Wordless Wednesday ~ Run Like a Girl

Svoboda Camping

We decided to try out the new tent before we go camping next month. What better place than Svoboda Campground? Pa put it up in the backyard amid lovely shrubs and trees with no wild animals in sight (except Jack!).

What camp out is complete without S'Mores? Ummm, where did that wine come from? Please ignore!
Funny, Jack doesn't like to eat marshmallows, but he loves to brown them over the fire!

Maddy holds the record for most S'Mores eaten without barfing!!
Abbey gets as much in her mouth as in her hair!
Doesn't every campsite have a very long extension cord to plug in your computer so you can watch a DVD in the tent?
We may not be conventional campers, but we are still creating memories! As they finally settled in the sleeping bags, Maddy said, "This has been the best night ever!" Worth more than gold, I tell you!!!

Friday Fairy

"I think that people who can't believe in fairies aren't worth knowing." ~Tori Amos

Some of you aren't lucky enough to have one of your own, so thought I'd share my Friday Fairy with you. She spreads her wings and her joy to all she sees. Repeat after me, "I believe. I believe."
HAPPY FAIRY FRIDAY!

Say What?!

"I just wish my mouth had a backspace key." ~Author Unknown

What's your favorite form of communication in today's world? Text, email, phone, in-person conversation? There are so many ways of communicating these days, I am always surprised when you don't get a timely response from someone. Occasionally, I send an email that goes unanswered for days, but if I send the same question, to the same person via text, they respond in a nanosecond! How are you supposed to know what people prefer? I like words. I like talking. I like communicating and expressing ideas. Many people are not as "connected" as others. They don't look at emails or Facebook ten times a day. Some, I hear, don't look at it ten times in a month! I can't imagine! I think Facebook is a wonderful way of staying in touch with people that you otherwise might not. I call it "layered friendship". It is not the level of your family or best friends, but you still care about these people and what is happening in their lives. I enjoy seeing what they are up to via posts and photos. I try to respond, even if it's just to hit the LIKE button. That way, I feel like it is actually a relationship and not me just creeping on their lives. I know how I feel when someone comments or "likes" something I post. It makes me feel good and that I are being heard. Isn't that what we all hunger for, to be heard? So, I just need to know if you want me to text, email or call you! :)

Wordless Wednesday

Hot Days= Iced Coffee

The temperatures are supposed to hit triple digits in California this week, which made me think about my morning coffee. I can't imagine starting my day without my morning joe, but it is hard to drink hot coffee in sweltering temps. I have been working on the perfect cup of iced coffee and wanted to share some ideas. Iced coffee is at its best when brewed with twice the usual amount of coffee, because the coffee is diluted with the melting ice cubes.
To avoid a diluted taste, you can also use regular-strength brewed coffee and serve it over coffee ice cubes. Prepare coffee ice cubes by pouring cooled coffee into ice cube trays and freezing. Add to your coffee along with your usual cream and sugar.
These tips for iced coffee can hold you over through the rest of the summer heat and when it's fall, we have Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes to look forward to!!

Paradise

“Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after our footprints in the sand are gone.”
The beach was our playground today. The kids ran into the waves, laughed, got sandy and did it all again. Their faces reflect the joy they felt. The sky was clear, the ocean warm and blue. It was paradise. But, then again, anywhere these three faces smile is paradise!

Blogs

I had to smile this morning when I saw this cartoon in the newspaper. Even Garfield, which has been around since 1978, has gone modern and refers to blogs! Aside from being up on the current times, it also speaks to the fact that we now are given so much more information from people. Some of this information is about things that, years ago, we would have only told our closest friends. Tossing it out there in cyberspace, we are not quite sure where it lands. Sure, I can view Google Analytics and see just how many people read my blog each day, if this is their first visit or if they are a repeat reader, where they live, how long they stay on the blog, etc. Again, the modern world and its mass of information that it provides to us.
I write the blog for me, but there is a measure of satisfaction that so many are continually reading it. I write about things that have meaning for me, but it feels good to know they have meaning for others as well. Maybe the lesson is, as different as we all are, we are also very similar. We are not alone (while hiding under the couch!).

