Saturday Shoutouts

What's That Smell?

Chocolate Covered Pilgrim Hats

Thanksgiving Kids' Crafts

43 Chores Young Children Can Do 

The Mother's Mite

Meet Me On Monday

Welcome to the 57th edition of

"Meet Me On Monday!"

1.  Does your family/friends know about your blog?  Yes, and there are lots of times I wish they didn't.  I've often thought of starting an anonymous blog so I can really vent!

2.  What is your favorite card game?  Not sure I have one.  I'm not much on cards or board games.

3.  What do you wear to bed?  Used to be some type of pajamas or nightgown.  Then the hot flashes hit and I stripped down to my undies.  Now I usually start in pjs, but shed them sometime during the night when the heat hits.

4.  What is your favorite kind of French Fry?   McDonald's!

5.  What is your usual bed time?    I always intend to go to bed early, but it rarely happens.  Usually about 11.

Donelson Trading Post

You may or may not remember, but a couple of months ago, I posted about a place I found outside Nashville.  A little bit of a drive for me, but worth it!  Darrell was making a few deliveries to the area, so I conned asked him to help me find this place called Donelson Trading Post.  He sweetly agreed.

The directions on the craigslist ad said to follow highway such and such, turn on this road, and look for the arrow just past the railroad tracks.  Okay....  We missed the arrow the first time and had to turn around, but found the gravel--yes, gravel--road we were further instructed to turn down.  These were the directions in the ad, not from our not-so-trustworthy GPS.  We continued down the gravel/dirt road which ran right along side the railroad tracks.  Eventually the road pretty much ran out and lo and behold, we were there!

Our young friend Josh was with us and he was convinced this just couldn't be what we were looking for.  To his utter dismay, I gleefully hopped out of the truck and went to meet creepy weird guy who ran the place.  That's him in the yellow sweater in the picture above.

He immediately began pulling the tarp off this big pile of stuff in the front yard.  The sofa table thing on the left is what I came for--and bought--unfortunately it was too big for where I wanted to put it in the house, so it's now in my booth.  I was interested in the suitcases, but they were very mildewy, so I passed.

We next headed inside where I spotted this gorgeous black walnut headboard.  The TLC it needs are beyond me, so I left it there.  That exercise machine?  It works!  Creepy guy demonstrated it for us!

See the rusty old scale on top of these cabinets?  That now sits with two others I have on top of my kitchen cabinets.  I also bought the stack of wooden bowls.  I'm actually seeing even more now and am ready to go back!

I wound up buying several tables and a couple of smaller things.  It wasn't until I got home and looked at these pictures that I discovered stuff I hadn't even noticed!  My friend Liz and I went back the next day and brought home even more.  Part of which is a big box of old sheet music--most of it belonged to the same lady and she wrote on the fronts when and where she had heard it performed.  Some date back to 1919!  She must have been quite wealthy as the pieces have Paris, London, etc on them.  I'm thinking of putting them individually on eBay this winter when it's too cold for yard sales.  Some are in poor shape and I'm planning on doing some decoupage on the top of a table with it.

So, how about you?  Visited any interesting places lately?

Saturday Shoutouts

Never Too Late for Joy

Hospitality & Some (in)Spired Thanksgiving Deals

How Are You, Really?

I May Have Been a Bit Hasty

After my rant last post, I tried a little experiment today.  Seems I may have been a bit hasty in my laying of blame regarding my hair and its not so silkiness lately.    Another product may be the culprit.  See, with all the crap stuff I put on my hair--to either protect it or to bend it to my will--it's hard to know.  Just to give you an idea, here's the drill....

Shampoo and condition with the Nexxus.  Wrap hair in towel for a few minutes.  Remove towel and blot--do not rub!  Apply detangler of some type.  Air dry hair for a bit.  Apply Chi Straight Guard.

 This here is some good stuff!  Well worth the price!

Blow dry hair using at least two--sometimes four--brushes and one clip.  Let flat iron heat up while applying makeup.  Section hair beginning with the stubborn wavy back.  Apply FX Flat Iron Thermal Spray to each section, then straighten it.   Repeat about 20 times.

 

Finish with a small bit of Hana Shield Shield.  Whew!  And I used to do this every day!  I've gotten lazy smarter and now only do it a few times a week.

 This is some good stuff, too!

So,  if we eliminate the shampoo and conditioner, the detangler, the Chi, and the Shine Shield--these I've been using a good while and/or came to me highly recommended--that leaves the FX.  Instead of applying it to each section and ironing a somewhat wet piece of hair,  I gave my whole head a light spray, concentrating on the stubborn spots, then used the flat iron.  And you know what?  My hair is softer and silkier today.

I can be the bigger person.  I can admit when I'm wr...wro...wro...mistaken.  Today I'm thankful that doesn't happen very often.  Hey, it's my blog!  I can exaggerate if I want to!

Things I'm NOT Loving Right Now

We see posts all the time about products folks are loving, but rarely ones doing the opposite.  Rebel that I am, I'm willing to go out on a limb here and tell you a couple of things to stay away from--cuz they ain't worth the money! 

First up, Almay Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover.  Got this at a yard sale hosted by an extreme couponer.  She had extras of all kinds of things and I love the Almay brand, so for $1 I took a chance.  Used this stuff once and will be throwing the rest away.  It didn't work very well on my waterproof mascara and it burned my eyes!  Going back to my tried and true baby oil.

Next is my new BaByliss blow dryer.  I've used a Chi flat iron and blow dryer for years.  When my flat iron died a while back, I replaced it with a BaByliss based on a trusted recommendation.  I've really liked it, so when my blow dryer "exploded" a few months ago, I decided to go against my better judgment and get a Babyliss dryer.  The fact that it's red did not influence me at all.  Ummm...not so impressed.  But I spent too much not to use it.  Guess I'll just have to wait for another near-death experience!

Lastly, more hair stuff.   I put my hair through the wringer--coloring, drying, straightening--so good shampoo and conditioner are important to me.  I've been using Nexxus moisturizing products I bought at Costco at least six months ago.  I'm beginning to wonder if they'll ever run out!  At first, they worked pretty good, but lately, I've been noticing my hair being rougher than usual and not nearly so soft.  It's either the blow dryer or the Nexxus or maybe the combination.  Regardless, these cheaper items will be replaced before much longer!

Today I'm thankful I have hair at all--considering what all I've put it through over the years!