Summer Begins, Again

It has *finally* arrived.

That glorious time of the year known as SUMMER.

Sun tans and flip flops.

Cold ice tea.

Another season with the white trash pool.

Salad for supper.

Sitting on the porch swing.

Free time. What a novel idea.

Swinging on the porch swing.

A new water gun.

Grilled fruit.

Ambushing little sisters with a new water gun.

A new summer soundtrack, downloaded and ready for memory making.

Green grass. Unless you live in drought stricken Houston.

Nightswimming. With...and without the children. *wink*

Rain dancing. And celebrating the late afternoon roll of thunder that may, or may not produce some relief.

Wine drinking, without the concern of next morning headaches.

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School is out.

We have quickly settled into a summer rhythm. It took all of one afternoon.

I celebrated by taking one long, indulgent nap. This was followed by a large glass of wine, sun on my bare legs, and splashing in the pool.

The rest of the weekend has been much of the same.

I can't express how happy this makes me.

And it's only just beginning...

Thoughts For A New Year

I don't make New Year's resolutions.

They are made to be broken, and I don't like failure.

But I have been thinking about the new year ahead.

Some thoughts for 2011...

Surely I can carve out half an hour a few times a week to fight gravity.

Mother Nature ain't kind.

I can no longer pretend that I'm 25.

I need more than four hours of sleep each night.

Maybe if I make that new quilt for our bed I'll hit the hay at a reasonable hour.

Unless there's a west coast game. Then all bets are off.

Fish is tasty. Why isn't it on the weekly menu more often? Vegetable-heavy main dishes should also find their place in the rotation.

We are trading in some turf for surf...and some of that there rabbit food.

Please don't revoke my Texas citizenship.

I am *sick* of the laundry mocking me for days on end.

Living in denial doesn't work.

Folding and putting it away is an inevitable reality.

The Boy is who he is.

He can no more be a neat freak than I can be a walking tornado.

Acceptance is good.

Drinking lots of water raises your metabolism, lessens cellulite, and reduces the signs of aging.

I'm printing this information out and posting it throughout the house.

Just in case I forget.

I might not be able to plant my dream garden this year, but I will plant something.

And then I'll learn to can it.

Starting small is OK.

I will say yes to more fingernail painting. I will let her grow her hair long.

I will make myself put on a dress...for her.

Sometimes you step outside your comfort zone for someone you love.

Who says you can have too many hobbies?

It seems like a good time to try knitting.

Yes, embroidery. I hear you, too.

My camera needs more from our relationship.

It loves to take pictures of food, yarn, and The Offspring...but we should spice things up a bit.

It's time to leave the comfort of my yard and find some different subject matter.

The sewing machine is staying out for a while.

I want to pay it more attention.

I have to. Promises have been made for new pajama pants...and my clients are persistent.

Learning is good.

Photography and photo editing classes have been popping up on my Google searches. Sometimes a pastry class sneaks in there, as well.

I promise I won't cut class this time around.

Just some thoughts.

And since they are just thoughts, they can't be broken.

Semantics, you say?

Whatevs.

It works for me.

Here's to a new year!

Bring it, 2011.

**all images from my 365 set on flickr**

A look back...

Well, it's over.

Another Christmas is in the record books.

It was a good one.

Relaxing.

A time to just be together.

The Boy was struck with a high fever on Christmas Eve.

We hoped it would break before the big day.

No such luck.

After the adrenaline rush of present opening had worn off, the feeling of ick returned with a mighty force.

We sent The Mr. and The Girl off for Christmas dinner at my brother-in-law's while we sat around on the couch watching Survivorman and eating leftover Thai.

And we were fine with that.

Oh, that quilt? I won it from Larissa a few months back.

I don't often win things. I hit the jackpot with that beauty.

The fever maintained its presence into this week.

His new mountain bike has seemed like a cruel Christmas joke.

Permission to play with one of my new toys has lessened the sting of not being able to ride.

The Girl has been so kind as to share her drums with him as well.

Yes. Drums.

I think I need to write Santa a letter.

The baking is done.

After two weeks of non-stop confection making, you would think we'd have something sweet in this house.

Not so much.

Note to self: hold a few treats back next year and freeze them.

The house has been de-Christmased.

It was time.

The tree looked sad.

Its carcass is currently out in our driveway adding a touch of class to our post-holiday yard.

I am going to miss the lights.

Oh, those lights.

They add something that can't be replicated the rest of the year...

Just one more look before the plug is pulled.

Since the dust has settled, I've been sitting back.

Doing some crochet.

Sewing a bit.

Figuring out the settings and buttons on my other new toy.

Hellz yes. That instruction booklet says it all.

I'm in camera heaven.

Santa was good to me.

He's pretty cute, too.

I guess I'll hold off on writing that letter.

I've been traveling around Blog Land and it looks as if a good time was had by all.

Tomorrow is the eve of a new year.

My mind is full of all that 2010 has bestowed upon me and our family.

We are so blessed.

Through good times and bad, we have each other. We love each other. We drive each other crazy. We make each other laugh. We have each other's back.

I'm ready to face 2011.

Busy Little Elves

Our advent calendar is full of activities that are all about the holiday cheer.

I didn't want the focus to be on trinkets or candy.

I had a few goals in mind when planning our fun:

*The Offspring needed something on which to focus their "Christmas is coming" craziness.
*I wanted our whole family to get involved.
*I felt there should be a mix of entertainment, literature, craft, and giving back to others.
*Everything had to be easy and fun.

So far, we have counted the licks it takes to finish a candy cane, read favorite Christmas books, danced to Christmas music, written letters to Santa, put together a Christmas puzzle, and read this book about Jesus' birth.

I focused on the "craft" component over the weekend when we had a bit more downtime.

We started with some finger crochet.

When I saw this over at Tiny Twist Creative, I knew we had to add it to the fun.

The Boy caught on pretty quick.

But he wanted to emphasize that he wasn't crocheting.

He was weaving rope. Glittery rope.

The Girl and I worked together for a while.

Then The Boy took over as teacher.

Elves help each other out.

We are going to use their chains like ribbon and use them to wrap some gifts.

The next night we made a pom pom garland.

I first read about it here. It's been at the top of my Christmas project list ever since.

We sat on the couch watching Harry Potter and strung and strung and strung.

The Girl was having a difficult time getting that needle in the center of the pom pom. So I did the needlework and she pushed it down the thread and called out the next color.

Elves work together.

I hung it over the door leading to the hallway.

I love it.

It makes me smile.

That door leading into the kitchen looks awfully plain.

I think more pom poms are in order.