by Amy | Nov 8, 2012 | Blog
Remember a couple days ago when I told you about Socks for Sandy?
You can look at the post for all the details, but the gist is this: The east coast has gotten cold and there is a dire shortage of cozy socks in the victim shelters. Fellow blogger, Laura has started a drive to collect “Socks for Sandy.”
I’m lucky enough to be surrounded with a wonderful group of gals who meet for a bi-weekly Bible study. We met last night and got some socks together. We also made some good creative notes to send with our socks. Just to let the folks who get them that we are praying for them…and that we know all too well about cold toes up here in Practically Canada!
So, what I’m telling you on this fine Waffle Cone Wednesday…Is…Send some socks.
They’ll be appreciated.
And thank you to my girls who helped get these in the mail. You are the best.
Oh, and one more thing. My Bible study is reading Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman. It’s wonderful and you should read it. Kyle is a lovely writer. His words are so easy to read. He makes faith relevant and interesting…and his asides are hilarious. So not only is it moving and a great book to strengthen your walk, it’s also an engrossing and interesting read. Go to the site here to learn what it’s all about.
Remember…get those socks. Target has cute ones for only $1. I bought these from K-Mart for $2-$3 for each pair of slipper socks.
Go here for the shipping address…and remember, they need to be mailed by Friday!
Amy
by Amy | Nov 7, 2012 | Blog, The Art of Living
Yes, I know it’s election day. If you stopped by today hoping to find out who I voted for and why or why not…you’ll be disappointed. If I told you…well–you’d still be disappointed. I’m not very good at expressing myself politically. So instead, I’ll just a story that really relates to nothing. You are welcome to just laugh at my expense and be glad you are cooler and more capable than me.
Let me elaborate.
Today started like any other morning. Get up, pet the cat, start the tea pot. I did some things around the house before hopping in the shower. I had a phone conference set up late morning and the phone rang a bit earlier than expected…just as I was toweling off. I was excited to take the call so as we started chatting I pulled on jeans and threw on a button down shirt {one of my signature looks.} Easy enough. Not rocket science.
The meeting ends. I get up from the desk {aka dining room table} to go for another cup of tea. Look down…my shirt is buttoned wrong.
Okay, no big deal. I was distracted when I got dressed. We’ve all done it. The buttons aren’t lined up and I’ve got extra fabric at the bottom. Shake it off. Unbutton–rebutton.
Go about my business. Send a few emails, do a little research, write a few workouts. Lunch time. I’ll go get the mail first.
What the heck. My shirt is buttoned wrong again. Two buttons off this time. So much for effortless style {American Eagle makes it look so easy…} Unbutton–rebutton.
After lunch I do some other random work. At 1:30 I get ready to leave to go vote. I wrap a scarf around my neck, pull my purse across my body. Open the flap on top to get my keys when I notice…
MY SHIRT IS BUTTONED WRONG.
What. The. Heck.
How is this happening? It’s like I’ve never worn a shirt before. This is something you learn in pre-school. Just line them up. Pull it together Allender.
Unbutton–rebutton.
At the polling place I get out of the car. Excited to do my patriotic duty. I’m looking pretty good. It’s a cute shirt after all. I’m sporting my vintage cowboy boots, my favorite scarf and my most comfy jeans. But as I get out of the car I feel a breeze on my stomach.
SERIOUSLY?
MY SHIRT IS BUTTONED WRONG. No, I’m not kidding. I can’t make this stuff up. What kind of person attempts getting dressed four times with failure? They let a person like that vote? They let a person like that have a say in American democracy. The only person who can get away with a shirt buttoned wrong this many times is an old man in the Jerry home. Then it’s cute and endearing. I don’t think my grandpa ever had his buttons in line. Is this what I am? Nothing more than a 25-year-old-80-year-old-man? That literally doesn’t even make sense.
Embarrassed, I slipped down the hall to the restroom before anyone could possibly notice. Unbutton–rebutton. Is it right? Triple check. Okay….and…vote.
I hope your trip to the polls was pleasant. And I hope you only put your shirt on once today. Tomorrow at the water cooler, you’ll have something way cooler than a new president/reelected president to chat about…you can tell your friends about that girl you know who couldn’t button her own shirt.
Okay. Stick to chatting about the election.
Amy
by Amy | Nov 5, 2012 | Blog
Hi all.
I hope your week is off to a good start. Lately I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and praying about how I can do more. More to help, more to spread the Kingdom, more to bring joy. So I started thinking…what if I did more “yessing.”
Now, this is a heart thing. Just because this is how my heart is feeling doesn’t mean that this is how your heart is feeling. I’m not saying any of this to make you feel guilty. Or like you aren’t doing enough. Or like I’m some kind of super philanthropist.
Because I’m not.
And you are awesome.
