Tis the season...to outrageous expectations!

"I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I'm not happy. I guess I don't feel the way I'm supposed to feel. I just don't understand Christmas, I guess. I like getting present and sending Christmas cards, and decorating trees and all that, but I'm still not happy. I always end up feeling depressed." - Charlie Brown

kenlevine.blogspot.com

DIY - I'm No Canning Genius, But I Have Some Tips

Oh how I love my canning jars. I am pretty sure they are one of my most prized possessions. I love to can and I can whenever I can. <---try to say that 10 times fast. I know I will never be able to have a pantry full enough to never go to the grocery center aisles every again (until my kids move out), but I sure do try. I am not the perfect canning woman, but I do have some lessons that I have learned over the last two years.

My Journey-Open Letter to My Friends

I am 35 and I have moved at least 25 times in my lifetime. Only about 12 of those times were during my military career. I had switched schools 15 times when I was a youth. I was in the social services system for a total of about 18 months off and on. The longest I ever lived in one house was 5 years. The shortest time I have lived in one house was 4 months. I have lived in 7 states, 3 countries, and 10+ cities. So, it would be a fair assessment that it has been difficult to make and maintain friends. I learned early on to move on with my life in every way. That does not mean that the friends I did make during all of those "stays" are not near and dear to me. Some of those friends I have reconnected with on Facebook in a surface type friendship, others I cannot find, and some I am trying to be a better friend to right now. I decided to write an open letter to all of my friends and hope that through the 'net it will reach many of them.

DIY - Slow Cooker Granola

Over the last three years I have been looking for ways to lower my electric bill. I started with hanging my clothes to dry as much as possible. Then I switched to an energy select plan that charges me different rates based on the time of day. This required us to schedule time for the hot water heater to be off and not use our dryer or oven during high rate times. The most recent challenge I have taken on is using my slow cooker and small toaster oven instead of the oven all the time.

PCS - T-minus 10 days Until I am a Single Parent, AGAIN!

The truth is that parents are not really interested in justice. They just want quiet. - Bill Cosby

As I am writing this post, I have 10 days left until my husband leaves for Korea for a year. It has been a stressful and emotional month. The kids are getting out of control and I am dreading the single parent-dome that is upon me. Not the easy single parenting where you send your kids to the other parent every other weekend and summers, but the hard single parenting where you have your children 24/7, 365 with no rest or reprieve in sight. There will be no more mom and dad, good cop and bad cop, or back up parent when I am not feeling good and don't want to go to Girl Scouts. Just me!

My Journey-Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day

October 15th is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day (PAILRD). I suffered a miscarriage 5 years ago and I just now found out about this. Everyone is aware of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month and I am not denying the importance of this. I do wonder why a woman (me) who lost her baby and has been struggling with how to remember this important person every year, did not know about this important day.

Spice it Up!

I have decided that this week I would not write about anything thought provoking or emotional. I am honestly tired of reading my Facebook feed because it is full of depressing stuff. So lets talk about seasonal change and seasonings.

My Journey - Making Decisions

When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier. - Roy E Disney

(so I mention "Disney" and I feel the need to post random Disney photos that have nothing to do with the content of this blog :D enjoy)

PCS - The Crazies Has Hit Me, Finally!

The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of because words diminish your feelings - words shrink things that seem timeless when they are in your head to no more than living size when they are brought out. - Stephen King

My Journey - Fitting In

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else 

is the greatest accomplishment. -Ralph Waldo Emmerson 

My Journey - Living in the Moment - One Step at a Time

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, 
concentrate the mind on the present moment. –Buddha.

DIY - Painted Knife Block

So, I have been really bummed lately because I have only bits and pieces that I need to do some projects and I am unable to get the rest at the moment. Last night I decided to stop having a pity party and find something to do that would make my house more beautiful. I decided to paint my knife block. I had everything, yippee!!! Maybe you do to :D

Challenge - Craft for Income

So, I have had a few people suggest to me that I should craft for income. I tried in the past with making soap, but people wanted the same thing they buy in the store and for less. Therefore, I did not sell many bars of soap. The plus side to that experiment was I have plenty of super awesome soap for my family to use.

