Thirst Quenching Freebie

True Lemon and True Lime are crystallized flavoring that you can add to your water. No calories too! Visit their website for a free sample — though due to overwhelming demand, it might take a while to get it. Still, it’s a good deal! You’ll get some coupons, too.

Summer Crafts

What are some of your favorite summer crafts to do with kids? Jake is really into leaf rubbings and they’re so simple to do. We went out in our yard on a “nature walk” and picked a variety of leaves: ferns, maple leaves, some grass, and we even took a piece of tree bark. Then we came inside and arranged the bark and leaves on the table, covered them gently with a piece of paper, and I secured the paper while Jake rubbed over the whole thing with a crayon. Magically the outlines began to appear! This was a cheap craft to do and it was a fun way to learn about different plants.

So Disorganized

I have so much stuff going on lately and for some reason I just can’t keep it all togehter. I’m so tired of forgetting something everyday! Last night I made my lunch to take to work today, and I was super excited about this Asian chicken salad I had made. The key ingredient: cashews. I didn’t want to put them on the salad which would then sit in the fridge for hours, so I put them in a baggie so I could throw them in my lunchbag. Guess what I forgot? Yes, my cashews

So next week we are going on vacation (just for a couple days, but still — that’s 4 people I have to pack for), and I am so stressed about forgetting something. I think today I’m going to make a list for each person and maybe tomorrow night start packing things already. I hate feeling like I don’t have my act together!

Creating a household organizer

A few years ago I was really on the FlyLady bandwagon. Since then my interest in it has ebbed and flowed, but I did get a few good ideas. One of the things that really helped me keep things together was putting together a household organizer. Mine is basically a three ring binder with seven page protectors (one for each day of the week), and inside those page protectors I’ve listed my daily routines – things I generally do on that day each week (for example, Sunday is “grocery shopping”; Tuesday is “garbage/recycling”; every day is “feed pets,” etc. I also have a folder for take out menus and a place to stash stamps and return address labels. It’s also a good idea to keep your address list here. Basically, the more information you keep organized in it, the more valuable it becomes. Here are a couple links to sites that describe how to put one together for yourself:

Making a household planner
Household notebook (with printables)
Lifesaver Lists (with printables)
Homemaking Journal

Hopefully you’ll get some ideas from these sites and be on your way to becoming more organized!

If it’s free, it’s for me!

Did you know that you can get great free samples from Wal-Mart online? There is an entire section with a variety of free stuff that changes often. I’ve gotten a few samples from them and very often they’re not trial-size — they are full-sized! Worth checking out.

Bringing this site back to life

Well, I figured it was time I did something with this domain which has been neglected for much too long. Once upon a time I was using it for my little crafting business, but since I’m not doing much scrapbooking or cardmaking these days, it didn’t make much sense keeping my online shop up here.

So I thought that I would use the space for a more targeted;, more focussed blog compared to Pure Sugar, where I have been blathering on and on for over seven years. I plan to blog about items that will be of interest mostly to moms (though I’m not excluding dads!). I’m going to talk about things that will save you money, ways to manage your household, organization tips, menu ideas, kids’ crafts… those sorts of topics. I hope you’ll find it interesting and maybe even helpful!