Friday, March 27, 2015

Fiskafriends- The Power of Community Blog Hop 2015




Fiskafriends- The Power of Community Blog Hop

Welcome to Happiness is Homemade!


Thank you for visiting my little corner of the world.  So happy you stopped by!

DIY Sticker Book

When you think about your childhood, did you have an interest or hobby that seems totally outdated in today's world of technology?  An activity that kids of today might not enjoy or even see the purpose in? I sure did!  Besides collecting random rocks around the yard, I was a BIG sticker enthusiast.

Yes, the Scratch and Sniff still smell!
I loved receiving stickers from my teachers, for my birthday and those free ones that would sometimes come in the mail for magazine subscriptions.  Over the course of my childhood, I carefully curated my collection into three sticker books.



I remember carefully peeling stickers off class work and tests so that I could add them to my collection.  I loved going through my books again and again to scratch the smelly stickers or feel the fuzzy ones.

In my constant quest to steer my own boys away from technology and enjoy true play, I worked with them to create their own sticker books.  This is a perfect activity for cold, rainy days or during quiet times when my little one was napping.

I purchased 3-ring binders and page protectors from the office department at Wal-Mart.  The bigger boys picked out some bold binders, while the little guy went plain.  I think the colorful ones keep with the cool 80's vibe I had!

Totally Radical
I made a cover for my little one's plain binder
In each page protector, I inserted a plain piece of white printer paper, so that it would give a solid background for the stickers to be showcased.

After that step, they were ready to get to work!

The boys simply peeled the stickers and adhered them to the outside of the page protectors.  They were repositionable when first applied, probably not so much later.


Great activity for those developing small muscles

This book has been great after doctor visits when they hand my boys a stack of stickers to take home with them.  It has encouraged them to keep the stickers "safe" until they get home to put in their book instead of plastering the back seat with them (or themselves).


I would love to know what  your simple pleasures were as a child...and do you share them with your child/grandchild/etc. today?


Blog Hop Info:
If you would like to be eligible for the sponsor giveaway drawing, START at the Fiskafriends blog http://fiskafriends.blogspot.com/ and follow the instructions there. If you have already done that, I would love for you to leave a comment on my blog.

You do not have to be a Fiskafriend to visit the blogs and comment on our blogger's pages.  International friends are welcome!
 The blog hop begins on March 27th at 6PM (PDT) and will end on March 29th at 11:59 PM PDT. The full contest rules and blog hop list will be revealed on the blog on March 27th. 

Start here and then you're your way:   http://fiskafriends.blogspot.com/

  1. Jean Bullock, #8889, http://ez3dpopups.blogspot.com 
  2. Susan Slomski, #6150,  http://sueinct.blogspot.com 
  3. Cindy deRosier, #4113, http://www.cindyderosier.com
  4. Tifany DeGough, #5942, http://inkblotsbytrd.blogspot.com 
  5. Cheryl Waters, #002, http://blog.artsyfindings.com
  6. Jean Marmo, #7358, http://pagesintime.blogspot.com/
  7. Teresa Godines #6857 http://purplebunnypapercrafts.blogspot.com/
  8. Michelle O'Driscoll #7586 http://scrapbookingsos.blogspot.ca/
  9. Nancy Carroll  #11488  http://nancecarroll.blogspot.com
  10. Maya Oren-Dahan #351  http://mayadahan.blogspot.com
  11. Amy Martin Jones #8546 http://thetigershaven.blogspot.com/
  12. Karen Poirier-Brode (Ladydoc) #2858 http://www.karenscorneroftheweb.blogspot.com
  13. Tanya Napier #5407  http://mamabirdy-happinessishomemade.blogspot.com/  (You are here)
  14. Pamela Haskin #8040 www.cottagebelow.com
  15. Stasia Sloma #9314 http://www.stampzone.blogspot.com
  16. Tracy Moloney  #6773 http://tracyscraftyadventures.blogspot.com.au/
  17. Kim Chenez #5612 http://scrapbooknstampingfun.blogspot.com/


Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Work It!

