No Accident

http://www.chesapeakebay.net/bfg_jellyfish.aspx?menuitem=14426 The jelly fish we saw yesterday wasn't there by accident. Apparently there's three species of jellies that live there. There's a ton of other critters that live there too. Cool...at least I think so :)

Ft. Smallwood Excursion

I really wanted to take the kids to the ocean, let them walk in the surf, and realize how grand this world really is. The ocean has always awed me. I like the sound and the feel of being there, and I wanted my kids to experience it too. It's not going to happen, it's a three hour drive and we just don't have it in us right now. So, our replacement activity, was to go to Ft. Smallwood park, it's a county park, and there's a beach, it's on the bay instead of the ocean, but it's a step in the right direction! First, we encountered a park that looked like fun. This part caught my eye and we all thought it looked like a mini Wipeout course :) The kids had fun... Then I had to try it :) I didn't fall! Yippee Skippee! Then we found the beach. Alot of it is rock, but there was part that was sand...and shells...and rocks...and...glass...even so, we took off our shoes to walk in the surf :) Sand between toes, waves buffeting your feet, it's a great feeling. We were extra careful when we found this jellyfish. We have no idea if it was dead or just caught in the tide, either way, we steered clear. I had no idea you would encounter jellyfish in the Chesapeake Bay, I'm gonna have to look that up and see what that's all about. Who woulda thought? I know it looks like a pile of snot, but really, it's a jellyfish - and they can hurt, dead or alive so giving this gelatinous glob some space is a good idea! Oh, and there's no swimming in this part of the bay, but we weren't planning on it anyway! And as proof that Paul was with us, here's a picture of him with the kids on the pier :) It was in the 90's, so this was our last stop, it was time to get in the car and head back to grandma and grandpa's house! Thanks for stopping by!

Pool Time

On Saturday we went to the pool with some of Paul's brothers and their families. I'm not a water girl, mostly it scares the heebeejeebies out of me. I'm getting better though, I used to say it terrified me. I'll get in now, I don't hold my breath in fear when my kids get in, but I still freak when I think of my head going under water...that whole not breathing thing gets me everytime. Anyway, my pool inexperience includes lack of sunblock too :( Luckily, I'm the worst when it comes to the dreaded lobster look, my kids didn't suffer much for my inexperience. Tonight (Monday) we got some sunburn stuff, you know, the stuff they make for people like me who don't have sense enough to slather stuff on before the pain, so now I need it after the pain and itching has set in. My sunburn could be worse, so I'm grateful for that, but boy I'm itchy! The stuff we got tonight has aloe and lidocaine. Yay lidocaine! I thought about posting sunburn pictures, but didn't know how to do it without feeling like an exhibitionist....so, no sunburn pics.

I'm Getting Spoiled!

Last month I posted an Indian choker I got when we visited our son at scout camp. I wished I'd gotten both chokers that day, but I only got one, the black one. Well, guess what I found at Jamestown! A white choker! Yay me! I saw they had bracelets too, and I didn't want to make the same mistake twice, so I grabbed a bracelet too. As you can see, it's black and white, I figure I can wear it with either choker :) And tonight I picked up NEW SHOES! I've been looking for new shoes for a while now, but just haven't found anything to float my boat - I wanted skinny heels, and I didn't want to pay a ton for them either! We were walking around the mall near my in-law's house and I stopped to drool over the shoes in the window, then I realized that some of the shoes were marked really well! I tried a couple, and settled on these. The girl told me they were $20. It wasn't as good as $10 like some of the other ones, but still, they were cute and what I've been looking for! I got up to the register and she told me they were actually $10, and I was in heaven! And, as any good shoe lover will do, I'm wearing them now...as I type...just because I can, and I like to look at them :) Aren't they cute! I saw other things in the store that I really liked too, but I refrained! But I think this is one of my new favorite stores! It's called Body Central, I'll be checking to see if there's one near me!

Small Scare From a Small Girl

The kids were playing with their cousin, using the summer sleds on the drive way - it's a pretty long uphill driveway, perfect for this game! We coaxed Alta into getting on with Christopher, and even though she looks scared out of her mind here, she finished with a big grin and was ready to go again! I think she liked to see how loud and how long she could scream :) I went in towards to end, it was hot outside! I heard Erin come in and tell Paul that Alta's wrist might be broken, so I rushed out to check on her. We don't think it is, but we put a band aid and some ice on it, just to be safe, and we'll watch her. Apparently she went down backwards with Tiffany, and they had a little hiccup. Her wrist was a little scraped and a little swollen, but I'm pretty sure it's fine.

