Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Customer Service is still alive!

On the 5th of July, me and the kids crammed into our little car and decided to leave for a little vay kay.
16 hours later, 3 play stops, numerous diaper changes, going pee pee in the potty at the "Scenic Overlook" (Which by the way, I saw a man come out of the woods carrying a newspaper and a roll of toilet paper.  No Shit!!), feeding and drugging the cranky teething baby in a gas station parking lot, 3 Sugar Free RockStars, and a whole bag of goldfish later, we arrived in Oklahoma.  When I say we were in Oklahoma, I don't mean Oklahoma City..  I'm talking about the middle of no where, around the area where I was born & raised til I was about 10.  My Aunt & Uncle live in Northwestern Oklahoma between 2 small towns (one is 8 miles in one direction and the other is about 12 miles the other direction) that have a total of 1400 combined residents.  The smallest town I have lived in within the last 16 yr, oh dang, 17 years (know I feel my age) was population 3500 and I had a graduating class of 60.  Small, small, small. And all can I tell you....
How freaking refreshing!!

After visiting the grocery store once with my Auntie, I went in alone and I could hear a clerk say, "Oh, that's blah blah blah's niece." Did I stand out?  Probably!  Did I give a crap?  Hell No!  So, when I said that I went to the grocery store by myself, the most interesting thing happened.   Well, the lady that checked me out.... loaded my groceries in the truck for me.  I'm a perfectly capable girl...I mean, have you looked at me? And when I started to help, she said "No No Sweetheart...This is my job."  Are you freaking kidding me?  Is customer service still alive in this sleepy little town?  I can't go to Wal-mart without getting an eye roll from the deli people, because oh no, now they have to get off their fat ass and do something..Oh forbid..You actually have to take the little slab of turkey out of the case and I don't know...DO YOUR JOB, You know, the one you're paid for.  Well, get this.  You chose this job and if you don't like it, there are plenty of people that would be standing in line for it.  I might be freaking one of them soon.  I get that I may be a "customer service nazi" but damn it, I deserve to be.  I busted my ass for 10 years being nice to people, whom frankly, about one in ten didn't deserve it.  And believe you me, if I missed smile or "almost" spilled a drink, my boss would hear all about it.  So when I hear "Oh, it's laid back in the South.", I want to scream!
"What you call laid back, I call lazy!!!" And please when I say this, I'm not saying everyone in the south is lazy, but damn the customer service that I have ran into here in the deep south sucks the big one.  I have gotten excellent service two times and I made sure to commend them to their boss, like they deserve.  Obviously it doesn't come natural to a lot of people. 



So the question is whether I should ban Wal-mart from my life.  Every time I return home, I want to drink...A LOT!!  Which isn't exactly abnormal, but that's all I can come up with at the moment. 
 
#1   It's about 1 1/2 miles from my house.  Convenient, but I swear I could drive across town and go to Piggly Wiggly and get home at the same time.   
         
#2  Their prices really are good.  I'm a bargain shoppin, coupon clippin fool and I feel like I'm getting the same items for less there.  But is it really worth the extra $5?? These days, it might be..

#3  The Self Checkout Lanes are always open...One at a time!  It's easy, no fuss, in and out.  There could be people stacked all the way across the aisle and do you think they would open the self checkout for us folks with a case of diapers and a case of beer? Oh hell no!!


#4  Bagging my milk...Really?  Why is that necessary? Reduce/Recycle/Reuse...Heard of it?
Oh, probably not..Here's a little symbol that you might want to get use to..


#5  The parking lot...All I have to say is pure hell...I lived in a city of 500,000 and didn't have a single door ding.  I've been here for a year and I have 3!! WTF??


So I have decided that when I don't have to find a "real job" and not worry about making money, AKA: When I win the lottery, I'm going to start a Customer Service Consulting firm..  That is if I'm not too busy working on my tan on the beaches of St. Thomas.

Watch out world:)

Friday, June 25, 2010

Melting Crayons

This was our first attempt at melting crayons. As most of you are aware, having a toddler around makes you have more than an abundant supply of broken crayons. We usually only use the washable crayons because of obvious reasons. 




We started out by gathering all the broken crayons


Next we peeled the paper off of them and cutting them into small pieces. I used baby food containers to separate them into color categories.


I have a nifty button on my microwave called "Melt" so put one container at a time and used trial and error for the melting time.  I used wooden skewers to stir them.


