_of_the_best_Star_Wars_memes — Luke looks as thrilled as most older kids do being dragged to his parent's office.

post-45778-fathers-day-meme-yhAg — It's called tough love, Luke.

fathers-day-9 — Great dads aren't gender blind when it comes to tough love.

I wonder where she gets her attitude from?

Darth-Vader-Dad-Does-Not-Approve-Of-Princess-Leias-Outfit-For-The-Night — Has Dad has been rifling through Ward Cleaver's closet?

darth-vader-death-star-insurance-kids — Flo knows.

darth_vader_and_son6 — Every parent has been there, Lord Vader.

vaders-little-princess2 — I know some dads of girls that are thinking this would be a handy trick.

The last two are from a delightful series of books by Jeffrey Brown in which he re-imagines the series with Darth Vader taking an active father role in Luke and Leia's lives. (disclosure: this is an affiliate link, we receive a small percentage if you purchase through this link)

Wishing all of the great dads out there a happy Father's Day.

More Star Wars Meme Collections:

Crazy Hairstyles: Princess Leia's Buns - funny memes about Princess Leia's cinnamon bun hairstyle.

Wishing You A Scifi St. Patrick's Day. Funny St. Patrick's Day Memes. Star Wars St Patrick's Day. Star Trek St. Patrick's Day Memes.

Furniture refinish - 1990's Glossy Black TV Stand Remodel

Jun 13, 2016 · 5 Comments

Goodbye 1990's glossy black TV stand, hello lovely and functional chalky finish paint toy shelves. Another project that has been on my To Do list for years that I can finally check off.

In the apartment we had an Asian theme in our living room/ TV room. When we bought the house, the Asian theme stayed in the living room (now with lovely wall art) and we went with a Southwest/ Mission style in the TV room. In the apartment the glossy black TV stand was a nice fit with the black lacquer end tables.

Here, it had no place. So I threw some fabric over it and it sat. For about a decade. This was the mystery project I mentioned when I refinished the typing table. And like the typing table it was a bit of a DIY fail for awhile.

First things first, I dragged it outside, removed the two drawers on either side, the poster board backing that was still remaining and a few years of dust.

I disassembled the drawers and removed all of the hardware except for the rollers on the sides. I would have had to take it apart to get to the screws, plus it left me a nice base to add some more shelves. I cut the old drawer fronts down to make the extra shelves for the sides.Then I sanded down everything to give it a nice rough finish for the paint to adhere to.

After I wiped down from the sanding, I sprayed it with the remnants of a can of white spray paint I had in order to prime it.

Now is the DIY Fail part. I tried to make my own chalky finish paint like I did with the Beach Memories Shell Collage and picture frames. The plan was a white base with faded green top coat lightly brushed on. The DIY paint worked so well the first time, but when I scaled it up, this happened. waaaaaaaaah!

I blame my old paint that was too thick. I tried to compensate for it, but obviously I added too much plaster and ended up with this disaster.

I cleaned up the mess, threw the cover back over it and waited until I could go buy some paint. Which should have been easy to do, but the paint mixer was broken the first place I went. Then at the second store I let the paint rep talk me into buying real chalky finish paint, at $30 a pint. DO NOT TELL MY HUSBAND!!!!!!! I should have tried to sweet talk the rep into a discount for using the paint in the blog. But I didn't so I won't mention the name 🙂

I finally got back to painting.Then applying a wax sealer.

After buffing it, I love it.

I printed some labels for some shoe boxes we have around because I spent $30 on paint I wasn't spending any more by buying containers. Someday I may get something nicer. But for now it works.

And that little corner of the room is much brighter, and hopefully the rest of the room will be neater because we have easily accessible storage. A mom can hope anyway.

[Tweet "A new life for this old glossy black TV Stand. #DIY #furniture #makeover"]

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Fun Road Trip Movies plus Friday Frivolity Link Party

Jun 9, 2016 · 5 Comments

With the summer travel season upon us, your Friday Frivolity hosts decided upon a "travel theme" this week. Be sure to visit the other hosts sites too for some more travel fun. I decided to go with my favorite Road Trip Movies. Movies about road trips that are perfect to watch on road trips.

It Happened One Night - 1934

I searched quite a few lists to get inspired for this post and to my utter disdain, this classic was not on ANY of them. For shame! It is one of my all time favorite movies.

Claudette Colbert plays a young heiress trying to escape her father in Florida and get to her new husband in New York and Clark Gable is a reporter desperate for a story that offers to help her get there in this delightful rom-com. It is a must see for the hitchhiking scene alone!

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Murder on the Orient Express - 1974

It's no secret I love a good murder mystery and Agatha Christie is one of the best. In this star-studded adaptation of the novel, Albert Finney plays Hercule Poirot who is called upon to solve a murder on a train. Suspects include Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, etc. etc.

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The Muppet Movie - 1979

The movie that launched the Muppet franchise. Kermit travels across country picking up his Muppet friends on his way to Hollywood while being chased by a restauranteur that wants him to become a spokesfrog for his chain of frog leg restaurants. There are loads of celebrity cameos and so many catchy tunes. Rainbow Connection is currently stuck in my brain... and that's a very happy memory.

via GIPHY

The Cannonball Run - 1981

This cheesy screwball comedy was a favorite in my mis-spent youth. According to IMDb, "This action-comedy was inspired by an actual event: the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, an anything goes, all-stops-out - and very much illegal - competition"

Another celebrity packed movie with icons such as Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and a very young Jackie Chan in one of his first appearances in an American movie.

via GIPHY

Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey - 1993

Based on a true story about two dogs and a cat that go on a journey to reunite with their owners. I am not usually a fan of remakes, but this one, with the voices of Don Ameche, Sally Field and Michael J Fox, leaves me in tears every single time...every... single...time.

