What Does Your House Say About You?

Do you ever like to look at pictures of rooms to see different decorating styles? I like to get ideas sometimes. It is hard for me to picture things sometimes. When I see a picture of a room or a garden that really catches my attention, I like to try and figure out what it is that I like. Then maybe I can incorporate it into my house or yard. I went to someone's house one time that had a darling little corner garden. I commented on it and she told me that she had seen it in a magazine. She cut it out and then tried to duplicate it. This can also be done with a room. Furniture can make a statement about your style. Is your couch a big overstuffed one, or is it Victorian? There are many styles of console tables. It can be very plain and simple, very ornate or even very modern looking. What sort of art do you like on your wall? Do you like a grouping, or family pictures, or do you have a favorite artist? These all play a part in the look and feel of your room. If you would like to start checking out some rooms, go to CSN Stores and look around. They have everything you can think of. I am being given another opportunity to work with them in the very near future. I have been looking for several different items and they have had a selection of each.

What is your style?

Favorite Vision Forum Sale!!

Coming Soon…The 2011 Vision Forum Family Catalog!

For 4 Days Only, Get $50 Free for Every $95 You Spend

Our customer-favorite “Free Gift Certificates” sale is back, and just in time for the new 2011 Vision Forum Family Catalog!

For four days only, receive $50 in free Vision Forum gift certificates (passports) for every $95 you spend. With the new 2011 Vision Forum Family Catalog scheduled to begin mailing in October, this is a great way to bless your family with edifying resources now, and then purchase your family’s year-end gifts from our new catalog or website later — for free!

Shop Online and Get Your Free Gift Certificates!

When you place a qualifying order online or over the phone at 1-800-440-0022, your free gift certificate will be issued electronically and immediately e-mailed to you.

Shop Online and Get Your Free Gift Certificates!


Your free gift certificates may be redeemed between October 28, 2010, and December 24, 2010, and are good toward our entire product selection at www.visionforum.com.

This special offer is not valid for wholesale orders, is not retroactive to past purchases, may only be redeemed online or by phone, and expires at midnight on October 1, 2010 (CDT).

Count Your Blessings Monday!!

Here is an opportunity for all of us to give thanks unto the Lord for a blessing in our lives. If you would like to take part great. If not that is OK too. If you would like to share your blessing, just leave it in the comments. If you want to use the picture above and list a blessing on your own site, then leave a URL to your site in the comments. There is no pressure here. I just know that I am incredibly blessed and I would like to share that and give thanks to Him who all blessing come from. This is a way that we can encourage one another. I know that I am often encouraged when someone shares a blessing with me. I think that many times we forget that it is a blessing to be able to breath, to get out of bed, to hold a baby... Share your blessings with us. We can share so many other things.... special gifts, recipes, let's take the time to share how God has blessed us!!

I am thankful for the cool weather and the beginnings of the Autumn color. I am also very excited and thankful that my friend is coming this week. I can't wait to hug her neck. Thirty four years is a long time to go between visits. :)

What are YOU thankful for?

Dancing In The Minefield

I really like this. The words are wonderful. Don't forget to turn off my music in the sidebar.

Autumn is Coming!!!

I have been trying to get ready for my friend's visit. I am not getting as much done as I would like. I still have a weekend though, so that is helpful. Autumn is starting to put her colors on. There are splashes here and there. This limb is really vivid, but my camera did not do it justice.

You will probably be seeing lots of Autumn pictures. It is my favorite time of the year.

We are still having fun with the dogs. That pup sure gives Star a run for her money. She likes to jump on her and over her and get on her head. Here she is stepping over Star to get somewhere. :)

I am constantly telling her, "Fix your ears!!" They are supposed to lay down. :)

Tug of war is the game of choice these days.

She loves to find little nests. She lays in the coiled orange extension cord, although she is not fitting too well in it these days. She likes to be under the rocker or under my desk. Yesterday, the Wonderful Neighbor Mom walked over with Lil' Neighbor. Lil' Neighbor (LN) wanted to see Skye. Skye was taking a nap, but I finally went and got her up so that LN could play with her. I guess she was not done with her nap. I had put the dog toys in a little basket to try and keep them out of the way. LN kept trying to give the basket to Skye. Then Skye got in the basket all by herself and tried to sit in it. At first her rear end rested on an edge.

