Happy New Year! Now let me go to bed.

Last year I was convinced I was allergic to cleaning. So this year I didn't even dare try cleaning up after our New Year's Eve festivities. Yet I still spent the entire first day of the new year in bed. Feeling lousy. After NOT drinking any alcohol on New Year's Eve. Maybe I'm just allergic to New Year's Day?

Or staying up past midnight?

Or hosting a party?

Still not quite sure which of these it is. So next year I think I'll change things up a bit.

And drink the night away like everyone else.

Because if I'm going to FEEL like I have a hangover the next day. I might as well live it up a little the night before. 

Ten on Ten: November 2011

Happy Ten on Ten! Today started with the typical school routines. And ended with a little ladies night out. And in between we seem to have done nothing but eat. One of these months I'm going to have to try setting a timer to go off at the same time each hour to record more of the action.

Looking forward to peeking in on everyone else's days here. C'mon and join me.

My cup is full...

I had a birthday. On Monday. Shhhh. I didn't turn a year older. I just had some cake. And got a few really fabulous gifts.

Don't you just love when someone knows you so well that they can pick out the absolute most perfect gift? That's the kind of birthday this was.

My friend, Anne has this killer screen porch. Perfect spot for relaxing after a day at the beach. This summer she added a hand painted wooden sign that reads...

When the sky turns pink, it's time for a drink.

It was love at first sight. So guess what I got for my birthday this year? My own version of that sign. But with a different sentiment. That I adore. And looks oh, so pretty in my kitchen. Thank you, Anne!

BSD wasn't here to celebrate. So I took the liberty of buying my own gift this year. I was going to splurge on a new lens. With his blessing. But instead I decided to buy a pair of shoes. For a lot less. That mean a lot more.

A pair of Tom's for me. And a pair for a child in need. I am happy. If you've ever considered a pair of these, I highly recommend them. They are crazy comfortable. The winter answer to flip flops.

And then, the best present of the day? A special gift made by the Big Ballerina. She didn't have BSD to take her shopping so she had to think outside the box. Not only am I touched to my core by her thoughtfulness and effort, I am also incredibly impressed with her creativity. I think she may be onto something here.

For those of you who don't know, I have a major Diet Coke addiction. Diet Coke from a fountain. With just the right amount of ice. No bottles or cans, please. So for my birthday I received my very own, specially decorated Super Big Gulp. Along with a matching card that read...

"May all your cups be filled with 2/3 ice and Diet Coke."

Now.that.is.love.

Pink Hearts

It's getting to be that time again. People are starting to think about their Christmas cards. People OTHER than me, that is. I'm more of a last minute kind of girl.

So for the past two Sundays I've had the chance to play photographer with my friends' families. Shooting my own family is one thing. But shooting someone else's adds a whole new level of stress. Will they like it? Does my vision match their vision? And how can I get them to do what I want when I can't yell at them like I can my own peeps?

I'll update you with the details after I've shared all the photos with the families. But I just have to share these two now. Not exactly Christmas card pictures, but umm....the pink hearts? LOVE!

Surf Chicks

I know it's October, but there are still those two summer events that I have yet to document. I really need to get them posted before I can move onto pumpkins and sweaters and boots. If you're completely over swimsuits and sunshine, I apologize upfront for this annoying reminder.

This summer BSD resurrected his surf camp. When the neighborhood kids were all younger, BSD took them out in pairs and taught them all to surf.  This was the group in 2005. Just to give you a bit of perspective, the boy directly behind BSD holding the board is now a senior in high school. Boy, how time flies!

The boys above are now all very proficient surfers. So this year surf camp was just BB and her friend, S.

Surf camp always starts off early in the morning with a nutritious breakfast.

So that campers are strong enough to carry their own board.

They learn to survey the ocean to decide if it's safe to go out.

Some days the waves just don't cooperate.

And some days they do.

This year the girls were able to paddle into their own waves without help from BSD. 

So now there can be more days like this.

Yes. Both BB and her friend, S earned their diplomas. They are officially "Surf Chicks" now. And to celebrate we ended the week with a sunset dinner on the beach.

The Big Ballerina may have earned her diploma. But we still have one more ballerina to go. Somehow I don't think it will be long now though.

Fish Sticks

We did our fair share of thrifting this summer. Lots of fun finds to share. But one of my favorite scores was a pallet of old fence pickets. I'd been hoping to find some of these for a good long time. Ever since I spied some that were turned into fish.

Luckily, BSD is getting pretty darn handy with the woodworking tools these days. And he was able to make these....

 

From these...

Well...not all by himself exactly. Nope, we had a little help from our friends. In the form of a Fish Sticks and Friends Fiesta. 

We set out some tables. And some paints. And some drinks. Of course. And went to town.

The ballerinas and their friends got busy too.

There may have even been some input from a chicken or two.

And when the sun went down. We moved the party indoors. We wanted to serve fish sticks for dinner. But spaghetti and peach cobbler seemed a whole lot easier. 

 And a lot more fun too.

 

I love these little guys! They are so bright and happy.

Luckily, we still have enough pickets to make....oh, say another 200 or so. Anyone wanna come over for a Fish Stick Fiesta?

Hurrication Irene

I'm so far behind on this blogging gig. It's really quite depressing. There are so many memories I want to be sure to preserve here, but I can't find the time to do it the way I want to. Once the ballerinas go back to school, hopefully, I'll get a chance to sit down and record them.

But, thank you to those of you who checked in to see that we were ok after the "big" hurricane. Yes. We survived Irene. And the earthquake. Even though we were only 19 miles from the epicenter. It was a close call. But luckily, we're all still alive. Crazy world we're living in these days. Maybe Nostradamus is right? I'm starting to believe...

The Irene predictions were starting to get a little hairy. And we'd been talking about taking a little road trip all summer. So we joined forces with some of our best buds. And hit the road for a little hurrication.

After some major yard securing. And tree trimming. And coop relocation. We were ready to go. But the chickens had other ideas. Dixie decided, "Hell no, we won't go!"

Luckily, the story has a happy ending. That includes BSD stripping down to his tightie whities.  And diving under our deck. I'll spare you the rest of the details and photos. Although our neighbors had front row seats. As they were up on their roof. Doing their own hurricane prep. You can email them if you want the insider scoop.

Six hours. And one quick sanity break later. 

We made it to the mountain resort located ONLY THREE HOURS away from our home on the coast. Where we watched the hurricane happen live. On TV. Instead of outside our kitchen window.

We partied. And napped. We read. And played.

There was food for days. Good wine. And good music.

Endless rounds of Crazy Eights. Continual pick-up games of Bananagrams. And a tense game of Pictionary on the last night.

There was wine tasting.

And mini golf.  

 

Followed by a side jaunt to a quaint town. Where we got our junk on.

And our pizza on.

Found a fab indie book shop. And picked a few too many peaches.

Something about the country had us wondering if we could ditch our beach life and move. Maybe it was the ice cream.

Or the scenery.

Or the fact that we're chicken farmers now.

I'm not sure we're ready for such a drastic change. But it's nice to know we're covered. If we do decide to pull a Green Acres.

Top Five Things I Learned During our Hurrication:

1. It's awesome to vacation with people who have better music on their iPods. And who can perform live.
2. The spelling gene is passed down by the father.
3. Our early bird personalities may be found annoying by those who prefer to sleep in. 
4. My family is not going to strike it rich on Win, Lose, or Draw. We're more WipeOut material.
5. Ballerinas have REALLY stinky feet.