Project 365: Week 1

It's 2010! and another year of Project 365 is underway! Last year I did everything on paper. This year, I'm going to let technology give me a helping hand :D If you've never heard of Project 365, read about at Becky Higgins blog. The project has a new name, but it's all the same. She even puts together cool kits to help you out.

Week One is very short - only 2 days!

January 1, 2010 (Friday)

I spent most of the day cleaning up my computer files and moving my photo files to an external hard drive as well as burning them to discs. You just can't have too many copies of digital photos. I've experience the horror of possibly losing all my photos due to a virus. The techies were able to salvage my hard drive and I was spared. But I learned my lesson.

January 2, 2010 (Saturday)

Today I spent working on my new 2010 calendar for my dayplanner. Normally, I have this done ahead of time, but I just didn't get to it. I also usually make it entirely by hand, but decided to play with photoshop instead. So it's digitally designed and printed. All I had to do was add the tabs and punch the holes! Go me!

Snow in Orlando?!

They said it could happen. And this morning they turned out to be right! Here is the photographic proof of the current weather phenomenon:



This is a pile of ice pellets! Ice pellets! In Orlando, Florida! And it was only 34 degrees this morning! Now, personally, I think that if it's going to be that cold, and we're going to have some kind of frozen precipitation, then it should be the fluffy variety, and there should be enough of it to go sledding! This little tidbit is nothing more than an accident waiting to happen...which I'm sure we had plenty of this morning...

...how ridiculous...

Coffee Date

When Chad came home and said work was giving him Fridays and Sundays off, I knew right away that we had to make Friday mornings our "date" time. We hardly ever get time to ourselves and I know how much he loves Panera (and I love the orange scones!). So, the moment he told me this, I mentioned that we should go out for coffee. He's been begging me to learn to like coffee for ages.

Today was our first coffee date, (which is why I'm posting later than usual). I had him order the coffee, and I ordered the orange scone. For my first try at coffee I tried the hazelnut blend, which smells heavenly, by the way, and started with a little sip. It was way too bitter for me, so I add a packet of sugar. I ended up adding a second packet and Chad had added some cream for me. Turns out, I'm a cream and 2 sugar coffee gal. I managed to drink half the mug before I gave up. Hopefully, next week I'll enjoy it a bit more.

The orange scone - perfect! They changed the recipe, the shape, and the icing. But it's even better now! yum yum!

Book List 2010

I just finished my first book of the year!
The Time Traveler's Wife
I saw the movie trailers for this last fall and found it to be quite an interesting concept. When I discovered the movie was based on a book, I knew I just had to read it! Of course, when I went to the library to get it, I discovered that several hundred other people also wanted to read the book! I "shelved" that idea! A copy of the book didn't appear on the shelves until just before Christmas. I snagged it up and put it in my "to read" pile (which is always growing). I started reading it at the end of 2009 but just got it finished. I wasn't able to spend all my free time reading, so I read in between all my other crafting, sewing, knitting, blogging, surfing, teaching, cleaning, etc, etc.

In 2009 I managed to read 41 books. Plus I read dozens of craft books, though not always cover-to-cover, so those aren't included in the final number. This year, it is one of my goals to double that number. But I'm not going to set a reading schedule or anything. That would just suck all the fun out of reading for pleasure!

I wish I were here...

I miss my old 1950s recliner. It was a great place to read a book. Too bad I gave it away last year. And too bad they got rid of it already :( Not that I have a place for it in the RV anyway...

Crafty Paper Day!

I sat down and printed out the pages for my dayplanner. I was really confused at first. I did it to myself by cutting the pages upside down. So it took me a few minutes to match up the months! doh! Once I got them cut and in order I punched the holes. I used my Crop-a-dile to punch the holes. I'm not happy with that design - it's way too big for my hand and makes its use somewhat difficult. I'd have used my regular ole hole punch, but I couldn't find it! So then I punched out a bunch of tabs, (I <3 my tab punch!), to separate the months and presto-chango! I had a new calendar in the book. I then quickly went through and put all the important dates in and made notes.



The leftover bits from the tabs were just too pretty to throw away. So I pulled out some scraps and made a bookmark!



It's much cuter than the tag I pulled off my son's new jeans. But that's me, too, 'cause I don't waste anything! In fact, that tag is now in my ephemera stash ;)

This is what I miss

I miss the snow. I miss watching it fall, listening to it blow against the windows. I miss sledding and shoveling, I miss making snow angels. I miss driving along country roads and finding beautiful snow drifts. I miss early morning drives after an ice storm and catching rays of sun dancing on crystal trees.

I miss seeing pink cheeks.

