How to cut a Hippo's nails:

1. Gather cutting device
2. Make sure back up is available
3. Capture the hippo
4. Sit on the hippo
5. Proceed with Extreme Caution

DIY Scentsy Samples!

I'm addicted to Scentsy, so much so that I've become a consultant!  I love it!  

This is how I make my samples, I give these to everyone that I meet and in each order that I deliver.  I get lots of compliments, and I generally generate lots of sales for these as soon as I get it in their hands.  After all, Scentsy is something that must be experienced.  

Here is a list of things that I used, and where to find them:

1. Joie Fruit/Veggie Wavy Chopper  - I bought 24 for $7.43 with Free shipping from Amazon.
2. Cutting Mat - The link is to a Pampered Chef Cutting mat, I love these, and I will talk more about them in future posts.  Make sure that you dedicate 1 to this project. 
3. Mini Baggies - These are available in the work station, or I get mine from the local Hobby Lobby or other craft store. They are generally available in the Jewelry section, and are about 100 for $1.
4. Stapler with Staples
5. Scent of the Month with flyers.  OR other bar you wish to make samples out of, but then you will have to add labels with the name of the scent.  I usually stick the label to the business card and put the card in the bag to save the extra stop of stapling it. 

Now put that good stuff to use!

1. Gather your supplies and take the bar out of the package.
2. Seperate bar into each square, and cut each square into 2 or 3 pieces with your crinkle cutter. {WARNING: KEEP FINGERS CLEAR!  VERY SHARP BLADE!}
3. Place each of your samples into a little baggie, and make sure to label your flyers.
4. Staple each sample to a flyer, and pass out to everyone!

Questions or Comments below are VERY appreciated!  Thank you!  

Funny Drumline Video

Check out the original here: Cosmic Abundance

Lovely Wreath

I made this lovely wreath for Chris' mother.  

What is a Crafty Hippo?

While I would love to tell you that I have always loved him, I cannot.  He was once my arch-nemesis. But, I'll tell you a little about this boy and how he became the Crafty Hippo.  

Do you know the bond between a boy and his dog?  What about a dog that is so cute that it's hardly legal?  Chris, my awesome fiance wanted a bulldog.  All of the bulldog owners out there know just how much these precious little wrinkles cost.  College kids just don't afford these expenses.  Just the name "Bulldog" is expensive, not to mention the on-going care, and attention.  

Bean and his boy.

Bean with his Aunt Lindsey

Bean was one of 2 puppies, in a first time litter.  He was in a shed with his mother and sibling, when the power went out, and his mother and sibling froze to death in the middle of winter.  Bean comes from a champion blood line with all the papers to prove it.  Was was sold very cheap because the vet told the breeder that he would have bad knees.  Chris didn't care.  He had a little friend to play with and keep him company.  Chris couldn't decide what to call him.  Was he a Sherman or a Bean?  Eventually Bean won out, but he still says that the next bulldog in our lives will be Sherman.  

Bean instantly stole the hearts of everyone he met.  He lived with his Aunt Lindsey until Chris got an apartment that allowed Dogs.

Baby Bean, looking adorable

As Bean got older he developed more and more quarks.  He has a real knack for staring at random inanimate objects.  He has more personality than he really should. He huffs, snorts, and turns his back when he is mad.  He dances when he is happy, or when you come home, or a child is near. He knows the command to sit, but rarely follows it, even under his own conditions. He is fiercely jealous, and very territorial.  He holds grudges worse than any human woman I have ever known.... but he learned to love me, with bribery.

Cocoa and Rylie, the Sisters

Bean eventually got a clean bill of health from a specialized Bulldog Vet.  They said his knees were loose, because he hadn't yet grown into them.  He grew up healthy, and then one day...

His Daddy met a girl.  They fell in love and moved in together.  This did not sit well with Bean.  She had things that smelled like her.  

His new evil step mommy had other children.  A fluffy little Papillon/Pomeranian mix and a Boxer, who came from a rescue and lacked all socialization and manners. His sister's were already very much a duo.  Rylie is too silly to understand Bean's delicate boundaries.   Bean was an only child, he did not have to play with other puppies, or share attention with them, much less an evil step mother taking his daddy's time!  

Bean fought hard against the changes.  He fought his mommy, chased his sisters, pee'd on everything that belonged to that evil mommy.  Mommy would clean one thing, and he would pee on the next. He could corner the little fluffy sister and wipe his drool on her.  He would eat the girl's food, and get mad at them if they tried to eat.  He was a jerk.  The first time that I met Bean, he scratched my leg and I was bleeding.

