A New Meme

I've been tagged by Alexandra for a new meme!
The rules are, I have to post six things that make me really happy ... and pass it on to give six more people a reason to be thankful!
Thank you Alexandra.

My six things are...

1. My husband, he keeps me laughing. I am so blessed.

2. My children, two blessings I thought I'd never have.

3. Helping others anonymously.

4. Hearing that my family and friends are all well and getting along.

5. Gardening. Any kind, as long as I'm digging in dirt.

6. Working on our cabin.

It's hard to pick just 6!

I need to pick six blog friends...

Connie

Becky

Kristina

Tipper

Penny

TennZen

It's your turn, ladies. :)

Giveaways Galore

Giveaways, giveaways, giveaways!

First, Crystal at MoneySavingMom.com is having a 24-Hour Giveaway Extravaganza with 5 different giveaways of e-books, gift cards and more.
Enter before 11:45AM tomorrow!

Next, head over to My storyART and comment with a favorite holiday memory for a chance to win a "Holiday Surprise" goodie package.
Deadline for comments is Saturday, December 6.
HT to my mom at Artistic Inkspirations.

Now let's go north to Alaska and see Michelle at Scribbit.
She's giving away a Tupperware gift package today and something else every day this week! Giveaways end Sunday, December 7.
HT to Jyl at Mommy Gossip via Twitter.

And finally, Sheri is giving away 2 copies of "Our Christmas Journal" e-book at To Teach What is Good.
Deadline to enter is Monday December 8.

Homeschool Freebies

Homeschool Freebie of the Day is back with a new freebie, "The Boston Tea Party" by Josephine Pollard & H. W. McVikar. This is an old time picture book, originally published in 1182, that tells the story of the Boston Tea Party, which occurred 235 years ago in December of 1773.
Don't forget, this is available today only.


CurrClick has a several new free products.
Dan's Doodles Coloring Book is a neat little collection of "doodle art" to color.
Apologia Physical Science 1st Edition Lapbook Journal FREE Module 1 is module 1 of "Exploring Creation With Physical Science" 1st Edition, by Dr. Jay Wile and Apologia Science. Designed for middle and High School students.
Velociraptor Worksheet is worksheet for use with the Velociraptor book by Elaine Landau. Also includes dinosaur links.
Check out the freebie page for more.


Get a free Christmas Theme Unit from SchoolExpress when you sign up for their newsletter. Free Thematic Unit eWorkbooks and Activity Fun eWorkbooks every month.

Snow In The Holler

Is it white at your house?


We woke up to snow this morning!
It started sticking about 5:30am and we have about a 1/2 inch so far.

It's wet snow, too...great for snowballs. :)
Snow day for my children, Hooray!

Lighter Blog Color/Website Update

Good morning!

As you can see, I've lightened up my blog a little.
I was trying not to do a whole lot more with blogger as I'm working on getting my own site up and running, but my momma was having trouble reading it.
I wanted it lighter anyways, it was just too dark.

As far as my website progress...Arrrrrgh! :)
It's a little confusing since I've never had one before, but I'm learning!
I found a lot of good information at thesitewizard.com.

This is what I've done so far:
1. Bought my domains.
I bought mine from GoDaddy.

2. Purchased hosting.
You can get free ad-supported hosting but you can't do as much with it and hosting doesn't cost that much, I got mine for $4.24 a month.

3. Creating my site.
I don't have the money to pay someone to design a website for me or to buy design software so I searched the web and found 2 open source alternatives, NVU and Kompozer.
I decided on NVU and I just downloaded it last night, so I'll be figuring it out today.

Stay tuned for further updates! :)

Events and Activities in Townsend This Week

Here's what's happening in Townsend this week.

Daily

Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center
Open from 10am to 5pm, Tuesday through Saturday and 1pm to 5pm on Sunday.
Admission:
Adults (18-59) $6
Seniors (60+) $4
Children (6-17) $4
Under 6 Free
Admission Free with Membership

For more information please see their website or call (865)-448-0044.
Go here for information on school field trips.

Cades Cove Heritage Tours
Offers guided tours of Cades Cove, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, that showcase the history and resources of the area. Tours generally run 2-3 hours.

Tour Schedule:
Tuesday-Saturday
8:30 am (subject to change)
1:30 pm

Sunday
1:30 pm

Ticket prices:
Adult: $13.00
Senior (60+): $10.00
Child (6-17): $8.00
Under 6: FREE

Ticket Price for Members of the GSMHC:
Adult: $11.00
Senior (60+): $8.00
Child (6-17): $7.00
Under 6: FREE

Combination Ticket: Tour and Entrance to Heritage Center
Adult: $15.00
Senior (60+): $12.00
Child (6-17): $10.00
Under 6: FREE

For more information please see their website or call (865) 488-8838.
Please note: They recommend booking in advance as the buses usually book up a day or more ahead of time.