Jamestown Virginia

It's a pretty cool place. Remember Pocahantas, John Smith? That was Jamestown. If you're interested in more, you'll have to look it up ;) It was a bit hot, we had to stop for water and snacks part way through, but over all, it was pretty neat. There was so much more that we could have seen, but we were tired and running out of time. Not to mention we had a 2+ hour drive ahead of us to get back to Manassas. Here's a few pictures! Here's me and the kids, we're at the Powhattan Village, those hut things are pretty big! They had tall ships in the harbor that we got to board. I think this is the ship Discovery, it's the smallest of the ship replicas. Hey look! I know those guys! We went on the other ships too, one was quite a bit bigger. I would have hated to cross the Atlantic in this baby ship! Near the water, there were Powhattan dugout canoes. There was a finished one, obviously, that our kids got to sit in, and one off to the side that people could work on digging out. They used shells to dig them out, it didn't look easy!

Out side the smithy's place in the settler's fort.

Entering the fort. Those walls are tall!

There are a lot more pics, but these will do! Thanks for stopping by!

Sitting in Manassas Virginia...

waiting on my husband. Luckily, I love the man ;) He hurried me off the couch this morning - "hurry, go get showered so we can go." That was almost three hours ago I think. I'm ready, have been for some time, and now I'm sitting on the couch waiting to see what we're going to do. Him? He's in the other room playing Halo with his brother, has been for almost three hours (or more) now. Sure glad I hurried ;) I think my sil and I might ditch the boys and go to the store, the book store :D I won a signed copy of Jennifer Chase's new book called "Compulsion," and I showed it off last night. We're going to go look for it today so my sil and her dd can read it :D But for now, I'm still waiting on my honey to save the world. I wish them luck! Glad he's having fun!

Traveling and Motion Sickness...

I've got it :( Each summer we usually drive 17-18 hours east or west to visit family, just depends which year it is. Each year it seems to get worse, and I'm really limited on the activities I can do in the car. I can't read, write, or color or I just feel terrible. This year decided to try something about it, but couldn't find the non-drowsy dramamine before we left, so then I looked for it when we stopped. I managed to find essential oil mixed for it, you're supposed to put it behind your ears when you feel sick. I thought I'd try it. I also finally found some less drowsy dramamine, some ginger gum, and some bracelet contraption all designed to help with motion sickness. Since I have three out of the four, I decided to give them all a try and see how they work and what I can get away with. Will it just make my tummy feel better, or will I be able to read without feeling sick too? How often do I have to take it, how often can I take it? Effects? Those types of things. Keep an eye out, it's on its way!

Anniversary Gift from Paul

He surprised me with this beautiful Jade necklace, I love it! He actually couldn't decide between two so he had me come down and pick out the one that I liked best, and this was the one we both agreed on :) He also gave me a jade necklace for mother's day, it had smaller jade pieces, ducks I think. There was another necklace design that I really liked too, it had more of a daisy shaped flower instead of this rose shape, I put that on my wish list :) They had jade bracelets and earings too, maybe we'll start on the bracelets next ;) One of the things I like about these pieces is that they're adjustable. The necklace can be worn long, as a choker, or anything in between. Same for the bracelets. Here's a close up of the rose carved jade. Love it. Jade is quickly becoming my new favorite stone. Thanks for stopping by!

Wow! Wedding Anniversary

It's amazing to me. I've been married to an abundantly amazing man for 15 years! Somedays it seems like it's always been this way, that 15 is too small a number. Other times, it seems like 15 years couldn't possibly have passed so quickly. Where did they all fly to? We were the couple that had the odds stacked against us, the one's that shouldn't still be married, we went against convention it seems. We married young and we'd only known each other for 4 months when we got engaged. We were married three months later. Our total time from first date to wedding day was one day short of 7 whole months, and we didn't know each othe before we started dating. I know there were whispers about why so young, why so fast, but the only rumor that was true was that we were head over heels in love and *knew* marriage - to each other - was right, and saw no reason to put it off longer than necessary. I remember that day pretty clearly. I took some quiet moments to myself to look at the decorations, the food table (awesome decorations there!). I talked to the women from church who had given so freely of their time for us, making sure to thank them. I remember feeling like I couldn't love him more than I did that day when we pledged ourselves to each other and to God. When we made promises that would last through eternity. I was wrong. I love him even more now. Back then, love was new and exciting, euphoric and easy. Through the years we've stood by each other when times were hard, when we weren't easy to get a long with, and those are some of the times my love increased for him. It's easy to love someone when things are going well and they're likable, but what about when they're not. That's when it takes work and dedication, sacrifice and selflessness. I've watched my husband work multiple jobs so I could stay home with the children, something we both thought were important. He moved away from the place he grew up because it was too expensive to raise a family the way we wanted to. He's been a dedicated student, going back to school a few years ago. A year or two ago he earned his bachelor's degree, and carried a 4.0 gpa the whole time. Now he's working on his master's degree. He's doing this not just for him, but for us. He's busy at church too, but through all of that, he makes sure he spends time with us. Even as busy as he can be, he pitches in around the house. I know between work, church, school, and family, he doesn't get a lot of time to himself, and rarely have I heard an utterance of complaint from him. Nearly everything he does is for us. My heart was full of love on my wedding day, but it's grown since then, and everytime it does, love for him floods in and fills all the recesses, keeping it full. So, as much as I love him today, I'm sure I'll love him even more in the future, just give me some more time. He's an execptional man, and I'm a far better woman for having him in my life. His love makes me better than I could have ever been on my own.

