January?

2013?  Seriously?  I can’t believe that 2012 is over!  Where did it go?  And can you believe the unseasonably warm weather we’ve had over the last week or so here?  Is it really January?  But I’m not complaining.  I hate summer heat, but this warm spring-like weather is just gorgeous!  So, I figured we’d better make the best of it while we can J.

You know you live in Florida when you can spend a few January afternoons like this.

The boys and I really enjoyed the THREE days that we went to Carrabelle Beach.  Nothing like a little solar Cymbalta (or homeopathic Prozac) in the middle of January.  Ahhhhh....

 

It's back to cold again today, though (but I'm still not complaining---remember I hate the summer heat!). 

Christmas has come and gone and, as far as I know, the gifts I made went over well (see previous post to view them).  Whew!  Jonah thoroughly enjoys his tent (or Bat-Cave as he calls it).  And while Levi does not have his own room to put his bookends and shadowbox in yet, I hope he will enjoy them even more once they’re displayed in his own personal space.  I’m praying that the nieces and nephews have found use for their things as well.  I enjoyed making them all!

 

I was reading this morning about how a new-found friend of mine re-uses things.  It made me a little sad that I don’t come up with more uses for normally discarded items myself.  We are very good about not wasting food around here, but I seldom find uses for things such as bottles, cans and boxes that just get tossed.  Thankfully, we now have recycling in this county, so I don’t feel quite as bad about how quickly we fill up a trash can (or recycle box as the case may be), but maybe I’ll put a little more thought into finding ways to make use of those items more often. 

 

Here are a few things I’ve re-used or re-purposed recently, but feel free to share ideas with me as I endeavor to continue to try to reduce, reuse, and repurpose.

Jonah’s new “art tray” made from a large cookie sheet and some washed out and spary painted vegetable cans.  That boy loves to draw and create.  There are magnets glued to the cookie sheet to hold the cans in place somewhat while still allowing them to be easily removed for use in other places.  I have not found a magnetic container for the glues thus far, but this plastic container fits perfectly and is something I already had here at the house.

 

 

These are the calming jars I originally made for my boys back in the summer (from jelly jar and baby food jar).

 

 

And this is a scarf rack I made from a cheap curtain rod (café rod it may be called) and some shower curtain hooks.

 

It’s a start!