Featured Artist for May

Please go visit my darling friend, Angelina on my Featured Artist of the Month for May on the website. She is such a dear person, and her creations are to die for! I have bought several and everyone always admires them. Be sure to visit her ca-yute website and oh-so-vintage blog!

In case you are wondering, we do have a winner for our Spring Blog Giveaway, but, shhhh...it is a secret to be unveiled soon! Details to follow! Head on over to visit Angelina and look for some new fun freebies on the website soon!

Summer Dreamin'!

Last night I dreamt I was on the beach and woke up, disconcerted, to find myself in my own bed. It has been warm and sunny here all week and I am longing for summer. After I get home from the gym in the mornings, I am finding myself outside working in the yard. Digging in the dirt, trimming, moving plants, planning, re-potting, and rearranging. I am beggging Jason to open the pool this weekend and he refuses to do it in the month of April. I just want to see the water and the way it sparkles in the sun!

We have five more weeks of school left and I am already checked out! I can't wait until the kids are home with me each morning in their pj's waiting to have a wonderful day of fun! I love to "de-program" them from school each summer. You know what I mean, right? No hectic routine to follow, no school standards, no homework, no stress, no peer pressure. Molly will eventually give in and play Barbies with Jacy and they will start to like each other again and run around together and have picnics with their animals in the backyard. When friends come over, they all find that, yes even though there are 2 years between them, they can all play together harmoniously. I have dreams of sitting in my lawn chair in the sunshine with my sunglasses and my book and my glass of iced tea.

And the beach. I always dream of the beach.

We have new baby chicks!

This is the first year in 6 years that we haven't skipped to the feed store and come home laden with a box of new little fluffy babies chirping and thumping around. I was disappointed when Jason said he didn't feel like raising any up this year. Sadly, it is he who does all the work with them when they are babies. Making a new pen with their heat lamp and medicated feed and cleaning up after them and feeding them each day. I really don't do animal care except to enjoy them. And we have such a nice little flock right now he didn't feel we needed to replenish it this year.

But as fate had it, his sister decided that her youngest child needed to experience baby chicks this Easter and so they made a trip to the feed store and bought 2 little chicks and housed them in their garage for about 3 weeks. Since they live on the golf course, of course a little suburban chicken coop was probably against the neighborhood association's code so they asked if they could come and live with our chickens. I wanted to say no just to be funny, but apparently it wasn't as funny as I thought. Needless to say we have 2 new baby chicks.

The girls have been getting up early every morning to go out and feed and water them and make sure their little cage is clean. It is hilarious because normally it takes me about 30 minutes each day to get Molly out of bed. But now that she knows Daddy will let her go out with him to feed, she is up and dressed and yesterday even had her bed made before breakfast. We will see how long it lasts!

I am so emotional about the end of this school year. Molly leaves elementary school this year to go to the 6th Grade Center next year. She will have her locker and change classes and they start all the "big girl" activities like dances and electives and all the fun stuff that comes with being "big". I have truly enjoyed every stage of life with my girls and I know this will be a new and exciting experience, but I just can hardly bear to think about her being all "grown up"! I still feel like she should be my bouncy little blonde 2 year old galloping around on her imaginary horse. She and her friends are already talking about 6th Grade like they are going to high school! They have already planned what they are doing at their first dance and how they will be decorating their lockers. I'm sweating...

And of course Jacy is sad because they won't be in the same school next year. I am sad because it is so convenient. Next year the schools start and end at different times and I think that if I feel that I am in the car all afternoon now, I will be going crazy next year! Thank goodness I have four months between now and then.

Don't forget to sign up for my Spring Giveaway! Leave a comment on that post to be entered in the drawing! Remember, this is for a Custom Design, not one of the ones I shared with you. That was just me showing off! This will be a design all your own. Hurry because the drawing is on Monday!

