coffee maker giveaway!

The Secrets in the Sauce has an awesome giveaway!go here!  for your once in a lifetime chance at a super duper one cup at a time coffee maker, this means no more warmed over coffee at 6pm! ooohhhhh i hope i win, and oh yeah, good luck to you too!

not i

we had a friend visit last evening, she just got back from visiting her sister in Montana where they live in a one room cabin and have no indoor plumbing!! by choice! and they like it! (insert horrified/disgusted face here)

she told us stories of the need to go berry picking in pairs, apparently bears wont bother you if you are talking back and forth.

she gave us the scoop on what to do if you see a mountain lion (raise your arms up as high as you can and walk backwards away from it maintaining eye contact) 

and gave us the age old line the animals are more scared of you than you are of them, i guess this does not apply to a mountain lion, never run from a mountain lion.

sounds like a super fun vacation (did i mention the part about  -24 degree nights) but please, please dont ever invite me to join you in rural Montana. you can bet your boohiney that the answer will be a firm but polite "No Thank You".

clean it, fix it

mommys toys!

my Dirt Devil Kone hand vac makes me want to clean everything in sight, this may be the most motivating christmas present EVER!! 

the rest of our christmas day was spent at Aunt Amys house where food, good cheer, and gift cards were abundant along with a couple of doggies and ALOT of potatoes .

merry christmas to all

merry christmas, my friends. let us not forget the true reason for this season of anticipation and hope.

"Today your savior was born in the town of David. He is Christ the Lord." luke 2:11

another cry for help!

i have 1 more gift to make and my sewing machine is on the fritz! the tension knob is not working properly! if i cant fix it, TONITE, im going to have to  *gasp* buy a gift! 

help me, help me!

what do i do, i have already taken it apart and i cant figure out whats causing this problem! 

how much?

i have been designated to bring mashed potatoes to the family christmas dinner this year. my question for you is how many potatoes do i make for say, 20 people, what like 1 1/2 potatoes per person or what? i have never made that many mashed potatoes before. 

i guess im going to have to use my BIG pot, the one i make greens in.

 i should have just volunteered greens, at least id know how much to make.

yesterday i....

blogged, of course

cleaned up more of Ds "clay mess" i found little fingerprints all over the kitchen and bathroom.

went for a walk and to The Birdhouse (fun nature store on main street)

recieved 2 christmas boxes and a case of bibles

painted the top cabinet fronts in my kitchen (i will show you when its done)

skimmed the Madison Courier

worked on christmas gifts

drank a pot of coffee

made spaghetti

washed dishes

went to Branson on the Road country christmas concert at church  (sounds cheesy but is actually so much fun)

and had dessert with my husband and son at Frisches Big Boy

whew, i wonder whats in store for today!

christmas in 5 days!

must bake

must craft

must clean :(

but insted im looking at my friends' blogs and consiedring a trip to The Lumber Mill Antiques, whos with me?

a better question is who is going to clean my house?

pre party pics (wordless wednesday)

crying!

do you wanna cry?

go see Heather at mindless junque! shes got a tear jerker for ya (not bad though) regarding her oldest daughters Santa experience.

i dont cry about things happy or sad, it doesnt bother me when other people do but i hate crying, she made it happen.

we dont even "santa" at our house and it made me cry.

christmas list

heres my sons christmas list.

a mini train set (2 bucks at walgreens)

Wall-e (saw it at wal-mart)

a jump rope (saw some kids jumping rope last summer, thought it looked like fun)

a "giant" pencil (like one you buy in a zoo gift shop, i think he likes the big eraser on it)

grand total: less than $25

other than totally violating my buy nothing challenge this list is a piece of cake (and a bit odd toward the bottom, a giant pencil?) im so glad hes little and easy to please.

plus, Wall-e is kinda for me too, have you seen that movie? its so cute.

this week

The Boy ran in to the computer room the other night and announced tht he had drawn a picture of me. then looked at it and said "oh, i forgot your hair" and proceeded to draw ONE hair. im glad i have a good self image.

thursday night: i was just pulling out the vacuum when i noticed the living room was flooded with pink light, looking outside i grabbed my camera and went out into the front yard snapping like crazy and being the worlds worst mom. the poor boy was convinced that i was going for a walk without him and all i was interested in was getting the shots before the light was gone. we walked (quickly) in the bitter cold. down the street and around the corner so i could get this shot. and again worlds worst mom, neither of us had our hats or gloves on, but at least i was wearing my apron.