Then I started sewing a lot. I started sharing my sewing projects and again it was suggested that I sew for some money. I have put it off for a few reasons. (1) I often wondered how these other moms do this. Where do they find the time and what do they do with their children. I sometimes pictured their little toddlers working away in mommy's sweatshop (lol-bad I know) (2) My crafts have always been fun for me. Even after cursing my sewing machine out, it still felt like fun. I did not want the fun to be taken out of crafting. (3) Who the heck would buy an imperfect sewing project? Seriously people, handmade is never perfect. We are not computerized machines. Plus how much would someone pay. Is it worth my time and would it cover my expenses?

Military Spouses Should Be Seen and Not Heard

Lean On Me...Or Not!

Do you ever think about how many people you depend on, on a daily basis? This past week or so I have been. I happen to be on the downturn right now on my roller coaster of life. I have been so angry lately that I have not wanted to post much or write much because I do not want to bring people down. I needed to get this out and talking to my husband who has a completely different outlook on life was not helping, so I decided to write this blog post anyhow, in the hopes that someone else would understand me.

Lately, I have been beating myself up for the crappy state of our life right now. I have been questioning the decisions that I have made over the last 6 years. Each one I dissected and tried to remember why I felt I should make those decisions and what went wrong. I soon realized that with every decision the only mistake I made was trusting in someone or a system.

I separated out of the military for my children's sake not realizing that 6 months later the person who faithfully paid me child support for over 5 years would abruptly stop. Not only that, but I blindly believed in the economy and thought for sure I would find a job. I was a veteran for goodness sake!

I went to school for 4 years with the idea that a Bachelor Degree meant something. That was what "everyone" was saying. How stupid of me to believe that my 11 plus years of experience and a Bachelor degree would make me more desirable to the employment market so I could support my family.

I bought a house for my family under the assumption that wiping a dream-sheet would mean we were not going anywhere; unbeknownst to me the computer system is broken and randomly reverts back to old dream-sheets. How asinine of me to trust in the previous owner and inspector to not screw me over on a broken down house. Or how about the mortgage broker lying to me that we would have extra money to make some fixes.

I am extremely angry with the Veteran's Administration. I already knew how badly their systems were broken, but now it is affecting me. I missed my window to start Cosmetology School at the school closest to me because their 2 week process is still going on 7 weeks later and no one can tell me why or fix the fact that my record is wrong (which can result in my application being denied if someone does not put two and two together). So here I wait in the hopes that I will be able to still go eventually, but if I find a job before it is approved then it disqualifies me. So, do I still look for the $8 an hour job so we can survive or do I just hope for what I know is a better opportunity? Am I stupid to believe that is a better opportunity for me to find employment?

I could go on and on about the decisions that I have made that have led me to this point. I have no faith in my decision making anymore. I know that my decisions were right at the time because I cannot see the future, but I still doubt them because this is where they led me, misery (at the moment).

I wish more people would think of others when they do things. We are such a ME society. I am so tired of hearing "there is nothing I can do" or "the person that can help you is unavailable" or "that is just how it is" or "I have to take care of myself first" or "I have to do what is right for me even if it affects you" or thinking "what can I do to get more for me." My husband is completely right about me. I am a rebel. I make it hard for myself to survive in this world. My heart will just not allow for me to hurt others or take advantage of others. So, instead I just get angry or disgusted with people and the world.

Seriously, think about how many people you depend on: the bank to take care of your money, the service companies you depend on to not overcharge you, the fix it guy to not screw you over, the teacher to not give you a bad grade because they don't like you, the friend you hope will keep your secret, etc. The list is long.

So this is my angry, pity party post. I am hoping that putting it all out there will help me make peace with my current life status. I hope that future posts will be about successes, not failures. We all fall down sometimes. We just have to remember to pick ourselves back up and try to move forward.
   

