January Hot Happenings

Here are some highlights from our house this month!

We have a cute little boy that is growing like a weed! Just look at those cheeks!

His colic is getting better and better, and he has started sleeping 5-6 hours at a time during the night! *Blessingsfromonhigh* He is about 9 weeks old, and is starting to do very well with his hands. He loves to grab things, "play" with his blue elephant, and has even succeeded in pushing his soother into his mouth - he just didn't know enough to let go!

The rest of the fam is the same as always....

Rachel, Carrie and Justin are busy in school, and have enjoyed playing with a few friends. We all had the privilege of fellowship with two different missionary families this month. That has to be the best part of being a pastor's kid!

We've been having quite the mild winter around here. There has been a few small snow storms, but then right after we get lots of rain. We've even had days where the temps have been in the 50's! NOT your usual January weather!

What I've been reading....

I enjoyed starting a new practice with my siblings, and that is to read a chapter of a book each day as they finish their lunch. All as part of their schooling, of course. :) We finished Little House in the Big Woods this month. Any Little House book is a favorite! My sisters LOVE learning about the lives of Laura and Mary and pretend to be them every day in their play.

We started reading Nancy and Plum by Betty MacDonald this month as well. This was my book when I was young, and it is such a great kids book! The story is about two orphans that live in a horrid boarding house, and all their escapades and escapes. The girls are loving it!









For my own personal reading (trying to read two books per month this year) I have read:

I read and reviewed The Encounter by Stephen Arterburn here. I am going to try from February on to read 2 books per month besides my Booksneeze books, but for this month, I enjoyed reading this.

Grace for the Good Girl by Emily Freeman was the other book I read, and my oh my. I just don't even know where to start. This book changed.my.life, no doubt about it. I would challenge every girl out there to read this book, especially if you, like me, grew up in a Christian Home, was saved at an early age, has always been "good," labeled as "teacher's pet" and you know what all else. Here is my one of my favorite quotes from the book:

"For me, life was pretty well put together. I did life right. I went to church regularly. I got married and had babies in the appropriate order. I never got arrested. I recycled. I loved Jesus. But sometimes in quiet stillness, I felt an aching that wouldn't go away, a longing to taste and see, to live authentically free. My instinctive impulse was to find my worth in the response of the people around me, and as a result, people became measuring sticks for my goodness rather than unique expressions of God."

I never realized I was hiding behind masks of "good" until I read this book. I just can't say enough good about it. If you need more convincing you can go here to read the first chapter.

My Monthly Goals...

I have so enjoyed starting the practice this month of setting weekly goals and being inspired (by all of you lovely readers) to get 'er done! I have also enjoyed linking up each week to Money Saving Mom and being challenged by all the other goal-setting-peeps over there! Seriously, there are some committed wonder-women out there, I just know it!

I have yet to sit down and finalize my goals for February, but I plan to continue my reading habits, my practice of exercising 3 times a week, and hopefully get a few more projects done as well! I have been stalking Pinterest to decide which thing to tackle from there, and can't wait to get started on something. It is promising to be an exciting month!

I'd love to hear what the rest of you have been up to during the month of January, and what you are looking forward to in February! Any big snowstorms? V-day plans? Anyone on the Pinterest-project bandwagon with me? What good books are you reading? (I love suggestions!) Leave a comment and chime in with your thoughts!

Last Day....

Just wanted to send out a friendly reminder that today is the last day to request this printable for free! I've found this to be extremely helpful in my planning for this year.

Also, as a "Grand Opening" thank you in my Etsy shop, I've been rewarding my readers with the following sheet, "12 in 2012" with every purchase that is made! (NOTE: my browser is really acting up on me, and I can't paste in the link, so go here to get to my Etsy shop: etsy.com/shop/nicolerisinger)

It has been a fantastic first month as the owner of an Etsy shop, and I am so excited to see what February will bring! Thanks so much to all of you that have supported me in this way, and hurry over to make a purchase so I can send you this sheet as a virtual hug!

