It's Autumn Time!

So, it's been a few weeks since I have posted.  I don't know about you, but it seems that as soon as school starts our lives get busy, busy, busy.  I'm sure this is true of anyone who is either going to school, works at a school or has children in school.  It's just a fact of life.

Now that it is almost October, I thought I would reflect on autumn.  Fall or autumn is actually my favorite time of year.  In Texas, it meant the weather would cool off finally and marching band was in full swing.  I was a bell set player in my marching band and those memories are still to this day some of my favorites.

It's also a time for football games.  The funny thing about football is I attended every game for four years because I was in the marching band.  Did I have a clue as to what was going on?  NO!  How silly is that?  I just knew that when we scored a touchdown we played the fight song.  :)


Homecoming was always a really big deal.  It is not a tradition here in Utah that I have seen,  but in Texas at Homecoming girls would receive mums and boys would receive garters.  The mums were usually gold because my school colors were black and gold and they were HUGE.  I mostly remember the smell.  It was something to receive a live mum with an awesome smell and glitter and ribbons.  You had to make sure you wore a tight enough shirt in order to keep from exposing yourself  :) I loved getting the live mums but you could also get fake ones and hang them up to enjoy all year long.  I actually had a boyfriend who took the time with his mother to make one for me.  So wonderful.  To this day,  I still love mums and the smell. 

This weekend is Homecoming and my 20 year high school reunion.  I will not be there, but I will definitely be thinking of all those that shared that special time in my life with me.  Facebook has been a wonderful tool in enabling me to connect again with those people and not feel so isolated from my past.  It helps me to remember who I am because of who I was and how I was raised.

I love autumn here in Utah because of the colors.  There is a true turning of the leaves and the mountain that I look out my window at every day is alive with oranges, yelllows and reds.  We always try as a family to go up the canyon and enjoy nature's show once during October.  I also love the crispness in the air in the morning, the smell of wood smoke and the winding down of the garden and harvesting of goodies such as pumpkins.  It seems that it comes faster and faster each year and I guess that's just part of getting older.

As always, I have some cute autumn magnets in my Etsy store.  Do you have a favorite thing about autumn?  Please share!

Until next time,

Crazed Momma

Chihuahua Chum

Hello readers!  You may wonder why it looked like I titled this post chihuahua "fish bait".  Well, I'm not talking about that definition of the word today.  I am referring to this one.


chum n. An intimate friend or companion


This Sunday marked a sad day for my mom, dad, and little sister.  They had to say goodbye to Robbie, their little chihuahua. He was more than a dog, more than just a pet.  He was a part of the family.  For anyone who has grown close to an animal, this is a hard thing.  There are so many reasons why. 

Dogs especially are wonderful.  As Josh Billings an American humorist said, "A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself."  I am sure most parents would disagree with this statement but you get the point.  Besides, you can't snuggle with a fish.


In honor of Robbie, who by the way was a character and lots of fun to have around, here are some fun facts about these little canines.

• Chihuahua is the smallest breed of dog in the world.
• Aztec and Toltec tribes of Mexico considered the Chihuahua to be a sacred animal.
• Chihuahuas make up the oldest dog breed on the American continent. They were brought to Europe at the end of the nineteenth century only.
• In comparison to the size of its body, a Chihuahua has the largest brains amongst all the breeds of dogs.
• Most of Chihuahuas are born with floppy ears. However, they stand up as the dog gets older.
• The dog Chihuahua is named after the Mexican state of Chihuahua.
• Chihuahuas were used as hot packs in ancient times for aches and pains  (it's true, they do love to burrow down in the covers near your back etc.)
• They have a life span of 15+ years (this was a major surprise to my husband.)  Cheeto is my chihuahua and he is still getting around even though he is an old man at 15.

One fact that is neither fact nor fiction is that chihuahuas help people with asthma.  I mention this fact because it is the reason that we acquired chihuahuas in the first place when my baby sister was small. 

I have had the pleasure of being around six chihuahuas in my lifetime so far and these puppies can be fierce and protective and very loyal.  They may not be for everyone, but they have been a part of my life and I wouldn't trade those memories for anything.  Thanks for the love DJ, Picante, Charlie, Cheeto, Chiquita, and of course Robbie.  

I even made some magnets with these little guys!




Until next time, 


Crazed Momma
Naquai

I LOVE CELEBRATING HALLOWEEN IN AUGUST! (said sarcastically)

Hello class!  Today were are going to discuss something that drives me crazy.  I know what you are thinking.  She is so calm and happy all the time how can something possibly drive her nuts.  For those of you who don't know me I am most of the time in a snit about something.  I just hide it well.  Maybe it's because of my Texan upbringing.  :)

I have noticed a trend over the last several years where the retail markets and stores in general are putting items out for a certain time or holiday earlier and earlier.  I HATE this.  Part of the reason that I enjoy living in this area is because we have true seasons.  There are only two seasons in Texas where I grew up.  Extremely hot or extremely cold with freezing winds.  This part of Utah has genuine seasons.  We have warm summers, snow in winter, rain in spring, and beautiful autumn leaves in fall.  I love to decorate my house each month with a certain theme or for the appropriate holiday.  It's something I inherited from my mother.

