Did you know National Grandparent’s Day is Sunday, September 13? If this is news to you and you’re left scrambling for an idea on how to show the grandparents in your life how special they are, Your Voice has got you covered.

Your Voice allows you to send a personalized greeting to the grandparents in your life. You simply dial the number, record your greeting, and then the recipient is sent an email letting them know a special message is waiting for them to hear. This is a free service from Your Voice, but your carrier’s long distance rates may apply.

We just tried it out and it was super fast and easy. Want to hear our greeting? Click here! I know my parents are going to enjoy getting to listen to E.B. wish them a Happy Grandparent’s Day.

Click here for more info.

Do you have any crazy cleaning confessions? I guess the craziest confession I have is that I love to clean. I guess it was instilled in me by my mother who spent every Saturday morning that I can remember growing up cleaning our house. My whole world just functions better when I have a clean and organized home.

Kenmore recently sponsored a Crazy Cleaning Confessions contest where readers like you uploaded videos of themselves confessing and demonstrating their crazy cleaning habits. Finalists will be posted Friday, Spetember 11. For every video that is watched, Kenmore will donate 50 cents to the Roots and Shoots program. So, head on over to the contest, watch the finalist’s videos and cast your vote for a great cause!

I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Kenmore and received a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Sometimes I come across things in my small town that just make me shake my head and wonder what on God’s green Earth people are thinking. This past Saturday was no exception. Behold….I give you…The Chucky Doll Car.

Yes, I am so serious. No really, go ahead and click the images to enlarge them so you can really take this all in.

And painted on the back windshield was “Mr. Wonderful”. All I could think was I sincerely hope “Mr. Wonderful” already had a kind, understanding woman (or one possibly as equally sadistic as himself), because we all know nothing screams “Responsible, well-mannered, in my right mind kind of guy” quite like having Chucky, the doll from the horror movie Child’s Play, plastered all over your car.

The bloody dagger and miniature Chucky dolls stuck to the back windows just really complete the package, yes?

I’m guessing not too many people mess with “Mr. Wonderful”. Or his car.

Is there a self-help group for people who are obsessed with home decorating? If so, point me in the direction and sign me up because Houston, I think we have a problem here. You know when you put a power tool (a sander, to be exact) at the top of your wish list for Christmas, you might be a little “caught up”.

It started so innocently when I ran across the blog Southern Hospitality. This talented woman has a knack for thrift and estate sale shopping like nobody’s business. The way she transforms someone’s cast-offs into a thing of beauty just leaves me in awe. I wish I could do that. I want to do that. She has inspired me. That? Is the mark of a successful blog in my book.

Her links took me to more blogs with equally talented people who are literally transforming their home interiors (and exteriors, too) on a shoestring budget and lots of elbow grease. I’ve attempted in the past to take on some small DIY projects. Although I dont get to do those things nearly as often as I would like, I enjoy them so much and I’ve decided to make a point to take on some more smaller projects using what we have and whatever I can find as innexpensivley as possible, because half the fun of doing these little projects is finding them for free or dirt cheap.

My feedreader is now overflowing with more fantastic blogs that are currently inspiring me to make the space around me as inviting and relaxing as possible, so I thought I’d share with you all these great blogs I’ve recently discovered. Is there one I haven’t listed? If so, please share with me in a comment. There’s always room for more in my reader! Are you working on any projects around your home? I’d love to see them.

Southern Hospitality
A Beach Cottage
Susie Harris (Bienvenue)
Caro’s Thrifty Adventures
Centsational Girl
The Decorated House
Joys of Home
The Lettered Cottage
Me & My House
Our Suburban Cottage
Reinvented

See that pretty little kitty up there? She is now ours. Although we are still heartbroken over Bonnie and miss her terribly, we decided to open our home to another cat that really needed one.

This is Pearl and she is 4 years old. (Mugshot courtesy of the shelter) Pearl’s owner surrendered her to the local animal shelter because the owner was elderly and had to go live in an assisted living home and she couldn’t take Pearl with her. This lady had raised Pearl from a kitten and Pearl had already been spayed, declawed in the front, and was up to date on all of her shots.

I found Pearl online while visiting Petfinder.com and she sounded like a perfect addition to our home. Since bringing her home Tuesday afternoon she has been a complete joy to have around. She is shy, but very, very loving. She also purrs like nobody’s business.

And Clyde? Well, he is slow to warming up to Pearl. I know he still misses Bonnie and is probably confused. There have been a couple of hissing staredowns with Pearl, but he is slowly coming around and we hope they will come to be close kitty friends.

I know it seems too soon since Bonnie’s death to adopt another animal and most people we have told think we were nuts for doing it, but Pearl has brought some smiles and comfort into our lives and that’s enough for us.

Has the Swine Flu outbreak reached your community yet? It has definitely become a serious concern of mine as more and more cases of it in my state are being reported daily.

According to Dr. Erika Schwartz, Medical Director of Cinergy Health, as kids gear up for back-to-school, adults may be leery about health concerns. The recently CDC reported 436 deaths and 6,506 hospitalizations nationwide associated with Swine Flu. No one knows what this school year has in store, so what must be done to make sure your child’s classroom is Swine Flu safe?