It’s just something that my heart has been saying to me, and I want to share it with you. Right now God is tugging on my heart to say “yes” as opportunities arise. When someone needs or I see a need I try to say “yes.” Keeping in mind that I can’t do everything…because that’s how mental breakdowns start…So I’ve been dog sitting, and making dinner, and buying for Operation Christmas Child {more on that later}, and teaching Sunday school. Little things that I totally have time for when I’m not marathon-ing episodes of teen dramas.
This morning I found another way to say “yes.” It’s called Socks for Sandy. And it’s really simple. A woman who lives on the east coast has started a sock drive for displaced victims of the hurricane. Socks…weird, right? Here’s the backstory.
Laura‘s neighborhood was spared by the storm. But loads of families were not so lucky. Some only escaped with their lives and the clothes on their back. Those folks are now being housed in shelters while they sort out what to do next. Laura became aware of a need at the shelter: Socks. It seems simple, but socks are in high demand. Temperatures on the coast have dropped and lots of people living at the shelter are barefoot.
We all know that uncomfortable my-feet-are-freezing feeling. But most of us can walk to the sock drawer and slip on something cozy. Say “yes” today and help Sandy’s victims slip on some warmth and comfort by joining Socks for Sandy. It’s really easy. Just buy a pair of socks…or several…gloves, hats and mittens are also being collected… and send them to:
Socks for Sandy
P.O. Box 520
Little Egg Harbor, NJ 08087
Socks for Sandy is collecting socks for all ages…baby through adult. And don’t forget about buying for men and boys too! Please get yours in the mail by November 9th. {That’s this Friday.} FYI…Target is selling Christmas socks in their dollar bin right now. They don’t have to be expensive to bring home to someone who has lost everything.
Say yes.
Amy
PS…to read Laura’s blog post about Socks for Sandy go
here.
by Amy | Nov 2, 2012 | Blog, The Art of Living
Dear Snow,
It’s barely November. I really wasn’t expecting you for another month or so. It’s not that I don’t like you. We’ve had lots of good times together, skivvy sledding, tubing, snow-fort-building. It’s just that…well, I wasn’t prepared for your visit. You haven’t been to my house since I lived in Indiana. It’s been nice seeing you when I go home for Christmas, and I was excited to hear you’d be visiting me personally this year. But I really think you’ll be much happier if you go back to the North Pole and come back for Christmas.
I know Sandy got your panties in a twist and you just had to drop your baggage on us up here. But that’s really not polite. Today you made Practically Canada feel more like “Practically Christmas.” And, honestly…I’m not ready to listen to Bing Crosby croon “White Christmas” before I’ve had a chance to eat turkey and obscene amounts of pie.
You really inconvenienced me today at work. I went to teach my Jerry Class {senior fitness} this morning, and only one of my ladies showed up. We only worked for 30 minutes before you came barging in and sent her home too. I need you to respect my need to see other people. I’m not okay with you trapping me inside with only the cat for company. But you wouldn’t stop by forcing me to come home early from work and promise not to go out. You just had to go and cause the city to call for a travel emergency. Now I’m really stuck here.
The least you could have done was not be so slippery. I snapped a photo of an accident I saw on my one mile journey home from the gym. Look at the fuss you are causing. It’s just not safe for you to be here yet.
I took another photo looking out my window. I know you like to see the houses you cover. But just know that that stop sign in the photo is not an accident or happy coincidence. It’s a message. Please stop. Stop falling. {Preferably now.} Stop causing people to freak out and drive like they’ve never seen a wheel before. Come back around Christmas. You can stay through the end of January if you really want. I don’t mean to be rude, but I think it’s for the best.
XOXO
Amy
by Amy | Nov 1, 2012 | Blog, The Art of Gathering
It’s November! You know what that means…time to trade spooky for turkey. November 1st is the gateway to all things holiday and hospitality. It’s the time when we begin thinking about hosting gatherings, welcoming guests and overeating. {Just being honest.}
I’m excited to get my home guest ready and my table turkey-worthy. In the coming days we’ll be talking about all of that. But today I want to get us all ready to be guests…by showing you what is shaping up to be the best hostess gift of the year.
Salt & Pepper Shakers!!
Good guest etiquette holds that it’s polite to bring a gift to your hostess when coming over for a holiday dinner or party. {Except if it’s your mom…then it’s okay just to bring yourself.}
Here’s what I’m proposing. This year…instead of showing up with a bottle of wine or flowers…show up with something better that your hostess will adore. Come bearing the gift of novelty shakers. They are trending now and covering shelves from Pottery Barn to Target. You’ll be able to nab a cute pair no matter what your gift budget.