Calendars 101

So, normally, I already have my calendar done by now. December was too full of crafting and stitching so I didn't get around to making the 2010 calendar for my day planner. I usually pull out the scrapbooking supplies and just hand make one, but this year I wanted to give digital a go. It took the better part of the day but I figured out how to use the layers in my Photoshop program (finally!) and made a fairly passable calendar.



This is the blank. I went ahead and added in the months and dates, but had to do pages for each of the months a little differently. I found myself doing half a month on the left and a half of a different month on the right every other month! It got a little tricky. But, I had to do it this way for front and back printing and because I'll be cutting the pages in half and hole punching them for my binder. I haven't printed yet but I'll post the finished project soon!

Happy New Year!

It's a brand new year, full of possibilities!

Time Flies...

The days of May, June and July are all past us and August is almost half way gone. Time moves on so quickly and yet we sometimes spend our days wondering when they will end so we can get to tomorrow. How sad...

Let's see if I can recall the past few months... (with some help from the Project 365 notebook, of course!)

In May I took Kylie shopping for some new clothes. Her tastes run decidedly pop-punk with a smidge of goth. Chad had my wedding ring fixed. That was nice - it's been 3 years since I've been able to wear it. Jeremy is doing well with baseball. His team is ranked no. 1 and he's been mostly playing first base. They won their championship game and went to playoffs. I've been working on organizing photos so I can do some scrapbooking. It's been raining and raining and raining. The duck family in our pond had 13 ducklings. :D



June saw the end of the playoffs for Jeremy. The Braves were out of the tournament after their 3rd game. Still a great season! The kids' friends, John and Anna (from Brazil) left to go on vacation to Canada. I've been working on new curly dreads :D lately and installed them for the trip to MI. Went to Chad's 20yr high school reunion and Sheri's baby shower. Chad had some more work done on his tatoo while in Michigan - it's pretty awesome.



July I started my full-time training for a marathon I want to walk in December in Las Vegas. I don't know that we'll get there, but I'm training for it! Kylie stubbed her big toe and most of the nail popped right off. We suspect she'd injured it some time before and the nail was detached from the nail bed, which is why it wasn't as bad as she thought it'd be when we clipped it. Ouch! Once it was cleaned up, we noticed that a bit of nail was already growing back under the one we'd just taken off! How weird is that? I brought home a bunch of my mom's photo albums and have been sorting the pics and getting them out of those nasty magnectic books. yuck! I also learned to knit! I've made several scarves now :D And towards the end of the month we had a dust storm from Africa move in and gave us the most magnificent sunsets!



Now it's August and the kids are officially on summer break. With them off the books it's time for Mom to hit the books. I have begun an online class on the history of fashion, offered by a former professor from Alaska. I've always been a fan of her website - so much information! - and now I'm doing the self-study from one of her many classes.

That's the highlights. It's actually kind of sad that I can sum up the last few months in those three short paragraphs...

The Life and Times - April edition

So, April has come and gone. Gone in a wink! Life keeps us busy :D

I've been working on sorting photos and going through old video tapes. Ah, memories! The kids grow up way, way too fast. One blink and poof! they've aged a dozen years. And so have we...

Jeremy wanted a baseball birthday again this year. So I recreated the field but this time around I made some fondant baseball players. What an adventure. I bought white, pre-made fondant and colored it myself. Then made a set of ball players in red jerseys and a couple in blue. Unfortunately, I made them way too tall and they wouldn't stand up. So I had to take them apart and chop up the pieces to make them a bit smaller and squatter, so they'd stand on their own. The cake was a hit. And Jeremy loves anything baseball. In fact, most every gift was related to baseball! Including a fancy new bat!

For Easter we did a quick egg-dying session, which was interrupted for several hours as Jeremy disappeared to play baseball with one of his friends. The next day the eggs were turned into a meal and the kids hunted for the plastic ones. Chad hid them even harder this year. Jeremy did a lot of crawling, Kylie not so much.

At the end of the month Chad and I went to Epcot. It's the Flower Festival so I was able to get some creative photos. It's not often Chad and I get to go anywhere so this was a real treat. We even splurged and had dessert in France!

Project 365 is going well. The scrapbook is all caught up, so I have to wait a couple weeks before I can scrap any more. But I am working on other scrapping projects, so I don't starve for creative outlets :D I also have several other projects in the works :D

The Life and Times - Mar 09 Edition

Did March start out like a lion or a lamb? I really can't recall. I do remember the weather being comfortable, so a lamb! :D

The month started out with a bang, everyone settling into the new RV and trying to remember where we put our things. Quite the adventure, that. It took a bit of fiddling but we managed to figure out the new stove/oven combo. Unfortunately, the oven doesn't have the correct knob, so we had to buy a temperature thing-a-ma-jig to hang in the oven. It takes forever to find the correct settings! The correct knob is still on order :(

Jeremy has been working on his pitching. We have a natural pitching mound at the base of our pine tree. Jeremy pitches from the tree, across the street, into the lot across from us. We have a home plate but no catchers gear. Dad has no problem catching, but I tend to get hit.

