Friday Hang Out Night with Jillee (sort of)

This weeks hang out night will be hanging out and packing my friend for her move at the end of the month. I didn't want to share a blog post of us packing an apartment, sorting through stuff, and playing the "do you REALLY need this?" game. Unless you all really want to see that LOL. 

So instead, we brainstormed and came up with sharing a link to a site I love. This week, come on over and hang out with Jillee! On the internet of course.

It's not just her blog that I love about Jillee. It's here about me page. Click here to read it! She is inspirational to me. Her story speaks to me on many levels that are so personal I don't think I could put them on my blog.

I don't remember how I found her blog in the first place. I was searching some house cleaning tip that eluded me. Maybe it was the spot remover for carpets. Or it could have been how to unshrink my favorite pajama pants. I really can't remember. 

What I do remember is that day I spent HOURS browsing her site and loving every post. Her style is awesome! Her ideas are great. She is super upbeat and positive. Her writing style is awesome and her blog is so bright and cheerful! I fell in love with her blog that day and I find myself going back to it a lot. My favorite part is 

So for today's hang out night... Let's go hang out with Jillee! Check out her blog!

Do you have a favorite blog? 

Share it down in the comments!

Disclaimer: I don't know Jillee personally. But I do love her blog! And I get nothing for saying this either. I am just sharing a link I love.

Hang Out Night: Movie Night! Er, YouTube night!

Tonight is hang out night and we were going to watch a movie. But, no one could quite decide on what movie to watch, so we're doing the YouTube thing! Here are our favorite YouTube videos this week. And since I am going to be an Aunt again, we picked videos of cute babies.

Since Chelsea is new to our family, here is something you get to look forward to. HAHAHA!

Can't have a baby compilation without laughing babies!

Get the tissues ready! This one is adorable!

Being the awesome people they are, my brother and sister-in-law are foster parents to dogs looking for furr-ever homes. I saw this one and hope they see something as cute after their little one is born.

One more, then it's time to break out the games and play something fun! We can even share our toys!

Just one more note before we head off to have fun... Kevin and Chelsea, I hope you had fun watching these and I hope you have a beautiful, healthy, little bundle of joy! And if it's a boy (I here it is!), Chelsea, you are going to have your hands full LOL. Mom and I will tell you all the stories of when Kevin was little. MWAHAHAHAHA!

FAQ: What is Hang Out Night?

I post about hang out night a lot and I frequently get questions about it. Today, I am going to spend some time answering those questions, in the order of frequency.

What is "hang out night"?
Hang out night is where we get together with friends and family and hang out. For awhile we called it "game night" but we don't always play games and it turned into "hang out night" instead.

Here are Sky and my kids playing a video game.

When is hang out night?
Every week (with a few exceptions. For example: when people are sick.) It's on Friday or Saturday nights, depending on everyone's work schedule. And sometimes it's both Friday and Saturday nights. This last weekend, it was Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night. That's why I like to post hang out night and fun things to do on Friday.

How do you organize hang out night?
I am more laid back about it. I wait and see who shows up. Sometimes people call and say they'll be in town. Sometimes we call and see who is coming over to visit and play games/ watch a movie/ wrestle/ work on a blog post/ eat/ whatever... and an occasional trip to the ER because we get rowdy. 

And if no one shows up, I head down to my friend's apartment for a good old fashioned "Stitch and Bitch" session where we crochet or knit while gabbing away. Or give manicures and pedicures...

Or a lovely spa...

What do you do during a hang out?
Goof off, sit and chat, drink (the adults, not the kids!), have ice cream (the adults, not the k... oh, wait), play games, watch a movie, walk to the store for a drink and a smoothie, shoot the breeze

Credit: Bob Downs, evilcrayon.com

What games do you play?

Here is a picture I took of all my games. These aren't all the games we play because other people bring over their games. I even numbered them to tell you what they are! And I am adding some other games that aren't pictured.

Some links below send you to Amazon, or other links.

1. Card games. Like, blackjack, kid-friendly poker, nerts, card tricks, rummy and other fun card games (click to go to a site for card games).
2. Backgammon.
3. Cribbage .
4. Pac-Man. The Atari game (yes, we have an Atari!) and the card game for kids.
5. Yahtzee.
6. Pente.
7. Monopoly City.
8. Cards Against Humanity. (NOT KID FRIENDLY! This is for after the kids are sleeping.)
9. Quelf Board Game.
10. Phase 10 .
11. Mad Libs , the card game and the game from the pad.
12. Chess or checkers.
13. Another backgammon game.
14. Dominoes.
15. Made the Terracotta Flower Pot Candle space Heater. (Not a game, but it was in the picture and we did this during hang out night)
16. Hide and Go Seek in the dark.
17. Apples to Apples.
18. Fluxx .
19. Video games on Atari, Nintendo 64, Commodore, Xbox, PlayStation, and computer.
20. Emergency Room visits. While it's not a game, some of our rowdiness lands us in the ER and we make the best of it.

