Summer Fun

I've been working on a few projects over the last few days. Crafts are a great way to spend time doing something I love, and it's cheap entertainment. :-) Here's a board I made:



I already had a little corkboard that needed sprucing up, so I weaved ribbon over it until it was completely covered. Then I glued letters and other fun little pieces to push pins, and voila! I chose "get up" because those are some of the only letters I've glued so far, and also it's a problem I've been having...getting up. I think I could sleep most days away, because when you don't have anything to get up for, what's better then sprawling out on some comfy sheets and falling in and out of peaceful dreaming? Today I set my alarm for 8:30 and got out of bed at 10:00. I am a sucker for sleep. :-)

I babysat my three lovely nieces last week, and their momma (my SIL) bought a bead kit for us to make stuff out of. How badly I wanted to craft some cute little animal out of them, but I didn't know how! Last night I got to Googling and found some simple patterns for free. I found some beads and string, and in an hour or so, I had these three guys!


I have to say that the gecko is my favorite. Today I'm off to Hobby Lobby for some more beads and string. I have no idea why these are so fun, but I LOVE MAKING THEM!!!

I've also been...coloring. I'm sorry, but you're never too old to color. My mom got me this rad coloring book made by a lady she knows. It's so fun to get out every once in a while and give life to one of the pages. Here's one I finished yesterday:


Love it! I laid the book down on my step where the sun from the window was coming through. Cool effect, huh?

So that's what I've been working on. What will I make today? :-) :-) :-)

HOLLA -

Happy July!

July is HERE! My favorite month of the year is upon us, and I am reeling with anticipation at what it will bring. Here are some foreseen highlights:

4th of July. We have gone to my parents' house for the past few years, and it has always been a great time. Ben has even gotten into purchasing some bulk fireworks from a guy at work, and the show has gotten more elaborate each year!

Our Anniversary. Three years, going strong! It's been hard work so far, let me tell ya. :-) I have no idea what we'll do...heck, we can't even remember what we did last year! (Maybe I should do some digging in this blog to see if I can solve the mystery...) Anyway, this always falls during the week of our church's VBS, much to Ben's chagrin. Regardless, I'll be happy to spend some time focusing on that cute, blue-eyed boy that I married. BLISS!

My B-day! Best holiday of the year. :-) I take it as a true compromise that, since I never got a "school" party, I get to spend my b-day outside in the sun, swimming or doing some other delightful activity. I LOVE my summer birthday. Let's not forget to mention that this is the big 3-0!!!! Joyous party to commence. :-)

All predictability aside, I am counting on July to be fantastic.

Hope yours is, too! :-)

HOLLA -

Charity

Yesterday, my dear friend Patty and I went out to lunch at my most favorite place in the world, the Cheesecake Factory. I'm not really sure why they call it a "Factory" - it's a very nice place that has nothing to do with big robotic machines or smokestacks. If it was any kind of factory, it should be called the Fat Factory, because that's what I get after I eat there. Anyway, we had the most adorable waiter...not the "OMG - he's so hot" kind of waiter, but the "he is as cute as a button" kind of waiter. His name was Johnny. He had some kind of cute accent, and you would have thought that working at the Cheesecake Factory was comparable to winning the lottery, in his eyes. After a delicious lunch, we paid and Patty decided to give him a $20 tip, which was about 50% of our bill. SO NICE, and he deserved it. He came by after taking our payment, just to thank us for the nice gesture. He was SOOOOOO grateful! So grateful in fact, that Patty pulled out another $20 and sent it over to him.

This gesture pretty much sent me on a natural high for the rest of the day. Such kindness given to someone who did nothing but show us the same. I admire Patty so much for her generous heart, and her compassion for others. I am inspired to commit simple acts of kindness myself as much as possible, knowing not only how good it feels, but how important it is to contribute to the good will of society as a whole.

HELPING HOLLA -

Summer...so far

HOLLA -

Letting Go

I've been working on a little personal project as of late. It's common for me to get all bunched up about things (pretty easily), and let the bad energy float around for awhile. This is unhealthy, I know, so I've been "exercising" my ability to let go and flush out the junk and let the peace flow in. It seems that I am tested on this just about every day, so it hasn't been easy.

Situation at work....flush it out. Frustrating and disappointing words heard/said/read...flush it out. Fear of the ghost that keeps tinkering around in my house (yes, it happened again today)...flush it out. Everyday troubles....flush it out. Let the peace rolllllllllllllll in. When I take time to consciously do this instead of reacting, I usually find the peace settles in much easier.

Ahhh.

Sometimes it's hard to know if what I'm feeling is legitimate. Maybe there's something that deserves some of my energy. A good test for this is to focus on the "thing" and see what kind of feeling it brings. Good, peaceful feeling = keep it. Hold on to it. Bad, ugly, unsettling feeling = flush it out.

I usually find that waiting and watching for peace allows the "situation" to resolve itself without my help, which is pretty fantastic.

Stay tuned for more observations on peace and letting go.

HOLLA -

Ghost House

Last night, we get back from camping. I am unpacking the stuff in the cooler to the fridge, and Ben is carrying stuff upstairs. He yells down to me, "Did you turn the t.v. on in the spare bedroom?"

This has happened before, at least two times. We come home from being gone somewhere, and we hear the t.v. on upstairs. We go up there, and there it is, usually on some sports channel. We turn it off, and go about our business.

This time it was the computer monitor, which is also a t.v. On sports.

I don't mind Kurt watching t.v., I just wish he was able to turn it off.


I think it's time to move.

HOLLA -

Last Weekend in Pictures

SHATTO MILK - Osborn, MO









CELEBRATION AT THE STATION - KC







THIS WEEKEND...MORE OF THESE.



HOLLA -