Not just any baby....

She is beautiful and perfect in every way.

I love her and every funny face she makes.

God knew what He was doing when He made babies.
My heart explodes for love for her and the amazing people who made her.

Yes, I'm crying now, thank you.

:)

Thirty-Five

How interesting is this!?
A conjoined Gerber Daisy! This was in the bouquet of flowers that Brian got me for my birthday.
Have you ever seen anything like this before? Pretty wild, huh?

So, I had yet ANOTHER birthday.

That's okay. I'm happy with life and if this is how it goes when you get older, then, bring on the years!

I was a bit sick with sinus junk so I look blah in the picture even with the candle light. Oh, well.

We enjoyed birthday dinner at BJ's. My brother and sis-in-law gave me a gift card. I had the California Club Flatbread Pizza. It was soooooo good! Thank you, Luke and Liliya!

A few days before my birthday, I was in California and celebrated my birthday along with Liliya's birthday at my dad's house. We took lots of baby pics and enjoyed chocolate cake and red wine. It was nice. Thank you, Dad and Nancy!

Since my birthday last year I have (in no particular order): gone to nursing school, done more school work than I ever thought possible, said goodbye to my mom and sister as they moved out of state, bought a travel trailer, felt pretty darn proud of myself, got my RN license, celebrated birth and life of my neice, celebrated our second wedding anniversary, listened to lots of talk radio, became Certified as a Hospice and Palliative nurse, been moved to tears more times than I can count, graduated with my Associates Degree in Nursing, 2 trips to California, and lots and lots of dreaming and planning for our future.

Life is MORE than Good!

Baby fun

Ruthie is 3 months old now.

Isn't she cute!?

She's so fun!

We love to love on her.

That's big sister, Anna, giving Ruthie a kiss.

Ruthie is learning how to grasp now. Isn't that fun, Anna?!

Retro Camera

I love this app on my Droid. Coolest pics ever.

Keeping busy

Since school is now a distant memory, I have moved on to new and fun things!

Don't ask me where I got the idea to start making headbands and clips, but I did. And boy, did I!

I will slip into my "office/craft room" and easily make 5 clips in less than an hour. It's been fun to wear them and give a few away.

I did this with beading jewelry a few years ago and made TONS of earrings and bracelets. I tried to sell some but after the obsession came to an end, I just donated most of what I made to Goodwill. Then I ended up going to total opposite direction and decided I would no longer wear any bead jewelry and only wear pearl stud or real (fake) diamond stud earrings. I have been wearing the same 5 pair of earrings for over a year now. I just love the simplicity and sophistication of it.

I can't say how or when this current obsession will end. I'm just enjoying the ride.

I've been doing a little cooking and not as much picture taking.

Frustrating how life sucks up most of your energy and your day.

We want to get out and play more but we have to .....work.

You, too?! So, you know how I feel.

We really need a vacation but I have this little distraction that takes me away for a week at a time.....

I got a nice visit with her when she was 3 weeks old and now I'm returning to see her at the end of September. She will be 3 months. My husband understands this obsession and the fact that THIS ONE will never end. Love her :)

So, one day, my husband and I will take a vacay together....soon, we hope. I still haven't been to the beach but having a new niece kind makes up for that. :)

I sort of lied earlier.

School isn't a distant memory. I have sorta been getting more education.

I took ACLS and am certified now! That's Advanced Cardiac Life Support. Means I now know what's going on during a code and (gulp) may help out! I am starting a class on Identifying Cardiac Dysrhythmias. It's just a few hours a week for a month. I can't help it. I love learning about the medical field. Someday I will work in the hospital setting again, I just know it. Once this darn economy bummer thing gets better and hospitals decide to start hiring us "new" Registered Nurses. Since I've been working full time now, I've been getting alot of great feedback from people. I feel like I'm pretty darn special and I have alot to give as an employee. I am becoming more and more motivated in my thoughts on where this career can take me. Only UP! I do not want to stay in the same place in life or in my career. I don't mean place as in location. I mean, as in hierarchy. Is that bad? I have big ideas about what I can become. And now that I have my RN, I can achieve those goals. Bring it on!

I will be 35 this month. I love it. I have so much energy and excitement and confidence right now. I think all that was tempered in my 20's by fear. Fear of what I knew or didn't know. Fear of what people thought. Fear that I didn't know what I thought. Fear of being single the rest of my life.

But now, life is full and complete. And where it isn't, I know how to make it that way.

I was watching the movie "Yes!" Man today. I LOVE it! I totally feel like that right now. Bring it on! Korean lessons, guitar lessons, flying lessons, bunji jumping.....I want it all.

Patience. My husband has it. I am learning it. I'm still pretty spontaneous but he is helping me be more level-headed. We research and think through alot of my big ideas or my big "I want this now!" moments. We are perfect together. We are so very different. He catches my enthusiasm and is up for my many ideas and plans. But he is a very slow rolling rock. I think that's what I need though. (although, sometimes when he is at work, I suddenly decide to paint the bathroom and buy new bathroom fixtures!)