Then she finally got it down inside the basket.

She kept trying to find a comfortable spot.

Then she tried to lay down in it. Her head and part of her body hung out. She finally gave up and got out.

This is the time of year that these nasty little visitors come into the house. I went out to the sink on my back porch and there was a HUGE one in the sink. I put the quart jar in there to show you how big this guy is. He is now down swimming under ground somewhere. :)

Joshua has been at my house this week working on something. I was so glad he was here yesterday. I was running a load of towels in the washer. I heard something weird and went to look. It has drained all over the floor. I turned off the washer and hollered for him and he came running. He was a peach. He cleaned up the whole mess without me asking him to. He also fixed the washer hose which had broken. Thanks Joshua!!! We really appreciate that!

Don't forget.... The Fallapalooza Party starts today. Go get your entry in. There are lots of great prizes!!

Count Your Blessings Monday!!

Here is an opportunity for all of us to give thanks unto the Lord for a blessing in our lives. If you would like to take part great. If not that is OK too. If you would like to share your blessing, just leave it in the comments. If you want to use the picture above and list a blessing on your own site, then leave a URL to your site in the comments. There is no pressure here. I just know that I am incredibly blessed and I would like to share that and give thanks to Him who all blessing come from. This is a way that we can encourage one another. I know that I am often encouraged when someone shares a blessing with me. I think that many times we forget that it is a blessing to be able to breath, to get out of bed, to hold a baby... Share your blessings with us. We can share so many other things.... special gifts, recipes, let's take the time to share how God has blessed us!!

I am thankful this week for good friends. I had a friend spend the weekend with me. I knew she was coming sometime, but did not know until Friday that it was this weekend. She helped me get some things done and we also had some good talks. :)

I am counting down until my friend, "Moles" gets here. We have not seen each other in 34 years. I was 17 and she was either 23 or 24. Neither one of us were married or had children. :) We have a lot of catching up to do.

What are you thankful for?

Star Wars with Blu Skye Walker

If you have read my blog for any length of time, you know that we have 2 dogs. Well, a dog and a puppy. Our dog's name is Southern Star and we call her Star. Our new puppy is Southern Blu Skye and we call her Skye.

With our last puppy, we learned how much a puppy loves to chew and we determined to give this pup plenty of toys to chew on instead of things we did not want her to chew on. Star will be 13 next month. She is a grand old lady and did not play with toys other than a tennis ball. Since Skye has arrived, Star's interest in toys has resurrected. :) When either dog picks up a toy, they start a war. So, we have called them Star Wars with Blu Skye Walker. :)

Sometimes it sounds rather ferocious. I took some pictures and a short video of one of the Star Wars today. You will see that in some of the pictures, they look really mean. They are just playing though. The puppy never gives up and just because Star is bigger does not give her the advantage. We hope you enjoy this episode of Star Wars. It is a fox they are fighting over.

The WD-40 Fan Club is Here!!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of WD-40. All opinions are 100% mine.

There is a new fan club in town. I am sure that this product has already had many fans, but now there is an official club. :) Come on and Join the fun in the WD-40 Fan Club.

Here are some of the benefits to joining this club.

* Get exclusive promotions and content first
* Share WD-40 uses, yours could be chosen as the use of the day
* Get the badge instantly for joining
* It’s free fun

Many people feel that it only has one job, but it can be used for all sorts of things. One way that I used it was to help remove labels off of some cups I bought. They were stubborn labels and so I squirted some WD-40 on it and let it sit a minute and the label came right off for me.

I wondered what the WD-40 stood for and so I looked it up. WD-40 literally stands for Water Displacement, 40th attempt. That's the name straight out of the lab book used by the chemist who developed WD-40 back in 1953. The chemist, Norm Larsen, was attempting to concoct a formula to prevent corrosion-a task which is done by displacing water. Norm's persistence paid off when he perfected the formula on his 40th try.

