Planning A Vacation

 Ready to pack and get away for a few days or a week? It's time to plan a vacation and get a fresh start on the spring season.

That is something we haven't done lately. Unless you count 2 years ago we had a weekend vacation in Destin. The big plans there were for daughter's wedding on the beach. It was both a little vacation and a lot of work.

We haven't had a planned vacation since the kids were young. We've had our share of vacation trips to Disney World, vacation trips to the Florida beaches, vacation trips to the mountains, and week-end side trips to nearby places.

So let's plan a vacation, shall we?

What is your favorite environment? What time of the year do you like to vacation? And of course, the budget?

For me, it's easy. I don't have to think about it. I love, love, love the water. So anywhere on the water or beach in the hot summer sun is all I need. And I don't need a lot of money. I can be frugal all week and forego the splurges and just have necessities like a hotel room, food, gas and vehicle, and a few sight seeing expenses.

Though, husband would chose The Smokey Mountains for sure. And that would be nice.

Planning begins!!

beach from last year

I am linked with Oh Happy Day and Owl Always Blog.
I am participating in NoBloPoMo for the month of April's theme  fresh.

gin

Tracking Plans

Sometimes things don't go as planned. But they work out anyway. You  take the plan and the not so planned.

Sunday ended not exactly as planned.  One group arrives at 12 noon, starving, ready to eat Easter dinner. Next group arrives at 1 pm with a fussy baby with a temp cutting first tooth. Another  group telephones and explains they're not coming, baby woke up sick and on their way to after hours clinic. Then MIL telephones and wants to come visit her grands and greats, but needs someone to go get her because thunderstorm advisories are out (she doesn't drive in the rain), but not to pick her up till after 1pm when she got home from church. At last, those who arrived are seated and fed, and MIL is ready to leave.

My Easter plans were everybody together, bright sunshine, green grass, and 2 happy babies with Easter eggs and baskets for pictures of the day, Not happening. Thunderstorms have set in, one baby not here, one baby fussy.

Called to check on other group with sick baby. Their response, "can't find anywhere to get  good take-home food for Easter dinner after leaving after hours clinic" and "this is not how we planned baby's 1st Easter."

I am sad.

 Saturday was not planned but we left on a trip about 45 minutes away to baby #2's beauty pageant her mom put her in. She won 1st runner up, most beautiful, prettiest eyes, and people's choice queen. A very good day for this little one.

Back to Friday with me working an unscheduled day, even though I needed to grocery shop and clean house. So stayed on the phone giving husband a shopping list and begging him to clean or at least do a few things in the house for me. That worked out better than I thought or planned. I might do this more often.

When things go array, one may have to take a fresh new approach. It may not be what was planned, but may have to move to Plan B.

I am participating in NaBloPoMo for the month of April's theme fresh. 
I am linked with Meet Me Mondays Blog Hop.

gin

Madness

Looking at the calendar March is a very long month.

• 31 Days
• 5 Sundays
• 5 Saturdays
• 5 Payday Fridays

PLUS

• Spring Begins

AND

• The Easter Season

BUT,

• It has actually been the best month of this year so far. 

March has kept me busy with work, babies, birthdays, Easter preparations, a 5k race, and the home front. There are 3 days left in the month for my March Madness.

One picture from this happy  month.                    
An in and out picture of one of my sisters at the 5k
before we start the race.
It's her birthday month and I'm wishing her a happy birthday.
Gotta love random pictures!






gin

Pink Easter

I am not a photographer. I repeat, I am not a photographer.

I am a lover of photographs, though. I have to have a physical photo, not just kept on my computer or kept on my cell phone till it gets wiped out or kept on an SD or any other hi-tech device. I have to have photo albums and photo boxes.

My latest photo shoot was this week. I couldn't resist. I did get this first shot idea from Pinterest, with my own revisions. Then, we just rolled with it.

Lighting and focus is not my strong point. Though I do try.

I have a lot to learn in photography skills, but these are still a keepsake.

I am linked with 504 Main by Holly..






gin

Celebrate

It's almost here. The day we acknowledge Easter Sunday. Every Easter Sunday of my entire life has been spent celebrating Easter Sunday in both the Christian faith and in the secular activities. Can you do both? Yes. An Easter Sunday service with all emphasis on Jesus dying on the cross, the empty tomb, and his encountering people who knew him before he ascended into the heavens. And then, a family together day with dinner, the easter baskets, candy, new outfits, hiding eggs. It's been a tradition to do both. I can remember from way back when as a child. And I have continue to instill that tradition in our own little family and now in their little families.

I can't wait to share Easter Sunday with these two little ones. One smiles all the time. One will out stare you..

.

How do you celebrate Easter?

I am linked with The Night Owl Blog Hop and Dysfunction Junction.

gin

Happy Hopping Bunny Banner

Making a bunny banner, (at the last minute), is simple, easy, quick and fun.  Ideas are everywhere in magazines, on tutorials on the internet, and believe it or not you have some ideas in your head. Use your imagination. Use what you have in your craft stash.

This is how my bunny banner was made. The picture  collage is numbered and the numbers correspond to the following.

1) Supplies need: bunny template, card stock, scissors, hole punch, pencil, and roll of some type of ribbon, twine, etc. You could use printed scrapbook paper in place of the card stock or spray adhesive to the paper and adhere printed fabric to the paper. I had a spool of wired pom poms that I used to string my bunny banner together.

