The Joy of Love: Gift From the Heart

BSD is the best gift giver. Not only is he extremely generous, but he puts so much effort into finding the perfect gift. And then he presents it in a special way. I remember one Valentine's Day after a romantic dinner, our server presented me with a little robin's egg blue box with a white ribbon. Yep, a coveted Tiffany's box. Inside was a gold heart locket. The locket now holds a picture of each of the ballerinas. I wear it often. The ballerinas love to open it and see their faces inside.

The most precious gift he ever gave me, though, was my Christmas gift about five years ago. We were searching the Electra site for a bicycle for the Big Ballerina's birthday. I clicked on this frilly, girly, limited-edition bicycle, and oohhed and ahhed over it for a minute before continuing on.

BSD tucked that moment away, and on Christmas morning I woke up to this under the tree...

I have to admit, I was a little irritated because we weren't supposed to spend any money on each other. I think we must have just spent a bundle on something for the house. We promised, "Nothing big."

But, I have so many wonderful memories wrapped up in this sweet cruiser. Every time I hop on I can't help but smile. Because BSD knew it would blow my socks off. And I feel loved.

For Valentine's Day this year, I WISH I could surprise BSD with this beauty. I know it would blow HIS socks off. Can't you just see him cruisin' to the beach in this little cutie?

With one of his retro longboards on top?

That Bronco is parked right along my daily route. I drive by it constantly. I don't know how many more times I can pass it without bringing it home.

In Over My Head

It seems like everyone has a talent. Something they're naturally good at. Maybe it's singing, or swimming, or selling. Everyone has "their thing." Right?

So how come I don't have a "thing?" I like a lot of "things." I ping around from "thing" to "thing." But nothing seems to stick. There isn't one "thing" that grabs me and holds on. Hence, the title of this blog.

One of the "things" I like to dabble in is sewing. I like the IDEA of sewing. I love seeing all the fabulous things people can whip up with a sewing machine. I can sew simple things like curtains. Things with a straight seam. I wish I was better at it.

So what did I do? I went ahead and volunteered to help with the costumes at the Big Ballerina's studio. I wrote on my volunteer form, "I can make....SIMPLE things. I'm good with the glue gun. But I don't think I'm capable of sewing beautiful costumes."

I guess reading is not the people-in-charge-of-the-costume-department's "thing." If it was, I surely would not have been sent home with this...

 
See that stack of white fabric on the right hand side of the Big Ballerina's sewing space? That is a stack of fabric that is supposed to be whipped up into six tunics. By Saturday. Tunics that require gathering, setting sleeves and elastic. No glue gunning required.

See that stack of sewing books on the left hand side of the Big Ballerina's sewing space? That is my attempt at sewing these tunics. Off to the library I went. It's what I do. I research. I gather. I procrastinate. I guess that's my "thing."

What can a person do who is good at researching, gathering and procrastinating? hmmm...maybe write a blog?

If you don't hear from me before Saturday, now you know why. And if the Big Ballerina dances naked in the upcoming Sleeping Beauty performance, you'll know why. Too bad they're not doing the Emperor's New Clothes.

The Ones They Love...

One week down. I'm still cookin' on the Joy of Love assignments. I skipped Friday's assignment because I want to wait until BSD returns for that one. But Saturday's was "The Ones They Love." This was very easy for both of the ballerinas.

Meet Bunny.

Bunny was given to the Big Ballerina when she was born by my mom's boss. Out of all the stuffed animals BB had, Bunny was the one she latched onto. BB's name used to be embroidered across the bottom, but that, along with the stuffing in Bunny's left arm are now long gone.

I can still picture BB toddling down our street in San Diego dragging Bunny behind her. She never went anywhere without Bunny then. And even though she doesn't take her everywhere she goes anymore, Bunny is still the first thing she packs when she goes on a sleepover. I know I'll shed a few tears when she no longer needs her beloved companion by her side at night.

Meet "Bumpies"

Can you tell what it is? This is the Little Ballerina's most precious possession in the world. It is the bumpers from her crib. They have gone everywhere with LB since we removed them from her crib rails. They have been left behind in stores. And I've had to drive over an hour back to retrieve them. The Little Ballerina sleeps with it every night. Cuddles up to it in the car. And cries out for it when she's sad or hurt. Nothing calms her down like her precious bumpies. It even got her through her most recent trip to the dentist.

Bumpies is literally in tatters. I have sewn it dozens of times, but the fabric is completely threadbare. And bits of fluff can be found throughout the house. Time is running out for this loved one. I honestly don't know what will happen when it finally disintegrates. Hopefully it can hang on for a few more years. Or LB will be completely lost.

