Seizing My Day

Ever since I started home schoolin my son…

May has become my insane month. busy busy busy.

not only is May is my busy month …I have packed in a little too much extra to boot.

whew! (and it is only May 7)… yikes.

I could give you the list .. but I won’t.  just trust me.  busy!! 😉

and my little girl got sick high fever last week and I HAD to go get my cook book signed

(oops May started in April around here … no wonder I feel so busy)

anyway. book signing. in Seattle. by Ree. y’all know Ree, right? =)

this pic is for you KK…

(my sister and I are going to go to Ree’s Ranch together … one day! lol!)

anyway. busy month.

I have high hopes of settling in to a blog routine again

and then life happens. oops. missed a week. again!

so without further ado.  The Sunday Scavenger Hunt… (Tuesday hunt?)

featuring a week in the life of Jenn & co.

the list:   Smile, Keys, Fish, SOOC & Shadow.

Lemme Start with Key

the key to a happy cook

is a really GOOD awesome wonderful cast iron pan

AND

a Really great wonderful fabulous out of this world cookbook!

God Bless the Pioneer Woman – she’s wonderful – the end.

(don’t ya just love my cute little bottle opener too?)

Shadow (?) kinda, sorta…  cheater?

I go to take shadow pictures and somehow I end up with reflection pictures instead.

I love reflections . the end.

Fish

can you see that fish jumping behind my son.. on the other side of those rocks?

nope.  me neither.  but I am SURE there are fish swimming around those rocks.

under the water.  I’m sure of it!  (fish fail sorry)

SOOC – unedited

tiny cheat… I did put a border around it… oops!

have you ever roasted a peep?

the kids ate them in saltine crackers

b/c graham crackers just didn’t seem right, you know?

they loved them… I prefer real marshmallows… thankyouverymuch!

it was also kind of disturbing to put a stick in the rabbits ….(never mind)

and then putting the cute little animal looking critter into the fire…

it just felt wrong.

very wrong.

but… don’t listen to me…

you should RUN to the store and find clearance peeps. 10 cents a box.

really cheap entertainment folks!

Smile

the fear smile … the one where you realize your not sure if you are smiling or about to cry smile…  you see… its one thing when you come down THAT slide feet first… its a totally different ball game when you go down it face first! lol!

steep!

that little girl of mine is just millimeters away from being FIVE feet tall!  (gulp)

so … speaking of smiling

this scene nearly made me bust a gut…one morning last week the cat waltzed over to where Merlin was lying down by the fire place (they are going through fire withdrawls now that the sun is shining) ha ha… anyway she shoved herself right under the dogs nose and then sat there looking annoyed at him like HE got into her personal space… it was SO funny… Merlin had this worried look on his face… I’m sure no one else finds this funny…

but it really really was.

the end.

I must go to be before my pumpkin turns into a coach.. I mean my coach turns into a pumpkin.  looking forward to catching up with y’all.  I won’t be around til evening … busy day tomorrow … I  hope the sun is shining down on y’all too.  makes for a happier busy mom … according to this chick.

Oh … and Happy Mothers Day to all my Mommy blog friends!!

Blessings~

Jenn

Sunshine. All. Weekend. = Bliss. Bliss. Bliss!

We had a very busy week ~ weekend.

This week will prove to be busier than last ~ yikes!

So a semi- short post for this usually chatty chick.  =)

On with the oh So Fun Sunday (Monday) Scavenger Hunt !

This week we were looking for:  Yellow, Smile, Antique, Splash & Sun

My daughter had a soccer game yesterday about an hour away

it usually happens once a season… not my favorite …traveling for sports…

BUT… the good news is… it was 20 from the Ocean!!

Beach. Sand. Waves. **I hear happy voices in my head~!**

Yellow

Sammy and daddy flying his new Yellow kite!  8 bucks at Target!

priceless entertainment! =)

Antique

en-route to the beach yesterday…we passed by many antique stores, vintage building

while in a moving car… I tried to snap a pic of an antique store sign..

the delay on my camera caused me to get this:

AC DC are “historic” by now aren’t they??  =)

Made Me Smile

He always makes me smile!  =)

Merlin got a bath Saturday after rollin in …. well…. never mind…

Look how curly he gets when he is wet!!  =)

another moment he made me smile this weekend

look closely at his mouth… he tried to eat something yucky in the sand… Oh Merlin!

Splash

look at the size of those babies!

we went to the beach after the girls soccer game

it was cute that they all stayed in their uniforms

(her team is called the tsunamis =) kinda humorous, eh?)

