Archive for the ‘Featured education’ Category
10 Holiday Tips from a Non-Shopper
Posted on Dec 1, 2010 02:15:55 PM
Who am I kidding, I love to shop. However, I am fairly strategic with my shopping and don’t often just run into town for items. I am not an early purchaser though. With that, I’m going to give you my ten tips but they may not all be tips I actually use.
1. Shop early and hide the gifts. However, write it down somewhere so you know what you bought, for whom and where you hid it. I don’t think I need to explain here why that’s my number 1 tip. *bows head in shame* Start making impromptu photos early so you can have the perfect one for your family greeting card…lest you send cards with stick people drawn in side.
2. Even if you shop late, don’t wait til Christmas Eve. There’s nothing like the adrenaline rush of shopping a few days ahead of Christmas and trying to find that right gift. There’s also nothing like shopping on Christmas Eve frantically and personally I don’t like the latter option.
3. Handle your Christmas Eve festivities and then find a place in your mall, sit down, have lunch, just keep sitting and watching. As the grows on, you should find many encounters with people you know who are experiencing the adrenaline and the worry of last minute shopping. You can sit back, knowing you are in good shape. If you have waited until now to get that perfect family photo for your Christmas Cards, just beware, it’s probably not going to happen. Plan ahead, plan ahead, plan ahead (learn from my mistakes)
4. People watch, take notes, take photos, you will see some of the strangest and most excited shoppers on Christmas Eve. Just remember it is no fun if you are the one that’s frantic. You must be finished to enjoy the scenery. Then, watch as buyers, usually men, make their way into and out of stores with some of the most horrible gifts ever. It’s good for a belly full of laughs every year. I love it.
5. Once you are ready to wrap gifts, if any of them are for children, carefully take them out of the box and remove all the zip ties and other parts that the kids can’t handle. Then, package it back up, even with a little tape if you have to and wrap away. This way when the gift is opened, you don’t spend hours listening to them whine about you getting the knife or scissors and cutting their gifts from the cardboard. Trust me on this one, again, I learn the hard way often.
6. If you are wrapping for an adult and it is a super surprise, a ring, a necklace or something similar, find a really big box to put the small box in and wrap it and secure it in the box so it doesn’t rattle. Nothing like great surprises under the tree.
7. If you have bought large items that require assembly, don’t assume you can wait til midnight on Christmas Eve and still have time to assemble. Sometimes, desks, swingsets and bicycles are more difficult than you anticipate. Again, I learned the hard way.
8. If you have young children, and you give gifts from family but also from Santa, either leave Santa’s gifts unwrapped or with just a ribbon, or make sure you have bought a special roll of paper and hid it as well so they don’t realize that what you got them and what Santa got them is wrapped in the same paper.
9. If your children tend to get out of their beds and wander into your room during the night (again, I learned this the hard way), you might want to just let them start their night in your bed. Two years ago, one child was making his way through the family room to what has become the family bed and realized that Santa had already made his appearance. He woke the other child and they unwrapped every single gift under the tree. They couldn’t read so they didn’t know which ones belonged to whom so they just opened everything.
10. Homemade gifts from children to parents and grandparents are the absolute best gifts ever. No amount of money in the world can replace that look when grandparents unwrap the perfect handmade porcupine for Christmas. You can even purchase cards from a place like Tiny Prints but let the children color on them, address them to the proper family member, do whatever you have to do to make them personal.
Now, take those, know that I learned the hard way on almost all of them and please, don’t make the same mistakes I made.
“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Tiny Prints blogging program, making me eligible to get a $75 Tiny Prints gift certificate! For more information on how you can participate, click here.”
Can You Top This #canyoutopthis Not without Elmer’s Glue You Can’t
Posted on Dec 1, 2010 12:24:28 PM
Ok, I take challenges uber serious and although after looking through the various works of art, I knew that I could not come close to making a project that would compare, I am married to a man who can do anything, And, thus, I put him to work. Now, he isn’t one to get excited about deadlines, humpf, who am I kidding, he couldn’t care one iota about a deadline. Last night as I was bullying him into finishing his project, I gave up, re-read the directions and realized I had until tonight to get this posted…so here goes….
This project represents what the religious visitors to my home referred to as “a divided household”. We thought she was crazy and had no idea what she was talking about until she pointed at the flags hanging on each end of our front porch. One purple and gold, waving high with the LSU emblem and the other a gorgeous Crimson color for Alabama. The LSU flag bit the dust several months back but the Bama flag, with it’s rip and it’s broken stick, still reigns supreme on our porch. All would be well except a certain 6 year old in my house is running around yelling “Go Auburn” until I am ready to strangle him.
As many know, in the state of Alabama, at birth, babies are required to name their loyalty and I gave that kid Crimson and White blood. I didn’t even share any of the purple and gold and now, he seems to think it is more fun to tell folks he bleeds orange and blue. *shakes head* Some people never learn.
So, with one Elmer’s Tri-fold board in our hands……some Elmer’s glue and a variety of other materials from the dreaded “school project” bag, I give you……
Alabama vs LSU
*Wait* In true fashion, as Boy Genius was working and I was bossing him around, he took a break…only so he could rig his phone to work with my Energizer Qi pad which I only had one sleeve for at the time. Check this out……
Now basically what happened here was I had the Qi and one sleeve for my phone. I ordered 2 more sleeves, however, I ordered sleeves for a different product. I knew I had another iPhone sleeve on it’s way but he couldn’t wait.
Again, in pure Boy Genius fashion, he dismantled the other sleeve and rigged his phone so that he can now charge it on the Energizer Qi. Do not ask any questions, I refuse to discuss this craziness any further.
Back to the important stuff…….college football……..
Here you have…..an an over view of the project…
Upon closer investigation, you will find….the LSU sidelines…..
And, then you have the Tide….
No wise cracks about any in discrepancies in the replica as there are no end zone stands and he now knows that the words are suppose to be spelled in the other direction……just take it and adore it…in all it’s Gadget Magnet glory!