Crazy About Chalkboards!

I like to write different notes on this little chalkboard in my kitchen!

"This and That" in a can!

Grocery List in a "jiffy"!

The bottom of my pantry door is for my 3 year old son to have some fun!

Thursdays Winner is...

Ok, Today's Winner is #4, The Bennets! I don't think I know who you are! How exciting to have someone new stop by! ;o)

Please email me where you would like me to mail your prize!

How exciting! juliejackson1975@aol.com

No worries everyone, I had to move my comments to the "approval" mode so I could delete an extra comment that made someone have two comments. I didn't want the numbers messed up. I just moved it back to "normal" mode! I got your post Viv! We had 7 total. I was absorbed in Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson stuff on TV! I lost track of time!

Thanks everyone for a GREAT celebration this week of my 100th blog post!

Next up, my kitchen remodel! I am starting after the 4th!

Thursday's Giveaway and the Final One for the week!

Well, I had a change of heart and decided to hold on to something I was going to get rid of. I have a set of brown jars I have collected over the years and they don't match a darn thing here! Well, my dear friend Heather told me to hold on to them and maybe even paint them to match my new kitchen I am working on this summer! SO, with that said today's giveaway (and final giveaway) is this AWESOME, AMAZING little treasure I found through the Lettered Cottage on Etsy. It's from www.inspiredletters.com and its a little jar w/216 Ideas For Bored Children (Summer). I can see this sitting on a shelf in your kitchen or den, or I see it wrapped up with a candle or coffee and given to a special mom you know!

All you have to do to enter today's contest is to leave a comment with 1 idea you have to do when a mom is sitting at home and hears those famous words, "I'm Bored". Contest is over on Thursday at 10:00 P.M.

Good Luck!

Wednesday's Winner is...

Tonight's winner of the ice bucket and tongs is #7 Michelle!

WOOHOO my mixed drink loving friend! ;o)

A few people have asked me how I figure out the winner. I go to www.random.org and I use their little ticker/calculator thing and put in the number of comments and hit the button and it pops out a number. I then come back here and count to see who it is!

Don't give up everyone! Tomorrow's is a good one!!!!!

Wednesday's Giveaway!

The Southern Living at Home Gallery Ice Bucket and Tongs are up for grabs today!

It is from my own personal collection and gently used. You will LOVE it!
All you have to do is leave a comment if you want it and share with us one of your favorite drinks and the recipe if you can! Something "cool and fun" for the summer, or something "sassy" for a summer night! Just tell us the name of it, or share a link to a recipe for it, or give us the recipe!

Good Luck! The contest is over at 10:00 P.M. (central) on Wednesday Night!

Tuesday's Winner is....

Tuesday's Winner is #7 (I still can't get the copy and paste to work to show you the grid) but it's Dana!!!! WOOHOO! You just told me today that you never win anything! Look at you! ;o)

I will get with you tomorrow Dana (you are easy to find) and I will run your prize by tomorrow Sarah (I forgot it today).

*Remember, you can win more than once this week! Everyone keep on trying! Wednesday's is a good one! Will post in the morning.

Tuesday's Giveaway

In case you haven't heard, "This is Me, Then" is celebrating 100 blog posts this week. There will be a new give away M-Th with one of my favorite things off of http://www.etsy.com/ on Friday!

This is something from my personal Southern Living at Home collection that I hate to part with, but I know it will find a great new home.

It is a mixing bowl and pie plate. I want to say it was called Butter Cream, but I could be way off. I just know that they no longer carry this color.
*The pic above truly represents the color best. It is not white and it is not yellow. It truly is a cream color in the middle.


I took this pic to show the detail, but again, it is not white. The flash makes it seem whiter.

They were gently used and I see them being used in some wonderful cooks kitchen, or full of apples on a counter or shelf, or in my friend Anna's kitchen (it would go with her new cabinets). The ideas are endless with these great treasures.

*If you would like to win today's giveaway please leave a comment and tell us about the one dish or recipe that reminds you of your childhood. You can make it short, or tell us if you have a story behind it. I will leave this contest up until 10:00 P.M. Central tonight! (Midnight is too late for me) and then I will post the winner along with Wednesday's Giveaway!

100th Post Giveway

And the winner is #3 Sarah

from http://www.random.org/.

(I will learn by tomorrow how to post the random results little ticker, I am having heck with it!)

Sarah, I will drop off your prize tomorrow!

Can you believe this is my 100th post? I am so excited to be in the world of blogging. I don't care if 1 person reads them, or 1000. It's so much fun!

I will have a giveaway every day this week, so I will pick up on my regular blogging next week.


