On the Plane to Disney

If you all are regular readers, you should know by now that I have a love for sunsets.  I have to take picture after picture of them.  I could stare at them for days.  They are the most beautiful and eye opening vision.

When I admire a sunset my soul swells in the adoration of its creator.

Her first plane ride, scared, but excited.  She loved it.

"God is the Sun and when His rays fall upon your heart, not impeded by the clouds of egoism, the lotus blooms and the petals unfold." - Sri Sathya Sai Baba

The sky is smiling at us. Splitting in two and letting the face of God shine through.

 It kisses us good night.

"Don't tell me the sky is the limit, there are footprints on the moon." - author unknown

The city at night below.  Isn't it gorgeous?

Only from the heart can you touch the sky.  I love this baby.

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Disney Window

One of the traditions in Disney world during a cheer competition is decorating the window and door. Every room is lit up with lights and decorations in their cheer colors. The creativity that some parents have with decorating the window amazed us.

I created two banners. One for Hailey and one for our roommate, McKenzie. I designed them with Paint Shop Pro XI because that is the program I'm comfortable with; I'm still trying to get the hang of Photoshop.

I emailed the designs to a local graphics & sign shop in our town.  He printed them on a 2 x 4 banner.  We then hung them up in our window at Disney along with blue and green Christmas lights.  There was one little staple in our decorations.  You can't use tape, so we brought suction cups with us.  Everything was hung up with suction cups.  It was challenging, but it all worked out.  This is what our window looked like.

 

I also made a poster with the girls pictures on them and we received stars and magnets in the girl's gift bags  to hang on the door as well.  Again, no tape, so we stuck magnets on the decorations because the door is metal.  This is what our door looked like.

Here is a closer look at the poster.  The poster was pretty fun to make. I  just bought a blue poster board, trimmed it in zebra ribbon.  I then printed the RC sign from my computer (off of the banner that I designed) and glued it to the board.  I bought silver stars at a parent-teacher store and printed their picture in a star shape from my printer. I glued everything on and then outlined it all in glitter glue.  The board says Rockin' Rebels on the bottom.  It's a little hard to read on the picture.

I think our door and window looked pretty good.  I wish I would have taken pictures of some of the other windows so you could see the amazing creativity.  Now, I have to prepare for next year and look for anything I can find that is blue and green and would look good on the door or window.

Happy Hump day! The weather is beautiful here, but supposed to be cold and snowy tomorrow. Boo!

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Rag Flip Flops

Remember my to do list? I finished two projects off of the list.  The first one I'm going to show you are the rag flip flops.  I made 3 pair the week before we left for Disney.  The colors I used are Hailey's cheer colors.  We wore them around the pool and will wear them to and from practice once it is warm enough.

Supplies you'll need:

1. A pair of flip flops

2. 3-4 different colors of fabric

3. pinking shears

You'll want to make sure your fabric is lightweight, not too heavy and soft material.  If you get a fabric that is too heavy, it won't "fluff" and may just lie flat or curl, which won't look good on the flip flops.  I bought my fabric from JoAnn fabrics.

Cut the fabric into about 8 inch strips, you may want to go shorter or longer depending on your preference.  Once I was done cutting all the fabric, I stacked them neatly in the order of how I was going to use them.

You can't see the stacks in the pictures because I forgot to take good pictures along the way, but I had a large stack of each color of fabric pieces in this order:  Green, Zebra, Blue, Zebra, Tie Die.

I started with the green and tied it is a knot on one side where the bands meet between the toe.  Then I tied the zebra in a knot, then the blue, then zebra, then tie die and then started with green again and etc.  You want to make sure you tie the knot tight and tie each fabric very close together.  I would even push them close together as tightly as I could because the more fabric you can get on the bands, the fluffier the rag flip flop will look.

This is one side half way done.  I still have half of the band on the left side to finish.  I haven't started on the right band yet.

This is a view of what it looks like from the right side of the band.  You can see in this picture that I haven't started on the right side yet.  When I did start on the right side, I went backwards with the colors.  On the right side, I started with tie die, then zebra, then blue, then zebra, then green and then back to tie die, etc.

Here is a picture of a blue pair that we finished.  I loved the fabric on the blue flip flops the best.

This is what they look like on Hailey's feet.  I love how they turned out and they looked so cute sporting on her feet by the pool, especially with he matching zebra bathing suit.

