When I was a kid, and everyone else was looking at Shaun Cassidy photos in Teen magazine, I was busy designing home plans. I’ll never forget the first one I drew. It was eleven stories tall, and included a skating rink and a bowling alley. For all I know, there may actually be people who own houses like that. Hip hop moguls come to mind.

As I got older, my house plans got a bit more realistic. I got interested in drawing plans for small houses that could be built very simply and cheaply. I became enamored of straw bale and rammed earth houses. I drew several designs for a straw bale house, and even bought property near Taos to put it on. Then I learned that Taos does indeed have bad neighborhoods, and that the property I bought was smack dab in the middle of one. So I changed my mind about that. Straw bale house plans have been put on the back burner due to living in a particularly drippy part of Texas. I think a rammed earth or straw bale house would literally melt here. The same goes for those darling cob houses, which I also love.

I think if I ever actually build my own house, I’ll end up buying a plan done by a professional that I find on the Internet and then modify it to suit my tastes.

I’m looking at postcard printing services in anticipation of Christmas. At Postcards.com, I found something that exceeded my expectations. Here’s the deal–they actually ship the postcards for you! Take Christmas cards for example. You could simply upload your cute family photo and holiday message, and then upload your mailing list, and you’re done. As in no addressing envelopes, signing cards, fiddling with stamps…you get the idea. The whole concept of getting done with a Christmas list of a thousand people in a few minutes is absolutely mind-boggling to me. Not that I have a thousand people on my Christmas list. But if I did, I’d certainly be all set.

On the way home from walking to the grocery store, Sage and I stopped at a little gift shop that sold work by local artists. They were interested in seeing my work, which was very cool! It came to mind that I need to get on the ball and get some promotional products for myself, since I am constantly trying to drum up freelance writing and web work, not to mention the art.

With this in mind, I went to Amsterdam Printing and looked at what they have to offer. I saw some really crazy low prices on mugs that you can customize with your logo or artwork. Instead of thinking how I could promote my business with these mugs, I started thinking about how I should get some with my artwork on them and then resell them! The prices were like wholesale, they were so low. It could work.

Whenever I’m doing an intake at my school, I have to tell the students about wearing plain blue jeans. Hopefully, they ask, “Can we wear Dickies?” Unfortunately for them, the answer is no, because Dickies are too stylish for our disciplinary alternative school uniform. The students love Dickies, and I can see why. They look good, and for a name brand, the price is unbelievably cheap. You can make it even cheaper if you use dickies.com coupons from PricePickle.com.

I like Dickies for my husband, who goes through work clothes like crazy. He works in a metal fabrication plant, and gets tons of grease on his clothes. After a point, I just have to take some of the clothes and throw them in the trash. The good thing about wearing Dickies is that they have colors where grease just doesn’t show all that much. And when you do have to replace them, like I said, the price is reasonable.

My students wouldn’t dream of wearing Dickies to work in, though. When they wear them, they look like they’re taking part in a fashion show. They like them too big, with the shirt open and a white tank underneath. You’ve seen the look. I love clothes that both my husband and my students can look good wearing. Now that’s versatile.

The great thing about homeschooling is that I get to revert back to wearing old t shirts. Today, I’m wearing my “Got Net” shirt, which is referring to the Internet because I am a geek. Everyone always thinks that I play volleyball, though, which could not be further from the truth. My favorite t shirts are funny t shirts, because they are a great way to get people to laugh or even meet people. I am getting ready to weed through my closet, where I have dozens of t shirts hanging on hangers and put the ones that I don’t wear often in drawers. My Flava Flav shirt would definitely fall into that category.

Today it is supposed to get up to 79 degrees. I’m loving this t shirt weather!

Okay, you know how I’ve been talking about Modern Furniture? I just had to check out some more when I saw the name of a furniture site: Spacify. I figured if the furniture was anywhere as close to cool as the name, that I’d strike gold. I wasn’t disappointed. I went straight to the section on bedroom furniture and was immediately struck by the sight of a leather bed with such clean lines that it appeared to be floating. Unfortunately, I can’t have a leather bed, due to my three-legged cat who scratches and claws her way up onto the bed every night. Animals and children can definitely cramp your style! It’s a good thing that there are plenty of other things to choose from besides leather!

Some close friends of ours are getting a king-sized bed. They asked us if we wanted their queen. They asked us because they know we sleep on this weird bed that is slightly smaller than a double. Of course we said yes! The only problem with what is otherwise a wonderful situation is that I will no longer be able to use the gorgeous bed frame that my grandfather made. So I’m checking out contemporary bedroom sets, because that’s the decor direction I’m headed in right now. I’m trying to give my house a very eclectic look by blending its 1920’s feel with contemporary furniture. So far, it’s been working out.

I am going to sleep so good at night now. No more falling off the edge of the bed!

This Halloween, I neglected the halloween stores and went with what we already had. This was a mistake, because what we had was a ninja costume that was about two sizes too small. By the time I discovered this fact, it was too late to go shopping and get one that fit. So Sage had about two inches of skin showing on his lower legs, and the ninja costume was just a bit tight.

So next year, we are going to be prepared. Not only are we going to get a new costume for Sage, but we are going to get one for me as well. I want to go as Captain Jack Sparrow. I don’t care if I’m female, I have a thing for his hair. I was inspired by looking at the costumes over at SomeCostumes.com, where they not only have some great costumes, but some cool wigs as well.

The thing is, my husband may not be thrilled about the Captain Jack Sparrow costume. If that proves to be the case, I’m going to go with an animal costume. I like the penguin. I like it a lot better than the sexy costumes that require five percent body fat. It looks warm, too.

If you head over to the site, make sure you read the safety tips! You’ll probably also get some great ideas for next year while you’re there.