To kick things off I am giving away this platter, bowl and spreader. It's from my own personal collection of serving pieces, it has never been used and I think it would be perfect to give as a gift or for someone's gameroom. I bought it with the intent to use it in our den when we have company over, but I just haven't used it yet and I need to clear some space!


All you have to do is leave a comment with your email address, or if you have a blog. I will close "Monday's Giveaway" at midnight tonight and announce the winner on Tuesday along with "Tuesday's Giveaway".

*Do me a favor and post about my contest or copy and paste this blog on to yours if you'd like!

*Also, each giveaway will have different rules to follow, so pay attention! Today's is easy!
*I will mail it if someone from out of town wins! ;o)

Thank God It's Falling Off

I am going to be honest with myself and all of you this week. It's getting hard! This has been my 4th week and I am struggling. I let life get in my way of reaching for the right foods and it's not fair to my body. It's also not fair to my family. I can't quit, I have to keep on trucking! I am not looking back and if I stumble I have to remember to get right back up. I have lost 5 lbs but I know it should be 10. Going to the gym, even though I feel AWESOME and my energy has been higher is not enough without the diet as well.

I will do better starting right now.

I am going to see about a girl!

What I will be!

(With Taylor away at camp I am feeling quite sappy! Thought I would repost this one from back in February)

What kind of mother will I be? I will be the kind that calls my children to say hello, not just to vent about a new problem. I will be their mother until the day I die, and even after I will be there with my heart watching over them. I will still be their mother when they are 18 years old and going off to college, trying to find themselves. I will be their mother on their college campus sitting in the lobby of their dorm waiting for that one glimpse of them as they quickly say "mom, you are here again? You were here visiting last weekend", and I say, "I am not here to be in your way, I am here to tell you I love you, here are your clean clothes, give me your dirty basket and I will be on my way". I will be the kind of mom that still sends them a card for every holiday with money or gift cards and a simple line, "You are my everything". I will still be their mother at 22 years old when they graduate from college and go out into the world. I will help them make their resumes, I will drive them anywhere they need to go. I will be there to iron their clothes and buy their first briefcase. I will wait patiently each week (day if I am so lucky) for their phone call about their new and exciting life as an adult. I will listen to their stories of parties and trips taken with friends and I will wait in the parking lot of their apartment when they return home from work and hand them their laundry and maybe a new set of pots and pans that I saw on sale. I will beg for five minutes of their time and in return I will ask for nothing. No thanks, no appreciation, just them, just their faces, just their time, just their voices. I will still be their mother when they call me in their mid to late twenties and tell me they have found the one. No man will ever be good enough for Taylor and no woman will ever love Cash the way I love him, but I will still be their mother and I will pray for my new son in law and daughter in law and pray that they are everything to my children and my children are everything to them. I will stand by and sadly watch as Cash's new wife and family plan his wedding and I will be the kind, soft, quiet mother in law that attends and tells my new daughter how beautiful the ceremony was and how lucky Cash is to have found her. I will fall in love with any woman that captures my son's heart and loves him the way I love his father. Now, for Taylor, I won't go there in too much detail because she and I have a relationship I can never put into words. I can't put into form or rhyme or reason because she is all that I ever wanted to be. She has captured my heart from day one and her wedding day will be one of the most important days of my life because you don't understand, I have already been praying for her husband. He is out there, and I pray that he is safe and strong. I pray his family nothing but good things and I pray his heart stays pure and whole for my Taylor. I will plan each and every detail of that day (as much as Taylor will allow) and I will also stand back and let it be the most amazing day of Taylor's life. She deserves a Godly man, and she will get him. I will be the mother of my late twenty something or early thirtysomething children that are about to give me the greatest gift of all, my grand children. I will spoil them just enough to keep their moms from not being mad at me, but their dads know I do it. I will never ask my children to drag those little ones out of their homes with toys and diaper bags, and bottles. I will drive to the ends of the earth to visit them wherever they are. I will never miss any event that I can physically attend, why would I? Why would I put neighbors, friends, hobbies, or pure laziness above seeing my grand children? Why would I miss this SECOND chance at being the parent I wasn't to my own children? I will sit back and let their momma's tell me all the directions when I pick them up for an overnight visit (if I am lucky enough to have the privilege) and I won't dare say "I know what to do, I've done this before". I will smile and tell their sweet mothers thank you and dart out the door to bring them home with me to hug and kiss on all weekend as I stay close enough to their mother's orders, but a little off so they know "grandma is cool". Will I wait until my children call and ask me to babysit? HECK NO! They will have to call and say "Momma, you don't have to give us a date night every week, we can keep the kids" and I will say "NO, you guys go, have fun, be young, I have 6 other nights this week I am alone, I can spend one night a week with my angels". I will be the type of mother that my son and daughter in laws know they can call for anything at all and I will hold my judgements for my talks with God. I will be the type of mother that surprises my grandchildren with a Dairy Queen trip after school just because I had an extra hour to give. I will be the type of grandparent that drops any plans made if my children "come a calling". I will be the type of mother that my children one day say, "my mom worked her tail off to give us everything we ever wanted and everything we never knew we wanted".

