toes in the water ...

Over the last year or so we've had a few friends move away.
more specifically .. they've moved to the water.
not near a lake or some river .. but to the OCEANS!!

I'm not jealous .. or as my 16 year says 'jelly.'
actually .. I lied.
Sorry about that.
I'm totally jelly.
I'm jelly beyond belief !! (haha ok I swear not to use jelly like that, again)

On our vacation to San Diego last year; as soon as there was a hint of salt in the air - we swore every single hill was going to be the one that would reveal the blue waters of the ocean.

After an hour of  "OOOHHH this is the hill!" we finally laid our eyes on the much awaited coast. :)   Yes .. we were that excited.

I know that there are cool watering holes and places to swim around Moab; but it's not quite the same as the smell of the ocean in the air and the feel of seaweed in your toes making you scream like a girl.

I see my friends on Facebook fishing and boating and swimming and tanning in the ocean breeze .... ahhh!!  :P  Jelly OVERLOAD !!    (sorry about breaking the jelly promise ... lol  I was weak)

my point ?

• I love the smell of the ocean
• I want to go back to the ocean
• one day I'll live close enough to regularly visit the water 
• and I'm a little envious of my family/friends on the coast

why ?
Because life is better at the beach ..

I made this print out of one of my favorite pictures from
our 2012 vacation to San Diego.

ps .. it's Mother's Day in 2 days - don't forget your mamas, grammas, and sister wives.  (LOL)

click here for the print quality version of the print above

Red Rocks and Classic Cars .. yes, please!!

This year marks the (I believe, but could be wrong) 21st annual April Action car show in Moab.
Since moving here in 2008 - we haven't missed one :)

For the record - I always love living in Moab.
However - the car show is my favorite event ALL. YEAR. LONG.
I don't have a jeep anymore - so I could sleep through Jeep Safari.
I don't rock climb, because I'm a big baby ...
we go hiking/biking/camping a LOT .. so it's fun - but not super special.
But car show .. oooohhh car show :)
sexy cars
hot people
money being spent
classic engines rumbling in the distance as far as your ears can hear.
.... what's not to like ?
horribly long lines at the checkout...
bumper-to-bumper trafficmakes you scream, despite the cool cars..
having to elbow your way through the grocery store for a loaf of stupid bread...
... ok fine !
it's not all happy grins and unicorns puking rainbows.
..  but it's worth it - I PROMISE!!

I even have pictures as proof .. :D

Happy Spring, everyone
season is here ! :)

it's here .. it's here !!

You'd be hard pressed to find a day where I splurge on something specifically for me.  correction    "...where I splurge on something new and/or expensive specifically for me."

we'd researched extensively and had our hearts set on getting me a Canon T1I before we go on vacation, this year. It was really exciting for me, because my nicest camera to date was a Kodak Easy Share.  $89 on it's most expensive day. 

I was on the phone with my dad,  who has always shared & encouraged my love of photography.  I informed him about my exciting purchase plan, when he said 'you might want to reconsider.' 

I thought maybe he'd heard bad things about the Canon or had some advice to offer; when he dropped a bomb on me.   

During my parents' visit next month - apparently he'd been planning on giving me his Nikon d40x AND three kick-ass lenses.  oh. my. gosh.   

words just cannot explain my level of gratitude and excitement!

after running around like a kid, screaming with joy ruining the surprise of actually 'giving' it to me .. he sent it all to me, the next day.

It arrived after a mix-up with the Post Office.  By mix-up .. I mean I heard FedEx when he said post office .. then freaked out for 2 hours when FedEx couldn't find the tracking number.   what ?  .. they sound similar.  fed ex .. post office. fed ex .. post office. 

He also sent all his books, guides, and instruction manuals.  It's going to take me at least a year to get through the basics of the camera.         

after realizing how much would be involved with this camera - I made the very adult decision to put off the purchase of my silhouette, until I've got this baby down.   

*pats self on back*









anyway .. onto the point of the post - these are my favorite pictures (of the 243) from day 1

the last, lone survivor of the fishies we adopted in 2008

'one of four'

cutest. dog. ever.

I can't take enough pictures of our foliage 

don't you love how his tongue is the same angle as his neckerchief

how everyone will be seeing my face for some time to come ... smile !

our four-legged baby .. so sleepy

I love the moon coming out while the sun's up

this is her 'take the picture & hurry up' smile

"deer tracks mom, you HAVE to get a picture with your new camera!"