Jason and I had a date night last night. I feel like we are in high school again or something. We have really stayed committed to our once a month date nights and in fact we had two this month! Bonus! We used to go to dinner, the bookstore and a movie, but now it is so funny-our routine has changed! It is like we have turned to each other and said "Hello? Do I know you? Oh, yes! It's you! I remember! I really like you. Let's talk." and we don't want to waste any of our time together sitting in the dark in a movie, so we have been going to dinner (or making it together at home), going shopping or golfing or once we even went to ride go-carts, and grabbing a bottle of wine and coming home and sitting out on the back deck with a little fire in the fire pit and talking and talking and talking. I feel 18 years old again! Last night we went to a Sushi Bar, and came home and sat outside in the warm air for about 3 hours. Do you like Sushi? It is our newest craze! We love it and have even started trying to make it at home! My kids will even eat it if it is vegetarian! Mmmmm....I want some right now even though it is only 9:30 in the morning.

Happy Saturday!

Spring Giveaway!

New Designs just in time for Spring!

Websites:

Blogs:

Oh friends! You are such sweeties! I have received the nicest emails and comments over the past couple of days regarding my Website Name! Such a silly thing to be discussing, I know, but the comments I received were so flattering! Most of them were "Stay Shabbee, Amber!" with a few "I don't care, fluffy dogs!" thrown in for good measure. And a few "Eeeww. Your name is stupid!" comments, too! But I know the name is stupid! That is what the whole question was about!!! Most of you readers didn't take my little poll and I'm wondering why. It is always so interesting to see the multitude of you friends that show up on my little Sitemeter every day who don't comment and in this case, don't vote. How can you be entertained by my boring life, I always wonder. But I'm so glad you are!!!

So. I am staying "The Shabbee Chick Designs". And I'm keeping my little chick logo! I'm not re-vamping or re-structuring or changing a thing! If it ain't broke, don't fix it is what I hear from my gal pals! Thanks pals!

In honor of spring and the lusciously shabbee creative mood I'm in these days, I am saying THANKS with a giveaway! I haven't had one in sooooo long I decided to bust out and give ya'll the works!!! Just because I love you so!

So here it is! In honor of springtime and my love for you, I am giving away a FREE BLOG MAKEOVER! And with it comes the works, honey! Header, background, up to 8 sidebar titles, top menu bar, Direct Link Button and a favicon just because I am in a good mood today and it is sunny and I love ya!

Leave me a comment on this post and on Monday, I'll draw a name out of the hat for a Beautiful New Blog Design!!!

Shabbee Tip of the Week!

Make your own all-natural Carpet Sprinkle! Just put some baking soda and a few drops of essential oil (my favorites are lavender or rose) in a sealed bag. Let it sit for a few days. Then just dip in your spoon, sprinkle on your carpet, wait about 20 minutes and vacuum it up! Fresh and clean and totally chemical free!!!!

Great places to buy your essential oils online:

Mountain Rose Herbs (my fav!)

Florapathics

New Directions

Still polling...

Oh friends you are so nice! You are your sweet comments and emails. Golly gee! Thanks for the response to my little poll. Just wanted to remind you to please keep voting! Even though you are overwhelmingly in favor of me keeping The Shabbee Chick Designs as my brand name, I did see some I-don't-care-fluffy-dog votes in there and a couple or three YES change it votes! So just when I think I've made up my mind the indecision comes barreling back. I dunno! So keep voting! Just so's ya know, I'm not going to yell at your or fold my hands and pout if you want to email me or comment about how you don't like the name. Inquiring minds want to know, friends, so if you voted for the fluffy dog or the Yes, change your name option, feel free to tell me your thoughts. I'd love to hear them! P.S. Just wondering why some of you friends visited and did not vote. I just see that yesterday only 14% of my visitors actually voted. Why is that? Hmmm...

On another subject, I am hammering out some new OOAK designs because I've had such a great response to them. Here is my newest and I am sooooo tempted to keep it for myself. It is so Shabbee and ca-yute! I want to eat it! It's called "Posy"! Hurry on over to the website to check it out for yourself!


Tonight is Jacy's violin recital. My little virtuoso! Her new teacher is sooooo wonderful-I just want to eat her! Jacy loves her and violin is a pleasant experience again! Jacy always wants to practice because Miss Carissa gives out snickers bars to little girls who practice the way they should!!!

We are still on the Whole Foods Challenge and, even though we fell off the bandwagon a couple of times (Jason!) around Easter (me!), it is working well for us. I just did another big grocery trip today and we're going to give it another shot. I was a little more frugal this time around, so maybe that will help me stick with it! I have to say though, that sometimes your body just wants a big old Dr. Pepper and a juicy burger filled with junk and all the fixin's! And I say "Go for it!"!!! Once in a while won't hurt ya! And I don't know how long I'll be able to stick with this challenge because it is just that-a challenge! But it is definitely making me more aware of what I put in my body and in my little girls' little bodies!

