Day Trip to the Arboretum

In an attempt to simplify our crazybusy summer, we decided day trips out of town were the way to go rather than spending the whole weekend away. We have enjoyed getting away to play, yet coming home to sleep in our own beds and not living out of a suitcase has been a nice reprieve. We took a trip to the Arboretum recently to spend the day with my Father and Mother-in-law. We picnicked and grilled, making Sonoroan hot dogs which were delish, and spent the day walking around, soaking up the sights, sounds and smells of the lush plants, flowers and water fountains that surrounded us.

I did not even notice the bug on this flower at first glance!

 We cooled off on the warm day splashing in a fountain, noticing afterwards that it was posted to "Please Stay out of the Fountains." Oops.

Good memories!

~Angela

Dear Self...

I wrote a letter to myself today. I found this great website where you can write a letter to your future self. Meaning, you write whatever you choose and select a date that it be emailed back to you. I opted for 5 years and think I will do this again in 5 years when I get the letter back. It is free and I think an interesting idea. And since it is emailed right to me, it can be as personal (or funny or whatever you choose) as you want it to be.
I chose to write about where I think I will be in 5 years  (I will be 35-yikes!!) as far as career and family. I also wrote about what is going on in my life right now and I wonder if these things will seem so important in 5 years. It seems sometimes the thing that we stress about SO much for several days or weeks really are not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of life..

Anyway, enough rambling, here is the website:

www.futureme.org

I recommend you check it out!

~Angela

Don't Let it Rain on Your Parade

Today it rained. And rained. And rained. Then it rained some more. We had a trip to the zoo planned for today, but we did not let a little (ok, a lot) rain put a damper on our plans. We did not however make it to the zoo. 

Instead we stayed indoors and listened to the thunder. My little girl loves the thunder and we would have a "Thunder Dance" each time we heard it, then wait for the lightning to light up the eerie sky. The sky was an ever changing show of color being painted in hues that are not usually seen in the sky. It was as dark as night during the day and the evening sky brought a brightness to it that was worthy of admiration. And so we admired it...nature's fury at its finest.

Grams checking out the sky

Then we brought the new slide indoors. Just because we could not be outdoors, did not mean we could not play with outdoor toys! Seriosuly, how do you buy a new slide and tell your little girl she can't play on it?

My little girl and her special uncle

Then as the lightning subsided, my brother and cousin vetured out to explore the "Lake Issy" that had been created across the road from the massive amount of rain that had accumulated over a short period of time. They walked through it and we all thought they were crazy until I had an even better idea...

 How about we play in it?!

 Not just walk around either, but full out sprint through it...

There was splashing and pushing each other over and wipeouts. Yes, we were soaked, cold and filthy, but it was fun. Fun in an irresponsible, messy, youthful way that just does not happen often enough. Straight up fun with cousins.

Ah yes, it was a good day.

~Angela

The perfect picture frame- Repurposed!

I got this beautiful print from a friend for Christmas last year:

I LOVE what it says and I love the colors, but I have been searching for several months to find the perfect way to display it. I am embarassed to say it has taken me this long. The print was displayed in my craft room for months with the plastic on it (to protect it) until I found just the right frame.

I stumbled across this frame in my box of things for a garage sale. I decided to toss it out because it was broken in the back. Since I wanted to put the print in the same spot it was (leaning on a shelf in my craft room) so it did not matter to me that the back was broken and the frame could not stand on its own.

I decided to spray paint it black (it was an ugly reddish brownish gold color- very outdated).

I put it in the same spot it was before (shelf in my craft room) and I LOVE it even more now that it is framed!

~Angela

Simplify your Day-to-Day Tasks

We have taken a few small steps to simplify our day to day tasks and they have made a drastic difference in how much smoother our weeks ago:

1. Having a family calendar!!!! And using it. The separate planners/online calendars did not work for us. At all. We now have one spot to keep track of everyone’s activities.



2.  Delegating meal preparation- I am in charge of meals during the week; my husband is in charge of meals on the weekend. (this is why I have become an advocate of eating out during the weekJ). Being that each of us is rather competitive, we are each looking for tasty new ideas to try and share. It has made cooking a bit more fun!

 Here are a few of my favorite go-to recipes:

Thai Curry Chicken Noodle Soup



Sausage & Broccoli & Egg Muffins



Crock Pot Taco Casserole

Bloody Mary Chili

3. If we cannot all get outside as a family to bike/run together, I work out in the morning; my husband in the evening.

None of these ideas are earth shattering new ideas, but they are new to us and have seriously saved us so much time because we understand the expectations and can plan ahead. For us, it works. And if you can benefit from any of these ideas, please do so!!

And for my husband’s help in raising our little girl together, making our house a home I am always grateful.

~Angela