Friday: the church cookie walk is tomorrow. you buy from the united methodist women a bakery box and stuff it with as much christmas goodness as it can hold and i will stuff as many blondies in there as my family willl let me.

this is my contribution to the event 2 dozen decorated cookies. 
the stars went fast last year so you gotta get there early if you want some stars, there would be more stars but some just didnt pass the inspection. you have to eat the misfits right away you know, and dont you dare try to pass them off to Santa.

 CHRISTMAS TIDBIT: my dad use to tell us that Santa would be tired of cookies and milk by time he got to our house and that he would rather have pretzels and beer.

you tell me

heres a little question that i keep rolling around in my head.

how can i live more simply?

what do you do? what have you pruned from your life to make it more simple? what are your simple living tips? and what is the strangest or funniest thing YOU do in the name of frugality?

we've got spirit, yes we do...

i have Kelly at close to home to thank for this. she think im full of it (christmas spirit that is) and has named my buy nothing challenge as the reason! thanks kelly!

heres the rule breakdown.

#1 you gotta love christmas to get this award

#2 the person you give this award must also love christmas

#3 link back to the person who awarded you this high honor

#4 list 5 things you love about christmas, unless you get on a roll and cant stop then list as many as you want

#5 pass the award on to as many people as you want 

#6 leave them a comment telling them what they won

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT CHRISTMAS!

#1 hello, jesus! 

#2 twinkling lights. 

#3 tins full of cookies.

#4 santa photos, what, they're funny!

#5 christmas cards, you never know who you will find when you open the mailbox.

i would like to award......Tricia because i totally dig her wine bottle christmas tree. she has severe allergies that prohibit real trees and also petro-chemical plastic trees, like mine and has found a unique solution. 

i also want to award messy nester for bringing all of our attention to avdentconspiracy.org.

check it!

wow! i got wind of this web site via my messy nest, a blog i enjoy.

so check it!  it promotes spending less on meaningless material gifts this christmas. you know im all about that, because its Jesus's birthday why should we get all the presents. 

i also discovered this one in the process of reading the last one. it gives no buy gift ideas, so check that one too.

more christmas making

isnt she a cute little creature? each of my brothers girls are getting one of these, plus, i have to admit a couple of things i bought from my avon lady prior to my "no buy challenge", a couple of bath paints and disney princess lip glosses, i did however make the little bags i put them in.
these are the rest of the packages going to N.J. this week, all made, by me. 2 are the girls', the others are a purse, sorry i didnt take a pic of that one, and one of those cute key wristlets, and a cd for my brother, with a super cool playlist just for him.

quiet?

im alone!!!!! hazzah!!!! dad took the boy to gramma rockys for the day!!!!!

now what do i do with myself?

i can take a shower and shave my legs without someone whipping back the shower curtain and poking their head in because the dvd stopped.

i can walk around the house eating cookies and not have to try to hide them in the folds of my sweatshirt so no one else sees them.

i can play my music without countless requests for "bob and larry" (veggietales sunday morning singalong cd) 

and last but not least i dont have to be suspicious of the quiet.

lucky again!

want to see what i won? i got the third place prize.

