You Know You're a Child Therapist When...

These are so true, especially #10!

1. You can hear 12 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to each child.
2. You walk into a store and hear the words, “It’s Ms./Mr. ____________ and know you have been spotted.
3. You have been called mom/dad by over 100 kids that are not your own at one time or another.
4. You’ve trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times during the work day.
5. You start saving other people’s trash, because most likely, you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the therapy room.
6. You can tell if it’s a full moon without ever looking outside.
7. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, “Boy, the kids are sure mellow today.”
8. You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils.
9. You understand, instantaneously, why a child behaves in a certain way after meeting his/her parents.
10. You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public.

Calvin and Hobbes

After all the writing I've done in Grad School, this makes me laugh out loud ...

Christmas Cards

For the past several years I have purchased blank Christmas-y cards to send out to my family and friends.  I did this so I could write whatever I wanted to inside and not have to worry about whatever "boxed" message the manufacturer came up with.  Last year I bought a set  of cards towards the end of the season that you had to thread the ribbon through and tie the bow and I really liked them!  I decided that I kind of liked the idea of "making" cards and would try to make my own version this year. 

I had found many different ideas online such these lovelies ...

image credit

image credit

image credit

However, I have a very strict Christmas card budget and my talent lies more in finding creative ideas than an executing them. 

About a month ago I Michael's and JoAnn Fabrics had sales on paper.  Armed with my additional % off coupon, I headed across town and found quiet a few goodies.  Over the next few weeks with my Michael's purchases and other supplies I had on hand, I came up with 50 cards that are almost all unique ...

My paper cutter broke less than 1/4 of the way into the process which was a real bummer because many of these cards have a base made out of card stock that needed to be cut.  I also had the opportunity to work more on my love/hate relationship with spray adhesive.  But all things said and done, I think the cards turned out pretty good! 

I surprised myself in that I didn't want to use my crazy scissors much.  The more simple or minimal, the better.  Here are my favorites ...

I hope that this post gave you the inspiration to attempt to make at least some of your own Christmas cards this year.  As you can see, you can make them simple and they can still be beautiful!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my 37th birthday!  Maybe it is working with younger children, but I have no qualms about sharing my age, nor do I feel old.  I'm embracing my age and my inner dreamer today with a list of birthday gifts I'd give myself if money wasn't an option.

I would love the inspiration to start keeping an art journal
or this other book by the same author.

My favorite flower of 2011.

a David Austin Rosebush has been on my list for a few years

I'd love two of sconces like this for our bedroom.

live topiary from Wal-mart

someday I hope to have a butterfly garden

I want to learn to make English muffins.

I'd like to change my worn out baking pans and plastic utensils to stainless

and I have been eyeing these pots

and a cast iron skillet...

 

A Few of My Favorite Things...

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

These are a few of my favorite things

No, I'm not Maria and I know that the best things in life are not things, but I do love the Sound of Music and thought I'd share a few of my favorite things. :)

In my quest to find natural, organic products to use in our home, I came upon the Sea Moss Moisturizer and Sea Lipids Daily Cream from Alba Botanical.  I love the scent and how soft and smooth it makes my skin feel!  These products can be purchased at Target.

As long as I can remember, I have always loved to read.  Series books are awesome because you are usually able to track characters over a longer period.  In the last few years I have become interested in suspense and mystery novels.  One author, new to me, in this genre is Lis Wiehl.

Since college when I began picking out vibrant colored comforters for my bed, I've been interested in creating spaces full of comfort and color.  In the past few months I have became increasingly interested in not just finding inspiration for decorating our home, but actually creating crafts/projects on my own.  I jokingly say that I have become a wreath-aholic! But a close second would probably be my love for fabric, specifically what my mom calls retro prints like these:

Living in a community-style residence hall of 40-50 women for four years of college, where we cooked in "kitchens" of 6-8, I learned to love to cook and collect recipes.  There are a number of wonderful websites online that I like to visit often!  I am a firm believer in eating REAL food.  Food that has as few ingredients as possible, without being genetically modified or grown with pesticides or produced with preservatives.  One of the stores I love to shop at is Trader Joe's!  We love so many of the products they sell, especially cheese, nuts, fresh lemons and limes, yogurt, whole wheat tortillas and pitas, dark chocolate espresso beans, bacon and many, many more.  I also purchase my Tom's of Maine toothpaste and dog food for our Westies at TJ's.

Another past time I enjoy is shopping at thrift or antique stores.  Usually dishes are the first items that catch my eyes.  Recently I've collected a few pieces of milk glass that I really enjoy.  But I am not a purist.  Any white dish that catches my eye and is priced under $5 is a good deal in my book.  Here's a white pitcher with a little birdy I spied online...

What are some of your favorite things?

Hoo Are You?

I have been following Leslie's blog Night Owl Crafting for a while, but have never joined up for one of her weekly parties.  Today I'm linking up to her 14th Hoooo Are You? party.  Here are this week's questions!

 1. Do you type on a keyboard the correct way or do you peck like a cute little chick?
I had a keyboarding instructor in high school who was adamant about his students not looking at their fingers.  I can type away without looking as long as no one is watching me. :)

2. Typically how long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
I am one of those rare individuals that can be ready in 5-10 minutes or less unless I need to dry my hair, then make it 12 minutes.  After years of teaching kindergarten, I have a non fussy hair style and until the last few years was blessed with a wonderful complexion.


3. Do you prefer lip gloss or lipstick?
If I had to chose, I'd say lip gloss.  I just started using it a year or so ago when the gloss came as a package deal with some Kiss My Face chapstick.