Unplugged

Are you addicted to your electronics? I am not talking about just things that run on electricity. I am talking about those things that you do mindlessly like watch T.V. and check your Facebook. Friday night I challenged my family to go without modern electronics like computers, television, and texting. 

My Husband Thinks I'm A Rebel

I'm a rebel! At least that is why my husband tells me.

To him the word rebel has new meaning. It describes a person that follows the rules instead of breaks them. A person that tries to bring back the way things should be instead of fighting against it.

This day in age we just do things whatever way. We try to get what we can from whom ever we can to suit our own needs. We do what we are told by someone else who was told by someone else who was told by someone else. Somewhere in that chain was a lazy no good person, I promise. I found this out the hard way and it changed me forever.

My Name is Christina & I Am A Helicopter Parent

Okay, I am going to admit it. I am what some would consider a "helicopter parent." I did not realize how much so until my 14 year old started home-school. 

www.valorebooks.com

Helicopter Parent: a parent who takes an overprotective or excessive interest in the life of their child or children (Oxford Online Dictionary)

Salsa, Anyone?

The only salsa I like is the dancing kind, but my husband loves ^salsa^. He munches on it almost every night while we are watching our shows. I wanted to see if I could make him some salsa that he might like and could possibly be healthier and cheaper. I decided to combo-step my way through a salsa recipe this past Sunday. I found it in the Better Homes and Gardens-Can It! Cookbook. 

I Finally Put Some Paint on the Walls!

Who knew that painting was such a great work out. Boy am I sore from painting the living-room and one hallway yesterday. I started feeling my knees ache about half way in, but I kept pushing through. I absolutely love the color and I am looking forward to painting everything else we had planned on painting this color. I would like to share the blog that I got all my painting tips from Young House Love. It was quicker and less clean up this time around for us thanks to their help. 

I learned how to cut-in and bought a super special brush to do this. I am so thankful that I did not have to tape everything. If I did make a tiny mistake, I easily wiped it up with a wet rag. We did not put down any plastic either except under the paint bucket and tray itself. If we dripped (which only happened a few times) we were able to wipe that up also because we have linoleum floors <--- another time saver.

 Charlie even got in on the action. She was so patient with me and daddy being so busy, but by the time we got to the hallway, she was super jealous and wanted to paint. Thank goodness she listens so well. She was the only person that did not drip at all on the floor. She did accidentally get a door frame, but that came off super easy.

 Kaijah thought ^this^ was the perfect "mommy and me" picture. Even though I have a goofy look on my face I am sharing it because it will make Kaijah happy. The Valspar-paint & primer worked great at covering up the chalk-board paint.

 I taught Kaijah how to cut-in. She did great. Only a few dribbles on the baseboards, but she quickly wiped them up. I am sure many are thinking, "why are you painting your house this color when you have to sell it soon?" Well here is the answer: we bought this paint about 2 weeks before the assignment bomb hit us. I have struggled with what to do with it. I thought about selling it for a bargain, but in the end I really wanted to do something I love to this house before I have to give it up.

Kairah caulking. She has been working on the whole house little by little (also learned on YHL)

 I am kicking myself in the butt right  now for postponing all DIY projects until after we owned for at least a year. We wanted to marinate in the house to make sure that everything we did was what we really wanted. I probably would have picked a different color had I painted last year, so in a way it is good we waited.

With flash on - gotta love the photo bomb >>>

 Now I am debating what to do about the wall behind my couch (do not laugh at my broke-down thrift store couch. It is functional.). I was planning on putting gallery shelves there. I still might. If I sell, maybe the new owners will like it. If I end up having to rent, maybe it will keep my renters from putting a ton of holes in the wall. I hope I find a great web-source to look at to make them.

With flash off - that light spot is from the bay windows to the left of the pic. I love the light that comes in.

Before, way before, like when we first moved in before. :D

Sea World - The No Plan Experiment

My family knows how much of a control freak planner I am. I like to be prepared for anything and not do things the stupid less smart way. My plans always include other's opinions and feelings. I try to make sure that everyone will be happy as much as I possibly can. I try to make a decent budget and stick to it.

