September Acres

I spent last weekend at a friend's house having a garage sale.  It's not for the faint of heart, that's for sure.  It was fun hanging with friends and we each made a little money but I'm not sure it was really worth it financially.  We probably both ended up making way  less than minimum wage.  Are you thinking of doing a garage sale?  I'm no expert but if you're planning one soon let me pass on the things I've learned this time around. Books & DVD's aren't Huge Sellers.   I sold 3 DVD's and about 5 books.  I thought the kids' movies and books would sell but maybe with iPads and the like they just aren't relevant. I had a man offer me $5 for all of the books - there were probably 40-50 of them.  I declined but as I was loading them back into my car I was second guessing myself. I think you're better off donating them to a school or taking them to somewhere like Hastings for store credit. Furniture is a Big Draw . If I...

I'm sure I'm in the minority but I just don't use Pinterest much.  It's not that I don't like it or think it isn't useful or super cool.  It's just that it's a time suck.  Like it's cousin Facebook.  And how many time sucks do any of us really need? That's the main reason I just don't use it. That and how many things that we pin do we actually ever go back to?  Those parenting articles & craft projects- wait 10 minutes and there will be more.  Don't forget to pin them!  I just logged on to my account (you can check it out here ) for the first time in I don't know how long.  I totally forgot about all the fun things I pinned (Christmas ideas galore!)  But honestly, I don't think I've completed one craft project or prepared one recipe. So, I spend valuable time pinning and never using any of the ideas making we wonder, why? Are a Pinterest fanatic or not?

Only 5 days left of school here.  Can you believe it?  Each school year goes by faster & faster for me.  I think it's an age thing... The summer weather and the continuous heat are slow coming this year - thank goodness.  But before long we'll be spending most of our time in the pool.  We have a couple really cool trips planned and I hope to get out of the heat for a bit sometime in July. So many moms I know dread the coming of summer and having the kids home all day.  I personally love it - a slower schedule and spending fun time with LM and her friends is a welcome change. I'll be busy this coming week working on LM's last day of school pool party for her friends & getting my feet wet as the PTA president for the upcoming year.  While I feel like I am fairly qualified for this job it amazes me that they will let ANYONE run the PTA. I guess it's desperation...

I recently (finally) downloaded the pictures from my phone to my computer.  Over 600 of them.  I take a lot of pictures on that little phone and LOVE Instagram - all those filters!  I think the photos someone takes says a lot about a person.  Here's a little glimpse: Yummy Lemon Bars from the Food Network Magazine & Paula Deen.  Easy peasy and oh, so yummy! I take a lot of pictures of this guy.  And he's usually on the bed! The none to popular ham casserole.  VERY heavy with all those potatoes.  Good flavor but we'll save it for when we run the Iditarod next time. Morning quiet time with a book and some coffee. Why my purse was so heavy.  You just never know when you'll need it! You can find me on Instagram! @debbeckm   Hope to see you there!

Luckily, I do not often get sick.  As a mom it's really hard to have any down time and keep things running smoothly.  But yesterday I just didn't feel well.  I don't think it's the flu or a cold but not being a doctor it's hard to tell.  I'm feeling a bit better today and should be able to resume my normal activities. But yesterday was another story.  Unfortunately, LM had a dentist appointment after school that I couldn't change on such short notice.  I tried to lay low for the rest of the day.  That was a bit hard since the members of my family didn't realize that I seriously did not feel well.  At the end of the afternoon I had had it and finally said 'what do I need to do or say to make you understand that I don't feel well' and that I wouldn't be doing the following: I am not going out to the car in the dark to search for your library book. I am not washing clothes 'for fun' so you will have your favorite hockey pant...