    

    Don't snort kool-aid, no matter how cool they say it will be!
21. Dye our hair... sorry, Zack... I love this picture!

What is Hide and Go Seek in the dark, you weirdos!?

OMG! It's so much fun! Here is what you do...

• Gather all your crazy friends!
• Pick a "seeker".
• Turn off the lights. All the lights. And cover the windows. Unplug the coffee pot or anything with a light on it. NO CELL PHONES! That's cheating! Remove glow-in-the-dark nail polish.
• The seeker counts out loud while everyone else hides.
• Once time is up, the seeker wanders through the dark searching for everyone. Once tagged, you are found! 
• The best part is, if your friends are like me and can't see in the dark, it's MUCH harder to play. 
• The downside is, my brother can see in the dark. Poo.

And yes, we are weirdos!

That sounds like fun! Can I come over?

Uuuuh, suuure? Call first, my house is guarded by attack cats.

"I will act sweet... then attack your face."

____________________________________________________

Pssst... this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something while browsing these links, you help support this blogger! And I thank you immensely! If you don't, that's okay too. I still love ya!

5 Frugal Homemade Gift Ideas for the Holidays

With Yule and Christmas coming up and having very little money to buy gifts for my family, this year I am opting to be frugal and make gifts instead. I have been searching around for ideas and found these creative frugal gifts to share with you.

Frugal Gift Idea #1: Rose made from plastic spoons

Photo Credit: Cut out + Keep

This is so beautiful  and looks like a lot of fun to make. It's a rose pendant made from plastic spoons. You'll need 17 plastic spoons, scissors, needle-nose pliers, a candle, and these directions to make this. 

Frugal Gift Idea #2: Gifts in a Jar

Photo Source: Bargain Blessings

These are adorable! You can see the idea behind these here along with many other wonderful gift in a jar ideas. 

The options for gifts in a jar aren't limited to food items either! You can make snow globes, oatmeal cookie bath soak and peppermint bath salts, child and adult journal in a jar (journal prompts) just to name a few. 

I am thinking of creating a first-aid kit in a jar and a sewing kit in a jar. I'll post pictures when I get the made.

Frugal Gift Idea #3: Paper Mache Pens

Photo Source: Paper Crafts for Children

Okay, these are meant for kids to make, but I am totally going to make some of these! They are so cute. The directions are here.

Frugal Gift Idea #4: A Heat Pack for the Neck

These can be easy to make with cute toe socks filled with rice and then sewn or tied shut. OR, you can go here and make this totally cool looking neck heat pack.

Photo Source: Ever Never Again

Frugal Gift Idea #5 Decorate A Cup

Photo Source Unknown. Email me if you know.

This is pretty cool. Take a sharpie and draw a picture on a cup (or plate), then bake the plate for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. There were so many cute pictures to choose from that I decided to just give you a link to a pinterest page to give you some ideas. 

Just an extra tip: This blogger says they are hand-wash only.

And if you love playing with sharpies, you can also make a dishtowel design with sharpies too.

Hang Out Night Movie!

This week was a busy week for me! I am pretty tired too. I tried to get everything done but the week ran off with me. I think I lost Thursday somewhere on the way too. My whole crazy week ends tonight though. It's hang out night! And this weekend, I am watching a movie!

Here is one of my favorite movies from my teen years. ENJOY!

Fiddler On The Roof

What are you doing for Thanksgiving?

With all our food allergies, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving like we did in years past. I stopped liking Thanksgiving as much years ago, but I do enjoy eating and having family over.

This year we plan on having friends over and a few family members. But it's different now. 

We have a few rules:

1. ABSOLUTELY NO TURKEY! (I am anaphylaxis allergic to it)
2. NO peanuts either. (Same thing)
3. I cook. I am the only one that cooks. Period. 
4. Share the chocolate or get hurt.
5. We eat buffet style and hang out in the living room.
6. You are required to play games! We have xbox, minecraft, and board games. We can also play cards, charades, or whatever you'd like too!
7. Bring your own drinks! We will have some, and we'll share, but bring your own.
8. Don't bring eggnog. That is torture for us.