Well I threw that all out the window when we went to Sea World in Texas because it was my husband's Birthday and wanted to make him happy. I would like to share my experience with just rolling with it.

Fort Hood - Doin' it Big Too

When we visit my in laws we are near the largest Army base in the United States. When I say this place is big, I mean BIG! If you wanted to, you could never leave the base and be perfectly content. This base houses not only people and units, but also 2 commissaries (grocery stores), 2 Exchanges (mini shopping malls), numerous fast food places, a theater that plays semi-new movies, a skating rink, a Chili's, 6 pools, many obstacle courses, 4 gyms and many other things. My favorite observation about this installation was the fact that they do not waste money on things that do not need to be replaced or do not enhance military capability or family happiness. In pass and ID I noticed that their phones were old brown one line phones. They had a mailbox system that was bowing and taped many times to keep it serviceable. That impressed me! Who needs a 6 line, electronic phone that is expensive and breaks? If you do not get through, call back lol :D In all seriousness, I think Fort Hood is an awesome installation with professional, awesome soldiers, families, and employees.

It was no surprise to me that this installation was going to have an amazing fireworks display....and they certainly did!

Yes, I Am Boy Crazy. So What!

So, while I was on vacation I went to see The Heat. During the movie I recognized my first celebrity crush. I was in like 5th grade I think, but I still remember him and definitely recognized him. This got me to thinking about all my crushes and how boy crazy I am.

I have been boy crazy for as long as I can remember. Sometimes it is very noticeable. I have had co-workers tease me because my personality changes when I find someone attractive, even women sometimes, if I find them extremely beautiful. I just blame it on my sun sign :D

Its not just looks that get me all the time. Personality plays a part if I get to know you. It can make you ugly to me or HOT! Even a character in a movie can make me notice a celebrity that I never noticed before.

In honor of my boy craziness that's celebrate some of my celebrity crushes!

My first celebrity "boyfriend": Joey from New Kids on The Block

businessinsider.com

TEXAS, Always Doin' It Big

We took our annual road trip to Texas a little early this year. This time we get to be there for Lew's Birthday instead of Charlie's. That gives me an opportunity to have a little party for her at home. The last few years we have been doing the trips straight through with no overnight stops. 

It is a long 13 hour drive...

 I had the opportunity to see a beautiful sun rise off the bridge headed into Pensacola. Since, I was not driving yet, I was able to get this picture.

2013 Goals in Progress

We are half way through 2013, how are you doing on your goals for the year?

Here is how I am doing:

PCS - Top 5 Things My Husband Will Miss About Me

After I wrote my top five, I asked my husband to tell me his top 5 things that he will miss about being away from me.  I made sure he knew I was blogging about it.

Here goes, what Lew will miss about me is...

PCS - Top Five Things I Will Miss While My Husband Is Gone

For the last few weeks I have been thinking about all the things I am going to miss while my husband is gone for a year. When he deploys I actually feel more sorry for him than me because deployment conditions are crap. But, now he will be in pretty nice surroundings so I actually feel sorry for me this time. So here are my top five things I will miss while the hubs is away:

Newly Home-Schooled Teenager = Frustration

If you want give yourself the ultimate test of patience, home school your teenager that has been in regular school all their life! My oldest daughter asked to be in virtual school to get caught up and placed in her correct grade. I made the mistake of making a deal with her and underestimating her. Basically I lost!

notalwayslearning.com

PCS - I Can't Help Myself, The Bucket List Begins

I know that there is still a chance that we will not go to Germany, but I just can't help myself. I am so damn giddy about this assignment. My husband has not seen me this excited about anything in a while. I have always wanted to go to Europe and I never thought it would happen.

For the past week I have been talking about all the things I want to do. I decided that I would not repeat my mistakes from my time in Japan. I will not stay on base, but instead be adventurous. For goodness sakes, who goes to Japan and does not go to Tokyo Disney? (this girl) I will learn to speak different languages even if it is just a few choice phrases.