I've begun working on a new baby quilt. I'm using colors way outside my comfort zone, so we'll see how it turns out :)

I also started working on the gable hood for my Tudor gown project. I got as far as making the pattern for the gable and had to set it aside. I fear a bit more research is needed before I begin assembly. The directions I've collected so far are way more confusing than they need to be! And, since I'm busy with the aforementioned baby quilt, I really don't have the spare time!

Project 365 is still going strong. Unfortunately, I missed a day this month :(

About mid-month Chad had some time off so we went on a little trip to Manatee Springs State Park. It was utterly beautiful! We were too late to see the manatees but that afforded Chad and the kids the opportunity to swim in the springs - at a constant temperature of 72 degrees...brrr...that's a bit chilly really! But the water was just to beautiful to ignore. We also chose this park for it's many mountain biking trails. We rode lots of trails, some made of sand :( and some cut through the woods on hard pack :) We even got to climb down into a sink hole! A small one, but you could see the damage. It made an interesting topic of conversation and an impromptu school lesson!

March is the height of strawberry season here in Florida and we made sure to get our fill. I think we ate a quart a day for 3 weeks straight! And not once did we make shortcake - can you believe it? Towards the end of the month the berries started showing signs of decay :( I wish I could have made some freezer jam, but there's just no space for it in a RV!

We had a surprising early morning visitor this month. A clearly disillusioned red-headed woodpecker came knocking in the dusky hours of dawn. He was quite confused when he couldn't get his breakfast out of our RV windows! I caught him flitting from the pine tree along side the trailer onto the windowpane directly opposite. He must have assumed the reflection to be another tree! Alas, nothing to be gained there! I managed to grab the camera and catch him in the act and then he went on his way. Silly woodpecker!

The kids had a sleepover with their friends. This would not have been possible in the old RV, but the new one has much more space. We ordered pizza, had some rice krispie treats and ice cream. They played games, went swimming, watched a movie and had a great time.

The day before Chad's birthday he took Jeremy and a couple of his friends to the pre-season Braves/Red Sox game at Disney's Wide World of Sports. We were only able to get the tickets because Jeremy's old coach had tickets he wasn't going to be able to use. So we lucked out and Jeremy got to experience a Major League Baseball game.

And on the last day of the month we celebrated Chad's birthday. I gave him a few choices for his birthday cake/dessert and he chose my Blueberry Torte (yum!) He had a huge pile of gifts to open and instead of opening them as soon as he got home, he made the kids wait until after dinner. He said it gave us something to look forward to, but I think he used that time to study the packages and figure out what they were before he opened them. He does that. And he did it again. The only thing he didn't figure out was the item wrapped in a gift bag! We got him a nice soft foot stool (so he won't use my step ladder), a new rice cooker, and some lights to add to his outdoor kitchen.

All in all it was a good month. We kept pretty busy, as usual, because the time just flew right on by. Baseball is already half over now. Spring is passing into summer, the days, and the nights, are getting hotter.

The Life and Times - Feb 09 edition

The month of February came and went without the internet. I could say I got a lot done without it, but I'm also way behind because I didn't have it!

February saw the beginning of spring training. Jeremy was NOT placed in the majors after all. They had too many boys sign up so they took the youngest players and moved them down. There were 8 students who were moved down to minors. Jeremy was only slightly dissapointed, but I have to say that Chad and I were quite happy with that decision. Unfortunately, Jeremy didn't get his old coaches team. A new coach drafted him and was quite unwilling to trade him back to the other coach! At first Jeremy didn't understand, but now he knows how the drafting system works.

We've had practice 3 nights a week all month and Jeremy has been doing very well. It looks like he'll be playing mostly 3rd and 1st base, and may even get some pitching in!

His first game was on the 28th. And would you believe it? His team (the Braves) had to play against his old coach - the RedSox! It was quite interesting. Chad and I were cheering for both teams :D At one point, Jeremy's friend Jacob was pitching to him and they just kept smiling at each other! It was so funny! In the end, the Braves won 9 to 1. Jeremy made a great play at 3rd base, tagging out a runner that was trying to steal. Even the RedSox coaches congratulated him on such a great play!

