How Many States Have You Camped In?
This Week Is Not Going To Be Long Enough!
We have exactly five more days before we leave on our trip to Arizona. And I have so much to do and so little time to get it done! I am excited about getting on the road, but anxious because I am not ready yet. And on top of getting all the little and big things done that need to be done, my son and his family just rolled into town with my grandchildren for a visit!
They are staying at a motel in our hometown, about 45 miles away. We just don’t have room in the trailer for five more people, and there is no furniture or hot water in the house. Tonight they are going to visit my mother, and my daughter-in-law said that Owen is so excited because he thinks he is coming to see ME!
We spent today running errands in Carrollton, about 30 miles away. There was a Fedex package that needed to to shipped, the unemployment office to fill out some paperwork, to the library to pick up some IRS forms, Wal-Mart to get some prescriptions filled. There is still a long list of things to do, places to go, and packing to do, but they will all have to wait so we can visit Owen, Amelia, and Michael while they are here.
Tomorrow we’ll go to Douglasville and find something to do with the kids and grandkids, and go out to dinner with the kids–Becky; Emily, Tommy and Spencer; and Seth, Sarah, Michael, Owen, and Amelia. That’s not really all of them, and we’ll miss all the ones who can’t be there with us.
Sometime before the end of the week, we’ll need to run up to Cedartown to go to the bank, get some groceries, and last minute things for the trip. And our neighbors want us to come over and cook out with them before we go! Can I possibly fit it all in???
Rubbermaid Hidden Recycler Review and Giveaway
If you are a recycler, this is a very neat and handy idea. This Rubbermaid Hidden Recycler is easy to install and easy to use. I didn’t have to use any tools at all to install it in my kitchen.
Then you hang the hooks over the top of the cabinet door.
Attach the recycler bag to the frame by putting the tabs on the frame through the slots on the bag.
This is what shows on the outside of the cabinet door.
The handle on the bottom makes emptying the recycler bag so easy.
The Rubbermaid Hidden Recycler five gallon bag holds up to 36 12-ounce cans. You can fit a gallon milk jug in there! The bag has a leak proof liner and can be machine washed. It is soft sided so it can easily fit in most any cabinet. (Note: The top of it is too big to fit in my RV cabinet, but it works fine in the cabinets in my house kitchen.) The bag and all the packaging materials are recyclable, and the whole thing can be recycled.
If you would like to buy one of these Rubbermaid Hidden Recyclers, they are available at Rubbermaid.com for $17.59, or at Meijer Stores.
If you would like to win one of these, leave a comment below telling me why you think recycling is a good idea.
For extra entries, do any or all of the following: (don’t forget to leave a comment for each thing you do!)
Follow Rubbermaid on Twitter
Follow Fabgrandma on Twitter
Tweet this giveaway, one time per day, “Rubbermaid Hidden Recycler Giveaway http://bit.ly/H7cz4g #win @fabgrandma“.
This giveaway ends at midnight MDT on April 21, 2012. One winner will receive a a Rubbermaid Hidden Recycler valued at $15.99. The winner will be selected using And The Winner Is…plugin. Winner will be notified by email, so please make sure you use a valid email address when entering. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to the notification of winning. If the winner does not respond in 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. You can enter once each day by tweeting about the giveaway one time each day per twitter account. Giveaway is open to residents of the United States and Canada and must be 18 years old or over. Prize is the responsibility of and will be shipped to the winner by the sponsor. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery after the giveaway closes.
I was provided with a Rubbermaid Hidden Recycler in order to review it and host this giveaway.
I Have Been Nominated For Another Award!
This year is turning out to be one where I am receiving a lot of attention, and I really can not begin to tell you how that makes me feel. I have been eating a gluten free diet since April of 2007, and it is amazing how much better I feel. I have been telling everyone I know, both in real life and on the internet, and blogging about eating gluten free ever since then.