 One night when Chris was at work, I put Bean in his room.  It was the laundry room with a baby gate at the door, and his warm fluffy bed. I was laying in bed, watching some TV when I hear a sound.... It was a scratching and it sounded like something was in the wall... Was it Mice?!  But then I knew, Bean.... Chris had told me that Bean was mad about moving into the new house together and recently started an old habit - chewing dry wall. So, I thought that I was going to teach him a lesson.  I would put him in Rylie's metal crate. "Try chewing out of that." I thought.  So I went and got his bed and put it in the crate, then I went back and opened the gate and he RAN! I stepped and tried to grab his collar, but I slipped in a drool trap that he left for me.  I hit my head on the tile and my knee on the door jam.  I screamed his name.... and then he knew. He ran right into his crate, with his ears back and put his head down.  I locked the kennel, cleaned the drool off of myself and the floor and called his father.  "Your son...." is how I started, and recanted my story.  Chris just laughed because he knew Bean was capable of it all.

Chris and I bought a house, and we moved, I got a "Lady Cave," Its like a man cave, but its for ladies, and that's where I craft.  I also have my Scentsy there.  When I craft, I put some music on, relax, enjoy my Scentsy, and do a craft, or 10.  I like to think that Bean enjoys the ambiance and comes in a sleeps. He is in 1 of 2 places.  He is laying right over the vent in the summer, or on my feet in the winter.  We started to bond, at least I liked to think so.  I would give him treats, and brush him until he fell asleep. He started to listen to me a little, but only when he felt like it.  He follows me around, and sometimes even comes to me and asks for loves.

When he sleeps, he curls up his paws below him and looks like a little hippo, coming up from the water, with his fluffy little jowls just flapping while he snores.....  But things have gotten so much better.  He doesn't act out or bite at me anymore.  He just lays near me, and sleeps.  He is very much still a daddy's boy, but he is coming around.

DIY: Giant Jenga

Giant Jenga is a very large favorite of an old table game played by millions!  Bigger is better, so lets grab or safety goggles and make one for ourselves. 

As the weather gets better, why not move the party outside and play with friends.  Make some summer cocktails or mock-tails and get out there!   We are working hard on the "new and improved" back yard so stay posted for fun new how-to's on all sorts of things summer.  

So, without further adieu  I bring you the details, Go get these things:

• Safety equipment, I am a paramedic, I don't want to be at your house because you didn't use them, so just do it. ;)
• glasses
• gloves
• proper safety equipment that goes with the saw of choice.
• Saw
• Miter, table, ect. 
• 2x4x8's
• to make 54 pieces (Exact replica of the original game,) You will need 6 boards.
• Tape Measure
• Pencil, or other marking device
• Sand paper block(s.)  This is easier to use in my opinion than just sand paper. 

Once you have all of the supplies that you need, get started by:

1. Marking each board at exactly 10.5"
2. Cut each board in exactly 10.5" section.  ***** THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!  See below
3. Sand the newly cut edges of each board, to prevent splinters. 
4. Safely continue until you have 54 identical pieces. 
5. Stack in 3 wide, then turn the next stack perpendicular to the previous, continue until you are out of blocks. 

Edit:  *****  You MUST cut them to 10.5 inches, or it will hang over the next row.

Spaghetti Squash!

What's the best way to make Spaghetti Squash? 

1. Wash the outside, you never know who handled your produce before you did.
2. Cut in half.
3. Scoop the seeds and "strings" out.
4. Decide how you will cook it, and do it!
5. Flake it up with a fork.
6. Eat it!

How to cook it!

• Microwave?
• Microwave each side for 10 minutes.
• Boil?
• Toss it in boiling water
• I don't care for this, it is too moist, then requires draining
• Steam?
• Steam over boiling water for about 15-20 minutes
• Personal favorite
• Bake?
• Never tried, but I imagine it would be dry?  Maybe Broil?

What to do in a Medical Emergency:

Medical Emergencies are difficult to deal with, people always wish they knew what to do, and sometimes in the absence of what to do next panic sets in.  I've been a Paramedic for 4 years, an EMT for 4 before that and an Emergency Medical Dispatcher for 1 year.  Over the years we have lovingly joked about what to do in an emergency and what we wished the public knew when they were having their own emergency. EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Professionals all have their own little brand of humor.  Just because something isn't serious doesn't mean I can't smile through it.  We see the worst of the worst, and we find ways to "grin and bear it."  Here are some helpful hints on what do to in an emergency.