Spoiler alert: they make it home.

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[Tweet "What are your favorite road trip movies? Here are mine. #movies #roadtrips"]

Now on to the link-up! 😀

The Hosts:

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

Audrey is a wonderfully eclectic blogger, who not only can cook up a storm over on That Recipe, but also writes at Munofore - "MUsings NOt FOod RElated." Munofore touches on humor, parenting, crafting, holiday ideas, tutorials, and more! This week she shares Fun Activities based on Nate the Great to make summer reading a little more fun.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google +// Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living a life full of all of her favorite things... friendship and connection, laughter, books and music, furbaby love, minimalism, wellness pursuits, Paleo-ish cooking, and on and on! She has some funny license plates, bumper stickers and other car themed funnies she has seen in Dallas.

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin

Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! Check out her healthy (shhh!) Remarkable Rainforest Cookies recipe

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! She has Five Fab Father's Day Gifts for those that haven't started thinking about what to get Dad yet.

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have four hosts we will also have FOUR FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other three blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

Sticking with the travel theme I chose Road Trips with Kids: 10 Simple Tips to Save Your Sanity from the Sunny Patch. Plenty of fun ideas here to make your trip more pleasant.

Now time for the new stuff!

This a link-up for all things funny, fun, encouraging, hopeful, and happy. That includes free printables, giveaways, and other fun stuff to make us SMILE and start the weekend off on the right foot.

If you're here in search of fun and uplifting reading materials, skip the rules and just start clickin'!

Bloggy buddies, thanks for coming to par-tay!
You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, and old posts are always welcome!

There are three rules only:

[Tweet "Come join the Friday Frivolity - the #linky party for all posts fun, funny, hopeful and happy!"]

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An InLinkz Link-up

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Nate the Great Detective Activities

Jun 7, 2016 · 5 Comments

Are you looking for some learning based activities to bridge the gap this summer, or maybe some book based homeschool activities? This year my 2nd grader discovered one of the great children's detectives Nate the Great. Considering his recently developed disdain for reading, I am trying to do anything I can to encourage it. Like supplementing the reading with fun Nate the Great Detective Activities.

Nate the Great Book Series

For those of you not in the know Nate the Great is a marvelous series of books for early chapter book readers by Marjorie Sharmat*. Nate is a boy detective that solves such important mysteries for his friends as finding a Mushy Valentine, a Boring Beach Bag, and a six legged purple rubber octopus. He is usually accompanied and inspired by his faithful dog Sludge. His friends are an eclectic bunch from the semi-stalker Claude to the crazy cat lady in training Rosamond.

They are somewhat dated with references to such oddities as corded phones and Nate leaving notes for his mother instead of just texting her. And as in the Peanuts series, adults are almost non-existent. The stories revolve almost exclusively around Nate and his friends and their pets, with only references or an occasional cameo appearance by an adult.

Detective Activities

In Nate the Great and Me: The Case of the Fleeing Fang* Nate reveals many of his detective secrets, as well as a few recipes and some detective activities.

I also did a little Pinterest searching for some more activities to entertain your budding detectives:

Edventures has some fun Fingerprint Science for Kids.
My Learning Table has a number of activities including fingerprints, online games and some Sherlock Holmes sites.
The Mad House has three ways to leave a secret message.
Teen Entertainment Guide offers up some Scooby-Doo Inspired Detective Activities for those of us that grew up with "those meddling kids".
Homeschooling Just Next Door details the fun Detective Themed Party Games she had for her daughter and a group of kids aged 2-13.
Moms and Munchkins has a list of essentials for including in a Detective Kit for Kids (most of which you probably have in the house).

Pancakes

In every book, usually when he is stumped, Nate makes himself a batch of pancakes. Unsupervised... Using the recipe in Nate the Great and Me: The Case of the Fleeing Fang* my 8 year old detective made his own pancakes too. But he had adult supervision, especially for the cooking parts. Click on over to That Recipe for the recipe.

Handwriting

Also in every story, Nate leaves his mother a note telling her where he is going. And they appear as an actual handwritten cursive note like this:

Knowing that third grade brings on cursive writing (at least at our school), and thinking that it might be a good idea to get a bit of a jump on things knowing my son's fine motor skills are a tad behind his classmates, I asked him if he wanted to learn to write like Nate this summer. I got an excited "YES, can we start now? Write my name in cursive, write Mario, write Luigi!" Slow down a minute, champ. Let's practice some letters first.

Here are a few links I found that I plan on using:

Cursive Writing Complete Tutorials from Tech Angel - video and printables
Handwriting for Kids has gif animations for each letter plus printables in various font sizes for both right and left handed writers.
Free Homeschool Deals has a free cursive writing printable game to make practicing fun
Teachersparadise.com has an Android app and one for Apple devices
Horizon Business Inc has Cursive Writing and Cursive Words for Apple devices

If this works well, I will plan some more themed activities on other books. Perhaps the Magic School Bus or the Magic Treehouse.

