My Crafty Girl

For the last couple of weeks, Meg has been in a total bracelet braiding/making mode.  The one she created for herself last night is my favorite so far.


Getting started...

Her finished design...

Isn't this cute?

We've been watching YouTube videos for additional patterns and designs so watch for many more Creations by Meg in the near future.

Girly Day

Yesterday Meg accompanied me to the nail salon.  After a lot of coaxing I convinced her to get a manicure and gel polish.  (And when I say a lot of coaxing, I mean A LOT of coaxing.  She's so not the typical 11 year old who loves mani/pedis, makeup or new hair dos.)  In the end, she was quite happy with the results....a very natural peachy pink with a design on each thumb.

This morning she had a hair appointment.  Only her ends were trimmed but based on her moans and snarky attitude, you'd think her entire head had been shaved. *more Mom sighs*  No photos but she looks gorgeous, of course.

St. Patty's Day

Meggie is very proud of her Irish heritage (maternal grandfather's side) and for this reason, St. Patrick's Day has turned into a big holiday in our house.

For the past 5 or 6 years now I've gathered together a Bucket 'O Green (green candy, toys, clothes, silly items, etc.) which I set out for her on the morning of St. Patty's Day.  Last year I did something a bit different and hid her bucket, providing her with treasure hunt clues which lead her to the goodies. Apparently it was a big hit because she begged for another hunt this year.

This year's bucket and treasure hunt clues....

The first clue...

The hunt was on...

Her final clue was this....

‘Ye mum is not old... 

    only “something and fifty”. 

When she had her BIG birthday

   she got something quite nifty.  

....the answer being my convertible, of course.  But naturally my smarty pants daughter had her own input.  As she read me the clue she stopped after "something and fifty", looked at me and said "yeah, ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY!"  She then laughed and said "You walked right into that one Mom."  I guess maybe I did.  LOL!

She was very appreciative of my efforts and loved all of her goodies.  One of the first things she did was dress up Daddy.

Later that afternoon I headed to a local pub to celebrate St. Patty's Day with friends however our primary purpose was to support our friend Sandi who lost her dear husband to Hodgkins Lymphoma a few years ago.  After his death she formed Dodge for the Cure, a local charity which benefits the oncology department at the hospital.  (Click here for information.) What does this have to do with St. Patrick's Day?  Well, for the past several years Carson's Pub has generously donated a percentage of their St. Patty's Day earnings to Sandi's charity.

Green beer for a good cause?  Say no more, we're there!

That's Sandi on the far right.  

Seriously?

Short on time so my St. Patty's Day post will have to wait a day or two.  I do however have something quick to share.

Just when I'm finally over the whole deluge of AARP mail invitations a new onslaught has started...

WTH!  Seriously?

Recent Creations

I've had a several good hours in JulieWorld this week so I was able to create a few new cards (sets of six) as well as finish off a layout that's been sitting on my desk for a couple of weeks now.


The inspiration for my first card came from a Lucy Abrams design.  Her blog can be found here.

The other card was based on a design from Laurie Willison.  You can find her original card here.

And finally the layout that took far too long to finish but I know he'll appreciate...

You probably can't read the journaling.  It talks about how, in 2009, Jay would text me photos of the fish he caught.  (Obviously this was prior to his return to school.  He has very little free time now so I doubt he's fished in quite awhile.)  I really enjoyed getting to see the photos and loved that he performs catch and release.

Till next time...

My Weekend

Meg and I had an all day Algebra-a-Thon on Saturday.  It wasn't pretty (at one point Randy came in to referee) but I think by evening it was finally making sense to her.  Of course by that point we were both toast.  I spent the remainder of the evening (as well as the wee hours of the morning) catching up on a half dozen episodes of Downton Abbey.  I'd been careful to avoid online spoilers and won't give anything away now other than to say that I am officially "in the know."

Today I'm feeling a bit like this....

As a break from algebra, Meg had a friend over yesterday.  They spent most of the afternoon outside enjoying the beautiful weather.

What do you get when you combine a beach boogie board with a skateboard?

Boogie Skating, of course!

It did look like a lot of fun...and I would have tried it if it weren't for the fact that once I got down, I'd never get back up.  *sigh*  Which leads me to my final photo.

I came across this artwork while out shopping with my family last week.  It was just too perfect so I had to buy it.

Yep...

My Week

We had quite the busy week.  My aunt, uncle and two of their friends drove from Illinois to Florida last week to attend a few Cardinal spring training games. They stayed in a vacation rental just a few minutes from our house so we (along with my parents who stayed with us) got together quite a bit for lots of fun, food, drinks and laughs throughout the week.  Here are a few photos from our week.

Our girls lunch in our local historic downtown...

Margarita ... mmmm!

Chicken Avocado Salad and Rice/Bean Bowl

This was my first time in this restaurant and I'll definitely be going back. Yummy stuff!

My uncle and his friend attended five games while here.  Everyone else attended to various degrees but we were all there for the final game of their stay, the St. Louis Cardinals vs. the New York Yankees.  (Thanks again, Uncle Bob!)   

From left to right....Dad, Aunt Chris, Mom, Uncle Bob, Pat and Tim.

I pulled this 25 year old Tshirt out of my relic concert, baseball and race drawer.

The Cardinals won 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth.  A very good thing because as those who know me personally all know....I HATE the YANKEES.  (Is HATE too strong a word????  Probably not.  LOL!)

We had a wonderful visit and hope they decide to do it again next year.  But in the meantime, I need to rest up.  I can't keep up with them!

O.M.Grrrrrr

I recently bought a pair of white lace-less Converse online. Meg immediately tried them on and announced that she was wearing them to school the next day. She was a bit disappointed when I made it clear that they were MY shoes, not hers, but I did let her wear them.

Yesterday I was at our local TJMaxx and I found a pair of white Converse (with laces) that are very similar to my new ones so I bought them for Meg.  When the cashier rang me up the final price was less than I'd expected but I didn't give it much thought. (I had looked at so many shoes that I assumed I had the wrong price in my head.)

Typical Meg, she looked at them and announced she didn't like them.  (In other words, if they're not Mommy's shoes, then what's the fun in wearing them? LOL!)  So this morning I dug out the receipt to return them.  

Notice anything?  Wahhhhhhhh!  You all know my feelings about aging. Ordinarily I am thrilled to receive any sort of a discount but DAMNIT.....I AM NOT 55+ PEOPLE!!!! 

This has totally ruined my day.  :-(   

Simple Things ...

The simple inventions make life so much easier.  Hickies.  Available at Brookstone.