Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Gee wiz this was cool! We went to the Pumpkin Patch today with Natalie and it was awesome. They said it was going to rain, but instead, it was a beautiful day. We picked out 2 pumpkins, some dried red corn and a lil white pumpkin, perfect for painting. We came back home, ate lunch and I went back to work. What a great ending to a very busy fulfilling week.

Couple of Cool Things Today

1) There was a discussion that happened on Stacy Jillian's blog a while back and it really made me think about scrapbooking and WHY I do it. I have thoughts that I will post this weekend, but realize that there are stores going out of business and the idea of scrapbook "celebrities" are making people frustrated about their work and don't really want to scrapbook anymore due to the contest pressure and I sorta feel the same way....more to come.
2) For $5 you can get your own Kleenex box made....cute eh??

That was fun....

Natalie and I made some ghosts and a scary tree today. I found this cute lil video and we made some ourselves. There were just a mixture of salt, flour and water, so it was stuff I had here. You pop them in the microwave for 20 second intervals and they harden up.
Oh and of course she wanted to make a snake too, so she happily colored him up and he looks great! I figured next time we will add some food coloring, because she wanted all the ghosts pink and for some reason the pink makes them "scarier".




And, again, I left her in a room with Sharpies so she decided to draw a face on my fav cutting board....oh how I should learn from this, the entire time I was here in the den I thought..."Ok, you left her in the kitchen with those pens, be prepared that something will be written on"...but I didn't think it would be my cutting board..sheesh!!!

Spirit Halloween Shop Trip

Natalie and I went to the Halloween Store here in Tracy, it is in the Outlets, and it is pretty cool. Kinda scary things hanging from the ceiling and crawling on the floor, but she did pretty well. She knows that all of that stuff is fake, she tells me all the time so that I don't get scared either. So cute!!

Love My Girl!

The Boat... yup The Boat

Now that's a smile of a crazy man. He got this boat, took to his brother's house and now his brother wants to buy it. All's well that ends well.

First Day of School

Today was Natalie's first day of pre-k. She was really excited and way too comfortable to just be left somewhere. :) It is a blessing and a curse for her to be so confident. She said she had a great day and I love that her Wesley was there too!

Tony's Birthday Pics

Happy Doodle Day!

Doodling is an art-form really. It lends itself to more and more open creativity. Today I just relaxed and doodled! (oh and worked a bit = meetings) Nice to just draw, not knowing what it will be, but then making it into something. My approach to creativity has always been direct, clear and planned out, like everything else in my life, and doodling helps me do something that is not planned and just let it grow into something.
A lot of people doodle and don't know it really, when Tony is on the phone he doodles these funny people with funny faces and they are great. Creative really, but that is what comes out of his subconscious.
My Doodle Inspiration

My Horoscope Today!

Indulge in a bit of daydreaming today -- it's time for you to do something for yourself, even if it's just letting your mind wander wherever it feels like going. You're at the beginning stages of a real self-transformation, so don't be alarmed if you're feeling ambiguous about things that used to seem black-and-white. Just watch the world go by and take in whatever you see. As long as you keep an open mind, all the input will lead to some important insights.

Bowls Bowls oh Beautiful Bowls

Lunch today was some popcorn and an orange. Doesn't food taste better when it looks pretty? Well, I decided to put my orange in this beautiful green bowl. Wow, what a beauty.
These bowls were an impulse buy at Starbucks this week. I have seen these lil ice cream bowls (4 palm-sized bowls in red, blue, green and yellow) over and over again and they are selling out fast. I am thinking they are a summer item and once gone, they will not be back! So I had to get 'em! Even better, they came with Starbucks FREE quart of ice cream coupon, whoohoo Java Chip for me, I'll be getting that this weekend.
There is just something about bowls, maybe because they are so functional, I like functional in every meaning of the word.

Never Leave Her Alone with Pens and Markers!

Natalie decided to write on herself today. She was clever enough to write the letter "A" on her arm, but managed to write on her cheeks too. We have the last Tracy Dance class tonight, I guess I'll just have to take her lookin' like this!

She then proceeded to color her arms with a blue (washable thank goodness) marker. Mind you, this is after we took the photo above.
We cleaned up, no biggie, "don't sweat the small stuff" Steve Irwin always said to Terri.

Jelly Belly Factory

Well, we couldn't take photos inside the tour, so here are the photos I took before we got in. As soon as we walked into the building, the dude told us to go to the back of the line and WHEW that line was long. We waited about 1.5 hours and the kids actually did great waiting, that can be hard on 4 year olds.

The tour...well it was ok, but we just didn't see any jelly beans. LOL We were laughing about that. There were all of these conveyer-belts and no candy, and prob about 3 people down there. We went in a circle, watched videos on how things work, and then given free candy. WHoohoo for the free candy, but it was kidna sad that there was really nothing going on in the factory. :) Overall, a good trip with great company, just not sure if I would go back! Alan and Natalie had a good time, but they always do, even if they are playing with a paper bag together!

Spice Throw - Done!

Check this out! I finished my first full-size throw. I am totally proud of myself, it turned out great. I am totally hooked on crochet. LOL! This is called the Spice Throw from a wonderful book called Hooked Throws by Margaret Hubert. There is a Sunflower Throw in there too, I think that is my next one!

Natalie's First Dance Recital

"Get Your Head in the Game" This is the hip-hop dance portion of Natalie's first dance recital. This was the coolest thing I have ever done in all of my life. We were blessed to have Auntie Char come down from Sac too! That is her there in the middle!



She LOVES that hat!

COACH Sunglasses Came Today

I won these last week, eBay, and they arrived today, whohohoO!! Cute eh?

UPDATED: Ok, I took them back to the store, they were not feeling right on my face and kept sliding down..so I got these! They are different than what I usually get, they are a lighter, or blonde, tortoise, so I really like them and they feel right!

Another Blanket

Ok, I finished another blanket, it is Natalie's size, just for her. It turned out pretty good, so now on to another blanket, or maybe a scarf. I am waiting for my Jo Ann shipment to arrive with all of the yarn I need to make a Spice Throw too.

Dance Pics!

Here are a couple of Natalie's Dance Camp pictures. Next week she is doing her show for us! We are really excited about it because they have been working on those dance routines for 3 weeks now.

Natalie and her teacher, Sara

I love this pic of my Mom and Dad, it captures a little silliness and a lot of love!

This is my aunt Char and I, she is the coolest Auntie ever! People say that we look like mother and daughter, good stuff!

My horoscope today...

I'm a CANCER.....
In order to persevere during this potentially tumultuous day, you are going to have to take a bit of a 'so what?' attitude to all the goings-on. Sure, things are not running smoothly, but do you really want them to? How boring would your life be if everything happened on schedule and according to plan? You have to realize that conflict and confusion are great places to find ideas and inspiration. Don't let obstacles get you down. Let them inspire you!

**I'll be posting some dance photos tomorrow**

*whew* I finished it...finally!

I have been working all week on this blanket. It turned out great! Of course there are things that I notice that I will do differently the next time, but overall, not bad for my first baby blanket. I followed the Seija Set pattern from The Happy Hooker book. Next on to the hat...but I am glad I did this it is cool and great practice.

Oh, it has a horizontal hole in the top 3rd of the blanket because it is made to go on the car seat cuz the buckle fits through it. Really cool.

On to the hat!!!