[Tweet "Fun activities based on the Nate the Great Detective series - make reading fun. #reading #kidsbooks "]

*Affiliate links - this site will earn a percentage of any books purchased through this link.

Caillou the Annoying memes plus Friday Frivolity

Jun 2, 2016 · 12 Comments

Our Friday Frivolity host theme this week is Kids TV Shows. There are so many ways I could have gone with this prompt: favorite, funny, best, memories. I have already talked about questions parents ask about Kids Shows and how Curious George is leading my son astray. Today I chose to go with what may be the most insipid cartoon character of all time: Caillou the Annoying.

Oh sure there have been annoying shows and characters on children's TV probably as long as there have been Kids TV: Woody Woodpecker, Jabber Jaws, Barney, Teletubbies, Lazy Town even Elmo can get on one's nerves. But the vehemence against the mysteriously bald whiny brat named Caillou (pronounced Ky-yoo) is a bit terrifying. And yet it is also a relief that I am not the only parent that HATES CAILLOU!

The kid is 4 years old and as bald as a bowling ball while everyone else sports a full set of locks. We never find out if it is cancer, or alopecia, or mom and dad like shaving their kids head.

Many people have tried to re-imagine Caillou with hair.

Two of the most disturbing "can't be unseen" hair dos

enhanced-10962-1449509027-10 — The Donald

But the mystery of his hair is a minor annoyance compared to his never ceasing WHINING!

[Tweet "Caillou the annoying! Collection of memes about the whiny kids character. #caillou #humor #parenting"]

Now on to the link-up! 😀

The Hosts:

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

Audrey is a wonderfully eclectic blogger, who not only can cook up a storm over on That Recipe, but also writes at Munofore - "MUsings NOt FOod RElated." Munofore touches on humor, parenting, crafting, holiday ideas, tutorials, and more! This week she shares 7 things her son needs to see her doing on a regular basis.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google +// Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living a life full of all of her favorite things... friendship and connection, laughter, books and music, furbaby love, minimalism, wellness pursuits, Paleo-ish cooking, and on and on! She has some great ideas for indoor play for puppies when the weather is too hot, cold ,wet, etc.

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin

Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! She takes us to France this month for a fun family night with her Passport to Fun series

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! She has another great post for bloggers about Digital Inclusion that every blogger should read.

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have four hosts we will also have FOUR FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other three blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

There were so many amazing posts last week it was hard to pick one! Considering we are one week from the start of summer vacation I chose Seven inexpensive fun activities to do with your friends this summer from My Adventure Called Life.

Now time for the new stuff!

This a link-up for all things funny, fun, encouraging, hopeful, and happy. That includes free printables, giveaways, and other fun stuff to make us SMILE and start the weekend off on the right foot.

If you're here in search of fun and uplifting reading materials, skip the rules and just start clickin'!

Bloggy buddies, thanks for coming to par-tay!
You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, and old posts are always welcome!

There are three rules only:

[Tweet "Come join the Friday Frivolity - the #linky party for all posts fun, funny, hopeful and happy!"]

An InLinkz Link-up

7 Things My Child Needs to See Me Do

Jun 2, 2016 · 17 Comments

Children learn so much by observing their parents. Oftentimes more than we want them too. And like most parents, I am guilty of saying the equivalent of "do as I say not as I do" a bit too often. This conversation has come up with a few times the past week in regards to voting and going to the doctor. These are important things my child needs to see me do so he sees that I place value on them.

In the spirit of walking the walk instead of just talking the talk, I have compiled a list of seven important things my son should learn by watching me do them regularly.

Read

Right now we are struggling with the transition to chapter books. He insists, "I already KNOW how to read, I don't need to practice anymore." We are already doing a myriad of things to help him redevelop a love of reading. And one of the most important is to see Mom and Dad read for pleasure. The last time we went to the library I let him choose which books I checked out (I showed him four and told him to pick two for me). Then he saw me read them. I didn't need to tell him reading is fun, I showed him.

Vote

Politics was a big deal in my house growing up. It was discussed ad infinitum. I still get the shakes thinking about it sometimes, just kidding (-ish). The political discussion in our house now consists of me informing my husband that the election stuff is in the bathroom and asking if he wants me to mail his ballot. Yes, I put stuff I want my husband and son to read in the bathroom (thanks to my mother-in-law for that brilliant tip).

We are permanent mail-in voters, so my son may not actually go into a polling place with me to vote like I did a few times with my parents. But, he will see me complete the ballot and help me mail it. He will know that we do not consider voting an option. I will never tell him who to vote for or probably even tell him who I voted for. But, he needs to see me do my research and vote accordingly.

Help Others

Our son often sees us give of our time, talent and treasure to other people. I volunteer in his classroom. I have him help me bake for school bake sales or special treats for the teachers and other special people. We have him help when it is time to gather up goods we no longer use to give to various charity drives.

He sees us hold the door for people, let "wheels go first" (walkers, wheelchairs, strollers, etc.), pick up mail and take care of pets for vacationing neighbors, let people with only a few things take cuts in front of our full grocery cart, and all of those other little things that make life a bit nicer for our fellow man.

He needs to understand that we believe God has given us many blessings and we need to share from our bounty as a way to thank Him (awesome homily last week, Father James!)

