How to make magnetic bookmarks

Happy 2023! I hope this blog post finds you doing well!

I had fun making my cat loving daughters these magnetic bookmarks a few weeks ago. I purchased this file from MokileArt store on Etsy. They turned out so cute and my daughters loved them!

First, print out the file on card stock. I printed them in full color with the setting "4 sheets to a page" so they turned out this cute little size. I trimmed off the large extra white parts so I could recycle as much of the paper as possible. Once it's laminated, all the trimmings have to go into the trash. I left enough blank space to keep the bookmarks from sliding around in the laminating sheet.

        

Next, I ran it through the laminator. All the book marks fit in one laminating sheet. I realized after it was running through, I could have laminated a few small things with it that I have laying around. But that thought occurred to me AFTER the sheet was going through the machine. Fitting as many things in the laminating sheet as possible is what I usually try to do to cut down waste.

Once they come out, it is important to let the sheet sit and cool for a minute so they are as flat as possible. Then I trimmed off the excess paper and plastic from each sheet. I also left a little white border on each one to make it the perfect size.

The next step is to fold them in half. This is definitely harder now that they are laminated, but not too difficult. When you fold them, a little of the laminating paper will probably come de-laminated at the fold, that is okay. That's an easy fix. Now we are going to fold a piece of paper in half and then place one of the bookmarks, on that folded seam. Then we are going to stick them, one at a time, in the laminater seam side first to re-laminate that fold and to make the fold tighter.

Next, pull out your chosen magnets; these are the ones I use. Carefully stick them on both sides of the inside of the bookmark. Test the magnet pieces together before you stick them on to make sure they will attract and not repel each other.

And that's it! You are done! Aren't they so stinkin' cute?! My cat obsessed daughters are loving them! They have already decided which pets of ours or Warrior Cats characters each of them represent.

If you decide to make these, let me know how it goes! I hope you enjoy these as much as my daughters have!

Be Authentically You

Be authentically you. 

Don't be afraid to like what you like no matter what other people like. I was into recycling and taking care of the earth when everyone I knew didn't believe in climate change. They didn't see the point in recycling and didn't view taking care of the earth as a command in the Bible as I did. This is when I was in middle school. I valued not wasting things and taking care of the animals God gave us. 

I had a lot of guy friends as a high schooler and although I had a great friendship with them, looking back, they definitely treated me more like a little sister, than an equal. Because of this, I avoided doing normal growing up things like wearing makeup, perfume, trying to look what I viewed as beautiful. I knew when I did, they would act like it was silly and I would feel awkward. I have realized since then, that I should have just done what I wanted to do. I spent my 20's and 30's learning what I liked in those areas because I always felt ridiculous when I did try to do fancier things. I have realized this was something left over from then, that I needed to shake. I was a tom boy so I didn't' always want to do those things, but when I did, I chickened out and didn't because I dreaded their reaction. Don't try to look older or be someone you are not, but if you want to wear make up, perfume, jewelry, or a dress and heals, do it! Even if you are just hanging out in your house! Or if you want to wear your hair in a messy bun, with a t-shirt and jeans, that's okay too. Be you, and people that really care about you will love you anyway. And if they see how happy you are, it will probably be contagious!

I am a Christian and don't believe what a lot of people who carry that name in my country believe. I have always based my beliefs on what I read in the Bible and what I felt like God told me. I listened to my pastor and Bible teachers in my life, but always ran it back through the Bible. 

As an adult, I push myself to listen to other people's point of view and try to make sure what I think are facts, are truly facts. I love the internet for that! We are no longer just exposed to what our friend's, family, community leaders, and local news stations think. We can look up many people's perspective and have a greater empathy and understanding for other people. 

Don't be afraid to change your position on something if you learn new information. Growing and changing is part of being human. As Christians, we believe we are flawed sinners, even after becoming a Christian, but God perfects us one issue at a time. We never reach perfection, but my point is opening your heart to be changed is part of being a Christian and being human in general.

But please be careful who you listen to, people can say anything they want. Challenge what you hear and look up the opposite position too. If only one person or even a few people think something, and the overwhelming majority of their profession thinks the opposite, you should think carefully and weigh what they have to say against any facts you can find on the issue.