I just had a regular size muffin pan (I wish I had the mini muffin pan) and I lined it with muffin paper.  I also had some plastic mold for soap.  By the way, those molds should never be placed in the dishwasher:)



 I placed them in the freezer to speed up drying time since it's already so hot and humid here.  I didn't notice any weird film from the washable crayons, but I stirred them like crazy after the melting process.




Voila!! Easy Cheesy!! 

What I would do next time...Use a silicone mini muffin pan or even a silicone ice cube tray and not make them in the any shape that resembles candy:)


Thursday, June 24, 2010

Thrown a Curveball....


My kids are POLAR OPPOSITES
I'm new this this mothering thing.  When I say that, what I mean is that even though I've been a mother for a little over 2 years, what I thought I knew is now changing.  I still follow "my own rules" and try to incorporate some of the attributes that many women, including my mom, grandmother, and aunt have instilled in me.  We generally follow the Dr. Sears Attachment Parenting approach.  It may seem weird to some people and totally natural to others, but it has truly worked for us. 

 Here's a little recap of the obvious to date differences in my children:



Baby Girl (Chloe)

  • Breastfed for the 1st year of her life
  • little to no crying
  • easy to soothe
  • loves to snuggle & slept in the family bed for most of her first 18 months of her life
  • loves to be around people and other children
  • adaptable to all surroundings



Baby Boy (Carter)
  • Breastfed for the first 3 months of life 
  • cries all the time
  • hard to soothe
  • not a cuddle bug and has been in his own crib since about 4 months old
  • cautious of people
  • does not adapt well to unfamiliar surroundings 
EATING

My daughter was breastfed for most of her 1st year of life with no issues. My son was in the NICU for almost two weeks, and although I pumped like a mad woman and he was able to get mommy's milk via bottle, when he got home he wasn't having it.  He wouldn't latch on, and on the rare occasions that he did, he was very very frustrated.  I was able to give him strictly breast milk for the first 3 months of his life due to a large amount in the freezer, but I couldn't keep up with pumping with a hand pump and a 2 yr old.  I ate blueberries, almonds, oatmeal to keep my milk supply up and still nothing.  It just stopped and it makes me cry thinking about it.  He now drinks formula, but the thing that bothers me the most is that he doesn't like me to hold him and give it to him.  He would much rather be laying on a pillow with the bottle propped up. He's getting the nutrition he needs, but I still feel like I failed this challenge as a mother.  He is now 7 months old and is exactly the same way, but he now holds his own bottle.

CRYING/CUDDLING

My daughter will to this day pretty much will stop crying as soon as I pick her up.  My son, well, his screaming intensifies.  I can "try" to put him in the cradle position to rock him, but he fights me and I'm not about to force him into that position. I usually just have to hold him outward, walk around, go outside, and wait for him to find his thumb.  I just want to hold him close, cuddle with him, and sing to him so bad, but he acts like I'm torturing him when I try.  And before someone suggests that something is wrong with him, there's nothing, Nada, zilch wrong with him other than a thick skull with a mind of his own.  I wonder where he gets that?? I refuse to admit that he's "Just a crier." I don't believe in that and never will!

SLEEP

Although a lot of people are scared and cautious about co-sleeping all I can say is "to each your own".  It has been one of the most rewarding things that we have done with our children.  Some of the first comments I hear is that "You should be very careful.  You might roll over him." Umm   I'm careful with everything I do with my child and I have never rolled over my husband or dog in the last 5 years of sleeping with them.  I feel like telling people that "You have to be smart about it, Stupid!" Don't sleep next to your child if you've had a bottle of wine or took an Ambien.  Duh???

Baby girl slept with us for most of her first 18 months of life.  A little for her benefit.  A lot for mine.  I was breastfeeding and it was far easier to have her near.  I liked her falling asleep in my arms and we both slept better.  When we knew transition time was nearing, we just took the natural steps.  We got her a big girl bed and started to crowd her out of our bed.  She now goes to bed, in her very own big girl bed, every night at mostly the same time, wide awake, with her calming music and lights strung all around.  She's happy to lay there with all of her babies, and I mean about 13 right now, surrounding her and reads books until she falls asleep. 

Baby boy slept with us for about the first 3 months of his life.  We mostly slept in another room from the hubby since he does get up so early.  Not that baby boys cries would wake him anyways!! When we got into a routine and transferred to the family bed, he slept right next to me, under my arm, next to the guardrail.  I decided one day to put him down in his crib, which is also in our room, and see how he would react.  Wouldn't you know, no whimpers or cries, he just rolled over, put his thumb in his month and took a 3 hr nap.  The next day I tried it with night time sleeping, and wouldn't you know the same thing happened and he slept pretty much all night.  It makes me a little sad.  I do love those times of cuddling at night and knowing that he is safe right beside me, but then I look at how well he sleeps and I can't but acknowledge that he sleeps best when he's in his own crib. 

