Trading Books Online

Yesterday in my "Crazy Eights" I posted that I traded a book online.  I had a couple questions about it and wanted to fill you all in!  I found out about a really cool site called Swaptree from Michelle.  I checked it out a couple of days ago and was really surprised at how neat and easy this site was.  

The first step is to collect some books, CD's, DVD's, or games that you are willing to trade. Then you get the ISBN off the back and enter it in to the "I Have" section of Swaptree.  Then you enter in books, movies, etc. that you want. Basically Swaptree matches it up and lets you know if there is a trade available.  

It is completely free but you do need to pay for shipping. There is an option to print your own label.  I did this and it was $2.41.  Then you just drop the package with the printed label into a mailbox. Pretty easy!

I love it because we had a lot of books lying around our house that we had no reason to keep and were just collecting dust and taking up room.  If sold at a garage sale we may have gotten 50 cents.  But by doing it this way I can get a book that I have been wanting.  Also, don't get discouraged if you enter in a book you have and they say there are no books to trade for.  That happened with a bunch of mine but within 24 hours 3 were available to trade.

If you want to know anymore information about it feel free to ask or check out the FAQ page. It's pretty helpful. 

Have a great day!!

 

Crazy Eights!

I was so excited to have been tagged by a wonderful blogger Tierra!  I have enjoyed reading other peoples' 8 things so it was fun doing one myself.  Thanks 

8 Things I’m Looking Forward To:

Getting our bikes fixed so we can go riding together and discover new parks

Going to the beach on Lake Michigan this summer

Redecorating our bedroom

Planning some kind of a vacation to take within the next year

Being a mommy (in a couple of years!!)

Making a 101 Goals in 1001 days list

Researching more about adoption

Planting a vegetable garden next year

 

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

Traded some books online

FINALLY got my Christmas decorations organized in the basement

Worked

Ate dinner that my sweetie made for me :)

Ate frozen corn out of the bag.  I know how completely foul that sounds, but I’ve always liked it

Had my lovely neighbor help me pick out which new pictures to put in my bathroom

Blogged—Duh!

Looked into taking a cooking class where I live

 

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

Sing without hurting people’s ears

Get motivated to lose weight

Have a baby now

Stop eating sweets

Run a mile without stopping

Commit to washing my face everyday and actually stick to it

Talk to my dad

Go to Culinary School

 

8 Shows I Watch:

Jeopardy!!!

Two and a Half Men

The Big Bang Theory

Cash in the Attic

Big Love

The Food Network (I watch like all the shows!!)

Top Chef

Real Housewives --- Kelly Bensimon makes me really mad!!  Team Jill all the way J

I am also supposed to tag 8 people but I think a lot of people have already done this so I am tagging you if you haven't yet!

Have a great day!

Bathroom Redo #1

Yay!! We finally have one bathroom completely done!! Thank goodness, because I feel like we have 700 projects that aren't finished. The weather this weekend in Michigan totally messed up my plans.  

So here are the before pics. The color was like a burnt orange. I didn't mind the color so much but our bathroom is pretty small and it made it feel very cave-ish.  

Here you can see why you shouldn't put wood floors in a bathroom. When we bought the house I liked how it looked, but never considered what happens when you mix water and wood. The result is that the boards get spaces between them and the finish peels off. When that happens you get mold. Gross!!

Okay now here is the new and improved space:

Ignore the paint that I need to peel off the mirror here :)

And finally the new floors minus the mold:

Well there you have it!  Now we need to finish the other one.... More pics to come.

This post is being shared with Remodeling Guy for his Remodeling Round up!

Have a great day!!

Menu Plan 4/27 - 5/2

This weekend went by way too fast!!!!!  I didn't get as much done as I would have liked because of the rain, however, we were able to complete one of our two bathrooms that we are redoing. You may remember here when I showed you how things were coming along.  I'm happy to report we no longer have toilets in our showers!!  I will post pictures tomorrow or later this week of the progress.  

This week's menu is BORING because we are trying to finish our house projects before heading back home to Ann Arbor this weekend for a wedding on Saturday.  So here's what is planned:

Monday:  Caesar Salads with Italian Marinated Grilled Chicken and Homemade Dressing

**To make the Italian Chicken you marinate chicken breasts in a bottle of Italian dressing overnight.  Tough huh?  It's actually oddly moist and really tasty.

Tuesday:  Spaghetti with Creamy Meat Sauce

** To do the sauce I brown one lb ground turkey and then mix in one batch of marinara sauce.  Then at the end I mix in one container of ricotta cheese and a handful of parmesan.  If you want to get fancy you could also sprinkle some fresh basil on top.

Wednesday:  Boxed Macaroni Grill's Creamy Basil Chicken (I think these are really tasty!)

Thursday:  Left over Spaghetti

Friday:  Dinner out with Mom

Saturday:  Wedding!!

