Hurray for dads!

I do a lot of talking about moms on my blog. Well, I am one - it makes sense. But today, I'd like to honour the fathers. Happy Fathers Day to all you dads. We truly appreciate you, not just this day but every day.

Thank-you for playing catch and building complicated lego-structures with your sons. Thank-you for dawning a tiara and attending tea parties with your daughters. Thank-you for the giggles and tickles. Thank-you for your gentle firmness in teaching our children to be good people.

Thank-you for braving the elements, for scaring away monsters and for attending school plays with enthusiasm and without complaint, no matter how tired you might be.

Thank-you for all the ways that you show our kids how special they are and how much you love them.

Thank-you for everything you do to make our lives comfortable and fun. 

Thank-you for our families. We are who we are because of you! 

Happy Fathers Day!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you're looking for a great book to give dad for Fathers Day, check out these deals at Cookie's Book Club: Great books to celebrate dad!

The Versatile Blogger Awards: And the awards go to...

The talented and refreshingly honest Rachel of Cool Bean Mommas recently awarded me The Versatile Blogger award! Nice, huh? And then, a few days later, I received the award from a new bloggy-buddy, Beth of Far From Camelot! Thank-you so much ladies! I am honoured.

 So, what IS a versatile blogger? Well, if variety is the key, then I guess I qualify. Here at Cookie's Chronicles I write about parenting, home life, food, knitting, writing and whatever else suits my various moods. At Cookie's Book Club, I indulge my passion for books with book review and interviews with new and noteworthy authors.

According to tradition, having received the Versatile Blogger Award, I must share 7 things about myself with all of you and then award 10 fabulous new (to me) bloggers the Versatile Blogger Award.

I recently shared 7 things about me after receiving the Stylish Blogger Award.

Here are 7 more things you may not know about me:

1. I have great ideas. I am extremely good at starting new things. In fact, I have approximately 1,746 things on the go at any one time. I'm not the best at finishing things however. If I ever finish just one really great thing and become rich as a result, I shall hire a personal finisher to finish things for me.

2. I don't like blue cheese or anything else that looks and smells like it came from the south end of a north-bound seagull.

3. I'm not sure what my freebie list says about me, but here it is. Join me in a sigh of appreciation for the glory of these fabulous men: Johnny Depp, Daniel Craig, Matthew Fox, Robert Downey Jr, Brad Pitt.

I mean no disrespect to my loving husband by sharing this list. In fact, in the spirit of equality I will now share his freebie list: Charlize Theron, Olivia Wilde, Elle MacPherson, Anne Hathaway, Evangeline Lilly. I actually had to help my husband with his list, and of course his first pick was me, bless him.

4. I despise socks. No, really. The way they twirl around my feet so that the heel is always at the front and the seam is twisted under my toes. The way they hide from each other in the dryer. They're sneaky little devils. The way black and dark blue socks can be paired together when dressing on a dark winter morning and later reveal their embarrassing true colours in the bright light of day. Socks, be warned: If ye are found with a hole, without your partner or in anyway conspiring to undermine the comfort of the foot ye belong to, ye shall be tossed into the trash faster that ye can say Argyle!

5. Water. Jo. Agua. Eau. Wasser. Of all the wonderous liquid substances the world has to offer, WATER is my favourite (Appleton's Jamaican Rum is a close second). However you say it, nothing quenches thirst like water. Nothing soothes an aching body like a hot water bath. The sound of running water is like food for the soul.

6. I love music (I may have alluded to this the last time I shared 7 things about myself). I can't actually imagine life without it. When people ask the desert island question - what three things would I bring to a desert island (assuming I had the foresight to pack them in the unlikely event of an emergency) - music is always the first thing I think of. Books come second. Ideally, I would own a waterproof, solar powered iPad or tablet loaded with all of my favourite songs and the best books of all time. That would leave me with space for two other things: some sort of universal knife that includes a magnifying glass (for starting fires) and fishing line. Interesting that I go to comfort (music and books) first before basic needs.

7. If I have a motto it is this: Life is too short to drive under the speed limit.

And now to pass on the Versatile Blogger Award to 10 fabulous and versatile bloggers who I have come to know and admire.

Here I considered two things when deciding who to pass the award onto. First, I looked at how versatile these bloggers are. These ladies and gents write about many things while still relating it all to their central theme, and they do it well! I also wanted to award it to fabulous new bloggers. As a new blogger myself, receiving this award was fantastic feedback for me. It told me that I was doing something right and inspired me to keep going! To these new bloggers I say, keep up the great work!