Practice my faith

J just celebrated his First Reconciliation and begins preparation for First Communion in August. We are his primary teachers in our faith. He needs to see us participating in weekly Sunday liturgy, going to confession, receiving communion, praying, etc. Otherwise all of the Religious Education lessons are just lip service.

Take care of my health

I do fairly well with the first 4, but now is when I begin to slip.

If I take him to the doctor and dentist for regular check ups, I should go to. He needs to see me eat healthy and exercise if I am going to expect him to do the same. No staying up late reading or playing Words With Friends and being tired and cranky the next day if I expect him to go to bed on time and sleep through the night.

Deal with Frustration

We both need to work on this area. I can be verbally abusive to my computer at times when it doesn't do what I want it to do as fast as I want it to. J sees that and doesn't understand why he can't cry and scream when the video game doesn't go his way. OOOPS! I need to work on stepping back, taking a deep breath and asking what can I do differently to get the desired outcome. He needs to see that everyone gets frustrated when things don't come easily but we need to calmly work our way through it.

Enjoy life

Moms, we've been hearing this a lot lately, haven't we? Put on a swimsuit and get in the water, get in the picture, put the camera/phone/computer away and be present with my family. But how many of us still aren't doing this enough?

I need to forget about the never ending to do list for a little while and just spend time with him. Sure there is a time for work, and he definitely sees us work. But he also needs us to play too. He needs to see us smile and be happy.

[Tweet "Things My Child Needs to See Me Do: learn from my actions as well as my words #parenting #teaching"]

Your turn. What actions are important for your child to learn be seeing you do them?

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Beach Memories Shell Collage

May 30, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Turn some old frames, photos and beach treasures into a Beach Memories Shell Collage.

If you have a "Beach Loving Dad" like we do, or are looking for a fun (and easy) way to display momentos from your summer vacation, hop on over to Creative K Kids for my tutorial on this Shell Collage. Plus you can see the entire Beach Photo Wall we made for my husband's office for Father's Day.

Awesome Jane Austen Quotes Still Relevant Today

May 26, 2016 · 11 Comments

WOW! 92 links last week at our Friday Frivolity Party - you guys are rockstars! For our weekly host theme of favorite quotes this week, I decided to pick some quotes from one of my favorite authors, Jane Austen.

There are plenty of great quips to choose from, but I decided to narrow it down to those that are still relevant today. Unlike the opening line of Pride and Prejudice which is arguably her most famous quote,

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

Though I suppose the producers and fans of The Bachelor still buy into that arcane concept that a woman needs to marry for money and prestige...

Enough feminism for one day, on to the 200 year old insights that are good life lessons today.

Awesome Austen Quotes: Quotes by Jane Austen that are as relevant today as they were 200 years ago. — Sadly, we all know at least one person like this, don't we?

[Tweet "Awesome Jane Austen Quotes that are still relevant today. #janeausten #lifelessons #quotes"]

Now on to the link-up! 😀

The Hosts:

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

Audrey is a wonderfully eclectic blogger, who not only can cook up a storm over on That Recipe, but also writes at Munofore - "MUsings NOt FOod RElated." Munofore touches on humor, parenting, crafting, holiday ideas, tutorials, and more! She shows off her new Mixed Media Wall Art she made for under $25.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google +// Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living a life full of all of her favorite things... friendship and connection, laughter, books and music, furbaby love, minimalism, wellness pursuits, Paleo-ish cooking, and on and on! If you shop online, you will want to check out her article on Groupon coupons.

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin

Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! She has an adorable free printable for the children's book Five Little Monkeys.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! She has a great post on 10 Things Every Blogger Should Know About LinkedIn.

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have four hosts we will also have FOUR FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other three blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

My featured post is these Amazingly Good Chocolate Chip Cookie S'mores from Fun Money Mom. Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard...

Now time for the new stuff!

This a link-up for all things funny, fun, encouraging, hopeful, and happy. That includes free printables, giveaways, and other fun stuff to make us SMILE and start the weekend off on the right foot.

If you're here in search of fun and uplifting reading materials, skip the rules and just start clickin'!

Bloggy buddies, thanks for coming to par-tay!
You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, and old posts are always welcome!

There are three rules only:

[Tweet "Come join the Friday Frivolity - the #linky party for all posts fun, funny, hopeful and happy!"]

An InLinkz Link-up

Mixed Media Wall Art

May 25, 2016 · 12 Comments

Today's Mixed Media Wall Art project continues my quest to freshen up the house without spending a lot of money. I am thrilled with how it came out, and so is my husband, which is definitely a bonus!

When we moved into the house, I grabbed an old wicker fan, spray painted it black with gold accents to coordinate with the black/gold/red Asian theme I had in the room.

I never liked it. It's too small, the wrong material for an Asian theme, and downright ugly. But, it has hung there for TEN YEARS while I waited for inspiration to strike.

Finally the time has come to say goodbye. I bought five of these cheap 12x12 inch canvas panels (affiliate link, full disclosure here).

Ignore the dimensions in the description that state they are 2.5" thick. They are flat canvas stretched over cardboard. Which is perfect for what I wanted to do.

I went online and found the Kanji characters for "health", "happiness", and "love". I cut them out so I had a template. Then I placed them in the middle of the canvas and painted over them. Nope, no tape, no glue. I just put the paper down, held it in place with one hand and painted lightly.

