just tell me to RELAX...and BREATHE

kids being kids

I can't tell you how much fun the 3 amigas had watching our five kids run around together on Monday. Deanna's children Bella (8) and Braden (7) were great companions to our younger ones Ripley (6) Regan (6) and Colin (almost 5). They silly stringed the yard, rode bikes, played dress up, etc. for 24 hours and I don't think they wanted to leave at the end of the day.

Thanks DJB for making the drive and thanks Steph for hosting us all! I sure hope we do this again soon!

3 amigas on the road in CC

How lucky am I to have these two amazing ladies in my life? AND to have seen them several times in the last few months, even though we live many miles away?

DJB and her kids made the drive from Houston to Corpus Christi for the night, the kids have been playing nonstop ever since, while the 3 amigas have been doing some serious catching up.

Just wish we could move Houston, CC and Littleton a little closer together.

38 things

Yes, it's that time again (in fact, it happens to be exactly 1 year to the day of when I wrote down last year's 37 things, even though I didn't post it for another 2 months!)...

38 Things about 2009...

1. We went to Disneyland!
2. Ralphie passed away...
3. My Uncle Jack passed away...
4. James and I attended my 20 year high school reunion.
5. Avery got married and we took our first family vacation (just the 3 of us) to San Diego.
6. Ripley started kindergarten.
7. Rip learned to read at the beginning of 2009.
8. Rip started reading chapter books towards the end of 2009!
9. Ripley and I took our first road trip together (New Mexico).
10. Tuli became part of our family.
11. Ripley learned to swim.
12. I did not have any surgeries!!!
13. James ran his 1st and 2nd marathons (and his 2nd and 3rd half-marathons).
14. We took a very muddy hike on fathers day...
15. I fell drastically behind on everything for the year.
16. My grandmother fell and broke her hip.
17. I repainted my studio burnt orange.
18. We had a Day in the Life photo shoot.
19. Ripley was a spider for Halloween.
20. The Buffs stunk it up on the football field.
21. Ripley started her Devo ski program.
22. I found an old typewriter for myself for my birthday and still haven't figured out how to change the ribbon.
23. I learned to knit!
24. Ripley found out how much she loves adventure movies (Jumanji, Goonies, Nim's Island, Raiders of the Lost Arc)
25. Meme and Ripley painted together in Meme's studio
26. I got a MAC!
27. We had our 4th annual 3 Amigas Weekend in Vail.
28. I got my Christmas gifts to my parents and grandmother in MARCH.
29. I focused on TODAY, and it really slowed me down (in a good way).
30. I apologized for something I did not do, and it was OK.
31. I admitted that I like ham.
32. Ripley and I survived a 4-month-long summer and still liked each other at the end of it.
33. Ripley started writing in a diary.
34. I stopped watching Grey's Anatomy and feel good about it.
35. I read Twilight (and saw the movie twice with friends) and did not like either the book or the movie.
36. James and I installed almost 1000 square feet of wood laminate flooring in the basement, completely on our own, and still celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary later the same year.
37. We had 2 garages sales lasting a total of 3 days, and non of it was at our house.
38. I went on only one Chocolate Moose scrap weekend in 12 months time and survived (but just barely).

So, there you have it.  The first 38 things that popped into my head about this past year.  Writing this list made me take stock of how many stories I have NOT documented for 2009...I think I might go back and write a few blog entries to get those things in writing.  At the least, I will make a layout of this list during our scrap retreat this coming weekend.

Lots of planning and packing to do in the next 24 hours in order to make it a really productive weekend away.  Can't wait!

P.S.  this is my 200th blog post.  How's that for documenting?

3 Amigas in Vail

can't think of a place I'd rather be right now....

the 4th annual 3 amigas weekend continues...

another amazing 3 Amigas Weekend

 

i sure miss these girls already...

football, pjs, gossip, magazines, a cocktail?

what else do you need for a lazy Saturday during a girls' weekend?

Oh, yea, you need your FOOTBALL TEAM to play better.  Oh well, I guess you can't have it all.

The Third Annual 3 Amigas Weekend is ON

OH YEAH!  It's one wild and crazy weekend already.  Let's just say that it's 11pm and one of the amigas is already asleep while the remaining amigas are watching a horribly edited version of Night at the Roxbury on TBS.