I have two other cool projects to share with you in the coming weeks!! :)  If you've made these before or make them in the future, I would love to see them.  Just leave a link in the comments section or send me an emial!!  Happy Tuesday!

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I've been on vacation

I haven't posted in a while because I've been on vacation/business.  Hailey had a cheerleading competition in Walt Disney World, but more on that next week.  I'll have to break it down into several posts because you can't just make one post about Disney World.

To prepare for the trip, my mom, Hailey and I went for a pedicure.  It happened to be mine and Hailey's first one and it felt like heaven. 

They soaked our feet and filed our nails.

They buffed our feet and gave us a massage.  Then painted our toe nails.  Hailey got zebra print on her nails and I got white tips on mine.

Then, Hailey and Hunter got sick on me.  So, I had to take them to Urgent Care to get some meds that will last us while we are gone.  We can't have a sick child competing in Disney.  The boys didn't go on the trip with us, but I didn't want my husband to have to worry about a doctor's appointment while we were gone.  You can't tell it by the picture's but they were sick.

These pictures were taken with my phone, so they aren't the best quality.

I also worked on two projects to prepare for Disney that included flip flops and a banner.  I can't wait to show them to you. :)

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Lip Gloss Reveiw - Which Do You Prefer?

In the last several months, I've been on a search to find the perfect lip gloss that stays on ALL DAY. After finding the perfect one, I wanted to let you know which one it is!!  By the way, I am not being paid to do this review. :)

Below are the ones that I tested and what I thought of them.  But, first let me explain what I was looking for.

When I get up in the morning, I turn off my alarm, pee, shower, dry my hair, put on makeup (including my lip gloss), fix my hair, brush my teeth, get the kids up, drop kids off at school, go to work, eat breakfast at work around 9am and so on.

If  a lipgloss claims to last 8-24hrs, then it should last through eating, drinking and brushing my teeth because I like to put on my lip gloss before I brush my teeth and I like to brush my teeth after I eat.  I am also not the type of person that will reapply my makeup, so I want a lipgloss that will last through my routine and all day without reapplying.  So, with that said, here are my reviews.
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Avon - Perfect Wear Everlasting Lip Gloss

This one is not for me.  The color did not stay and it was so sticky and thick that I could barely stand it on my lips.  Everytime I tried to talk, my lips stuck together.  It drove me nuts and I usually ended up wiping it off before it wore off.  But, I did keep it on a few times just to see if it held up to what it claimed.  Verdict: 2 thumbs down! It lasted at the most 1 1/2 hours. 

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Maybelline Superstay Gloss

I really like this one.  I'm not exactly sure how many hours they claim that this stays on, but the color (not the gloss) stays on at least 9 hours.  The gloss was sticky enough that you could tell it was gloss rather than a stick, but it wasn't too sticky.  The only downside to this one is that I ran out of the gloss before the color.  I tried to find the gloss sold separately, with no luck.  If you happen to find it, let me know where!  Maybelline, if you are reading this, which I doubt you are, you need to sell the gloss separate that way we can buy more so the color doesn't go to waste. 

If you use a different lip gloss with the color, it flakes really bad, I've tried it.  Oh, and if you have remnants of chapstick on your lips before putting on the color, it will cake together and come off.  So, I guess that is 3 downsides to it.  But, it is still one of my favorites.  Verdict: 1 thumb up!

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Cover Girl Outlast Double Lipshine

I found this one by accident.  I went to the store to buy more Maybelline Colorstay lipgloss and picked this up by accident.  When I got home, I was really bummed.  I did go ahead and put it on before I went to bed to see if I liked the color.  When I woke up the next morning, it was still on and looked really pretty!!  My lips tend to dry out easy and this lipgloss makes my lips so smooth.  I refreshed my lipgloss that morning when I woke up, went through my daily routines and it was still on when I got home that evening.  So, it lasted a good 10-11 hours.This one is by far my favorite now and I have yet to find a downside.  I'm not all the way through my gloss, so I can't say for sure if the color lasts longer than the gloss. Verdict: 2 thumbs up!

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Cover Girl Outlast Lipstain

This one doesn't even last through my first teeth brushing and it dries out my lips.  That is all I really have to say about this one.  Oh and the stain doesn't last long at all in the bottle.  I think I ran out in about 2 weeks. The gloss lasts a long time though, but the color doesn't stay on the lips and that was what I was looking for.  Verdict: 2 thumbs down!