Here are some practical Swine Flu tips for teachers and parents alike:

Teach your students to wash their hands throughout the day.
Keep anti-bacterial pumps accessible in the classroom. Explain what the pumps are and when it’s appropriate to use them.
Remind the students not to touch their eyes, nose and mouth with their hands. Germs are spread when a child touches something that is contaminated and then touches her or his eyes, nose or mouth. Also they spread when kids sneeze and cough without covering
Sharing food and drink will also spread germs.
Explain to students the importance of getting at least 8-10 hours of sleep a night. Make them aware of how it affects how they feel, their energy level, their moods, etc. the next day.
Teach your students to eat three full meals and several snacks a day which are balanced complex carbohydrates, protein and are chock full of fruit and vegetables. Stay away from pre-prepared, high sugar, soda and preserved foods.
Keep children hydrated. Kids should be drinking 4-6 glasses of water a day. Help them choose water over sugary drinks.
Dissuade children from sharing cups, straws and bottles (anything they have direct mouth contact with will spread the germs).
Make sure the children are getting sufficient exercise. Children should be doing aerobic activity at least 5 days a week during recess, gym class or after-school sports.
Don’t send sick children to school; likewise, send them home if they get sick at school. Allowing children to stay in school is the fastest way to spread germs and illness.
Send a “Flu Prevention Tips” letter home with students to give to their parents. The same tips should be practiced at home to assure a healthy school year.
If you notice a child with the beginning symptoms of a flu or cold, let their parents know immediately. Helping prevent the flu or cold developing with vitamin C, hydration, rest and chicken soup is critical.

How to NOT go “over board” with Swine Flu Prevention:

There is no need to frighten the children by wearing a mask or using gloves. If they see their teacher being hysterical or nervous they will imitate and results will be counter productive.
There is no reason to explain in detail the symptoms or effects of the flu to children. Younger children will not understand and adolescents will get scared. Teaching them to maintain healthy lifestyles is all they need to learn from you.

Dr. Erika Schwartz, Medical Director of Cinergy Health is a general internist, an authority on preventive health and a patient advocate. She is a 25 year health industry veteran, working in both an ER as well as a private practice.

Click here for more info.

To some, our mourning of Bonnie may seem ridiculous or overly dramatic. All I know for sure is that it hurts and our home seems empty without her.

So far Clyde is ok, we think. He is sticking a little closer than usual…sleeping right up next to me as opposed to the foot of the bed, and as I type this, perched atop the kitchen table while I’m blogging….Bonnie’s usual spot. When I left for work today I kept the television on with the volume turned down slightly so he’d have some sort of company…so maybe he wouldn’t feel so isolated. I’d give anything to know what was going on in that kitty head of his…does he truly understand? How is he feeling?

E.B. and I are coping in our own way, too. We talk about it alot, naturally because he is so curious and asks many questions. Friends and family have poured out their condolences. My aunt even gave us this stone to put on Bonnie’s final resting place:

Nightime is the toughest. Bonnie was literally always underfoot while I blogged and read email. Once she was finished checking out what I was doing she would curl up in the beanbag and settle in for the night. I could see her beanbag from my bed and always check in on her.

I’m trying really hard not to over-analyze her death. I know this happens, it’s just a part of life, it would have happened eventually. I am resolved to it all in those ways. But I can’t stop thinking about the “what ifs”. What if I hadn’t given in to her begging to be let out that night? What if I would have checked on her outside…could I have distracted her from going near the road? Why was she even near the road? It was so unlike her. But most of all, why oh why did the last thing I have to have said to her before I let her out be scolding her for her relentless begging to go out? That? I don’t know if I will ever forgive myself for.

I guess I always wondered what it would be like someday when we lost one of our cats. Bonnie and Clyde came to us on a hot July day in 2001 as small, playful kittens. They were a pair…on the run from who knows where….thus, their names.

This morning our neighbor brought Bonnie to me. She went out last night around 11 PM and she never came back. He found her near their home, by the road late last night while coming home. She had been hit and he was kind enough to remove her from further harm, wrap her gently in a garbage bag and lay her by our fence until morning. I went to bed last night worried about her and deep down I guess I knew something was wrong. She never not came when called.

Explaining to our son has been tough. Watching Clyde, our male cat and Bonnie’s brother and life-long companion sit beside her lifeless body, then pace, then sit some more has been absolutely heartbreaking.

And I can’t even begin to imagine our household with her absence. Bonnie, the one who curled up in bed with me for exactly 7 minutes (and she was done) every night, the one who nipped at my ankles when I was on the computer, who would bring me her fishing rod toy in her mouth and beg by loud meowing to play.

The one who loved nothing better than wallowing in the cool grass on a beautiful day.

I still keep looking out our door, thinking she will appear any minute.

I suppose I should be grateful for the amazing 8 years she spent with us, and I am. I suppose I should also be relieved that we never had to wonder what happened to her, for she’ll rest forever in a shady spot underneath the tree my son plays under. But right now, it’s all of very little consolation.

My sweet Bonnie Belle, oh how we will miss you.