before + after: what to do with 2 hours on a saturday

i love a good before + after picture. welcome to my first of many.

my pantry has been a mess for awhile. i finally decided to do something about it when i saw some sea grass storage boxes in the clearance section at target. now if only i could get three or four more...

it's nice to know where everything is. (and wow, i have four containers of nutella. how did it come to this?) this method is a lot easier and A LOT less expensive than filling matching plastic boxes with cereal and pasta. what a waste of time. this is much more my style.

virtual dreams (of the pipe variety)

doing a virtual search for posters for micah's room. i love this combo.

his room is still in the drywall stage with no hope of it being finished anytime in the near future. sometimes i search for hardwood that i like, or sofas. also library ladders. because you know, i have a giant collection of shelves that are so tall they require a ladder. (okay, no, i don't.) anyone else do this?

best bubbles recipe

so, according to our scientific data, the longest-lasting bubble recipe was this one:

1 cup water

1 tablespoon dawn dish detergent (not the antibacterial kind)

1 tablespoon glycerin

let it sit at least 24 hours for maximum strength.

our summer plan: make these in empty milk cartons and blow bubbles by the millions

science project

in january casey anne started her science fair project. i had no idea how many great ideas were to be found on the internet.

lesson number one: always dress to impress.

lesson number two: stick to a subject you know a lot about. like this young man. how could he not choose "animal magnetism" as a topic? i mean, really.

lesson number three: if your child's teacher is your archenemy, she will hate your project no matter how sound your science, how well-organized your data, how lovely your layout.

your efforts will be futile.

lesser mortals would have given up far before casey and i did, but we carried on. casey loved her project so much she is still in shock that she only came in second place. (there were 20 first places).

for joan; because she asked

photo from flickr

Strawberry Milkshakes

Combine in a blender:

2 cups vanilla ice cream*

2 cups strawberries, cored

enough milk to blend, about 1 cup

Blend and enjoy.

*Our favorite vanilla ice cream is the Kirkland Signature brand from Costco.

honey, i'm home

I am currently conserving my "limited strength in order to maximize [my] influence where it matters most."

By taking Sunday walks, reading bedtime stories, and making strawberry milkshakes.

I have Things To Do this coming week: 10 weeks worth of deep cleaning, prepare for a Relief Society lesson, finish sewing projects, update church records, make family history contacts, write! It feels great to know there will be time for all of it and that I can be doing it all at home. Because that is where I "have the most power and influence."

Aaahhh. It's good to be home.

Free Tax Advice

Can April 15th get here any sooner? I am so excited to return to the glorious life of stay-at-home mother. In light of my celebratory mood, I am offering free tax advice to all my blog readers.

If your medical expenses do not total at least 7.5% of your income, it won't help.

If your casualty/theft losses do not total at least 10% of your income, it won't help.

If you have income and don't withhold taxes, you will probably owe*. Shocking, I know, but you'd be surprised how many people are just incredulous over this fact. "What!? My husband only made $120,000 last year and now your telling me we have to pay taxes on that!? This has been such a hard year." (Exact quote.)

The energy credit/education credit/dependent care credit/any other credit: please don't assume that you will be credited a dollar for ever dollar you spent. This has never been the case, and will never be the case, worlds without end, amen.

If you call your tax preparer and ask why your refund was not as big as your neighbor's/cousin's/sister's/etc... you will be mocked while you are on hold and then mocked again on a public blog.

*Unless of course you make less than a certain amount and have qualifying dependents. Then the IRS will pay you if your income is low enough. Earned income credit=destroyer of motivation/opposite of capitalism.