WW - It is official....

I have NO will power!

Yah, I said it.

Now would someone throw that evil left over birthday cake in the trash before the producers from the Biggest Loser come knocking on my door.

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Check out the Wordful Wednesday action over

at Seven Clown Circus! and 5 minutes for mom.

Birthday games!

On Saturday I threw a slumber party for Reid's 14th Birthday.

I haven't thrown Reid a "kid" party since she was 11 so I wasn't sure exactly what to do with a bunch of 14 year old girls!

Did they just want to hang out and listen to music? Should we play games?

We decided to do a little of both and I thought I would share what was popular with our set of teens.

We are big fans of the show Survivor, so taking inspiration from the show we had ourselves an auction.

I let Reid pick out 15 small gifts and we put each one in a brown paper bag (more gifts than guest).

I gave each of the guest $400 worth of play money.

Then we let the bidding begin. The gifts ranged from really cool, to kind of silly. It was an absolute hoot to listen to the girls try to outbid each other. Watching their reactions to what they won was even more of a hoot.

It produced loads of giggles!

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Since Reid is so crazy about music we played "name that tune." Considering it was Reid's play list and there was no way anyone could beat her, she acted as the DJ.

For prizes, I bought a pack of 100 rubber bracelets to toss to the girls as they correctly guessed the name of the song. I gave each girl 4 bracelets at the start of the game and then I would randomly toss bracelets to the girls who weren't guessing as much.

The girls loved having "prizes" tossed their way.

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We also played musical nail polish. We had enough crazy colors so that each guest had one bottle to start with. Then we played music as they passed the polish. Each time the music stopped they girls painted one nail with the polish that they ended up with.

Again, another game that they enjoyed......just make sure to play this one in a well ventilated room.

So there you have it, a few Teen tested and mother approved party games for your next Teen birthday party.

WW - Organza Flowers

I have been wanting to learn how to make my own vintage looking organza flowers, so this weekend I did a quick search online and found this tutorial (I love the Internet).

I rushed up to the nearest Yardage town and grabbed up some organza in colors I thought the girls would enjoy.

Here is the recipe: a source of heat (candle), scissors, organza, beads, thread and needle.
Go to the Tutorial to get specific instructions!

This was my first attempt. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

Looks pretty good as hair clip!

This was my attempt at making one half the size of the others.

My review:

This is a fun and easy craft that even you non-crafty ones can accomplish with success (watching the organza melt is mesmerizing).

I followed the tutorial for the first one and then tried some different techniques on the ones that followed.

With a little bit of practice and maybe some different material anyone (even you) can create some really cute vintage looking flowers.

I am going to be making them mainly as hair accessories, but you could use them on scrapbook pages, cards and on top of a present!

You can even adorn your poodle!

Join in the Wordful Wednesday over at
7 clown circus!

A Give Away and PH Favorites!

A GIVE AWAY heads up!

A Nut in a Nut Shell is having a giveaway for this lovely necklace from

Lauren Nicole gifts. Head over to A Nut in a Nutshell to see the details on how you can win!

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Kristi has picked her top 14 shots in 3 of the 20 photo hunt categories and some of my shots made the cut.

Click HERE to see Kristi's favorites.
(you can cast your own vote too)

Carry On!

PSF and Give me your best shot!

I take pictures every single day.

Taking pictures so frequently makes me look at the world around me just a little bit differently.

Apparently it is also rubbing off on my girls.

On Saturday while we were walking around the cross up on Mt. Soledad, just as we came into view of the flag and cross Kate stopped in her tracks and said, "Wow, that would make a great photograph." Then she proceeded to tell me how I should frame the shot.

Not a bad thing to rub off onto your children!

A side note: I took this shot!

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

WW - Liar, Liar!

I take a lot of pictures (aka: 365 project).

Sometimes I take pictures of things I'm not allowed to photograph (that is fun).

This cool antique register is one such item I knew I probably shouldn't be snapping (but I couldn't resist....'cause I needed something silver for the photo hunt).

When the store clerk saw my camera in hand he asked if I was taking pictures (who me?).

I lied and claimed to only be holding the camera to keep it from hitting anything (tight & crowded store after all).

I felt bad for telling an obvious lie in front of the girls (bad example).

But I told the girls that I wasn't sure if the man would try take my camera if I told the truth (whoops, another lie).

I think the girls are too old to believe my last lie (work on clever lies)!

I would never lie about how fun Wordful Wednesdays are a 7 clown circus.Do come and play!

WW - Meet Rusty!

What in the heck is wrong with me!
I almost missed a Wordful Wednesday over a
Seven Clown Circus!

Geeze, you would think I was busy wrapping up summer or something!

While the girls and I were on vacation in South Dakota, my husband bought himself a horse!

Meet Rusty the Wonder Horse!

He is a 6 year old buckskin Draft/Mustang mix, which means he is a big boy.

The family is over the moon excited about our newest family member.

Want to know what I am most excited about?

The totally cute Tack room we are renting!
We can dress it up anyway we see fit.

Tell me, is that not the cutest little ole tack room you ever did see??

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I participated in a Photo Hunt last month.
Scroll down if you want to check it out!