SUN

the sun cast this reflection on some clouds in our neighborhood last Sunday??

it was purdy.

the SUN also makes me want to live in flip flops for the rest of my life

until it rains again =)

hey what happened to my flip flops???

my ugly feet are the ones with the purple toes

the end.

Have a Great Week folks!

Blessings~

Jenn

PS.  I am supposed to take my little girl to the Pioneer Woman’s cookbook signing tomorrow in Seattle… but she has a fever today of 101… she was really excited to meet Ree and hopefully get her Charlie book signed… I was really looking forward to having a girly date with my girl!… it won’t be the same if I go without her now!  =(

if y’all are the praying type… please pray for a one day fever… and a cheery happy healthy girl tomorrow!!  she will burst into tears if I don’t bring her with me tomorrow… **sigh**

For More Sunday Scavenger Hunt links to browse…

Head over to Ashley Sisk’s blog.

couldn’t get the link button to work this week??!

Last weekend we volunteered at the annual Easter Egg Dash our church puts on for the community every year.. thus the word annual… anywho… that was Saturday… then we hopped in our trusty Honda and blitzed up to Canada to spend the rest of Easter Weekend and Easter Monday (we decided to take a Canadian holiday since we are half Canadian in our house… he he) … my point is I was very very late in submitting my Sunday Scavenger Hunt pics last week since we were away… so Tuesday as I was linking up … I wrote down the list for this week… and it immediately brought a smile to my face… b/c I had taken a couple photos on Sunday & Monday that were perfect for this week!  and then a few other funny little quirky things also fit purrrfectly into this weeks hunt… they are really nerdy things that make me smile… I’m weird like that!

So … I’m throwing in some extra pics… b/c… well… y’all know by now.. I do that!  =)

are you curious now?  shall we begin?!!  =)

Bubbles

or stitch(es)

ok this one just made me laugh.. it had me in stitches!!  =)

2 weeks ago we had a game night at our house and we played Apples to Apples Junior

bubbles was the category to draw… my silly husband….

had us all in stitches with this one!  =)

bubbles … for real

Giant Bubbles.. with the Canadian cousins …  taken at dusk on Sunday!  =)

snapped before I even knew bubbles was a prompt this week!!

I like it when things just happen like that… (weird I kn0w)

more giant bubbles

by my little bubble boy

Grain

that silo is likely a grain holder … right?? =)

I snapped this picture on our way home from BC … b/c my man proposed to me on those mountains… “Golden Ears”…  14 years ago… (today) on April 14, 1998… *awe* =)

see quirky and weird.. and I took the pic before I knew about the prompt!  lol!

Transportation

also snapped on our way home… in Lynden, Wa…

that is some funky farm transportation …

see the one that looks like a fair ride?  lol!

what is it???  =)   anyone??

bueller?

bueller??

stitch

there must be really big stitches holding that fabric together…

ok…I was in stitches laughing anyway… =)

this is from my phone archives which I downloaded this week…

I think I snapped it in Oct??!!  I don’t use my phone camera much!

anyway… fail on the stitch prompt this week!

Simple

we did a little Orca art this week … simple … painting with Q-tips!

we are a little excited about going to Sea World in June…

we can’t WAIT to see Orcas in real life… too bad it won’t be “in the wild”…

simple pleasures

a rainbow over my daughters middle school… shot taken from the parking lot of her “old” Elementary school… yikes… she is growing up fast!  anyway… I was testing the cropping feature with the manual crop setting … curious how it would turn out on the blog… and then I stretched it a bit after landing it into word press… now the trick will be to look at it on a large computer (I use a mini pc most of the time)… so don’t judge me too harshly… m’kay… it is hard to notice blurry shots on this little tiny computer screen!!  =)

OK.. one more quirky thing… yesterday I made these…

wedding cake pops

for friends who got married today April 14

on the same day my hubby proposed to me =)

quirky.  weird.  I know.  I like weird quirky circumstances.  lol.

What quirky weird things make you smile??

(oh wait… that is a prompt next week!!  LOL!  how funny!)

I’m done now.  the end.

Blessings~

Jenn

if you’ve never joined in on the Scavenger Hunt … you have to… it is SO fun!

Arriving really late to SHS this week  =)

(I missed last week all together…*sigh*)

this weeks prompts were:  Life, New, Pink, Obvious and Fragrant

Spring is in full swing this week and the weather was glorious!

making for a wonderful spring break!!