(Again, I apologize for the glitch. Here is that url again, just copy and paste it into your browser: etsy.com/shop/nicolerisinger)

Thanks for your support!

Gifts and Goals for the Week

The Lord has been blessing this week, as always! It is such a blessing to look back over the week at all the different ways the Lord blessed and encouraged. I reached a milestone in my 1,000 Gifts list this week...I reached 200! Woot! Have you been adding to your Gifts list? I'd love to take a look at it! Leave your url in the comments below!

197. One sewing project complete
198. One on one time with a sister
199. More sewing projects done
200. Sleeping in
201. Birthday of a sweet friend
202. Lunch out
203. {Beautiful} DIY Project *snicker*
204. Listening to the SMS men live
205. Fellowship with a missionary family


Despite *still* not feeling the greatest toward the beginning of the week, I was able to get most of my To-do list tackled this week. It is always so nice to see those boxes getting checked off!

As you can see, thank you cards are going to be my nemesis for this month. I will get them out! I've sent most of them, just have a few more to do. Its not that I'm not grateful, its just taking the time to sit down and write those things! That second bag is as good as done, so I hope to start a couple new sewing projects this week. I can't reveal them yet, though! Don't ask questions at Christmas, haha!

Here are my goals for this week:

This is going to be an exciting week! Friday I am taking my brother to a winter retreat at a camp about 4 hours away. I am going as a counselor, and I plan to have a blast! I trust all my campers are, too! Much to my brother's dismay, I'm going to hit up a big craft store on the way and get stocked up on some fabric. I can't wait!

Hope you all have a fantastic week, and that you are busy counting the blessings of the Lord! What things has he blessed you with in January?

January DIY Project: Homemade Cubbies

Along with my monthly Pinterest project, I decided to tackle one monthly project that involves some DIY. And boys oh boys, was I excited to get to this! I wasn't sure if it would work...and it is totally redneck, I'm sorry to say....but it came out *so*good*! Lets get to it, shall we?


You knows those Expedit shelves from Ikea that everyone and their neighbor's sister's barber's son is using these days? Well, I dig those things...but we don't have Ikea around here. Boo. That was my inspiration, however, for this project. So this is what I had in mind....

...even though my end result doesn't look a thing like that. But we'll get to that in a minute.

At the top of our stairs to the second story of our house we have this awkward little hall. It is made even more awkward by the slanted ceilings, which doesn't leave you much room to work with. So while we did have a fair amount of floor space to store extra blankets and sheets...

It is A) really hard to get at (because you have to bend in two) and B) really hard to keep neat. Clearly.

I believe it was all folded and neat at one time. Like when we first moved in. But then someone needed a blanket from the bottom or they lost a pillowcase or whathaveyou. Good thing that railing was there to hold it all up. Oh, and it has really bad lighting, too, in case you hadn't noticed! Basically it would be a good place for a murder scene, haha!

Well, this DISASTROUS area was what I wanted to tackle!

(Tell me you can't picture and Expedit shelving unit there. Can't you? Ah, that would be beautiful. But I digress.)

I pulled every.single.blanket. out of there and made a heap on the bedroom floor.

 Then I (envisioned that Expedit sitting there and then) pulled a bunch of boxes out of the attic. You say, you didn't! I say, oh yes I did!!

We had a whole bunch of Chick-fil-A boxes left over from when we moved, and they were all the same exact size (and quite sturdy...waffle fries must be heavy!) so I opened them up and reinforced the bottoms with...get ready for it....duck tape. Yes, I am ashamed to admit my redneckness, but a girls got to do what a girl without an Ikea can do! I didn't take pictures of all the duck tape gory details, but I just shuffled the boxes around until I had an arrangement I liked. I also used a larger box leftover from our sound system equipment on the far right. I knew I would need a bigger place for the extra king-sized comforters we have. Once I had them arranged in the best way possible, I whipped out my trusty roll again and taped them together to make them even more sturdy. Seriously, you'd be surprised how efficient this really is!

