I tried for a snappy title. I really did. But, sadly that’s not going to happen.

I get a lot of ad offers on this website. I’m also a member of a few websites that will reward bloggers for time/whatever invested. I mean, sure- it was fun. It’s just got to stop.

Most, if not all of these ads (let’s call them what they are, okay) are geared towards moms.

That’s fine, in and of itself. It is. I mean hell, I am a mom. A lot of them were pretty relevant to my own interests and purchases. I’m also sure that they were for others as well. That’s awesome.

However, of late my mind has been drawing blanks here and to be honest I’ve not written for a while. I’m still getting those ‘blogger deals’ and they’ve grown progressively worse. More cliché, and worse. That’s got to stop. More and more the ads are geared towards some rather offensive ideology or trope. Seriously, it’s got to stop.

I’m not just a ‘mom’. I’m not just a ‘woman’. I’m a human.

Sure, I enjoy some fashion. I also enjoy technology.

I enjoy make up. I also enjoy getting my hands dirty.

I’m not just a woman. I’m not just a number. I’m not just a advertising metric.

The worst part of all of this? My daughter has been coming to me, upset, wondering why she can’t play with certain toys, or watch certain shows.

The reason? They’re only for boys.

She’s getting that message, at four. Only four years old. We watch shows together, I’ve tried to monitor what she views.

It’s not enough.

She’s just learning to write her name, and already is being bombarded with these messages.

That she ‘can’t’ do whatever due to her gender. She can’t like green (her favorite color) because it’s a ‘boy color’. She can’t like blue, same reasons. She can’t play with various toys, do certain things, or be what she wants (a doctor, for as long as she’s known what that was).

Those are for ‘boys’. And that’s not okay.

It goes without saying, I’ve tried to tell her otherwise, while it seems to stick I don’t want those horrible thoughts coming back.

She’s not just a girl. She’s not just an advertising metric. She a human being.

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This is my favorite in my latest nail experiments.

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I’ve been doing my nails a lot lately. Which is insane for me, especially considering I’m normally the type that will do them and them promptly forget.

Yeah normally I don’t even think about them until they’ve all but chopped off (the polish, not my nails).

But overall, I’ve got to say I’m liking this newfound girliness.

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I am really not good around the holidays. Really, from around Halloween on I’m just a tight-knit bundle of nerves.

This year is far worse than most (thank you body for that, just awesome. Seriously).  Between everything going on, being forced to socialize with people I’d generally rather not see, and a host of random medical things in my family- the last few months have been horrible. I know I’ve been bad (really bad) at posting here for  a while now and trust me, I’ve wanted to.  I’ve had a lot of posts for here started, but simply ran out of words to say, or they wound up being some far too long tangent about life in general. Granted, I normally rant. A lot. these weren’t exactly what I should be posting up.

This has been the longest stretch of me being ‘bad blogger’ since I’ve started this website. So, I guess that’s impressive, sort of.

It’s been hard to get myself back in the habit of posting like I should and I’ve been trying. I really have. Truthfully, it a lot of things have fallen by the wayside lately.

Even though the medical problems and some of the other things are gone, and everything turned out okay (thankfully) at this point I’m finding it hard to get back into the habit of blogging here like I had in the past. I’m working on it, and truthfully hoping that maybe this post will be the kick in the pants I need right now.

We’ll see I guess.

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With wallets getting tighter pretty much everywhere, it nice to have a few sources of fun or goodies that don’t cost much. Now, I’m cheap so my preferred price range is roughly free. Plus, it’s something that can introduce you to things you’d never thought about (for real, my favorite drink in the history of ever was found through a freebie offer).

Not to mention it’s like a grown up Christmas when I check the mail. That’s what I call added value.

Actually finding said free things is a bit more difficult than one would normally prefer.

Ideally, I would like this to be a list of things that are ongoing (freebie sites that don’t suck, ongoing promotions, that kind of thing) and if you know of something you think needs to be here, feel free to comment or send me a message.