They are allowing me to have a contest and are going to be sending out some really neat prizes. There will be some Now & Then WD-40 twin packs, Smart Straw can wall clock and a Nostalgic can wall clock. Be sure to look below to see how you can enter.

To enter this contest, you must leave an answer to the following question in the comments on this blog post.

What do you do to save time and money on projects?

Watch the latest WD-40 video release

Click the link to read the contest rules.

WD-40 is known as "the can with thousands of uses," WD-40® is truly one of the most versatile, multi-purpose problem solvers on the market! It protects metal from rust and corrosion, penetrates stuck parts, provides a great moisture barrier, lubricates just about anything And gets rid of all kinds of stuck on “stuff.” WD-40 —there’s always another use.

You can get more information by visiting their website at www.wd40.com or their FAQs page at http://www.wd40.com/faqs/.

WD-40® is sold nationally through major automotive, hardware/home improvement, mass merchandiser, club, grocery/drug, and other retail outlets.

Join their fan club and leave a comment to enter the contest.

The Best Lunch!!

Today, I had the best lunch. I toasted 2 thin slices of my whole wheat bread. I spread mayo on them. I put a 3/4" thick slice of a huge round, meaty tomato (given to me by the Wonderful Neighbors) and a slice of sweet onion. I used pink Himalayan salt, freshly ground pepper. I put on 2 leaves from the Chinese Mustard growing in my yard. It doesn't get any better than that!!! YUM!!!! :)

I also got one large crock of sauerkraut done. I would like to do another, but my other crock must have a hairline crack. :(

The New Vision Forum Website is Here!!

Introducing the New VisionForum.com!
Celebrate with Free Gifts, $1 Deals, and Free Shipping*

Introducing the new VisionForum.com!

For all you busy mothers and fathers who enjoy browsing through beautiful websites filled with encouraging resources for your family, but who also appreciate being able to quickly find what you need when you need it, we are excited to announce that the new VisionForum.com offers the best of both worlds!

Why You Want to Order at Least 5 Times This Week

To celebrate the new VisionForum.com launch, this week we are offering a “Grand Re-Opening” array of free, almost-free, and discounted products, plus free shipping.*

Included in these special offers are five “Daily Dollar Deals” — which is why you will want to place at least five orders this week!

Here are some of the sales and special offers you will enjoy through September 18 as you begin using our new site:

First 1,400 $10+ Orders Include a Free Gift

As a way for us to say “Thank you” to everyone who orders from the new VisionForum.com, the first 1,400 orders placed during our sale that total $10 or more will include a free copy of The Little Boy Down the Road — a $20 value! Order #1,401 won’t receive the free book, so place your order soon! This free book will not appear in your cart, but don’t worry. Once your order total reaches $10 or more, you will see a message in your cart indicating that you have qualified for the free book, and we will include it with your order.

Five Days of “Daily Dollar Deals”

A different Vision Forum product on sale every day for only a dollar — as much as 95% off! Visit our new website every day for those five days and purchase each featured product for only $1! This offer is good only while supplies last. Limit one per order.

Free Shipping on Every $50+ Order*

Enjoy free ground shipping on every order you place totaling $50 or more!*

Our Celebration Sale Ends September 18

Don’t miss our free gift, “Daily Dollar Deals,” free shipping, discounts, and more as we celebrate our launch of the new VisionForum.com. Many of our special offers are limited to the amount of inventory we have in stock, so hurry and place your order soon!

These offers may not be applied to past orders, are valid only for orders placed online, and expire at midnight on September 18, 2010.

Exciting New Features at the New VisionForum.com
Improved Look and Feel, Plus Easier Usability

At the new VisionForum.com, you will continue to enjoy beautiful images and pleasing aesthetics throughout our site, but now in an even more visually-inviting way. Additionally, we have overhauled our search functionality and product navigation options, categorizing our products so that you can quickly and easily find exactly what you are looking for, as well as discover new products that appeal to your family’s unique interests.

New Homeschooling Product Section

We have also added a new section to our website designed specifically for homeschooling families, called “Homeschooling.” In this section you will find everything from history curricula and science resources to hands-on learning projects and family discipleship aids. A wonderful resource tool for every Christian homeschool family!