Sunday November 30
Holiday Photos by Mary Grace McCaffery
From 9am to 4:30pm come have your family holiday pictures made in front of the hearth at the Townsend Visitors Center. Prices and packages vary.
Open 9am-6pm. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.


Monday December 1
Townsend Visitor Center
Woodturning by Tom Sciple
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.


Tuesday December 2
Townsend Visitor Center
Woodturning by Tom Sciple
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.


Wednesday December 3
Townsend Visitor Center
Woodturning by Tom Sciple
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.

Mary E. Tippitt Memorial Library
Join us this week at the after-school program and help decorate the library's Christmas tree on Wednesday from 3:15pm to 4:15pm. A Christmas movie will also be shown.
Please call the library at 865-448-1441 to pre-register your children no later than Tuesday. Children in grades Pre-K through 5th are welcome and this is a free program.The Mary E. Tippitt Memorial Library is located at 120 Tiger Drive in Townsend.


Friday December 5
Townsend Visitor Center
5-7: Stained Glass-Larry & Paula McLainArt Exhibit-Steve Norris
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.

Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center
Smoky Mountain Christmas
Blount County Days
December 5 – 6
Show proof of Blount County residence and get in for only $3.00 plus 20% off all gift shop purchases!
* Prior sales and Guild cookbook excluded. Not good in conjunction with any other discount offers.
For more information call 865-448-0044.


Saturday December 6
Townsend Visitor Center
Stained Glass by Larry & Paula McLain
Art Exhibit by Steve Norris
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.

Holiday Photos by Mary Grace McCaffery
From 9am to 4:30pm come have your family holiday pictures made in front of the hearth at the Townsend Visitors Center. Prices and packages vary.
Open 9am-6pm. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.

Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center
Smoky Mountain Christmas
Blount County Days
December 5 – 6
Show proof of Blount County residence and get in for only $3.00 plus 20% off all gift shop purchases!
* Prior sales and Guild cookbook excluded. Not good in conjunction with any other discount offers.
For more information call 865-448-0044.


Sunday December 7
Townsend Visitor Center
Stained Glass by Larry & Paula McLain
Art Exhibit by Steve Norris
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.

Holiday Photos by Mary Grace McCaffery
From 9am to 4:30pm come have your family holiday pictures made in front of the hearth at the Townsend Visitors Center. Prices and packages vary.
Open 9am-6pm. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.

Townsend Christmas Parade starts at 2:30pm at Nawger Nob in Townsend.

Technorati Challenge Experiment

UPDATE FROM BROWNIE MOM: With every experiment there is a conclusion. This one ends with the knowledge that Technorati does NOT like this kind of activity. They have asked me to discontinue this experiment. I have agreed. This experiment ends today. Thank you to all who jumped on board.

Technorati Challenge Experiment!
It's pretty basic and straight forward. If you want to join from the beginning to get maximum results, here is your chance! :o)

1. Copy The List Below into a blog post on your blog(s).
Don't forget to comment on Brownie Mom's Original post!

2. Add Your Link(s) To The List on your website.

3. Comment On This Post stating the blog address(es) you want listed so Brownie Mom can update the list to include your link(s).

(Comments on this blog are moderated. She will add all of the waiting links once per day so go back to be sure you have the full list and your blog is listed on your blog as the correct number)

4. Watch Your Authority Rise!

Your Gold And Silver Is Cankered...

Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

James 5:3

Wit and Wisdom from the Hermit in the Holler

It's amazing how the same old-sayings can be found all over the country, just spoken a little differently. :)

My momma said this the other day and I had heard the first part before, but not the second:

"They don't have a pot to pee in or a window to throw it out of!"

I repeated it to the Old Hermit.

He's heard this version all his life:

"They ain't got a pot to p__s in or a winder to throw it out of!"

:)

HP Giveaway $6000 In Electronics

Good morning!

How would you like to win a new computer? How about 4 new computers? A new printer?
You can win all this and more in the HP Magic Giveaway from HP and GearLive.