My Latest Goodwill Find. Tick Tock Tick Tock!

Look at this awesome clock I found at the Goodwill store for $3.99.

It had a chip right in the center.

Some black spray paint later and a battery...

I have an awesome new clock in our den, but now that I look at this I am going move the clock to where the pic is and the pic down to where the clock is. I just noticed the heights are the same like this and I don't like it!

*Oh, and that checkerboard frame is a find
from Goodwill also for .99! WOOHOO!

Terrific Tuesdays!

Gift I gave to each mom!

Just wanted to say on this "Terrific Tuesday" that I am blessed with so many wonderful women in my life, and extra blessed with some great mother's in my life as well. This is the 5th year I have hosted a Mother's Day Brunch for my girlfriends near and dear to me. I can only fit 8 people at my table and I am "Happy" to say that over the last few years I have added so many wonderful friends in my life that I may need to think of a new place in the years to come to seat more people. ;o)

I just wanted to say that "Moms" are what make this world go around!

I hope all you Mother's out there have a Terrific Tuesday!

Green is My New Black!

Green seems to be all over my kitchen!

(pay no attention to all the wood walls and cabinets,

they will be black or white before summers end!)

Well, I think Buffy over at B. Jane Brewing is the one person that knows my obsession (she shares it too) about colors in a home.

For example, if a room is Yellow and Brown, how in the world can you decorate it with red for Christmas?

If your dining room is dark blue, how do you have a Halloween Party with Orange and Black cookies on the table?

I am serious when I say this is an illness I have!

So, I finally came to realize a few things.

1. Sandra Lee and her semi-homemade ways and show,

should be my go to text-book!

She has the right idea about going with ALL WHITE dishes and bringing in

ANY COLOR you want!

2. I was already bringing in green and I didn't even know it!

3. I am a big girl! I can change the color whenever I please

for every holiday I please!

and 4. I better get Lance to add a room to the house because I still want to change the colors for each holiday! HA!

and lastly, 5. Green is turning into LOTS of fun for the summer!

UH OH, I just remembered 4th of July is around the corner!

I better break out all my red stuff!

Don't Blink

*I am taking a break from blogging for a few days to spend some time with my family! I am still hot and heavy at the gym (literally hurting today from weight training yesterday with a fill-in trainer. She about killed me) and I can't wait to post some awesome results this fall! Taking it slow! Slow and steady wins the race right? HA! I wanted to leave you with this picture and remind you not to blink too often! The rate my daughter is growing is KILLING me lately! Enjoy every moment to the fullest. I know I do!

ATTENTION: My 100th blog is coming soon! It will be one week FULL of give aways! If anyone wants to donate something to give away and would like their blog featured on here please let me know!
Note: some of the give aways will be for "Followers" only! So, you better click on the follow button so you can win some neat stuff!

Now, Why Didn't I Think of This?

Ok, I had to share about this AMAZING product and make sure you all knew! These washcloths are a STAPLE in the Jackson House, the deer lease and now at summer camp with my daughter! I believe there is more than one brand, and Huggies has different scents to choose from, but they are WONDERFUL to bathe your small child with! I keep them in the antique water picture you see below in our bathroom and Cash will bath himself! BUT, the main use we have found for them is quick convenience. You just grab one and soak yourself down while camping or at a friends house (I have a thing about using others used soaps) and I can't stand washcloths left in a shower (yuck)! I sent Taylor with a box of these for camp and told her just to grab one, her shampoo and towel! Her three minute shower will be easily accomplished! (they only get three minutes each, hey, 12 girls and one shower)!

* so for the next camping or overnight trip, invest in some of these (pre-soaped) washcloths! I know it's not the greenest thing around, but I love them! Hmmmm, I bet I could figure out how to make my own at a fraction of the cost! That's another day, another blog!

Terrific Tuesdays!

I am going to change up my "Terrific Tuesdays" this summer, well, because it's getting boring! HA!

I am still going to have them, but I think it's just going to be whatever I want to say!


Like this week I wanted to share this amazing Recipe Box I found on Etsy!

I told my friend Heather, a few weeks ago, that I was not the "recipe box type girl" until I saw this one and had to have it! It came in the mail yesterday and it is just as gorgeous in person! I can't wait to start filling it up! I think I will start with my "hot potato salad" recipe!

*New for the summer I will be changing my side bar each Tuesday with the heading. "What You May Not Know About Me". Enjoy and PLEASE leave comments! I love them!