Home from Chantilly

I got home late last night from Chantilly. Overall, I had a good time. The ladies in my classes were just the nicest ever. I was so impressed with just how friendly everybody was there.

I have a lot of photos to share later today. I spent Thursday afternoon in DC, and we spent most of yesterday in Arlington National Cemetary and visiting the Vietnam wall in DC. I can't wait to share my story about Bob, the Pentagon 911 memorial, and some other favorite moments. For now, though, I have to take Matt shopping for some new clothes. I just bought him new clothes a couple of months ago... why does he keep growing so fast???

wedding album

I am teaching this shabby chic wedding album tonight. It felt so good to finally get this project out of the way. I am taking the rest of the summer off of teaching at the store because my schedule just doesn't give me time to get all the classes planned. You can see a bigger image here if you want to. wedding album

yummmm

I got home this morning from Arlington, TX, and realized I only took two photos the whole show. On the last night of the show, my friend Sarah and I went out to dinner and shared this humongous sundae. We didn't eat the whole thing, but it was incredibly yummy.

Here today, gone tomorrow

I am home (for a day) from Jacksonville. It was a very quiet show, but the people were very nice, and I enjoyed all the ladies (and 3 men) in my classes. I saw a lot of places, and did a lot of things in Jacksonville and the surrounding areas, so I have some of those photos to share today. Then I have to wash my clothes, toss them back in my suitcase, and remind my children of who I am before I fly off again tomorrow.

I am still trying to get some good shots of my eyes. These are a little better than others, but unfortunately the light coming through the window created a glare on my nose and chin. Those certainly aren't the areas I want to highlight! LOL

If any of you are going to be in Arlington this weekend, stop in the Deluxe Designs booth and say hi to me! :0)

St. Augustine

When we arrived in Jacksonville, I told everyboy I HAD to see St. Augustine, and I really needed to see the Colonial Spanish Quarter. We made it there at 4:15, and it closed at 5. This was my favorite room. It was the scribe headquarters, and the scribe, James, was wonderful about sharing details of what life was like for scribes in the 16th and 17th centuries. He wrote my name with 17th century ink and calligraphy, and even chided me a bit for having the "Ellis Island" version of Wellborn... LOL. These were my two favorite photos, esp the top one.

Blacksmiths

I loved everything about the colonial village. It brings history to life. Both of these men are blacksmiths in the village, and they really do smithing work everyday. This is an authentic lock, though, and it was made about 200 years ago.

St. George street

After the village closed, I walked through the rest of town and took lots of photos. There are too many for to upload here right now, but I saw the wax museum,. the Catholic Basilica, lots of Revolutionary and Civil War monuments, and the Spanish history was everywhere. It was a rich experience for a history nerd like myself!

While I wandered down St George street, I found my knight in shining armor... LOL. This is front of a little family history store that I went into and purchased the coat of arms for my family names.

Schoolhouse and Drugstore

These are two of the oldest buildings in North America. The top is the oldest drugstore, which is a museum now, and the bottom is the oldest wooden schoolhouse, also a museum. I also saw the Spanish Military Hospital, Flaglers College, the Lightner Museum. I hope someday I can go back and explore all of the museums and sights in the area in more depth, including Ponce De Leon's Fountain of Youth (it kills me to know I was only a few feet away from it and didn't know it!) and the St. Augustine lighthouse.

Downtown Jacksonville had several old buildings that caught my eye, but I only snapped a few pictures. It saddens me to see that most of these gorgeous buildings are empty and for sale. I would love to see what they look like restored! The top photo is of the old firestation. I found the Scottish Rites Masonic Temple, and took the two bottom photos of it. It was huge, much bigger than the Masonic temples we have here, and I loved the Ancient Egyptian details that were carved into the walls.

Down by the seaside

Everybody else I was working with flew out of Jacksonville early in the morning. My flight didn't leave for another six hours. I decided to go find something to do. I headed North on 95, and found myself in the charming little town on Amelia Island, where a plantation still survives as a modern day resort. I stopped at the Walmart on the way to get my memory chip copied to a disc so I could take more photos, and the photo clerk told me that I would love Fernandino Beach. She was right, I did. She told me to look for the shark teeth that are scattered all over, and I found the two black ones after I wandered a while. Then I found the great white tooth as well, and I knew the boys would love to see these. The seashells are all over the beach in dense groupings, so I gathered up several for Chet to use in his fish tank. I had to take my own photos of myself, and these two came out better than the others.

I needed this time on the beach. My life has been so crazy, which is okay, but to have an hour to myself to stroll on the beach, find shells and shark teeth, and watch the pelicans hunt for fish was very soothing for my soul. I ended up with very wet capris and shoes covered in sand, so on the way out I stopped and bought a change of clothing. That was very good for the soul, too...

Historic Fernadina Beach

I stopped in the historic downtown section of Fernandina Beach . The top left photo is the original train station, and the tracks still run to the right of it. I loved the old buildings... the middle left photo is of the post office. Isn't it gorgeous? The trough is the last public horse trough still left over from the 1880's, and it is right next to a Revolutionary War site that I stopped to visit. On the way out of town, I found this little butterfly garden that was just stunningly beautiful. I saw lots of gorgeous butterflies and dragonflies, but none would stick around for a photo... LOL. The bottom right photo is of a house I passed on the way out. Those are three of the six flags they had in the front yard, and then the porch had several more flags and several God Bless America signs. I do love patriotism!

Flea Market

After I changed my clothes and headed towards the airport, I realized I still had another hour before I really had to be there. I found this little flea market, and stopped in. It was great! I bought Jack a leather wallet, found myself a silver toe ring, and picked up another book to read on the flight. That was a good thing, because when I arrived at my gate I found out my flight was delayed by a couple of hours, so I needed the extra reading materials! It is good to be home, but now I have to pack to leave for Arlington tomorrow!

Heading out to Jacksonville

I am on my way to Jacksonville tomorrow. I will be seeing alot of the East coast this month! I am hoping to take in some of the historical sights this weekend, and I will probably meet up with a couple of Peas from the message boards. I have to go get the rest of my stuff packed. It is a good thing I always have the last minute to get things finished!

Learning to bead

Someday I will have time to figure out the best way to photograph or scan the jewelry I have been making, but for now this is about as good as it gets. I made both of these this weekend. The one on the left was inspired by a necklace I saw in Beadwork Magazine. I made the butterfly necklace using the same stringing concept, and then created some earrings to match. I ran out of those yummy pink beads, or I would have made a bracelet to go with it.

Gotta brag a little

Look what came this weekend! I got my copy of the Pages By Design book. I saw it last weekend, but it is always nice to have your own copy! I have six layouts in there, but my favorite is "Bowling Ball Boobs on page 77.

Vine Ripened... mmmmm

I did it! I grew a whole tomato! In fact, I grew two and one more is growing! I hope this is a sign that I have turned my black thumb green. In fact, all of my salsa plants are doing well! The only thing I planted that died was one of my strawberry plants. Hopefully, the rest of the plants will follow suit, and we will soon have piles and piles of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, strawberries, and cantelope. For now, though, I am so tickled RED to have fresh yummy home-grown tomatoes from my own little container garden!

Memorial Day weekend

We had a fun Memorial Day weekend. My boss came to town and was staying in her time share condo. She had reserved a second set of rooms for family who didn't make it, so she asked if we would like to come down and stay in the room and enjoy the condo. We had SO MUCH FUN! We spent most of the time in the pool and playing table hockey and billiards in the game room. Beth didn't like being in the water much, but she did like hanging out on the patio with me and playing with her dad's shades.

Splish Splash, They Were Swimmin' in the Bath!

Here are Beth, Kyle, Faith, and Todd playing in the huge jacuzzi tub that was in our room. When we got there Friday afternoon, most of the kids weren't feeling all that well, so we took it easy all afternoon and let them get better. They had a blast playing in that tub, and Kyle kept asking me if he could move into the condo permanently!

Sibling Cuddle-ry

I love this photo. It isn't really a good photo technically, but it touches my heart. Beth climbed up in the chair next to Todd and cuddled right into his arm. He was busy watching the TV, and absentmindedly began kissing the top of her head. It was a sweet moment to watch, and I was glad I had my camera close by.

What's Your Name?

The photo on the left is of our friend John. He came over on Friday to help Jack install the AC unit in my scrapping room. Faith has met John before, but she didn't remember him. The second photo with her is a shot of her flirting with John. It was hilarious to listen to.

Faith: What's your name?
John: John
F: My name is Faith.
Is that your motorcycle outside?
J: yes
F: Does it go really fast?
J: Yes it does.
F: Wowwwwww... Did you ride it all the way here?
J: Yep, all the way from my house.
F: Where do you live?
J: In Henderson
F: Oh. How old are you?
J: I am 29
F: Oh (sadly) I am only 7