In Search of Goodies...

I've been bringing around a tin lately while I'm out in case I find something small and inexpensive that might be fun to put in there and want to check to see if it will fit. Thought I'd also take my camera today to Central Market(my fave grocery store, mentioned before) and show a quick tip for shopping for candy for your gift tins(plus a few other random fun pics I snapped).
Wherever you may call home, I hope you are blessed enough to live near a store that carries a great selection of bulk items! I love all the choices and being able to buy exactly the amount you want to eat or need for your recipe. This pic shows just ONE of SIX aisles in CM's amazing bulk department(which also has spices, flours, cereals, nuts, snack mixes, etc, but this row is my favorite). ;) That's William with the balloon(ready to grab some peanut butter and chocolate malt balls.

Some of the bins have scoops, this one has a "pour". I loaded it straight into my tin! Fill 'er up!Exactly enough to fill it, but not too much that I can't close the lid. All the candy* I need for this for only $1.25. (I dumped the candy in one of the Ziploc bags to weigh it, though, for printing the price label, because, ya know, the weight of that tin could have added another 8 cents or so!!) :)
Now a few pics just for fun: when I showed my husband this next picture after uploading on the computer, he said, "That's not real!" He thought it was one of those pics from a "forward" of silly stuff!) But I took it, examined this pepper with my own hand! (At first it may look like the orange color is being reflected form the peppers next to it, but it's not, look at the others!) This just really struck me funny, that these two peppers of different colors are butted up next to each other and the green seems to be taking on the other's pepper's hue! I think I'll call it "Blushing Pepper Kiss!" or "I Melt with You"? or "HOT PEPPERS!" or "Mixed Marriages"? or "Vampire Pepper"? or...leave your clever title in this post!) What do you think? Is this pic funny enough/good enough to warrant circling the world 8 times through email??
I also took a few pics of some magnets I saw at the checkout, two good quotes here:
"always make new mistakes." Now THAT'S a good rule for life! (I don't even want to think about how much of my life I've spent making the same OLD mistakes!)
This next one (sorry it's blurry, my turn came up, had to run!) says: "Good friends are like Stars. You can't always see them, but you know they're always there" I wanted to share this because it really applies to all of you in my online/blogging life. I'm so excited about all the relationships I'm making with people I most likely will never meet (although I'll be seeing a few of you in May-at the swap-yeah!!) but your personalities shine through your comments and blogs and creations in a such a way that you are all becoming as real to me and as treasured as the close friends I see on a regular basis. (It's been hard for me the last few years to stay in touch with people, even family members, because it is so hard to find time for a phone call or have a conversation when taking care of little ones. I'm so glad for the time I can find to blog in the middle of the night to tell you what I've been doing, and so grateful for everyone who I know I can always call "friend" even when time passes and we are out of "touch".) Thanks for checking in; I love hearing what you're up to! :)

Starla asked(on my ipod post):

ok.............what vitamins, food, yoga do I need to take to get a creative mind like yours? PLEASE help me!!

Lately, Starla, it seems to be driven by caffeine, sleep deprivation and a NEED to do something other than work 100 piece puzzles/watch Dora/listen to The Wiggles!(my son William's FAVORITE things) ** (The last few months I've been too busy lazy to do the vitamins, healthy eating thing, but that would probably help.)

And also, I guess just really looking around and being open to inspiration, which is, I think, being curious about everything, looking for beauty/humor in anything (like the things in these pics were speaking to me today. I like to think of the "bell pepper incident" as a little prank God left for me to find. He's got a sense of humor, ya know! the best!;) Upcoming stamp sets I plan to release have come from some of the most unlikely places!) And lately I've been trying to remember to pray that He would "open my eyes" to these gifts each day (not only to apply to my creative life, but just to delight in HIS creation. )

Have a terrific(and funny!) day!

TIP: If you are shopping for gift items and forget to bring your tin with you, a driver's license or credit card from your wallet can be used as guide to show you what will fit based on the length and width of the card.

*These are chocolate covered sunflowers seeds, with a candy coating like m&m's. The seed gives it the nicest little "bite" and makes this treat a little more healthy! I highly recommend! They're so tiny and crunchy and fun to eat, though, they'll be GONE really FAST!

**It probably doesn't hurt that I'm also SUPER motivated to make you want to buy a couple stamps sets, either ;)