I have already been planning my bucket list. Here are a few of my choices:

PCS - Ahhhh The Stress Begins

We are over a year out from moving, but I am super stressed. My first area of concern is our medical clearance. This process is a beast when you know there are things that can cause issues in the process.

Big News...

My husband, who is in the Air Force, was selected to relocate to Korea for a year...WHAT!?

Let me tell you what happened.

Princess Week 2.0 Show and Tell

Week 2 of summer vacation was just as busy as the first.  I am probably going to be shunned for what I am about to type, but here goes: being a stay at home mom is a lot harder than being a working mom! 

I have done both and I am exhausted and feel less like myself now that I am back at home full time. 

The highlight of  the week was Charlie's Show and Tell on Friday. 

It was so adorable, so I wanted to share that instead of the blah blah blah boring stuff. 

Princess Week Awesomeness!

Last week was Charlie's first week out of "school." It was a big transition for both of us. She seemed quite happy to be home with me. On the other hand, I think the adjustment was a bit harder for me. First, I was dealing with some big news (more on that to come in the future) and when ever I have "infinite" time at home I procrastinate on everything! 

Anyhow, the highlight of our week was the princess activities we did. I did not plan a huge amount of things. I just found princess coloring pages here and activities here. 

Every evening I would pick something for the next day and we would improvise with what we had.

JMO - I Still Live By the Air Force Core Values

In Basic Training, the Air Force core values are repeated over and over and over again: Integrity First, Excellence in All We Do, and Service Before Self. I still live by those core values and actually lived by them before I joined.

JMO - Not Enough Yeses in This World

     Is it me, or is there just not enough yeses anymore? It seems that all I seem to hear is "no", "that cannot be done", "that is not possible" and so on. I have become so accustomed to hearing that and now I do not even try to changed it to a yes.

I Love Holiday Weekends!

I absolutely, positively love holiday weekends! Not for the same reason that most people do. You see I live in a tourist area, so on holiday weekends our beaches are packed and traffic is terrible. We do not have friends that barbecue or party. Therefore, on holiday weekends we start checking projects off our list. Three or four day weekends are perfect for this because most projects only take a day or two at the most. Then, you still have a day to rest.

My Garden Heroes

 I think my wonderful husband and daughter might have saved my veggie garden this weekend. We had other plans for upgrades to the house, but my garden was in a sad state and if we did not do anything about it, then it would be lost for the season. 

Whatever is in the Cabinet - Beef, Veggies, & Rice

My children's favorite meal is "whatever is in the cabinet." This all came about a couple of years ago. My kids always ask me "what's for dinner" as soon as I step foot in the kitchen. Well, there was a night that I did not have an answer for them because I was just tossing something together trying to use up left overs and produce before it went bad. The answers "I don't know" or "food" was not working anymore. So out of sheer frustration, I said "what ever is in the cabinet."

The Progessing Slowly Patch o'Land

Spearmint that a friend of mine gave me last fall.

Abraham Lincoln is believe to have said, "The greatest fine art of the future will be the making of a comfortable living from a small piece of land." Now, I am not trying to earn money from my land, but I would like to get to a point of supplementing my pantry with it. This year it seems to be slow growing. Kairah and I are working on figuring out why, but in the mean time here is a quick update on our garden.

I Am Angry With Food Right Now

It's almost summer and many people have been "dieting" since New Years. I have seen some great successes and some huge failures. Dieting and exercising has been one of my struggles for many years now. I have tried fad diet after fad diet and I absolutely do not find joy in exercising.

Summertime Stumped

"I mustache you for advice" - Valparaiso Library Summer 2012

So, now that I have decided to quit looking for work during the summer I now have the stress of keeping us busy. My Middle-schoolers are the biggest challenge right now. It is hard for them to contemplate doing anything but sitting around the house and watching the boob-tube.

My Summer Job

It is looking as if the universe has a different plan for me than I thought. After I graduated with my Bachelor's degree, I thought my dream job a good job a decent job would appear. And maybe it did; it just won't be paying me in cold hard cash. My new summer job is as a Stay At Home Mom. 

April Showers bring May Flowers...and lots of weeds.

