Taking a Health Day - It Is Getting COLD

I woke to knocking early this morning to find that one of my sprinkler heads has broken.

Winterization of the yard has been on my "to do" list for weeks now. Lately, I chose to get other things off my list but, was forced to look at the issue today. 

I turned off the sprinkler main water line and went to drain each sprinkler in the sprinkler box and was greeted with a huge black widow and FROST!

I was surprised that both could be active in the same sprinkler box as I thought that spiders weren't active in cold and to have actual frost in both sprinkler boxes made me wonder how the spider was so quick to move out of view when I opened the box. 

I got the lines drained and have to admit that I didn't get the broken sprinkler head fixed as it was so cold. I am hoping to get a warm spell again and get to that. It was so cold that I decided I was only working in the house. Even then, I wasn't feeling well most of the day.

I have been two days off of any Coke as I am trying to eat healthier and avoid sugar. I am dragging a bit due to no caffeine and low carbs but chose to take a "health" day and just do things that were low stress in the house. I boxed up all the antique games we have been playing and decided to put together the old puzzles I bought awhile back to see if all the pieces were there. 

Out of four puzzles, only one had all the pieces. Of course the last puzzle I did had a rainbow on it! (See my first post on that here) I also cleaned out some of my closet and have taken it easy today. I don't usually allow myself to do that but I feel like I may be getting a cold or something so taking it easy and eating some curry soup sounded like a good idea. 

When I got online to write my post today, I noticed that I had 111 views today and 11,116 views last month. (See my post about that here) I took it as a good sign that I chose right taking a "health day!" 

Have a Blessed Health Day! 

Making a Custom Designer Tissue Box For Free - Fun Craft

I have a tissue box that we have had for nearly 30 years. I can't believe that the box has lasted for so long. 

The box was something I came up with as a craft to make with young women in our church group. I was in charge of the youth when I had Princess Number One. I collected the stuff to make them.

It is basically paper mache done over an existing tissue box. Rip or cut newspaper into strips. Make a glue solution of flour and water into a thick paste. 

Start with an empty tissue box that is open down the side so that you can refill it. Don't get the newspaper too wet or it will warp the sides of the box. Dip the newspaper strip in the paste and then use your fingers to pull the newspaper down straight and remove any excess paste and then start wrapping the wet paper around the box overlapping it at angles to strengthen the box. 

Let the box dry after one coat of paper and then do a few more coats letting it dry in between coats. Once you have lots of coats and the box is sturdy, you can paint it however you want. 


Make sure that you coat the inside of the tissue box as best as you can as well making the inside stronger. 

Once you have it painted however you like, make sure you use a clear coat over the paint job to protect the paint job from being damaged. 

If you need the box for a different room, you can paint over the box by roughing up the outside of the box with steel wool and then paint it over. It is fairly sturdy and we just keep refilling it with other tissues as it gets low. 

You can see how it was painted blue before and then I painted it to match a shelf near our kitchen where it is convenient to several rooms. It has lasted well and just recently started cracking as I refilled it with too many tissues.

This is an easy and fun craft for youth groups or just if you are looking for something to do for home décor that is simple. It has lasted us a long time and is functional. 

Have a Blessed Day!

Greetings From Cold Japan - Missing End I think

Don't really know how to start off this email other than saying, MINASAN KONNICHIWA!!! BEPPIN DESU NE! Hello. You are all beautiful. That is all. 

This weeks subject line was brought to you by my companion. I will miss her dearly... Oh its also transfer weeks this week. Pray for me! 

Miracles:

I taught the cutest half Japanese, half African Children on splits this week. It was a highlight. But really. Splits were sooooo goood! I was with Komura shimai.

The sister who speaks fluent English and Japanese. She is transfer one. And is like already to train someone else. I really love her! And my companion was able to go to a temple activity due to splits, so that was lucky too!! We taught a recent convert who is Chinese. She is a doll. It was weird having one native Japanese, Chinese, and English speaker all eating Ramen while speaking in Japanese about the Gospel. It was heaven. SO blessed.

So like my first day here we got rejected at a door, so we walked down the stairs, and caught a woman walking by. I totally forgot about her... until yesterday.... I don't understand the whole story probably... because lol.. Japanese!!! But she wasn't too interested when we met her, but she knew about/where our church was. Cut to yesterday. Two/three days before transfer calls. So like 6ish weeks. And my companions remembers to call a woman. Satou san.