So anyway, back to my point.  I am tired of having the kids get out of school and the next week seeing lunch boxes and notebooks in Wal-Mart.  I am sad about the fact that my local craft store has it's Christmas stuff out.  When I was looking for things for my Christmas tree I actually found ornaments that were perfect for my tree that were meant for Easter.  Ok, maybe that was a good thing, but still. 

Having opened an Etsy store I am understanding more and more why this is important.  There is competition to get your things out there in the market first.  It is hard for me because most of the time I don't have money for the items I might like until the holiday actually rolls around and by that time everything is gone or mangled.  You can get some great deals that way if you are willing to store things.  Wait...I am trying to say this is a bad thing. 

Having thought about this a lot I made a firm decision to wait until September 1st to place Halloween things in my store.  It was difficult in the first part of August when other Etsians were lovingly  posting orange and black all over the place but I resisted and it's finally here.

Thank you dear readers for listening to my rant and if you see me out in a swimsuit and boots shoveling my walk you will know that I got the swimsuit for a great deal! 

Have a great fall! 


Crazed Momma

Here are some apples and back to school magnet sets and only one Halloween set.  I contained myself.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/80805750/apple-magnet-glass-set-of-five-1-inch

 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/80326464/school-teacher-magnet-glass-set-of-four

 











http://www.etsy.com/listing/80952559/halloween-glass-magnet-set-of-five-1

Sunny Sunflowers

Hello readers!  I should be talking about back to school things because it seems to have consumed me this week but I'm still in denial that it has actually started so let's talk about something else.

How about sunflowers!  I love these things.  When they come up they signify for me the end of summer and the hint that fall is around the corner.   They are also super easy to grow and drought resistant which is super convenient for me.

I was reading in one of my gardening books that sunflowers are also referred to as Texas corn which is just another reason for me to love them since I am a Texas girl born and bred.  Every year I buy several packages of these beauties in all different kinds of varieties.  I actually never get them all in the ground and have to save some for next year's garden.  They also tend to reseed themselves which is always fun.  This year I actually never got to plant any and had Mike transplant some that volunteers and just needed water.  I love that fact that the birds and bees love them and can be found buzzing among them happily.

If you are looking for something easy and fun to grown which is striking and beautiful try a sunflower.

Sunflowers are also reminding me of my girls this week.  Small at first and then tall and beautiful in such a short time.

I have magnets in my shop if you just feel like growing some on your fridge.  :)  No work required!

Have a great week!

Crazed Momma

Chocoholic

There are only three things in life that matter - good friends, good chocolate and, oh dear, what was that other one?

Hello readers!  As you can probably tell from the quote above today I am crazy about chocolate.  If I am honest I can admit that it isn't just today.  I've been crazy for chocolate all my life.  Who isn't?  Actually, I have come across people who don't care for it but we won't talk about them because they are obviously delusional.  :)

To celebrate my love for the brown sweet stuff let's review some fun facts that you may or may not know. 

• Dark chocolate has more antioxidants than green tea and just as many as blueberries.
• White chocolate isn't really chocolate.  It is made from the cocoa butter which is produced when beans are pressed.  
•  Chocolate does contain chemical elements that really do boost your mood and produce a euphoric feeling.
• Eating chocolate gives you the same feeling as falling in love. 
• Chocolate comes from the Aztec word "xocolatl" which means "bitter water".
• Switzerland is one of the top countries for chocolate consumption. The Swiss consume about 22 lbs of chocolate, per person, per year.
• Cocoa beans were used as currency by the Mayan and Aztec cultures.
• Hershey is the oldest and largest chocolate company in the US.
• The most expensive chocolate in the world is $2,600 per pound. It's called Madeleine and is made by Fritz Knipschildt, a chocolatier in Connecticut.
• Craving chocolate when a woman is on her menstrual cycle may have more to do with the fact that chocolate is known for helping ease menstrual symptoms. (See, we do have a reason!)
• Eating chocolate can also reduce the symptoms of stress.
• Chocolate is beneficial for proper blood flow to the lungs and other organs.
• The minerals in chocolate help to increase brain power and function.

These facts were found at http://escoffier.com.

I find most of these reasons to be encouraging.  Who knew chocolate could be so good for you!  Maybe I should start bathing it.  I love the smell and I have actually been known to buy shower gel and perfume that have a chocolaty aroma.

