Bean Bag Beds

I recently made three VERY large bean bag beds and thought I'd tell all of blog land about it!

First I needed to locate a bunch of beans for filling them. Now, if you look around you will notice that they are extremely expensive! E-bay has them for about $30 PLUS shipping for 11 cu ft!! I figured I would need 30 + per bag soooo. .. that price was NOT going to work! lol I did find a finished bag at WM for $60, but they only had one color and no outer bag. That means I wouldn't be able to wash it at all... not an option!

Then I discovered that I could contact a local foam manufacturer and buy them directly. They price them at $15 for 20 cu ft. The only stipulation is that your order has to be $100 or more. I talked to a friend and we decided that between the two of us we would need 9 bags, 6 being the minimum order. So, with her van emptied out and the back seat folded in we were off.

Let me start by saying that we seriously underestimated the size of these bags!! ROFL!!

Here they are filling the first bag...



This is my friend next to one of the bags. She's... 5' 10" I think...




Now... to get these suckers into her van!!! We had a heck of a time! At one point one of the bags got a hole in it and beans started spewing out like a water hose on full blast!! The whole roof of the van was covered in beans!



We were only able to stuff 5 of the bags in there. Poor Mrs. C had to go back to get the last 4!! Fortunately Mr. C was able to keep her company on the journey as I was not.

Now for the fun part! I went back to the dreaded WM and picked up 3 flat sheets. One for each bag.




I laid the sheet out, folded it top to bottom (right sides OUT) and sewed one short end and the long side...



I did a super-uber stitch to make sure it is good and strong. I also sewed the stitch on the outside so that if it does get a hole it will be easy to find and fix.

Now the scary.... I mean fun part! Filling them!!


Here I am contemplating my next move...



(try to ignore the surrounding garage mess)

Here I am trying to get the bag around the bag of filler without spewing beans all over the place... (I highly recommend NOT talking on the phone at this point)



Then I aquired the help of my DD, BR, and turned the whole thing over so I could remove the bag...



(She's the one behind the camera, btw)

Then I ever so gingerly sewed the remaining side closed and tested it out!



As you can see, we did get a few beans on the floor but nothing to bad!

For a cover I took another full sized flat sheet, folded it top to bottom (right sides together) and sewed it with a straight stitch on two sides. Voila!! All together each bag cost less than $35 start to finish!!

TTFN,
Me

The Philosophy of Ambiguity

The Philosophy of Ambiguity

FOR THOSE WHO LOVE THE PHILOSOPHY OF AMBIGUITY, AS WELL AS THE IDIOSYNCRASIES OF ENGLISH:

Please enjoy and understand the following


1. DON'T SWEAT THE PETTY THINGS AND DON'T PET THE SWEATY THINGS.

2. ONE TEQUILA, TWO TEQUILA, THREE TEQUILA, FLOOR.

3. ATHEISM IS A NON-PROPHET ORGANIZATION.

4. IF MAN EVOLVED FROM MONKEYS AND APES, WHY DO WE STILL HAVE MONKEYS AND APES?

5. THE MAIN REASON THAT SANTA IS SO JOLLY IS BECAUSE HE KNOWS WHERE ALL THE BAD GIRLS LIVE.

6. I WENT TO A BOOKSTORE AND ASKED THE SALESWOMAN, "WHERE'S THE SELF- HELP SECTION?" SHE SAID IF SHE TOLD ME, IT WOULD DEFEAT THE PURPOSE.

7. WHAT IF THERE WERE NO HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS?

8. IF A DEAF CHILD SIGNS SWEAR WORDS, DOES HIS MOTHER WASH HIS HANDS WITH SOAP?

9. IF SOMEONE WITH MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES THREATENS TO KILL HIMSELF, IS IT CONSIDERED A HOSTAGE SITUATION?

10. IS THERE ANOTHER WORD FOR SYNONYM?

11. WHERE DO FOREST RANGERS GO TO "GET AWAY FROM IT ALL?"

12. WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU SEE AN ENDANGERED ANIMAL EATING AN ENDANGERED PLANT?

13. IF A PARSLEY FARMER IS SUED, CAN THEY GARNISH HIS WAGES?

14. WOULD A FLY WITHOUT WINGS BE CALLED A WALK?

15. WHY DO THEY LOCK PETROL STATION BATHROOMS? ARE THEY AFRAID SOMEONE WILL CLEAN THEM?

16. IF A TURTLE DOESN'T HAVE A SHELL, IS HE HOMELESS OR NAKED?

17. CAN VEGETARIANS EAT ANIMAL CRACKERS?

18. IF THE POLICE ARREST A MIME, DO THEY TELL HIM HE HAS THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT?

19. WHY DO THEY PUT BRAILLE ON THE DRIVE-THROUGH BANK MACHINES?

20. HOW DO THEY GET DEER TO CROSS THE ROAD ONLY AT THOSE YELLOW ROAD SIGNS?

21. WHAT WAS THE BEST THING BEFORE SLICED BREAD?

22. ONE NICE THING ABOUT EGOTISTS: THEY DON'T TALK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE.

23. DOES THE LITTLE MERMAID WEAR AN ALGEBRA?

24. DO INFANTS ENJOY INFANCY AS MUCH AS ADULTS ENJOY ADULTERY?

25. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE A CIVIL WAR?