SOCIAL

Chloe is just like her momma!! A social butterfly.  She feels the best when she's with other kids.  She will talk to anyone and loves to giggle and laugh.  She feeds off other peoples energy and can get enjoyment out of going to the store or going to the park as long as there are people or kids around. She smiled at every random stranger in exception to one older gentleman that made me want to back off too.  

Carter is much more reserved.  He does like going outside, but not really anywhere else.  He doesn't like being in the car, although he is getting much better with age.  I don't think he cares either way about being around other kids, but he certainly doesn't show any enjoyment in his face.  When the random stranger walks up and tries to "google" him, he just looks at me like "What's their problem?"

So when I thought I had a good grip on motherhood, I got thrown for a loop.  I know you can hear it a thousand times that your children can be totally opposite than one another, but you don't really get it until you're there.  One thing that I've learned is that everyone is entitled to their own way of raising their children.  Some of it you may agree with and some you may not.  It's best to leave the criticize behind.  Don't state what you think or how parents are doing it all wrong unless you're asked.  And if you are asked, word it very carefullyThere's a bunch of us hormonal, over-tired, aggravated moms that will not stand for it.

Life is ever changing and being a mother is much harder than I thought. 



Monday, June 14, 2010

RECYCLE...Shower Curtain Painting Apron

It was time for a new shower curtain.  We used our darling shower curtain until the top tore and was literally hanging on by 3 hooks. I wasn't ready to get rid of it.  It was still in really good shape, although the top was not salvageable.  It was just too cute to throw out, so I decided to make Chloe a painting apron.



I laid the shower curtain out and cleaned it really good with Simple Green and allowed it to dry.


























I used Chloe's cooking apron as a template.


















I cut around the apron making the new apron about 3-4 inches larger to ensure it would wrap around her.



I folded the edges and sewed a triple stretch seam.  I have found this seam is very durable.  



I'm a sucker for recycling ribbon like the one above from our new shower curtain.  I keep ALL the decorative ribbon from new products.  You never know when it'll come in handy.  I cut the ribbon in 4 equal pieces.  Before sewing the ribbon in place, I treated the ribbon with Fray Check around the edges.  I used a basic stitch and sewed them into place. 


TA DA....New/Old Painting Apron







  
Front View
Isn't it CUTE?           











        


Back View  






                

Thursday, June 10, 2010

It happened. I didn't want it to...But, it did!

I caved...I did it...I didn't in my wildest dreams ever think it was possible.  I am now a Twilight fan aka Twi-hard!!! I'm even scared a little bit to say it out loud.  It's kinda reminds me of what my husband always says:  "We like Justin Timberlake..We just don't talk about it!" Differently, I WANT to talk about it.  This is how it started.

My dear friend Allyson from good ole Boise, ID came to visit in May.  On one of our many shopping adventures we stumbled into TG Maxx.  It's truly one of my guilty pleasures heading to shoes looking for Dansko's and then off to clearance.  They always have so much fun stuff, mostly broken things from lamps to picture frames to Mrs. Meyer's Cleaner, which is now one of my favorites.  Wouldn't you know there with an aura surrounding it was "Twilight", "New Moon", and "Eclipse" all for $5 each!!! She was jumping up and down with pleasure.  I must have snarled a little when she jerked around and gasped, "You have not read these??"  Of course I have not read these.  My life is now filled with endless diapers and laundry with little time to even shower.  Well and also in true honesty, I've seen all the freaks on TV and me and my family are not the type to be sporting those terrible Twilight T-Shirts.  I won't even let my sweet babies sport Winnie the Pooh!!  I'm a little bit of a scaredy cat, well a big scaredy cat of "scary stuff" and I couldn't even watch the movie Babe because it made me sick to my stomach thinking someone was about to eat something that spoke.  Needless to say, that's never made me not want to eat bacon, so why would this be any different? 