 It has been absolutely beautiful here in Northwest Florida. I am so glad that it has not been blazing hot and nasty humid yet because it has given me the motivation to work in my garden now that I am home in the evening. My yard is a hot mess, but I am trying to at least keep up with my garden so we can have some produce from it this summer and fall. Here is an update on my mini-"farm".

New Hang Out Spot

First attempt at sharing a DIY moment on my blog. I am just a little nervous. It seems that sometimes what I think make sense, does not always make sense to others... Anyhow, a few weeks ago I did some beautifying to my back patio. My dog, Champ, really enjoyed watching me and my helpers while sunning himself.











So here goes:

Playing hooky :D

So I am coming to an end on my work/study contract and have only a few weeks worth of hours left. My boss is on leave and there is nothing going on but scheduling appointments, so I decided to play hooky today with Charlie. My co-worker is more than capable of taking care of business (he was doing it by himself before I came along).

It was a lovely day off!

We slept in a bit which was exceptionally nice since Charlie slept through the night. Something she has not done in about 3 weeks. I started laundry, made our beds, swept the sand covered floor, and cuddled on the couch with my baby and a cup o' joe.

What do I do now?

For the last 4 and a half years I have been a college student. For the last two years I have been going to school at night. Everyone I see lately says "I bet you are glad to be done with school." Uh...not really. I liked the consistency. I liked knowing that I will be going to school next semester and the next and the next... That has all come to an end and now I am at a place that I do not like being...the unknown!

Guest Blog: Kailah and Kairah, Girl Scout Project

My daughters, Kailah and Kairah, were tasked with a Girl Scout project to bring awareness to bullying and the hard times that teens go through. They decided to make a photo essay with the help of friends and family to spread the Love is Louder movement.

The Dreaded First Job Interview - check

My first interview experience was not too terrible...THANK GOODNESS! I went to my first interview today and was terrified.

 pic c/o www.123rf.com

Canning Therapy

After a crappy couple of days I was feeling really blah when I got home today. I do not want to talk about the crappy stuff, instead I want to talk about the happy stuff (what I did to feel better).

The best thing that could have happened, did happen. My husband took my 3 oldest daughters skating with an awesome Groupon I found a few weeks ago. Why is this awesome? It is because they are out of my hair? Well, sort of.

Tutorial - No Sew Floor Pillow

This is my first tutorial. I am so excited about this project that I did. I have been looking for affordable bean bags or floor pillows for my children for over a year. We have a small living room with a small couch. If more than 2 or 3 of us are watching TV then some of us have to sit on the hard floor. I have never found any bean bags or floor pillows that I was willing to pay for. So, yesterday I was looking through an ad for my local fabric and craft store and they had foam by the yard on sale (50% off) and fleece on sale (40-50% off). Then, it hit me. I could make floor pillows and my kids could help me.

Spa Day - woot woot!

One thing my girls complain about the most lately is that I do not do "spa days" with them anymore. So today I decided to try somethings I have seen on pinterest and have a spa day.

Kairah and Kaijah have curly hair that gets very dry and damaged. So I tried the simplest natural (kitchen) hair treatment I found on pinterest (here). All I did was run coconut oil through their hair and wrap with cling wrap. I had them each sit under a "rigged" blow dryer for 15 minutes.

We did all of our other spa plans while they kept the coconut oil in their hair. I painted their nails. I do not do manicures any more because I figure they are old enough to remove polish and trim their own nails. Kairah had me do a design she found on pinterest (here).

Lastly, we "waxed" their eye brows with this sugaring recipe I found on pinterest (here). I used the first recipe. The hardest part for me was finding the perfect temperature to put it on. Either is was too hot or too hard, but we worked through it. Kailah even got in on this action :D .

BTW, I did Charlie's nails yesterday. Are they not just too cute!

The coconut treatment made their hair so soft and Kairah's curls even lay longer than they usually so. So I call that a success! Does anyone else do their own spa days at home?