The second biggest event of the month was the most traumatic. Our RV was totalled by the insurance company! One of the exterior walls popped open and when we made the claim they said the repairs cost more that the RV was valued, so they would not pay for it and forced us to relinguish the RV by the end of the month. So we had about 8 days to find a new RV or apartment or other home option, get all the necessary paperwork arranged, and orchestrate the move from one to the other as smoothly as possible. In the end we bought a 5th wheel trailer rather than a motorized coach. Mainly because we couldn't find a motor coach within our budget. But the new trailer is very nice, with 3 slide outs to give us an actual living room/dining room space, a bit bigger kitchen, and a bunkhouse with a 1/2 bath for the kids.

Jeremy made a new friend here in the park this month. Kane and his sister Nicole visit us every day after school and spend most of the weekend at our new lot. It's unfortunate that they will be moving in March. Donovan, Jeremy's friend from Oregon, will also be leaving mid-March. It will be a sad day when they are gone. :(

We DJed the Valentines Dinner Dance again this year. A couple ladies made sure to find us and give us very detailed lists of the music they would prefer! It was very helpful, to be sure. The dancing couples were very grateful to have some of their favorites. It definitely made the evening more enjoyable for us, since we didn't have everyone complaining about the music!

Instead of going out for Valentines Day (since we were DJing the dance) Chad and I sent the kids to Wendy's Sunday night for a sleep-over and we went to Universal to see The Village People at the mardi gras celebration. I enjoyed the concert, but I was more enthused with the parade and the fabulous costumes everyone was wearing!

I made a new wig this month. I think it's a bit too punk-teenager for me. I like it, but just not on me - so I doubt I'll ever wear it. I'll probably list it for sale on my fake hair community. I know they'll snap it up. I also finished a set of dread falls for Erica. She gave me the hair back in October and I'm just now finished. Of course, cutting my hand in Jan. didn't help - but by then I'd had most of them done. There were just too many other things I needed to get done. I'm not wearing dreads this month. The last ones were so heavy I needed the break. Maybe next month?

**CORRECTION** I finished all the embroidery on my Tudor forepart in February, not January as previously posted. I'm sure I was confused because I posted January's update just after completing it. :P But that's okay - I don't mind sharing it again :P

As far as Project 365 goes, I haven't missed a day yet. I did sometimes not get around to taking the picture during the day, but I always took it first thing the next morning so they stayed in order. I know that's fudging it a bit, but the spirit of the challenge is still there, right?

I celebrated my birthday this month by making some gingerbread-chocolate chip muffins and spending the day with the family. I recieved many wishes for a great birthday and I thank all of you for your thoughts, cards, emails, phone calls, and gifts. A couple days later, on Chad's day off, we went to BD's Mongolian for lunch. The waitress made me a lovely hat from tinfoil and the manager made me an ice cream sundae! Yum! :D

This month's edition is a bit out of order, but that's pretty much the gist of it. Perhaps March will be a bit more entertaining?

The life and times - Jan 09 edition

First and foremost: my computer has a virus or two...or three... and they can't be cleaned until the next update, which I cannot get until I renew my internet security. So, until then, I have to use Chad's computer. Which means very little internet use for me and no pictures in any of my journals, blogs, websites, or online photo books. :( This is also why I've decided to make monthly posts to hit the highlights. If you can't read the whole thing, skimming works- I've highlighted some bits for you. And if you don't have time for that - well, then, you need to slow down a little! Go smell some roses...or coffee...or whatever it takes to relax!

On to the happenings:

I've taken the Project 365 Challenge! Which means, ultimately, that I will have even more pictures to deal with at the end of this year. But I'm really enjoying it! The process is sure to challenge me as well as improve my current level of artistry. So far this year I've only missed 2 days, but I did remember the next morning so I was able to take a photo to represent the previous day. I haven't been able to use my Rebel for this project yet because my memory card is full. I don't erase them because it causes damage to the card. I just file them with the CDs for each year and purchase a new card. But, I have yet to purchase said card so I've had to use the little Sony CyberShot we bought for K a couple years ago. It's a pretty good camera for outdoor shots, but take it indoors and you don't get anything worth exclaiming over. So I'm hoping to get my new memory card soon so I can use my big camera and really start challenging my skills!

Baseball season has begun here - a whole 4 weeks earlier than last year! Tryouts were the last Monday of the month. J has a new coach this year as he is now in the majors. His team this season is the Braves. He has a set practice schedule 3 days a week until the official opening of the season at the end of February. His first game will be Feb. 28th! Hopefully one of the 4 coaches will keep the stat book so I can sit back and enjoy the games!