Source Every year I make New Year's Resolutions - they're usually the same old ones: get organized, lose weight, exercise more, eat healthier, eat less sugar, be nicer - probably many of the sames ones other people have written down. Every year I get off to a pretty good start. And then reality sets in.  The days get busier as school starts back up and we get back into our routines.  Routine sounds great until it gets slammed by a doctor or car maintenance appointment.  The three mile walk gets replaced by the three hour wait at the dealership.  And there goes my 'exercise every day' resolution. And then I feel guilty. So, this year there will be no resolutions.  I know what I need to do to and writing down a list of things or putting them out there in a post doesn't make them happen.  I don't plan on being a sloth for the whole of 2013 but if I learned anything in 2012 it's that life happens, plans change, best intentions go out the window and l...

Does doing your taxes = torture to you? Every year about this time I think that 'flat tax' idea floating around out there would be a lovely idea.  This post is not meant to be a debate about our current tax system or any of the thousands of alternative ideas people have.  It's just a thought about how much easier it would be if we could send in a little note saying 'yes, we did make $XXXXX last year and yes, you did withhold $XXXX and yes, that is our portion.  thankyouverymuch.' That way I could spend today decorating for Easter or making cards or reading ' Ali in Wonderland ' instead of gathering everything I think I may need to take to the accountant in order for our taxes to be filed. Now, I know what you're thinking 'you've had well over a month already to complete this task, why haven't you finished yet?'  I know you're thinking this because my husband asked me the same thing yesterday.  Just the nudge I needed to finish....

 LM's class was doing a little sewing project the first week of school and the teacher asked for donations of fabric, needles and thread.  I knew my mom would have some things so I called her and asked her if I could go over and pick up some things (she was out of town).  She told me where to find some fabric and that my Grandmother's old sewing box would have some thread and needles.  I remembered this box from her house; you can tell she had it for many years.  Very groovy,don't you think?  Inside I found these neat needle sets.  I guess when a new store opened 'back in the day' they gave the ladies these sets. I thought it was so neat.  I am sure most women sewed, or at least mended back then. And I guess these were giveaways at Lucky some time ago.  I am thinking back in the 70's, maybe.  Both of these (below) have needles in them, too.  So neat! I didn't want to part with these needle sets but luckily there were many more ...

 We never travel this light!  August has been a crazy month so far.  LM started school on the 8th.  On the 9th my mom got a call that my Grandma was in the hospital in No. Ca.  On the 10th hubby went out of town for 10 days.  On the 12th LM and I headed up to Ca after school to see my Grandma.  Nine hour drive just the 2 of us. A first.  We stopped half way to spend the night which ended up being a story all its own. We came home on the 14th and I swear we stopped at every rest area in Ca!  Some are quite nice. On the 16th my mom called to say that my Grandma was moving to AZ and I needed to go pick out her room at the assisted living facility so she could move in on the 17th.  She arrived and we spent the rest of the week getting her settled in her new room.  I can't believe that all of this happened in only a week. We were able to stay at my cousin's house while we were in No. Ca. so that was really nice.  They have a fabulou...

I am sure a lot you have read Rhonda's blog, Blue Creek Home and enjoyed it. She lost her domain name over the weekend. She has posted a letter on her blog and I am re-posting it for her to spread the word to others that she has a new address. Here's her letter: Some of you may have heard that I lost my blog over the weekend. Thankfully, I had started it at blogspot .com before I purchased the domain and changed it to .com. This allowed me to continue to access the blog at the blogspot address with all of the contents intact. The problem is that any links you guys have do not come to me now and most of my internal links are broken. The man who bought my domain (fair and square, I might add) has set up house at my old blog address ( bluecreekhome .com) For the first few days when you visited, you were redirected to GoDadddy . Today, he suddenly has six or seven posts - a new header - some talk about interior design and decorating, and google adds. Please if you go over, don...

