Catching Up

Sorry to leave you guys hanging the past several days. Here is the week in review

First off, my birthday was good. Not great, but good. Tim had to work the night before and night of so that kind of put a damper on the day. Tip toeing around the house being quiet. . . night shift stinks. And I can say that b/c I've worked it too. I'm trying to potty train Jacob and also spent the day cleaning up accidents. I would so pay someone to train him. I heard boys were hard but this is not what I imagined. Once Tim wok up he went and got me flowers (sunflowers, gerbera daisys, and a rose), then we went to Applebee's on base for dinner. Jacob did well until the end when he was just crazy. That was our cue to leave. Impossible to get through a nice meal in public. We got home and my wonderful neighbor Rose made me a "Black Forest" Cake. She and her daughter Faith came over to share cake and give me my present. Which was one Rose's signature jean quilts. Very warm and pretty--Thanks again Rose!

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I had Stamp Club. I have 3 groups this go around which is the most I've ever had. We made the usual 3 cards. I'm going to try and shake it up a bit next month. I think/hope everyone had a good time. During the days, I spent my time cutting paper and straightening for the company and running errands. The week flew by and now here it is, the weee hours of Saturday. Guess I should hit the sack. I have pictures to post of my flowers, presents, stamp club cards. Will do that tomorrow.

5 More Days. . .

That's right, just 5 more days till the big 30!!! It has gotten me thinking lately, am I where I want to be? I had a class in Nursing school called Preceptorship. We had an assignment to make a professional portfolio and we had to write about where we saw ourselves in 5 years. Well, it has been more than 5 years since this class and I am not doing at all what I thought I would be. So I ask you as well, no matter where you are in life are you were you want to be personally, professionally?

I'll give you my answer. At the time I saw myself being married, having 2 kids (by 30), living close to family, being an nurse practitioner and doing mom things. Fast forward to reality. . .married, one child, not working in nursing, living in Sicily and doing some travel, farther than I ever imagined from family and being a SAHM (stay at home mom). Happy? Definately! Now where do I see myself 5 years from this point? Still married to Tim. He's my high school sweetheart and we've known each other since we were 16 and 17 he's my best friend. 2 children, working part-time as a registered nurse, being involved with my kids in school, extra-curricular activities, hopefully living closer to family. At this point, living in the US is good enough to me. Having our own house again and still traveling. It will be fun to see what actually happens in 5 years. . . :)

Ginormous Sunflowers

I've tried my hand at gardening since living in Sicily. I never had much of a green thumb, but it's not a brown thumb either. I've had some great results getting things to grow here. Back in the spring I decided to try sunflowers. So, I started some seeds in pots and within days they sprouted. Eventually I moved them to the ground in my flower beds around the front of our house. Aren't they huge?! I have 2 that the diameter of the stalk is at least 1 inch around. Unbelievable! Everyday they have multible yellow jackets pollenating and recently, bumble bees. Big, huge, fat, fuzzy bumble bees! No shortage of bees here. So, here are some pics of my "Ginormous Sunflowers."

Fun in the Sun. . .Our Day at the Beach

Yesterday we went to a beach "Lido" in Taoromina. That is my favorite place on the island. It is very touristy with cruise shipgoes from all over. Tim actually brought up going to the beach, something I have been wanting to do for awhile here. Found out he had a motive. He had been in touch with a diving shop and wanted to check it out. So, we made a family day of it. Took us an hour to get there. Lots of traffic in the town b/c the the Italians are on vacation the month of August. We missed the place at first, when we found it poor Jacob go car sick and threw up 3 times. That was fun! He started that a little over a year ago. I had it as a kid too so I'm not surprised. Than we met Carmen, the assistant, who helped us park and find the swim area.

We rented a cabana for the day not too far from the water. We were expecting a sandy beach, but instead go tiny pebbles. Thank goodness we brought out Crocs. I attempted to run back to our cabana at one point without the shoes and burnt my feet. Ouch! It was a good way to make Jacob stay in one spot though :) The water was clear, no seaweed, and temp. just right. Jacob had a blast in the water and playing with the rocks. Even with his water wings on he didn't want to attempt the water so he clung to Tim or me. He loved the waves and sitting at the waters edge having the water splash him. He really wanted to go further and see Nemo and Marlin. From the Disney movie in case you aren't sure. While Tim was diving, Jacob and I ventured to the snack area and got ice cream. One thing I loved was NO SEAGULLS!

Tim really enjoyed the dive. He got to go in a cave. I guess the next purchase will be an underwater camera to show me all these things he see's. He's already requested a regulator for his birthday next month. That will be the final part of his gear he needs, and the most expensive. But it is something he enjoys doing.

After the long day in the sun, Jacob fell asleep for the ride home and was worn out for the rest of the night. Enjoy the pictures!

Being Crafty

I was a very busy girl this past week. First off, after quilting class last Saturday I got on this kick to just finish the thing. So, I spent many night up past 12am but I am happy to say all that I have left is the binding. Yay!! There was a day I took off because I sewed a section wrong and got mad at the whole thing. Yesterday I squared off the edges. Not easy with a full size quilt, 18in ruler and 24 in cutting mat. I spent a lot of time on the floor on my hands and knees with 3 different measuring tools. I think it is somewhat square. Now I have threads and frays all over the floor. Time to vaccum!

Today Jacob has a "Princess" birthday party to go to for one of his little girl friends who is turning 3. Over the past several months I have gotten the urge to make frames using my Stampin' Up! items of course and Cricut (electronic die-cutting machine). These have been a hit at birthday parties and baby showers. So, I decided I would show you what I came up with. This was done using SU cardstock, Stampin' Pastels, Cricut-Paper Dolls, Doodlecharms Cartidges. The big pink rectangle is for a picture of course! Pretty darn cute if I do say so myself. Sorry for my shadow in the picture. It was either that or the flash reflection.

I will be adding a section to the blog of crafty items. As many of you know I am a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. So awesome the things they come out with. I realize I need to start sharing things I make.

Have a happy weekend!