Blue skies plus sunshine (and birds, and frogs,  and green grass and flowers) =  *bliss*

we had a little rain at the beginning of the week…

but the rest of our week/weekend were full of all the lovely things of Spring!

so we extended our weekend and spring break an extra day

and headed North to visit family and friends in BC, Canada

(they had beautiful weather this weekend too! … lovely!)

thus my late arrival…

anywho…

p.s. every year I take pictures of my kids playing in/under the Spring blossoms…

so I am going to slip in a few (a lot) of extras this week! =)

(pale) Pink

Everywhere I turn I see PINK right now!

even Merlin added some pink

how rude Merlin!

Fragrant (and pink)

Fragrant (and pink)

Fragrant (and white) =)

The blooming trees & flowers put a song in my heart =)

I heart Spring!

speaking of songs …

Life

the frogs (toads??)  have sprung to life this week/month too!

and they sing their little hearts out every night!

its a soothing sound to me…

Can you sleep when the frogs are chirping away at night?  =)

this frog (toad?) was the size of my hand…

and I Do NOT have small hands!  =)

seriously he was one BIG dude!

He’s Canadian!  it isn’t the frogs I hear every night

now that we are opening windows again!!  *bliss**

I don’t even mind the birds chirping away at 4-5 am either!  =)

New

the kids decided Merlin needed a “new look”

Professor Merlin at your service!

this isn’t the first time they’ve tried this look on Merlin

but he went more public with it this year

SO many people stopped to comment =) ha ha ha

(this one is pink, fragrant and new and life… and obviously spring)

I couldn’t think of anything else for new!

when all else fails recruit Merlin, right? =)

Obvious

is it obvious who Sammy is trying to imitate here??

no?

how about this one?

any ideas?? =)

Jack Sparrow ring a bell…

“CAPTAIN” Jack Sparrow?  =)

no…

I think they look more like zombies too… LOL!

my kiddos have been obsessed (esp. Sammy) with Pirates of the Caribbean

and imitating Johnny Depp (*swoon*)

allrightygoodthen…

Spring weather makes us all a little silly in my house

Sammy wore those glasses in most of my “annual” blossom pics this year

at least he was smiling or happy in most of them! sometimes it is about the memories

not the quality of the photos, right?  =)

Oh… I totally forgot!!

I did have something wonderful for “new” this week!!

a NEW Cookbook!

at the beginning of the week I acquired a copy of the Pioneer Woman’s new cookbook!!

as soon as I got my hands on MY copy of her cookbook…

I promptly made this

Coffee Cream Cake

not to be confused with Coffeecake…no no no!

it is rich…

it is COFFEE flavored goodness

Coffee in the cake, coffee in the frosting…serve it with coffee!!  =)

it is rich

it is amazing… delicious… yummy… tasty… sweet… wonderful…

did I mention rich?!  =)

next time I make it I am going to convert it to gluten free…

because… well… lets just say because I have to… =)

If I had a lot more time on my hands I would attempt to be a food blogger…

I LOVE food!  I love to cook… and I love to take pictures

I just wish I had a lot more time on my hands and a better camera …oh and better indoor lighting in my kitchen… *sigh*  =)

I keep saying I am going to face lift my severely neglected little blog

and start food blogging more… or just blogging more in general…

time management is not my for-tay =)

one day… perhaps… maybe… =)

ok ok..

I better post this and link up before midnight rolls around!

Looking forward to catching up with y’all.

I’ve declared today my lazy catch up on blogs day!

Hope y’all had a wonderful (sunny) Easter Weekend!

Blessings~

Jenn

if you want to link up with this fun photo scavenger hunt

click on the link below and be inspired!

Next weeks prompts are:  Simple, Grain, Transportation, Stitch and Bubbles!

I was getting worried Spring might arrive really late this year

b/c we have had such a wet, cold, wet, wet winter this year…

did I mention it rained a LOT this winter?  and snowed. a lot.

and it will likely rain a lot more … and snow even… between now and summer…

it is the sad sad truth… it will.   =)

I never thought I would even consider the need to be a snow bird…

never mind … I am TOO young to go there!   ha!

I think I will start this weeks Scavenger Hunt with

Sprout/Seed…

anybody know what these fan like babies are??   besides cute?!

It is lovely… just lovely that Spring arrived right on time here in the PNW! yay!

The blossoms, seeds, sprouts, weeds (YES weeds), pollen, the sun,  beautiful SUNSETS

it all happened this week ** m a g i c a l **   ~    **bliss*

speaking of magical… whimsy is magical~ish… right?  =)

Whimsy?? =)  maybe?

this is our view from the upstairs windows in front of our house

they are dirty filthy and still covered in plastic wrap  ..lol… (winter seals)

this pic was taken through the said dirty filthy plastic covered windows…

with my snap and shoot none the less ~ I won’t complain (too much)  =)

Create

Sammy has been  “creating” electricity ( on my well used scratched up kitchen table) =)

with this really cool totally awesome SNAP CIRCUIT science kit

did I mention how COOL it is?  =) Home schoolin …mamas it IS worth every penny!