Summer is in full swing here. We are finishing up our 2 nd week of summer vacation - it's already blowing by. I have done very little (read:nothing) in the way of decorating projects. I have almost caught up on all my Tivo'd Nate Berkus Shows and started 'tweeting'. Productive, right? I always thought that Twitter was kind of weird - the whole 140 characters or less thing and all - but I signed up a while back and figured if I didn't like it I'd just stop. It's actually kind of fun and I often have short thoughts that aren't worthy of a blog post but perfect for a 'tweet'. I have all but abandoned Facebook but like Twitter for now. You can find me there -@SeptemberAcres -pretty easy to remember. :) LM has her ballet recital this weekend. I am looking forward to seeing the routine - it's been super secret until now. The recital is a Disney theme which is a great way to get us in the mood for a trip to Disneyland later this summer. I have...

LM's class had a field trip today. We were literally in the middle of nowhere. We drove through wild, wild west towns on Route 66 like Hackberry, Valentine (you may have actually sent your Valentine's here for postmarks at some point) and Peach Springs. The little towns lead you to Grand Canyon Caverns . The caverns are not actually in the Grand Canyon but about 40 miles away. The opening that brings air into the caverns is at the Grand Canyon. The Caverns are the largest dry caverns in the United States. It is a beautiful sight once you reach the bottom. It is always 56 degrees F down there. 'Down there' is just over 200 feet. You get down there via elevator. The three third grade classes in LM's school went to the caverns today via school bus (always fun for the adults, right?) I chaperoned along with some other parents and got to ride on the bus. When we arrived the 3 classes split up and went down to the caverns one at a time. While we waited we ate lunch and sp...

Summer's coming way too fast!! I know the Northeast is bracing for a spring snowstorm tonight. But here in the desert southwest we're expecting record highs tomorrow. 101 degrees here to be exact. I wish I could say it's an April fool's joke. The good news is that we'll pass these warm (but much more mild) temps on to our friends in New England before you know it. In between watering my flowers and trying to find some shorts that fit I am putting the finishing touches on LM's clothing/toy 'clean sweep'. I think it's safe to put her winter clothes away so I am killing two birds with one stone. I can't wait to show you her newly purged room. I am a couple of bags in already and hope to have more by the time I go to bed tonight. While I want to finish her room, I want to turn in early enough to make some more progress on the book I am reading, 'One Thousand Gifts' by Ann Voskamp . It is a wonderful book- I highly recommend it and I am not...

Monday's are usually my favorite days. Everyone is back to work and school and I have the morning to gather my thoughts and eat a leisurely breakfast before starting my day. My friend, E, who I carpool with has her husband take the kids to school since he is off on Mondays. Today, however, has been a bit odd. We had a new dishwasher delivered this morning and my husband uninstalled the old one last night. This morning I wake up to a leak in one of the dishwasher hoses - thankfully just a slow leak but still an inconvenience. My husband had to come home and semi-install the new dishwasher to stop the leak. I have been washing the dishes in the wet bar sink instead of the kitchen sink since something is turned off there and the hubby said not to use it until the new dishwasher is totally installed. I am thankful to have a wet bar sink and not have to resort to washing the dishes in the bathroom - something I am sure we've all had to do at one time. I have some things in t...

Last night we were watching an episode of House Hunters and the couple was looking for a new house in my husband's hometown, near St Louis. It was fun seeing if we recognized any of the streets or homes. After the show I asked him if he'd ever like to move back there. His response? "I don't have a job there." The man is not a daydreamer. I said, "if we HAD to move back there would you want to live in Webster Groves?" He said, "I don't know." So, I started thinking what kind of house we could afford there (we are not moving). I logged onto realtor.com , plugged in Webster Groves, a price range, bedroom & bath criteria, etc. Well, what to my wondering eyes should appear but...... the house my hubby grew up in! Yes, the old homestead is on the market! It was neat to see how it's changed. The funny thing is that when my mother-in-law sold the house about six years ago we were under the impression that the new owners were going to tear d...