Swim Team has been put on hold due to moving back to the RV and the lack of liquid assets. K doesn't seem to be too put out over it. She's been having sleepovers with her friend just about every other week since we got back from MI over Christmas. But now that we're in the RV they won't be having them quite as often since we can't have the kids here. The RV barely fits 4 so 6 would be insane! Maybe we could get permission for a tent?? She's also been asking me about make-up lately. One particular day she even begged me to put some eyeliner on her! They grow up so fast... I gave her a short lesson and explained that with her amazing lashes she didn't need much liner. I put just a touch on the lower lashline and she was happy.

Sheraton Vista Resorts has gone the way of most vacation ownership companies - downhill. Chad has left Sheraton and gone to Hilton. After two weeks of training he hit the floor running. He's had two sales so far, which is great. I just wish the payout was a bit quicker. They have a really weird pay schedule, but their daily bonus schedule is pretty nifty. Chad seems to like the job quite well and is excited to finally be seeing tours with some potential.

I've been working really hard on getting the embroidery done on my Tudor forepart (fancy skirt that shows through the slit in the top skirt). Finally, after a little over 120 hours of embroidery, the skirt is finished. With the embroidery anyway. I'm still debating the addition of "oes" (the original sequin), which would require at least another 120 hours of meticulous hand sewing. And then it will need to be lined and a waistband attached, as well as hooks and eyes to attach it to the petticoat. Whew! I'm glad it's done! On to another project...

The Intrepid hit it's infamous "80,000 mile curse" a few miles early. Luckily for us! I know you're thinking - "lucky?" but yes, we were lucky. Half the parts were covered by warranty! But only until 80,000 miles! Hah! So, $2000 later and only 200+ miles left of the warranty, we're watching the car like a hawk and taking it back to the shop for anything! Next on the fix-it list is the truck. I don't think we'll be quite so lucky with that one.

As a last little tidbit, I tried a new recipe that seemed dubious to me but was a huge hit - even with J! I couldn't believe he ate it! It was a homemade "salsa" but turned out more like a salad, but you eat it with tortilla "scoops". It's made with black beans, cucumber, red onion, yellow pepper, jalapeno pepper, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and cumin. It was sooooo good! J has asked when I'm going to make it again! That's when you know you've got a keeper :D

And that's January, not quite in a nutshell, but, there it is. :P

Catching up on "life's moments"!

October was just too busy! I had so much to accomplish! Between schooling, cleaning, shopping, getting ready for vacation and halloween, I've been on constant overload!

So, the highlights:

Jeremy's baseball game just before we left for vacation he got to pitch again. This was a scrimmage so he got a little more time on the mound. He also played second base most of the game and a couple innings at first base.
Here is a blurry shot of him in mid wind-up. During night games I have the worst possible time getting good pictures. From behind the fence the flash is worthless. Night settings are even worse. But you can still sort of see him!

On to vacation: St. Louis, MO!
This is the best family photo ever! I took several shots of us all leaning down into the frame with the Arch above us, but with the angle of the sun they were pretty dark. Chad came up with the idea to move up the stairs, away from the camera for this shot. He's a genius sometimes! :P We had so much fun in St. Louis. Even though we've been there 4 times now as a family, it's still a great place to vacation.

Halloween: Fairy Girl and Sasuke!
The kids really enjoy challenging me when it comes to costumes. And these costumes just wouldn't be complete without the wigs! It was down to crunch time and I had to make both wigs in one day! The dreads for K's were already done so that was a time saver. And I did have to do some tweaking on J's the next morning. But they were both extremely happy with their costumes, and they received lots of compliments while trick-or-treating. At one of the houses, J was immediately recognized and got extra candy for his cool costume! At another house, K was asked for a picture of her hair! They had a great time and loved that they were so original.

We popped into the Winter Garden Halloweenfest after trick-or-treating and discovered a thousand people all crammed onto main street! It was insane! On our way out we saw a guy dressed as a Ghostbuster! So now Chad wants to be a Ghostbuster for halloween next year! :D At least he's giving me plenty of time!

And now it's November, which brings it's own brand of busy!

Home Economics 101

Jeremy has decided to show some interest in cooking his own food lately. For the last week we've been making the occasional egg sandwich for breakfast. Today, Jeremy wanted to make it all by himself. And he did it!

Slicing the english muffin


Adding cheese to the eggs


Watching the bacon heat up


Putting it all together


Yummy sandwich! :D

1st Game!

As the official scorebook keeper for our team, I have to watch every single play, every single player, both teams. It's a tough job, sure, but I never miss anything!