Included in the giveaway are:
HP TouchSmart IQ816
HP HDX18 Premium Notebook PC
HP Pavilion dv4 Entertainment Notebook PC
HP Mini 1000 (Windows XP)
HP MediaSmart Connect
HP Photosmart C6380 Wireless All-in-One printer
HP 564 Photo Value Pack
Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition 2007 with 3 licenses
Microsoft WIndows Live
Corel VideoStudio X
Kung-Fu Panda on Blu-ray disc, and two DVDs

WOW! Enough to giveaway to someone else if you win! (who needs 4 computers?)

To enter, go to Gearlive, sign up and follow the instructions.

Someone's going to win, maybe it will be you!

Free Craft Projects and Patterns

Good morning!
Have you been or are you going shopping today?

Not us!
I have never been shopping the day after Thanksgiving...unless it's for groceries.

We usually don't have the money to buy a lot of gifts for people so we make things.
In my experience people like homemade gifts better than something from the store, especially if it's from a child.

So, along those lines, here are some more links to free craft projects and patterns.

Ribbon-bound Journal

Papier Mache Spray Painted Paper Bowl a craft project for children

Free Craft Patterns and Projects on Ruby Glen almost 100 different projects

No-sew Fabric-covered Boxes Tutorial

Bernat Free Knitting and Crochet Patterns


Paper crafts:
Iris Folding

Origami Resource Center also has information on Iris Folding and Quilling

Quilling with Wit

Whimsiquills

Thanksgiving Blessings

It was a beautiful day.

My husband was home.

Daniel lost his 2nd upper front tooth during dinner. Now he looks like a lizard. :)

We made homemade whipped cream...by hand beating.

We played kid's Monopoly and kept loaning Abby money so she wouldn't go bankrupt...I did!

I won a copy of Penny Raine's new e-book "Making the Holidays Family Friendly".
Thank you Penny! :)

Supper is already cooked for tomorrow.

Thanksgiving treat for the chickens: froze pumpkins and cushaws left-over from fall decorations.

I talked to my momma, my sister and one of my brothers.

We laughed a lot.

We have a home.

We have a Saviour.

Hope you had a blessed day!

Happy Thanksgiving Freebies

Here are a few more freebies for Thanksgiving!

First I'd like to remind you that Homeschool Freebie of the Day has all their free resources from Nov 10th onward still available!
If you've missed any over the last couple weeks, here's you another chance. :)
If you've never been to Homeschool Freebie of the Day, I urge you to do so. There are a lot of Thanksgiving and Pigrims resources including; e-books, audios and even a cookbook!
They'll be back December 1st with new freebies for us.

While you're there, check out their new book "Bible Battles" on sale now for $15.95 plus $5 Priority Mail shipping. Books begin shipping the week of December 1st, guaranteed Christmas delivery!
Also includes 4 bonus mp3 audios and 8 bonus e-books.
Order now!


Lastly, I made some Thanksgiving "memories" pages for my children and thought I'd share them with everyone.
There are 2 pages total. The first one has a place for the date, guests and menu. The second page can be used for recording special memories of the day.
These can be used for notebooking, journaling and even scrapbooking.


Thanksgiving Memories.pdf


Happy Thanksgiving and have a blessed day. :)

Thanksgiving Giveaways/Sale From Penny Raine

Penny Raine is having three giveaways for Thanksgiving!

The first one is her new e-book "Making the Holidays Family Friendly" and it ends tonight at midnight.
She's also giving away a children's e-book "An Apple-icious Day" and a holiday apron from Jumpinbloomers.com.

In addition, starting tomorrow, Penny is having an incredible Black Friday Sale!
Many of her books will be on sale, a whole bunch of cookbooks, and some new books!
They will be on sale individually for a super price, or as a package.
Some as low as $1!
And she will have a very special gift for us from her new book "Making the Holidays Family Friendly".

So go enter the giveaways and check back tomorrow for the big Black Friday Sale!

Thanks Penny! :)

Thanksgiving Freebie And Black Friday Sale From TOS Magazine

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine has a Thanksgiving freebie for us and an amazing sale on subscriptions during their annual Black Friday Sale.

First, the freebie:
Make Thanksgiving extra special with Art of Eloquence’s Thanksgiving Placemat eCreator! Print these beautifully illustrated placemats with a Thanksgiving scripture as many times as you like.

The Black Friday Sale:
For 5 days only, November 26-30, you can get a one -year subscription for only $7.95!
This is a fantastic price for this magazine, it's normally that much for one issue.

Also included with each subscription is a monthly subscriber's only E-Newsletter
called Teacher's Toolbox that will give you seasonal teaching ideas and a free E-Book download!
It's like joining a unit study of the month club!
The E-Books alone are valued at almost $250/year. This is a great deal if you're a frugal homeschooler or do a lot of unit studies!