So, without further adu below are some of the best freebies available one the web.

Freebie Websites:

These are websites that I’ve personally used and can vouch for.

Of course, I’d still like to say to use your best judgment in any of these.

• Broke Student Guide: Sure you may not even remember college, but a lot of these freebies are good for more than just Ramen.
• Slick Deals Forum: A bunch of freebies and promotional offers from across the web.
• Frugal Freebies: Again, a bunch of great freebies from around the web. Updates a lot too, which is always helpful.
• Hey It’s Free!: Bet you can’t guess what it’s about.
• Hip 2 Save: I’m guessing right now that you’re pretty sure what this list is about. So, I’ll go out on a branch and say that you don’t need me to make these comments anymore.
• Fat Wallet: This forum has the added bonus of user reviews of the offers.
• Mr. Cheap Stuff: Deals and freebies (and a ton of good advice for saving some green).

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So, it snowed out in Connecticut yesterday and into the night. This defies all logic and common sense, but hey, it does look pretty cool*.

Even if rather surreal.

While the most I’ve done is have a snowball fight with kiddo and made some fabulous snow angels, others have had a much better time with it. My personal favorite would have to be the snow pumpkins.

Image: Reddit User skrimyr

Then there’s the takes on the favorites, with a Halloween twist:

Image: Reddit User jofaba

 Those I’m naturally envious of as I’m still kicking myself for not think of them first. But, hey at least I can post about them, so that’s something.

*Oh ha ha…

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What you need:

• Red Polymer Clay
• Green Polymer Clay
• Jewelry wire
• Wire cutters
• Pen or butter knife

How to make:

1. Condition your clay by kneading it in between your fingers (this really does make it so much easier to use).
2. Cut your wire into a loop and carefully twist the open ends together  with your pliers (they are sharp)
3. Separate both the red and the green into two small balls (for the red make them about the size of a marble, and for the green about the size of a pea).
4. Fashion all four balls into a teardrop shape.
5. Flatten the green teardrops slightly. The goal is more to have a flat top and bottom while keeping the thickness (See image above).
6. Flatten the top of the red teardrops slightly.
7. Attach the green teardrops by slowly twisting the wire through them and into the red.
8. Using your pen or knife press the ‘veins’ into the leaves.
9. If you want to, use a pen to press some indentations into the strawberry for the ‘seeds’.
10. Bake! I put them in for 20 minutes at 275 degrees.

When they are done, you can glaze them or paint them. I’d really recommend putting some glue, glaze, or liquid polymer clay where the wire is attached to give it some extra strength. “>“>

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To Finish Them:

For certain projects a shiny finish looks fantastic. While one could go crazy finding the perfect (and likely expensive) finish, I’ve just used the glaze mentioned here before. It’s the 3-D Glass Craft Paint (which I do still love, and considering I like it enough to do a full review I think that’s saying something).

The process really is easy, and depending on what you use, it can double as a way to keep the metal loops in place better as well. I personally prefer a painted on approach because it’s easier to control the thickness and the application of the ‘glaze’.
This is far from being the only method, so if you have another that you prefer- comment about it!

What you need:

• Crafting Glaze or Finish
• Paintbrush
• A stand of some sort

What to do:

1. Squeeze a small amount of the glaze out onto a paper plate.
2. Paint a thin coat over your project.
3. Allow to dry fully.
4. Repeat above until you are satisfied with the result.
5. When you are finished if your project (like the strawberry charms) has a metal loop or another attachment, squeeze a small amount around it to seal it. This gives it a bit of extra strength.

Tips:

• When you are done, wash your paintbrush immediately.
• It’s better to apply more lighter coats than less heavy ones.
• If possible, find a way to suspend the project over something, it helps with drips.

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While, okay I regretted that decision not too long after, it was a life changing moment. No longer did I have to listen to another person, no longer did I have the safety net under me. It was me, on my own and seriously was in charge. I was in control of the way things work, and if I failed – it was on me, completely.