Tonight we played the Angels. We won 14-3 in the 5th inning. Here's the play-by-play:

Jeremy is the 6th batter in a line up of 14 players. A big improvement from last spring!

His first at bat he had a tired pitcher and got walked. But then he slid into second base on the next pitch! Way to go little man! On the next batter he stole third. And on the next wild pitch he stole home with another beautiful slide :D We were all cheezing.

His 2nd at bat he got a fresher pitcher and on his second pitch he hit a screaming ball right down the 3rd base line, way out to the field. He ran a triple! He was the only batter to get a triple this game. It was awesome :D When I caught his eye while he was on third he gave me a great big grin. I was grinning too :D

The next batter Jeremy tried a couple times to steal home on wild pitches but didn't quite make it. Then the batter he got a really wild pitch and Jeremy made a run for it. The catcher got the ball back in the nick of time and started to run Jeremy back. About half way back to the base the catcher throws the ball to the baseman, but the baseman lets it get past him, so Jeremy doubles back and steals home for a second time! Whoo! Can you just imagine all the screaming moms in the stands? It was an amazing play and I wish I'd had a camera. But being the scorekeeper I knew I wouldn't have an opportunity to take any pictures. I tried to get Kylie to take some but she didn't want to - mostly because it was sprinkling the whole game. (which makes keeping the book dry a little difficult)

On defense Jeremy started the game in center right and right field, mostly to back up some of our newest players. In the third inning they put him in as backup to second base. He was totally into the game. In the fourth inning the other team had a wild pitch and the first base runner stole second. Our catcher made the throw, but it bounced out of the 2nd baseman's glove. Jeremy was right there covering him and saved the play. :D

Another highlight of the game was Joshua. Joshua is autistic. Chad has been working closely with him to help him stay focused. And the coach walks Joshua to the plate and sets him up to bat. Tonight at Joshua's first at-bat he took a couple swings and then he hit the ball! He sent it out towards left and he managed to beat the throw to first! Everyone was jumping and cheering him on - it was wonderful. The next batter came up and then Joshua remembered to steal! When the next batter came up they hit a nice long flyball out to left field which gave Joshua the opportunity to make it all the way home. It was close, but he beat the throw to the catcher and scored his first run! The whole team cheered him on, as well as the coaches. Most of us parents in the stands were teary-eyed.

I know this is just the first game, but it was a really great game. I wish I could have video taped it to watch again and share with everyone. Such a great game.

So when we got home I had Jeremy pose for a couple shots so you could see the mess he made of his uniform sliding into home.



And a shot of a very happy baseball player

The "baseball" cut

Now that fall ball is officially underway, Jeremy needed to get the hair out of his face so he could see the ball coming at him! Here are the "before" and "after" shots.



We finally found a stylist that knows what to do with his wacky hair! This is the best cut he's had in a long time. And while I'm partial to his shaggy skater hair, I like his new look too.

Nat'l Play-Doh Day 9-18-08

We had a TON of fun with the play doh! Check it out:

Kylie's Birthday

I know I'm late getting this posted. Way too much on my plate at the moment. Trying to keep the house clean is a bigger job now, school is getting underway and the kids are slowly adjusting. I'm doing more cooking, which means more shopping, cleaning, and reading of recipes. Plus I'm doing a lot more crafting now. So it's pretty busy around here.

Besides the typical opening gifts, having a cake (this year a giant cookie) and going out for ice cream, we gave Kylie an amazing gift - a trip to Discovery Cove to swim with the dolphins! We didn't tell her what we were doing on her birthday, just got them up and out of bed nice and early and took off. She didn't know what was going on until we pulled into the main gate! What a smile..

Here are the pics:

Uno!

We sat down to play some cards last night. We've all been getting tired of the TV so Chad and Kylie went and bought some Uno cards.

We played several hands, with Chad throwing in some new rules, and had a lot of fun.

Our very last hand started at 7:15 and we played and played and played. There were times when Kylie had half the deck in her hand! And then Jeremy and I would end up with 30 cards! Chad wanted to call the game at 8 but I wanted to see just how far it would go. Chad finally played out at 8:10! A 55 minute hand of uno! Wow. That's got to be a record or something :D

Tropical Storm Fay

When the storm was first headed straight for us here in Kissimmee, I would find the kids glued to the TV every once in awhile, checking the weather report. They'd stare out the windows to see what was going on and ask a zillion questions.

The night Fay was supposed to hit us the storm had turned eastward and just skimmed by us. All we got was a bunch of rain. The kids and I were quite relieved.

Now Fay has decided to do some twisting and turning and may come back this way. This has got to be the weirdest storm ever.

Armadillo sighting!