I wasn't worried it would bleed under the paper, since I planned to paint over it anyway in order to achieve the effect that I had actually painted the characters free hand.

I had some fabric with lovely cherry blossoms on it that I trimmed closely.

I placed them around the characters and painted over them liberally with watered down glue since I am out of Mod Podge (affiliate link).

In one corner of each panel I made three fingertip flowers. Actually, each of us made one.

I made the fingerprints look like a flower, and drew a branch with a black marker.

Then I added our initials so I would remember whose was whose. It was a last second addition, but I love the results!

For the last two panels, I cut a 14 x 14 square of fabric with the cherry blossom branch in the middle and glued the whole thing down just as I did above.

And here they are on the wall.

Since I already had the paint, marker and fabric this only cost me about $15 for the canvas panels. If you had to buy everything you could pull it off for about $25. Not bad for a pretty cool statement piece I'd say.

[Tweet "Create wall art with some canvases, fabric and paint. easy and inexpensive. #homedecor #art #crafts"]

They are currently held up with fun tak (affilite link) until I decide on the final arrangement. I can't decide if the characters should be in the middle row together or how I have it in the photo above. What do you think?

Life Hacks You Don't Need plus Friday Frivolity Link Party

May 19, 2016 · 8 Comments

If you spend a little bit of time on the internet you have probably seen more than a few "life hacks" guaranteed to make your life easier. Most probably tell you that you have been doing things wrong your whole life, like cutting a cake in wedges instead of slicing down the middle. Insert eye roll here...

In that vein, I present you with the most genius life hack memes that will only improve your life by giving you a laugh.

Funny-Life-Hacks-3 — And the energy crisis is solved.

Life hack 00011 — This was all I had to do instead of harassing hubby to bring some home?

Life hack 00012 — Does this work if you are walking or on a bike?

Every fan of My Big Fat Greek Wedding knows you just need to put some Windex on it.

useless-life-hacks-204-03222014 — So that's what that doohickey is.

Funny-Life-Hacks-11 — This would certainly make colds more fun.

[Tweet "Crazy Life Hacks You Could Probably Do Without #lifehacks #funny"]

Now on to the link-up! 😀

The Hosts:

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

Audrey is a wonderfully eclectic blogger, who not only can cook up a storm over on That Recipe, but also writes at Munofore - "MUsings NOt FOod RElated." Munofore touches on humor, parenting, crafting, holiday ideas, tutorials, and more! She explains the meaning of Memorial Day in her post Why I Don't Wish American Service Members and Veterans a "Happy Memorial Day."

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google +// Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living a life full of all of her favorite things... friendship and connection, laughter, books and music, furbaby love, minimalism, wellness pursuits, Paleo-ish cooking, and on and on! She has a fun collection of graphic t-shirts for under $10.

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin

Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! She shares her recipe for deliciously healthy Quinoa Avocado Brownies.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! She has a delightful flashback post about a 1970's teen magazine called My Guy.

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have four hosts we will also have FOUR FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other three blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

My featured post is Why You Should Never Go Shopping Without Your Kids from Life, Kids and a Glass of Red. I love any chance I get to go shopping by myself, but I don't usually run into Chris Helmsworth look alikes when I do...

Now time for the new stuff!

This a link-up for all things funny, fun, encouraging, hopeful, and happy. That includes free printables, giveaways, and other fun stuff to make us SMILE and start the weekend off on the right foot.

If you're here in search of fun and uplifting reading materials, skip the rules and just start clickin'!

Bloggy buddies, thanks for coming to par-tay!
You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, and old posts are always welcome!

There are three rules only:

[Tweet "Come join the Friday Frivolity - the #linky party for all posts fun, funny, hopeful and happy!"]

An InLinkz Link-up

Patriotic Wreath

May 19, 2016 · 5 Comments

The Repurposed Garden Hose Wreath has been on the front door since it was created, and with Memorial Day followed by Flag Day followed by Independence Day, I figured it was high time to create a Patriotic Wreath to get in the spirit.

Like all of the wreaths I am making this year, my goal was to create it with items I already have around the house so I could spend as little as possible.I may not be able to do too many more of these, because I am running out of wreaths to reuse. I might have to make some more like I did with the grapevines and old garden house.

The only one I could find left to use was this wire hoop that originally had fresh pine branches tied to it one Christmas. I craft, therefore I hoard.

Then I found some red and blue fleece, white ribbon, padding, and a pinwheel I picked up at the dollar section of a certain major discount retainer (aka "the big red ball store").

I put the padding around the top and outside of the wire hoop and wrapped strips of the fleece around it to secure it.

I fluffed and shaped until I got a look I was happy with.

Luckily my mom had just dropped off some craft sticks with stars and hearts and other shapes on top that she was sure I could come up with something to do with. (Yes, she is my crafting enabler). I quickly trimmed off the stick part and painted a few white and sprayed with lacquer.

Then I used plain old white glue to affix them.

I carefully wrapped the white ribbon around the red to get 6 white stripes and 7 red. The 8 year old verified that it matched the flag. Almost there.

All I had left was the pinwheel. I couldn't decide if I wanted it on top, in the middle or sticking out on the side. A few texts back and forth to my creative director (aka Mom) and I decided to put it on the bottom like a bow, even though it won't spin.