2) Cut bunny template out. Trace and cut out the bunnies.

3) Have a nice stack of bunnies ready for stringing together.

4) Hole punch 2 holes between the ears on each bunny. Begin stringing the bunnies together from the back of the bunny.


5) Voila! A hopping bunny banner sure to add a cuteness to your Easter celebration.

I am linked with Oh Happy Day and A Crafty Soirée. 

gin


 

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Oh Happy Day

It's been a blur for 10 days now. Nothing but work 10 days in a row. Nothing but work 10-11 hours a day.
I  even missed the first day of really knowing its spring with everything being a neon yellow-green with the pollen coating every single thing. Although, deep down inside, I really like the first sight of pollen.

That is all behind me now. The daylight savings time change is being enjoyed immensely. The pollen is being swept, blown and washed away. And I am getting the outside garden fever. It's all  coming back to me now. And I am happy once again.

Working a lot now and then is fine. Cause it's really all about the money you know. Well, it is for me. I work and in return I receive money. That's how I survive. So a little bit of extra work for a short time equals a little bit of extra cash. Simple!

I am refreshed now. A nice long deep breath. Back on schedule. Ready to welcome spring. Easter projects all lined up. I missed life. Was it worth it? Sometimes a girl has to do what a girl has to do.

Easter baskets are going to be gift bags of the Easter variety. Purchased for $1 each at the Dollar Tree. My thoughts are that the parents of my babies don't need extra real Easter baskets to store or stash away every year. So my intentions are these bags can easily be stored, recycled, or even in the garbage if babies destroy them. Since babies don't eat choco Easter bunnies and candy, these are filled with baby friendly items as disposable bibs, baby Gerber snacks, summer outfit,  summer sun caps for him and head bows for her.  They are cute. Better get yours now. They sell out fast.


Got greeting cards signed and addressed and ready to be mailed. Some family and friends are celebrating wedding anniversary and birthday. There are special Easter Cards to mail to special people. And a congrats card, too.  All different colored envelopes mimic the dyed eggs that will be done next week. Even though I mail greetings thru the USPS, I will still contact them via phone, text, facebook, blog, in person (hopefully), and all the other contactable ways that we use everyday. So they get extra greetings for the special day.








Only a few things left for March projects to do.  There will be a few Easter decorations I need to finish and show you and the fun project of dyeing eggs for Easter Day.

I am linked with Oh Happy Day.


gin

Bday

Last Wednesday was the best day of February. Birthday happiness for me  lasted thru the weekend. Big and little surprises have been mine for 5 days. The author of Sharing Daily Steps, has proved herself again by showering me with touches of bday surprises day after day . Being all about family probably has a lot to do with it.

I share my Bday with the author of 40 Shades of Pink. We haven't met for our bday celebration yet, but it is on the agenda. We have been doing this for quite a few years.  A few of us will gather and eat for a ladies day for a sweet Bday time and just being ourselves. Being all about family probably has a lot to do with it, too.

Add to all this  another Bday 3 days after mine. That would be Julie. We share a cake, a meal out with family, and a gift or two.  Being all about family probably has a lot to do with this, also.

There was 2 cakes, candy and cards and cash, books and calendars, kitchen gadgets and cooking goodies, and gift cards just to name a few of my gifts for the week. I like birthdays!

It was a Happy Bday to me and all those I shared it with.

                                         
         
gin                                            

After the Race

The race has come and gone. I was ready for it. But it certainly was here before I knew it.

The Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure was Saturday at LSU.  7am came bright and early for the time for us to meet and leave to arrive for the early bird specials like visiting all the sponsoring tents for freebies; to enjoy the band while we mingled around until the 8.30 5k staring time.
                                                       

Our team was at the starting line ready to go. My idea of a Saturday race day was to be warm, sunny, and fast. The real race day turned out to be around 40 degrees to start with. It was sunny with blue skies and windy. So instead of my idea of our team in matching t-shirts, it was each one for herself in layered shirts, jacket and hoodies and warm long pants.

                                                    

The runners were as far as you could see front and rear. See, we really weren't the first in line.

So from the starting point, thru the campus, around Tiger Stadium, up the hill, around the lakes,and Sorority Row,  to the finish line, we made it. We really didn't  run. We were a fast paced walker.

            

As we came thru the finish line, the clock showed 1:12:26. So that is approximately 20 minutes per mile for us in a group of approximately 10,000 people, of which only a few experienced runners raced for their best time to compete for medals in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in their age category.


To sum it up:
  my first 5k
  my training for about 6 weeks got me running 1 mile in just a wee over 12 minutes
  we didn't actually run in this 5k, we walked at a fast pace among 10,000 participants
  it was a fun experience to raise money for a cure

                                                                      

Have to show my team t-shirt design. White shirt is the affliate t-shirt we got when signing up. The green shirt is our team t-shirt design.

                                                           

Seeing the finish line I felt like I could go another 5K. It was fun with great team mates.

                                              

The end result was to share in Race for the Cure.
The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® Series, the largest series of 5K runs/fitness walks in the world, raises significant funds and awareness for the fight against breast cancer, celebrates breast cancer survivorship and honors those who have lost their battle with the disease. Since its inception in 1983, the Komen Race for the Cure series has grown from one local Race with 800 participants to a global series of more than 120 Races with more than 1 million people expected to participate in 2013.


 I am linking with  A Sorta Fairytale.

 gin