Then I spent a couple of hours, literally, folding everything. And the result?

Can you believe the difference? I just love it. I literally stand there just gazing at it. That is the great thing about organizing!

To the left in that picture above are some extra sheet sets. I folded them all nicely and then tucked the sheets inside the corresponding pillowcase. No more digging for them!

It is hard to tell, but the boxes were just the right width so there is room to slide in between them and the railing to get what you need.

So would purchasing a pre-made unit (we won't mention from where) have been better? Yeah, probably. But it most likely would have been difficult to find one that wasn't too high (because of that slanted ceiling) and wasn't so wide that you couldn't get between it and that rail. So a DIY option it was. Come spring, I am hoping to give it all a couple of coats of paint and at least cover up the duck tape, for pete's sake. And I even have visions of taking it all out and DIYing some open shelves instead. Someday, baby, someday.

Oh, and the total cost of this project:
Boxes: already had
Duct tape: never leaves my side already had
Blankets and sheets: all ours
Total cost: $0.00

Have you ever repurposed something unexpected in a fantastic way? What would you have done different with this space? Don't you just want to scroll up and gaze at the beauty again? Oh, just me?

My 2012 Book List

I've had a few requests to share my book list for this year on the blog! I already mentioned that I am challenging myself to read 2 books per month this year. My book list isn't quite that long...hmm, I guess that means I will *have* to pick up some more books along the way. :) I love to read and I am super anxious to get cracking on this list!

New Reads:

Overcoming Being Overcome by Debbie Lavender

Debbie Lavender is a Pastor's wife here in Nova Scotia that I had the privilege of hearing speak to a group of ladies. I can't wait to read her book!  

Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow

 I have been wanting to read this book, and lo and behold, it was sitting in my Dad's study this whole time! Here it is at CBD and here it is on Amazon.

Lessons in Buoyancy by Kathy Vick

 Not sure what this book will be like, but it is about the Proverbs 31 woman. 

Gift From The Hills by Lucy Morgan

 A true story about a unique school in the hills of North Carolina.

God's Joy In Your Heart by Charles Spurgeon

 This was a gift from a sweet friend. Love Spurgeon's writing!

The Bare Bones Bible Series by Jim George

Scored a couple of books in this series over the summer. I think it will be interesting to read and see some aspects of scripture in a new light!

Re-Read:
Passion and Purity by Elizabeth Elliot

 I read this first for a class in college, now I read it every year!

When Life Is Hard by James McDonald

 My uncle sent me this book a couple years ago and I read it then, now I am looking forward to reading it with fresh eyes!

The Embrace of Grace by Caleb Thompson

 A life-changing book written by a man who is in prison for a crime he did not commit. I would love to get his brother's book as well! (Note: I believe the proceeds from these books go to support the families of these men, who are still in prison.)

Music in the Air by Mark Ward Sr.

 I love this book, and I don't believe it is in print anymore.

Jane Austen Treasury by....you guessed it! :)

I would like to pick up some new, good fiction somewhere along the way, especially some by Brock and Bodie Thoene, but here are a few that I already have that I will be reading:

Lady Susan and Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Heidi Grown Up by Charles Tritten


I'd love to hear what you are reading this year, and I'm always open for suggestions on good books to get!  Doesn't that list just make you excited? I just can't wait to read each one!

But that is not all, oh no, that is not all....

You didn't really think that I would make up a book list for the year without recording it on a fancy-schmancy printable in my planning binder, did you?

Yeah, me either.

Here is the sheet I created:

And if you leave me a comment, I'll send you your own copy free, as long as you request it by the end of January. Come February, I'll put it in my shop for all you late comers. Don't say I didn't ever make it easy for you to get organized! :)

What are you reading this year?

Quick Quotes: Health

“I dare say that the greatest earthly blessing that God can give to any of us is health, with the exception of sickness.”

Charles H. Spurgeon

 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Job 23:10

Time To Get Your Swag On!