1. Acorn shakers from Stonewall Kitchen. {These are on the pricy side…}
2. Orange Owl shakers from Target. Precious for only $8.99!
3. Turkeys, perfect for Thanksgiving, from Williams Sonoma. Mid price at $19.99.
4. I love this little squirrel-nutkin from Pottery Barn. These will cost a pretty penny…$39.95
Now friends, don’t be intimidated by the price tags. Nab these sweet hostess gifts on sale when you see them. Check Hobby Lobby, Wal-Mart’s Better Homes & Gardens line, and K-Mart’s Martha Stewart/Paula Dean lines.
Happy November!
Amy
by Amy | Oct 31, 2012 | Blog, The Art of Projects, the house, Uncategorized
So, yesterday I showed you the finished product of my weekend of hard work on the stairs. I just couldn’t resist putting together one more B&A photo. Today I’ll give you the skinny on how I did it.
The first thing you need to know is that I’m not especially skilled. If I can do it, you can do it.
All it takes is some elementary school craft skills, painter’s tape and a little patience. (more…)
by Amy | Oct 30, 2012 | Blog, The Art of Projects, the house
Are you ready?? Some of you may know that I was remaking my stair case while Derek was out of town over the weekend. This project started a month ago when I ripped up the nasty brown carpet covering the stairs. And it is now complete…ready to be crossed off the list.
So, yes. Between being locked out of the house and locked into the garage…I made my staircase look like one fit for a dollhouse. I’m impressed with myself. I knew I wanted them white with dark treads. Then I took it a step further {after spending some time drooling over this statement staircase} by making a statement. Hospitality is deeply important to Derek and me, so I painted “welcome” on the risers in different languages. {The top riser is braille! Fun, right?}
Want to know how I took the gross brown steps circa 1975 and turned them around? Look no farther…just click here!
And now I’ve got candy to make. {Another something you’ll be seeing in the coming days.}
Amy
Linked up at Home Stories, Savvy Southern Style and these other awesome parties!
by Amy | Oct 30, 2012 | Blog, The Art of Living
{The other day I learned that I would never succeed as a burglar. Now I know that I’d be a worse escape artist than Gob Blueth.}
Let me start by telling you that the other day when I wrote about being locked out and having no break-in skills whatsoever, I was not setting out to write a series. But yesterday was a sequel to the previous event.
Derek has been out of town for work stuff. He was out of town when the other incident happened. But I don’t like broadcasting that. He got back late last night, but he was gone yesterday when “Part II” went down.
It’s Sunday morning and everything is going fine. I wake up a classic 20 minutes before I need to leave for church. Absolutely, positively exhausted. {While Derek was away I set myself to refinishing our stairs. A job that was taking many hours. A job that I was tackling mostly between the hours of 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.} But tired or not I dragged my behind out of bed and get ready. Things were going fine. I walked out the door, keys in hand and headed to the garage.
Walk through the door. Hit the button. Garage door raises. Ummm…garage door raises? Okay, garage door makes a loud metallic sound of clattering breaking mechanism. Garage door track has snapped.
Easy enough solution. I’ll just raise it myself.
So I go over to the door and pull with all my might. But the track has fallen so as the door raises it is obstructed by the track. Simple enough. I grab a step stool and lift the track up a bit….only to discover my hands are now covered with black sticky grease. Whatever, I try the door again. But it’s so heavy I can only lift it a couple inches.
Now, being the inventive girl I am I figure if I can just raise the door enough the door will be able to raise up again. This time I get a little help. I put a jack under the door’s ledge and start cranking. Again, it will only raise a few inches. But I continue trying. Like an idiot, to figure out how to make this silly door lift.
Eventually I found that a bolt had snapped in half. That was the root of the problem. I also found that it was the mechanical track that was preventing me from raising it manually. I had resigned myself that I would not be going to church…the time for being on time had long since come and gone. Again I found myself in a garage full of tools…yet unable to get a door open. So I did what I should have done in the first place: Google.
I googled garage door issues. Growing up I never had a garage. The houses I’ve lived in have had carports for the most part. Once we did have a garage…but it generally got stuck in the up position, not down. It’s safe to say that outside of pushing a button…I have no idea how these things work.
Here’s what I found: Garage doors have these bright red cords hanging down from the track. If you pull it down…you aren’t going to believe this…it triggers a manual override. Meaning that if I pull the red cord, I can lift the door myself.
It was heavy, but the door lifted. I pulled the car out. I made it in time for Sunday school.
Most importantly I learned that I cannot be a burglar. I’m pretty sure a career as an escape artist is also not in the cards. First I was locked out and couldn’t get in. Then I was locked in and couldn’t get out. Luckily when I got to church I took a look in the mirror before leaving the car. I had that black sticky grease smeared on my face. What a week.
Amy
PS…I hope you are ready for an amazing B&A tomorrow. The stairs are done! I can’t even believe that I got them done over the weekend. You are going to flip.
