Carlsbad Beach California

We arrived at Cindy & Erik's late Wednesday evening. The girls were really great on the trip considering how long it takes to get down to San Diego.

We slept all but one night in Rancho Bernardo. The girls wake up sooooooo early. I didn't want them waking everyone up early at the beach house. The last night there, we all slept at the gorgeous beach house as a family. I am sad to say I didn't get one picture of all of us as a family. I know that I posted quite a few photos, but I really did post just my favorites.

Yes this was the amazing beach house where we partied and had a ton of fun. It can be all yours for a mere 20 million dollars! Ahhhh to be rich!

It was overcast almost the whole time we were there. I didn't mind. I had so many memories of beach trips gone by race through my mind while I was there. So many good memories of beaches, family & friends.

On Sunday the congregation from Cindy & Erik's church came and we had a service there on the lower level of the house. It was very lovely.

Good ol' Uncle Ben. He is Dean's younger brother. He has one of the biggest hearts and my girls just adore him. Zoe had just fallen asleep, so Ben was carrying her upstairs to put her to bed.

Yup. The party shower. No Dean and I didn't get to use it like I had hoped. That's OK. The last time we had fun in a shower in California, Aris was born, oh about 9 months later. Better safe than, well, having to add another car seat to the mix.

This was the very cool tub in the room Dean and I stayed in.

Cindy, Aris, me & Sloan. 

I have been so blessed to be in Deans family. They are wonderful people and I love the memories we are building. The beach house party was to celebrate Cindy turning 50 years young. I had such a blast with all of her friends and I had a lot of fun with my girls too. Dean was working almost the whole time on the new outdoor BBQ at his parents home. Times are tight. Dean's boss is out of work. So that means Dean has no work. He is taking any side job he can get. It has actually turned out to be quite a blessing. He told me the other day that for the first time in years he feels like he can relax. I think he really enjoys being able to go to work and he's in charge. This is just one of those scary steps we knew would eventually come before he gets his contractors licence. Just a crummy time to become a contractor. He will actually be more of a handy man/ fix-it guy until the market picks back up again. Although he makes a bit more working on his own, there isn't the weekly paycheck we have grown accustomed too. It's really changed our spending habits. Well enough about that. Dean stayed behind to finish up the BBQ and his uncle had some work that he asked if he could do also. He was supposed to fly home on Thursday but now will be home Saturday. I told him if he calls me on Friday and tells me he won't be flying home until the following Wednesday I might start to wonder if he is ever coming home (Just kidding here) We miss him. I love how hard my hubby works for our little family. Although he isn't good with the mooshy gushy lovey dovey things, he loves us all so much and shows it in many subtle and sweet ways. One fun thing that has come of all this is that he has lined up some more work in San Diego the week before Thanksgiving. That means.........ROAD TRIP! I will be counting down the days until I see all my family again. Love you Cindy and Erik! Love you Jenn & Little Erik, Ben & Kristin. Can't wait to see all of you in November!

An Artfulife Giveaway!

*Run over to GiGi Photography and post a comment for a chance to win this illustration.

The lovely Canadian photographer, GiGi, features some very fun giveaways on her blog. She had contacted me a few months back and asked if I would be interested in participating. I told her of coarse! Well life happens and things are crazy busy, however I am donating one of my paper handmade illustrations "P is for Pumpkin". All you have to do is hop on over to her blog (you can find it in the photography links to the side under GiGi Photography) and leave a comment to enter. Gillian has an amazing body of work. If I lived closer I would love for her to take some pictures of my girls. 

I hope everyone is having a lovely week so far. The family and I are heading out of town for a much needed family vacation. We will be visiting family in San Diego. I can hardly stand it! I am super excited for this much needed family time. Dean has a chance to do some work for his parents. It won't be all work though, surfing, a flying lesson and a beach house are on the itinerary. It will be a busy but fun filled 5 day vacation.

I will be taking a bazillion pictures, however downloading to the computer will have to wait until I am home again. I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week and weekend! Can't wait to catch up with you all when we get home. Until then have fun creating.

Summer

Reworked

Before

After

I reworked this illustration. I would love to know witch (hehehehe) one you like the best. Just leave a comment and whichever gets the most votes will be heading over to the shop Tuesday Evening. 

First Official Day of Fall

It is hard to believe the year is flying by so quickly. hope everyone enjoyed their first "Official" day of fall. 

