Meet My Grandma

If she saw this picture she would have my head on a platter but I love it.  To me it shows the fun loving side of my proud German grandmother.

Yes, that is a "Starbies" cake pop - I couldn't resist introducing the two.

Cake holds a special place in my heart.  My grandmother is an amazing cook and can bake up a mean cake.  All my life the family birthday cake has been a lemon cake with a sugar glaze.  Simple, good.  Even now, my girls and even my husband request it.  That cake pop didn't hold a candle to the cakes baked in that kitchen she is standing in but it didn't keep us from enjoying a treat.

My grandmother has lived in her current house for most of my life.  She bought it new when she downsized after raising her four kids.  A while back I wandered in to her back yard - much to my surprise I found my name and handprint still greets those that step outside.  What a treat, what a trip down memory lane.

I love my grandmother.  She is my last living grandparent, I know it's a blessing to have her.  She really does remind me every time we speak to remember every day is a gift.  Every day is a day given from God, He doesn't promise us tomorrow.  Lesson learned Grandma!  Thank you.

Oh and the polaroid style photos, another piece of my heart because of my grandmother.

Have a great weekend.

Quick Thinking

Last week was not my best.  The week prior, while away with the family on a spring break trip (more on that soon), I came down with a crazy virus that completely knocked me out.  Not much Easter/spring decorating had been done and my girl's Easter baskets were up high and out of reach.  The hubs was still out of town and I had no energy to climb a ladder and haul down a big ol' heavy box.  What to do, what to do?

Not satisfied with handing my little ladies a store bag and saying "have fun" I decided to rally.  Well, that is, rally long enough to drive to Michael's and purchase two fruit baskets.  I have a plethora of spray paint in the garage (being stored at a level that does not require climbing a ladder) so I let each girl chose a color and we went to town sprucing up their plain basket.  I also have an obnoxious amount of ribbon and once the baskets dried they dug through the mound of ribbon and picked their perfect accent.

Both baskets turned out just the way they wanted.  It took me about 30 minutes of total effort and I could hit the couch again.  The girls even got complimented when they took them to our church's egg hunt.  Lesson learned?  Some times thinking simply and making due turns out better then over planned and over done.

Before, plain baskets and waiting spray paint.

After, a basket that fits each girl.  

(Oh and the Easter wreath I dreamt of never materialized either.)

Thought For The Weekend

Amen.

Out and About

One of the things I love most about living in Sunny Southern CA is the cute little beach towns that dot the coast.  Each one has their own personality.  Some are lavish and wealthy, some are organic with a hippy vive and some are just chill - a surfer's paradise.  It only takes minutes to travel from one extreme to another making a day trip up or down the coast a total blast.  One of my favorite spots on the Southern CA coast line is La Jolla.  (Really though, I love them all.)  A couple of weeks ago I spent the day cruising the streets with my step mom and her sister.  We had great food and lots of sun.

Enjoying the view.

There is one draw back to walking near the water, La Jolla has a lot of natural beauty and some times that natural beauty has a horrible smell.  

That's not snow - if you catch my drift.

Up on the hill from the water are streets lined with shops and restaurants.  You can find high end stores to peruse or spend some time in the Gap.  There is something for everyone.

Cute dog area outside one of the bakeries.

Wonder if I could get the hubs to make something similar in blue for our dog?!

What is your favorite day trip town?  I highly recommend slipping away and enjoying your spot, even if only for a quick cup of coffee and a cupcake.  It does a body (and mind) good.

One Of Those Days

You know we all have them, those days when nothing seems to go right.  For me it wasn't a full day of misfortune, but this evening - whoa it was kind of a doozy.  Nothing major, just some little things adding up.  My girls came home from school and just as soon as they burst through the door they burst in to tears (yes, both of them) - breaks my heart.  They weren't fighting, they both were just having one of those days too.  The oldest didn't fare too well on a test she had studied for.  The youngest had issues with a kid at school.  Again, nothing major but just enough to bring tears of frustration.  After some calming words, a phone call from Dad and dinner they seemed to settle in to their usual evening routine.  I pulled out my very seldom used sewing machine to relax and get my creative juices flowing but wouldn't you know it, my bobbin was messed up.  Try as I might I couldn't re-thread it and my owner's manual is no where to be found.  Argh!  After getting the ladies to bed and some decompressing time spent on Pinterest I decided to try my hand at finger knitting (no pun intended).  There are some great tutorials in blog land -- but I found a youtube video that worked best for my style of learning.  It's not hard to pick up so I not only got to be creative tonight, I may have just found a new addiction.  Love it!  Something tells me by next week my house may be covered in yarn.

If you are on the hunt for something simple and creative here is a link to the video I watched.  Happy Monday!

Finger Knitting Tutorial

Thought For The Weekend

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did. 

So throw off the bowlines. 

Sail away from the safe harbor. 

Catch the trade winds in your sails. 

Explore. 

Dream.

Discover". 

Mark Twain

Have a great weekend!!

Beauty and Love

A few years ago my little family of 4 traveled across Washington, Idaho and Montana.  Our final destination was Glacier National Park, amazing.  Have you been?  The natural eye candy absolutely blew me away.

Hiking through God's country.

Taking it all in.

 Mountain Goat enjoying his lunch, never mind this crazy tourist and her camera.

Among all this spectacular God given beauty I found something else that took my breath away, something that too is a gift from God.

Love.  Dedication.  Support.  

As we were playing in the (rather chilly) water this couple waded by.  The shore line was rocky, footing for even an agile 8 year old was unstable but here was this elderly couple working together to reach their destination.  I had no choice but to turn my camera on them and snap away.  

With my cousin's fiancé still in critical care my mind has turned to the devotion and dedication of love and commitment.  It seems this world is too quick to jump ship when times get tough.  

My cousin, Bryan, however has not left his love's side.  He has posted on Facebook that no matter what comes with this injury his love will not change, his devotion is to the woman he chose.  I am proud to call him family.  Times will be tough - she faces significant challenges, most we are not even aware of at this time.  My prayer for this young couple, after my prayer for healing, is that God will sustain and protect their commitment.  May they walk the rocky shore holding on to one another, finding support in their joint effort.