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Maybelline Superstay 24® Color

My opinion on this is the exact same as the Maybelline Lip Gloss.  The color lasts longer than the 2nd step gloss/stick.  They do sell the stick separate for when you run out that way the color doesn't go to waste.  This also flakes like the gloss does.  It doesn't stay on for 24 hours like it states, but it does stay on for about 9 hours.  Verdict: 1 thumb up!

Winner

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Cover Girl Outlast Double LipShine

* It makes my lips smooth

* It does not dry my lips out

* It has a good texture, not too sticky

* The color lasts a good 10-11 hours without refreshing

 

I hope you found my review helpful!  I'm looking for a good mascara if you have any recommendations, let me know!!  Have a good weekend!!!

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The Post of Remembers

I have a layout to show you using Kaye Winiecki's Home Run kit. Remember this photo? Well, I scrapped the below page using the photo. It was the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen.



Do you remember this cutie? Well, this is her now. She is the most sweetest, smartest, funnest dog I've ever owned. She has such a cute personality. I love how she growns while she is sleeping and stretching. Have you ever heard a dog grown like a human? It is hilarious.

We've watched her run in her sleep, which is a sight to see. If she does something she knows the's not allowed to do, you can always tell. She gives herself away. She bats her eyes and turns her head and pretends to not look at us, but she'll peek from the corner of her eye. Too funny!

The kids and I have taught her some fun tricks. She knows how to sit, stand tall, shake and give high fives. We are currently trying to teach her to roll over. If you barely jingle her leash, she flips out and is ready for a walk. While walking her, she will not do #1 or #2. She just walks and smells. When we get back home, she has her own little spot in the yard where she'll do her business.

I had to fight hard to keep her, but it was so worth it. She has been the best addition to our family. She completed us. She is my husband's best friend; and to think he didn't want to keep her. We love our little Lucy.

Let's do a quick comparison of how much she has grown in just a year and a half.

Awwww, I didn't realize how much more brown she has on her than she did when she was a puppy. I miss my little bite size "Luce", that I could hold in just one hand. But, I love the full grown, potty trained Lucy better. :)

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Basement Renovation Part I

I started cleaning up my basement this past weekend. I knew it would take me several weeks to get it completed, but I think those were high expectations. This project is going to take me forever. I'm not quite sure how we've accumulated this much stuff.

I love having an unfinished basement. It gives me a place to store clothes that no longer fit until I get a chance to take them to a consignment shop or hand them down. It gives me a place to store clothes that my oldest son grows out of while we wait until the youngest one grows into them. An unfinished basement gives me a place to store old beds, furniture, books, etc that we no longer use, but are not quite ready to get rid of. It also gives me a place to put things hide stuff and get them out of the living area of my house.

Before this project began, my husband built the large shelf (you see in the above and below pictures) for storage. I'm not quite sure how functional the shelf will be, but we'll make it work.

Anyway... I went downstairs and just started moving things around and then came up with the bright idea that I'm going to paint the walls. We've lived in this house for 9 years and I've never painted the walls down there before.

You can't see them in the pictures, but the walls are multi-colored. Some are white and some are blue and then there are random areas that are green. I hope to paint them all one color.

So, I removed everything off of the wall straight ahead in the picture below and primed the wall. I also primed the shelf.  I forgot to get a progress picture, though, sorry about that.

I have some old lime green paint that I'm going to use on the basement walls and I'll paint the section that has already been primed this weekend and I'll paint the shelf white. That way I can get it out of the middle of the floor and have it ready to place items on as I'm cleaning off another wall to prime.

This is going to be a very long project and I hope I don't get tired of it before I finish. I tend to do that sometimes.  These pictures are just half of the basement.  The other half is a little more functional, but still needs work.  I have my washer and dryer on the other side along with a sink and freezer.  My husband has a work bench that needs a ton of work and organization.  And the other side of the basement also houses all of my exercise equipment.  I have a little home Curves going on down there. So, this other side that I'm mentoning might be a project for next year.

I have intentions of creating a little craft area down here, in the basement.  I have a red desk under the piles of stuff, you may be able to see if peeking out of the picture above.  I would like to paint it white or black and use it for crafts.  I would love to build some type of gift wrapping area as well.  We'll see where this project takes us.  I don't want to get too far ahead of myself.

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"Rona has some helpful basement ideas for your home design projects."

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