*Photo found via the internet 

My Favorite Times of the Day

My little Jammie time girls

My favorite times of the day are when the girls wake up in the morning, and when they go to bed at night. There are mornings when it is hard to find anything cute about Aris at 4:30 AM. However after I wake up I love her sweet little smile and raspy giggles. I love Sloan and her happy smiles, and Zoe with her cute little bed head hair. Everyone is fresh and rested and ready to start the day. 

In the evening when the girls are bathed and dressed in their jammies, teeth are brushed and Sloan's shots are given, I read to them. There are only a few nights a month where we just don't get to read. I try not to miss a night. I love it. It's my excuse to read all the kids books that I have been wanting to read. Then I say family prayer with the girls, and they each say their prayers with me. I spend a few more minutes singing each of them a few of their favorite songs. Most nights after I have gotten the water for the girls, I still end up going back in a few times. Kisses are given and I just love those sweet little girls. Once the girls are in bed I hopefully get to spend some time with my biggest sweetheart of all, Dean. Yes I love all my time with my family............ but these are my most favorite times of the day.

What I wish I had in my Closet

Yes, If I could spend any amount of money, this would be in my closet and I would be wearing it to church today. I would also rock her lovely do.

Newest Illustration

Just finished this. I don't know if I am completely happy with it. I think the background might be too busy. I was going for a vintage look. I did however have a lot of fun making it.  

A gift from Firefly Hill

I am sorry it has taken me over a week to post on this. I broke down and bought another battery charger in the hopes that I would find the one I lost as soon as I got the new one. Now I can show you my newest treasures! These beautiful bags are from my friend Annie over at Firefly hill. I sent her some fabric a while back. I am embarrassed to say it took me 40 forevers to send it her way. I am also sad to say I wasn't able to find all the fabric I wanted to send her. There is more somewhere in our disorganized garage. Also to add to all my foibles, when thanking her for all these lovely bags I accidentally called her LORI! How ridiculous am I? Lori is my blog friend from Morning Glories & Moonbeams. Thankfully Annie forgave me. If you haven't visited her blog yet go and take a peak. Annie lives on a farm and makes the most amazing little bags. Her blog is very inspiring. I am a huge fan of color, and she spotlights the beauty of color all the time on her blog. 

Thank you so much Annie for all the lovely bags. My little Zoe still carries her pink bag around everywhere and Sloan carries all her diabetic supplies in hers whenever we head out the door. 

Yup, I am Old & Uncool

Me at my coolest. Age three. All kids are cool.

             
Age 19, and yes that is a famous Brian cut.

Suzanna  (Sitting Pretty Studio) & I. Age 21. Yes I am bald here. Me and my hair have always had a love hate relationship. I used to have dreads too.

Now, age 31.

It has hit me lately, that I am not cool anymore, and I am old. How could this happen? When did I cross over from cool art chic to soggy baggy mom? Why is it I can't find clothes that fit, and I haven't had a "cute" haircut, well since Brian last cut my hair. Brian is not only like a big brother too me, but my hair dresser as well. He used to give me the cutest haircuts. He started cutting my hair when I was 13 & I was hooked. The only time he didn't cut my hair, was when I lived out of state. I could totally use a Brian hair cut. However even a hair cut wouldn't rescue me from my uncool status. I think I realized I was no longer cool and maybe hitting old lady hood when I was listening to the radio and a song I used to like for its brash and abrasive beat and lyrics actually sounded a wee bit too offensive to listen to with my kids in the car. Really? Me? The girl who used to blair loud progressive and underground music so everyone can hear how ahead of the crowd and "cool" I am. Nope not anymore. I have the soundtrack to Curious George on heavy rotation in the car. Gone are the days of Fugazi and Sonic Youth, NIN and Primus blasting from my stereo. My old school music just makes the kids upset and anxious, things I try to avoid. Still how did all this happen. I don't feel any older. I still feel young and I do try to keep up with all the new bands and singers. Music is after art my favorite thing. And how did I go from wearing cutting edge fashion, always before it was cool, to wearing black shirts from Target and capris alllllll theeeee timeeeeeee? If I walked out of the house in thigh highs, combat boots and a kilt with a vintage shirt these days I would probably look, well, like I was soooo 90's. I still love fashion. I actually have very good taste in clothes. Just can't afford the clothes I like. I guess I figure diapers and food in the fridge are a little more important than a new pair of Lucky Jeans (I love Lucky clothes) I think what officially made me fell old, and uncool is the fact that old men compliment me now. Yup. Used to be cute young things. Now it's like the grey haired guy pushing a walker. How did this happen?Aside from realizing all my uncoolness and that, sniff sniff, yes I am getting older,  I do want to say this 

a:: I have never felt more comfortable with who I am. (strange since I am complaining about being uncool & old)

b:: I love being married and having my husband tell me how beautiful I am (way better than any hottie saying it) because I know he means it.

c:: Although I wasn't the best mom with Sloan when she was little, I try everyday to love these girls more than life itself. I also enjoy being a mom and watching my girls grow and learn. Maybe I can help them grow into good productive citizens. Hey maybe I can even give them a few hints on how to be cool. Although by the time they are worried about things like that I will be hopelessly square.

and last but not least.......

d:: I fully realize that one day I will look back on me at 31 and think, Gosh I was sooooooo young & cool back then, why am I not cool now?

