So I Was Just Thinking

Long time no post. So what brings me back? Quirky Dutch Summer . Week 1 has me making my own art journal.  This sent me on a field trip to Hobby Lobby where I found quite a deal on journals, canvases and a pad of primed sheets of canvas. (More than 75% off.) I then dug through a very old stash of acrylic paint. All of my art supplies are in the garage after I cleaned out my office for Thanksgiving a year and a half ago. I needed room for a long table. I also didn't want my company seeing my messy workspace. I've not brought much in since then. That's what I'm liking about Quirky Dutch Summer. It has me playing in my art stuff again. I have no plans this summer and my youngest is about to leave for cousin camp, giving me plenty of time to get my hands dirty. So let me show you what I've made. First I painted the front of the canvas. Then I painted the back and let them dry overnight.  I folded the edges over and glued them down. I used Aleene...

Doodling, Tangling, Zentangling....I've been doing these for years. Last year I joined the Tangle It! Pattern Club. It's a great source of inspiration. The folks there are Ah-Mazing! Well, Pattern-collections.com is holding a giveaway. The prize? a Tangle-It Planner. It's not only a planner, it also has tips, tricks and suggested tools for keeping a Tangled Planner. Click HERE for the giveaway Here are some of my latest tangles and doodles. Wanna join the fun? Go to Facebook and join  Tangle It! Pattern Club .

It's interesting how it still hurts to really talk about how much I miss you. However, it does get better. Everyday I feel better.  When you first left so suddenly, the pain was so strong, crippling, paralyzing. Then the numbness came. I had to work. I had to become an automaton. Get up, help the kids, go to work, help other people's kids, get along with coworkers, drive home, be a mom. Lather, rinse, repeat. I did find out I was difficult to be around so I had to numb myself some more. Dusty Shoes - Post Canyon Hike Getting Goofy at Disneyland The following summer, I took the kids on our dream road trip seeing everything you and I said we would see with all of our kids (eight in total). Grand Canyon, Disneyland, Washington, Colorado. We saw it all, minus a few kids. It was fun and sad all at the same time. Visiting your relatives was especially poignant. Sitting out in your uncle's backyard, I could imagine you sitting out there chewing the fat, sipping a be...

One of my favorite online/TV people is Ree Drummond - AKA The Pioneer Woman . When I need something tasty, I often choose her recipes over those of other celebrities like Martha Stewart or Ina Garten. The PW makes meals that aren't complicated but full of flavor and appeal to everyone in my family. The easiest recipe I have found on her site is for oven roasted potato wedges . The problem with most recipes in my house, however, is I don't always have all of the ingredients. This means I either have to forego the recipe or make do with what I have in the pantry. This weekend like most weekends was a make-do kind of day. I really wanted to have potatoes, but when I looked through the pantry and fridge, I found I was short ingredients like olive oil. I also am not eating butter this month (say it ain't so!). This left me wondering what to do. I then looked in the closet and found a jar of coconut oil. I couldn't figure out how to pour a solid over potatoes. Then it hit...

I was asleep until my cell phone rang. It was my house phone calling. Why is my house phone calling? Hello? Hello? James is that you? Click Me: (debating whether to get up or not and finally getting up to look for the phone.) James, why do you have the phone? James: I thought there was someone looking through my window? Me: (confused how he saw someone in the window with the lights off, dark outside and the view of the  window blocked by a bookcase. ) Give me the phone. (Hanging it up and heading to bed) James: Sorry, mom. Me: Goodnight  (but now I'm curious. Did he really see someone? Dang it! Putting on winter coat and boots, I head outside with the phone as if I could do anything) NOTHING Now I lay awake when I should be asleep since I have class tomorrow morning. And people wonder why I don't leave him home alone.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I guess that's so. When you look at photos taken by Ansel Adams or Annie Liebowitz, they definitely tell a story. The only difference between your photos and photographers like these two is you may never see yourself in a museum or on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. That doesn't diminish the stories that your photos tell. Take for example this photo that showed up in my newsfeed today. What do you see? The man was my Sweetie Bobby. He would have turned 50 on Monday. The car was his pride and joy. There was a carwash near his house that offered a rain check up to three days after your first wash. He used that raincheck and would upgrade to a full wash every time. When asked what kind of air freshener, he would always get New Leather. He took very good care of it, making sure to get the oil changed as directed and rotating the tires regularly. He needed to do this because his job had him driving long distance, and every ...

I've heard that many times in my life, and today wasn't much different. It's actually a funny story. There is a girl who calls me mom. I never did get a chance to officially become her mom because Bobby and I never married. Nonetheless, LM is one of my children. LM called me today while Caitlin and I were driving down the highway, and just like my other two kids, if she needs me, I'm usually going to do what I can for her. Her question was a funny one. "You speak Spanish, right?" Now the answer to that is a complicated one, but yes, Spanish words have been known to come out of my mouth. So I tell her I do and ask her why. Well, it seems while she was having a garage sale, there was a man there interested in buying a car she had. However, he only spoke Spanish. I tell her I am five minutes away and head over there instead of going to Hobby Lobby. When I get to the garage sale, I introduce myself to the man who starts talking a mile a minute in Spanish. Uh...