Beckie Lives and Learns

If it's not illegal, immoral, or blatantly stupid, I am willing to give it a try!

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  • About Me
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  • What I Made
  • Fun and games
  • What I Did
  • Other Stuff I Learned

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Recent Posts

  • 52 Ideas for Your Own Mini “Bucket List” Calendar–Make it Your Best Year Yet!
  • Shabbat Morning Services are Good for My Health
  • Accountability “Partners”–7 Ideas to Help You Reach Your Goals!
  • 8 Great Reasons to Plan a Game Night!

Previous posts

Recent Comments

  • Beckie on 52 Ideas for Your Own Mini “Bucket List” Calendar–Make it Your Best Year Yet!
  • Stephen Bergman on 52 Ideas for Your Own Mini “Bucket List” Calendar–Make it Your Best Year Yet!
  • 52 Ideas for Your Own Mini “Bucket List” Calendar–Make it Your Best Year Yet! on Want to Try a New (to you) Fruit? I Present…THE RAMBUTAN!
  • Shabbat Morning Services are Good for My Health on Joining a Book Club–A Great Decision for So Many Reasons!
  • Accountability “Partners”–7 Ideas to Help You Reach Your Goals! on Want to Try a New (to you) Fruit? I Present…THE RAMBUTAN!
  • RAMBUTANS
    What I Did

    Want to Try a New (to you) Fruit? I Present…THE RAMBUTAN!

    November 12, 2020 /

    My husband recently picked up a box of fruit when shopping at our local Costco.  He (correctly) thought that the fruits looked interesting, and, having been inspired by my desire to keep trying new things (I am working with the assumption that he is so inspired), he picked up a box.  It wasn’t until I actually looked at the label before I knew what they were–he picked up a box of rambutans.  At that point, that clarified nothing.  I had never seen nor heard of this fruit.  We were going to change that!  As I shared some initial information on Facebook, I learned that I am not the only one…

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    Beckie 5 Comments

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    Just part of the view of the Fourth Lake forest preserve.

    Let’s Get Down and Dirty

    June 23, 2019
    Birthday signage

    Happy Birthday to Me!

    January 5, 2019
    Hanging out with Daisy, Mrs. O'Leary's cow. (She was innocent!)

    Chicago History Tour–I Love to Play Tourist Locally!

    November 27, 2019
  • I ordered a set of the insulated serving bowls. This included a 2.5 QT and a 1 QT bowl. In this bowl I served roasted butternut squash, red pepper, and tomato mixed with rice. Yum!
    What I Did

    Virtual Pampered Chef Party–Fall 2020! (Party-on while being responsible adults!)

    October 28, 2020 /

    I recently attended a virtual Pampered Chef party that my college friend, Barb, hosted.  I wasn’t necessarily thinking of making purchases, but I did think it would be fun to interact with others and interact again with Barb.  I figured that I might get some inspiration to help me in the kitchen; I was feeling a little stagnant.  When all was said and done, I did not buy anything, but I did want to host my own party.  I enjoyed the experience of participating, and I really enjoyed what the PC consultant did, so we set up a party for early September. This all took place on Facebook.  I did…

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    Beckie 6 Comments

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    Cosmetics used to make me look pretty!

    I Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty

    May 5, 2019
    University of Georgia memorabilia

    College Tour, Part 3: Peachy Keen–Visiting the University of Georgia

    April 13, 2019
    Our last day together in front of Neyland Stadium at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. We are going to miss him, but I think he will have a great year!

    Heading to University of Tennessee in Knoxville!

    September 2, 2020
  • Our last day together in front of Neyland Stadium at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. We are going to miss him, but I think he will have a great year!
    What I Did

    Heading to University of Tennessee in Knoxville!

    September 2, 2020 /

    I have definitely entered a new stage in my life.  I am now officially the mother of a college student.  My husband and I recently took our first born out of state to be part of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville Class of 2024!  Go, Vols!  (During this “getting him to school” part of the adventure, my daughter spent the week with her best friend.  She most likely enjoyed that more than she would have enjoyed travelling and doing college stuff with us.)  (If you want to read about how this all really began, check out this post from last year’s college tour!) In my family, I tend to be…

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    Beckie 10 Comments

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    Follow the paw prints! Welcome to Clemson!

    College Tour, Part 2: Carolinas on My Mind–University of North Carolina and Clemson University

    April 10, 2019

    Summer Community Theater–Excited to be Back on Stage!

    September 4, 2023

    My 30(ish) Minute Beauty Getaway

    June 8, 2019
  • Sourdough Bread
    What I Made

    Sourdough Bread–Back In the Kitchen, Pandemic Series

    July 21, 2020 /

    I initially wrote this first part several weeks ago: Words which I never expected to say to my husband were recently said:  “Honey, the next time you go to Sam’s Club, can you pick up another 25 pound bag of flour?  We are almost out.”  When he first bought 25 pounds of flour, we expected it to last forever.  Well, as I had written and posted in the past, we have been taking full advantage of our quantities of flour and our breadmaker! (Our flour “projects” have included homemade pizza and French bread.) After sharing my humorous comment on Facebook, some friends offered me a sourdough starter since I have never…

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    Beckie 4 Comments

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    Some of the paint blending magic. Oooohhh!

    Walk, Sweat, and Paint

    July 20, 2019
    Cozy #1

    Sew Cool, Part 2

    January 16, 2019
    Coasters in action!