Lately, I have been trying to decrease my consumption of sweets in order to lose all those pounds I have gained from adoring chocolate just a little too much.  When I actually had some chocolate peanut butter ice cream a couple of weekends ago I was proud of myself  for calmly enjoying my waffle cone and not losing all control and rubbing it all over my face.  Hopefully, my desire for chocolate and my consumption of it can come to some sort of compromise.

So, how do you like chocolate?  Do you have a preference?  Do you prefer it in a drink, in bars, with nuts, baked, boiled, or fried?  Do tell!  This post is making me hungry so I think I will go and have some (you guessed it) CHOCOLATE!!

By now you know what I'm going to say:
Check out these cute magnets and have a great week!


Crazed Momma

I love Butterflies

Hello readers!  I will jump right into this post and let you know that one thing that I have been crazy about since I was about 12 or 13 is butterflies.  As I have contemplated the reasons, I honestly can't think of anything specific.  How weird is that?  It's just one of the things that make me happy.  Some people like smiley faces, ladybugs, rainbows, cats, dogs but for me it has always been butterflies.  Two instances come to mind when I think of my love for them. 

One of the first memories I have of consciously picking something with butterflies was a pair of curtains.  My Granny worked very hard cleaning houses so that she could have spending money.  She often, and very generously spent this money on her grandchildren.  She would take each of us on or around our birthday and take us shopping and to lunch.  This particular birthday she had allowed me to pick some curtains and other decor for my bedroom.  I fell in love with these curtains with monarch butterflies on them.  After that, and even to this day I still am drawn to these beautiful insects.

My next memory is going to San Francisco with my husband for the day.  We only had one child and were lucky enough to have babysitting.  We were able to go and spend the whole day on Fisherman's Wharf.  My husband surprised me by allowing me to pick a really special souvenir.  There was a whole shop filled with mounted butterflies in glass cases.  I picked one and it hung on my wall for years.

I always enjoy seeing them float and fly by because it signals summer is here to stay for awhile and they seem so peaceful in their silent flight.  Because of my infatuation with butterflies I had to of course include them in my magnets sets.  Have a look and have a good week!

Crazed Momma
Naquai 

Beneficial Bugs

I hope all of my readers are enjoying their summer.  One of my favorite parts of summer and one of the things I am crazy about is planting a garden.  I have kind of a love/hate relationship with this pastime.  I love to look at seed catalogs and dream of my own Garden of Eden.  Most of the time it just ends up being a Garden of Weedin' instead.

One of the things that we have discovered as we have tended our garden is the use of ladybugs to help with aphid infestations.  We were at the greenhouse and they were selling them in a bag.  I was fascinated the first time I saw this.  You just take this cute little bag of bugs home and follow the instructions.  I have done this a couple of times and each time I followed different directions.

 
The first time we read that you were supposed to put the bag in the refrigerator to help the bugs slow down a little and then at dusk place them under a bush or tree that you have sprayed with water to spread the aphids.  The instructions also recommended putting a plastic cover over this bush in order to keep the ladybugs in that specific area until daylight.  This last time that we bought and released the ladybugs we didn't do the refrigerating or the cover and I think it worked just as well.  The aphid population isn't gone but definitely diminished. 


I have always wondered why there were called ladybugs because obviously they are not all ladies and thanks to www.ladybuglady.com I found an answer.

There are different versions of how these beetles came to be known as ladybugs, but one of the most popular versions is that during the Middle Ages in Europe, the crops were being taken over by insects and dying. People were beginning to starve so the farmers decided to pray to the Virgin Mary to help them with their insect problem.

The farmers were a little bit upset when even more insects showed up, little red beetles with black spots on them, because they thought that these new insects were going to eat the crops, too. But the beetles that came actually ate the bugs that were eating the crops, and so the beetles became known as the “beetles of Our Lady”, eventually shortened to simply ladybug.

Here are some more fun facts:

• A Ladybug can lay up to 1000 eggs in its lifetime.
• Not all Ladybugs have spots.
• Ladybugs will clean themselves after a meal.
• Ladybugs come in many colors like pink, yellow, white, orange and black.
• Over 300 types of Ladybugs live in North America.
• Ladybugs make a chemical that smells and tastes bad so predators won’t eat them. 
• Ladybugs hibernate in large groups in cold weather.
• Many countries consider a ladybug to be a sign of good luck.
• Ladybugs are actually beetles, so sometimes are called LadyBeetles.
• The bright colors of Ladybugs warn birds that they don’t taste good.
• The spots on a Ladybug fade as they get older. 

The one important thing to remember when you invite these lovelies into the garden is not to spray the larva when you see them.  We could not figure out what these little bugs were the first time we saw them and almost sprayed them.  They definitely look nothing like their parents.  :)

So, the next time you feel the need to eradicate some pests in your garden try these little beneficial bugs and of course I have some cute magnets you can check out too!  Good luck!

Crazed Momma
Naquai