Have you been looking forward to summer and days by the pool?  What about running your first 5k?  How about just getting fit for yourself or your family?
As much as I want to do all of these, time isn't always on my side and going to the gym is just not in our family's budget.
My brother, Chris, introduced me to Insanity with Shaun T. (yes, that's what he calls himself.  And yes, he speaks in the third person!) about a year ago and I loved working out to the DVD's.  Challenging, energizing and I sweat more than when I run!  Unfortunately, my brother moved with his family to Northern California and took Shaun T. with him.  He started working out on a regular basis and has done fantastic with his weight loss goals- he just ran his first half-marathon over St. Patrick's Day weekend!
During his journey to a be a fit dad and husband, he discovered Team Beach Body, which is associated with Shaun T.'s workouts and many others you may have heard of (P90x, anyone?). He is now a Coach and truly inspiring!
But back to Shaun T....One day, Chris sends me a text and tells me how Beach Body will now provide many of their popular programs, including Insanity, through a subscription streaming service.  No more DVD's, no more excuses and back to what has been the only program to truly motivate me.
I signed up last week and I already feel like a new woman!
I just wanted to share this service with you because 1.) It's cheaper than going to the gym (from what I hear) and your Starbuck's habit and 2.)  You can try it out for free for 30 days  3.)  Chris is starting a Facebook Group specifically for the launch of this new program to get you motivated and moving!

Here's Coach Chris to tell you more:

This program gives you the chance to bring your workouts and meal plan ANYWHERE with a WIFI connection, so we are taking the risk out of missing your workouts or having to lug around your DVDs!  You get to be part of an amazing Club Membership program, have access to life changing workouts and nutritional systems for every fitness level, whether you are a lifelong gym rat or just starting out.  As part of the launch group you will also be able to try out brand new work out programs before they hit the shelves.  If you are like me, I am a big fan of OPTIONS which makes me so pumped about this OnDemand program because the options are truly endless as to types of workouts, types of virtual trainers, and gives you such a huge variety to choose from.

I will be working with each person in our group to figure out the best route to take with using the OnDemand system so we can get you to reach your personal fitness, nutrition, and health living goals.  You can do a whole program, we can work together to set up a hybrid schedule where you can pick and choose the workouts you do, etc.  So many options and I guarantee you will NOT get bored with your fitness or nutrition with this group.  

If you want to be part of this awesome group starting on April 1st, simply go our Facebook event page https://www.facebook.com/events/1616976678526363/ and RSVP.  I will reach out to you to share how you can get in the select launch group to try out this new program.  The benefit of being on your launch team is that you will gain access to these workouts for 30 days for free!
There is only one today, don’t waste it.
Coach Chris
www.chrishazenfitness.com


I'm in and I would love for you to try it out! Please let me or Coach Chris know if you have any questions about this program.  And please don't feel like you can't do it- you can modify the exercises for your fitness level.

Hope you will check it out!

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Blog Hop Time!

I am participating in my first ever Blog Hop March 27-29, 2015!  To celebrate the first anniversary of the Fiskafriends crafting group, Fiskafriends from all over will be sharing their talents with you!

There will be giveaways from awesome sponsors!

It is a great way to celebrate the strength of our crafting community.  Please visit http://fiskafriends.blogspot.com/2015/03/blog-hop-prize-preview-day-one.html for all the details about the Blog Hop.


Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Post #101

Because I am never distracted while writing the occasional blog post, I didn't even notice a milestone that I passed on 2/18/15...One hundred posts!  Woohoo!
Hmmm, I started this blog in 2010 and I'm at 100 five years later?  What a high achiever I am!

Whatever, the point is I wanted to reach 100 for my 40 Before 40 challenge and here I am!

What is something that took you a long time to do, but you finally accomplished it?