Sunday, July 31, 2011

The Week that Was.

I spent two glorious days with my mother in law in Kansas City on our almost annual shopping trip. We couldn't get our schedules to coordinate last year, so in my mind that means we get two more days this year, right?

I purchased my first pair of Toms shoes.
Wanna see?
Toms make me happy.
It's buy one, give one.
What's not to love about that?!
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Friday afternoon it poured down rain.
We thanked God for it, and wondered how we would explain to our girls that we would not be going to the fair if the rain continued.
By 7 pm, it was completely dry, so we slapped on our $15 wristbands and walked down to the fairgrounds.
Ella favored the slide. That's code for: She didn't want to do anything else.
So down she came. Over and over and over again. I'm guessing she went up those stairs at least 15 times.
And down again, with pretty much the same expression every time. She LOVED it.
When Ella was done with the slide, she was D-O-N-E with the evening, so Bruce took her home.
Talia and I stayed on for awhile longer.
Four hours longer.
She wanted to squeeze the life out of her "all you can ride" wristband.
And I wanted to help her achieve her goal.
She rode with her friends mostly.
But I braved the ferris wheel with her.
And I hate the ferris wheel.
Give me a nice safe roller coaster where I am strapped in over this thing that you basically dangle in by who knows what?!
I think Tal was a little nervous, too.
It probably didn't help that I asked her repeatedly to hold my hand so that I wouldn't freak out, and in the end we both had fun up there.

We walked home hand in hand around 11 pm exhausted and happy.
I said, "You know what I loved about tonight? Riding the ferris wheel with you."
Talia said, "And you know what I loved about tonight? Riding the carousel with you. I love you, Mommy."
I said, "And I love you."

I'd say that buying the "all you can ride" wristband was the best money I spent this past week.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

I'm Going to School {Online Snapshot Class}

Truth be told, I'm a little nervous about it.
I know my pictures will not look like hers.
I won't even pretend to have that goal.
Right.
But I'm hoping that my pictures will begin to look like more like me.

And I love love LOVE knowing that Ashley will be just one click away.
I'm not sure if everyone who has heard about this has caught on to the fact that this first month the class is actually $50 cheaper than it will be next month to take it. 
It is! 
So, if you've been thinking about, stop the thinking and join me!
I have a feeling this is going to be the class that changes it for many of us.
Just go and sign up here. 
And make sure you let me know when you've signed up!

I'll let you know what how my assignments are coming along once I get into them.
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And because every post is better with a picture...
Here's a face that I love more than most.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Finds.

I saw these pink glass ornaments in a box at the auction last week and knew I wanted them. I've been on on the lookout for all kinds of these for more than a year.
So, when the auctioneer got to the box that they were in, they threw four other boxes in with it.
I ended up buying five boxes of Christmas stuff to get these pink glass ornaments...for one dollar!
I sorted through the boxes and ended up keeping two of the five. (The other three boxes have already been delivered to our local thrift store.) I discovered 14 more boxes of glass ornaments within those boxes. Score!
All of this Christmas in July was a hit with Ella.
She asked to put up the tree at least 10 times.
I also scored this very heavy cake plate for a dollar.
And a hairdryer for free.
Can you believe no one wanted it? Ha.
I really just loved the white case.
I have a recent obsession with white.
If it's white I can't help myself.
And when it's free, well then why bother talking myself out of it?

Do you have things you just can't say no to if you see them and they are good deal?
Even if you don't know what you're going to do with them?
What are you drawn to right now? Tell me!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

What I Love About Sunday {Cinnamon Roll Pancakes}

What I love about Sunday:
Trying a new recipe: Cinnamon Roll Pancakes. 
To die for.
Seriously.
Click here to see the recipe I used.
I doubled the batter portion because we
love cinnamon rolls, and we had only one left over.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Auction.

Last night I went to an auction at our local fairgrounds to warm up after freezing out at a Social Security seminar all day.
It was 105 degrees out, and inside it must've been at least 165, but I didn't really mind.
Some of us came prepared for the heat.
Many of us found a place to sit down after awhile.
But oh the treasures that could be found!
There is a subculture within our culture here.
A community within a community of sorts.
And so I come.
And catch up.
And shop.

We elbow each other, and dream of the possibilities of winning.
Shawna, I can't believe I let you have those suitcases. Especially the turquoise one!
We contemplate how much to bid, what to eat at Sharon's Rollin' Kitchen parked out front, and how much sweat is running down our backs turning our t-shirt into a tie-dyed swirl of sweat for all the auction world to see. Wait, maybe that's just me???
Others bring their babies.
If and when I get bold enough, I may take my camera again because I love it so much.