4. Do you take clothes to the dry cleaner or wash them yourself even if they say dry clean only?
I do my best to not purchase items that need to be dry cleaned or ironed. :)

5. Do you prefer Wal-Mart or Target?
We do have both of these stores in our town and 9 times out of 10 we go to Target. 

What's Your Creative Style

You know me, I love little quizzes that tell you about yourself. This online quiz, I believe, not only asks good questions, but gives reliable feedback. If you'd like to learn about your creative style, go HERE.

Here's my creative profile...

Creativity is a Release
For you, creativity is first and foremost a form of expression: it creates a special link between the internal and external worlds. It allows you to get a grasp of your powerful emotions, by moulding them into a physical form. In fact, the most important thing for you is to be able to release your emotions. You need to be able to touch them or look at them in concrete form, and to do that you have to find a way to make them come alive. This is how your desires and anxieties take shape. Keeping things bottled up creates a tension that can only be resolved once you have expressed how you feel. This means you have to be strong enough not to let yourself get swept away by chaotic impulses; if you turn your creative urges on everyday life — making a picnic, singing to the baby, choosing what to wear — you can express yourself while staying rooted in reality. Creativity is principally cathartic. It relieves a deep need, an almost primal, archaic impulse. For you, being creative is about having the power to give form to something you feel, to those deep personal issues that are often raw and disorganised. For these reasons you are usually attracted to art that demands physicality, that allows you to express what’s inside, and that unites spontaneity, strength, freedom, power and movement.

Now to find a wider range of activities which will help me to release this creativity I'm often told I have, yet struggle to see in my own life!

Where Do You Blog?

Today I am joining Centsational Girl for a Where Do You Blog? Party.  The "desk" I am currently using is a listening table that my dad made for my classroom many years ago.  My kindergarteners abused it, but it works for the time being!  Our office is a transitional room.  It recently was a bedroom for our two youngest foster sons and may serve that same purpose again someday.  I have big plans to add floating shelves to the wall, to get a table for my workspace and make new curtains in the future.  That said, here's my space...

I purposely use a folding chair so I don't spend too much time here!  Here are my co-authors...

Where do you blog?

Contentment is being able to come to terms with where you are and what’s going on in your life, even if it’s not what you would have chosen for yourself. True contentment is not having everything you want, but learning to appreciate everything you have. ~ Nancy Twigg

Weekend Blessings

In mid-May I won a snack buddy from Be Thou A Knight. On Saturday Jason brought in the mail and my prize had arrived...

Thank you Lianna of Be Thou a Knight and Hope of Circus Peanuts!

Today after church my girlfriend Theresa said that she has been picking up the breads - pastries, bagels, loaves - that don't sell at Panera (aka St. Louis Bread Company) at the end of Saturday night and what would I like? Due to our health, I told her we'd love some bread - the more whole grain the better. She said she would be out and about today and would drop some off.

Fast forward to 3:00 when there was a knock on our door. What did Theresa bring???

Did your eyes bug out like mine did? Needless to say, I kept out 1/2 of a baguette and one bagel. All the rest went in the freezer! Mom mentioned making paninis when she and dad come to visit in July and let me tell you, we have the bread! Thank you Panera and thank you sweet Theresa!

I am sending Jason off to work tonight with a bagel in the snack buddy. :)

Weekend Moods

Saturday morning I woke up in a mood that continued all day. I resembled this guy....


Sunday I fluctuated between Grumpy and...



until about 6:00. We had dinner at some friend's house and man alive, I was hyper and could not calm myself down. This guy below doesn't represent me for nothing!


Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and have a great day celebrating our freedom tomorrow!

Snowing and Blowing

My camera's batteries are dead, but the cord doesn't fit in this dinosaur PC anyway. So here's someone else's picture that is very similar to what I can see outside our window right now (minus the neighbor's houses :) ...


Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow,

New Look

A new year, a new look here at Snips, Snails and Puppy Dog's Tails. The free background from The Background Fairy is called Teal & Chocolate Damask Grunge and can be found HERE.

Enjoying the new look,

I Said I Wasn't Going To...

but I went "shopping" on Black Friday! For many, this is a day some people look forward to for months or more. But for many reasons I am not a Black Friday shopper, at least not in person! I am one of those rare people that is content with just window shopping and since I wasn't ready to sleep after almost finishing my 12 page research paper today, I needed something to do. :)Here are some of my "window" shopping or blog stopping finds...

River Stones Tub Mat in green since a guest slipped and almost wiped out in our shower :(





Bountiful Ceramic Bread Box because you have to store it somewhere, why no someplace pretty?






"safe" nonstick wok with cover
Pampered Chef pizza stone





stainless steel measuring cups and spoons














citrus zester for all of those lemony dishes we love








wooden utensils









apothocary jars







The photos are starting to go katty wampus, so I'll just list. As long as I am making a list, why not share my whole wish list? Even if I don't ever get a thing on it, I am over the top content with the "more than enough" I have.

Kitchen items:
1/2 gallon glass jars
cheesecloth
drawer lining paper
peppermint essential oil
expeller pressed coconut oil

Materials for crafting:
tea dye distressing stamp pad
$1 wood frames
sandpaper
4" x 4" white tiles
wood/cardboard letters
scrapbook paper
cork board
acrylic sealer
sponge brushes
watercolor paintbrushes
clear glass plates
jumbo flat back clear marble
Rustoleum frosted glass spray paint
Armour Etching Creme
Krylon Looking Glass Mirror-Like Paint
Delta PermEnamel Transparent Glass Paint
Heirloom White spray paint
spray adhesive
spray paint gun
magnetic paint
black acrylic paint
double sided tape
glitter
narrow ribbon
burlap
drop cloths