We will be having

• BBQ chicken
• Macaroni and cheese, mom style!
• Vegetables, steamed, lots of them!
• Biscuits, gluten-free
• Something for dessert
• Probably sweet potatoes, candied
• Cookies
• Chocolate covered pecans

SO, what are you guys doing for Thanksgiving? What's your menu plan? Who's coming over? Do tell!

GET READY! NaNoWriMo Starts this Friday!

I am very excited about this week! Great things are happening over here. Tomorrow my kids come home and their dad is coming to visit for a week. I am getting my house organized and decluttered. AND

NaNoWriMo starts FRIDAY!

Each year I plan on doing NaNoWriMo. Some years I manage to actually do it. I won two years in the five that I attempted it. This year I plan to make my win/loss equal at 3 won, 3 lost. 

What is Nanowrimo?

Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Where you write 50,000 words in 30 days. This isn't the time to worry about punctuation, grammar, and spelling though. This is the time to just pound out your ideas and get them out on paper... er, computer. 

Want to sign up?

If you want to try out the craziness, you can check out their website here.

They also have an awesome facebook page that you can interact with other hermits... I mean, Nanowrimo-ers before, during, and in between Nanowrimos.

I'll post another post this week with some tools I use, some tips, and other helpful tips I find.

Get ready!

I'm a Writer! Not a Beautician!

First, before I start, in my defense, I am not a beautician! I am a writer, a blogger, an author... see a pattern emerging? I can describe things and explain things in ways you never imagined. But ask me to style hair and you might end up with something like this...

Because the extent of my hair expertise as a mom with boys is, take clippers, add attachment, turn on clippers, run through hair.

That being said, my friend asked me to try to give her a pixie cut. I googled how to do a pixie cut, speed-read through the directions, and I was set!

Here is her before picture so you can see how lovely her hair is :)

It's a little blurry, but you can see her beautiful locks falling gently onto her shoulders and flowing calmly, framing her face like a well made picture frame. SEE! Writer!

Now before I show you the after picture, let me defend myself by saying, she knew better! I have done her hair before. This is the fourth time and the first three weren't that wonderful!

Let's see, the first time I dyed her hair and well, it wasn't very nice looking when I got done. We'll leave it at that.

The next time, I bleached her hair. I am not sure how to bleach hair so I followed the directions (for the most part) and wrapped it like it said (or close to it) and waited the allotted amount of time (give or take a 1/2 hour). She ended up with some bleached spots, some orange spots, and a few red spots here and there sprinkled throughout her hair. She went to a salon to get it fixed correctly.

The last time I did her hair, I was giving her a perm. If ever you need a perm, I am NOT the person you should ask. NEVER ask a person with A.D.D. to come perm your hair when you have an interesting TV show on. I followed the directions (kind of) and then started timing. 30 minutes, three hours... they both have a 3 in them, right? Then I had her wash her hair out. I laugh maniacally when I say that, because, LITERALLY, she washed her hair out. As in, it fell out in clumps. To this day she still has a bald spot from my A.D.D. perm timer.

And STILL, she asked me to give her a pixie cut. So with all my hair cutting knowledge, that goes something like this: Hold scissors in one hand, hold hair in other hand, start cutting until it looks like the picture... I started cutting the cutest pixie cut ever!

Although her hair didn't turn out like what I was picturing in my head. Instead, this is her after photo...

I am off to make her some hats now. I think I owe her that much. Hey, it's hair... it'll grow out! Right? Right?

That four Letter Word: SNOW!

I am excited! I think I am the only one excited though. There is SNOW on the mountains! This means that winter is coming. It's just around the corner. Heck, it's peeking around the corner at me and teasing me. I can TASTE it!

Okay, so it doesn't look like this:

But there is definitely snow on the mountains in Libby! My friends saw this and they definitely are not excited about the cold weather coming. Me though? I am flipping EXCITED! I can't wait! 

I have my SNOW boots out, my snow pants ready, and I am waiting patiently for SNOW! 

Lexii let me know that there was flurries outside on her walk so, I took a special trip to the gas station at midnight just to see I could see any. I even did my make-up!

Hmmm, wonder why I am single...

Sadly, we didn't see any snow flurries. But, we did run into friends!

And kissed them on the cheek

And took photos with random strangers we just met

And I think we scared the gas station attendant a little LOL.

Oh yea! That is how crazy I get about SNOW! Hey, Wendy, my neighbor, told me not to post about SNOW... She says it's one of those four letter words! Sorry, Wendy... Had to do it! 

I LOVE SNOW!