After Allyson left, I cracked the first book open after the family went to bed.  The next time I looked at the clock it was 1:30 am and I grumbled not only because I didn't want to put it down, but I knew my sweet little man would be up rearing to go at 6am.  So with that said, it took me 3 days to read Twilight, 2 days to read New Moon, and 2 days to read Eclipse.  What has gotten in to me??? I couldn't even read 2 magazines from cover to cover in one week?  I was hooked and all I could think about was getting the last and final chapter Breaking Dawn.  I went to see Sex and the City 2 with Anita, and sorry girls if you have not seen it, it just wasn't as good as the first one, but what did I do next at 9:30pm.  Oh yes, it was off to Walmart, my own personal hell.  I stood in the speedy checkout lane for 20 minutes to get this damn book.  That's dedication!! It's what I'll assume it's like for someone hooked on drugs.  You get a taste and you want more more more!!
I TASTE = I LIKEY!!!

I just finished Breaking Dawn and I loved it although I'm a little sad it's OVER....sniffle sniffle.  There is definitely not any books that have done this to me and I'm sure my dear hubby hopes I don't find any other ones soon.  "Leftovers, AGAIN??" haha  Next mission:  Movies.  The first two are already on DVD (my mom already owns, hurray!!) and Eclipse comes to the theater on June 30th.  And yes, I will be there.  I won't be decked out in the T-Shirt, but trying to look incognito like it's not written all over my face:)

UPDATE (5 MINUTES AFTER POSTING):  I just read on the authors website that she's writing another one...Oh Lord, here we go..A rough draft was illegally leaked on the Internet, so the author decided to make a copy available to her "true" fans so no one would feel dishonest.  It's called Midnight Sun:)

Friday, June 4, 2010

Hurricane Survival

So, the time has come....Hurricane season. It runs from June 1st to November 1st, with most of the tropical storm & hurricane activity occurring at the end of August to beginning of September. It's been all over the news here, but I'm not sure if y'all in the rest of the country know the current stats from NOAA.  This is there prediction so far not just for the Gulf of Mexico, but the entire Atlantic Basin.


  • 14 to 23 Named Storms (top winds of 39 mph or higher), including:
  • 8 to 14 Hurricanes (top winds of 74 mph or higher), of which:
  • 3 to 7 could be Major Hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5; winds of at least 111 mph)
The first thing I think when looking at these numbers is CRAP.  We arrived here last year and we experienced nothing, nada, zilch, when it came to "crazy" weather.  Sure we got the rain storms every afternoon with the loud thunder (which we have nicknamed "angels bowling" for the kids) and lightning, but other than that it was pretty boring.  And that was a good thing! 


We're actually in Phase III for evacuations which also includes all of metro New Orleans.  I believe that although I love my home, if they authorities placed an evacuation in order, we would stuff the car and head up to Oklahoma to be with family on the safe side.  My parents moved here just months before Katrina and although they didn't get much of anything from it (other than lots and lots of people), Gustav did hit and HARD!  It let it's fury out and they were without power for nearly a month waiting in line for gasoline everyday so they could keep the generator going so they wouldn't melt. 


  Below is a couple of pictures my mom took of some of the aftermath of Gustav on their street.






I'm going to be ready this year! 
Well, I'm going to be as prepared as best as I can!

I've gone through all the preparation guides and put together a list of things that would be good for our family.  I've not only started gathering supplies here and there, but made some cards detailing what to do and how to prepare when a hurricane is in the gulf, 12-24 hours before landfall, supplies, and food needed. I Put them into an excel spreadsheet, laminated them so I can use a dry erase marker to check off, and hung them on the tool peg board.






So when a hurricane or tropical storm travels into our "hood" at least we'll be prepared the best we can.  Sure being from the Northwest we're used to rain, ice storms, snow storms, and volcanoes.  But really that's just peanuts compared to the fury of a hurricane.  All that flight attendant training is kicking in and all I can think is "BRACE BRACE BRACE"!





Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Jambalaya..My Version

Jambalaya..
”My Version”

I’d like to start out by saying, I’m not Creole and if I offend anyone for slaughtering this down home dish, I’m sorry. This is my version and since I do live in Louisiana now, it’s time for me to take a stab making some of the native cuisines.
There are many types of Jambalaya, and even Pastalaya, with different bases, meats, etc. Jambalaya is a Louisiana Creole dish of Spanish and French influence.
Through three or four trial and errors, I’ve compiled my favorite.

Ingredients:



  • 1 Bell Pepper - Diced (I don't like bell pepper, so I put mine in the food processor to fine dice.)