In the meantime, I need to sort through the five boxes I brought home.
They'll be a show and tell soon. :)

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Right Now....

Right now I'm...

watching: Julie and Julia, for the 20th time. 
 And now I'm inspired to learn French. (for the 20th time)
Do any of you speak French?
Would anyone want to teach me?
eating: Generic Oreos.
drinkingdiet dr. pepper with lemon instead of lime ...changing it up today.
wearing: a pink tank top and workout shorts, workout needed.
avoiding: the phone
feelingFULL. 
missinga gift card from my birthday. I even dug through our dumpster this morning looking for it. Trash smells really really really bad when we've had days and days of 100 plus degree heat. 
thankfulfor friends with in ground swimming pools who let me float for a few hours. I'm also thankful for friends who will lounge with me.
weathercloudy and only 92 degrees.
prayingfor Ella's second grade year. She'll have a different teacher, different para, and a different special education teacher. That's a lot of change for her.
needinga neck massage.
thinkingI wonder what I'm going to feed everyone for dinner???
dreaming: of a night of uninterrupted sleep.
lovingthis quote by Julia Child:
"I was thirty-seven years old and still discovering who I was." 
What are you doing today????
PS. I have no idea why blogger won't format this...weird.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

The One Where I Pretend to Be a Photographer

Last month when we were at the beach, my Mom asked me if I would take a few pictures of she and my Dad.
Because I can't resist taking pictures of people I love, I agreed.
Meet my parents, Sandi and Lee.
I think they are laughing because in between shots they were doing this.
I love it that my parents are in love, and that they aren't afraid to show it.
In high school I did plenty of eye rolling over this.
The kissing in between shots continued, and I threw out something that children shouldn't say to their parents. Notice my Mom's instant "Mom" look and my Dad's giddy laugh.
The sun was disappearing on us, so we moved to the beach.
I learned on this trip that my Dad thinks that shots of people walking away are sad.
I personally love them.
But it totally makes sense, if you know my Dad. He hates to see anyone leave because the time that was spent together is now in the past.
Which is why he loves to see people coming his way. It means that the present is leading to an immediate future of togetherness. And that I get completely.

Here's to more togetherness: at the beach, in your marriage, and of course with us.
I love you both.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Butterflies.

Thank you for the encouraging words you emailed and posted on The Last post. We are all (even Bruce) realizing the house is too quiet. I miss Thurston's jingling dog tags, seeing his sweet face first thing in the morning, and how picked up my house was. I had never been more motivated to pick up my shoes, and with gusto he cleaned the floors in the kitchen and dining room. Thurston and I were a cleaning machine. I guess I'll need to get to know my broom a little better again now that I'm flying solo.
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My sister gave Ella a butterfly garden for her birthday.
We had two butterflies survive.
On Friday the butterflies appeared...the same day we let Thurston go.
Last night we let them go into the wild of 95 degrees.
After noticing that we had real live butterflies, the second thing I noticed was that there was blood in our butterfly "sanctuary".
Do you see it in the left hand corner? The cocoons are hanging above.
Blood indicates pain, a struggle of some sort, right?
A pain and struggle accompanying a change you didn't see coming.
Have you ever wanted to silence a blaring metaphor because it speaks
a little too loudly on a day that you'd rather not hear it? 
That was me last Friday.
Today, I can appreciate it.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Ten On Ten:: July 2011

Take a photo every hour for ten consecutive hours on the tenth of each month. 
Document a day of your life and find beauty among the ordinary moments. 

Up, but not too early, for a bit of exercise.
 I need more water in my life. Way more. Especially when it's 110 degrees out.
I always have a hard time trying to decide what to wear to church.
Does anyone else lay out their clothes like this? Bruce chose his own. :)
 I am not a fan of salad in general, but I knew sweet treats were coming later in the day.
Peanut butter frozen yogurt. I love you.
 Bruce took me to Paris with Owen Wilson.
Well, sort of.
 We witnessed this beautiful blue sky on the way home from Paris our date.
Whatever happened to my hoop art wall? 
I want to get back to that.
It was still hot at 7:00 pm.
 We had a fun time tooting our horns with good friends tonight.
And now we are all falling into bed...at last.
Goodnight, friends.
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