1. Bruna of Bees with Honey. We have the same 'friendship motto': "the more, the merrier."

2. Rach of Life with Baby Donut. We both refer to our kids as a dessert item.

3. Kimberly of Mama's Monologues. She's a stay-at-home mom like me with three - yes, I said three - boys!

4. Abby of Mommy Moments with Abby. She runs a daycare and has the best craft and activity ideas to try with your own children!

5. Christine of The Aums. She and I share a love of books, and a desire to pass this love onto our children.

6. Ado of The Momalog. She and I both had to do 'this' without our parents to guide us. I love this line from her bio: "Whenever I get smug and think I’ve figured something out, it all changes…because children keep on growing and in their wake, I do, too." Too true, Ado.

7. Stephanie of Meatless Mouthfuls. I love that she's trying to eat out less, prepare and serve healthy food to her family and pass on a love of cooking and good food to her kids. I'm going to be checking out Stephanie's blog often for tips and great recipes.

8. Marisa Frank. She's a mom of four who works hard to keep herself and her family in good health.

9. Michelle of Mummy Loves Tea. She's crazy about tea. Really that would be enough for me, but she also has a way of making me think about life's deep subjects. I LOVE that.

10. Christina of Spilled Milkshake. She's a mother of six - SIX! - with a chronic illness, and she's sharing her challenges and her triumphs with the world. You're an inspiration to us all, Christina!

Congratulations ladies!

Please pay these ladies a visit and show them how great this mommy blogger community of ours really is. They'd love to hear from you!

Wordless Wednesday: Ode to Winter

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Winter, you are majestic. I'd say that I miss you, but that would be a lie. Besides, I know you'll be back!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I am Grateful for... Sunshine and Rain!

This week I am linking up with Leigh Ann of Genie in a Blog to share what I am grateful for this week. I have been keeping a (mostly) daily gratitude journal for quite a while now. I find life's challenges to be a whole lot easier to deal with when I take the time to remember the good things that are also going on at the same time.

This week I am grateful for:

My son's optimism. He is always so happy (except when he's frustrated - but those times are, thankfully, short-lived).

My husband's dependability. He just as steadfast as they come, and I can't thank him enough!

Avocados. I love Avocados.

Blog Hops! I have met some really great people this week and have some really fun new blogs to follow!

Sunshine! It's finally looking like spring around here. Flowers are blooming, the air is sweet, birds are singing. Sure, I could complain about the rain (we have had a TON!), but without the rain there would be none of these other things. I guess then I'm grateful for both sunshine AND rain!

Good friends. I was fortunate to have visits with several of my favourite people last week. It did my soul good!

The strength I somehow found to workout, despite being bone-tired. Yay, me!

The Barista at my favourite coffee shop for appealing to my high-maintenance nature by making me 'special' teas.

This blog. Oh, where would I be without you, keeper of my sanity?

And so many other things...

How was your week? What are you grateful for?

Children's Author Spotlight: Sandra Boynton

If number of books by the same author is the benchmark, then Sandra Boynton is clearly the favourite author around here. She's a prolific writer of children's stories. Her subjects are adorable and silly animals such as pigs, cows, turkeys, cats, dogs, and her flagship hippos. There may also be the occasional monsters or dinosaur.

If you want a taste of Boynton's sense of humour, just visit the sandraboynton.com home and introduction pages. The silly doesn't stop at the text of the story itself. It's all the little details that make the difference in Boynton's work.

Often the stories are accompanied by, or may even have been born out of, a silly song.

To view the full Spotlight on Sandra Boynton, please visit Cookie's Book Club.

Hosting a Garage Sale Guest Post from Coupons Make Cents

It's garage sale season! If you're planning on hosting a garage sale, you'll want to read today's post from guest blogger, Elizabeth of Coupons Make Cents. Also, check out Elizabeth's previous post for tips on how to get the most for your money when checking out other garage sales.

Thanks for these great tips, Elizabeth!

Garage Sales — How to get the most for your stuff when you’re the one SELLING.

If you read my previous post, you know how to get the most for your money when you're the buyer, but what if you're the seller?  How do you set up and conduct your sale so that you get the absolute most for your stuff?  There's lots you can do, and here are some great tips.