[Tweet "Celebrate the red white and blue with this quick and frugal Patriotic Wreath. #america #crafts"]

Beware of Black Cats plus Friday Frivolity

May 12, 2016 · 10 Comments

Your Friday Frivolity hosts have a Friday the 13th theme going this week (be sure to check out Babi a Fi, Devastate Boredom, and Syncopated Mama for more fun). I chose to go with one of the scariest creatures of superstition... the black cat.

But, I have to agree with Mr. Spock on this one (and pretty much all superstitions)

As an auntie to many many cats of all different fur colors I know that every cat is fully capable of acting like this:

In this day age, we all should know the truth...

black cats are adorable.

Especially kittens...

and upside down new Mommys

Upside Down Cat — Meet Bobbi, my newest furry niece that just gave birth to a little boy named... (wait for it)... Sue.

[Tweet "Funny black cat memes to brighten your day. #cats #funny"]

Now on to the link-up! 😀

The Hosts:

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

Audrey is a wonderfully eclectic blogger, who not only can cook up a storm over on That Recipe, but also writes at Munofore - "MUsings NOt FOod RElated." Munofore touches on humor, parenting, crafting, holiday ideas, tutorials, and more! She explains the meaning of Memorial Day in her post Why I Don't Wish American Service Members and Veterans a "Happy Memorial Day."

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google +// Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living a life full of all of her favorite things... friendship and connection, laughter, books and music, furbaby love, minimalism, wellness pursuits, Paleo-ish cooking, and on and on! She has a fun collection of graphic t-shirts for under $10.

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin

Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! She shares her recipe for deliciously healthy Quinoa Avocado Brownies.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! She has a delightful flashback post about a 1970's teen magazine called My Guy.

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have four hosts we will also have FOUR FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other three blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

My featured post this week is: Burgundy Campaign in the Great North West from Agent 54. It is a hysterical parody of Presidential Candidate Ron Burgundy's campaign stop with guest appearances by Carl Spackler and Martha Stewart. If you need a good laugh, you need to read this post and follow Agent 54 for more fun stuff.

Now time for the new stuff!

This a link-up for all things funny, fun, encouraging, hopeful, and happy. That includes free printables, giveaways, and other fun stuff to make us SMILE and start the weekend off on the right foot.

If you're here in search of fun and uplifting reading materials, skip the rules and just start clickin'!

Bloggy buddies, thanks for coming to par-tay!
You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, and old posts are always welcome!

There are three rules only:

[Tweet "Come join the Friday Frivolity - the #linky party for all posts fun, funny, hopeful and happy!"]

An InLinkz Link-up

Why I don't wish American Service Members and Veterans "Happy Memorial Day"

May 9, 2016 · 4 Comments

More than a few U.S. active duty service members and veterans I know are offended by the words "Happy Memorial Day". Some may not be as vocal about it as others, but it is still insulting if you know the true meaning of the day.

Confused? I understand. The holiday has become increasingly a day off from work and school, the unofficial start of summer, a time to score some great deals on appliances and mattresses, etc. What isn't there to be "happy" about?

Let's take some time to clarify all of our American military related holidays shall we?

Armed Forces Day

The day to honor those actively serving in the American military is Armed Forces Day celebrated on the third Saturday of May. It was established in 1949 as a way to unite the separate holidays traditionally held for each of the branches of the military.

Why I don't Wish American Service Members and Veterans Happy Memorial Day - the history and traditions of Memorial Day. — for more information, visit the Department of Defense website.

Veterans Day

We honor U. S. Veterans, both those that served in peace and war time, on November 11th. The date was chosen in honor of the signing of the armistice which ended "The Great War" aka "The war to end all wars" aka "World War I" and the day of remembrance was originally called Armistice Day. The name Veterans Day was adopted after World War II, because WWI obviously didn't end all wars. Per the Veterans Administration website it should be

A celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

Memorial Day

We honor the active duty military on Armed Forces Day and the veterans on Veterans Day, so who is left to honor?

Those service men and women that are not here for us to honor. Those that paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Those that were killed in action.

Most people don’t realize that the idea for Memorial Day began way back during the Civil War. During that war, over 620,000 soldiers died and people spontaneously held tributes in honor of the fallen, both for the North and the South. Women in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania placed flowers on the gravestones of those who had fought at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. In 1865, women did the same in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Carbondale, Illinois became the first organized Memorial Day ceremony held community-wide in April 1866.

The holiday was first known as Decoration Day because people placed flowers and flags on the graves of fallen soldiers from both sides of the war. It was called Memorial Day as early as 1882 but it wasn’t declared “Memorial Day” by Federal law until 1967. The holiday was moved from May 30th to the last Monday of the month in 1971.

[Tweet "Why I don't wish U.S. veterans and service members "Happy Memorial Day". #memorialday #military"]

Memorial Day Traditions

Traditionally Memorial Day should be honored by flying the American flag at half-staff until noon. The flag is then raised to the top of the flagpole until sunset. The song Taps, a 24-note bugle call, is often played during memorial services and at military funerals. Congress enacted a National Moment of Remembrance in 2000 at 3:00 p.m. local time. Americans are asked to pause for one minute of silence as an act of national solidarity.