So, when I found out today that I have been nominated in the FOGGY Awards for Personality of the Year, well, I am just overcome with emotion about that. Because eating a gluten free diet is so important to my way of life, because there are so many things that eating gluten can do to your body, because it is such a simple way to eliminate so many health problems (at least for me), it is just something that I naturally share. And being recognized for doing that, well, it makes me happy that someone has noticed and feels like I am doing the right thing as far a talking about the gluten free world.
If you would like to vote for me, or for any of the other nominees, here is the link to the voting page.
Crikey, Mate! It’s An Adventure!
Have you ever heard of Fiverr? It is a website where people can post little ads saying what they will do for you for $5.00. I found this great guy who said he would ‘:enthusiastically talk about your ANYTHING like an Australian Nature Enthusiast”. So of course I wanted him to talk about my blog. What a hoot! Enjoy the adventure:
Thrifty Thursday
So technically, this is Friday, but I wanted to share this fabulous thrift store find with you before I forget, and next week is going to be so busy around here.
I have been wanting to get a new table for sewing in the RV. The one I had is just a little bit too big, and has to be moved onto the bed every time we travel. Which means I have to move it onto the bed every morning then take it off every night. I was looking for something just like this, a sewing machine cabinet. This one was only $20 at a thrift store in Tallapoosa, Georgia!
The top opens up just like every sewing machine cabinet I have ever seen. When it is open, it is just a little bit too long for the space I have, but I can turn it sideways a little bit when I am sewing and it will open all the way up. The best part is that I can leave the sewing project out overnight if I want to and just close up the top out of the way.
One of the best parts of finding this cabinet is that the old sewing machine was still in it. I am sure that thing doesn’t work, and it must weigh 40 pounds, but I think the old sewing machines looked pretty neat. It will eventually go in my sewing room in the house as a display item.
The original box with all the sewing attachments and different feet for the sewing machine were in there too! This is such a great add on, I can’t believe I got it for only $20!
Oh, and can you believe the instruction manual was there, too? There is no date in the book, so I don’t know exactly how old this thing is, but I am loving this particular find!
What have you found at a thrift shop lately? Link up below to share yours.
It’s Official! Fabgrandma Is The Winner!
Thank you all so much for your support during the month of daily voting for Favorite Grandparent Blog 2012 in the About.com Readers’ Choice contest. I truly apreciate all the votes, the sharing on Facebook, the Tweets, the bloggers who asked their readers to vote for me. All that planking and standing on my head worked!
Because of all of you, I can now wear the crown for a whole year!
A Rose By Any Other Name…
Have you ever wondered about name origins? I know for my blog, I thought about it for a long time but could never decide on just the right name, until one day my daughter told me I was a fabulous grandmother. Right then and there I had the name, Fabgrandma.
As for my given name, Karen, I have always wondered if I was named for someone or if my parents just picked that name out of book, or if they just liked the name. Karen is of Greek origin and means “pure” and “dear”. It can also be spelled Karin, Karyn, Karren, Carin, Caren, Caryn, and a myriad of other ways, but I think the way I spell it is the most common.
I have had a running joke with my grown children every time one of them has told me of an impending new grandchild, that they will have to name their child after me if it was a girl. I never really expected any of them to do that, but when my youngest granddaughter, Amelia, was born on my birthday in 2010, she was given my middle name, Gayle, for her “second” middle name. I was overcome with happiness when my son told me about that! Gayle is of English origin, and can be either a girls or boys name. It literally means “festive party”. Imagine that, I am a pure and festive party! hahaha!
My grandson, Michael, was given Zane as his middle name. He was born in Texas, and my son told me that he didn’t want to call him Tex, but did want him to have a name associated with the western United States, so he named him after Zane Grey, the author. And my youngest grandson, Owen James, was named for his mother’s family name, Owen, and Fabgrandpa’s first name, James.
And last but not least, a name story I tell often is this one: My son was two years old when his sister, Rebecca Jean, was born. When she was about two weeks old, we went grocery shopping with my mother. My sister and one of her friends were also in the car. My sister’s friend asked my son what his sister’s name was, and he replied “Rejecca Bean.” That name stuck, and she is still called by that nickname almost 39 years later.
What is the origin of your name? Do you have any name stories to share from your family?