New to the Shop

Just a little note to let you know I added the first of the fall illustrations to my shop. More to come soon. Tonight I will start on the next of the fall series. Hope everyone is having an awesome day!

A little Blogging Info

How many of you love this woman, and all the creative ideas she and her staff come up with as much as I do? I have always been an admirer of her ideas and talent. All her ideas are filled with creativity, are clean, crisp, uncluttered and beautiful to look at. My favorite from Martha were the lovely "Kid's" magazines she used to publish. I always dreamed that maybe some day I would be able to send in an idea and she would love it so much she would put it in her magazine. I was so sad when the magazine was cancelled a few years back. I have saved every issue I ever bought and still refer back to them for inspiration. 

The reason I am mentioning her here, is that she wants to hear from "YOU" fellow Bloggers out in Blog Land. Go visit her blog (use link at the side) and leave a comment. She will choose her favorite blogs to add to her blog. Sounds like fun to me. So go, leave a comment!

Newest Illustration

Mallory Mouse in honor of little Mallory.

This is one of the paper illustrations I will be adding to the shop tomorrow. I broke down and bought some batteries today. For some reason I still can't find my battery charger. I am pretty positive it's chilling out with all the missing socks that I haven't been able to find. I am sure it will turn up sooner or later. Maybe it will convince a couple of those socks to come home too.

Miracles for Mallory Auction was a Success!

I find this picture so very touching. Wasn't she absolutely perfect? I just found out today that the Miracles for Mallory auction raised $2,662. This was the very first auction and there are already plans in motion for next years auction. If you are interested in helping with the next Miracles for Mallory auction please contact Shay at Olde Colonial Peddler for details. Little Mallory was diagnosed with Trisomy 18. She lived 4 days filled with lots of love. Although she lived such a short life she has touched so many peoples hearts. This fund was set up in her memory to help other families with babies who have been diagnosed with Trisomy 18.

It's 2 AM or Do you Know This Drunken Guy?

Yup. 2 AM. Well a little after 2 AM if we want to get all technical. I am awoken, woken, it's too early for good grammar folks, from a sound sleep by what sounds like a knock on the door. I'm like, who is it. I expect to hear the voice of a neighbor, but all I am getting is muffled garble. Nope not opening the door. We just watched a zombie movie the other night and this is just a little too much. So I open the blinds to see if I can figure out who is at our door. By this time I see a strange man with a ponytail walking past our window. No blood is oozing from his mouth or eyes, so I have ruled out the whole zombie theory. I call to Dean and let him know there is a "strange guy" outside our home. I love my husband for oh so many reasons. One thing about Dean that is super wonderful is he has a way with people, and he is extremely calm when handling these kind of situations. He leaps out the door in his boxers, no joke, and asks the guy, "Can I help you?". I have a feeling most men wouldn't be so polite in their conversation this early in the morning. They started conversing while I took care of the two screaming kids that were awakened by this "strange guy" out in our yard. A few minutes later I go outside to make sure everything is OK. I asked if I needed to call someone for him and he wanted to know where the letter "H" was. I'm like this is no episode of Sesame Street, this guy has got to be either a::drunk or b::high. We both figured he wanted to know where "h" street was, one street over. Dean politely told him good luck and shook his hand. The drunk guy left. I say drunk because by this time Dean filled me in on the outside conversation. Drunken man (we'll just call him this cause that's what he was) said he was trying to hide, and wondered if he could come into our house and sleep on the floor. Dean of coarse told him nope. He also said he worked for an Iron union. He was a pretty stout dude. I really do feel sorry for him. He reminded me of my ex husband (who, with all joking aside was a black out drunk, I divorced him 11 months into the marriage, but that's another story). I think he won't even remember that he was knocking on doors of strangers at 2 in the morning when he wakes up in jail tomorrow. Yes, the police picked him up down the street a few minutes after he left our home. I guess we were not the first door he had knocked on.

So I figured it would be fun to share a little early morning drama with you guys. I would have taken a picture, but I still can't find my charger. Hope everyone has a lovely day.

P.S. Mom, if you are reading this, don't worry. Tony had his loaded pistol and was at his back door while this whole situation was going down & Sara his wife had the shotgun loaded and was watching from the window. It's nice to live right next door to gun enthusiasts. 

Um, OK

"P is for Pumpkin"

"Fwankenstein"

So still no battery charger. I am a little confused as to the fact that I am unable to find something so simple in such a small house. I still have two other places to check. If it isn't there, I will be running, yes with bells on my feet, to the dollar store for some batteries. Until then I will leave you with the above teasers.

These newest paper illustrations will be added to the shop in the next day or two (When I am able to take some pictures) along with some other fall festive illustrations. All of my paper illustrations are hand made, using scrap booking papers and scrap booking embellishments. I cut everything by hand and no templates are used for my designs. I also hand embroider all the stitched elements. These were super fun to make. Each illustration measures 5"x 7" and comes framed in a matching plastic frame. If you don't see exactly what you are looking for, be sure to contact me. I will see what I can do. 

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and a great beginning of the week. Look forward to getting everything posted for reals, very soon. Until then happy creating.

Technical Difficulties

A little drawing I did tonight while I watched Jerry McGuire

I can not for the life of me find my battery charger. So I can't charge the batteries in my camera and download all my photos onto the computer. I'm a little bummed. I received the most lovely package from my friend Annie over at Firefly Hill on Friday Afternoon. I have started working on a little Halloween series for my Etsy store. I can't take one silly picture. Tomorrow I am going to do a "clean sweep" if you will, to see if I can find it. The funny thing is all day long I saw photo and video ops and I had no way to capture them. It's OK because I am sure I will wake up and I will find it. Of coarse it will be in the most obvious place, because that's how life is. 

Until then, I hope you have a chance to visit some of the new links I have added to the side of my blog. I will be adding a few more this week. There are so many talented people in this world. I feel so blessed to know some of you, in a pen pal sort of way. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Miracles for Mallory

*Please don't forget to go and check out all the wonderful things up for auction at the Miracles for Mallory silent auction. The Auction will be ending on Sunday evening.

Happy Birthday Mom!

My Mom & I circa 1977

Happy birthday Mom! I love you so much. Wish I could have been there to give you a big hug and a kiss, and a smack on the fanny (cause I know how much you love that!) I miss you and can't wait to talk to you this weekend.

*My mom hates to be smacked on her fanny, so of coarse all us kids take a smack whenever we are able to. What, it's her birthday, I thought you were supposed to get a spanking on your birthday?

Guess What I got in the Mail

I was so excited when the mail man brought a nice little box to my door. The darling Halloween bag from Bonnie over at Calamity Jane's Cottage came. I was blessed enough to win this last week. I have gotten so many compliments on it from friends dropping by to say hello. So I can't wait to use it in the next few weeks. There are so many details in this bag, and my little Sloan wanted to know if it was for her. I told her no way! Just kidding, I did let her know it was for me (but in kinder words) and she just went on and on about how she couldn't wait for me to use it.  Thank you so much Bonnie!

My friend Lori over at Morning Glories and Moonbeams has pumpkin fever and let me tell you, I have caught it! I went and bought two of my favorite magazines, some fake fall leaves and some Halloween ribbon. I can't wait to start decorating. I also love all the cute ideas for pumpkins that she has been posting about. 

Do you see the tacky gold frames behind my new bag? Those are now black, thanks to a great idea on the blog of Scooter Blu Whimsy, that Lori featured the other day. I have seen this idea before but for some reason never thought to do it to my own frames. I painted them all black and they look great. Thanks for all the great inspiration Lori!

Hope everyone is having a lovely day. Check back later today for my newest addition to my Etsy store. Happy early fall decorating!

P.S. The Miracles for Mallory Silent Auction is still going on. Drop in by and check it out!

Daddy & Zoe

My Sisters

Cristin & Brennan. Oh how I miss my girls. Cristin is 13 years younger than me and Brennan was born when I was 17. So they were both like my own little babies. I used to have so much fun with them. When I look at them now, growing up so quickly, I can hardly believe how fast time flies.

My little sister Cristin took all these lovely photos. She is a very talented photographer and hopes to get her degree in some kind of art field. Until than I look forward to seeing all her lovely pictures and drawings that she takes. Sometimes life can prove to be the greatest classroom. I think her work is every bit as good as the stuff I saw when I went to art school.