Its been a while since I talked about Swagbucks, the search engine that helps you make money while searching the web! I think there are probably a whole lotta you guys already using it, but for those that aren't, I wanted to be the first to fill you in on the greatness.

Swagbucks is not a gimmick, scam or anything else bad. Its genuine - I've been using it for while now! This last Christmas I was able to redeem my swagbucks and score $10 worth of Amazon gift cards to use towards a certain present I was purchasing. That made my purchase price gloriously low! It was such a terrific feeling, that I am going to be vigilant about using Swagbucks all year long, and do even better for Christmas of 2012! Maybe you would like to do the same!

Here are the ways I earn Swagbucks:

- By searching. Using the swagbucks search engine makes the most dough. Normally every day I do a search I earn something, anywhere from $10 to $25 in one search! This is the best way to earn bucks.

-By voting. Under the "Earn" tab is a section called "Daily Poll." I read the question, cast my vote, and am awarded one swagbuck for my effort! That may not seem like much...but it will award me up to $366 bucks by the end of the year!

-By special offers. Under the "Earn" tab is a section called "NOSO," which stands for "No Obligation Special Offers." Just by viewing the options of the day and clicking "next offer" at the bottom of each one, I am awarded two swagbucks for my time! You may even come across an offer you would like to participate in. This will give me up to $732 bucks by the end of the year! (If my math is correct, that is. Which it probably isn't.)

-By surveys. Under the "Earn" tab is a section called "Trusted Surveys." I am not as diligent in doing those surveys, but if I have a little extra time I complete them on some days. The bucks given varies from survey to survey, and if no surveys meet my criteria, I am usually given a buck or two for my time.

Here is a little trick I discovered: when I do a search, I flip through 2 or 3 pages of that search and sometimes get awarded Swagbucks on the 2nd or 3rd page! And usually the amounts are more than I get on the initial search. Not every search gets rewarded, but I would say at least 75% of them do.

It is easy to cash in your bucks for gift cards or other prizes. Just click on the "Swag Store" (under the "Redeem" tab) and you can see what your bucks are worth! I normally get the $5 Amazon gift card for 450 swagbucks, but one of these days I see myself bending and getting the one from Starbucks, he he! :) Can't help myself!


How can YOU start making bucks?


On my right side bar is a big banner promoting swagbucks. If you click on the "start now" button at the bottom, you will be re-directed to the Swagbucks site...plus, using my link will award me a few bucks! I would send you a whole slew of virtual hugs if you would use my link!

If you have any questions concerning using the Swagbucks site, feel free to leave me a comment and I'll try to get answers to your question! I hope that many of you will take this opportunity....as I have found, you won't be sorry you did!



Note: I was not asked or in any way bribed by Swagbucks to give this little promotion. They don't even know I am doing it. I just love Swagbucks and want to inform my readers so they can enjoy it too! Consider it my gift to you all for....Valentines Day. (Yeah, that was cheesy.)

Gifts and Goals for the Week

Its amazing to me how the Lord knows what we need when we need it. A few in my family were struck with an unexpected (and very strange) sickness this week. While its no fun feeling nasty, it is nice to take some time to just relax, do some extra reading, and enjoy the stillness. Yeah, it is a little hard on the ol' to-do list...but that list is just a guide, isn't it? Its not a law that says we must cram every single thing into our schedule...because if we did that, perhaps we'd miss something else the Lord wants to show us.

So by some standards I did not have a very "profitable" week, but by my standards, it was great! Here are some of the blessings from it...

189. Watching a basketball game
190. Tims for breakfast
191. Fun time with friends from church
192. Reason to slow down and be quiet
193. Success with my Pinterest project for this month!
194. Feeling better (I can talk again!)
195. Sleepover with friends
196. Missionaries at church

Are you recording a 1,000 gifts list? How far have you gotten? I'd love to hear some of your daily blessings!