Apparently Tropical Storm Fay is bringing lots of things out of the woodwork. Chad and I went to Sam's Club, just across the street from the apartments to get some water and other supplies for the storm coming in. On the way back we pulled up to the security gate. As Chad was asking the guard some questions, I turned to look out the window and there he was! A little armadillo, just snuffling the ground, walking around trees and rustling through the bushes. Oh how I wish for a pocket camera!Chad whipped out his camera phone but it decided to play dunce and wouldn't load up the camera function fast enough. We had to wait a bit and track the little bugger down, but we got a couple good shots.

Life outside the RV

After 2 years in the RV, life in an apartment is almost surreal.

Seriously.

The amount of space here is difficult to get used to. J is having a really difficult time sleeping in his own room. K, of course, loves it. She wasted no time in getting her room all decorated and plastered with posters.

While I find using the kitchen space rather pleasant, I find maneuvering throughout the apartment in general to be bothersome. I've gotten so used to moving from one activity to another in a space 10 feet long and 3 feet wide that I sometimes lose track of where I'm going. I have all this space and sometimes feel lost in it!

It's a good thing this is a transitional space.

When we finally move into a house I should be ready for a bigger space. Here in the apartment I have no freedom to paint or decorate. But when we have a house I'll have complete freedom to personalize whatever I feel like changing. I'll also have the opportunity to get my things from storage.

Funny how little I can recall actually being in storage! But there are some treasures I'd like to have with me. It'll be a lot of fun going through all the boxes. The hardest part will be the kids going through all their toys. It'll be like Christmas morning!

Until then, I'll spend my time "cruising" the furniture and wandering from room to room...and cooking up a storm! :D

Best Game Ever!

We woke up to a beautiful morning! K&J were out playing with the kids so Chad and I decided to get in a game of disc golf. Turns out today was my day.

By the 4th hole I was still at par and I was beating Chad! (today was NOT his day!)

For the first time ever, I birdied twice in one game. On a few holes I had some pretty tough challenges but still managed to par or bogey. Which is much better than I normally play.

Chad was totally excited for me and had me try out his Sidewinder disc. He said that now I'm playing with power so I need to adjust my technique. Which is pretty much true. The Stingray disc that I've always used is actually a right-turning disc, but I've not been able to make it turn right. Until now. :D

I worked on tweaking my release and was able to play a really good game.

At the 18th hole I finished at a +5 (over par). Way better than my personal best! :D

I think it's time to get a long-distance driver and see what I can do!

Life as a Single Parent

After ProLife Festival we decided that the kids and I would stay in MI while Chad went back to work in FL. We figured I'd stay for the month of July and then wait to see what would happen next.

So all this month I've been a single parent!

The first week we were here I made a lot of trips to see people. It was nice being able to catch up with everyone. While visiting my Mom, she asked if I could help her out a couple days. Thinking it'd be just that, I agreed.

I've been working every day since! (Except Sundays)

Which has been both a blessing and a bane. A blessing because we've not had any disposable income that I could use while here, and working for my Mom provides just what the kids and I need. Working for Mom also provides us a vehicle to use, an added bonus even if it's a gas hog. It's been a considerable bane because I'm spending all my time working and I've barely seen my kids!

For the most part J hangs out with me at Mom's while I work, but I'm working and he's playing games or watching TV, or out fishing when K is with him. Most of the time K is at her cousin's so I don't see much of her. I don't like that I'm losing touch with my kids. I'm glad this is only for a short season!

I've been so wrapped up with work I've let the RV become a mess - even though we've only stayed in the RV 1/3 of the time! I've not had the opportunity to get out and see anyone really, nor have the kids and I been able to get out and do much. We did go to a movie last week. And we've been to dinner at Cleve's twice. But that's it. I've also not been able to make any dreads to sell, nor work on school. I've been meaning to scan some photos and update some of my photo files but I still haven't gotten to it. It's even taken me this long to update my blog!

Last weekend the kids stayed over at Grandma Benkert's and I flew to FL to spend some time with Chad. It was nice to spend time together (even though the weather was nasty sticky-hot) and talk about things. We spent our time playing tourist in St. Augustine, which is something I've wanted to do for years and years now. It was a great treat. But I missed the kids even more!

I don't know how single parents do this. I'm sad about all the time I've lost this month with the kids - I can't imagine what life would be like if I had to do this full time. And I'm actually lucky because I have family and friends who've been more than generous in helping us out. If I were doing this on my own it'd be a nightmare.

Thankfully, this season is coming to an end soon. The kids and I will be flying back to FL in another week or so. And where we go from there? We'll just wait and see.

Line Dancing!