Megan had a giveaway and i was so glad to win one of her beautiful fine art photo prints.

so head on over to her blog and see what i won and you have to check out her stunning photos of NYC you will be glad you did.

in december i will be,

a baubled, bangled chrismas tree, 

with soup bowls draped all over me.

merry once, merry twice,

merry chicken soup with rice.

we love the Really Rosie video for chicken soup with rice

weekend fun

heres a fun craft project that even a 3 year old can help with, assuming hes willing to help. all mine wanted to do was see what would stick to the clear contact paper we were using. we used the madison courier  christmas song book that we got with our paper on saturday morning and just went create-crazy from there.
and of course NO thanksgiving weekend would be complete without putting up the christmas tree... and then having pie. yes, im not ashamed to admit that my pie grand total came to the belt busting number of 10 pieces, for the whole weekend, thursday through tonight, not 1 day. that would be embarrassing.

ring it in!

im considering this weekend's food fest the ring in to the holiday season, i ate no less than 9 pieces of pie since thursday, thats more pie than i have consumed in the last year!

the pie is almost gone, but i do still have three quarters of a tub of cool whip, which i plan on just eating. what? dont tell me you wouldnt do the same thing!

im a lazy blogger!

more and better stuff to come, tomorrow perhaps.

stitchin' fool!

a few more gifts for my buy nothing christmas challenge. i have found SO MANY sewing patterns and tutorials on the website sew, mama, sew (its on my blog roll bar). its been fun so far. 

lucky lady

look at the cute flower pin i won as runner up in tricia's birthday giveaway! it immediately found a home on my knit cap. thanks tricia!

no crankies allowed

its probably happened to you, if youre a mom that is. my beautiful, well behaved little angel (thats him as a cute little cranky baby, back when the crankies could be excused) did it, for maybe the third time ever, he had a meltdown in public.

the crankies had been fighting for control for the majority of the day. we went with the silly approach to banish them, we fished them out of his head with a toy fishing pole , threw them down the garbage disposal and turned it on. hahaha, everything was good for a while, so we ran a few errands and even went on a "field trip" (a short walk in Clifty Park). by 1 the crankies were back i asked my angel what happened, we threw them down the garbage disposal? he said "i got it out wis my fissin pole"

this little exchange occured on my way to get gas, since the light came on and the bell dinged, i didnt want to waste any time.  i do want to mention that i FILLED my tank of my malibu for 18.75, the pump elation i felt was however, short lived. i needed to stop by the office, as we pulled into my office parking lot my angel asked me if he could have a sucker when we got inside, "im sure Maribel will give you one if you ask her" was my answer. he didnt want to. when we got inside i was standing there chatting and my angel literally threw himself down at my feet and just started wailing! thankfully the guy im talking to has 3 boys and looked at us like 'this is no big deal'.

i tried to pick my angel up and he went completely limp, still screaming i laid him back down on the floor . i stood there for a second, this has only happened to me once before, with the screaming and the laying on the floor and the limpness, and for a minute tried to get him to tell me whats wrong. then i lowered my center of gravity, got a good grip and carted the kid off to the car screaming all the way.

10 minutes later when he had gotten a hold of himself,  we started to discuss. it was determined that the crankies completely took over and started their own party when Maribel wouldnt give him a sucker, a sucker that he never asked her for. 

my angel is taking a nap now. im hoping to be able to go to the grocery store later. NO CRANKIES ALLOWED!

giveaway alert

hey guys, megan is having a giveaway, she has amazing fine art photos to give so check it!

im a baby

im always given a little bit of insight on the way God has to deal with us when i have to deal with The Boy (age 3)

he says he wants something (ie. water) and when he gets it looks at it, looks at me and bursts into tears because its not in the doggie cup. its not what he expected it to be.

thinks that when i say we will go to the library, it means get your hat and coat fusses and pouts until distracted by the cat. just because i said we will doesnt mean we are going RIGHT NOW.

pretends to be busy doing something of equal importance (in his mind) when told to take his shoes to his room . is disobedient while trying to justify disobedience.

and the list goes on and on with the childish things related to me, the baby and God, the loving parent.

im such a baby.

i also want to say thanks to all of you who blessed mom with a happy birthday wish, and for the record Grandma (who was in the hospital, see comments for happy birthday post) is doing fine.

happy birthday, mom!

without you there would be no me! so happy birthday i hope its a good one.

i didnt buy it!