So because I was sick, you all are going to have pity on me and turn your head the other way when I show you how I did with my goals this last week, right? Just pretend I got them all done. :) Seriously, it really is ok with me that I didn't finish everything, as I already mentioned. This coming week I will have no excuse though, right? ;)

Eh, not really that bad, is it? I made one pair of culottes and the others are cut out, ready to be sewn together. That tote bag I'm making literally just has to have the handles sewn on and that will be done. So thats as good as finished, right? I continued the exercising pattern that I told you about last week, but I'm thinking this coming week will have to be different, because it has gotten COLD! We'll see how she blows.

This week, I'm planning on the following things:

I am so excited to try a DIY project that I've been cooking up...we'll see if it works! I'll be sharing the deets later this week.

I'd love to hear what the rest of you are planning this week! I also want to hear from others that have recently decided to set some weekly goals...are you enjoying it? Does it motivate you as much as it does me? How do you keep yourself accountable for getting it done? Anyone else struck with the flu this week? It seems to be going around up here, but after all, it is January!

January Pinterest Project: An Organized Power Strip

I decided, with the whole "12 in 2012" vibe going on this year (which is pretty sweet, if you ask me...next year "12 in 2013" just isn't going to have the same effect) that I would do one Pinterest project a month. It won't always be some big DIY project, but just putting into practice something I pinned. I have a ton of great ideas on my boards, I just don't ever use them!

So here is the inspiration pin for my first project:

Source: unplggd.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Genius, right? I can do that. And I had the perfect place to try it out...

The mess that is the corner of our church by the piano. Oh my. Sooo many cords and messiness, due to different things on the piano and the sound system. Here is the breakdown:

I knew with that huge mess, it wasn't going to be enough to just label the cords like in the Pinterest picture! No, I had to do something to clean up the area...it was bugging me to death!

So I grabbed an old shoebox....

And cut the top off.

Because of the type of box I had, I was left with the perfect shape for my project. 3 sides and the top. You'll see why in a bit.

I grabbed a fine-point Sharpie and labeled my....labels. (What would you call those things? Little plastic tabs from bread. You know what I mean.)

Oh, we are getting somewhere, folks!

Next I just had to wrassle the cords and figure out what went where and how I could get them to lay a little neater. I used some twisties to bundle up the cords that were all coming from the piano and headed toward the power strip.

The stand for the monitors was already sporting this handy-dandy little clip for keeping the cords neat (which of course, was not being used for *whatever* reason!). So I put that sucker to good use!

Now that I had the cords de-tangled and headed in all the right directions, it was time to get my box top into tip-top shape. I drew lines with my Sharpie for where I wanted grooves cut out.

Yes, I know my drawing skilz are seriously lacking.

Thankfully my cutting skilz are a little better, because when I cut out those grooves with a sheetrock knife, they fit nice and cleanly over the wires.

Now you see why it was important to have that one side of the box open. It was shaping up so nicely! But I couldn't leave it neon green, of course!

I pulled a nice deep navy-colored fabric from my scrap bin and cut it to size, then hot glued it to my box. And I didn't even iron it first. Shh, don't tell! Once I pulled it tight over the box and glued it in place, it laid nice and flat. I basically just "wrapped" the box like I would if it was a present, but left the back side open, and finagled so my grooves were open, too.

The inside of the box wasn't all that pretty, especially around the grooves. But hey, no one else is going to see it! (Except for you...and you won't spill my secret, will you?)

The outside looked oh so good!

Oh...that is so much better. I can't even tell you how much better it makes me feel to have that mess corralled and covered up! Here is what it looks like underneath:

There are still a lot of wires that have to go to and fro over there, but it is much neater now, and way more professional looking!

Barely even noticable!

So that is my Pinterest project for this month! I am already trying to decide what to do next month...hmm, guess that means I need to go spend some more time on Pinterest! (evil laugh)

Have you been doing any pinterest-inspired projects recently? Have you done some organizing that has changed your space drastically? What do you do with your zillion power cords?