You may often see people wearing red paper poppies on Memorial Day. This began in 1915 when a Georgia teacher was inspired by the poem "In Flanders Field" by John McCrae and suggested using the poppy as a symbol to pay tribute to those that died in WWI.

It later become a way to remember all of our fallen service members. Though the tradition seems to fallen off a bit of late, you can still see people wearing poppies at military related Memorial Day events.

---

Although Memorial Day was begun to honor the fallen soldiers from the Civil War, it is now a day to honor the memory of soldiers from every war and military conflict. You are welcome to enjoy your barbecues as the unofficial start of summer or get some great bargains in the big sales. But it would be nice if every American paused at 3:00 p.m. on May 30th to remember those military men and women that died in service to our country.

Feel free to thank a service member or veteran for their service, just don't insult them by wishing them a "Happy Memorial Day". For many of them that have lost comrades in arms the day is far from happy.

10 Funny Motherhood Quotes plus Friday Frivolity

May 5, 2016 · 9 Comments

Some people are sentimental when it comes to Mother's Day. Not me, laughter helps me keep a grip on this motherhood gig. Perhaps one of the other Friday Frivolity hosts went for the sentimental route, so be sure to check them out. I chose 10 of my favorite funny motherhood quotes:

Motherhood 1 — It usually takes a Mother's pressure to get the kid to church anyway.

Motherhood 3 — My mother thinks this and it makes me want to gag any time she says it.

Motherhood 6 — I know I am. When you think about all of the things a mother endures, you'd have to be slightly insane to sign up for it.

[Tweet "Funny Quotes about Motherhood. #motherhood #funny"]

Motherhood 2 — Psssh! If we can get dinner ready, while talking on the phone to our mother and still know that our child is jumping on his bed instead of doing homework like he was supposed to do, following a couple of blips on a computer screen is nothing.

[Tweet "If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands? Milton Berle #motherhood #funny #quotes"]

Motherhood 7 — At least once a week. And I still have a few years until he hits the tweens and teens.

Motherhood 9 — There'd be a lot of leaving it in this house. So, I lie. "It's chicken!"

Motherhood 8 — So many great ones from Ms. Bombeck, it was hard to choose just one. But, this gives me the shakes just thinking about it.

Motherhood 4 — As long as I have my own Mommy suite...

Motherhood 10 — Guilty! I literally tell my son "Mommy is cold, put on a sweat shirt."

[Tweet "10 quotes about Motherhood to make you smile. #motherhood #humor"]

Now on to the link-up! 😀

The Hosts:

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Instagram

Audrey is a wonderfully eclectic blogger, who not only can cook up a storm over on That Recipe, but also writes at Munofore - "MUsings NOt FOod RElated." Munofore touches on humor, parenting, crafting, holiday ideas, tutorials, and more! She talks about her new found heroine, Phryne Fisher from the Phryne Fisher Mystery novels and Miss Fisher Murder Mystery television series.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google +// Bloglovin'

Sarah Eliza is on a mission to Devastate Boredom by living a life full of all of her favorite things... friendship and connection, laughter, books and music, furbaby love, minimalism, wellness pursuits, Paleo-ish cooking, and on and on! Go check out her blog for a review of the book "Everything I Never Told You " by Celeste Ng.

Facebook // Twitter //Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin

Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! She reveals her 5 favorite Literary Characters this week on her weekly series 5 after 5.

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin' // Instagram

Jessica is an amazingly funny and smart blogger from Wales who writes at Babi a Fi on a whole range of topics -- from entertaining vintage nostalgia, to technology tutorials, to book reviews, to raising her adorable munchkin, and so much more! She tells us what she has been reading lately from a cute counting book with her daughter to the true story of a missing American in Japan later found murdered.

Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we now have four hosts we will also have FOUR FEATURES.... but you will have to go check out the other three blogs to see if you were featured there! 😉

My featured post this week is: Ikea Hack: Lego Table from Keeping it Real. I love anything that will keep Legos off my floor. It's a great frugal idea that looks great. Kids happy, parents are happy, win win!

Now time for the new stuff!

This a link-up for all things funny, fun, encouraging, hopeful, and happy. That includes free printables, giveaways, and other fun stuff to make us SMILE and start the weekend off on the right foot.

If you're here in search of fun and uplifting reading materials, skip the rules and just start clickin'!

Bloggy buddies, thanks for coming to par-tay!
You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, and old posts are always welcome!

There are three rules only:

[Tweet "Come join the Friday Frivolity - the #linky party for all posts fun, funny, hopeful and happy!"]

An InLinkz Link-up

I want to be Phryne Fisher in my next life.

May 3, 2016 · 8 Comments

Phryne Fisher: glamorous, intelligent, witty, fashionable, sensuous and a little dangerous. Yup. I have found a new idol.

If you are Australian, you probably have heard of the Phryne Fisher Mystery books by Kerry Greenwood and the television show based on them. Here in America we are just discovering the delicious Miss Fisher. Ovation just started airing Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries on Saturday nights after another of my favorites, The Artful Detective. I was hooked on Miss Fisher after the first 5 minutes. You can also catch it on Netflix.

Set in Australia in the late 1920's, the stories detail the adventures of an intelligent and seductive female detective. Phryne, pronounced Fry-knee, was named after a Greek courtesan of the 4th century renown for her beauty and wit. Which is a very apt name for Miss Fisher.