Sammy spent HOURS on “science” last week… all by himself!  HOURS!!

Abby even begged for time with it b/c she never got to play with cool electricity toys in public school!!  ha ha ha

we borrowed the kit… but we might just have to invest … in the deluxe one!

I won’t go into details… the manual is like a lego manual… EASY step by step instructions on how to build each circuit project to generate light, sound, movement, speed, switches to transfer power, etc. etc. etc.   FUN stuff!

Create!  =)

Swing

As a kid I spent HOURS on swings … LOVED them…

my kids… not so much… what??!!

aliens is all I can figure?!!   =)

Dust

I DUSTED these WHIMSICAL wedding cake pops that I CREATED this week …

ah ha ha ha … oh dear…

honestly I found this week challenging… anyone else??

Bueler?  bueler?…

First I struggled with … whimsy??

Um… I do not cross paths with whimsy very regularly… and well… my brain just went blank… I tried to take some pictures of Merlin running.. his ears flapping in the wind.. and his tail so feathery flowing behind him… that reminds me of whimsy?

anyway…this is what I got…

“Charming!”  eh?  =)

honestly I did get a few shots of him running with his tail flowing behind …

but it wasn’t as whimsical as I imagined!

I can’t WAIT to see what y’all captured for whimsy!

Then… I figured dust would be a piece of cake (ha ha… cake pop … piece of cake… *cough* cough* never mind)…  I took what I thought were going to be some “great” dust pictures… I doodled hearts and letters on the dusty base of my lamps…and happily snapped some shots I thought turned out pretty good… and when I downloaded them… DARK… not dusyt!  ha ha ha…

so I tried to snap some shots of an adorable tea pot I received as a wedding gift ( many moons ago…) After a couple years use we chipped the sugar bowl …and UP it went to collect dust…I mean protect it…now it is a kitchen decoration!!  =)  (poor teapot)… anyway… FAIL again.

take three… a cute vintage toy solider my hubby played with as a boy… sits in our living room collecting dust …now that our son is also done playing with him… I snapped a few shots of his shoulders… FAIL again… my camera only wanted to focus on the wall behind it! grrrr!  I almost came unglued…

how can dust pictures be SO hard to capture in my oh so dusty house??

WELL…the fact of the matter is… the LIGHTING in my house SUCKS…plus a temperamental snap and shoot camera… double sucks…  the end.

dusty cake pops is all you get.  =)

Can I share one more FAIL with y’all…

one morning whilst drinking my coffee (bliss)

I looked up and saw this… the sun creating light in the raindrops…

It was the first official day of Spring

the rain drops were sparkling like Christmas lights … green, red, blue, yellow…

it was kinda funny… they really looked like Christmas lights!

not that you can tell that from my shot!  =)  Oh well…

the truth is …I grabbed my camera…and snapped the best shot I could capture… from my window seat… b/c it was FAR too early for me to be getting up to get my shoes & coat to go out into the chilly back yard for the sake of a slightly better photograph … I’m not exactly a morning person.  =)

anyway… a little comedy on the first day of Spring… natural Christmas lights on my fence!  =) the days following that wee Christmas light display …we had SUNSHINE & sunsets!!  =)  My daughters first soccer game of the season was played in the SUN!!  This weekend we mowed the lawn, WEEDED and trimmed …and well… ENJOYED a few days of sunshine…

before reality hits… oh yeah.. we live in WET Western Washington… lol!

Allrightygoodthen… time to publish this post and browse the big wide world of bloggers =)

Do tell … what was your weather like on the first days of Spring????.. .

please include your general location too… I’d love to know what the weather was like last week  across the world … esp.  North America….. b/c I’m weird like that! =)

Have a lovely week y’all!

Blessings~

Jenn

As always… participating in Ashley Sisk’s …Sunday Scavenger Hunt =)

such a fun inspirational way to nudge oneself
to photograph a few things outside of ones box if you will…

I did cheat a bit this week (but it was intentional cheating) =)

**ps apparently my google friend connect/follow feature is gone now??**

I heard rumors that was going to happen … I need to consult my help desk …”honey?”