Speaking of which, I found the most delicious green site that you must check out: OrganicValley.coop has some awesome products and useful tips!

Tonight we have to jet out the door again for recital so we are having a quick dinner of Paninis on whole grain bread with turkey, pepperjack (that was expensive to buy organic, let me tell you!), banana peppers and strawberry smoothies on the side! Mmmmm....

My newest challenge is to live my life "Less Plastic". Meaning ridding myself of the majority of my disposables to see how I can help our plastic ocean. I'm never buying a waterbottle again!!! That's my plan, Sam! And all those plastic food storage containers-out the door, George! I'm trying to figure out how to replace our ziploc baggies that we use daily in lunches. Any suggestions? Just trying to leave blue skies and beautiful oceans for my grandchildren and not a bunch of garbage that doesn't break down, you know?

Molly sprained her ankle in gym class last week. She wasn't even doing anything exciting like playing hockey and getting into an all-girl fight that caused her injury, or falling from the big long tall rope that they have to climb that hangs from the ceiling of the gym. She was just running and rolled it. The school called me and told me she'd turned her ankle and I totally blew them off. Molly is my drama queen (don't know where she gets it!) and once in 3rd grade, she fell on the playground and clutched her knee in agony and they had to get the wheelchair to get her in the school. Sigh. So needless to say I said I'd be right there, but I finished cleaning my bathroom first and calmly drove there. When I got there her ankle was HUGE! Swollen and bruised and I felt terrible! It wasn't broken or anything, just a bad sprain and it is all better now! Couple of days of R-I-C-E and she was fine! She even kicked some tail in her softball scrimmage last night and got a girl out on 3rd base! She's the catcher.

So that's it! Life, love and the pursuit of beautiful things! Have a beautiful day-it is sunny and 75 degrees here! And don't forget to Vote for Pedro below...

Vote For Pedro!

Okay. Let's get real. When I started The Shabbee Chick Designs none of us (including myself) had any idea that it would actually be a success! Now all this time later, after over 200 blogs and websites installed and graphics added to publications and media and used in print in several different countries, and an SEO ranking that is surprising even myself, I'm considering restructuring. Is restructuring a bad thing, one might ask? Hmmm...that IS the question isn't it?

Here's the deal. As I obtain more and more local business and have to actually look people in the eye when marketing myself it is becoming increasingly hard to call myself The Shabbee Chick. I mean really, people! We all know I was trying (Shecky) to be funny when I named myself that and now that I'm really serious and trying be professional I find myself muttering the name of my website under my breath and reluctantly handing over my business card that, yes indeed, has a chicken on it.

I mean come on.

So. What I want to know from you...my internet BFF's...who have been there from the inception (and maybe if you haven't you still read this blog and GET me, the real me or a portion of the real me and have an idea of what I'm about) what you think about restructuring The Shabbee Chick Designs. Namely, changing the name of the website and incorporating a more serious blog (not to undo this one mind you-NEVER she cries!) onto the website to promote/launch products.

I'm really torn, I'll be honest. The Shabbee Chick has become my logo and it's little chicks are spread hither and yon all over the big black void of the internet. Plus, I'm a chick. I'm really girly and I AM the chippy paint chair-all imperfect and lovely with my flaws and I've kind of marketed a brand here. And when people chat with me on Twitter or see me around other people's blogs that is what they call me "Hey Shabbee Chick!".

I just don't know. I really want to start here and ask you to puh-lease take your precious time to give me some feedback. Pleasepleaseplease? I need help! I'm so indecisive! Take my poll below!



Gee thanks!

I hate bicycles.

There is nothing pretty about me on a bicycle. I hate them. I'd rather walk or run almost anywhere than ride a bike. I just don't think they are fun at all. They hurt my netherregions, for one thing (and it's not for lack of padding) and another thing is that I can't imagine I can maintain any measure of grace or decorum at all whilst riding.