The woman from before. TURNS OUT SHE KNOWS THE ELDERS IN A DIFFERENT AREA WHO DO SERVICE, AND THEY SOMEHOW KNOW EACH OTHER... and also her son is a member... WHAT?! She is coming to sacrament meeting.(The primary program week), this week. SO.... yeah.. I really don't understand all of it, but I'm looking forward to Sunday! 

Yesterday Kurose shimai took us to 2 appointments, and one of them canceled on us at the door, but that woman is an angel, and I seriously cannot begin to tell you how important members are in Hastening this work! Like Yoshiho shimai... and just. Yes.. I can't even. Our fridge is so full of free food! I love JAPAN! And the people in it! 

Met the super model in our ward who is less active. She speaks English, and took us out for dinner. I am grateful for the spirit prompting us to visit her! 

It is cold here, but love, and the light of Christ keeps us warm. And so do members cars when they give us rides! 

Something that I have been struggling with is JAPANESE!! Team. I just don't get it sometimes. (I think we are missing the end of the email here. I wrote her and hopefully in next weeks email we can have the ending.) 

Have a Blessed Day! 

Halloween In Japan - Princess Four

Hello to all of you beautiful friends and family out there! Everybody Genki? It is so cold here but we are happy!  

So fun miracles:

Our investigator Noa who is 12 came to church with her friend...... We didn't even ask or anything... Like this is how dendo was designed to be!!! This was her first time at church I think.. Yeah we will send pictures of the baptism! 

OUR HALLOWEEN PARTY WAS OFF THE CHAIN!!! So many people! I was in charge of Bingo. It was so fun. Some kids said that was their favorite part, so that really made my day! It couldn't have happened without our Eikaiwa moms and the church members! They are the real MVPs! 

I broke my ipad screen... Like its a spooky spiderweb for this Halloween..

SO SORRY KAMISAMA! But I got a new one for free, and since they are switching to tablets, I didn't beat myself up to hard about it. But the story with me breaking it goes like this. We taught a lesson, but I ended up just spouting off the whole restoration, and I could tell the investigator was uncomfortable, but I didn't know how to stop, or what to say, so I kept going. So I was feeling a little blue. But I didn't want to be sad, so I told myself, "be happy" and I was. And to show I was happy, I boosted my bag to buckle the fanny pack feature(it saves me everyday) but my bag was open, so my ipad fell out while trying to buckle it..

We visited one more person, and I saw a young lady standing by her bike. It was time to go home but the spirit said to talk to her. I thought about how since I broke my ipad I could use that as an excuse to feel sorry for myself, and not talk to her.  BUT THAT WAS TOTALLY SATAN, AND WHO EVEN WANTS TO LISTEN TO THAT GUY?! So we went over... Yeah... SHE was on her way to an Eikaiwa class with her Christian teacher..... Umm... And she had a Bible in her bag.... And said she wanted to learn more... WHAT THE WHAT?! Yeah. God is too good sometimes! 

We seriously find people all the time, not even on purpose most the time. God just places them in our path! 

Zone conference was the bomb. We can now get ONLINE! So.. that will be a good time! So many marriages and babies I didn't know about.... 

I wish I had more time to write the extreme amount of miracles! 

Fyi I had Japanese in my dream last night in case you were wondering... I don't think I understood it though... lol

See the goods this week!

Pictures:

This is my ipad.

I am in heaven! 

My bingo partner! Sister Suzuki! She is clearly the best.

Seconds before my beloved Suda shimai poured ramen on our skirts... but its ok! 

Oh look. Suda shimai!

My cute zone! 

this melted, but it snowed again today.... so Its cool...

FHE

Halloween! OH We were Nephites/Lamanites/American Indians.. it was a good time!

The end! 

Finished Teak Oil on the Aluminum Siding Picture Window

It is so crazy to me that something that used to take me a day to get done, now takes me a week or two. 

I wish I could get rid of these parasites so I could sleep better and have the protein I eat go to energy verses being tired all the time and feeling that I get nothing done! 

Anyway, enough venting...

