Hello Monday.. we meet again!

Hello bloggers!

So, in the back yard we have a pile of wood under a tarp left by the former owners of the house, and this past weekend my folks were up and I had asked my dad about bashing together some benches or whatever with the wood, use it up, etc. He went poking around the pile, and then we discovered this little beauty:



A Bumble Bee hive! It took me and Google a while to figure out what kind of bees we had, Mark and I hoped it would be honey bees and then we could get it taken away without destroying the hive. BUT its Bumble, so I dont know what we need to do about it. Try to move it?

Anyhoo.. I've been working on my shop and added some baby sweaters that my MIL makes. Hoping to get more things posted soon.

Note to self: dont fiddle with filezilla! I was mucking around with it the other day and photos stopped uploading properly, I have it fixed now and need to go back to the market site and fix a few things. WHEW.

While Mark and our buddy Zach were playing guitar at the craft market, one highlight of the day was Sophie stealing $5 out of the case!

Sunday!

It's time for another round of Getting to Know YOU with MannLand5.com!

1. Thong or Granny Panties? I prefer boy shorts.

2. If you see a guy with his fly down, do you tell him? depends on the guy

3. Spanx or no Spanx? what is 'spanx' anyway?

4. Do you sleep in your sheets? doesn't everyone, why else do you put them on your bed?

5. What is your favorite Disney character? the grumpy old man from UP

6. Dream vacation spot? hawaii could be nice..

7. What is your dream job? I've got it, being a stay at home mom! now if only i could get paid..

8. Who is your hero and why? today its my friend Carley, who just spread her mom's ashes today in Denmark. she's been through alot of stuff, things i couldnt imagine. i wish i could be strong like she is.


Come join in at MannLand5.com!

Ec-Friendly Friday!

Hello folks! Time for the friday blog post! (I missed wednsday, sorry!)

Recycled Fabric Jewelery!

This one I've been having a lot of fun with lately! I've accumulated a bunch of scrap fabric, some that was left in the house from previous owners, some that I've been hauling around from different projects, and some from the scrap fabric bin at Walmart.

I've been making flower brooches, which are pretty quick to make, and come out beautifully! I love the worn and scrappy look of them, the uniqueness of each piece, and my expanding color varieties. The vintage buttons are so pretty! I'm so looking forward to making some tie dye pieces!

I've started selling them locally now, and they will be in my shop as well! Arent they cute?!

I'm also branching out a bit more and making some hair accessories as well, so keep an eye out for those too!

Have a wonderful day!

xo, Fran.

Oh Sunday.

That means it's time for another round of Getting to Know YOU with MannLand5.com!

1. If you had to choose a country to live in besides USA (or the country you live in), which would it be? I've never actually thought about this before.. not sure.

2. Which would be worse, wearing flip flops in the snow or wearing gloves in the summer? flip flops in the snow.

3. Fried or Bake and why? bake, because its healthier.

4. If you were an entertainment reporter, which celeb would you love to interview and why? Gerard Butler. mmmm.

5. What was your favorite book as a preteen/teenager? probably when i discovered poppy z brite's Lost Souls.

6. List your top 3 guilty pleasure television shows. So You Think You Can Dance, America's got talent & billy the exterminator.

7. What bumper sticker slogan best describes you/your attitude/your life? Sanity is back-ordered. Sarcasm is in unlimited supply.

8. If you were to join a circus - what performer would you be? err.. i'll get back to you on that one.

My inner teenager rears her emo head.

Like the title of this blog post says, my inner teenager popped out yesterday, and I suddenly felt a need for new clothes that look good and fit my body, and the need to be zit free.

I took Sophie for a walk to the mall since I needed to go pick up a book anyways, and headed into Bootlegger, and LO! they were having a 50% off sale. I picked up 2 tank tops, 2 tshirts on sale, and a pair of $40 shorts. Firstly, the shorts are a size 30, and they're big, heaven forbid I be a size 29, or 28 even! I see another pair in the future. I have been in need of longer tshirts, after having Sophie. Bigger boobs, and post-baby belly, DEMANDED that I get new shirts! $85 later, (darn you HST!) and I look good. Ish.