these are the first fruits of my "buy nothing christmas". a set of four coasters that i found on the web and duplicated using some fabric scraps.
and a first attempt at this cute and cuddly doll, i was rather surprised that my first one turned out this well.  Ken said i should give it to a woman we know who is opening a doll museum, but we both agreed it reminded us of my mom. i'm sure there will be more to come i have really enjoyed spending the day sewing and looking for patterns and ideas for my free christmas.

christmas for free!

 want a free christmas? well, maybe not 100% free but non commercial anyway. i just found this site, buy nothing christmas, can we step up to the challenge? 

im going to try.

i get it!

i had the opportunity to go on a womens overnight retreat this weekend at a wondreful rustic retreat center in henryville, in. 

our theme was  "get it", with the emphasis on "it"  as in, what is "it"?

the answer my friends: "it" is wisdom and discernment.

do you want "it"? well, guess what! ask and God will give "it" to you! (matt. 7:7)

awesome! 

so ask for "it" then stand up and take "it" and use "it". "it" was what solomon wanted most in the world, more than riches, more than fame, more than the death of his enemies, he wanted an obedient heart,  to know how to rule his people in the right way, and to know the difference between right and wrong. wisdom (truth) and discernment, so thats what he asked for, and thats what he got (1 kings 3:9-13).

well, do you get it?

oh yah, its there dontcha know.

i noticed tonight that when i get upset or impaient my northern iowa accent comes out. which is funny i guess, although it isnt by far as pronounced as Frances McDormand's in Fargo (if you havent seen it, dont) or Bobbys mom in Bobbys world cartoon or sarah palin's, it is there dontcha know. and it is funny

as per your request

its hard to get a good picture of because it is so sparkly, which is why i didnt include the photo on the last post.

----------------------------------------------------

and on the random thoughts note:

if i could have any job in the whole world, i would want to be a professional back-up singer.

i would get to wear cool clothes.  possibly stand behind oh say John Mayer, Sheryl Crow and maybe even Bono! 

check it out, ive been practicing on waiting for the world to change 

waitin' .....  aaaaahhhhh waitin'  

this is all i have to do and johnny does the rest. 

how much does a gig like that pay i wonder?

plus, i totally rock on Tom Pettys "american girl"

i better get an agent.

compliment junkie

time to get the warm coat out. im not real thrilled about this, i had to wear my winter coat to church yesterday morning. the upside is i always get compliments on my pin. which is a rhinestone kangaroo that my mom got me for christmas like  (OMG) 16 years ago!! am i that old!?

to rake or not to rake

im thinking we better rake. thats too many leaves to just run over with the mower. but its a rule, you must play in the leaf piles before throwing them on the compost heap.

give it away!

 i saw alot of candy excess in blogland yesterday. i thought of something to do with all this candy!

send it to the soldiers and include it in our operation chrismas/samartians purse shoeboxes!

so quick, dont unwrap that tootsie pop, put it and all its sweet little friends in a bag and take it to the american legion.

with a side of sugar

someone hide the candy!!! 

the majority of the chocolate is gone, no more sourpatch kids, no more "gory gummies"(what they were good) one pixie stick left we are basically down to tootsie rolls and dum dums and do you think it stops me?NO! 

ive gone candy crazy, maybe thats why ive been so tired the last few days, im crashing hard from the sugar highs.

awwww c'mon

ahhhh the revelation of spending the first half hour of my day with the Lord.

 God doesnt want me to be comfortable, he wants me to be useful. apparently that combination, while available on a sedan, is not an option the life of one who wishes to grow spititually. you cant have it both ways with God.

and im so not speaking of physical comfort here, so relax moms and dads, im fine physically and in the way of material comforts, at this time.

no little kids, only people

i know it has been a few days since i have posted but these pictures cover thursday and friday of last week, we had a guest over on both days 16 month old A. his grandma was under the weather so his days were spent here on the hilltop. D liked it at first but late on thursday while he was trying to play quietly with his big boy play doh, i heard the quote of the year from D "no little kids, only people" were allowed to touch the play doh

and of course the fun of halloween night, after the parents of my young charge came to fetch him on friday afternoon, we got dressed up and went to a halloween street party downtown followed by a little bit of trick or treating.