I hope to pay attention to my blog and redo it anyway… I stripped down my template a few *cough* 6-7-8 months ago … in hopes of redoing it… and well… *cough* maybe this Spring??  =)

Natures Own

natures own way is to drop snow on the PNW in March and even April

when we are all more than ready for the sun… *ugh*

I love how beautiful snow is…. I love the magical way it falls…

I love how it blankets the earth in pure white beauty…

but…the sad truth is snow is not exactly my favorite kind of weather anymore

oh and I do love how you can leave an impression behind

footprints, a snow man, a snow kitty, a snow fort…

but even though it is beautiful in so many ways… snow is really cold

and sloppy and wet and generates more laundry!! enuf said there, eh?!

although I love those snowy prints I took this week …

but this is how I really feel…. go away snow…

my heart belongs to the beach! =)

yep…I’d rather leave my footprint in sand! oops…

that is my dogs footprint !

(and it is from my archives…I’m craving sun people!) =)

People (archives)

I love the beach… I love the footprints  people leave behind in the sand…

especially my peeps…I love seeing my kids blissfully run ahead

and the trail of footprints they leave as they run… makes my heart pitter patter!

you know?

everywhere we go we leave a footprint behind us for others to see

my mind has been chewing on that a lot lately

life is so  precious folks…

I’ve been reminded that one too many times in the last decade

experiencing or witnessing loss  (esp. when someone is “too young”) really makes you think

about their life… and the footprints they left behind

and then you start thinking about the footprint you are leaving behind

and it stirs you to be more intentional about the way you live

I want to leave behind footprints in a direction I would be proud if others followed

you know?  =)

for me that means I want to leave behind footprints that lead to Jesus

to my loving God whom I surrender my life to daily

I want His love to move in and through me

and leave footprints behind that reflect Him.

In the last 4 months I have watched two friends  loose teenagers…

both who loved God with all their hearts and lived their short lives shining His love

what beautiful footprints those young people left behind  =)

the older I get… the busier I get… being a mama…

it feels more challenging to live like that… passionate for God.

I’m not sure I’m making any sense… alas…

life is precious peeps!

Live intentionally.  Love intentionally.   and for me… Seek God intentionally.  =)

anywho… back to the scavenger hunt… focus… =)

Photographers Choice (more archives ~ my heart was at the beach this week)

if this amateur ‘photographer’ could have chosen anywhere to shot pictures this week

it would have been there… (Cannon Beach OR)…

any beautiful sunny beach would do I suppose…its my peaceful happy place!  =)

the beach naturally draws my heart and mind straight to God.

we just booked a condo on the beach (cheap cheap!)

we get to spend a whole week right on the beach in sunny So. California!

two weeks (a month, the rest of my life) would make me even happier… but…well…

Merlin … *sigh*  =)

anywho… the end of June can NOT come fast enough for this chick!  =)

Vintage

this house is being uprooted from its original foundation  (built in the 20’s or 30’s)

I love vintage homes… I rented them for years…

I wish I owned a remodeled vintage home like this one!  =)

(one day maybe?)!!

I laughed b/c the lace curtains are still hanging in the windows

I wonder what else is still in the house

as it is being ripped from its foundation… and sitting a few feet above ground =)

that could make a girl start thinkin deep too… (I won’t go there)

Words

Pyrex… my mama mixed and baked in pyrex…

as do I… I love my orange vintage pyrex bowls from my childhood…

I love my pyrex measuring cups (vintage and new)

though the vintage ones you can not read the word Pyrex or the measurements =)

and I love my pyrex baking dishes…

anyway… I needed some therapy baking this week.

so I made the Pecan Scones from Ree’s first Cookbook!

the coffee maple frosting is to DIE for!  =)

Oh..and I converted them to gluten free… with success!!  YUM.  =)

Speaking of the Pioneer Woman (Ree)… she posted a couple of hysterical stories on the confession page on her blog… about running into stairs, violent static cling… that kind of thing…  Reading her blog is pure therapy sometimes… witty and funny that Ree… I really love to laugh and she has a natural talent of generating such laughter !!  =)

allrightygoodthen

Go and see more pictures from the Scavenger hunt …

or Go and read the funny confessions post on the PW… you won’t regret it!  =)

Blessings y’all.

Jenn

That life will never slow down

I think that as my children grow older

Life will only get busier

I think

I should have been a beach bum!

I kid.  I kid.  (i think) =)

Let’s get straight to it … shall we?

I have had a really busy insane week and I am just too tired to chat.

much   …  (ha ha)

on with the fun & oh so popular weekly Sunday Scavenger Hunt 

(Monday …who’s counting)

the photo hunt  that we all love

Chocolate

Lindt Chocolate Orange Extreme

70 % cocoa powder (i think?)

Oh so yummy!  serving size is 4 squares..

I am happy with 2!

My hubby likes the Lindt Chili Chocolate… yep… chili & chocolate…

I’m more of a mint or orange chocolate kinda girl.