I also keep busy by watching my friends lives and kids via Facebook. What would I do without it? (I'd have to get out and make new friends! Yikes!)

And then, of course, there is Delilah. She is a year old now. She's still barely 5 lbs despite all the soft food we feed her. That's fine though. She's perfect. Here she is wearing (tolerating) a teal duct tape bow I made for her.

This is just too funny. It's a mirror image app on my cell phone. She's holding her fluffy green frog in her mouth.

This is getting long. I should blog more often. I just have to add one ironic part to it all.

Despite all the energy that I write about having.....I have dust on my shelves and clothes that have been waiting weeks to be hung up!

There ya have it! Now you know how I've been keeping busy.

Why I love Skype

Flower power

I saw how to make these on a blog but I guess I didn't save the blog so I can't link back to it. Bummer. But I am so happy about how they turned out. So easy and so cute. I wear headbands all the time and have WAY, WAY too many of them. I consciously stopped buying earrings and other jewlery about a year ago and seemed to have (unconsciously) replaced my obsession with headbands.

The pink one is really red felt. The others are satin. I utilized some ribbon and beads I had around the house.

These were made on my first attempt. I only allowed myself to buy 3 different fabrics at the store but now, of course, I want to go back and get ten more!

Canyon Lake

Arizona is beautiful.
We went to Canyon Lake.
This is Canyon Lake. Just 2 hour drive from our home.

This is Delilah. She didn't want to pose for this picture until I said the magic words..."Are you hungry?" Little stinker.

Isn't she cute?

Look, Mom! I can swim!

It was his birthday so I took him camping and gave him a kiss. Happy Birthday, Honey!

Just what he wanted...to hang out with his cute wife and wet dog at the lake.




Here's the lake again.

Here's his cute wife and wet dog.

It was a great setting. Enough people but still pretty quiet. People actually spoke to us! That's a change from our previous trips where we have been in pretty isolated areas.

The water was nice and refreshing. Well, it was dirty lake water, but it was refreshing.

I just loved being so close to the water. I did alot of reading. We didn't have cell service so no wasting time online. We ate well. Spaghetti. Chicken & rice. Hamburgers with mac & cheese. Swimming....er, floating in the lake makes you hungry!

We tried hard to remember when our last camping trip was when we realized our holding tank was full on the second night. (it was just the grey tank (dirty water). not the black tank, thank goodness!)

It was a nice trip. The weather was fun. Clouds the first day. Lots of hot sunshine the next day and even rained that night. It was our first time using electric hook-ups and we ran the A/C the entire time. It was 90-100 degrees so it was great to be able to sleep comfortably. Even if the sound of the a/c unit was so loud we had to speak loudly while inside the camper. Price we paid for comfort.

I can't wait to go back with a canoe and some lifevests so we can explore the lake. Delilah does well with the water. She actually walked out into the lake and swam to me a few times. She quickly figured out which way was the shore when I put her back down in the water. She's not crazy about being wet and chilly but she doesn't hate it. We need to get her a life vest too. Of course she will come with us on the canoe! I can't wait.

We had a fairly easy time emptying the tanks before arriving home. It was only 103 outside so we weren't so irritable like we were back when it was 113 degrees. Actually knowing what we are doing helps alot, too. :)

High School Poem

I was looking for a story I wrote back in high school that has always been special to me. Unfortunately, I can't find it. I will keep looking in my stuff. Until then, I found a high school book of poems that we published in 1992. My poem was selected and is found on page 65-66.

My Life and Me

I was conceived and the journey that is my life began
Inside the womb we swam
Together as one, waiting, waiting....

On my birthday I let out a wail announcing our arrival
The world revolved around my new life and me

My life stayed close to me in those early years,
Keeping me content,
Although I never realized it was there

Through childhood I controlled my life
The only way I knew how,
Moment by moment

Then one day, years later,
The hours in a day didn't seem so long,
And summers passed before my eyes....
I knew my life was passing me by

Now, at the age where I know it all,
All I know is that fiver years in time isn't that long anymore
The events of my life are now in control,
Pressing on, leaving me behind
Where are we going? I don't understand.
What about ME, I cry out.

I look forward to another year
I can't wait to see what is in store for me
If I close my eyes and turn around,
It will be gone

Oh, Life!
Why do you run ahead?
Let's go back to where we first began
Remember all the fun we had?
The memories that were made and kept are what keep me going

Yes, I accept that onward is the only way for my life to go
Yet, I find no peace in this understanding.


I was one serious little kid. Don't worry, I'm alot more lighthearted as an adult.
I distinctly remember thinking as a little 7yr old child that I did NOT enjoy being a child. I could not wait to be an adult so people would stop treating me like a kid and let me make up my own mind! Apparently, my control issues began at birth? The thing is, I was right, being an adult is great! I sometimes will have ice cream for dinner just because I can! I'm starting to talk my husband over to my side, too. He still follows certain rules so deeply instilled in him as a child.
Life is too short! Did you read the poem?! Hello!

Now, go eat ice cream for dinner. Or breakfast!