• Don't freak out. You set the tone for the whole scene by staying calm.  By staying calm, you can keep everyone else calm.  911 is there to help, if we get the hint that the scene isn't safe, we will hold back the Paramedic's until the Police Department is on scene and tells us that it's safe.  Other plus sides of staying calm, your heart rate stays down, therefore, if you are having any kind of serious medical emergency you can help minimize the damage by keeping your heart rate down, and also think more clearly.
  
  If you are bleeding, by keeping the heart rate down, you are slowing down how fast you're bleeding out.  Also, if you are having Chest Pain, by staying calm, you are helping reduce the amount of damage, same with a stroke.  In short, nothing good comes from a freak out.... Stay calm.
• Call 911.By staying calm, you can assess the situation. Are they in need of Immediate intervention?  Or do you need a ride to the doctor's office because you are out of medications?  EMS is more than happy to help, but taking an ambulance doesn't always mean you get to pass the waiting room.  I've dropped people off in the waiting room plenty of times.  If you have questions on when to call 911, check out this super official link about: When to call 911
• Please be prepared to give them the address of your emergency, as well as phone number.  We can't send the paramedic's to help if we don't know where you are.  Most Land line phones will give us an exact address, however cell phones will break it down to a 2-4 block radius of where you are.  We can start someone that way, but unless we know exactly where you are, its a needle in a hay stack.  We will ask some other questions to decide what kind of directions we should give you before you get there.  The big questions right off the bat are.... "Are you with the pt now? How old are they?  Are they awake? Are they breathing?"  We can talk you through anything from how to control bleeding, delivering a baby, to CPR and giving medications that can help the patient while the paramedic's are on their way.
• Stay with the PatientThe 911 Dispatcher has lots of questions, so please stay with the patient unless you are in danger.  We will ask questions like, "Are they completely alert?  Are they changing colors?"  We get better information on how we need to direct you to help them this way.  Please stay with us and don't try to skip ahead.  
• Assign someone to go meet the Paramedic's and direct them to the PatientSometimes you are in your home, and the patient is in the furthest back bedroom, or in the back yard, or you are in a large mall, and we have no idea which store you are in, or how to get to that store.   We will ask questions about if you have a gate code that we need to get into your community, or if you have a hidden key somewhere if you can't get to the door to unlock it.
• Put away your family pets

I'm sure that Fido is a perfectly sweet little pumpkin, but when tension is high, and his family is sick and there are strangers in his house, animals will protect what is theirs, or worse yet... Get scared and run. I have pup's, and I know that one will look tough, and the other will run to safety, while the third will do everything to get all the attention.   Please lock them up or assign someone to lock them up so that they aren't going to get scared, hurt us, run away or steal the show.

• Make a list of their medicines

This is a great one to do ahead of time, and store in your wallet, along with a list of your medication allergies and medical history.  Bonus points for keeping it up to date, and adding Doctor's names.  Trust me, I've seen it all, from some medication names scribbled on a piece of paper, or with organized names and dosages, to my pet peeve: 

December 13, 1941 - I got the hiccups for 2 daysJuly 4, 1942 -  fell from tree house, no injuriesSeptember of 1942 -  I think I'm allergic to hay, and pollen

Just give me the good stuff like:
Allergies: Pencillin
Medications:  Mobic, Lovostatin, MetforminMedical History: High Cholesterol, Diabetes, and Arthritis.  
Surgeries: Hysterectomy and Hip replacement
Dr. McDonald -  Primary Care PhysicianDr. Smith - CardiologyDr.  Brown - Endocrinology

What to do in someone else's Emergency or if you see an Ambulance, Fire truck or Police car with their light's and sirens:

• Pull to the right and stop.The Most dangerous part of my job is driving.  I endanger myself to get to the call, and then again to the hospital.  Please help us get home to our families by pulling to the right and stopping.  We don't want to get in a wreck on our way to the call, because that means that we now need 3 ambulances, fire trucks and police cars driving emergency around the city.  (One for the original call, one for you and one for me.)

I'm sure I'll think of some more to add, but for right now... This is what I have.

Remember, Stay call, dial, and cooperate. 

Yield to emergency vehicles, because you never know where they are going.... It may be for your loved one.  If it is: Slow down.

Drive safely and arrive.