Light

we had a few lovely days/nights this week

just in time to see the full moon…

this is not my best picture of the moon…

but it turned out funky… I like it.

I like how the branches disappeared behind the bright light

even though the bright light was behind the branches.

crazy, eh?

Water

the doc was really “crowded” with sea gulls

and as soon as I turned my camera on more than half of them flew away

over the water  =)

I love it when the water is so smooth you can see the reflection of all the boats!

this photo captured smooth-ish water …but not the smooth-est …

anyway…

Crowded

or not so much anymore!  ha ha ha

see all the poop behind them?? (sorry)

there were hundreds of the little suckers

before the click of my camera turning on skeered them away!

how dare they ruin my crowded shot?!

anywho…

while we are on the subject of  crowded and water

Recently I’ve been blending myself green “water” again

it is “crowded” …er…. packed with protein and vitamins & water!

and I really like them (spinach and all)

I go in and out of my green smoothie phase

usually out in the winter … in the rest of the year

Looks yummy, eh???

no seriously… they ARE!!  =)

This one contains:

Water, spinach, banana, tiny bit of mango juice, greek vanilla yogurt, 3 tbsp almond meal and 1 scoop vanilla protein powder…oh and crushed ice… it blends into 16 oz.  of which I drink 2 8 oz glasses a day.  Protein content is 21 g. Sugars under 13 g. (not including the banana)…

I’m not sure exactly  “how” good for you it is…

but I figure that since its green it has to be pretty good!  right? 😉  lol!

so easily distracted am I…

green smoothies are good for you and yummy… you should try them!

you will like green eggs and ham… Sam I am… =)

sorry I am in that kind of mood again… cheeky!

ok ok.. moving on…

Animal

Tiger is 7 years old… he’s been traveling around with Sammy since he was 2.

Sammy was 2.  Making Sammy 9  now & Tiger 7.

Both my littles are animal babies… still … at age 11 & 9

it will be a sad day when they lay down their stuffed animals

and trade them in for skateboards and cell phones

*sigh*

I was going to show you this picture of Merlin for the animal prompt

b/c when he gets his quarterly shave

you can see his cute little Charlie Chaplin mustache =)

He melts my heart that Merlin of mine… (stupid dog)  LOL

anyway

I decided to show you the Animal shot of Sammy and Tiger instead…. (wink)

so this post is very late in coming…

I’ve been buried under paperwork this weekend (spilling into today)….

Refinancing paperwork.

Home schoolin paper work (correcting papers)

planning a vacation paperwork. *yay*

resume paperwork.

you get the idea.   busy weekend.  😉

anyway… sorry I am so late to join the party.

Cheers!

Jenn

It is POURING rain outside today and I guess our March routine is about to set in

Rain, Rain and more Rain along with Soccer, soccer and more WET soccer =)

if we are “lucky” we might even see snow… *sob*sob*sob*

**I NEED to live somewhere Sunny**sigh** if only my family would agree to moving =)

away from family, friends, church, our settled lives…its worth it… isn’t it?

** for a little sun**  =)  ha ha ha

alrightygoodthen … now that I have that out of my system

moving on to the weekly “Sunday” Scavenger Hunt =)

Here are my interesting interpretations this week:

Routine

Confession:  one of the reasons I am not as present in the blog world as I used to be:

Books. I’ve been reading a lot of books this last 9 months or so

Reading has become part of my weekly routine now.

10 – 11 years ago  when my  babies came into my life… I stopped reading.

who has the time?  diapers, feeding, laundry, cuddling, not sleeping…=)

then toddlerhood came and well… that is just BUSY.. and tiring… and blissfully fun!

as they got older I started home schooling and well… personal reading disappeared!!

I am loving my new routine of reading real books… flipping page after page…

enjoying the suspense of what will happen next =)  glorious!

the book  above was FABULOUS!!  history & fiction beautifully penned together!

by Jane Kirkpatrick … I plan to read a few more of her books…

I highly recommend The Daughters Walk.  =)

Music

I love hearing the gentle tuned music notes that play off of my wind chimes

they have been playing a lot of notes lately as we have had a windy few weeks!

one of my readers recently noted she hated her neighbors wind chimes *cough, cough*

(I wonder how my neighbors feel about mine??  they have never said anything?!!  =)

Technology

seriously…even the animated Lego Johnny Depp is handsome!

and the animated Lego Orlando Bloom…

they look so much like themselves it is uncanny!  =)

**swoon**

ha ha ha…

I love technology!  LOL

Show Me Your Style

another confession:  ok ok …this is not my style .. its my sisters!

a gold nose upon her wall

I have always LOVED my sisters nose!

one year I bought her a stone bookend with a giant smile on it…  just teeth and lips.