During the Black Friday Sale, they also have all kind of bonus gifts when you spend $50, $75, $100, or $150.
Some are electronic downloads that you can download immediately, while others are physical products mailed from various vendors directly to your home.
Plus, their Win Big contest is going on, so if you just happen to be customer 67,000, you will receive a prize package valued at almost $500, which includes a $150 gift certificate to the Schoolhouse Store!

I could really use that, couldn't you?
And you can qualify to Win Big no matter how much or how little you spend!

So don't miss out on this great sale!
Head on over to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine today,
the Black Friday Sale ends Sunday, November 30.

Update To Crafts Post

I'm having trouble getting this link- Monday’s List: 100+ Homemade Christmas Gifts for the Craft-Impaired, to work in my earlier post on crafts, Free Arts and Crafts Projects/Scrapbooking/Homemade Gifts. Hopefully this is just temporary and if you're having trouble, check back later. There are some great ideas there you don't want to miss.

Also, I forgot to put in the link for my momma's blog, Artistic Inkspirations. That is fixed now.

New Goo Blue Goo

Have you ever let your children make goo?

Mine have a ball with it and it keeps them occupied for days.

All you need is:

1 box of cornstarch

1 1/2 cups water

food coloring

Put the cornstarch in a bowl, add the water and food coloring and let your children mix it up with their hands.

Squish, squish!

We made ours blue to begin with.

It was real soupy at first but it stiffened up a little as they played with it.

They decided to change the color to...lavender.

Added more red and made...pink.

More blue...

It dried out overnight.

The next day we added more water and played with it again!

As far as clean-up goes, it was a breeze. The goo dries pretty fast and I just used a rubber spatula to scrape the drips off the table, then wiped it down.

Don't pour it down the drain!

This is simple, inexpensive fun and can even be used in a science lesson.
Is It Liquid Or Solid?

Outrageous Ooze

Solid or Liquid? Non-Newtonian Fluid video

You can try this at home! :)

Free Arts and Crafts Projects/Scrapbooking/Homemade Gifts

My momma is a crafter, you name it she's done it. She really loves rubber-stamping and even teaches classes on it in her home. You can see some of what she does on her blog Artistic Inkspirations.
Anyways, she has been cleaning out her e-mail and sent me some great arts and craft links, and I thought I'd share them with you all today.

Starting off the list, from the blog Semicolon, Monday’s List: 100+ Homemade Christmas Gifts for the Craft-Impaired. There are links to all kinds of how-to's for homemade gifts; cooking mixes, sewing projects, homemade books and notebooks, and toys are just a few examples.

Do you need a place to store all your ribbons?
Make a homemade ribbon dispenser box, from Instructables.
I need to make one of these!

Make a mini, "maze" scrapbook at Making-Mini-Scrapbooks.com.
This 3x3 book would also be great for lapbooking or notebooking.

Would you like to learn how to incorporate quilling into your scrapbook?
Check out Introduction to Quilling for Scrapbookers from About.com Scrapbooking.

Don't know how to do quilling?
Here are a couple links to get you started:
A Basic Introduction to Quilling
Quilling Lesson for Children

All kinds of homemade gifts including; gifts-in-a-jar, printable gifts, decorations and some simple sewing projects, can be found at Organized Christmas. Check out the organizing and planning tips, too.

There are more that I'll post later; computer is acting up. Time to re-boot. :)

I Won A Book

Good morning to everyone!

Do you enter contests or giveaways?
I didn't used to, figured they were just a waste of time. With so many people entering, who really has a chance?

I've changed my mind. :)

Knowledge Quest Maps has announced the winners of their 2nd book giveaway I told you about last week.

I'm one of them! Wow! My children can't wait to get it!
This is really exciting because we don't get many brand-new books!

They will be posting more book giveaways on their blog, Knowledge Quest News, so check back often.

Thank you Terri. :)

Thanksgiving Freebies To Do With Your Children

A few more Thanksgiving freebies!

CurrClick has added "Thanksgiving Helper", by Living Books Curriculum, to their freebie page. Full of stories, copywork, poems and a picture study of "The First Thanksgiving" by famous historical painter J. L. G. Ferris, this would be wonderful to do with your children this week.

Here is a neat idea from Better Homes and Gardens.

Take a nature walk and create a wild turkey collage from your findings.

Last but not least, check out homeschoolingcoach.com for some fun Thanksgiving Day activities for your children.