26. IF ONE SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMER DROWNS, DO THE REST DROWN TOO?

27. IF YOU ATE BOTH PASTA AND ANTIPASTO, WOULD YOU STILL BE HUNGRY?

28. IF YOU TRY TO FAIL, AND SUCCEED, WHICH HAVE YOU DONE?

29. WHOSE CRUEL IDEA WAS IT FOR THE WORD 'LISP' TO HAVE 'S' IN IT?

30. WHY ARE HEMORRHOIDS CALLED "HEMORRHOIDS" INSTEAD OF "ASSTEROIDS"?

31. WHY IS IT CALLED TOURIST SEASON IF WE CAN'T SHOOT AT THEM?

32. WHY IS THERE AN EXPIRATION DATE ON SOUR CREAM?

33. IF YOU SPIN AN ORIENTAL PERSON IN A CIRCLE THREE TIMES, DO THEY BECOME DISORIENTED?

34. CAN AN ATHEIST GET INSURANCE AGAINST ACTS OF GOD?

Painting Stripes

I (finally) got the bathroom painted yesterday!! Woo hoo!!! It is called "Summer Camp". I thought that a light buttery yellow in a confined space would be nice. The color doesn't show up real well in pictures but I really like it in person. It calms me.....






After that, I spent half the day putting up tape for my stripe experiment in the kitchen. I put 1" stripes every 6". It was a tedious task to say the least! In a camper you have very little "open wall space" to work with, and the spaces that ARE there can be a bit hard to reach. I got it though. I was a bit nervous after taping thinking that it looked funny. But I told myself, "Maybe it's the tape."

So I put on the first coat of yellow paint and went to work on the bathroom a bit. When I came back I thought...

"Yeah, it must be the tape throwing it off. "

With a nervous look on my face and growing dread in a non-disclosed area of my stomach, I added a second coat saying, "I think I'll like it more with a second coat and the tape off. That tape sure is making it hard to 'see' it", and I went to finish the bathroom.

I worked on the bathroom a bit more, then returned to inspect my stripes. This was it... the big reveal... Checking that the stripe was mostly dry, I pulled off the first strip of tape... and then the second....

"Maybe it's the tape?" I thought nervously.

I removed more tape... "Please be the tape!?" The phrase started ringing in my head like church bells calling it's parishioners to service,

"The tape... please be the tape... it has to be the tape making it look wrong... the tape... please be the tape... it HAS to be the tape making it look wrong..."

as I frantically but slowly remove one strip after another. Finally... after what seemed an eternity... I had removed all of the tape.

"Groooaaannnn!!! It's not the tape!!!"

"Maybe if I step back and look at it??"

No such luck. The fact of the matter is that I spent half of my day painting what appear to be circus tent stripes on my kitchen walls only to discover.... I hate it...







So now I'm telling myself that maybe if I paint the window trim yellow and add some (real) curtains it will look ok?? Please??? I really do NOT want to paint over all that hard work and effort. I want to make it work. What do you think dear reader?? Do I paint over the circus stripes or make them work? How can I make them work?? I need your help!!

Yours on a tight rope,
Me

Camper Happenings

My DH has been trying very hard to find extra time to spend on the camper. Our most recent improvement has been washing the out side. I must admit that I did not have high hopes. I did not expect to see much (if any) improvement in the before and after photos. You tell me what you see...

BEFORE...





AFTER...




!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It looks brand spankin' NEW!!! Yippee!!!

In other camper news. I spent the better part of today working in the main part of the camper. I pulled out all of the (ugly) trim and painted it green. I LOVE it!!





I'm toying with the idea of vertical stripes... I just can't seem to picture it very well. I think I'll have to give it a go and then see what you all think. Have a blessed day!

TTFN,
Me

Halloween 2009

Most years, we don't "do" halloween. MOST years, we eat spooky treats while watching Goosebumps and that's it. THIS year, since we are in an actual neighborhood, I let the kids dress up and pass out candy instead. The catch was that they had to make their costumes. (I refuse to spend oodles of money on an outfit they will only wear once.) I did pick up a few accessories at the cost of $13, but that's it! I think we did really well. What do you think??

Sooo...

My son decided to be the burglar from the Sim game...














DD2 LOVES England. Anything English will do so she donned a Union Jack and a British accent for the evening...


DD1 wanted to be a painter. I searched hither and yon for a bar-rat... but alas a bandanna would have to do...


So I decided to be her painting... and DH my easel!!