Remember, your flaws are not who you are. I would have described myself as messy, late, disorganized, etc in the past. But those are skills of mine that are weak, and that are getting stronger as I work on them. Those are not who I am. If I'm honest, those are just insults placed on me when I was younger that I have had to learn to separate from my personality.

Neither are your habits. I used to have long hair, wear t-shirts & jeans, and have my hair up all the time. I didn't work out much, or wear make up. But I have cut my hair short again, started wearing dresses more, wear my hair down almost every day, and wear at least a little make up almost every day. I'm also working on working out more. I didn't change who I was, I just changed some habits. I also used to stay up late at night and sleep in late. I have been going to bed most evenings not long after my kids now and working on getting up earlier. Again, just habits I decided to change.  I could go on and on, but my point is, who you are is not based on these things. If you decide to change these things, you are not a different person. You are not going against who you are. You are just growing as a person and liking new things.

Who you are is who you are at your core, in your mind, heart, and soul. You can be kind, loving, compassionate, generous, smart, accepting, encouraging, creative, etc. THAT is who you are.

           

Road Trip Tips - Save Money on Food

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we are planning on a cross country (half) road trip later this year to visit my mom and then move her back here where we live. As I have our planning tips on my brain, I wanted to share those with ya'll in a series of Road Trip Tips posts.

Food on the road is easy and hard at the same time to me. On one hand, you continuously pass fast food restaurants while going down the highway. On the other hand, you don't have endless money and sometimes they are hard to get into if you have a U-haul truck or trailer. You can use up a substantial amount of time by driving around trying to find the right place to eat that everyone in your family likes and that you can get in and out of relatively easily. Not to mention it gets expensive quick! Don't forget my family is 4 children and two adults. Two of those children eat as much as an adult and one has a bottomless pit for a stomach! Here are some things we have tried on the road to make food easier and cheaper.

Buy a healthy mix of snacks at the grocery store the week before you leave to bring with you in the car. We put a container between the two kids in the back row of our mini van and filled it to the brim with yummy snacks. We brought things like dried fruit, healthy grains, nuts, peanut butter crackers, etc. This way our kids were still getting good nutrition and not being cranky because they were hungry. This allowed us to be more flexible about when we stopped for meals. As well as saved us a lot because snacks on the road (gas stations & fast food) are expensive! One night, we were behind on how far down the road we needed to be and actually opted to just munch on those snacks for dinner. We also let our kids have all the snacks they wanted whenever they were hungry on the trip if it wasn't almost a meal time. Of course, we also included a few junkier snacks and made sure everyone had a few snacks they liked. That help keep spirits up and kept us from wanting to splurge on chips at the gas stations.

Road Trip Tips - Planning Apps

We are planing to drive across the country to see my mom and help her move back with us later this year. The last time we went was last fall. We will be driving from Texas to North Carolina and back again. On the way there we will be driving for two days and sleeping at a hotel for one night. On the way back, we could potentially be driving for up to 4 days and spend up to 3 nights in a hotel. Did I mention we will also be driving our minivan back to Texas as well as a Uhaul truck pulling a car behind it. So we will be relying heavily on anything that makes this trip easier. Here are some of the apps (and a website) we have used to plan our trips across the country. 

First things first, fuel is a big one. It will be expensive no matter what, but one thing that helps us a lot is AAA gas cost calculator. We will use that to help us set aside enough money to afford gas, although unfortunately we know prices will go up before our trip. It's definitely more helpful closer to your trip. We do our best to stop at Sam's clubs along our route to cut gas costs where we can. When we can't, we try to stop at a Pilot or other large truck stop as gas is usually a little cheaper there. Gas Buddy is also useful if you need to get gas somewhere other than the big stations. It will help you find the cheaper option in whatever area you are in. I just found out that they have a gas trip calculator too so check that out. We've never used it but I'm sure it's very helpful as well.

First Impressions of Misfits Market

I have been buying food from Imperfect Foods off and on for 2 years now. Recently, I found out about Misfits Market and decided to give it a try. 

When I opened up the box, I noticed it was insulated with a padding that is curbside recyclable. Although non-plastic would be better, I very much appreciate that it is easily recyclable!

Under the padding was a cardboard layer with an ice block. Under that, was brown paper filler to fill up the box.