Ten on Tuesday

I tend to procrastinate. Unfortunately, the blogosphere, whether you're a blogger or a reader, tends to encourage such behavior. With ten days before Christmas and a hundred things few things left to do, I should most definitely NOT be hanging around cyberspace.

And yet here I am.

My only consolation is that you're here too. Of course, you may be one of those people of whom I'm insanely jealous really organized types who have all of your Christmas preparation done, gifts wrapped, baking done, stockings hung...

I have to stop now before I sink into a deep depression.

Anyway, back to procrastinating...

Here are ten of my favorite timesuckers blogs (in no particular order):

1. C. Beth Blog

Beth is mom to Chickie and Zoodle, and wife to The Engineer. The kiddos are darling, Beth is a wonderful writer. Love her. She also aspires to help others love to write at One Minute Writer. One of my New Year's Resolutions is to go to OMW more than 3 times every day a few times a week next year.

2. The Glamorous Life of a Housewife

Whitney is stay-at-home-mom to Weebie and wife to Husby, the med student. She is too cute for words and loves her life as a homemaker and mom. I love reading about her life. She's just so daggone cute.

3. The Ivory Hut

A new fave of mine, I found Ivory Hut through a perennial blogging fave, The Pioneer Woman. Ivoryhut's style is much like Ree's, and I'm really enjoying getting to know her world.

4. The Pioneer Woman

What? You've never heard of The Pioneer Woman? Oh, you've been under a rock in Siberia for the last three years! Oh, okay then. You're excused.

5. Mrs. O

While I'm SO not a fan of her hubby's politics, I love Michelle Obama's fashion sense.

Mainly because I don't really have one of my own.

6. The Vegan(ish) Experiment

This is the tale of one family's quest to go macro-vegan. While I'm not really sure exactly what constitutes "macro-vegan", I love this blog for two reasons. One, I'm a foodie and love finding new, family-friendly recipes. And two, Beckiwithani, who authors this blog, is C.Beth's sister, and I love her writing style as well!

7. There's Always Room for One More

I love reading about Denise's family. Mainly because her stories make The Manimal's exploits seem almost normal. And I have this fascination and admiration for larger families.

8. Octamom

Speaking of larger families, this Octamom should not be confused with the Octomom. This Octamom has a normal life with her hubby and eight (hence the name) children. She's an awesome photographer and I love reading her kid stories (and ohmygranny she's got a lot of them).

Stories, that is. Eight kids is a lot too, but with eight kids, the stories multiply exponentially and...

Oh, nevermind.

9. Amy and Georgie

So this is a two-fer, only because I always think of these chicks in one breath. Like "amyandgeorgie". Just to be clear, though, these are two, unrelated residents of the blogosphere, who just happen to be soul sisters. I started reading them both last year when they organized the Secret Santa Soiree. They're mommy bloggers with hearts of gold.

10. $5 Dinners

Erin hails from the same part of the Buckeye State that I do, and when I procrastinate on her blog, I always feel I can justify my time because I learn a new way to save money on my groceries! She is the coupon/budget queen and actually saves more using coupons at chain groceries than I do at my beloved Aldi.

So there you have it. Go procrastinate. I won't tell!

Ten on Tuesday

Welcome to Ten on Tuesday!

While I'm hardly on Oprah's level (and certainly don't have the cash to be able to provide all four of my readers with an array of my favorites), I thought I'd share with you a few of my favorite things.

1. This past year I discovered Mitford, NC. The Mitford series of books, by Jan Karon is my favorite literary escape place. As a friend of mine said, "Father Tim is the only book character who ever made me want to be a better person."

2. Magic--or more accurately Avon MagiX Face Perfector. As far as I'm concerned, this little tube is pure gold. It is a fabulous primer and has a 20 SPF rating. Makes my mineral foundation glide on. And it's only $10, so it won't break the bank! Love it!

3. I've always been a bit skeptical of electric blankets. Somehow, sleeping under thinly veiled live electrical wires made me sure that I'd be baked alive in my sleep was a bit disconcerting to me. Then my husband introduced me to the warm snuggly goodness of the heated mattress pad. About 10 minutes before I go to bed I turn it on to Level 5 and when I get into bed, my sheets and blanket are all toasty.