While the costumes were great and very fun to make and come up with... they were the end of of it. We didn't get a single trick or treat-er. Not one!! In order to make our evening "complete", we watched Charlie Brown's "Great Pumpkin" cartoon. Unfortunately... I fell asleep!!

TTFN,
Me

We're MOVING!!! (again)

Ok, we aren't moving until the end of January, but we are gearing up now. We thought and prayed long and hard. Then we decided to get a camper and find a place to boon-dock for awhile. Boon-docking is when you have electric and water access, but you aren't at a camp ground. Dry-docking is when you have no amenities and run off a gennie. If we can not find a place to BD then we will do the campground thing until we do find a place.

We ended up getting a used 36' 5th wheel. You may not know this ('cause I sure didn't) that there are a few different types of campers.

RV~ You drive these.
Pull Along~ You hook these to your hitch and you.... wait for it... pull it along.
5th Wheel~ These have an attachment that hooks to a special attachment that you put in the bed of your truck.
Pop-ups~ These are the tiny ones that go flat while hauling them.



This is a 5th Wheel (post type)

There are many more "types" but they all seem to stem from these main types.
















Our camper has a slide out so we have more room when parked. It actually adds an additional 50 sq feet! (well, almost)



Being financially challenged we of course did not buy a new one. Heck, we didn't even get a gently used one for that matter! lol No, we found a heck of a deal on craigslist. She needed to off load it and we needed to get one so it all worked out for both parties involved. That being said, it needs work.


That is where this series of posts come in. I'm asking you, dear reader, for your help. We have a long list to accomplish and I really think your input will be great! I will be choosing flooring, material for curtains, furniture and light fixtures over the next few weeks. I will post pictures of my options and ask for your opinion. If it all works out I will not end up with orange walls and royal blue furniture! lol


For now, I will have to start with "before" pictures so your wheels can start to turn. I will tell you that we are thinking wood flooring in a lighter color to match the table that I purchased. It was a good deal I found while grocery shopping at Aldi's last Sunday.









Here are the rest of the pics...



(L) LR Cabinet

(R) Closet















(L) Bathroom Sink

(R) Shower

(B) Loo (as BR likes to call it!)













It even has a laundry "room"!!



This was taken before we moved the slide into the "out" position. You can see more of it in the photo above.











This will be the kids room. I will be revamping it in the next few weeks. I don't know why they left the chair. It is DEFINITELY leaving! Yuck!




As you can see, we have our work cut out for us! We are working on a plan of action that we will implement ASAP. The first step is to re-seal the roof and then rip out the remaining flooring. I hope to go to Lowe's today and have a look see!

TTFN,
Me

New Puppy!

We suspected that our fur baby was expecting. She was changing shape but was not "Really" big so I figured that we could expect a litter in late October. She had other ideas!

On the first I noticed that she was not a happy camper. If you touched her mid section she would yelp in pain. I decided that she was stretching and therefore, sore. Then at 10:30 as we were at the home school table, she started yelping repeatedly from my bedroom. I run in to find her in my closet. When I picked her up I saw (to my surprise) a puppy rump!

Needless to say I was caught a bit unprepared! I had planned to do more research to refresh my memory that weekend and to make a vet appointment for the following week. Now here I am without a whelping box ready to go or any supplies at hand. I had the kids run and get me a couple of towels, the scissors and some rubber medical gloves and waited to see what would happen next.

Before the kids could get me the towels Gracie yelped in pain with the next contraction. I noticed that the puppy didn't move down at all and realized that the poor thing was stuck so I gave a gentle tug to move him along and waited. Then the towels came so I tried to hastily get them under the dog before the next contraction. No such luck.

The next contraction came and, though Gracie yelped a bit, he moved down, but not out. "This isn't good," I thought as I saw it was basically hanging by it's head. Next contraction and poor Gracie yelped repeatedly and the puppy didn't move. I grabbed a hold and applied traction but the cord was pulled taught. Grabbing the scissors I cut the cord with one hand while supporting the puppy with the other. Next contraction and (with a bit more force than I would have liked) I pulled downward on the puppy. With a pop I could both feel and hear it's head come free and Voila! A brand new puppy!

I stuck it in Gracie's face, but she was in pain and confused so I cleared the membrane and tried again. This time instinct kicked in and she started caring for her new charge. I put the puppy on the towels and put the whelping box together and moved them both in.

Gracie is now the VERY proud momma of a baby boy Lhasa-Poo who weighed 6 ounces at birth. The vet has given them a clean bill of health and both are doing great! Upon last inspection at 48 hours old, the puppy had gained another 2 ounces due to Gracie's superior milk.

*Update~ 4 days, 10 ounces







*Update~ 12 days old, weighing in at 1 1/2 LB! His eyes officially opened today!

At birth he was a wee-bit smaller than my hand.


Now look at him!!


We hope to find a great home for this little guy. (Just don't tell Gracie!)

Me