Wordless Wednesday ~ Oh, Elmo!

Beach Party

Creating an indoor beach party is one of my favorite themes to use in the summer. A little sand, a few shells and a plastic bucket. I have even used it for VERY fancy dinner parties, much to the delight of the guests. Instead of a tablecloth, I use actual beach towels on the table. The biggest hit of the evening are the cupcakes for dessert. Look closely. You can see the sand (brown sugar), the waves (blue frosting from a tip), beach ball (round candies) and the beach umbrella. Yes, it's a little more work that your normal cupcakes, but so worth the effort! Nothing makes me smile more than someone saying, "You are so clever!"

Our Abbey

Abigail is such an interesting child. I look at this picture and see a tiny baby; our little #3. At that point in time, her personality remained a mystery.

Fast forward to now and here she is! Queen of the scowls! I have no idea why she was giving me this fierce look. She loves hot dogs and, in fact, ate three this day! I laugh when she gives these looks which only adds fuel to her fire. I can't help but think up a few captions for this photo:
"What?! No juice?"
"Smile? On demand?! What am I a trained monkey?"
"You didn't put my towel in the right place."
"Can't you see I'm tired and over it?!"
Whatever she was thinking, gotta love those looks! Keep 'em coming, Abs!

Do You Really Want to Know?

At some point in time, most of us have said, "I wish I knew what my future holds. I wish I had a crystal ball." But do we really want to know? If you could jump ahead a few chapters in the book of your life, would you read it? As much as I am a total control freak, I am not so sure. As we unfold our own unique story, many things happen to us ~ both good and bad. No life is without its struggles and strife. Sometimes we look at other people and think they have it so easy or they are so lucky. Truth be told, they, too, have their challenges. My husband's favorite quote is, "Everybody's got a story." This is a simple truth.
Reading (and writing) the story of my life is a daily gift. It is not without its very ordinary time and an occasional plot twist. At times I wish I could see the future and what it holds for my family and me. Logically, I know this is not possible. The best I can do is be in the present and enjoy the story as it unfolds. I can also hope it is a long time before I read the words ~ THE END!

Wordless Wednesday ~ 1971

Simple Sundays

We all long for the good life. Defined differently for people, it often includes fine dining in fancy restaurants, exotic vacations, etc. What I have come to know to be true for me is that I am living the good life and it is defined by far more simple things.
Sundays, when he is not traveling, is the time my son-in-law and I crack open a good bottle of wine and BBQ some steaks. We are constantly trying different bottles of reds and analyzing them. Why is it that, sometimes, a $35 bottle doesn't taste any better than our tried and true bottle of Wild Horse on sale for $14.99? In the interest of science and learning, we will continue to try more wine. HA!
Although it's not always a steak we BBQ, a thin rib eye is still our favorite. Sean puts Pa's on earlier than the others so it is really done the way her likes it. The two girls are total carnivores and we now must cook an additional steak for them to share. Jack sits beside us eating his chicken dinosaurs and Amber unwraps her bean and cheese burrito. Ahhh....
Perhaps the key to the good life is not in the location or the food, but in who is beside you enjoying it.
Insert a little prayer of thanksgiving here.

The Pink Princess

Well, today I finally stepped off the iPhone cliff and got one. I know, I am a dinosaur that waited 2.5 years behind everybody else with this technology. Although I am sure I will love it shortly, right now I am circling it like it is a monster ready to consume me. Already I have exasperated my daughter with my lack of tech savvy and all my questions. Getting this new phone made me think about the first phone my parents let me get for my bedroom when I was in the 7th grade. It was this exact pink princess. Please note the rotary dial! After all, it was 1966 and it was the latest thing!! It was such an exciting, rite of passage for a young girl ~ a phone in her room and a pink phone, no less! I felt terribly grown up. Who knew then what the world would hold now ~ computers, cell phones, texting, skyping, voice mail and email?! I may be slow to the party, but I plan to keep learning and growing as long as I can. After all, anybody who had a pink princess phone has to stay up on the latest trends!