Teamwork-Day 171

When life seems chilly, dreary and hard, look to those who stand by your side and encourage you to achieve your goals and dreams.  Who are those individuals in your life who mean so much to you?  Stop and think!  I know you can name those who truly want you to be happy and successful in life, and who are always on your side.  Reach out to them, join hands and form a team of those who work and play well together!  And then confidently charge towards those goals!  May God bless each and every step along the way!

Carefree-Day 170

What a refreshing morning spent in the park observing two 16 month olds, exploring the rough bark on tree trunks with smooth palms of tiny hands, pulling on blades of fresh green grass with chubby little fingers and scooping up handfuls of tiny rocks only to let them sift through dusty fingers and fall to the ground.  Adrian and Noah have recently discovered that they are making a trip to a park full of adventures if only they will sit still long enough for someone to wrestle a pair of socks and shoes on their precious feet!  Swinging with not a care in the world is my favorite part of watching the boys conclude their morning field trip!  Such happy little guys, and so peaceful! 

Exploring My Creativity-Day 169

This day has been on my calendar for weeks, and I eagerly anticipated taking a Water Color Media class with my friend, Melissa, and many other amazing art teachers!  I was originally worried about signing up for this class with so many artistically talented individuals, and was afraid I would embarrass myself with my total lack of knowledge and skills in art.  Thanks a million, Melissa, for encouraging and motivating me to step out of my comfort zone and join you for the day!  I loved my experiences surrounded by so many wonderful teachers, including the demonstration lessons, helpful tips and pointers from others, great food, and getting to know new people.  My first attempt this morning was fun, and didn't seem too intimidating.  My product is shown above.  My second piece(shown below) was much more challenging as I learned additional techniques to enhance my work.  I decided to embrace different colors the second time around, and then struggled with my decision all afternoon.  I am proud of my new learning and what I accomplished in a 6 hour class, and think that I might really enjoy playing with watercolors again really soon!  Compliments to Lisa Miller, our instructor of the day, for a terrific workshop, and much gratitude to the very kind art teachers from the Brazos Valley who encouraged me along the way!  What a rewarding experience!

Amazing Tree-Day 168

This tree caught my eye as David and I explored many little side streets during our daily walks in Key West.  This was located on the site of an old building that perhaps might have been an old school building.  I'm curious to know more about the history of this site, and the tree! 

Church-Day 167

One of my joys during my travels is to visit beautiful churches, so while in Key West, we spent some time in this one.  Much to my surprise, there were magnificent door panels that opened to the outdoors on each side of the church to welcome in cooler air.  Loved the wooden-beamed ceiling, stained glass windows, and the quiet reverence from the hustle and bustle on Duval Street!

Wondering Why?-Day 166

While strolling through the cemetery one drizzly June morning in Key West, a melancholy feeling overwhelmed me as I passed by this family grave site.  Located in the front were headstones commemorating the very brief lives of three precious babies in the 1800's, all under the age of 1 year.  So many questions were looming before me as I silently grieved for this mother!  What caused the deaths of each of her angels?  Were their deaths sudden because of illness?  What sweet memories did their parents have of their infant and young toddler days?  Why should one mother have to suffer  such a tremendous loss time and time again?  Before leaving the cemetery that day, I returned to the site to capture this photo as I was so moved by my thoughts and feelings for this family and so many others.

Sewing Not My Strength!-Day 165

After cruising on Pinterest last night for baby shower gift ideas, I found the "easiest" idea in the world, and planned throughout the wee morning hours about the fabrics I would buy to make these simple but cute burp cloths.  A morning trip to JoAnn's Fabrics was a success in that I discovered cute flannel and terry cloth for my project, and two colors of thread.  Lunch was a quick peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and then on to more exciting things.  I found my Singer Featherweight in the closet, pulled it out and set it up on my table.  After reviewing the blog I had pinned last night, I carefully cut the fabrics and was ready to SEW!  Unfortunately, I could not remember how to thread my machine after ten years of not tackling any sewing projects.  Can I just say I was so frustrated and then I could not find my manual either!  Fortunately, my mom only lives a few blocks away so I placed a quick call to her for HELP!!  Thankfully, Mom is very good with sewing so, within a few minutes, she appeared on my front porch with a decent pair of sewing scissors, some pins and her knowledge and expertise about sewing!  After much trial and error, she was able to thread the machine and complete one burp cloth.  So CUTE!  Because she knows me very well, and knows I'm a failure with sewing projects, she suggested that I go to the store to buy some for my shower gifts!  Well, she had a good point but you see, I was determined to complete this simple project I started this morning!  I'm so happy to report in my "show and tell" that I successfully completed a second burp cloth after she left me alone to sink or swim with my trusty Singer!  Now I'm wondering if I should add sewing classes to my summer to-do list!  Or should I accept the fact that this is just not something I'm EVER going to be able to do on my own?  I would really love to be able to sew as well as my mom! 

Key West Cemetery-Day 164

David has this fascination with visiting cemeteries when we travel, and I usually do not join him on his stroll through them.  However, while in Key West, I decided to tag along to see what was so attracting or intriguing to him!  In some of my reading about being a writer, a suggested activity was to study names and dates on grave sites as an exercise for future character development.  With that frame of reference, I must admit that I actually enjoyed our drizzly morning walk through the Key West Cemetery!