I loved it… I figured she would too… given her love for her nose…

she keeps it…but I know she does not love it as much as she loves her nose!

is it just me or are you finding this dialog funny?  =)

I am cracking myself up… =)

I am in a cheeky mood today!  ah ha ha ha

cheeky… get it??  nose, lips… cheeky…

nevermind… =)

Mismatched

yet another confession:  I found these two weeks ago in Canada

(oops… archives!!)

I absolutely LOVE them!  I want one or two… heck I’ll take all 3!

if I bought them they wouldn’t exactly match my living room

thus making them mismatched furniture

but I REALLY want one!!  or two! or three!

They are even comfortable and you can rest your arm casually on the short back of the chair…looking and feeling very cool and casual!  I should have taken a picture of my daughter sitting on it just so…

the funny thing is I found a few aqua colored  ones here in Olympia this week!!

of course…. without my camera in hand!

they are so tempting… OH. So. Tempting!

anyway… if you think I was stretching the whole mismatched thing

will these do ??

Mismatched Timbits (aka donut holes!)

A must every time we go to Canada to visit friends or family.

Another archive from a couple weeks ago when Abby and I were on our girly weekend

the day I found those fabulous green chairs!!

we brought some Timbits nhome for the boys!  =)

next time I think we won’t ask for mismatched though…

we will select more chocolate ones for our Timbits box!!  =)

if you are wondering Tim Hortons is where one would buy Timbits …

allrightygoodthen folks …that is all I have today!

if I can tear myself away from my new hobby (reading)…

maybe I’ll see ya all later in the week!

Blessings~

Jenn

ps  Have you been reading any good books lately?

what is your reading style? =)

more Scavenger Hunt interpretations
click below

do you ever just hit that point in the winter …

when you really just need a little time away?  =)

Last weekend Abby and I slipped away for the 4 day weekend.

Thus my absence from the land o blog last week!

A girly trip to visit our beloved friends and family from here to BC.

It was refreshing and fun to slip away from routine and enjoy my little girl

and my sister and her daughter

and my friend and her daughter

and my sister-in-law and her daughter

we had some good laughs with family and friends… just me and my girl!  =)

As you can see… we were a little silly while we were away =)

I actually took pics for the scavenger hunt last week… I just never managed to post em…

I even took a bunch of food pics in hopes of sharing some of my gluten free menu items

oh well… =)  *maybe* I will get to that this week!?

Today… I will join this weeks Sunday Scavenger Hunt hosted by Ashley Sisk

because its fun… and I like it… and I love seeing what y’all come up with during the week!

such creative clever souls in this land o blog!

without further ado… this weeks Scavenger Hunt roundup…

Bliss, Gray, A Glimpse, Crossed and Handwritten

(please note my pics this week are not exactly my best …it was an off week for me)

Bliss (according to a 9 year old boy)

Homemade volcano + baking soda + vinegar = Bliss  =)

We studied rocks, landforms and the like recently …

this was the ‘icing’ on the cake for this round of Science/Geography lesson/session!

Gray

the weather has been “funky” the last couple weeks

where huge gray clouds blow in with wild wind

and then blow out as fast as they came

leaving behind blue sky and sun

every 20 minutes … 50 minutes… 2 hours… gray to blue…blue to gray…

crazy, funky weather lately!

(ps I took that picture while driving *gulp* out from under one of said gray clouds!)

A Glimpse

of Spring… I miss real Sunshine & warmth!  =)

Spring in a pot that is… here in Western Washington

we have snow falls, cold, rain, etc. etc. until early May…

it snows every April… no one believes me … but it IS true!  =)

anywho…

Another Glimpse of “Spring”… kinda, sorta?

again… not my best picture… but what a beauty, eh??  =)

if only I had a fancy camera… *sigh*  (pitty party ..your invited) ha ha ha…

one day I will spend the money and indulge… one day…

anyway… this beauty flew over as I was filling the car up with gas

the same hour I drove out from under that gray cloud…

I took a quick shot of him so my little man with low vision could see what I saw…

and 10 minutes later… gray clouds and rain again!  =)

Crossed

I love the crisscrossed look of a peanutbutter cookie!  =)

I have made three batches of these babies this week!

don’t worry… I didn’t eat them all…

2 batches are headed to our Bible Study group tonight!

want the recipe?  =)

1 c Peanutbutter, 3/4 c Sugar, 1 Tbsp Vanilla, 1 egg & 1/2 c Almond Meal

mix together & bake @ 350 for 10-12 minutes… YUM!  Bliss!  =)

Handwritten

My little girl hand wrote the funniest stick “man” comic today

not only did it make me laugh

but it made me proud of her fabulous sense of humor and wit!

