Happy Earth Day y'all

So since it's Earth Day I thought I'd share some photos I took when the kids and I walked to the park near our house the other day. My son has a very special friend at this park. He refers to him as "my friend the Big Blue Herron". We hadn't seen Big Blue in a while so when we saw him there recently Clyde's face just lit up. Of course, I didn't have my camera that day... These were taken a few days later. Big Blue seems to have found a friend. When he's (we're not really sure of the specifics as to the sexual orientation...) by himself he will wait for you to feed the fish and then land close and feed off the fish you're feeding. i know, it seems an unfair advantage but it's so freakin' cool.

There are also a ton of turtles at the park. We've even seen one or two that must be soft shell turtles. They are HUGE. Seeing them swim let's me know how it is people can see things like Loch Ness. Now I'm not saying there is no giant sea serpent living in the waters but I can see how the imagination could put more things there than might actually exist.

I love letting my kids play outdoors. It's tough here in Texas during the summer because it gets so hot and you could seriously fry eggs on the playground slides so I'm taking advantage of it all now. I'm always proud when I see my son pick up a piece of trash and put it in a can (not so proud when he gives it to his sister and tries to convince her to eat it. It doesn't take much

convincing),

I can remember going to Maine to visit my dad's family and seeing all the wildlife and being taught to respect what we saw. We fished, we played, we swam and one summer my brother and I even went frog fishing. Trust me, not the best idea but that's a story for another time. Even when we were back home in Ohio we played outside all the time. I can remember playing camping across the street at Melanie's house (she had the cool hibahi and fake food) or playing on our porch pretending that we were runaway geniuses living on the ocean studying dolphins and trying to ride our bikes past the sharks and 'gators that lived in the grass, I mean water.

I guess my point is that I want my kids to enjoy the outdoors. I hope I can instill in them a love and respect for the main thing that sustains us all. We are all God's creatures great and small.

Wow. This is a long one for me.

Sorry I've been gone so long

Sorry I haven't written in a while. Life had gotten crazy but it's calming down for the time being. Dave is in rehearsals for the next week or so. I'm hoping to use my alone time in the evenings to catch up on my crafting. I've gotten behind.
I am more than a little bummed that I am missing the Main Street Arts Festival in Ft. Worth. We were going to go this morning but it's rainy and windy. Not a good day to walk the streets with two kids. Next weekend, however, I plan on heading to the Funky Finds Spring Fling. It sounds very cool. http://funkyfinds.us/springfling.html You should check it out. It's indoors so there shouldn't be much to hold me back.
I just wanted to drop a line to let you know that I'm still here and will write more when I feel a bit more "chatty".
Take care.

The Hubby Is Home!

Ahhh... We are a two parent household once again. Once Dave got off the plane my exhaustion kicked in. I somehow fooled myself into thinking that when he came home the kids would be all over him and leave me alone for a bit... Nope. They're still my clinging vines.
I've been busy collecting motivation to craft... I bought the current Sommerset Studios magazine. If you're into mixed media art you have to check out this magazine. I love it. The pages in mine are often soggy from all the drool. There are Sooooo many talented people out there and they tend to make me feel a little drab... BUT it also encourages me to try harder.
Topic shift... I am such a geek. I wrote a fan letter to an author. OK, it was an email and I have met her before. Her name is Rosemary Clement Moore. I read her book Prom Dates From Hell which is a teen book but it has great undertones of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Heathers. If you've not seen either the original Buffy movie or the movie Heathers stop reading this and run out and get them. They are both amazing!
Any how. I LOVED it. It didn't hurt that, being a teen novel, it was a quick read. It's funny with a 'spunky' main character and some real twists. You can check the author out at http://www.rosemaryclementmoore.com . She, herself, seems super cool. I've waited on her at the bookstore I work at.
Anyhow. It is now bed time.

TGIF????