Woops!  Edit that - one more amiga is asleep.  And it's not me. 

Let the relaxing continue.

Girls’ Weekend

I've been playing catch up for the past week after an awesome girls' weekend in Vail with my two best buds from TX, Stephanie and Deanna (DJ to those of us who have known her since high school).  We were mostly lazy over our 3 day weekend, with two nice dinners out in Vail Village and a bit of walking around.  Other than that, our weekend consisted of HANGING OUT -- what a blessing to be able to just sit and gab for an extended period of time.  This was our second annual trip and I'm anxious to book the next one.  Considering how hard it was to come up with a suitable date for the 3 of us THIS time around, we might want to start looking at those calendars...DJ and Steph, how does next May sound? :)

Here are The 3 Amigas at the covered bridge heading into Vail Village.

There is something completely therapeutic about hanging out with your gal pals.  I highly recommend it!

Over the past week, I've tried my best to get caught up on my assignments from Digital Photography 101 from www.bigpicturescrapbooking.com -- what a GREAT class that has been.  I'm in week 7 of 10 and I've learned tons.  My buddy Carolyn  at the Target photo lab actually commented on my pictures today!  Here is one of my recent favorites of my sometimes-willing subject Ripley...

I'm working on a new page under Recycling and Being Green -- it's called Personal Care Products and it's a bit of a challenge.  There is some degree of controversy regarding ingredients in the personal care items we all use, so I certainly don't want to be CONTROVERSIAL (maybe that would be a good One Little Word for next year?).  However, I've definitely read some things that worry me enough to switch my products.   Keep an eye out for this page in the upcoming days. 

For those of you Green Guys and Gals, I PROMISE there will be another List (newsletter) going out soon.  It's just taking me a little longer than planned.  Ahh, the story of my life.  If you aren't on the Green Guys and Gals List yet and want to sign up, just add a comment at the end of this post and I'll get you on The List (sounds ominous, doesn't it?).

Second thoughts — a follow up

Boy, I've been bad at this blogging stuff lately...I think I'm doing a few too many things, and not doing any of them very well!  Story of my life.  But I'm trying to remind myself that it is OK to dabble in things -- it's important to remember to ENJOY those things you are dabbling in and to not feel like you have to "conquer all" in each of those realms.  It should be enough to just try your hand at something, learn, enjoy, and move on.  Right?

That said, I've been doing all kinds of goofy things for the past year or so, and now I find myself

1. Writing Green Guys and Gals -- a periodic newletter for the greenish folks out there.  It is VERY "periodic" right now, as I have not been adhering to any sort of schedule.  That means I send something out anywhere from once a week to once a month.  PERIODIC, at best.  Some days I wonder if I should continue this pursuit, and then I get an email from a reader saying that I'm making a difference (wow, that's cool if it's really true!) and then I'm energized again.  I haven't written a Green G & G for 2 weeks, but I've got the topic in my head.  Now I just need to find the time!


2. Working part time as a director of marketing -- this has been SPORADIC as of late.  I should be working 40 hours/month and lately it's been 10...tough for daycare $ but good for the summer months, because it's allowed me to do a lot more "dabbling".  I think this should be ramping back up.


3. Scrapbooking! -- that gets an exclamation point because it's something I love and I've been doing a lot more of it lately -- I've even completed an 80-page book for a friend, and now I'm starting on another friend's book.  Lots of fun, and a possible future professsion...?  We'll just have to see about that.  I've also created a few fun/funky cards lately out of junk mail, old gift bags, and other odds and ends.  Stay tuned for a few of those in future posts.


4. Photography -- I love to take pictures, and I have a great camera that does most of the work for me.  Thank goodness, because I don't know the first thing about the settings, etc.  I'm taking an online digital photography class, which is AWESOME but I haven't been making the time for my assignments.  I am promising here, in front of all 3 of you readers, that I will turn over a new leaf on this one and start doing my assignments THIS WEEK.  I better, since the class is almost over...yikes.  Where does the time go.  Here's a picture from one of my class assignments...

OK, totally a train-of-thought entry, if I've ever seen one. 

I'm off to pick up my best friends from the airport -- girls weekend in Vail!  Hooray!