I try to be more mindful of the chemicals and crap in some products that go on my skin and in my body, and I've been trying to use better alternatives for skin care. But they suck. Especially with my oily skin. I'm almost 30 (I quickly wipe away a tear here) and I feel like I'm back in my teens. The acne hasnt been horrible, but its enough to annoy me. So I caved and bought some Neutrogena Deep Clean.



When I used this product before, years ago, I had very happy results. Good Guide gives it a 5.6 rating, so it's only halfway bad for you. I've been using it for a few days now, so we'll see what happens.

Eco-Friendly Friday!

A new feature I'm going to try and stick with, giving you some eco tips, or neat ideas I find online, and such. I try to be as green and eco-friendly as I can, (and afford!); I love looking at all the 'green' books in bookstores that all tell me the same thing over and over. Shop with reusable bags! Ditch disposables! Turn off your lights! I like finding a *new* idea, something I havent read or heard of before. I've used the Facebook application "I Am Green" and its a great way to discover new things, and keep track of all you do. Personally, I do a lot. I'll have to list it all here one day, just so you can be in awe of my awesomeness. HAH!

So here's my first tip: reusable produce bags.





I HATE plastic bags, and I especially HATE all those little produce bags that accumulate in your cupboards. I've seen recently that in different grocery stores they are using biodegradable bags now, recyclable, etc. That is good to see. Myself, I bought reusable mesh produce bags from Thrifys, and loved them.. until I lost most of them. I can only find 2.
OH WOE.
I'll have to buy some more.

Blog Ideas!

I recently stumbled across a post about blogging tips for bloggers, and it really got me to thinking about mine, and what I want to do with it, and where I want it to go. I would love to be one of those blogs that people like to read, have some interesting content, do giveaways, polls, whatever else. I already have 4 followers (i love you!) so I've been thinking of what else to do.

One tip was to leave out any negativity, and from now on I'm going to try real hard to do just that! Sympathy only lasts so long, and makes people leave. Another was to do weekly features, and I've been trying to think of idea for it, I've been trying to do the "Getting To Know You" feature on sundays, and I was also thinking of doing a "Things I Love" on wednsdays, and maybe an "Eco-Friendly Friday" feature. I think these I could pull off, and that is three features a week, which I think is pretty good.

Also, I need to post more, and leave other bloggers comments! Which I never do.. I am the Queen of Lurkdom. Time to get out there and make some friends.

In other news, I will be selling some earrings and brooches through the local baby consignment store! I made a pretty display stand, and I'm making some more earrings as well. I need to get down to my sewing maching and make some more brooches as well! I just need a name, and I am still trying to work that one out. If I can use my 'xoxaine' name somehow, then I can still use my .com site later on if I need to! I was thinking that I could make a 'xoxaine' stamp, and then I'd be able to stamp the back of each paper backing and sort of be more professional.

Ideas?

WOW.

The dog hair that has accumulated after dog sitting for a couple days!! SHEESH. I finally got around to some good cleaning today, but I flaked out on washing the floors.

I took Sophie to the water park today, and she wasnt so interested in it like I thought she might be. Sure she liked it when I picked her up and tossed her through some water, but otherwise, not so much.

I stopped by Podlings today and they're interested in selling my earrings and brooches, so today I whipped up a nicer looking display that will hopefully do its job. And if I use the name "xoxaine" I can still use my .com site later if needed.

I've had a throbbing headache all evening, but I'm dealing with it.

I'm looking forward to friends coming up this weekend, and some more wonderful meals and learning how to cook them. Mark couldnt find the Ps2 Singstar 90s game that I want, so I'll have to take a look around. I love our drunken karaoke!

Here's my little ham: