Fridays Finds - Red, White and Blue

Maryanne, on of the few that read my blog, started friday's finds that I wanted to get involved with, but still have to set up my flickr account. She was kind enough to send me some great information on how to get on, but I just have not done it yet. By this Friday, I will! But I wanted to post something Red, White and Blue that I found. I used to collect seaglass, and separated it by color, put into fanstatic jars and gave it to my aunt when I was cleaning closets and she sold them at her thrift store. I saved my blue, because I knew how hard it was to find. I found a marble that had been very weathered and I remember when I found it, I just let out the deepest sigh. Parts of the white have expanded beyond the blue. My seaglass walks along Plymouth beach were taken when I was going through a lonely stage in my life. I lost interest in collecting it, but I am glad I saved this. I also kept the few pieces of red that I found. At my baby shower, my sister in law scattered purple and white seaglass on the tables, mixed with seashells and hydregnas..the people I love know what I love...my mother at the time collected a bunch of pieces and put them in a bottle and sent them to me for Christmas....her and my dad exchanged heart shaped pieces of green seaglass instead of rings on their second marriage to eachother! (yes, they sold their original set of rings when they divorced each other). When I get into something, it seems like the people around me begin to love the same things...seaglass, its a wonder, little pieces of glass scattered, so hard to find!

Agnieskzka's Birthday

On June 3rd it will be my sister in laws birthday...she lives in New York with my brother. They officially started dating on the day that my daughter was born. She's originally from Poland. She is a lovely lovely woman and she always asks me to paint her boxes and decopague them ( I don't even know how to spell). I love making and decorating boxes...I do it before I even buy the gift...I always match the gift with the packaging, however, whoops, this time not so coordinated! I got her a pretty skirt from old navy and a few tank tops along with a belt. She looks good in everything, but mostly gets dressed very fashionably for her job. This outfit will be for kicking around (not like my worn out sweat pants and a tshirt!). I had to cut my time short on the gift because I spent so much time decorating. Her box is the one in the middle, but the other two I keep my pens and stamps in....I know there are a lot of techniques out there, but these are just so simple. Glue, paint and scrapbook paper! I made some journals for Kaylas teachers for next week (end of officially school year, but they keep her all summer! along with a few others!) I had a package of 'wallies' and used them on the box and the journals....they were just not so perfect flowers that had the glue already on the back of them...all you have to do is wet with a sponge! So, my sister in law loves my boxes and always asks for them....I love that she gets excited...she is an incredible woman,

A Perfect Day

I have tried over and over to post this over the past two days, don't know what is going on....but I guess it is all a learning experience! Let's try one more time before I have to stop blogging for today! There should be journal entries posted, if not, then I will try again tonight when I get home!

Memorial Day

I will post my journal entries that I wrote on the beach today, but if I don't get started soon, I will not get anywhere! These pics were taken today in Plymouth, my writing later will explain my love for this town. The day was peaceful. I needed this day, it was worth the wait, everything was perfect. No stress, time to write, time to breathe....These pics are of Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower, a little tug boat we saw, and the back of our boat where Mark zip tied the flag that Kayla picked out at the Christmas Tree Shop....more later....

Mark's 39th Birthday

I always make lists to keep me on track and ensure that I accomplish everything I have set out to do and when it comes to my husband's birthday, I get into a real situation where I just never know what to get him and it turns out to be a stressful situation. Mark grew up with not much, I won't embarrass him by telling you what little he did have growing up. He started a successful business and now he has been fortunate enough to have a great fortune for the work he has done. We see things differently in that I like time with my family and he likes to be physically working or building something on his days off. So I have four days coming up and I am so glad I wrote this card. Mark bought a boat last summer and anything he ever buys, he has to add his own touch too...so he bought a new engine and is putting it in the boat. He bought a new sewing machine and made rugs, he had the interior all reupholstered....I went out on it once last year and feel like he just goes too fast...it is not enjoyable for me..neither is all of the time he has spent over the past few months perfecting it....he works hard and I don't want to ruin his weekend with my attitude about what he will be doing..he will be working on this thing until Monday so we can all go out on it...so I came up with a list of things I can do for the family this weekend to keep my sanity...I posted it here because when I share my feelings it helps me through the day, no matter if one person reads it or no one reads it, I still have gotten it off my mind...I hope I can committ to these promises....it is a good start, now I have to get going since I am working tonight, and tomorrow! I bought him an Airforce scrapbook from Michaels that I couldnt even start, so I will wrap it up and tell him it is a work in progress..I wanted to finish my book from Disney World in January, and I got him some items for the boat, towels, cooler bag....it just seems like he doesnt go for the simple things in life like I do.....I am going to work on him this weekend! I need to breathe....unwind....relax....

Mixed Media Memoirs - Time

This week's post for Mixed Media Memoirs was time, and I laid in bed creating my post last night high on caffine..made me think a lot of what I do and what I would rather be doing.....

Heaven in Little Girl's Eyes

Child's Painting

I wanted to post a painting that Kayla brought home from school last week. I love her school. She is so happy there and she comes home with the most creative projects. I love this one because she drew picture of a flower and told the teacher what it was. She doesn't know all of her letters yet, but they let her trace the word. I love the fact that she drew all the branches and the roots. The work she brings home everyday helps me better to accept that I am not home with her. Kayla loves flowers, landscaping. My husband takes her on the mower at least once a week and she has fun cutting the grass with him and she takes care of the plants and flowers in the yard. I grew up with mostly greens, not a lot of color or flowers. My parents have a beautiful yard with a lot of japanese gardens styles throughout. Mark just plants whatever he can get his hands on and all he does he does with love. There is color everywhere, but it is maintained nicely, not too sculptured, just looks natural like it grew there...I think Kayla will be all about color. When I was little, I got my ears pierced and got the simple gold studs. Kayla picked out blue stone flowers with Pink in the middle last week. I am looking at her pretty little ears right now...she helps me type my posts, I tell her what letters to push and she gets all excited... I am going to let her discover herself, discover color, be creative in her appearance.

Mixed Media Memoirs; My Mother.

Mixed Media Memoirs; My Mother is what I decided to write about today. It took me longer than I had thought. Doesn't everything? It was worth it though, took me back in time, reminiscing about my sweet relationship with my mother, my angel.

Friday's Finds - Lonesome Rainy Days

My second attempt at participating in something through blogging, hope it works! This is my entry for friday's finds. Today it was rainy and my husband wanted to go to the Mall. I don't like the MALL because I work there all week, and I just would prefer to rummage around somewhere. I didn't need anything and just was not in the mood, but went anyway because Kayla wanted a new Build a Bear. We went down to Plymouth MA after the mall and did a little antiquing. I didn't know where to start, I have not been in years. I have enough furniture, etc. and was not sure what I was looking for. Something sweet. I found this postcard and I thought it sort of described how I feel. I always think that my feelings are different from everyone, and have always found it hard to connect with others that understand me. My husband gave me some space while I went through some old cards. I found a few that I liked. My daughter found a doll in a little rocking chair that she is sleeping with now. I shall take a picture of it later! I did not realize that one of the post cards was a little girl with an umbrella and a doll, just like Kayla today! I want some more sweet 'me' moments, I want to experience more with my family doing things I love to do, and having them appreciate them.

Mother's Day Memories

My first mother's day without a Grandmother. It was this past November that I was at work placing a piece of furniture on the shelf that smelled like her last apartment in New York City. The apartment was filled with Italian families that cooked all day and you could just smell the garlic down the hallways when you entered the building. I closed my eyes and thought of her not worrying about what customers saw me. I wanted to make sure it was not my imagination. It wasn't. I smelled it again, and there it was...something that reminded me of her...I wore her rings that day, two antique rings, beautifully handmade in Italy, white gold with the prettiest stones. I had a feeling that morning that she wouldn't be around much longer. I said good night to those I worked with and told them I had a feeling that my Grandmother would die tonight, they all thought it was a strange thing to say. I logged onto my email the next morning and my dad was on the way to get her ashes down in Georgia. She passed at 7pm that previous night, I smelled her at 7pm, and left work at 730pm. I have always felt a connection with God, little messages are sent to me like this from time to time. I was at peace with her passing.

Life's Gardens

My yard is very woodsy and this particular garden was here when we bought the house. Last year we were going to plant grass over it and cover it up. It is in the middle of nowhere nd near a little area where we dump our leaves, which was a huge hole that the previous owners used to 'burn'. We have been covering it up over years so that it would be level with the rest of the yard. Last year, my husband's customer dug up his entire yard because he did not like the landscaping. This tree used to be outside of a house we rented and was symbolic to us both. Mark dug it up and brought it over and replanted it. For months he thought about whether it could survive the transport or not. This year, it flowered, and everytime I look out the window, and I see my garden I close my eyes and take a deep breath and think of my husband and how he is just so talented. He enjoys being in the yard and taking care of all the plants, flowers, trees. Each year he adds something very beautiful. Last year he added a walkway of blue stone slate that he dug up from behind my parents house on Long Island. We used to have a patio growing up and my mom dug it up and trashed it behind this huge rock where they dumped their leaves. When I showed Mark, he said that the stone was so old and such good quality, why did they throw it out. We brought it home and he built me a walkway to my front steps. It reminds me of when I was a little girl, these stones were outside of my mother's bedroom, looking out onto the patio. Mark does things with such ease, he is a natural. I struggle with projects, where he just embraces them and is at ease with the finished look. I admire him everyday for his accomplishments. He is an artist. His landscaping, woodworking, mechanical abilities...he is gifted....I hope that he is proud of what he does. He has such passion for his work...yet he does not obsess over it and just accepts things the way that they are. No stress, no indecision...He also does a beautiful job re-creating, bringing back to life things that people just dispose of. He treasures everything in life and takes such great care of our home, our family. He does not smile though and thinks it is just normal to accomplish these things...people look at him in awe and he just does not see how good he is....someday I will write about what a great father he is....another thing that just amazes everyone that sees him and her together...he has made the best of his life...never complains, just moves forward with whatever life gives him...I wish I could learn more from him.... I want to look outside and see something that I have accomplished. I hide from it, because I am scared of obsessing over projects and seeing what the outcome could be. I need to have more confidence and patience. I have not showed Mark my blog yet, maybe I will show him tonight. I want to be in the gardens, play, have fun.....with him.....

What My Style Says About Me

This weeks Mixed Media Memoirs Topic 'What My Style Says about Me' made me obsess about my closet and what is in there, what does not fit, what I don't like that I have been hanging on to. For years, my colors were black and white. I tried to add color and every time I do, the items that I buy end up being worn once, and then I either throw them out or hand them down to someone. I spend a lot of money on clothes that I buy with intentions that it is going to make me feel 'better', then in fact, they end up making me feel worse. Maybe it is just bad timing and maybe I just think too much about the things that bug me. The truth is, I am happy with classic colors and fits. Growing up, I was called the Lady in Black. I was also on the best dressed list in High School so I know that my choice of colors didn't affect my unique style and fashion. I feel like I don't have the time to feel and look good. My job requires me to work 50 hours a week and I don't have any family support for childcare. I struggle every day trying to find a balance and just get stressed out. It affects the way I look and feel. I have an additional 20 lbs on me from giving birth that I have trouble keeping off. I gain, lose, gain, lose. I wake up every morning thinking of a New Day and how can I move forward and keep positive. I need to create a plan on how to feel better and move forward more positively.

My First Tag!

My first tag! Tagged by firstborn wanted to get so creative on this one, but I will just have to settle for words, wanted to incorporate something fun, just didn't have the time today!
5 things in My Fridge
Lots of diet pepsi (caffinne addiction)
Crystal Light Peach Tea (more caffinne)
Weight Watchers Yogurt (haven't tried it yet)
Juice boxes for playdates (lots of friends over all the time!)
Lots of dried up rotten fruit (my hopes everyday to have more!)
5 things in My Purse
Lots and lots of Target debit receipts
A loose roll of quarters because I don't like using debit cards at Dunkin Donuts
Juice box
Carmex for chapped lips
a few of my husbands combs that he is always looking for
5 Things in My Closet
Lots of red and khaki clothes (work)
Calvin Klein jeans
Clothes that are a size too small
Few piles of dirty laundry
wrinkle free button down liz claiborne shirts
5 Things in My Car
Voter Registration receipt, finally felt educated enough to register
empty Dunkin Donuts bag (had a bagel yesterday on the way to work)
Stuffed bunny about 3 ft. tall, don't know why it is here, my husband bought it DVD player for long road trips Herbie soundtrack, we sing the 'Magic' song on the way to school

May 1st

I had some issues with my computer lately, and have had a late time posting, so trying to get this one done before work, this one I wrote three days ago, just getting a bit of time now. I am starting to become committed to this, and have now found someone who I have been connecting with Mary Ann! so nice to meet you....and I have been tagged for the first time, so excited, can't wait to respond, maybe when I get home from work tonight! It's strange, it is like reading a book, but its real, real people, real stories....

Another Sick Day

I stayed home sick with Kayla today. Don't know how the store with do without me today, but I am sure they are not thinking about it as much as I am. I need to let go and writing helps me accept that I am not feeling well!