  • 5 Stalks of Celery - Diced


  • 1 Large Onion - Diced


  • 1 Bunch of Flat Leaf Parsley


  • 1 Package of Smoke Sausage


  • 1 Pound of Gulf Shrimp


  • 1 Large Chicken Breast


  • 1 TBSP (adjust to your taste) Tony's Cajun Seasoning  (not pictured)


  • 1 Large Can of Diced Tomatoes


  • 1 Medium Can of Tomato Sauce


  • 2 1/2 Cups Chicken Broth


  • 2 1/2 Cups Rice (I use  1 1/2 cups white, 1 cup brown) I also use Minute Rice.  Traditional recipes call for long grain rice, but I just don't have the time.

 I use a huge cast iron skillet (14 inch) to make my Jambalaya.  


1.   Start out by browning the sausage. The sausage has enough oil in it that you won't have to add any additional oil. If you find that isn't the case, add a little canola or even olive oil.
 
2.   When sausage is browned, add celery, onion, pepper, and cubed chicken breast.  Cook until the chicken is browned and veggies are translucent.

  
3.    Add can of tomatoes, tomato sauce, half of parsley, chicken broth, Tony's seasoning, and rice.  Stir well.  Cook until the rice is tender and "most" of the juice/stock is absorbed.


5.    Add shrimp and remaining parsley the last 5-7 minutes of cooking.

Serve with Louisiana Hot Sauce 

We love this dish and now make if for everyone that comes and visits.  It's definitely the best on day 2 or 3!! Hope you enjoy:)



Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Jambalaya Splashpark

We're so excited that the Jambalaya Splashpark opened.  We've heard it was a "cool" place to hang out and we got to enjoy it today.  It was the perfect day for it too.  It was 85 degrees at noon, so we only lasted about a hour.  When I say "we", I really mean us adults:)

Click here to view these pictures larger

Monday, May 17, 2010


Fruit & Nut Bars



My favorite magazine these days has been Family Fun.  It has tons of craft and recipe ideas for families with small children.  I always take the recipes and "tweak" them a little and lately I've been adding ground flax seeds to baked goods.  The latest studies on flax seeds show they may help fight everything from heart disease and diabetes to breast cancer.  Chloe did like these, but I think these will end up being more of a mamma pick me up snack.  




1/3 cup pecans (can use any nut of your choice.  Almonds would be yummy too.)                                                                    

1/3 cup walnuts (recipe only called for one type of nut)

2 TBSP milled flax seeds

1/3 cup dates (figs or prunes would be great too)

1/3 cup dried fruit

2 TBSP water (adjust depending on fruit moisture)

Sprinkle of cinnamon






Put nuts in processor until mostly smooth. Mill flax seeds or use a coffee grinder and add to nut mixture. Transfer to a bowl.




Put dates and dried fruit in food processor adding one tablespoon of water at a time until it looks “gooey.” Sprinkle mixture with cinnamon and add nuts. Pulse until well combined. Makes approximately 6 bars.


*To mold bars, lay a piece of wax paper flat, spoon 1/6 of the mixture onto the paper, fold the wax paper over and form bars.

 

Wrap individual bars and put in Tupperware. These will last about a week in the fridge. I haven’t tried freezing them yet.



 

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

I've been saving egg cartons for the last few months.  Not only to makes some fun crafts but also so Chloe and I can start some flower seeds.  We planted some seeds, but it seemed like the weather just wasn't on our side.  One night it rained and mommy left the seeds in the rain and um mm, they flooded.  So there I stood in a downpour trying to poke a hole in the cartons so water could drain.  That seemed to do the trick, well, until the winds.  Then the wind swept the poor egg carton and it was up and away.  Luckily one out of the three survived.  We babied our little seedlings (Cosmos) the next few weeks until they were finally big enough to plant in the ground. 
Only about 6 or 7 survived, so Chloe and I picked
out some more seeds to plant with it.  I'll admit it
was really me that picked out the next seeds to plant. 

I have fond childhood memories of picking
Cornflowers (Bachelor Buttons) for my grandma and bringing them inside so proud as if I "found" them and didn't actually just pick them out of her garden.  She would humor me everyday by acting like it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen and putting them in a little glass right by the sink.  They require warm temperatures and since it's getting down right hot here, it was the perfect time to get them going.   

We found the perfect spot to plant our seeding and
seedlings, in a strip of ugly dirt between the fence
and the driveway.  Chloe and I started pulling
up the weeds, mixing topsoil with the existing
dirt, and digging a little trench for our seeds. 
Chloe is definitely in the "I DO IT" stage.  She
insisted that she knew exactly what to do and I
was pretty amazed that she wasn't just throwing
the seeds around, but actually putting them in the
hole we dug for them.  To our amazement, those seeds that we purchased for 5/$1 sprouted in 3 days!!  We now have little plants about 2 inches tall, we that was until yesterday...