Good NEWS! I finally finished cleaning and putting teak oil on the aluminum siding edges around my picture window!!! It is a super happy day for me. You can see in the above picture how there is a dullness to the left of the picture and the right side is shiny. That is the difference that teak oil makes! It protects the metal and paint from oxidation and dirt. The right side is dry with teak oil! 

I showed you a few days back how I was cleaning the window using different products and have a comparison video. Here is a link to that post.

So this week, I finished cleaning the entire window and also the minerals off the other aluminum window frames that has accumulated over the years and it has only taken me over three years! Here is a link to the first time I mentioned wanting to wash the window and teak oil it. The link shows how super dirty the window was to begin with. In the daylight, you can't really see how dirty it is but halfway through the linked post, you can see how super dirty it was. 

I took some pictures with it fully clean and was very excited to get that done as it is the hardest part. Halloween day, I actually washed the windows outside since I had finished cleaning the metal around the frame. Today, I was able to apply the Teak Oil as I had to purchase a new container of teak oil due to the one I had getting old and yellowing. 

I took a video of me halfway finished so you could see the shine it gives once you apply it and also took some pictures but it was sunny and may be hard to see in the video and pictures but hopefully you will be able to see. 

I also took a video a bit later after I had finished all the windows and took video of the aluminum windows as well as the siding picture window to show how good it can look. 

I am SO happy to have that off the list. Unfortunately, I think I share how bad the new gutters make the facing around the gutters look as they are SUPER dirty so I will need to spend some time next year cleaning that problem. However, I found some stuff at Walmart that has some bleach in it and you spray it using a hose onto the gutters area and then let it sit for 15 minutes and then you scrub it, then rinse.

It has bleach in it so it would be really great if it took off the grime but I worry about the paint itself and the product does tell you to test the product in a non-obvious place. Maybe I will stick to what I know works.... I will have to feel that out in the spring as I have other projects that need to be done before snow.

I know you probably don't care that I got my window done as most people probably don't have this problem with their newer houses etc but it also works on garage doors, trailers, boats, and fiberglass! And if you remember, anything made out of wood!

Here is a link to my kitchen and bathroom cupboards getting a facelift using Teak Oil.

Here is one where I freshen up my wood handled steak knives.

Yea for getting something off the "TO DO" list! 

Have a BLESSED DAY~

New Halloween Ideas - Fun Bag Ideas and Some Cleaning While I Wait

As you know, I have been working super hard on the house and windows the past month or two and I was hoping to finish the windows today.


I got them cleaned, but when I started to teak oil them, the oil was old and was making the siding yellow. I decided to do the rest tomorrow after purchasing some new oil. By that point, the kids were starting to come for trick or treating. 

I still have so much to get done, so I decided to clean the inside windows while I waited between groups of kids. I had already set up the pirate and all the jewelry and candy that I  have been giving out for the last few years and with that, I noticed that the white trim around the door had collected some red dust and it has been about a year since I painted it.  

I decided that I would clean the front porch and wash the trim and both sides of the doors in between the groups of kids rather than the windows. I also was able to sweep the front porch and walk. It was a great use of my time as I usually only had a minute or two before the next group of kids would come. 


Also, I had another fun thing I wanted to share today. One of the last groups that came to the house had the cutest and most functional and creative trick-or-treating bags! 

The mom made the bags out of DUCT or DUCK tape She made them size appropriate for the child and also made them to match the costume of each child. They said I could take pictures and put them on my blog. It was great. She lined the inside and outside of the bag and the entire thing was made entirely out of Duck tape! No worry about those bags ripping and also a fun craft idea for the kids to do before the big night. 

The other thing I wanted to share was one of my last visitors for the night as well. They did something I have never seen before either. She had her kids wear their school backpacks on the front with the straps on the back. 

It gave them easy access treat bags to put the kids candy but they didn't have to drag a bag around. The bags wouldn't rip or break. They had both hands free, it was such a great idea. I can't tell you how many times we had kids get holes in the bag and trails of candy following them. Or, they use a pillowcase but it is so long it dragged. 

I wish I had come up with that idea when my kids were little! She also put glow sticks all over her kids packs, necks, wrists etc so that the kids would also been visible. 

Two great ideas that I thought I would share as I have never seen any of them before. 

This morning I had a little knock at the door which woke me up. I guess my neighbors children compared what they got in their treat bags and one felt sad that he didn't get a watch. They skipped out of the house unnoticed by their mother and came knocking. I thought one of my neighbors was hammering as it was such a soft noise and by the time I realized they were knocking, they were at the corner.

