Marley and Me

I've been putting off seeing "Marley and Me" because everyone I talk to says the dog reminds them so much of Billy, and I've heard about the sad ending.... Yesterday, Netflix dutifully delivered the next movie on our queue and it was "Marley and Me." So, we watched it last night. Marcy's been fighting a cold all week, so she was asleep within ten minutes, but I, on the other hand, was GLUED to the screen. I couldn't have fallen asleep if I wanted to. The waterworks came on about twenty minutes before the movie ended and lasted through the credits. And, we're not just talking a few tears, we're talking sobbing, balling, loud cries. I was afraid I was going to wake the neighbors. I scared Billy, and he came and laid with me while I finished watching the movie. I think I'm turning into my Grammy (my dad's mom) more and more - she was a crazy dog person, and when I say crazy, I mean Dog calendar, Dog coffee mug, Dog photo frames, Dog sweater CRAZY....I don't have any of those items...yet...

I will, however, leave you with a few photos (I've got about a hundred) of Billy and Sadie (my dog that we got when I was in high school, who lives with my parents)

Billy


Billy asleep...he does this EVERY night...seriously...


Sadie Beth - that's her full name


And again...


See, I told you I'm becoming a crazy dog lady...I guess that's better than crazy snake lady...

Free Bakeware

One of my co-workers at Girl Scouts has a blog called Lean with Green where she gives helpful money-saving tips. Today she found a pretty sweet offer for free bakeware (all you have to pay is shipping!). Check out all of Easy Bakeware's cool stuff!! Happy shopping!

Bummer!!

My Etsy customer received her "L" in the mail and hates it!! I am so bummed. Honestly, I wasn't a huge fan of it, but that was mostly because of the creepy mask - which is what she said she wanted. She said she doesn't like red roses, but EVERY Phantom picture I saw had a red rose in it.... She bashed my craftsmanship, and if you know me, you know that I am very particular about my crafts, and this one was no different. I worked really hard on it, and was very neat with my work. You also probably know that I'm pretty sensitive about stuff I make, so this is a HUGE upset. She wanted me to give her a refund but didn't offer to send back the "L." I said I couldn't do that, and so she gave me a bad review on my store... Hopefully this won't deter people from shopping... We'll see.

My First Etsy Sale!!

I had my first sale on Etsy this week!! A girl from Pennsylvania contacted me wanting a paper mache letter "L" that was decorated to represent the "Phantom of the Opera." I'll admit I was a little intimidated by the request. I've seen "Phantom of the Opera," and it definitely was NOT my favorite musical, so I didn't know how I would do designing something for it. Plus, the request asked for a mask on the "L" which I knew would be a challenge. I did some research and came up with this... Feedback, please!!


I've since added some new items to the shop, and I've gone to Joann's to stock up on more craft supplies, so my weekend is going to be spent being crafty...with some breaks to soak in the sunshine :)

I love Kerry Park

I stumbled upon Kerry Park a few weeks ago on my way to the library. It's a tiny little park in the middle of Queen Anne (the neighborhood that Frasier's townhouse was "in" in the show). Now, I'm a bit infatuated with this little jewel in the middle of the city. It's about 5 minutes from work (or 15 if I want to walk there - which is also super nice!) which makes it a great little lunch spot. And THIS is my view....





Pretty sweet, huh...

Oh Canada!

Back from a wonderful trip to Canada!! It was a lot of fun to explore a new city, and a new country for that matter. The last time I was in Canada I was seven years old - people up here are shocked when they hear that, but hey, I'm from Texas - it's a little bit harder to get to Canada from all the way down there, eh!

Day one: We took a ferry from the mainland of Canada to Vancouver Island, and drove to Victoria once on the island. We explored the capitol building, walked around downtown, and relaxed in the hotel spa. We enjoyed dinner at a small pub overlooking the water - I had fish and chips - yummy!!







Day Two: We went to the British Royal Museum (totally cool - I got lots of cool ideas for teaching my Girl Scout troops about the natural history of the earth - can't wait!!). We went to the Butchart Gardens next - AMAZING!! I was in awe of all the beautiful flowers and colors. It was gorgeous!! We ended the day with dinner at the Spaghetti Factory - delicious!!







Day Three: We got on the early ferry to the Olympic Peninsula and explored Olympic National Park for the afternoon. We had a delicious lunch at a roadside restaurant - It was amazing...possibly worth a ferry ride back to the peninsula soon :) We returned home last night exhausted from a fun, jam-packed weekend!!





Full albums from the trip are on my facebook page...if you're interested...but beware - LOTS of flower pictures...I was really impressed...

Where has the time gone??

Do I sound like an old woman saying that? But seriously, it's already JUNE!! Crazy!

Ever since I got back from Texas, it's been go-go-go. The school year is wrapping up, and that means final Girl Scout troop meetings filled with pizza and ice cream parties, Girl Scout bridging ceremonies, reports, cleaning, and the list goes on....all the while, I've been working more hours at Starbucks to make up for not working two weeks while preparing for and being in Texas.

I had a wonderful last few days in Texas. The final Friday night I got to meet some of my Kappa Delta pledge sisters for dinner. We had a wonderful time, and talked blogs, families, and reminisced. Everyone who met up lives in the Dallas area, but some of us haven't seen each other since college. I had a great time, ladies! Thanks for coming!!

Shannon and me at dinner. The last picture I have of the two of us is from our day hike in Palo Duro Canyon - fun times!!


KD Ladies, Pledge Class 2000


My last Saturday night in Dallas was spent celebrating the marriage of Dave and Whitney Pitzer. Whitney and I have been friends since elementary school, all through high school, lived down the hall from each other in the dorms, and were roommates for two years of college. I can't believe she's married!! I'm so happy for her, and I think she and Dave are perfect for each other. I don't have any pictures from the night yet - I'm waiting on my dad to send me the pics - I'll post some when I get them.

I left Texas on Sunday morning, and started back at work with a jam packed week bright and early on Monday!!

Last night was our Girl Scout Celebration at one of our schools - it was so much fun, and the girls were all really proud to show their parents their Girl Scout sashes. Tonight we have another celebration at one of our other schools, and then our final celebration is next week.

Tomorrow Marcy graduates with her Master's in Social Work from the University of Washington. Her parents are in town, so it's been fun hosting them, although with so much work stuff going on I haven't gotten to participate in much. We all leave on Thursday morning to go to CANADA for the weekend. We're staying in Victoria, BC, Canada for two nights at the Queen Victoria Hotel, visiting the Butchart Gardens (supposed to be some of the coolest gardens in the world), exploring the Maritime Museum, and doing some shopping. I'm really looking forward to the trip - it'll be the first time up to Canada since living in Seattle - it's so close, I can't believe it's taken us a year to get up there!!

Here's some pictures from a few of my last troop meetings at school...

Making slime with 1st Grade


More slime - their favorite activity of the whole year!!


Ahhh, the mess, but oh so much fun!!


My BOC class - each of these girls speak English as a second language, and each of their native languages vary greatly. Sometimes communication was difficult, but totally worth it, with this sweet class.