Yoo Toob, The Modern (Interactive) Magazine

Let's talk about magazines.  This is one form of media that I spent half a lifetime coveting.  While bringing up our family spending money on a magazine was a frivolous act, so I bought very few.  Mostly I would grab one from a doctor's office (since we spent so much time in them) and ask if I could have it.

I would read every word that was between the covers with relish, thinking that I was being educated.  In quiet time I would pour over the pictures again and again scoring the images to memory.  I did this for about ten years, thinking that the authors were so wise.  One day reality hit.

That day was the day that I noticed all of the previous 'wisdom' was being pooh poohed and new 'exciting' information was now available.  Information like margarine was so healthy and butter was a no no in any healthy diet.  Opps, we were wrong.  New studies reveal butter is natural and better than the spread we use to tout because margarine is one molecule away from plastic.  ONE molecule!!!!  Good thing that special heart diet my husband was on that didn't allow him the pleasure of butter was so healthy for him.  My love affair with women's magazines began to waiver. 

I turned to decorating magazines for inspiration realizing that the authors of the women's magazines knew nothing more than I did.  The same procedure for acquiring them was in place.  Until a magazine called  LIVING debuted.  I had to gift myself that one.  I loved it for years - too many to count.  Then two years ago I read where the new CEO let go of 500 employees the week before Christmas.  I became so disgusted that I refuse to even read the magazine or purchase anything with the name attached since. 

I realize every company has an individual tax year, but these modifications could have been put on hold and enacted later in the new year.  Living began soliciting me to renew my subscription - the one I had for twenty years.  Sorry, I've lost total interest in a firm that has demonstrated it does not take into consideration the loyalty of it's staffers - appearing, instead,  to covet only  the bottom line.  It's in an instance like this that I have to ask how many millions is enough.

I see this conglomeration has been loosing luster ever since allowing this to happen at Christmas.  We consumers are not as clueless as this company thought.  Even if the company was loosing money, waiting three months would not have made that much difference.  I know this as a fact as the company I worked for did the same thing for years until it was pointed out to the owner how badly it reflected on him.  He changed his ways and began gaining headway in the market place, making less people angry who complained to anyone who would listen to them.

These trademark products are now often on sale and the company is begging people to subscribe to their magazine, something that was not considered appropriate by it a few years back.

Currently the only magazines I purchase are specialty ones that have information in them about a specific subject such as canning, organizing or Christmas décor and projects.  It's rare that I purchase any these days.

My new 'magazine' is yoo toob.  I love yootoob.  I have found a group of ladies that are so talented that Martha should hang her head.  The kicker is these ladies don't spend thousands on their projects.  They glamorize garage sale finds and super discounted items and their homes are gorgeous.  They create their own pillows by using fabric glue and low cost embellishments.  They organize using dollar store bins or TJ Maxx items.  No snobbery going on here.  I admire them because they are uplifting and have a heart for young families and beauty.

I can't remember which one said this, but it stuck with me. She said God created beauty and an organized environment therefore He has shown us that both of these things can bring peace into our hearts and homes.  This is the kind of wisdom that is forever motivational.

So, yoo toob, you have my vote as long as the bottom line is not more important than the people who  brought you to fame.

Stay safe.

A Low Key Week

The week - so far - has been quiet and slow.  I've been doing piddilly little projects to keep me out of trouble.  Monday I went to my daughter's house to help my son in law with a project.  Nothing he couldn't do by himself, but four hands made the work lighter.  The project took three hours with the two of us working on it, so I imagine it would have taken at least four hours if he were by himself.

I made new bottles of room spray and bug spray since both bottles were close to empty.  I use lavender essential oil for the room spray then for the bug spray I mix the lavender with peppermint essential oil.   Since I was already making a mess in the kitchen I made more hand soap using empty pump bottles I saved.

A short trip to the dollar store netted a pack of chalk board (like) stickers that had greetings on them.  The type of greetings that could be used if someone wanted to make their own thank you notes and such.  Pulling out my small tin of craft items I grabbed a couple of pieces of card stock, folded them, then simply placed a sticker on them.  Plain and simple, just like their creator.  I think by this time  my readers realize I'm not the frilly type.  The cards reflect that fact.  Not super creative, but along the level I'm at right now with my creative streak.



One of the cards is a thank you note card that I can write a
sentiment in that would be appropriate for the occasion. 
The other is an encouragement card that can also have
a hand written note inside.  I know a little girl who will be
receiving this one. 

I also went to a garage sale and found the perfect table for my back hall area.  On top of that I found a great lamp with lots of character.  Another trip to the store,  TJ Maxx this time, and I'm so happy with the results.  The table was the perfect color and size and I parted with 20.00 to buy it.  The lamp was 10.00.  The accessories I bought at TJM were 7.00 and 14.99. The cost of the total project was about 52.00.



The table is a slim parson's table.  I'm not sure how to describe
 the lamp other than to say it's 'cool'.  The mirror was there which
was a gift from my daughter for a birthday.  To say she got
a great deal on it would be crass.  (But, she did!)

Meals this week have been good and made from the pantry.  I made white clam sauce pairing it with bird nest noodles that covered two meals.  I also finished off the French bread I made for breakfasts-once toasted with peanut butter and once toast then sliced in thin strips to dig into soft boiled eggs.  It's difficult to remember what else I had for meals, but those two things remained in memory.

What was your week like?  Was it as 'exciting' as mine?