And, let me just say, friends, that if you ride bicycles and find them an exhilerating form of excercise or maybe just a leisurely pasttime, I must warn you that yes, it is true...you look stupid riding them too. I'm sorry, but I feel you must know this about yourselves. You don't look cute in your spandex and your helmet huffing and puffing away on the side of the road. Brutal truth. It's best for us all.

I bring this up because recently I have become somewhat addicted to working out. Not addicted, exactly, but I just love the feeling I get after some major step aerobics or a few miles on the elliptical or the treadmill or a great Body Sculpt class. I feel like I could take on the world so I'm always looking for ways to be a little more active with the kids. Our normal routine for walks around the neighborhood is me walking Missy several hundred feet behind them on their bikes or scooters and me whistling at them to turn around and head back toward me so I can yell at them without sounding like a fishwife to all the neighbors! So the other day was beautiful. Simply lovely! The girls wanted to ride bikes and I thought I'd pull the old (and I mean oooold) mountain bikes that Jason bought years ago out of their coffins in the garage and ride with them. Yeah...that wasn't my finest moment.

I got about four blocks away from the house before I remembered exactly why the bikes had been hanging in the garage on their hooks for so long. "Oh yeah....right. It's because it sucks! I totally forgot! How silly of me." I got off the bike, threw it on the side of the road and continued on with our walk and picked it up on the way home. Too bad no one stole it...

Picnic

Doesn't this just make you want to get your Little Red Riding picnic basket and pack it full of treats and lemonade and find a park to picnic in???? Introducing "Picnic"! My newest OOAK Blog Design! If you need a spring makeover, this is it! Hurry! These OOAK Designs are selling faster than I can create them! Visit the website to order....

Whole Foods Challenge!

Have you ever heard of Aspartame poisoning? You know what aspartame is, right? That artificial sweetener found in almost every single low-fat product that normally contains sugar. Apparently aspartame has some major hazards of which I was unaware. I went to my doctor a couple of weeks ago because a persistent headache that I'd had for several weeks. It never fully went away, just dulled a bit. I thought it could be a number of things and since I used to have migraines at regular intervals I assumed they were coming back. So I went in to get another prescription for the medicine I take at the onset of migraines. I fully expected the whole rigmarole about migraines and their causes, yadayadayada. But the first words to come out of her mouth were "Do you eat a lot of aspartame?" Do I what? What is THAT? I don't know. No. I don't think so. Guess what? I do. The low fat yogurt that I eat every (and I mean every. single. morning. of. the. world.) has aspartame in it. I stopped eating it and after a week the headaches were gone. Are you kidding me? Seriously. Yogurt????

Well you already know how I feel about household toxins! And of course I always try to avoid hormones and antibiotics in meat and milk and I try to buy organic vegetables when I can (afford it), but now there is a new fear looming! Aspartame. (I like to pronounce it Ass Part A Meee because it is funnier!) So being an all or nothing gal, I challenged my family to a Whole Foods Diet this week. They were less than thrilled. In fact last Friday I called Jason around noon-ish and he was at Wendy's. When I asked him if Wendy's was now serving Whole Foods he said "Nope!".

The challenge was way more difficult than I thought. Originally I thought we would try to eat only Organic, non-processed foods. But in this family that is easier said than done! For example, can anyone tell me where in the world I can get all-natural orange juice? I mean seriously! It says All Natural on it, but then you flip it over and read the back ingredients and it clearly is not. And I have yet to find a low-fat yogurt that does not contain Apartame. Oh how I miss me some yogurt up in here. And bread! I bought two loaves of bread at Whole Foods for $8! $8 for bread? Are you kidding me? I can't afford that on a regular basis! Puh-lease! And yes, I know I could make my own and I did the other day, but who has time for that I ask you?

But this week has been fun and to be honest, the kids have forgotten that we are eating Whole Foods this week because it is so darn tasty!!!!