Thinking of You Card

I made this for my sil, I found out the other day that her mother passed away. I wanted to send something since I can't be there in person to give her a hug. I'm pretty sure these aren't "her colors" she's got an artist's love of color and she's not afraid to go bold. But for this occassion, this felt right. I'm happy with how the rose turned out, so I included an upclose shot of it further down. I stamped the image and used my prismacolors to color it in, I had fun blending and I like how it turned out. Thanks for stopping by!

Gratitude Card

My boy's in scouts, and attended his first scout camp this summer (he wasn't completely thrilled with the experience, but he's never been gone that long...I think he missed the game cube). They started on various merit badges and then had to complete them within 30 days - that means we have to help, eek! His citizenship in the community badge required him to find a charitable organization, and find out how kids could help, and then volunteer eight hours there. There's only one place I would feel comfortable leaving my child for eight hours, and it's not with strangers in a store! I asked The Pet Connection (hope that link works, if not, it's an error on my part) if he could volunteer there for those hours and they said yes. I dropped him off Thursday afternoon, because I would be going that evening for training with Sirius and I could bring him home then. I decided they needed a thank you card, and did this one up for them. I was a few minutes late because at the last minute I decided I needed that ribbon at the bottom. I also decided that I need some dog/cat stamps - I have none, and they would be useful in situations like these!

Thanks for stopping by!

An IE8 Rant

If you're tempted by the boasts of quicker internet usage, downloads, etc and you're thinking about using IE8 to surf around the net...don't. My download time is TERRIBLE! Sometimes I can't even get to the page I want. I wish I could go back to IE7 :( My speeds vary, I never know when I'm going to be able to access a page, or surf. Sometimes it's fine, other times we're talking dial up speed, which is extremely irritating since we're paying for a cable connection. Unfortunately, I'm clueless about some of these things, I'm not sure what I can do to make it better. Can I go back to IE7? Anyone know? Anyone have any ideas? Online used to be fun ...

Emma's New Shirt

My girl's shirt is done :) You know, the one I was really frustrated with the other day because I couldn't find the iron on transfer paper I knew I had...found that today, btw (if you could see me, I just did an eye roll!) Anyway, here's the front of her shirt. I didn't do a lot of close ups since I posted the designs previously. I embellished with Glitter too...pink glitter :D. This heart took me the longest, and it was originally to add to the guitar on the back, but it was too much work to just have on the back, so it's on the front too. This is how the back turned out, she's really excited about it. You can't really tell by this pic that the guitar is glittered, so I took a close up, just scroll down a bit more.

I'm really happy with how the glitter guitar turned out. Unfortunately, Emma will be disappointed tomorrow. I washed the shirt like and the glue, along with the glitter, rolled off in the wash - I found this little roll of glue and glitter in the shape of the guitar. The glitter on the front (in the heart) seemed to stay, I have no idea why this one didn't. I checked both the glitter and the glue, and both are washable, and I turned the shirt inside out to help protect it. I'll probably give it another try, and maybe even make some calls to the company and ask what's up with that. Luckily, I took this shot before it hit the washer.

Thanks for stopping by!

This is Frustrating...

I spent all afternoon working on something for my oldest daughter. She's learning how to play the guitar and really enjoys it. She wants a guitar shirt, but we haven't been able to find one for under $20, so I decided to make one...last year. I bought the iron on transfer and everything, I just didn't get around to designing it until today. Now we've got the colors we like, the right sizes - we've tested them and everything, but I can't find the iron on transfer paper! I was *so* ready to complete this project, and she's super excited too. She spent most of the day watching me and giving me her approval. I guess tomorrow I'll be making a stop at Hobby Lobby, I should probably print off a coupon tonight. So, instead of posting a finished shirt, which is what I really wanted to do, I decided to share our designs. I used ps brushes, most by Obsidian Dawn. I love her brushes! This will go on the front, over her heart, it's not too big, just a little something.