I love random shots like this .. au natural

lol the teen doesn't like 'au natural' .. she 'ducks n runs' or smiles big :P

and this  last picture isn't really a nice picture lol

it's just to compare the size of the 'big' lens to a giant wendy's drink .. that's all.

I love my new camera .. <3

vintage + sea foam green .. WIN WIN!

when I make my 2 or 3 or 4 trips each week to our favorite thrift store, I always depart with a smile on my chubby little face.  The staff is awesome, the stuff is super cheap, and it makes my necessary retail therapy inexpensive and easy.

I left today, with a ridiculous grin & the awesome deal of 2012 .. so far.

my apologies in advance for jealousy brought forth by seeing my seafoam green awesomeness.  please don't show these posts to your boring white/beige/taupe sewing machines .. they can't handle the awesome.

$15 including the case, extra bobbin AND the 1976 manual.
did I mention how awesome I think it is .. ? :)

the teen has already sewn everything in the house she could think of, that needed mending.  I love my family, because they were just as excited as me and couldn't wait to play with it!

he's crazy sweet .. I'm crazy

I won't be the first to say it - but I'll say it, anyway; I can be a brat.

by brat I mean stubborn, melodramatic, and spoiled

quite the package, eh ? :))

"I don't want you to buy me ANYTHING!!" were my exact words on my way out the door to work, in the morning.  I really can't explain it, other than I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. 

I don't mean to be moody and irrational .. I guess it's just part of my charm. :)

despite my biting his head off in the morning; my ever-so-sweet husband took time out of his day to come to work to bring me this .. 

how did he do that ? you might ask ..
In November - he was the loving husband he always is and he had made A TON of these tissue paper flowers for my good friend's baby shower.  now, he's a pro.
fast forward a few hours .. I got home and within a few minutes discovered something new on the wall.
omg ..
I have to admit that it made my heart flutter a little .. he crafted for me.
he CRAFTED for me .. that's so hot.
he used the matching 'plaque' I used for his Valentine's gift and turned it into something I'll cherish forever.  He used mod podge and ribbon and lace and doilies .. all to make me smile.

I am unbelievably lucky that he puts up with my crazy ...

what I learned today

• calm my anxiety
• irrational expectations get me nowhere 
• have a little faith in the people I love .. because they have all the faith in me.

sorry about your genes ..

"I'm pretty much the shortest of all my friends." was the matter-of-fact statement of the night from our 8 yr old.  The teenager decided to choose that moment to chime in about how she was also shorter than most of her friends.

' .. sorry about your genes.' was my reply through my laughter. 

Outside of some newsworthy miracle growth spurts in our old age; chances are - G. and I will never be a 'tall people.'

*shrug*   what's the big deal about height, anyway ? 

d e p r e s s i o n

depression is weird in how it comes and goes, without any sort of routine or schedule
depression sucks the life out of the room, in an instant
depression makes you yell at your best friend for no reason
depression causes migraines, heartburn, and nausea
depression makes you have to apologize to everyone around you
depression makes me want to hide in a hole
depression actually pisses me off
depression will not define me
depression can't win

I have no TIME to be sick..

but for some reason - I am!

I have cards to make, a Christmas letter to write, cookies and other goodies to make, stuff envelopes .....

that very sentence made my face hurt - I'm going to bed.

dear snow ..

I only conceded to your visits, 1 day a year ... that day is Christmas.
12 is the number of days you are early.
I fail to see the humor in your appearance, tonight.
go on now ... shoo !

and in the a.m. the Volvo didn't look all too impressed with it, either

so begins the blogging...

Ever since I can remember, I've loved making the world around me a prettier place. I have a weakness for scrapbooking, look for any reason to redecorate & every year I can't WAIT for the holidays. They're an annual excuse to jazz up your everyday living into something fantastical.

It was time for Halloween pumpkin night with our daughters; 15 and 8. The plan was to make some Halloween crafts and carve/decorate our pumpkins. Our teenager looked on, bored out of her mind before we even began. As we looked online for new pumpkin carving ideas - she searched for every excuse to go back to reading in her room and listening to 'angry music.'

That was when I came to the realization that our youngest won't always be this excited for the simple things like arts & crafts and cooking. Soon she'll be more interested in i-pods, shopping at the mall, and texting her friends, than anything we'd be doing on 'family night.'

Then and there I decided it was time to get serious about arts, crafts, and all things fun :)

ok ... as serious as you can get about something this fun :)

I have found a new addiction that enables my crafty addiction  .. it's called Pinterest.
It's realistically just a place for pictures of your plans for procrastination. LoL

... here we are; let's have some fun ..