So here is an example of what we ate last week:

• Mesclun, orange walnut salad with homemade raspberry viniagrette/crab cakes
• Caesar salad with homemade dressing/ wrap sandwiches with whole grain tortillas, broccoli slaw, cilantro and turkey
• Fruit salad/ grilled organic chicken breast marinated in garlic, rosemary and balsamic vinegar.
• Green beans/provencal chicken served on whole wheat pasta
• Chicken quesadillas (refused to buy the cheese at Whole Foods Grocery store because I would have to sell stock to purchase a 6 oz. block, so went with cheddar block from the normal grocery store and I'm currently trying to pretend that it has no toxins in it!) with grilled corn and roasted red pepper salad.
• Asian style Monkfish/white rice/stir fry veggies.
• Open Faced Salmon sandwich on charred whole grain bread topped with tomato bruschetta.
• Quiche with (FRESH!) organic chicken eggs (whites only) from my backyard coop! Fruit Salad.

Jason has been coming home almost daily for lunch (except for the Wendy's day) and yesterday we had a wrap sandwich (see above) with black bean salsa and organic blue corn chips!

I challenge everyone to a Whole Foods Challenge! Maybe not going Whole Hog (sorry, couldn't resist the pun) like we have because I will admit that I spent about an extra $75-$100 this last grocery trip buying all organic and we simply cannot afford to do that every trip, but at least look on the labels of your food and see what you are putting in your body. I know I will be much more aware from now on. And for gawd's sake stop eating aspartame.

P.S. It is in your Diet Sodas too!
P.P.S. Christy I tried the Garden Burgers that you suggested and they were delish, but riddled with preservatives! Maybe we'll try not to think about that next time we eat them! You can't win them all!!!

More Easter Treats!

Look what my girls made this weekend! Aren't they ca-yute?!?! Little Easter treats to pass out to teachers along with their Peeps cupcakes!



Jelly beans in a ziploc bag with yellow die cut heart feet and one cut in half for wings. A pipe cleaner bow and a pom pom head!!

Ca-yute!!!

Featured Artist of the Month!

Oh my goodness gracious, I'm SO excited to share April's Featured Artist of the Month with you! Karen over at PaperDoll Designs has shared a shabbee-licious interview with us and given us a little insight into her creative brain! She is such a talented girlfriend. Head on over to check out her lovely Feature!!!

Peeps Cupcake

The girls made these ca-yute Peeps cupcakes tonight with their little friend who is sleeping over. A very fun and quick cupcake for Easter! Yum!

Women Be Shoppin'

With the warmer weather impending (please, gawd) I have suddenly discovered that I have no spring clothes. Well, none that I would like to put on my body this year anyway. So I have decided to be proactive and spend a little time and effort into replenishing my wardrobe. This may sound like an exciting task to some, this time spent on shopping for clothes for yourself. I, however, would like to shop for almost anyone else on the planet than buy clothes for my own body. When shopping for clothes, I have a tendency to forget my age. I want the clothes in the juniors department, but my body doesn't seem to cooperate. So I, in dismay, turn to the Ladies' department where I find that almost all clothing made today would look better on my grandmother than on me. If something isn't made with spaghetti straps and a halter top in the Juniors, it invariably has shoulder pads and pearl buttons in the Ladies' department. Would someone puh-lease come up with a department for people my age? Please?! I beseech you! You could call it something along the lines of "Yes, hi! I'm not 17, but I'm also not middle aged. I have had two children and my boobs don't sit where they used to anymore, but I'd like them to look nice without actually accentuating that I have some. Also anything that would make my butt look smaller and ride in a normal place around or nearby my waist would be great, but I'd like to avoid pants that come up to my belly button. Thanks, that's great."

After three hours, I gave up and only bought one thing. Earrings.

Shabbee Tip of the Week

You know I love a clean house!!! And one of my (many) pet peeves are those ugly scuff marks left by my pots and pans in my ceramic sink. Drives me crazy! I've tried being careful and even purchasing those silicone mats to put in the bottom of the sink, but somehow those scuffs always appear! The best remedy that I've found for getting rid of those ugly marks is to sprinkle a heavy dose of baking soda all around the sink. Then drizzling plain old white vinegar all over it. Watch it sizzle!!! Then use a little teensie bit of elbow grease to scrub it all together and make a paste. Don't rinse! Just let it sit for about 30 minutes. Give it one last quick scrub and rinse it good! Ta-Da!!! Clean sink and your drains like it too! Baking soda and vinegar is a natural drain opener and it counter acts all those yucky smells that linger in your garbage disposal! What could be better than an all-natural cleaner that you already have in your pantry! Don't even have to use the rubber gloves on this one!