My husband went back to work today after being home sick for 2 days. He rarely gets sick but when he does watch out! He even missed hockey on Wed and Thurs - that's how you know it's bad. Today things are back to normal. Smokey has his chair back and I can vacuum without waking anyone up. I have sheets to wash (an everyday event when the flu hits - I needed to wait the past two days for him to get out of bed for a few minutes so I could change everything out) for what I hope will be the last time this week. I'll just basically be getting back into my routine and doing my thing. We have had our coldest temps here in the past 25 years. So even though it's balmy compared to some places (my sister called me on Wed from UT where it was -20!) it's cold for us. It was 21 degrees yesterday morning when LM left for school. We don't have to bundle up much so I needed to remember to make sure she had on long pants (not capris ), boots, socks and a heavy jacket. Today was ...

After much prodding from my cousin & a friend of my sister's I decided to check out Facebook. It was fun at first, getting friend requests and asking others to 'friend me'. Seeing faces from the past that I had long ago forgotten. Finding out that my high school friends are alive and well. Seeing what their spouses and kids look like. Then the novelty wore off. Rather quickly for me. Frankly, I don't care that 'it's raining cats and dogs today' or 'I have piles of laundry to do'. I don't get 'farmville' or want to see your horoscope. I know some people love this. No offense to them. It's just not my thing. I had a friend once ask me if I was on Facebook. I said yes and she asked why I hadn't asked to be her 'friend'. My response? 'Why? I see you everyday!' That was the end of that. She has not asked me to be her friend either. I hear all kinds of things on the news about how people lose their jobs over Facebook...

Yes, I am still here. Just busy doing lots of things. School started on Monday so we're back into our routine. And of course, the drama that is attached to all that is school. PTA drama mostly. Well, kind of. In a nutshell, the PTA president has been getting lots of questions from parents regarding our school's PE program. It's pretty lame to say the least but the big issue is the fact that the kids are not taking PE outside but inside in the cafe-gym-atorium ( multi-use room that is the cafeteria, gym and auditorium). Remember, we live in Arizona where people come from all over the country to enjoy our winter weather. Normal winter weather here is sunny in the 60's and 70's. Very nice. Great weather for outside play. So the parents want the kids outside. The principal has allegedly spoken to the PE teacher twice and nothing has changed and she claims she cannot make her take the kids out as long as they are being taught the skills relevant to their grade level. So ...

As this week slowly slips away into 2011 I have been thinking about New Year's Resolutions. Yep, it's that time of year again. I have a love/hate relationship with resolutions as I am sure many other people do. I love the idea of a fresh start but kind of dislike making resolutions because I know that many of them won't be kept. Like the 'I'll lose 30 pounds this year' one. Insert any number in there - it's just hard. Or the 'have more patience' one. Lovely idea for sure but hard to keep up as you go through life and deal with multitudes of people. Or 'I'll exercise more' . That's always a fun one. Because we all love to get up at 4:30 in January, in the pitch dark and freezing cold to run a few miles (add in the coyotes that come down from the mountains each night here in AZ and it is downright scary). How about 'I'll get organized this year' - famous last words, right? If you're like me you have a room that looks ...

Last week Oprah had a show about 'teen idols'. Her idol was Jackie Jackson (Michael's oldest brother). At 13 she planned to marry him. As we all know it didn't quite work out that way. While she and her producers were putting this show together the producers surprised her with a visit from Jackie. Can you believe that Oprah had never met him? She was like a giddy teenager when they met. When I was younger I planned on marrying Donny Osmond. My best friend Debbie also planned on marrying him. We had long discussions on what our plans were and how we would go about meeting Donny. She even tried to negotiate with me and persuade me to marry another Osmond. HA! The thing with Donny never did pan out but I had a 'plan B'. I would marry Shaun Cassidy instead. He was on Oprah last week also. He even sang a medley of his hits from back in the day. Remember 'Da do ron ron'? His concert was the first I ever went to. I must have been about 12 or 13...