    Making Rope Coasters with the Husband and College-Age Kids–A Successful Family Project

    October 8, 2023
  • Fingerspelling in American Sign Language (ASL)
    Other Stuff I Learned,  What I Did

    Let’s See If I Can Learn American Sign Language

    June 27, 2020 /

    Back in high school, I studied Spanish.  I really enjoyed it and was actually quite good at it.  (For the life of me, though, I cannot roll my R’s!  It’s really frustrating!)  I was the kid who went out of her way to look up and learn additional vocabulary words.  In college, I took a one semester Spanish writing class.  I have always wanted to be fluent in the language.  I still can’t say that I am fluent, but I can still interact decently in Spanish if necessary.   For approximately five years, I worked in an office in which I spoke Spanish on a regular basis, and I became…

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    Beckie 10 Comments

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    TEDx--REBOOT

    TEDx: Reboot–Prepare for a Reset, a Fresh Start, a Do-Over

    January 12, 2020
    Inner trim panel of the door removed to allow access to the broken car handle assembly

    Trapped! (aka Broken Car Door Handle)

    August 15, 2019
    The Roaster!

    The Wild Roaster

    June 30, 2019
  • I'm juggling!
    Fun and games,  What I Did

    Learning to Juggle (Literally, not Figuratively)

    June 5, 2020 /

    January 2020:  I have always been entertained by watching jugglers.  It always seemed like a really cool thing to be able to do.  When I was in junior high, I knew some people who could juggle, and one of my friends tried teaching me.  I had the juggling balls and everything.  I never progressed very far.  I don’t know where those balls are today, but every so often, I will try juggling balled up socks.  This doesn’t last long.  I have decided to once again make a concerted effort at actually learning how to juggle and keep something in the air! Nowadays, instead of turning straight to a book, the…

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    Beckie 5 Comments

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    We found the geocache!

    My Intro to Geocaching

    November 20, 2019
    I was ready for Sixteen Candles to transport me back to the 80's!

    The Music was Like, Omigod, Totally Awesome!

    June 18, 2019
    Some of the classics!

    8 Great Reasons to Plan a Game Night!

    December 8, 2024
  • Freshly roasted garlic spread on freshly made bread. I can get used to this!
    What I Made

    Reunion with the Too-Long Ignored Bread Maker and Garlic Roaster

    May 1, 2020 /

    With extra time on my hands during the pandemic, I have been able to spend more time in the kitchen and realized it was time to revisit some wonderful kitchen “gadgets” that had not been forgotten but were so out of use that I would never think about them at times when it was appropriate to use them (I would remember them before going to sleep or in the middle of a work day when I could not do anything food prep related). First of all, I knew that in one specific drawer in my kitchen, I had a garlic roaster.  I knew it was there but simply had not…

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    Beckie 6 Comments

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    The Shed Squad!

    Super Shed 3000

    July 7, 2019
    Counterful of natural lip balm.

    Making Natural Body Products

    March 20, 2019
    Coasters in action!

    Making Rope Coasters with the Husband and College-Age Kids–A Successful Family Project

    October 8, 2023
  • PIZZA!! The final product--cut and ready to eat!
    What I Made

    Homemade Pizza Night!

    April 10, 2020 /

    (Personal disclaimer:  Currently, my family is celebrating the holiday of Passover.  This pizza was prepared and enjoyed before the holiday. During Passover, you cannot eat leavened products.) If you have been to a grocery store recently, you may have noticed the lack of cheese pizza availability.  Of course, this does absolutely nothing to diminish the craving for pizza. Other items people have had trouble finding recently, from what I have heard at least, include items for baking such as flour and yeast.  Well, as members of warehouse clubs, despite not being able to find these items at our neighborhood grocery stores, my husband DID find them at a big box…

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    Beckie 9 Comments

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    I bet that you can't see the uneven paper anymore, can you?!

    Enjoy Your Wine; Then Upcycle the Wine Bottle!

    December 5, 2019
    Frozen yogurt drops

    Yogurt Drops

    February 21, 2019
    Janome Magnolia 7330

    Sew Cool!

    January 9, 2019
  • Local trees since we cannot travel currently
    Other Stuff I Learned,  What I Did

    Experience Five (Virtual) Tours of National Parks in Just One Hour! (aka How to Travel while Sheltering at Home)

    April 3, 2020 /

    I am in desperate need of a vacation, and with the world’s current turn of events, I will be waiting even longer than originally hoped.  Saying that, I decided that it was worth checking out one of the many sites available that allow for virtual tours, and I chose to play tourist from the comfort of a cushioned chair at home.  I won’t even pretend to imply that virtual tours were anything like the real thing, but I certainly enjoyed them and have a desire to visit these sites in person someday. I recently posted about multiple websites that might be of interest while we are spending more time at…

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    Beckie 3 Comments

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    Looking for Something to Read?

    January 24, 2020
    I can now fold this fitted sheet!

    I FINALLY Know How to Fold a Fitted Sheet!  

    December 12, 2021

    WE ARE BEING INVADED BY EUROPEan buckthorn!

    December 18, 2019
  • Me and my sign--I watched how it was created from start to finish!
    Other Stuff I Learned,  What I Did

    It’s a Sign! (aka The Birth of a Banner)

    March 22, 2020 /

    I have known Andrew for quite a while (our kids have gone to school together since they were little), but I honestly never really knew what he did for a living.  Guess what. Now I know! When I posed the question on-line of who would be interested in teaching me something new, he offered to introduce me to THE WORLD OF SIGNS (my emphasis : ) )!  I had a behind-the-scenes look at a business about which I knew nothing. What is the name of your company?   Creative Edge Visual Solutions  http://www.creativeedgechicago.com/ How did you get into this industry?  Does your previous education/background tie in to your current work? After…

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    Beckie 8 Comments

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    Learning and Loving

    Great Decisions–We All Benefit by Learning about our World

    January 25, 2021
    Just part of the view of the Fourth Lake forest preserve.

    Let’s Get Down and Dirty

    June 23, 2019
    The Roaster!

    The Wild Roaster

    June 30, 2019
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