Creativity

Sometime last week I went on one of my little "get out of the house without my kids" outings. I decided I would head out to my local favorite craft store Roberts. I love Roberts. I especially love their continual 40% off coupon! I was dying to do something creative and had a whole $7 in my pocket. I perused the crocheting section for a time but decided that to get started would cost me much more than $7. Then I found these cute little cross stitch kits that come with a little frame and everything. It was very tempting but eventually I decided to pass. Then on my way out I noticed the advertisements for classes at the front of the store. I have always thought about taking one of those classes but either never had the nerve to sign up by myself or didn't have the money. I really didn't have the money this time either but I did it anyway. They were having a card making class "Make 5 cards for $7". Bingo! An answer to what I was looking for. Never mind that I didn't ask Ivan if it would be alright for me to sign up, I just did it. So Friday Night I had my little girls night out sort of. I even convinced my friend Laurie to sign up too (must be some sort of weird hang up of mine left over from my youth to not be able to do things by myself!). It was way fun and I am so proud of the fact that I made something cute and crafty. Here are some pics of my creations:

My DH

So I have discovered that my honey has quite a few hidden talents. Besides of course his remarkable artistic ability he has a knack for photography. In particular photographing creepy crawly things or just plain old gross things. He finds it fascinating to get up close and personal shots of bugs and so forth. Then he likes to zoom in really close to see all the disgusting details of said slimy things. But who am I to discourage his new found interest. Perhaps if he got good enough he could make a career out of it. Maybe one day he could be the Jeff Corwin of spiders and snails. And maybe if we never find a design job he could become a photographer for National Geographic. Here are a few samples of his latest work. Enjoy!


This is a fly that was just about to die and crawling around on our floor.



This is about the biggest spider I've ever seen and he lives just outside our living room window. So far I have left him alone but I am quite tempted to relocate him. If only I were brave enough.



Let it be known that I hate snails and after this picture I think I hate them even more. GROSS!!



Another beautiful arachnid. I'm just glad neither of these creatures were inside my house.

California Deamin'

I haven't written in a while since I was out of town visiting my sister. Lucky for me she lives in about the coolest state, California. I love California. What's not to love? Miles upon miles of beautiful shore and cool stuff to boot. I love it. I had hoped though that my trip would be more than just a trip and more of a vacation. Since my hubby decided to stay home and work on some things it wound up being pretty much just a trip. There were some fun things that happened though.

For the first time in 4 years I got to go to the beach. I can't say enough how much I love the beach. I love the smell of the salt water and feeling the sea mist on my face. I love digging my toes into the cold sand and hearing the crash of the waves on the shore. It's so relaxing. I think my dream would be to live at the beach in one of those awesome beach houses and be able to take a walk every morning with the waves crashing against my feet. One day that is what I would want. To me the sounds of the beach are the most serene sounds there are in this world.

I was so excited to see how my girls would react to being at the beach. Lili couldn't stop talking about it for 4 days and was so excited when we were FINALLY at the beach. (And then she didn't stop talking about it for the next 3 days, she's still says sometimes how much fun it was at the beach) How much fun it was to see my girls so happy and entertained all day without any effort on my part. (Another reason I would love to live on the beach, or at least close to it.) They loved playing in the sand (Sofie also loved eating the sand) and running in and out of the waves. Lili couldn't get over how the waves would chase her. Every time a wave would come in she would run away and squeal, such fun. I myself did not lack in the "fun" department. My teenage nieces taught me how to boogie board.

Strange as it may sound with all the times I've been to the beach I have never been boogie boarding. All those years wasted! I think that was the most fun I've ever had playing in the ocean. It took me a few tries to get it right but when I did finally catch a wave it was one of the most awesome rides of my life. I felt like screaming out "Gnarly, righteous and totally awesome dude!" After a half hour or so my nieces decided to head to shore but I wasn't done yet, the fun was just beginning. A few minutes later while waiting for my next wave I notice out of the corner of my eye a lifeguard coming into the water after me. I though "wow, I know I'm not that good yet but does it really look like I'm drowning?" He got closer and I was thinking "man, too bad I'm not 17 again!" I mean, this guy could have easily been cast on Baywatch! He had the look I tell you, super blond hair that was just long enough and of course that California tan. And too bad for my nieces who bailed out early, they missed out on what I'm sure would've wound up being the highlight of their day. Instead the lifeguard encounter was wasted on a slightly wrinkled, graying 33 year old. The truth is I felt kind of sorry for the kid. From far away perhaps I looked like Bo Derek in my brown plunging neckline swimming suit(which I bought at Walmart for 12 bucks after I lost my my other one at the pool), but when he got closer he obviously realized he was dealing with a lady who resembled a sea lion more than any Hollywood starlet. He apologized to me and told me kindly to stay far enough away from the rocks and he was on his merry way. So there was no dramatic rescue, no being dragged to shore on his little red floatie thing and no mouth to mouth but it made for a good story anyway. When everyone asked me what the lifeguard wanted I told them that he said I needed to watch the bathing suit. That other patrons of the beach were complaining about too much skin which in all actuality was not so far fetched. Let's just say I understand a little better the importance of wet suits.

So after a few more attempts on the boogie board I called it quits for a while. I did get back in the water once more but after a few wipe outs I decided that perhaps the days of my youth really are behind me now. I am definitely not 17 anymore.

The best part of this whole day had to be the feeling of complete exhaustion. It feels good when you've played all day and are so tired you don't want to move for a few days (or in my case, can't move for a few days from being so sore after boogie boarding. It's quite the workout!)and being lulled to sleep by the sensation of rocking up and down on the waves is the cherry on top. I hope that it doesn't take me 4 more years to see the ocean again and next time I hope that my dear hubby is there with me.