Fair warning, this series definitely covers some "adult" topics. Beyond murder, of course. The first episode/book alone discusses cocaine, backroom abortions and "sapphism" (an old term for lesbianism). And Phryne seems to have a different lover in every episode. NO SPOILERS, please! I don't want to know if she does eventually try monogamy for awhile.

I think she has the joie de vive of Auntie Mame with the style and grace of Audrey Hepburn. And she lives in one of my favorite periods in history.

The Jazz Age has always been fascinating to me: the fashions, the music, art deco architecture, the expatriate writers (Fitzgerald, Hemingway, et. al.). And the series and books portray it beautifully from all of the glamour to the social undercurrent ignored by much of the elite classes in many countries.

In America we also associate the Roaring 20's with the Prohibition Era with their speak easies and gangsters. But that was not a factor in other countries. So, it makes for a bit of a different historical perspective.

Her home and wardrobe are nothing short of spectacular. I'd be thrilled to have just half of her hats. Stylish, graceful, tasteful... sigh.

I adore Phryne's attitude that there is nothing she can't do. She drives a car (rare for a woman in those days), flies a plane, wears pants occasionally (gasp!), speaks multiple languages and carries a gun. She doesn't need a man to rescue her, most of the time she is the one doing the rescuing and crime solving. She considers herself men's equal whether they want her to or not.

She seems to have no fears, at least that's what she shows to the outside world. Her impoverished early years and The Great War definitely impacted her sometimes in ways only the reader/viewer sees. Like when the young man at the dock dies in her arms and she flashes back to her days as an ambulance driver in the war. All she wants to do is take off her bloody blouse (which she amusingly does right on the dock while Constable Collins feebly holds up her fur coat to shield her from view.

Phryne claims to have no maternal instinct, but the cast of characters she picks up and takes under her wing, like Dot and Jane, belie that fact completely. She might be unconventional, but her caring nature is quite evident.

There isn't much else I can say without spoiling the fun. If you like intelligent and witty crime dramas I highly recommend you check out the books and the series.

[Tweet "The Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries is a delightful period drama with a strong female hero. #phrynefisher"]

Yes, in my next life I want to be Phryne Fisher. But, perhaps without the promiscuity and people dropping dead when I am around...

follow the fun

follow the fun

blog

[Tweet "Boyakasha! We've got your family friendly Ninja Turtle memes here. #TMNT #humor #ninjaturtles"]

The Hosts:

Now time for the new stuff!

How I made the Door Decoration

The Hosts:

Now time for the new stuff!

Supplies

Preparations:

Assembly:

Roseann Rosannadana - Gilda Radner

Prymaat Conehead - Jane Curtin

The Sweeney Sisters - Nora Dunn and Jan Hook

Pat - Julia Sweeney

The Hosts:

Now time for the new stuff!

The Hosts:

And a huge welcome to the #FridayFrivolity Co-Host for August:

Now time for the new stuff!

The Hosts:

And a huge welcome to the #FridayFrivolity Co-Host for August:

Now time for the new stuff!

What is a Vision Board?

How to make a simple Vision Board

What to put on your Vision Board

Free Printables

What is on your Vision Board?

The Hosts:

And a huge welcome to the #FridayFrivolity Co-Host for August:

Now time for the new stuff!

Mission Beach, San Diego, California

[Tweet "Sunny days at Mission Beach in San Diego, CA #sandiego #photography #beach"]

Bahia Resort Hotel

First, here are two for the younger crowd.

Here are three with a more feminine flare:

And finally five with styles and colors for either gender:

There are some universal truths about all swimmers

And then comes race day

[Tweet "Funny swimming memes that all competitive swimmers will understand. #swimming #humor "]

The Hosts:

And a huge welcome to the #FridayFrivolity Co-Host for August:

Now time for the new stuff!

What is a Capsule Wardrobe anyway?

Finding my personal style

How the book can help

[Tweet "Get your geek on with "sum" funny Math Puns. #geekhumor #humor #math"]

The Hosts:

And a huge welcome to the #FridayFrivolity Co-Host for August:

Now time for the new stuff!

[Tweet "Glamping memes for the non-adventurous camper. #glamping #humor"]

[Tweet "Camping? Surely you jest. Glamping is more my idea of roughing it. #glamping #funny #camping"]

The Hosts:

Now time for the new stuff!

Have some fun on the rides

Fun adventures hidden throughout the park

Git your learnin' on in Ghost Town

And then there was food

But wait, there's more!

[Tweet "Fun for all ages at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA. #photography #travel #knottsberryfarm"]

[Tweet "No more Adulting! Things I miss about childhood. #nostalgia #childhood"]

The Hosts:

Now time for the new stuff!

Birthday messages

Rants about today's youth

A new profile picture for the latest cause du jour

My political views

About the superiority of my religion or denigrate any other

Hyperbolic odes to my husband or child

Copy and Paste

[Tweet "Seven Things I Don't Post on Facebook. I hope you aren't offended. #socialmedia #sorrynotsorry"]

[Tweet "Funny cow memes to make you smile. #cows #humor"]

The Hosts:

Now time for the new stuff!

Hold the Pickle Hold the Lettuce...

Wouldn't you like to be a pepper too?

Meow, meow, meow!

Cuz' Oscar Meyer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A.

She can bring home the bacon. Fry it up in a pan.