I am a bit afraid to share the whole thing…

I know you all would enjoy it!!

but b/c of the possible copy factor…

even if I water marked the pictures..

it is so simple that ONE someone could hand copy it…

I have not experienced that kind of thing before (that I know of!!)

but I know folks who have… frightening really…

maybe I should have her send it to Family Fun Magazine??  =)

enough thinking out loud…

its time to pack up my crisscrossed cookies and head to Bible Study…

I’ll check in with y’all later!

Looking forward to catching up with you!

Blessings~

Jenn

for more links to the Scavenger Hunt click on the button below!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday *on Monday* =)

as much as I’d love to be on time for this each week

our weekly Bible study falls on Sunday evening

after juggling the children, home schoolin, sports, music, laundry!, life…

most Sunday nights I am just too tired by the “end of the week”   =)

this week was an artsy/crafty week for us which means BUSY… so I was tired!

anywho… with out further ado…this weeks line up…

Facial Features

look at that soft fuzzy snout… I love it!  =)

this sweet little face draws a LOT of attention when we go out in public

seriously… its kind of embarrassing how much attention he gets and hilarious!

here is an example:  yesterday at church an elderly lady approached me

introduced herself and told me she sees me every day at my daughters school

where she goes to pick up her granddaughter every day

and then she proceeded to say… and I quote…

” I was wondering if I could come and meet your adorable dog…he’s so cute with his curly ears, and I love that he has 3 white legs and one black leg… and his tail is always wagging… he is such a beautiful dog… I would love to meet him”…

I nearly lost it laughing… that she knew details about my dog… people notice he has one black leg all the time… I think what struck me so funny is that I feel a bit stalked… ha ha ha…

that seriously happens to us ALL. The. Time.! My husband calls him a chick magnet… but he attracts men too… LOL… he gives us lots o laughs that cute dog of ours…

speaking of hilarious he looks a little crazy in the shot I took right after that first one

big wide eyes

and that smirk!!

Shadow (fail)

blurry.  buzzard.  *sigh*  can you see the double shadow?

it was my only attempt at shadow this week!

*ugh*

Gold

this shot didn’t quite turn out as I had hoped either

but I still like it

I’m “drawn” to it… =)

(I’m a nerd)

Here’s another gold attempt

a friend of mine gave me that gold plated globe  necklace 20 years ago

I still carry it on my key chain… I love it….

Fabric

Abby & I threw a surprise birthday party for our Pastor’s daughter this weekend

b/c the last 2 yrs before & after her birthday one of her grandparents passed away

within one year of each other …both times within days of her birthday…

causing her family to go out of state the week of her birthday 2 yrs in a row!

So…we decided it would be fun to bless her with a surprise party…

she turned 13 this year…

you only become a teen once in your life… it should be special! right?!  =)

I love how the fabric ribbons looked on the chandelier

Spicy

at the surprise party we spiced up these duck tape notebook covers

(yep it is actually called duck tape) funny.

I bought some short 1/2 size legal pads from Office Max

and we made reusable covers for them

(they can change the legal pad out when its full)

they turned out SOOOO cute!

the girls even spiced up the legal pads!

I realize my shots are a bit blurry/sloppy this week…

alas… we had a fun artsy crafty week… I was distracted!!

So I can’t really let you go without sharing Sammy’s art…

here is what he created with the pencils and watercolors…

cute, eh?!~

he takes classes at a public school program for home schoolers

It is such a fantastic program… we love love love it!

anyway his teacher asked him to make an art project for the School Board

we are giving each member of the board framed artwork from students

to show them how important this program is to many home school kids in our community.

We used  the 1, 2, 3 Draw Knights, Castles and Dragons

by Freddie Levin.. they are great books teaching basic drawing skills

one of the teachers at the program introduced me to those books

we own the 1, 2, 3 Draw Wild Animals … love love.

anyway here is another one he did for himself

the first one we worked on step by step together (me drawing on my own paper)

his turned out WAY better than mine… kinda funny… nope you don’t get to see mine!

Anyway… this one he did free style on his own.  =)

This week we are going to build a volcano!  wish us luck!!  ha ha

Have you ever built a volcano with your kid for science??

if you have any tips… we would greatly appreciate them!  lol!!

Have a great week folks!

Blessings~

Jenn

if you have never participated in Ashley’s photo scavenger hunt…

click on the link and go check it out!