• Plan carefully.  Host your yard sale on a day that is supposed to be sunny and warm.  We can't control the weather, but we can take our best shot.  Rain will absolutely ruin your sale.
• Group yard sales always work out better than single yard sales.  See if you can talk your neighbors into hosting one on the same day.  That way you save on signage too!
• Be CLEAR about whether you will accept commercial offers.  There are people who own businesses who will come in early and offer you a low price on a large amount of your stuff.  If you want to get out fast, this might be a good thing, but bear in mind that these people almost always are trying to get your things at a price that they can mark up and sell again at their shop.  If you are ok with that, then go for it.  If not, be CLEAR in your ads (newspaper, Craigslist, etc) that commercial offers will not be accepted.
• Advertise, advertise, advertise. Clearly marked (in BIG DARK LETTERS) signs with your address and subdivision name are absolutely required.  Most newspapers offer free advertising for yard sales, and PLEASE take out an ad on Craigslist.  There is a great new tool out called Yard Sale Treasure Map (it's a site, you can google it) that interacts with Craigslist and a map for the user to plan their trip.  Make sure you're on there!  Be as detailed as possible in naming what you have for sale.  Consider posting on Facebook to your friends that you are having a yard sale, and let them know whether it's ok for them to share that info with their friends.
• Be clear in your ad that you will/will not accept early birds.  They can show up as early as 5 am...are you ready?
• Prepare. Make sure that you have small bills and PLENTY of change on hand.
• Offer coffee and donuts/cookies/Cokes to your customers.  Word will spread like wildfire that your sale has food and drink, especially if it's hot out!
• If you are hosting a group sale, be sure to keep a ledger.  Keep note of item description, whose it was, and how much it was sold for.
• Don't bad mouth your items.  You should be truthful -- if someone asks if the camera works and it doesn't, you should tell them it does not work.  But if it does and you just upgraded, don't be the guy who says "yes, but it doesn't have x, y, or z."  Chances are, your buyer already knows what the camera has/doesn't have, and items at a yard sale are sold on an as/is basis.  The buyer won't be coming back to you later asking why you didn't tell them it didn't have a telescoping lens.
• DO tell the positives about your items!  Don't overdo it, but mention that your kids loved that game, that skillet makes great pancakes, cake doesn't stick in this pan!  etc.  As a buyer, it would make a difference to me if I knew that the china was only used once or twice and really looked like it.  I'd be inclined to give you more for it.  No sense in telling me that it breaks really easy and that's why you only have 7 plates instead of 8.  ;)
• Make CLEAR labels.
• Organize clearly.  There are lots of ways to do this -- you can organize according to price, according to content (clothes here, toys there, etc) but please make sure your items are organized so that the buyer can see FROM THE ROAD that you have some good stuff.
• Bargain.  Negotiate.  Think of your labelled price as the sticker price at the dealer.  Lots of folks will be willing to pay that, but you will always get the hagglers (especially if I come to your neighborhood!).  Don't price too high.  A reasonable price for items at a yard sale is anywhere between 10-40% of what the item would cost new.  Age, wear, and timeliness will also come into play here.  For example, if you have printed encyclopedias to sell, I know how much you paid for them and how much you'd love to get for them, but I have news for you -- .25 might be about right.  They just aren't going to sell.  If technology has come along and made something nearly or completely obsolete, you have to take that into consideration.  As a seller, you have every right to be firm on whichever price you set, but please understand that the buyer has the right to walk away as well.  If someone offers you a price early on in your sale that you aren't willing to take at that moment (thinking that maybe someone else will come along and pay more) tell them that you'll take their name and number and if the item is still there at the end of the sale, you'll call them.  It doesn't mean you have to take their offered price, but it does open the door again to negotiation, and you'll know that your price has been too high to sell.
• Collectables.  Label and group them clearly.  Someone may not understand that your bronze teapot is part of a collection - the other parts of which are scattered across the driveaway.  Price your collectables carefully -- check completed items on Ebay to see what something similar has sold for, because you can guarantee that your buyer, if they have a smart phone, is doing the same thing.

Overall, have fun!  Enjoy your traffic, and hope for the best.  You're clearing out your house, and you're going to love the decluttered rooms.   Revel in the idea that someone else is going to find joy and get use out of something you were clearly finished with.  And end your sale with a smile on your face and cash in your pocket.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

What are your garage sale season tips?