It was liberating I have to say.

Even now, on occasion I have to remind myself that I’m still ‘the adult’. This especially goes for moments with kiddo. It’s easy (too easy at times) to forget that I don’t have to do things with her the way my mom did with me (don’t get me wrong, my mom is awesome but we still have some differing opinions on most matters).

So, in a bit of an effort to shake things up a bit more today we had a rather wonderful morning party.

My love of Alice in Wonderland has been mentioned here before, and one of the fun ideas in the book is the Unbirthday party.

After all let’s face it, celebrating 364 days a year has a lot more appeal than the measly one most people look forward to.

For those who may want a small refresher here’s the Unbirthday song (as it’s far easier to embed a video than a book):

So this morning we threw a small Unbirthday party. As it’s neither Kiddo or my birthday, we both got a candle to blow out, and naturally she got the frosting (is there any kid that actually eats a doughnut, ever).

Later the celebration shall continue, I’m thinking Unbirthday cards are in order and maybe some other little treats.

Or, whatever else.

Because I’m the adult here, and I’m the one in charge for now.

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I’ve had a serious lack in motivation lately. I mean, it’s just not there at all.

I’m not depressed, sad, worried, or anything. I’m actually incredibly happy, and I’ve been productive (just not in the ways I want or really need to be).

I guess real life is getting in the way of things.

Which really wouldn’t be an issue if a fair portion of my earnings right now didn’t come from the internet. Really, since Irene (and yeah, let’s face it- before Irene too) I’ve just been lacking the motivation to code, or work much on digital things.

Which is an issue.

I’m hoping that maybe this small rant will help in some way, but I’m not expecting nor asking for miracles here.

Then again I’ve been like this before, and it goes away (eventually). Plus, I’ve written on this very website going on a few years now (three or four years), so in a way it’s still one of the longest projects I’ve mostly kept with. In and of itself, that’s impressive for me.

That’s something. It really is.

Not much, all in all, but something.

When I started this website, kiddo was a newborn I was married, unhappy, I was a raving ditz, and things were chaotic in my life.

Now, she’s a bright and amazing preschooler, I’m divorced and dating (an awesome guy), things are finally making more sense, and life is pretty much awesome. I still rant, and am still fairly ditzy in a lot of circumstances*, but overall? Things just are great.

Which for life is good, for my writing not so much.

At the same time, I still wouldn’t trade things right now for anything.

*For the record, I’d prefer to play this off as my ‘artist’s disposition’.

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Fall is finally in the air and, as I do every single year around now, I’m feeling more and more like a Martha Stewart type. During the summer, I don’t like cooking (then again, who does) and it normally feels like most things are just more work than they’re worth. But, as soon as the cooler air hits, I feel a huge burst of inspiration to make things.

While it’s not all cooking and crafting around here (after all, there’s a lot of other things that need doing) fall is really the best season for it all. While a lot of it is a personal love of the crisp air and the changing leaves, a lot of it is really the overall calm I always get around this time of year. Sure, the summer has it’s own perks, but the fall is really when I’m the happiest.

Plus, I’ve been hiking a lot more lately. So, the exercise alone is likely doing me a lot of good. While sure, I do love me my internet connection, since Irene knocked it out for a week I’ve been doing more in the way of things like that. The above photo was taken at Giuffrida Park, which isn’t too far from where I live. While at first there were scenes like the above (just stunning area by the way) after, no joke- some mountain climbing (yes, me- mountain climbing) there were more like the below.

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We were about 100 ft up, and that’s one of the lower peaks (my camera doesn’t seem to like the brighter light, and I didn’t realize it until later). The image really doesn’t do the view justice, but it really was simply stunning.

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We even met this guy. A huge millipede. This thing was easily 6 inches long, and pretty fast. Honestly, these are still some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

Plus, between the brook and waterfalls, it’s hard not to feel completely zen’d out (that’s a phrase now by the way).

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