We bought our house almost exactly three years ago. Besides a small back patio built  from red pavers, we have done absolutely nothing to the outside of the house. It looked super boring. We were the only house in the whole neighborhood without some type of landscaping in the front. The only reason we haven’t done anything is because we really couldn’t afford to.
A few weeks ago I came up with a plan to landscape our yard for $0.
Behind our house is a giant pile of limestone rocks left over …

My husband and his friend Sam love blowing things up. They love it so much that they went through all the trouble of getting a license so they could play with the really big toys. Very expensive, very dangerous, very much illegal (if you don’t have a license) EXPLOSIVES. Also known as FIREWORKS! And every year, the night before the fourth, they light these suckers and put on a big show for friends and family out in the country at Sam’s childhood home. It is awesome…
I think more people turned …

I never set out to become thrifty, I simply evolved over time, out of necessity, as a result of having no discretionary income.  Now that things appear to be coming together in such a way that we will have discretionary income, I am not sure I want to change. I have discovered the thrill of thrift. The fun of frugality. The… well you get the picture.
I recently thought of another use for my saved baby food jars: small food storage. (Many of these I am holding onto for a future …

Friends on Freecycle
Recently I joined my city’s Freecycle. Most cities have one: it’s a great place to trade things you don’t need anymore rather than throwing them away and filling landfills with perfectly good stuff. I filter all the e-mails to a folder in my inbox and glance through the subjects when I have time. Last night I spied an offer for a booster seat, something I have been talking about getting for weeks now. Recently Micah’s legs beefed up and I noticed they were looking a little squeezed when …

Taken at 9:40pm with a ten second exposure, no flash, ISO 100.
I sat on my porch last night for about ten minutes, playing with different shutter speeds and listening to the neighbor’s dog bark to the other neighbor’s dog, who was probably barking at me and the tiny white light on the front of my camera that lit up every time I focused. A huge toad sat next to me on the front walk the entire time. He was the size of a golf ball. Maybe he was interested in …

Tonight I finished going through all the photos I took of Josh and Char last weekend.  Here are some of my favorites, not including the ones I already showed you…
(You’ll also notice I updated my watermark. Last night I figured out how to create a nifty little automation in Photoshop that resizes and adds a watermark all at once. Saves me tons of time!)

Oh how I love taking pictures. I found plenty of opportunities to play with my camera this past week. It’s time for show and tell…
Thursday afternoon I took my son to my city’s flower gardens. I got so many great photos, two of which I’ll share here.
Tip: If you want to get great pictures of your kids, take them someplace interesting that is outdoors on a bright, overcast day. Set your shutter speed a little faster than usual (I used 1/200 sec. for these). Let them loose and allow them …

The cloth diaper saga continues…
Recently I transformed my cluttered laundry room into a cloth diaper changing station that makes clean up fast and drama free. I discovered that the top of my dryer is the perfect place to stick a changing mat.  It’s high enough that I dont’ have to bend over at all. My back really appreciates that. The shelf above provides tons of storage space for all my CD supplies. Everything is within reach and I don’t have to lug a heavy diaper pail around the house. Really …

There are several parks around my neighborhood. They are all technically in walking distance, but since we are out of town there are no sidewalks and I am not about to off-road with the stroller. I really like the one that is right down the road. It has playgrounds, shelters, and a small beach, but I have heard that it has a shady reputation. At least it did – I’m not sure how it is now. It looks beautiful. I drive through and take pictures once in a while. I …