4. Since I play piano for our church and help direct the Kids Praise Choir, I'm always on the lookout for sheet music. Most of the time, I'm only looking for a particular song, and don't need an entire book. That's where Musicnotes comes in. A must check site for every musician!

5. Postdated Blogging--it's a heckuva lot easier to post regularly if I can do some in advance and schedule it to post at a later date.

6. The instrumental version of "Sleigh Ride"--Best.Holiday.Tune.Ever. Especially as performed here by the Boston Pops.



7. "I love coffee, I love tea..." I do love a cup of coffee in the morning, but feel like a whole pot goes to waste. So on my Christmas list this year is one of these babies.



8. "I love coffee, I love tea..." While I love my coffee, I do love a good cuppa as well. My favorite place to purchase tea is Adagio. Their teas are delish, prices are reasonable, and customer service amazing. If you, like me, are a tea lover, leave me a comment with your email and I'll send you a link with a $5 gift certificate!

9. One of my favorite daily reads is The Pioneer Woman. While it's not like she's a newby to the blogosphere, if you haven't visited the ranch, you absolutely must go now. I'll wait.

10. Finally, since the holidays and gift giving are upon us, the tenth item on my fave list is a lovely little online shop that combines my love of letter writing with my love of personalized things with my love of tea (even if in name only).

Three little words: English Tea Paperie.

I came across this site a couple of years ago via a bloggy buddy, Chloe. Chloe is a British expat living in the USA, and a stay-at-home mom who funnels her creative juices into designing personalized stationery. Her designs are sweet

fun

classy
and sometimes a little naughty.
Prices are very reasonable and the quality of the notes is top-notch. She sends them to you in a ribbon-wrapped box, and her turnaround time is great.

And since you all know of my love for a deal, you absolutely will lovelovelove her current promo. For a limited time, Chloe is offering 40% off all orders! Enter code 40OFF at checkout.

This means that you can get 20 personalized notes for only $15...the price you'd normally pay for 10 notes! If you place your order by Friday, December 11th, she can guarantee Christmas delivery! The notes make great gifts (I've given them to several friends and family members!), especially if YOU are the recipient! :)

Happy Writing!

Tuesday Top Ten

Welcome to Ten on Tuesday! Today we feature a lovely list in honor of a 300 mile road trip with two boys.

Ten Travel Tips

1. Control the audio

When I was growing up the rule was that the driver controlled the radio. Notsomuch anymore. Sanity often dictates giving up the grown-up music for yet another round of KidsBop or Veggie Tales. Which leads me to #2.

2. Tune out the monkeys with a Personal DVD Player

Too much TV is a problem I constantly battle. In the car, however, I gladly set up the DVD player in the back and let them watch until they turn into zombies fall asleep.

3. No more melted crayons!

Three words: Crayola Color Magic

4. Yellow Car

SS#1 introduced us to this fun little car game. It actually keeps BOTH boys occupied for a good 30 minutes. The premise is simple. Look for yellow vehicles, have one of the munchkins keep track. As SS#1 puts it, "If it moves, it counts".

5. Very Few Snacks

This may seem contradictory to traveling with children, but I don't like to overpack the snackage. A couple of bottles of water or juice boxes, and some dry, non-messy snacks (shelled peanuts are a fave) and we're good to go. We tend to stop once to eat and usually twice more to empty the human bladders and/or fill the automobile bladder.

6. Everyone Pees

Whether or not they think they have to go, when we stop, we go. Got it?

7. Pillow

I've learned that a pillow for each child makes it much more likely that napping will occur. Of course, it also makes it more likely that at least one pillow fight will ensue, but that's a chance I'm willing to take.

8. Mrs. Garmin

It used to be that Mapquest and I were constant travel companions. I didn't travel more than a couple of miles from my house without him. For the most part, that relationship served me well.

Then I met Mrs. G. And while we've had our ups and downs, and sometimes I turn the wrong way just to irritate her, I usually follow where she leads.

And the best part is, she can play audio books and music WHILE she calmly directs your travel!

9. Audio Books

Oh, my audio books, how did I ever travel long distances without you? Now I can hear your wonderful words on my GPS or on the CD player. Oh joy, oh rapture. And Cracker Barrel even has audio books you can rent and return on your trip home.

10. "______________________ or-so-help-me-I'll-stop-this-car-right-now!"

Pick your poison.