Bday and Cday

Bday: Someone had two milestones this week.
1. He joined the Jack-o-Lantern Club, lost a tooth!  and
2. He turned six years old, built his own Lego's!  Happy Birthday Johnny Chango!

Cday:  Clear commute on the 710 fwy this morning.  I love those (rare) days when you can see the mountains, downtown, the Hollywood sign, etc.  This picture shows the beauty of Los Angeles and I love the juxtaposition of the God-made mountains and trees and the man-made dinosaur-neck 105 fwy.  What was on the radio?  Why, banda music of course!

President's Day

Contemplated the Founding Fathers by walking around my garden and looking at the flowering plants. I thought about how the nation has flowered, blah, blah, blah . . .

Actually, I spent my time admiring the beauty in nature and the fact that I had a day off from work.  I do believe that the Founding Fathers and the nation, the time off to not work and the garden are all blessings and I am grateful for them.

SoCal

Visited the mission at San Juan Capistrano yesterday for my son's school project.  

 Then we headed over to Seal Beach to walk on the pier.  I love the way water looks and how well it photographs.

Lov(alentin)e

I had a few intense meetings at work yesterday morning.  When I finally made it back to my office, I found that my husband had delivered roses and a box of chocolates.  Everything was right there on my desk.  It was a delightful and unexpected surprise- Thanks Juan!

Preparation V, Part 4

So excited about passing out my Valentines tomorrow.  I know it's silly- I'm closer to 40 than I am to 13 years of age, but the heart does not know that!

Preparation V, Part 3

 The boys are very excited about sharing their Valentines on Thursday.

Here is the front.  I used the custom stamp setting kit from Martha Stewart Crafts for the lettering and punched it out with the Stampin' Up 1 1/4" scallop punch.

The large hearts were cut using Spellbinders' Nestabilities (classic hearts) and the Big Shot.

Each boy had to stamp and sign the back of their card.

The red stamp is a Kaiser stamp (made in Australia) and the yellow lettering is from a roller stamp by American Crafts- Amy Tangerine Ready Set Go Collection, which is a long name for a very cool product I picked up at Michaels.

Overall, the Valentines look like they were made from the heart... and they were!

Preparation V, Part 2

Preparation V

Made some mixed crayon hearts for Valentine's Day with my older sister, Eunice, and my sons.

The boys insisted on using blue and purple, yellow and orange, green and yellow instead of the traditional pink and red.

Next, we decorate them and the boys write Valentine wishes to their friends.

(thanks craft supplies!)

And thanks to whiperberry.com for the inspiration with beautiful pics!

Click here to see the inspiration.

405 fwy N @ 5:23pm

The traffic in Southern California gives me the opportunity to be one with my thoughts.

And I'm spoiled because we have some of the best sunsets in the world and I get to enjoy them on my commute.

Of course, I'd prefer to enjoy them on the banks of a river, near a lake, on the beach or anywhere other than in my car.

Still, I can't complain.

The angle of this picture is so symbolic of my life-
Ni de aqui, Ni de alla.

Always finding a balance...

Can't Hardly Wait

My dear craft supplies: I'm looking forward to using you this weekend.

Another Author in the Family

My son had a writing assignment and I helped guide some of his thoughts to make a real cohesive story.  Man, I miss teaching and also miss seeing great teaching- especially the Writing Workshop time I observed at Independence Elementary School last year.  I'll post the completed story when it's done.

House Plants

While watering my house plants today, I came across the flower of my String of Pearls (Senecio Rowleyanus) plant.  So delicate!