Oh also since I have no pictures this week and last week's Brad pictures were such a hit....

Just kidding!!!! Here you go:

Also to check out more plans you can go to Organizing Junkie's blog here.

Have a great week!!

Ahhh Yard Work

This weekend is one of the only weekends coming up where we have time to do some much needed yard work.  Project number one is to weed and mulch the flower beds.  Project number two is to dig a trench and then put some tubing in to re-direct the water away from the house.  I didn't think that that sounded life fun at all so I decided to mulch instead. However, as always I get dragged into hubby's projects too :) Oh and to top it all off we had to take breaks every 15 minutes to escape the storms. Yes, it's been a fun day.  So here are some pictures of what I've been up to this morning:

These pictures don't really do it justice.  I should have instead taken pictures of my disgusting muddy feet.  Although that might gross everyone out just a little.  Instead just take my work for it.  

I will post pictures of everything once it is done and not raining but here is a picture of my half done mulch so far.  I definitely think the brown looks better!

Okay here is where I need some advice.  What do you think could be done in this area to pretty things up a little.  Could I move the rocks?  Keep in mind it is Spring here in Michigan and the plants aren't pretty yet.  I like most of the plants, but I feel that they are a little random in placement. The rocks at the top are kind of in a half-moon shape in front of those little trees which I kind of like.  I think the rest is very scattered though.  Any suggestions?

Have a great rest of your weekend!!

Writing Assignment ~~ Book Review

A few months ago I was having trouble falling asleep. You know the wandering mind where you become obsessed about why you can’t fall asleep so you don’t fall asleep thing. Really annoying. So I started playing Sudoku before I went to bed. It helped for a while but then I totally mastered it and got sick of playing. Next, I tried crosswords but I’m not really smart enough for that. Then I thought I should read a nice not scary kind of boring book so I don’t want to stay up all night reading it.

Then I remembered this book I bought my mom a few years ago. It had the cutest cover and sounded like a nice mom book. Perfect. So I marched to the library and asked the cute librarian where I may find a book that I think was called Mitford but I wasn’t too sure. She got all starry eyed and told me it was her favorite series and that I would become addicted. Thing is…she's like 85. That got me a little worried. But then I didn’t want to hurt her feeling so I got the book.

Okay. These books are pretty cheesy. Well they’re actually really cheesy. However, I LOVE them. Totally not what I would normally read but the characters have completely consumed me. I wish I lived in a little town like Mitford and was a Rector’s wife and ate at the same coffee shop every morning. The stories are really endearing and sweet all around. When I read them at night it’s perfect because while they capture my attention it’s not like I can’t put it down. I find that at times I laugh out loud at the dorkiest things or cry when something happens to a character I like. The author, Jan Karon, does a really wonderful job of making the characters seem like friends. I go back to the library every time I’m done with a book because I want to see what happens to them next. I only have two books left in the series and I haven’t read one for 3 months because I don’t want it to end. So if you’re looking for a nice easy read you should give these a try. If after reading you feel a little like you just read an adult version of Mr. Rogers, well I told you so. But honestly, is that really that bad?

P.S.  I also did not order the accompanying cookbook off Amazon.  I swear.

P.P.S.  To check out more writing assignments and other book reviews go to Mama Kat's Blog!!

Have a great day!

In Honor of Earth Day

To honor Earth Day I thought I would post a few tips for becoming more "green" as well as some interesting things I've found about being green in general.  Some of these things are really shocking and it's amazing how a little change can make such a big difference.

1.  Wash clothes in cold water.  Up to 85% of the energy used in machine washing clothes goes towards heating the water.

2.  Line dry clothes to reduce drying costs.  Obviously though that just isn't going to happen for most people.  These dryer balls are said to reduce drying time by 25%. 

3.  If every household in the United States replaced one regular lightbulb with one of those new compact fluorescent bulbs, the pollution reduction would be equivalent to removing one million cars from the road.

4.  Recycled glass reduces related air pollution by 20% and related water pollution by 50%. If glass isn't recycled it can take a million years to decompose.

5.  Register with the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service here and you'll see a significant reduction in mail after three months.  I did this about 6 months ago and you really do see a huge decrease in the amount of junk  mail you get.

6.  Consider joining a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program in your area to support local farmers.  You can go here to check out where they are in your area.  This is one of my goals for the summer!

7.  Look into making your own cleaning supplies using things like vinegar, baking soda, or lemon.  You can check out my post on the many uses for lemons here.

8.  Use reusable grocery bags.  Check out this site here to see why it makes such a difference.

9.  Unplug appliances that aren't used all the time.  By doing this you could save 5-10% on your monthly electric bill.

10.  Last but definitely not least, sneak in a shower with your loved one to start the day. Not only have you made a wise choice for the environment, but you may notice some other added...um...benefits.

Have a great day!!