Twins at 14 Months-Day 163

Oh my goodness, how much fun we are having with Noah and Adrian this summer!  As 14 month olds, they are:

•  walking/RUNNING
• playing hide and go seek all around the house
• fighting over each other's toys, and then making up with sweet hugs
• pointing to objects around the house and verbalizing "this"? or "that"?
• waving bye-bye
• dancing and rocking to music(they love Aaron Watson and birthday songs!)
• signing "more" when they taste something yummy
• exploring behind cabinet doors for treasures
• loving to have books read to them(YAY!)
• pulling off their diapers and running around in the "buff"

Twins are definitely DOUBLE the FUN!!  Praising God for them each day!

One Unknown Soldier-Day 162

David and I hovered under our umbrellas during a slow and steady rain one morning while on vacation, respectfully standing in a section of the cemetery dedicated to fallen soldiers.  The questions circling around in my mind were about his mother and the rest of his family, his fellow soldiers, his duties he upheld during his service, and his demise.  I trudged away from this young man's gravesite with a heavy heart, and visually embraced all of the other unknown soldiers laid to rest around him in every direction.

Street Scene-Day 161

Oh, the beauty surrounding our home away from home while vacationing in Key West!  I loved the comfortable Southern homes, the white picket fences, and the lush greenery, not to mention the vibrant colors of flowers.  I fantasized about buying this one until I learned about the cost of real estate on the island!  Not in my lifetime!  Oh well, I can continue to dream about what life might be like here in this home!

Some Good Eating!-Day 160

I highly recommend Sloppy Joe's on Duval Street for anyone visiting Key West.  They had the BEST sloppy joe's I think I've ever had in my life, and of course, we had to try some of the local flavor in conch fritters with our drinks.  The beverages shall remain nameless on my blog but they were definitely refreshing!  We also enjoyed the live entertainment with some guitar and singing of some wild and crazy lyrics!  The funniest activity I observed was a man who brought his dog in to sit next to him in the bar area, on a bar stool.  Now that's a loyal four-legged friend!

Lunch with Key West Friends-Day 159

Gena and Emily Parsons came by our B&B on our second day in Key West to take us to the neatest place to eat!  Very quaint little Cuban restaurant with lots of character and some terrific food, but the best part of our lunch together was the conversation with these two friends.  Emily and her brother, Hayden, were former Ross students when I was principal there, and they stole my heart from the outset!  Emily has grown into a beautiful young woman full of a genuine interest in others, a passion for adventure, and a contagious love of life itself!  Although I did not get to see Hayden during our visit, Gena shared some heartwarming stories with me about his life.  I have so many fond memories of this young man during his years as an elementary student under my care.  David and I were very thankful for the time Gena spent over the past few months sending us recommendations for things to see and do on our vacation.  We had a terrific time, Gena!!  I am so grateful for this family and their friendship! 

Parrot Head-Day 158

I was fascinated with this parrot being toted around by an interesting character on Duval Street, and wanted to snap some photos of the bird.  I quickly learned that I could for a small fee-ha ha!  Oh well, it was worth every penny to see David with the parrot on top of his head!

Key Lime is the Flavor-Day 157

Key lime treats were in great abundance in Key West, in just about every retail shop and restaurant!  There were key lime:

• margaritas
• coladas
• mojitos
• cookies
• candy
• salad dressings
• cakes
• pies
• hand lotions
• soaps
• etc

But the one treat I waited all week to enjoy was a frozen slice of mouth-watering key lime pie on a popsicle stick, nestled in a crunchy graham cracker crust, AND dipped in a fine shell of chocolate!  Oh so tasty, and yes, a little goes a long way! 

Sailing In the Sunset-Day 156

We couldn't help but to imagine and wonder who owned this magnificent sailboat, and where they might be sailing on this gorgeous evening in Key West!  I've personally never been on a sailboat so I privately dreamed of a destination adventure off into a sunset just like this one!  Who knows?  This might be a future tale of mine!  Or an experience to add to my "bucket list"!  Happy sailing!

Sunset Celebration-Day 155

The sunsets in Key West were breathtaking and such a peaceful closure to each rainy day!  Every evening after dinner, we walked down to "Sunset Pier" with my camera in hand, ready to capture the beauty for our forever memories!  What a perfect way to end our days on vacation!

Brilliant Orange Blossoms-Day 154

Such stunning trees in Key West, bursting with brilliant orange blossoms! I have learned that they are called poinciana trees, and that they thrive in this tropical setting! The locals shared that while the flowers are beautiful on the tree, they are quite messy when they drop their withered blooms everywhere! I think they are lovely!

Celebrating Dad-Day 153

How blessed I am to be able to see and talk to my dad on a daily basis!  I love that he is creative, compassionate, funny, and enjoys spending time with family.  I like that he shared the "organizing" gene with me.  I appreciate his innate ability to see a problem in this world, and invent one solution or many!  I admire his positive attitude and spirit about the things in life, even when I know he is not always feeling his best.  I smile when I observe him being such an encourager and supporter of his new friends he has made at the cancer center while graciously and patiently watching his chemo drugs drip into his veins.  I acknowledge that he enjoys non-fiction, technical topics for reading, and grin when he occasionally will tackle a book of fiction.  I value his desire to make a difference in this world by reaching out to others.  I love that he loves his family unconditionally.  I am grateful for this brilliant man in my life-celebrating Dad on Father's Day 2012!

Sunflowers-Day 152

Loved the brilliantly-colored sunflowers David brought home for me today!  It's been a beautiful day to celebrate my 29th? birthday!  I can almost close my eyes and dream of fields of these amazing flowers!