No spoilers here, I promise.
So, I saw the new Star Wars movie a while back. In an attempt to bring myself up to speed, I went back and watched all of the previous movies.
So, I was watching Episode - you know, the one that came out first, way, way back in the day.
Do you remember the scene when R2-D2 and C3PO are in the Crawler with the Jawas and all the other robots. Have you noticed that the eyes from Wall-E make an appearance just after R2-D2 is dumped into the rover.
Also, have you noticed the robot from Lost in Space hanging around just before Luke and Uncle Owen to to look at the Droids?
Friday, March 16, 2018
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
T - H - I - S !!
I really enjoyed the years that I worked as a substitute teacher. I spent five wonderful years working with wonderful kids! I found this memory on my Facebook page this morning. I thought you'd enjoy reading it as much as I did!
Today, I was working in a kindergarten class where kids were working on the sight word "this". The kids each had a bag of cut out letters -t, -h, -i, -s that they were to glue into appropriate places on a worksheet. Ummm.... whey did we hand a bunch of kids those 4 letters?
Monday, March 12, 2018
Give a Girl $15
Years ago, my Girl Scout Troop was working on their Silver Award Project. The girls had decided that they were going to make and donate blankets to Project Linus. One of the things we needed to do was raise money to purchase our supplies.
We decided we wanted to do a Lemonade Stand as a fundraiser. We had some money set aside from our Cookie Sales, but we went ahead and requested help from our local grocery store. They graciously gave us a $15 gift card to get started.
We took the gift card and bought the supplies we needed to make the lemonade. We used the balance of the card to buy baking mixes so that the girls could also offer baked goods for sale.
We split up the mixes and headed home.
One of the girls in our troop had a parent who worked at a horse farm. The owners of the farm gave us permission to set up our lemonade stand inside the "break" barn. With the money we earned from our lemonade sale, we were able to buy materials.
We then scheduled a blanket making day. The girls brought their friends and everyone brought money for pizza. We had a couple of volunteers from the Quilt Guild come out with their sewing machines, and they taught the girls how to sew with the machine, and they got a quilt going.
But, there was one other thing that we did. We put out a call to friends, asking them if anyone had any fleece to donate for no sew quilts to go to Project Linus.
And boy, did they ever. In fact, for about six months after our big day, I was still coming home to find donated fleece sitting on the doorstep. Think of the abundance of zucchini in August. That was what we were experiencing with fleece.
In all, the girls took that $15 that was donated by the grocery store, and turned that into almost $200. We combined that with the $50 we had set aside from cookie sales to bring the total up to $250. With a coupon from the local fabric store we were able to buy fleece.... more than we expected to buy. The day we went to purchase the fleece was also a major sale day.
In the end, we donated 150 blankets to Project Linus. These were full size blankets - not tiny little kid blankets. The girls were teenagers, and we wanted blankets that would be appropriately sized for teenagers.
All of that from a $15 gift card from the grocery store, and wonderful people who were willing to donate fleece yardage that they were finding either on sale or in their basements.
All that from a $15 investment from our local grocery store.
We decided we wanted to do a Lemonade Stand as a fundraiser. We had some money set aside from our Cookie Sales, but we went ahead and requested help from our local grocery store. They graciously gave us a $15 gift card to get started.
We took the gift card and bought the supplies we needed to make the lemonade. We used the balance of the card to buy baking mixes so that the girls could also offer baked goods for sale.
We split up the mixes and headed home.
 |
| image: http://www.projectlinus.org/ |
We then scheduled a blanket making day. The girls brought their friends and everyone brought money for pizza. We had a couple of volunteers from the Quilt Guild come out with their sewing machines, and they taught the girls how to sew with the machine, and they got a quilt going.
But, there was one other thing that we did. We put out a call to friends, asking them if anyone had any fleece to donate for no sew quilts to go to Project Linus.
And boy, did they ever. In fact, for about six months after our big day, I was still coming home to find donated fleece sitting on the doorstep. Think of the abundance of zucchini in August. That was what we were experiencing with fleece.
In all, the girls took that $15 that was donated by the grocery store, and turned that into almost $200. We combined that with the $50 we had set aside from cookie sales to bring the total up to $250. With a coupon from the local fabric store we were able to buy fleece.... more than we expected to buy. The day we went to purchase the fleece was also a major sale day.
In the end, we donated 150 blankets to Project Linus. These were full size blankets - not tiny little kid blankets. The girls were teenagers, and we wanted blankets that would be appropriately sized for teenagers.
All of that from a $15 gift card from the grocery store, and wonderful people who were willing to donate fleece yardage that they were finding either on sale or in their basements.
All that from a $15 investment from our local grocery store.
 |
| image: http://www.projectlinus.org/ |
Friday, March 9, 2018
Cat Tower
We had looked at cat towers at Pet Smart and Wal Mart, but we just couldn't find it in our hearts to shell out almost $200 for a structure for a cat to climb and romp upon.
Husband, being the wonder that he is, went out and spent $40 on some indoor/outdoor carpet, sisal rope, and some boards. He combined that with what we have at home to make a cat structure that is well over 8 feet tall.
The long boards will be covered with sisal rope.
The platforms are covered with carpet. The top two platforms have sides to keep the cat from falling off. It's structured so that the new structure ties in with the cat runway we built onto the windowsill. We've got a few more levels to add to this structure - out to the right side - to give them a little more climbing room. We're also going to add an enclosed box to at least one of those levels.
Hobbes enjoys rolling around on the level platforms and chasing his tail.
The only problem is that he is measuring - you can see him bobbing up and down to measure the distance - to see if he can jump from the top platform onto the chandelier.