im still recovering from my saturday to sunday trip to Ohio but it was nice to see friends and i even got to go to a bookstore! even though i had to stay in the kids section it was nice and smelled booky (is that even a word?)

happy halloween!!!

and to kick off the halloween holiday tonight The Boy and i went to walmart and pushed all the buttons on all the singing animatronic Christmas decorations, FUNZIES!!

heres a little something to make ya go hmmmm. there were about five full rows FULL of santa, snowmen ,reindeer, candy canes, lights, trees, tractors ornaments with big red bows, nutcrackers, ETC. and ONE 4 ft section of nativity related decor :( . i dont want santa on my lawn, i want Jesus and his fam, but where would i get this, not at walmart thats for sure.

the winner

congrats! 

and for the other 3 ladies who entered, i have a consolation prize for you if you choose to claim it, a special cd of songs, from my personal playlist which i hope you will enjoy, and of course, amanda will get one too, in her bag, with her other surprizes, that i cant tell you because it will ruin her surprise.

and... dont forget to head on over to mabels house, liz is giving away another book!

and... go to my messy nest, where you can get some FREE coffee!!!!!! and show Kate some love by leaving a comment and telling her how awesome she is for showing us all where to score free coffee.

see how we are all winners at life on the hilltop?

sweater weather

you gotta love a cozy warm sweater.

super value

for this award i would like to thank Amanda.

the fun of this award is this, you list 6 things you value, 6 things you dont and pass it on to 6 friends (which i obviously dont have because only 2 people have entered my giveaway, and one was amanda c'mon people, youre hurtin me! its free to enter!)

things i value:

1. biblical advice

2. my personal relationships (Jesus, family, friends) 

3. my moms opinion

4. my health

5. solitude (can i get an amen)

6. modern conveniences (hot water tops my list, you?)

 things i dont value

1. celebrity gossip, seriously am i the only person who could not care less, i have my own life to deal with.

2. grape flavored stuff, it reminds me of dimetap, ewwww!

3. undisciplined children.

4. non words (irregardless, not a word)

5. name brands

6. steak and shake, they have the worst fries EVER! nasty!

pass it on:

Kelly, because she has done this fun fall picture thing where every day of october she posts a fall picture, pretty cool.

Diana, i have to give it to her, shes my mom, i value her opinion, dontcha know.

well, id say Ms. Math but amanda already awarded her.

how about Tricia, shes a quirky bird. 

Heather, definately award worthy

Liz, and have you seen her following, she could start Mabels community living compound ,oh, or mabelsburg,  i would totally move there.

i also want to mention that im glad we dont have to dress up to receive our bloggies (equal to an oscar or an emmy in my book) because i would be a sad sight tonite in my PJs and old man slippers (hey its cold up here).

like it?

want it?   

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

a cute mini tote with fun surprizes is the grand prize.

heres how to play, leave a comment 1 entry, mention it and link to life on the hilltop on your blog 1 entry and heres the secret entry, for those of you who are already my friends, if you have left a comment in the past 2 weeks, you get a bonus entry!!! because i get by with a little help from my friends.

noooooo!

its getting a little chilly here in southern indiana, i have to wear shoes again :( which means i have to wear socks again ...double:(

the power of suggestion

The Boy said "candy corn" out of the blue and i couldnt get candy corn out of my head until i bought a bag of brachs autumn mix.

now do you want it?

giveaway alert

check it! you can win a beautiful quilt todays the last day, get yer boohiney over there...now!

field trip to the farm

the webbers invited us out to the farm for a tractor ride this afternoon, so while D was getting his tractor ride, i roamed around and snapped some pictures and kicked back on the porch. 
cant be a farm without cows.
she was apparently the boss and seemed very suspicious of my presence. i suppose the are not accustomed to having their picture taken.
we fed ducks, ate fresh spinach, re-penned a calf that had gotten loose, saw some vultures and some hawks, and discussed farmy things like how to rotate crops and such.
and of course by the end of our field trip, The Boy thought he had enough training to help out on the farm. 

so many questions so little time

im taking a guess here and saying in three-year-old-land, moms must know everything there is to know. 

hey mom, why did nemo's mom get ated by da mean fish? how do fish swim? how does dory swim? mom, i have goggles.mom, matthias has goggles. why does matthias have goggles?

mom, does da sun eat?

mom, why did God make da moon?why is da moon round?i like da moon.

hey mom, why is aidan a baby?how come he has a diaper?is aidan's mom katy?why is she katy?

mommy does the kitty have a bottom?why does he have a bottom?do birds have bottoms? why deres bird poop on da bench at da park?i dont want to sit dere.do you want to sit dere mom?

this is but a sampling of today's daily inquisition, sometimes he leaves me space to answer him, sometimes not. and for the record, no i dont want to sit there.

what i bought!

i bought the aqua one, the others i already had. it has a spot on it which i hope to be able to remove but it was a total steal at just $3!!

my antiquing buddy

look! i got a new antiquing buddy! it was the first time i ever took D to the lumber mill with me and after laying down the rules:

#1 ask me before you touch things 

#2 if you misbehave or fail to follow directions we will leave immediately

we ventured in.

he discovered theres toys at the lumber mill.
and it i took it upon myself to keep and eye on cow, who knows what would become of him if he got lost at the antique mall!

everyone wants to know

i got tagged! this is the first time i have been tagged. Kelly wanted to know 7 things about me.

1.  i would rather cook than clean. i cook because i want to, i clean because i have to.

2.  i have every season of "scrubs" on dvd and watch them often. i love it when turk dances and when jd falls. season 4 is by far superior to all others.

3.  im a recovering pack-rat. 

4.  i dont like amusement parks. i wont get on a roller coaster, no way, jose. 

5.  i love Sonic!!! their corn dogs rock and make it a combo with a cherry limeade and tots. im happy as a clam in high tide.

6.  take my picture! i will never be the person trying to hide when someone is taking pictures. two reasons, i like seeing my self ( i know mini narcissistic tendencies) and i think if someone wants to take your picture they must want to remember you and it would be rude to deny them that.

7.  i love reading about 16th century european royalty. fiction and non especially if it has to do with the wives of henry the eighth i find it fascinating the way every one of them thought her reign as queen would work out to her benefit, not to her head on the block. 

bonus fact:anne of cleves was my favorite "wife"

ok now im tagging:

Ms. Math 

Diana

and if you want to do this also, consider yourself tagged my friends! 

the rules: link to the blog who tagged you, list 7 facts about you, tag your friends, and let them know in a comment on their blog.

out with the old...

heres the old. three and a half years ago shortly before  The Boy was born i was working at Pier 1 and i tied a wicker sales contest with 2 other ladies (one of which is now my good friend Marci, love ya lady!) and they both bowed out of the contest so i could win this rocker for my baby's room i selected the leafy chair pad to match the jungle baby theme. after i stopped rocking day and night my old kitty, rest his little kitty soul, took posession of the chair. consequently the cushion took a little bit of a beating and was in need of a makeover. same for the ottoman which had not been recovered in YEARS.

heres the "new". i was so pumped about this fabric! its reversable, and it cost me a whopping five bucks! it was a clearance curtain panel at big lots. raise your hand if you love big lots! and the bonus... i have enough to make a pillow for the sofa!!!

and this time, its a slipcover on the chair pad.

this is post #90 for all you in giveaway anticipation land.=)

its the great pumpkin!

we went on the quest this morning for the perfect pumpkin The Boy made his choice quickly as you can see, i guess he wanted one that wasnt too big to carry, i, on the other hand, had to inspect every specimen for just the right color, texture and stem shape. check out the white ones! pretty cool. they even had purplish grey pumpkins, i had no idea there was such a variety, we opted for a nice sized traditional orange, with a nice thick curved stem. and then of course, The Boy got his little one