Yep. I went line dancing. I didn't figure I'd dance much at all. And I didn't. But I did learn one new dance. I rather enjoyed it.

It was a little difficult at first, being out of practice with choreographed dances. After the first few times through, my training kicked in and I was able to get the hang of it.

Leah plans to take me again. We'll see how well I remember what I learned! :P

A Chicago holiday!

After ProLife we hung out at Mom's in Dowagiac for a bit. Chad decided to fly back to Orlando while the kids and I stay in the oh, so lovely Michigan!

For the 4th of July holiday Mom and Sheri put together a little trip for us. We left Wed. night for Chicago via the Southshore. For Grandma and the kids this was the normal mode of transportation. But for me, this was a first! I'd never been on any kind of train before, so I was experiencing this all for the first time!

We stayed with Uncle Ben and Aunt Sheri (who made some rather delish tacos for dinner) and prepared for the next day's adventures.

On Thursday, Uncle Ben had the day off so he played tour guide.

The first adventure was for the kids. Uncle Ben took them for a ride on his scooter up an down the alley. I'm not sure who had more fun - the kids or Uncle Ben?

After the scooter excitement, Uncle Ben began our city tour with a trip to Millenium Park so I could see the Cloud Gate. Everyone but me has seen this marvel and I'm so glad everyone was willing to make the trek to see it again! :D While I was snapping pictures I caught this one of Jeremy getting into the snack bag!

Then we were off across the park. It was so pretty with all the flowers everywhere! Once through the park we made a venture through the Taste of Chicago festival that was happening. So many people! We didn't stop - just passed through. I didn't even snap one picture here - I was too worried about getting separated or losing one of the kids!

Next stop was the Art Museum. Jeremy wanted to see some old masters and I just wanted to see everything! We didn't get to see as many masters as we'd liked as the museum is adding a new wing and many of the galleries we wanted to see were closed. But I did get to see my favorite landscape (by Seurat)and was able to share it with the kids! Jeremy and I took quite a few pictures in the museum. But the kids' patience with me didn't last forever so we left. (I did manage a few pictures of tudor and elizabethan costume for my research!) Here's everyone taking a break while waiting for me to catch up! :D Once outside we parked on the steps next to one of the lions and had a snack for lunch.

On to the Field Museum! As we came up the hill in front we saw a bunch of these amazing globes! I snapped a picture or two of every single one of them. Kylie took some pictures of her favorites. I remember reading an article somewhere about these. I'm glad I got to see them! We spent the afternoon looking at all kinds of neat things. Once inside the museum we had to choose which exhibits we wanted to see. There is a great exhibit on the Native Americans. It would take a couple days to see all of it! So we did that one and the Egyptian exibit - one of Kylie's favorites. And of course we popped in to see the dinosaurs! It was a great afternoon - except for periodic comments from Jeremy that he's "seen this before, can we move on?"

After the Field we wandered over to the lawn to claim our spot for the fireworks that night. The wind off the lake was a bit chilly and we spent our time trying to keep warm while people watching.

Aunt Sheri brought us dinner - fried chicken, potato wedges, sweet bread, and cookies. Yummy! I think Kylie was just polishing off the last bite of her cookie!

Jeremy got a little bored waiting so he wanted to play with the camera. His camera is too slow (now that he's interested in photography we'll find a better one) so we used mine. Since Jeremy was cuddled up with me to stay warm, I'm actually in a photo too! :D Doesn't happen often. We took about 8 pictures making silly faces. We were very entertaining to our neighbors :P

After 4 1/2 hours of waiting the fireworks finally started! Late, but they did start! We're not sure why, but the orchestra did not play, so the radio station threw together some music to play along. I took quite a few shots, trying to keep the city in the frame but after a while the smoke started to build up and it was difficult to get a clean photo.

The walk home after the fireworks was quite an adventure in and of itself! So many people all trying to get to the same place. We were part of an ocean of people. It was sometimes difficult to hold onto Jeremy and stay with the group. Rather than move along at the pace of the crowd there were always people pushing their way through and separating me and Jeremy from the rest of them. But Uncle Ben made sure to keep an eye on us, I noted. Once we were out of the crown and onto the street it was a bit easier. I even managed a quick photo, and while it's not clean, it does convey the movement of the people. When we got up to the stop for the train we needed there were already hundreds of people lined up waiting to get on. So Uncle Ben took us around another way and we picked up a different train. There was almost no one there! We were quite lucky. It still made for a late night, but not as late as if we'd had to wait in that line! You rock Uncle Ben!

The next morning of course we were dragging. The kids and I slept until almost 10 Chicago time! EEek! I guess we really were tired! But it was a good tired. :D