This will go on the back of her shirt, kind of centered on her shoulders. If you look at the guitar, you can see the heart from the front there too, only without the words. I think that heart is what took me the longest.

Thanks for stopping by!

Helping the Animal Shelters, part three

These places do some great work, and this is the last month to help them out by simply voting. Here's a link to last months post that includes the link to my favorite shelter. Take a look around their site a bit, and if you'd like to help them out by voting, there's a link on their site to the pet rescue site that's working with petfinder.com. Right now, The Pet Connection is first in KS, which gets them $1000.00, which they can most definitely use! They're 21st in the nation. If they finish in the top 15 they get some additional money. First place receives $20,000 I think it said. So, are you in school for a summer session? Is there a computer lab? Vote from each computer! How about a visit to the library, there's tons of computers there just waiting for you to vote on. Happy July and Happy Voting!

Something Simple

A friend of mine called in a request, "something simple," she said and gave me the info I needed. So, I tried to keep it simple. I used ps brushes to make the pamper invitation and restrained myself from adding anything by hand, muttering a chant...simple. Then, this morning she requested two additional invitations, but different, and simple and quick. I can do that, I had the perfect stamps in mind. So the first pic is the completely digital card, the second is hand stamped. Both of them were fun to create. Thanks Ashley!

Woo Hoo!

All the cutting for the 12 scrapbook kits is finished! In the next couple days I can concentrate on directions - but it's kind of self explanatory when you can see the example, so it shouldn't be too hard. The only things I didn't cut were simple cuts, like a tree trunk and photo mats. We only have about an hour for this activity, so I tried to do a lot here, so they didn't spend all their time cutting. I cut the title and a few other things directly on xyron backing so they don't have to worry about trying to glue letters to the mat, and then the mats to the papers - those can be tricky things, those letters. Hopefully what they'll get to spend most of their time doing is the fun stuff - stamping and coloring. They can cut out the images they colored there if they have time, or they can do it at home. I've placed everything in 2.5 gallon plastic zip closure bags so it should be nice and camp proof so they can add pictures when they get home! Monday I need to pick up another roll of adhesive and some ink, and I should be good to go as far as supplies go. Yay me!

Another Floral Card

I knew I needed cards this month, so I made four of these, and I think I need at least one more card, but maybe not this one. Something different and new is always fun!

I'm still on my prismacolor kick, so that's what I used to color the flowers. It was a little different from other stamp coloring I've done since the stamp is solid. I designed and cut the loopy mats on my wishblade, and then embossed the edges with my stylus - I haven't done that for a while, and I love the way it looks. Some of these went to teachers, and some to some women at church. Thanks for stopping by!

To Do List

getting done :D Shower - check posting last card creation - not yet Putting 12 two page scrapbook kits together - almost. I'm glad I didn't wait until the last minute. Lots of times I'm the biggest procrastinator on the planet, but I'm getting better with age, I guess the saying that wisdome comes with age may have some truth to it ;) I got all my paper last week while it was on sale. I've managed to cut out a big leafy tree, clouds, and the letters for the title. I need to cut out the mat for the title as well as some tents. Unfortunately, the brown paper I got for that isn't going to work with my wishblade. The texture and thickness of it is throwing it off. I hope Hobby Lobby will let me exchange the ones I haven't used (20) for some that will work better. They usually treat me pretty well, so here's hoping! Once the brown paper is cut, I'll be done with the kits. I'll just need to gather the tools we'll be using and pack it up. I'll be heading to girl's camp on Tuesday, so I still have time. :D Now, onto uploading a new card...I'm getting bored seeing the same picture everytime I log on ;)

Been a Bit

I haven't posted in a few weeks, but I do have good reasons! The kids are home for the summer, and for some strange reason, I don't have as much time...still trying to figure that one out ;) I have been busy with non kid things though! I've got another card to post (hopefully today), I've designed a two page, 12x12 scrapbook layout for my sister who needed something for the camping trip the young women from church are going on (she's the camp leader) Today, I'll be cutting out and putting together kits for the layout - I'm making 12 kits.... I also finished proofreading a rather large quartet of books for a friend of mine. His name is John Walker and the series is called the Retribution Quartet. I have to admit, the books are not necessarily the genre I usually read, but still, he did a good job. If you want to check him out, his blog link is on my blog roll - it's Sanctuary in the Darkness - I hope this leads you to his website...I'll have to check that out! We've also had some really wonderful family occassions to attend, and I wouldn't have had it any other way! So, goals for today: shower (yay!) post new card cut out things for 12 scrapbook kits go to puppy training in the evening Sounds like a pretty easy day, doesn't it? We'll see how it goes!