I texted their mom and had her send them back over and they picked up another neighbor on the way and they were thrilled to pick out another three items each. I was glad I didn't clean it up the night before. It was really cute. 

Have a Blessed Day!

Pirate Treasure Chest Halloween Tradition a Hit Once Again

I have been so busy with working on the house and yard that I didn't even realize that Halloween was today until yesterday.

With no kids home to keep me on track with school activities and costume prep, I just didn't pay attention to the actual number days of the month. I was visiting with a friend yesterday when I realized that today was Halloween. 

I spent the evening setting up the pirate and digging out the jewelry and treats and putting them all out. With no one home to enjoy the decorations, I didn't set any up as I am working more on getting things put away and cleaned out rather than spending time on putting up decorations. 

I was finishing up washing the outside of the windows when the first kids started coming for trick-or-treating. I hurried to clean up putting the ladder and cleaning stuff away so I could get inside for the kids. 


I did have a GREAT time skyping with my grandchildren in their costumes as they were on their way out the door just as kids started showing up at my house. 

The cute family next door came over and their youngest son came running up the walk screaming my name. It was adorable. I had pulled out something I thought they may like and gave the items to them and took a picture of the family as they didn't have one all together. 

I once again put all the jewelry out and also had a bowl of candy for those that didn't want jewelry and I had a few kids take lots of candy so I didn't go through even one bowl of candy. Most of the kids wanted jewelry. More of the teen boys just wanted candy but some took jewelry.

It was interesting to see those of different ages and ethnicity take different types of jewelry. I had so much this year that there was something for everyone. 

It was the first year that none of my kids friends came to my house and it was the first year my sisters family didn't come. I was just telling someone how weird it was to not have people I know come when my twin nieces showed up. I loved getting a hug and took a picture of the beautiful costumes my sister made. She is so talented. 

I had a cute family show up with their little two year oldish daughter and on her own, she told me thank you. She can hardly speak and yet she thanked me. Each time that happened during the night, I gave the child that thanked me first an extra treat to reward them for their gratitude. 

I asked if I could take a picture of them and they told me I could and then the dad told me who he was and I couldn't believe how grown up he was with a child of his own. He went to school with my girls. I used to trade out tumbling lessons for the girls and cleaned his house in trade! His family is adorable and I was glad I got to catch up with his family who has since moved from the area!

I had LOTS of people say their kids kept hounding them to come to my house as they loved getting jewelry and trinkets last year. I had one boy show me the watch he was wearing that he got at my house last year. I had several kids and families tell me my house was the "best house ever." I also overheard several kids telling their friends, "See, I told you this house was the coolest" and similar comments. 

I had a new first this year. I had twice when I had large back-ups of people waiting to get in. Once there was a line down the front steps and it took a minute or two to clear out as people took turns picking an item.

There was about a five minute gap at one point while I was sweeping the front stairs and I figured maybe we were done for the night but then I had a line of people waiting down the stairs, down the front sidewalk all the way to the street sidewalk! 

I have never had that happen before. It wasn't one large group, there were probably five - seven groups waiting for a turn. I also heard that some people tweeted and snap chatted and took pictures of their kids choosing so perhaps that was why there was a run on the house. 

I was glad that the tradition has taken off and that people can come and enjoy picking something they like. One guy told me that they went to a house last year where the kids got five tickets each and could purchase treats or toys depending on how they used their tickets similar to an arcade. I thought that was a cute idea but wouldn't want to have to spend the time and energy. With this, I just explained the situation and kept cleaning. lol I didn't have to watch or hand them anything, they all got to pick what they wanted. 

It was a great night and I feel like it wasn't wasted getting up and down fielding the doorbell. I just left the door open and kept cleaning and when someone came up, I told them the drill and they picked their item and left. I did take pictures of some as you can see and the last picture is of a family that came last year and she was taking a picture of them as I took a picture of her. She was telling me how much they wanted to come back this year. 

I don't know where I will be next year as I may go visit the grandchildren over Halloween or something. I know if I am here, it will be another busy night! 

I hope you had a happy Hallowed Eve! Today is the most holy day of the year, thus, Halloween was Hallowed Eve!

Have a Blessed Day!