Maintaining and/or Growing a Friendship on a Budget

One of my goals for 2013 is to maintain and/or grow friendships. I can honestly admit that I am lacking in the know how in this area. So, I got to thinking, how would one do this? I thought about how I have done this in the past. It seemed to me that when I had the best social interactions it involved money. I then thought how could this be? How can friendship cost money? Especially when our average income is down from previous years; but it does not seem to matter. As a society we feel the need to go to restaurants for meals, go to or host home sales parties, go to or host game parties that cost money, be a part of an organization that costs money. It is not just adults that feel this way either. Children are the same.

I remember when I was a child, I forged friendships while playing outside in the neighborhood or at the park. I attended birthday parties that consisted of cake and a home made game of pin-the-tail on the donkey. If we were lucky we had pizza. I have tried to have these types of parties for my children and no one attends, but throw a party at a roller rink, amusement park, or sales business and you will max out in participation. I also fork over money to organizations, sports associations, and dance studios so my children can get some exercise and social skills since all of the other children are at these things instead of playing in the street.

I decided to see how much it cost me when I did these social activities and this is what I came up with:

That is a lot of money. $107 a month and this does not include the activities my children participated in. This has led me to my current search for free or inexpensive ways to have friendships or social interaction. It is an important part of life and I have decided to not let the economic stagnation and/or decline affect it.

I reviewed some blogs that made suggestions on how to maintain friendships in general. Gretchen Rubin started what she calls a "Happiness Project" that as a part of it she suggests ways to maintain friendships. I found these 8 items to be rather useful. Dummies.com also had some useful information. I strongly identified with the debt princess's article about losing friendships when times got tough for her. In contrast I wanted my article to focus on actual activities one could do to maintain or grow friendships without spending a lot of money or how about any money at all. :D

Game Night. You can do this with families or not. It could be a pot luck or just have a few snacks available.

Image courtesy of examiner.com

Movie or TV Show night. This can also be with families or not. The home DVR which quite a few of us have can make this even easier since you do not have to ask friends to come over on a Tuesday, instead record the show and have them over on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon or evening. I used to watch a favorite show with some neighbors (and even my deployed husband would watch over webcam sometimes). It was a blast. We played a game during commercials and had wine or drinks if we could afford them.

Cougar Town - Image courtesy of TBS.com

Potluck, BBQs, Brunches, Lunches or Dinners. This can be inexpensive and seems to be a favorite for most.

Image courtesy of fisherspeakcommunitychurch.org

Start a Group. A book club, play group, scrapbooking group etc. can be inexpensive especially when you can borrow a book from a library, use toys or supplies you already have and are not charging monthly dues.

Image courtesy of internetmonk.com

Go to a Free Outdoor Location. I am lucky to live in Florida where the weather is beautiful most of the time. I enjoy going to the park and beach. All I have to do to make it a group activity is invite some people.

Image courtesy of gotoflorida.net

Long distance friendships are a little tougher to me. Number 5 on Gretchen Rubins list made me feel a little more at ease with this. My long distance friendships are those kinds that I can go years without talking to someone, but call them up when I am in town or out of the blue and we pick up like we just spoke yesterday. Social Media has helped with long distance friendships in my opinion, but cannot replace a good ol' fashioned phone call or meet up. Here are a few ideas for long distance friendships:

Phone Calls. Calling a friend once a week, once a month, once a year or whenever can lift the spirits.

Image courtesy of istockphoto.com

Letters. With the invention of email, letters have pretty much become non-existent, but wouldn't it be nice to get something other than bills in the mail.

Image courtesy of essay.tv

Skype, Google Plus, Yahoo Messenger etc. There are video conferencing opportunities everywhere now. So not only can you talk to your friend but you can see her new hair cut or her little one playing with blocks in the background. How awesome is that?!

Image courtesy of geeksugar.com

Social Media like Facebook. Social media is great for quick little updates, but does not provide the intimate details (usually) that you would get from a letter or formal conversation.

Image courtesy of wizmarketings.com

I have decided to try all of these. Most of them seem pretty simple. I think I will look for a pen-pal first. That one seems the most interesting and uncommon. Here's to great friendships in 2013!!!