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.

Reynaud's AKA Ice Cold Hands and Feet (and ears and nose)

At my annual check up at the doctors, I mentioned that my hands and feet are constantly freezing. I could be fine, nice and toasty, or feeling pretty okay but my hands and feet feel like it's this

My doctor said it's what is called Reynaud's Phenomenon or Reynaud's Disease. I heard of the term before from my friend, Amy. She mentioned it could be Reynaud's when I posted about how my hands were freezing.

What is Reynaud's Phenomenon (sounds better than "disease")?

The U.S. National Library of Medicine says Reynaud's is "a condition in which cold temperatures or strong emotions cause blood vessel spasms. This blocks blood flow to the fingers, toes, ears, and nose." I even found this nifty image to share with all of you that shows the blood vessels constricting and turning the fingers purple.

By NHLBI authors. via Wikimedia Commons

This last week with the cold front that came through causing Montana to have the coldest windchill on earth that day, not exaggerating!, and the stress in my life, made my hands and feet freeze! I wore gloves, soaked them in warm water, did exercises with them to get the blood pumping... and still my hands looked closer to the right hand picture. 

Everything I read said that it doesn't hurt. I would like to take a moment to say that this is

I don't know about the rest of you with Reynaud's Phenomenon, but my fingers and toes HURT SO BAD! They sting, they burn, they tingle... and then go numb. I am torn about the numb part. I'm happy my fingers don't hurt anymore, but I kind of need to be able to feel them to be able to work.

So in case you were wondering why I was absent this last week in blogging, this is why. Because I swayer to you, in a southern drawl, that my hands are turning to ice cubes as we speak.

I hate Reynaud's Phenomenon! 

10 Things I am Thankful for

Happy Thanksgiving to all my USA friends and family! For this Thanksgiving, here is a list of 10 things I am Thankful for.

1. Chocolate and Coffee. Does that count as two? Well it could, but I love Chocolate in my coffee. That is the BEST!
2. Family and friends. I am always thankful for having such a great family and close friends (that feel like family).
3. Good food! My mom taught me to cook some great recipes, like fried pickles! My mother-in-law introduced me to the wonderful world of southern cooking. Sara made me love french foods and makes a GREAT chocolate mousse. My youngest son makes the FLUFFIEST eggs EVER! My oldest son can create some amazing dishes. Nikky made me the BEST gluten-free apple pie. Actually, it was the best apple pie, period. My sister is always finding delicious, nutritious things for me to try. If there is one saying that is true, the best way to my heart is through my stomach.
4. Warm clothes. Especially great in the cold northern winters we have up here in Montana. I love my snow bibs!
5. Comments on my blogs. I know this may sound silly to some people, but I really am thankful for the comments people leave on my blog. It makes my day brighter and lets me know what you all are thinking.
6. Living in a small town. While it has it's few downsides, I really love living in a small town. It has more upsides than anything. I feel like I am living in a close-knit community of friends. I love that! And I am thankful that I found a place to call home.
7. My ex. Oh stop gasping like that! While we didn't work out as partners, he has truly been a great support through some really tough times. He has gone above and beyond many times to help me out when he didn't really have to. I am extremely grateful and thankful for that.
8. The Internet. It keeps me connected to my family and friends in other states, gives me a place to try to earn money and create a career for myself. I am thankful that I have that chance!
9. My apartment balcony. I am very thankful for that. There are two trees that block the direct sunlight in the summertime so I don't have to cover my windows with emergency blankets to block out the heat and sunshine. I am SO thankful that I can enjoy the sun in my apartment.
10. Last, but not least, my children. I am so thankful to be blessed with wonderful children. They are such a joy to be near. They are so smart and funny. They make my whole life seem worthwhile. And I am thankful for them every day. Even when they set the stove on fire. I am just thankful they didn't burn the house to the ground. Their hugs! Oh I am so thankful for those!

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

StayFocusd: Putting the Prod in Productivity

One of the downfalls to a blogging life is that blogging is on the Internet. Need to research something? Internet! Need to share a post? INTERNET! Need to see what someone answered on a facebook status on your facebook page? Internet!

If you are like me, once you are on the Internet, you can easily get lost for hours doing things you didn't go to the site to read. I am notorious for going onto facebook to find a post answer to your favorite foods you miss, only to end up 25 sites away watching a video of ninjas kicking in a car window. 

I have tried several methods to keep me on track and behaving. Timers didn't help as I usually don't hear them. Or I turn them off and head back to what I was doing only to end up on another link clicking fest.

Today, I found something that is really going to get my butt in gear!

StayFocusd- A Google Chrome Extension

StayFocusd is a Google Chrome Extension that keeps you on track. It helps you stay focused on work by restricting your time on other websites (that you choose) where you can waste a butt ton of time goofing off. 

I now have 20 minutes on each of the websites I waste time on. Facebook is one of those. So is Cracked.com because I can surf that site all day!

StayFocusd- Settings and Customizing

One of the best things about Stayfocusd is that I can customize it... a LOT! It starts out giving you 10 minutes to visit the sites you blocked. That's 10 minutes TOTAL. Not just for that one site. I chose 20 minutes to start out. I'll let you know how that goes.

You can also choose which days it runs and which days it is turned off. I am leaving them all on for now. I'll see how that goes. You can also choose which hours during the day it is turned off. I set up a three hour window where I can play a little longer, if I really want to!

StayFocusd- Blocking Sites

In the upper right hand corner of chrome will be a a little clock icon that you can click on. It has a red clock and a timer showing minutes left (after you click on it) if you are on a blocked site. The clock is green if you are on an allowed site. You can also choose to block the site from there. If you notice you are goofing off too much on your favorite site, just block it. You'll now have only a small amount of time to play.

If you open the settings, you can add a lot of sites at once. I added facebook, YouTube, and news sites (and a ton more). I basically added any site I tend to keep clicking and reading.

StayFocusd- Time for Housework!

Oh, StayFocusd is going to be my new best friend! When I go to start housework, I tend to take a small break in between chores, or while the washer is filling, or while I wait for the clothes to finish spinning in the spin dryer... But then I get lost.

StayFocusd is fixing that for me. I can block EVERYTHING! Every single website will be blocked for the time I choose. I haven't played with this setting yet. But I am going to later today. I'll let you know how it goes!

What StayFocusd means to you

I think this means I will be able to stay focused on blogging and not get lost in cyberspace when I should be working. It also means that I will probably be posting more often. That's exciting to me! Now, I will get blogging done, still be able to surf a little and still get my work done. 

I am stoked! Time to go block the Internet for an hour to see how it goes...

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