What She Wore: Then and Now...

I guess I suck at following the rules. Either that or I'm a brown-noser. Turns out today's Joy of Love assignment was What They Wear. I kinda did that on Wednesday. Oops! So, I either get a big fat goose egg. Or an A+. To make up for my lack of obedience I combined What They Wear with Then and Now for today's assignment.

The Big Ballerina started dancing a few weeks shy of her third birthday. If you could even call it dancing back then. She couldn't even gallop. She looked more like a gorilla than a racehorse as she hobbled across the floor. But the smile on her face. And the joy in her heart. Were undeniable.

BB is now one month shy of her 11th birthday. And still dancing. It hasn't been an easy road for her. If she wants this she's going to have to really work for it. Sometimes she does. And sometimes her head is off in the clouds. But the smile on her face is just as bright. And the joy in her heart is just as pure. So we continue.

Here is BB this evening. She is wearing a very special Christmas gift. Her first pair of pointe shoes. Being old enough and strong enough to finally go "on pointe" was like finally reaching out and grabbing that brass ring. Finally being good enough. Finally being...a Big Ballerina.

And the winner of the CSN giveaway is Mandy. Congratulations, Mama! Send me your email address and I'll get your gift card to you right away. Will you be buying something pink or blue with your prize?!??!

I tried to be all fancy and post the picture of the random org generator to show that this is legit, but I could NOT get it to copy. You'll just have to trust me.

Burly Surf Dude: Then and Now...

Today's Joy of Love theme is Then and Now. I love this theme. I really wanted to take some NOW pictures of BSD, but he's not here today. Even so, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to apply this theme to him so I am using a picture I took over the summer. I think it goes well with this THEN picture that an old girlfriend recently sent back to him.

It was ripped out of one of those old sticky-back photo albums. I guess she figured it was finally time to let him go? The top left-hand corner was torn, and the colors were all funky. CRAZY PINK. Which goes well with my Valentine theme. But even BSD was neon. So I tried to doctor it up a bit. I'm guessing he's about 16 here?

BSD has always been a surfer. He grew up in Southern California. And the way he tells it. He spent every day this way. At the beach. Surfing. Without sunscreen.

Living in Virginia now, he still spends every minute he can... At the beach. Surfing. With sunscreen.

When he can't get in the water, you can find him in his "surf shop" shaping boards. 

His hair may be a little darker. His face a little fuller. He may no longer live in sunny southern California. But Burly Surf Dude is definitely still that 16 year old surfer boy at heart.

I heart you, BSD! 

What They Wore Wednesday...

The Joy of Love assignment today was "how they look." You could interpret this any way you wanted, but since it's What I Wore Wednesday, I decided to combine the two. And since this workshop is about love I tried to play up the Valentine's aspect of the outfits they chose for school today when I was editing the photos.

For the Big Ballerina that meant trying to make the pink in her shirt pop.

top - Dillard's

jeggings - GapKids

Boots - Amazon.com

The Little Ballerina was actually a walking billboard for Valentine's Day today. Her shirt was decked out in hearts. Her skirt in frills. But the colors were subdued so we added in her umbrella since it was a rainy day here today. SEVENTY TWO DEGREES...but rainy. It was insane to have such a warm day in the sea of near freezing temps we've been experiencing this winter.

shirt, skirt, headband and leggings - GapKids (gotta love their 45% off sales!)

booties - Marshall's

umbrella - Dollar Tree

OK...and since this IS What I Wore Wednesday, I'll go ahead and post a picture of my outfit too. No fancy processing. Or background for that matter. But hey, I did wear pink too. And ruffles.

sweater and belt - JCrew

tee - Target

jeans - Lucky

necklace - local surf shop

The Joy of Love

It's February 1st! Whoohooo! I am so happy to have January behind me. It was a rough month. Plus, I love February. It's all about Valentine's Day. And hearts. And red and pink. All things girly. Sign me up.

Another reason to love February? The Joy of Love workshop started today. It's all about photographing the ones you love. And documenting a different "theme" each day. And it's free. Take pictures of my peeps? Learn something new about my camera? Sign me up.

Today's theme was "what they do." Of course, I wanted to photograph the Big Ballerina dancing. But today is the one day of the week she has off. So instead, I caught her doing the other thing that consumes the rest of her time.

The workshop is free. And fun. Anyone care to join me? It's not too late. I'd love to have a buddy. It's also not too late to enter the CSN giveaway.  Who couldn't use $25 of free stuff for your home?