The week is coming to an end already and I feel I have gotten NOTHING accomplished. I have SOOOO much appreciation for how hard it must be to be a single parent when I have the kids to myself for a week.
I was sent a message about a scrapbook convention coming here to Arlington in May. It got me thinking about what a long way scrapping has come. I started about 14 years ago and had a hard time finding things that weren't too cutsey. You know, hearts, teddy bears, lots of old fashioned flowers. I am not and never will be a "cutesy" person.
It is so much easier to find cool, funky, edgy stuff now and now... I never scrapbook! Once you have kids you think 'I should be writing all of this down and perserving it for them' but once you have kids the little time vampires suck you dry! There are those people who keep their photos all nicely organized and know exactly the who, what, when, where and why of it all. I hate those people.
My photos float around the house. I have pictures from 2007 mixed with pictures from 2004. I will say though that I like to keep each roll of pictures in numerical order. It drives me nuts when people look through them and just start flipping randomly. It makes me cringe. Most of my stuff is digital now but I still like to have prints. I'm a tactile person and need to touch them. Not the same on a screen.
How do the Martha Stewarts of the world do it?How do they keep up on every photo? Every name? Why do their homes always seem so clean and orderly? How does it all get done with little ones running around? Is this some sort of crazy voodoo magic? Do I need to sell my soul to some one? Let me know who and I'm there!
The kids are sleeping so I think I'm going to monkey around with a t-shirt for a while. I'll let you know how I do.

Bookmark Happy

Ahhh... I have found a new mindless activity; Making bookmarks. they're super easy. I take 2 really cute pieces of cardstock and start trimming them into same size strips. The strip sive really depends on the pattern on the paper but a two inche width works pretty well. The length is also a judgement call. I use 12x12 sheets so mine have been either six inches or four inces.
I glue these two papers back to back making sure to weight them down pretty evenly while they dry so they don't buckle or bubble. I center a hole towards the top, loop some cool fibers through it and... Oila. If you feel feisty you can personalize them with stickers, markers anything really as long as it's flat. Keep in mind theat they are intended to hold the page in a book so you don't want them to be bulky.
I've been using these for gifts when I give a book. They'd also make super simple activities for kids. As soon as I get a picture of one I'll post it. Time is a bit short for the next few days so it may take a bit.

On the home front... I currently have 2 kids getting eye drops. I may just be paranoid about the little one but I'd rather be safe than sorry. My clothes did get hung up or put away but that's as far as I've gotten in my room. Oh well, it's somethin'.

A disappointing start...

So I finally figured I'd start a t-shirt for myself. I was pretty excited. I was going to try something with a bit of bleach to get it started. Now it looks like a mellow tie dye. I am NOT a tie dye gal. In my past I may have been and it doesn't bother me on others... in moderation... but ew. I am determined not to let that set me back. I am going to work on the rest of my plans for it and see what happens. Who knows, right?
I did start cleaning my side of the room today. I picked up the clothes. They are now in neat stacks (which are OBVIOUSLY neater than piles) on my bed. They are sitting there calling me... Put us in your drawers or on hangers. I currently have my back to them and am trying to ignore their pleas. I will be giving in momentarily because I should go to bed and they are blocking my way.
Thanks if you're reading this. I hope to get more creative with it soon.

Is my week headed down hill already?

OH NO! I fear the boy may have pink eye. I keep trying to convince myself that it's allergies but I don't know how that is better. The poor kid has eyes filled with goo. I'm one of those people that have a strange fixation with things like that. I continually want to wipe his eyes and get the stuff out. I'm like that with ear wax too. It drives me nuts to see wax in my kids' ears... Everyone's ears actually but you can't just chase random people down with a Q-Tip. Well, I guess you could but I wouldn't recommend it.

I didn't blog yesterday but I have a good excuse... I was on-line checking out other blogs. I lie to go to http://craftychica.com and check her stuff out. It is sooo cool. Kathy Cano-Murillo does some really neat stuff and she LOVES glitter. I let her site lead me to one for Claudine Hellmuth who is one of my hugest inspirations. You can find her here at http://claudinehellmuth.blogspot.com . I recommend you check them both out and then see where that leads ya.

Have fun but don't blame me if you get nothing done because you're on-line being awed and inspired by all the crafty people there are out there.