Bits of Farm News

There has been lots going on here. Some of it good and some of it bad. I am just going to put the pictures up in the order they were taken. It may seem a bit jumbled.

You know that we lost a cow to bloat, well we lost 3 sheep last week. :( The one little guy got stuck in the fence way down in the corner. We did not find him in time. The other 2 we could not figure out what happened to them, as there was no visible means of injury. With the help of a friend, we think we have figured it out. Remember the peach trees I told you about that were in the chicken yard area? Well, they are along the fence line with the sheep pasture. Many of the limbs hang over the fence. It seems that peach leaves when they are wilting are as poisonous as wild cherry leaves when they are wilting. We will be moving the sheep fence especially with Autumn coming and the trees will start dropping leaves. Death is one part of the farm we don't like, but is inevitable.

I made applesauce from our apples and canned it. We got almost 2 gallons. This was the first year we really got any apples to speak of and that was only on 2 of the 4 trees.

The puppy is doing well, although we need to figure out how to get her to come when we call. Most of the time she is outside, she is on a leash. We have a family that lives on our property and cars come and go. I am afraid they would not see her since she is still small. She is up to 15 lbs. though. :) She was under 3 lbs. when we got her. Some times she comes running when you call. Other times, she is having WAY too much fun to listen. Any help on how to train her in this area?

She is still a baby though and takes lots of naps. :) She loves to curl up with one of our feet as her pillow or with one of her toys.

Our pullets have started to lay. YIPPEE!!! Michael brought in a really tiny pullet egg one day. I cooked it for him along with a regular size one. It was so little and cute I had to take a picture. :) Most of the white surrounding it came from the big egg which went into the skillet first.

We have had a lot of butterflies this year. All different ones, but more than any other year I can remember. One day I was out walking the pup and I noticed that the thistle plants were covered with butterflies. By the time I got the camera and got back up there many had flown away. Besides the 2 big butterflies in this picture there is a little one on the flower that is center right and the flower at the bottom.

The pictures didn't turn out too good, but there are at least 9 of the smaller butterflies in this picture.

The day was so pretty with a blue blue sky and white puffy clouds. I just took some pictures. The building on the left is the shop barn. The apartment is over it. Buttercup's stall is under the shed roof in the back. The house is on the right.

The little building in the center is the sheep shed. You can almost make out the chicken coop to the right of the sheep shed.

I had this come up in my grass near the garden. I was told it is Chinese Mustard. It tastes wonderful and has some heat to it.

We have a chain link kennel out back that we put the puppy into sometimes. There is a little black rooster chick that hangs out around it. I think he and Skye are friends.

These are my wave petunias out front. They look so pretty this year.

This is Skye out in the kennel. She doesn't seem to mind it and we don't keep her out there for long periods.

She is digging a hole or tunnel to China though. She works on it regularly. :)

I went out with peanuts. The sheep all came running. They know the sound of the peanut bag.

Skye is barking at me on this one, but it looks like she is smiling. She is getting big, but is still so cute.

She loves to come running to see me in the morning. When she stays out of trouble, she is good company.

Hope you are having a great week!!

Count Your Blessings Monday!!

Here is an opportunity for all of us to give thanks unto the Lord for a blessing in our lives. If you would like to take part great. If not that is OK too. If you would like to share your blessing, just leave it in the comments. If you want to use the picture above and list a blessing on your own site, then leave a URL to your site in the comments. There is no pressure here. I just know that I am incredibly blessed and I would like to share that and give thanks to Him who all blessing come from. This is a way that we can encourage one another. I know that I am often encouraged when someone shares a blessing with me. I think that many times we forget that it is a blessing to be able to breath, to get out of bed, to hold a baby... Share your blessings with us. We can share so many other things.... special gifts, recipes, let's take the time to share how God has blessed us!!

This weeks blessing I am counting is my wonderful husband. He is so patient and gentle and caring. He looks out for me and makes sure I am taken care of. We have heard of so many marriages, even ones we thought were rock solid, that have just crumbled. I am so grateful that my sweet man is always willing to work with me, listen to me and work things out. I am truly blessed!!

What are YOU thankful for?