ENTER BIG BAD Armadillo

Ugg....So this little ugly creature must have been stirring during the night looking for food when it saw our freshly watered beautiful plants, all in a row and decided that it was the perfect place to look for some grub worms.  He dug up our entire bed!!!  I noticed it at about 630am when I went out to water so I replanted it as well as I could before Chloe woke up.  Okay, so I didn't know it was Armadillo right.  I assumed Jimmy drove over our poor little babies when he was backing out of the driveway until I remember he parked outside of our temporary gate.  My aunt was the one that clued me in on these icky creatures and Jimmy told me later that morning he had actually saw one, not in our yard, but by the gate.

Although I have been around Armadillo's before, I don't like them and they freak me out.  They're ugly like a possum with a creepy shell.  The only things I like with a shell are cute little turtles and of course Crab, which is mighty tasty.  So please, shell creature, leave our baby seedlings alone.  I know you don't understand, but this has been a mighty long process and I don't want to explain to a 2 year old that some ugly creature destroyed her plants, again...

Monday, May 10, 2010

What to do next....



I loved...LOVED..doing my window projects in Portland. 
The supply of old windows were abundant and people
would rather give them away then take them to the
dump. I got many of my old windows for free
from craiglist, but here...it's another story.  I cannot find them anywhere for less than $30!  I just can't justify spending that much for a broke down old window. 


So, I'm sad, hoping that one day I'll hit
the window jackpot so I can get back into it.




So lately I've been "trying" to sew.  I think that I've done pretty well for a beginner, but it's hard to measure up to all the crafty women in my family.  My grandma is a seamstress that made all of my aunts gowns for pageants, all my barbie clothes, upholsters furniture, crochets and paints.  My mom can sew very well too and made all my dresses for the dances in high school, used to decorate cakes (quite well if I do say so), and can refinish a piece of furniture like a pro.  So, as my husband always says, I just need the right tools:)

Off to Home Depot to build a sewing station. 

I discovered the scrap wood box in the back and the manager in the department made me an incredible deal.  I spent about $30 and made myself a sewing table that will eventually be dual purpose for scrapbooking and a couple of pegboards, one for above my "craft station" and one for tools so my dear husband can find his screwdrivers and such.  
I LOVE POWER TOOLS!!!

So now I have the right tools, well location that is, to start sewing.  Now, to only find the time....hummmm?





Sunday, May 9, 2010

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful beautiful women in my life, whether you're a mother, grandmother, or fabulous auntie, I love you and you are all inspiration to me:) Whether we consider ourselves to have had a great childhood or a not so great childhood, remember the women in your life that helped you grow into the person you are today.

I read a beautiful quote:
“There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one” - Jill Churchill

Chloe and I decided to make my present for my mom. I got the idea from my aunt and ran with it. It resembles the stargazer lawn ornaments that you find in the stores, but of course it's way better since it's homemade:) I posted an ad on freecycle.com for a bowling ball. If you've never heard of freecycle.com, it's a wonderful yahoo community where you can give items away or search for items. It has a moderator, so I feel it's far better than craigslist in that aspect. I received the bowling ball almost 2 hours after I posted the ad and the lady met me at Walmart. YEAH!!! 1st step complete. The second thing that we had to do is get glass beads, the type that you put in flower pots or fish aquariums. The Dollar Tree is our best friend. We found all colors, shapes, and sizes. I wanted to follow a blue/green color scheme, and wouldn't you know, that's all they carried!!



We got it home and cleaned it really good. We use an all Simple Green all purpose cleaner. All I got to say is YUCK. This bowling ball must have been old and waxed a few too many times.








Then let the gluing begin. I started on the top, which I now know that I would have started on the bottom (where the finger holes are) next time.
















I had to make a little brace (I made mine out of foil) to keep the beads from slipping while drying. I did about 2 rows and then let it sit for a bit (made and ate dinner, then went back, etc..)











Once it's was about 1/3 done and dried, I flipped it over, put it on the stand (that I purchased at Hobby Lobby) and the gluing was far more easier. No need to use a brace to hold them it place.














I was able to finish it in about an hour!! We're thrilled with the finished product and it only cost $5 but we put a lot of heart into it.
Glistening in the Sun!!



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