A Chance to Make a Difference...

Honestly, if you want to do something to really

make you feel good...check this out:
Here is a story of a wonderful person and a chance for people to really make a difference in his life. Read his story and find out how you can help:

http://www.friendsofjamesoneal.blogspot.com/

WalGREENS $CHA-ching$

Every now and then I find one of these ... and they are wonderful...there is something for everyone at a Walgreens. I usually use mine on diapers or cosmetics...things that hardly ever go on sale. This one is only good until midnight tomorrow night (they always have very short usage times....) Click on the image to take you to the site where you can print out the coupon.

Just makes you smile....

I received this darling photo in an email forward, and just had to pass it along...it is

too cute not to share.

Memorial Day

While at a family BBQ today, I was shocked when a twelve year old boy asked, "What is Memorial Day anyway?".....

Wow. Note to self: when my kids are old enough, teach them
WHY they are getting a day off of school.
Additional note to self: make sure they really get it.
What a great time to share with our kids the memory and legacy of grandparents and those gone before us.
And of course, a wonderful time to reflect on just how blessed we are... thanks to those who have died fighting for our freedom.

I came across this wonderful poem and found it very moving, so I thought I would share.
Blessings to you and yours for a wonderful Memorial Day, KL


GOING TO THE GONE

A checklist for Memorial Day
by Greg Asimakoupoulos
May 23, 2008

Go look in on your children
still asleep within their bed.
Remind yourself they're safe and warm
because of some long dead.

Go for a walk through cemeteries
lined with little flags.
Take time to ponder homebound heroes
flown in body bags.

Go stand between those granite stones
engraved with names and dates.
Imagine all who died defending
our United States.

Go on and kneel beside a marker
offering a prayer
with gratitude for those who gave
their lives defeating terror.

Go home and count your blessings
from the hands of those now gone.
Then vow to the Almighty that
their mem'ry will live on.

Also found here.
The following note applies to this poem:
Copyright 2008 Greg Asimakoupoulos.
Permission is granted to send this to others,
with attribution, but not for commercial purposes.

Hot Seller....

Just thought I would share with you one of the top selling designs from my merchandise shop this month...those Crazy cat ladies must be everywhere :0)

If you haven't checked it out lately, there is some really fun stuff right now, including dog t-shirts, which also seem to be popular. Also, I am always happy to help you customize something for just the right gift...just ask!!

Here is a current coupon for the cafe merchandise:

Get Free Standard or Economy Shipping on

U.S. orders of $60 or more Use coupon

Code EARTHSHIP60 at checkout.

Offer good through June 17, 2008.

To visit my CafeShop click here!

TGIF ~ Cheers!! KL

Who Knew?

Oh my goodness... I just learned the coolest thing ever.
And... in case you didn't know it either ~ I am posting here...
to share with you. Which is exactly why I started this blog.

Most of you probably use aluminum foil and saran wrap.
If you are like me...then you also get a bit frustrated when the
darn roll jumps out of the box when you are trying to tear it...
WELL GET THIS!! Did you know that there are tabs on the
ends of the box that you are supposed to push in to hold the
roll in place???? (if you did know this, then you are just a smarty
pants. Honestly - you are. )

I just had to share that crazy feature ~ I am so excited about it.
It just made my day.

Digging for Pennies...

My website is currently under complete construction. A "re-model" if you will. It is overwhelming the amount of information that seems to accumulate. So much artwork, so many breeds of dogs, so many ideas and before you know it ... my website is cluttered and it is time for spring cleaning.

This is NOT one of my strengths. I think some of it has to do with my lack of PATIENCE...accompanied by my lack of actual computer knowledge. Combine that with the fact that I am also a stay at home mother of a 3 year old and a baby.... and there you have it. Maintaining my website is my least favorite aspect of my life as an artist. I LOVE creating, emailing customers, chatting with other artists...but the whole website techinical stuff. . . I would rather do yardwork. ( Easy to say since we don't yet have a yard...but that is a whole other can of worms that I will save for another day. )

So ~ as I am working on my site today, my son (3) comes in and says "whatcha doin' mommy, working on your puter? it doesn't listen to you?" I reply, "You are right son, my computer does not listen to me." He ponders this quickly and in one perfectly long run on sentence he replies "and that is ok mommy so your computer does not listen and so it makes you sad and so you should just stop and so your computer is naughty and so that is ok mama. So, let's go look for pennies."

A very simple solution to my problem.

We just happen to have hidden treasures in our sandbox! So ... off we went to dig for pennies in the sand. It made a whole lot more sense on a beautiful day then fighting with my computer and trying to make my website perfect.

So ~ I will focus my energies on the fun part of being an artist (the CREATIVE process) and the important stuff ( like Customer Satisfaction ) ... and I will try really hard to keep my website from getting too cluttered and confusing . . . but please forgive me if it is a tad bit less then perfect. I can promise you this. I will strive to run my business with all of the passion of a kid digging in the sand for pennies.

...and I will NOT stress over the small things. Like the fact that I cannot FOR MY LIFE...figure out how to change the font in my post from yesterday... I have tried over and over again... but you know what...it just doesn't matter. It is just a font. So ... I am letting it go... and MOVING FORWARD.....

( quoted from our FAVORITE Disney Movie "Meet the Robinsons"...if you haven't seen it yet... watch it. It is great on so many levels. )

Off to dig in the sand...

Using My Powers for Good...

Ok...so those of you that know me...know that I am always on the lookout for a bargain. In fact ~ let's be honest. It is a flat out obsession. I have decided to share my great finds here, along with other things ~ in the event that you would like to save a little $cha-ching$ now and then. Heck ~ times are tough. Save where you can.

Let's start with my most recent OUTSTANDING deal:
From time to time ~ Albertsons will run a special on General Mills cereals:
BUY 10 FOR $10.00. They are running this special NOW! This alone is a bargain.
(If you were to buy 10 boxes, which you never would... but if you did ... it would be a savings difference of over $29, depending on which cereals you buy.)
Now here is where the true talent comes in. (yes...I consider this a talent. sad, huh?) In the cereal isle ~ you will usually find those handy dandy coupon dispensers that spit out coupons (come on...you know you've pushed that button before...)

They are usually for General Mills ~ BUY 2 BOXES SAVE .75 cents. If you are going to buy 10 boxes of cereal, you will need 5 of these. That right there will save you another $3.75. These are manufactures coupons, and Alberstons honors these along with their special pricing.
Now...if you are a coupon clipper (and you really SHOULD be...) you may have some of the even better GM coupons ~ $1.50 to $2.00 off for 3 boxes of cereal. So...to sum things up ~ you have just paid approx $4.50 for 10 boxes of cereal. (This is approx. what ONE box can cost you at regular price.)

Albertsons is running this promo on GM cereal AND Nature Valley Granola Bars, FruitSnacks, etc. through next Tuesday - May 13th.Check out my receipt...total spent $53.91. Total saved $69.16. Wahoooooooooooo! Lesson learned here ~ don't forget: You can use manufactures coupons along with in store specials at MOST stores.

Oh! ... I almost forgot the best part!! Right now the GM cereals have little Speed Racer Turbo Cars in them... and these little cars go fasssstt! Anyway - an added bonus to your bargains! There are many cereals to choose from, which include: Cherrios, Fruit Cherrios, and more. (...like the Lucky Charms that is hidden high up in mommy's secret spot...yum. When did my hidden pleasure become a sugar cereal? yikes.)

Save big. Don't even get me started on how much I save on baby stuff... I have that down to a science. I will save that for another day :0)

So there you have it. My first official blog post. Enjoy!