All in all, it's a really cool cat tower. It really is a shame that we don't love our cats at all. Poor creatures just struggle to survive.
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Tales from Substitute Teaching
I found this in my Facebook Memories not too long ago! I vividly remember this trek! BTW, there was no way to lock that bathroom door. You just had to pull the curtain shut!
Attempt to find a staff bathroom today: Down the hall, through the doors marked "staff only". Dodge the trash cans, enter the custodian's closet. Wind your way around the buckets, mops, chemicals, etc. Go to the back of the closet, enter the door marked "women". Walk through a locker room. In the back corner, sheltered by a shower curtain was the toilet.
Funny side note here - the women's bathroom where I currently work is in the locker room (1 bank of six lockers, and a shower), and the toilet is in the corner, hidden by a shower curtain. However here, you can lock the door to the locker room when you enter. That deadbolt makes a BIG difference in your comfort level!
Attempt to find a staff bathroom today: Down the hall, through the doors marked "staff only". Dodge the trash cans, enter the custodian's closet. Wind your way around the buckets, mops, chemicals, etc. Go to the back of the closet, enter the door marked "women". Walk through a locker room. In the back corner, sheltered by a shower curtain was the toilet.
Funny side note here - the women's bathroom where I currently work is in the locker room (1 bank of six lockers, and a shower), and the toilet is in the corner, hidden by a shower curtain. However here, you can lock the door to the locker room when you enter. That deadbolt makes a BIG difference in your comfort level!
Friday, March 2, 2018
2018 Resolutions - March Update
This month has been consumed by the No-Spenduary Challenge! I've been *mostly* good about not spending extra. I've taken my lunch every single day, we've cooked from scratch, eaten leftovers, and done just about everything else we can to cut corners and build up that savings cushion!
1) Participate in the NoSpenduary Challenge
Done! And I think ALL of our electronics need to be replaced. I'm going to have to replace them slowly, or I'll end up undoing all of the good effects of the NoSpenduary Challenge in one week!
2) 40 Bags in 40 Days
4 bags and 2 boxes to date.
Keep in mind, I'm writing this on a borrowed laptop, and I'm writing it a little far out. I'll have a more accurate count next month!
3) Get Away with my husband - TWICE.
Plans are in the works.
4) Pay off 1 Big Debt
Yes, get the Civic paid off this year, if I can.
5) Finish Daughter's and Husband's quilts.
See this post about the kitten and the quilt.
6) Get Out to Visit Middle Child this year.
I've set a date. He knows he's traveling somewhere on business that month, so we're waiting for him to get the final word on whether or not he'll be in town that weekend.
7) Replace the Roof on the House
This needs to be done before this fall. The money we save during NoSpenduary is going towards the roof replacement. My dream is to be able to add a porch onto the front of the house when we replace to roof.
8) Exercise most days during a week.
It's better this month. Not a solid 4 days every week, but it's averaging out to 4 days a week.
My nifty little spreadsheet is on the laptop - you know, the one that's not working?
9) Make some of my Christmas gifts this year.
Watching my daughter and her boyfriend exchange home made gifts has inspired me to think outside the box. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do, but I will do something.
10) Cut my grocery budget to $250/month.
We've been eating fairly low on the food chain this month, and eating through what we have in the freezer and the cupboards. The Instant Pot has been heavily used!
Total spent this month: $150
Total spent year to date: $600
(over)under budget for the year: ($100)
11) Turn my yarn and fabric stash into something more... but what?
I took the grey yarn I had in the stash, bought some more, and made it into a very large blanket to give to daughter's boyfriend when he graduates later this spring.
12) Take one item off my bucket list.
Reservations have been made.
13) Have on media free day per week.
Not been a problem.
14) Visit 12 libraries I have never been to before
Lawrence Public Library
Truman Library and Museum
Done! And I think ALL of our electronics need to be replaced. I'm going to have to replace them slowly, or I'll end up undoing all of the good effects of the NoSpenduary Challenge in one week!
2) 40 Bags in 40 Days
4 bags and 2 boxes to date.
Keep in mind, I'm writing this on a borrowed laptop, and I'm writing it a little far out. I'll have a more accurate count next month!
3) Get Away with my husband - TWICE.
Plans are in the works.
4) Pay off 1 Big Debt
Yes, get the Civic paid off this year, if I can.
5) Finish Daughter's and Husband's quilts.
See this post about the kitten and the quilt.
6) Get Out to Visit Middle Child this year.
I've set a date. He knows he's traveling somewhere on business that month, so we're waiting for him to get the final word on whether or not he'll be in town that weekend.
7) Replace the Roof on the House
This needs to be done before this fall. The money we save during NoSpenduary is going towards the roof replacement. My dream is to be able to add a porch onto the front of the house when we replace to roof.
8) Exercise most days during a week.
It's better this month. Not a solid 4 days every week, but it's averaging out to 4 days a week.
 |
| Interesting Steeple! Independence, MO |
9) Make some of my Christmas gifts this year.
Watching my daughter and her boyfriend exchange home made gifts has inspired me to think outside the box. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do, but I will do something.
10) Cut my grocery budget to $250/month.
We've been eating fairly low on the food chain this month, and eating through what we have in the freezer and the cupboards. The Instant Pot has been heavily used!
Total spent this month: $150
Total spent year to date: $600
(over)under budget for the year: ($100)
11) Turn my yarn and fabric stash into something more... but what?
I took the grey yarn I had in the stash, bought some more, and made it into a very large blanket to give to daughter's boyfriend when he graduates later this spring.
12) Take one item off my bucket list.
Reservations have been made.
13) Have on media free day per week.
Not been a problem.
14) Visit 12 libraries I have never been to before
Lawrence Public Library
Truman Library and Museum
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