Mental-pause???

oooooooooo-----kkkkkkkkk------- my brain has taken yet another "mentalpause" moment... i cleared my schedule this afternoon so i could go to my dr's appt... you know, the yearly "blah, blah, blah... how are you feeling... blah, blah, blah... we need to work on that cholesterol... blah, blah, blah... are you getting enough rest and exercise?... blah, blah, blah... here, change into this gown... " yeh, that! lol so, i get there, ACTUALLY find a parking spot that i don't have to hike five miles from, and i walk in the office door AND i'm 5 minutes EARLY! yeh, me! go figure! i sit there and read my book... after what seems like AGES the receptionist calls my name and says... "ummmm, your appt isn't until next thursday..." as she looks at me rather curiously. ok, yeh, i'm a complete and utter dork! lol i look in my date book (because yes, i totally had to resort to using one!) and sure enough... there it is! NEXT THURSDAY! but i also, for some unknown reason, had it under todays date too! *sigh* oh well, it gave me a chance to get out of the house and... well, just "be"! lol now i'm home and back to normal stuff... more insanity! i think i'll take my granddaughter swimming before i have to cook dinner...

Creativity is FLOWING!

oh my goodness! i received my pkg in the mail for the 10 item swap challenge i am participating in... and oh wow! i'm so excited! my partner sent such wonderful items and immediately i could picture in my mind what i wanted to do! things just fell right together and i was able to pull all the pieces i needed... i used things that i had gotten a few years ago and i remember thinking at the time "i don't know what i'll use that for, but i'll use it for something! i know i will!" lol and i did! i'm so psyched! i will be getting some pics of the finished project later today and i'll have to post some. i can't wait for opinions! ok, it's off to the mundane world of housework for me, at least for a little while!

sunburns and dotee dolls...

i made my first "dotee doll" last night to practice for an art swap thing i will be participating in. i had so much fun! i know she's not the best in the world, but i think she turned out rather well! i'm going to be sending her to my neice jenna. here's a picture of her:



SUNBURN! ACK! lol yep! first one of the season! didn't even think about it. over the top of my shoulders/upper back and my neck. not like blistering or anything, but definately red and it was radiating heat last night! i just got a little bit of pink on my face, just enough to see that i have a little bit of color. i have to get my mind back into "summer" mode and make sure to put on sunblock! other than that, our first day with our pool was very enjoyable to say the least.

OMG! THE POOL FEELS SO GOOD!!!

well! let me tell you! i haven't felt this relaxed in i don't know when! spent an hour or so in the pool with my granddaughter and i just might get back in there later! if there was ever any doubt in my mind over getting a pool (which i'm not sure there was, but maybe) there isn't anymore! lol just lovely lazing around in the water, sunshine, slight breeze, cool water... oh the joy!

the only other thing i've accomplished today is making appts for the mom's dog and one of our cats at the groomer for monday. boy do they need it! badly! phrankie, our cat, is a persian and he has so much hair it's absolutely horrible for him in the summer! we usually get him a lion cut and then by winter it is grown out enough that he stays warm and by late spring he's ready for another cut! works out well. rudy, mom's dog, is just shaggy looking and that isn't right for any respectable cairn terrier... even if he is a bit too chunky! so we'll get them all spiffed up and pretty.

i'm doing my best to keep things organized so that i can really work in more art time for me and elena before she has to leave at the end of the month. i'm really enjoying spending creative time with her! tomorrow her best friend here in kansas city (just happen to be very good friends with her mom!) is coming over to have some outside pool time and some inside art time. i can't wait! the kids have so much fun together and they only get to see each other a couple times out of the year now that our son and his family have been stationed elsewhere. i do hope elena and laura stay in contact throughout their lives, that would be quite interesting.

ok, i'm off to more productive persuits. have to go switch out the laundry so people have clean towels to dry off with when they get out of the pool! bye for now!

oh this puppy!!!

boy oh boy! this puppy is something else! he is serious about his toys!
LOL check this out!!!



that sad blue thing is one of those stuffed dachshund looking toys from petsmart... it is bigger than he is! well, it WAS bigger than him! lol see all that white stuff all over the floor? no, i'm not just a bad housekeeper! that's all the stuffing! lol he was shaking it like he was an attack dog! lol we're going to print the picture and take it, the toy and the receipt showing when we bought it and go into petsmart! LOL let 'em put THAT on a commercial! LOL

Let's Get to Know Each Other And Play 20 Questions!

(Please copy and paste into your blog and leave a comment here with your blog url so i can see your answers too! thanks!)

1. What is your favorite Summer Drink(s)?
ice cold peach tea!

2. What is your favorite Summer Activity?
anything where i can stay inside where it's nice and cool!

3. If you could spend a lazy afternoon reading, what would be in your hands?
a good novel, fiction or nonfiction

4. What is your favorite type of craft/art medium?
ATC's and Altered Books

5. What is one art/craft supply you absolutely have been dying to have or try?
i want a full size paper cutter, you know the kind they had in school to cut papers? the butcher block base with the heavy metal handle/blade? i want one so bad!!!

6. What are your favorite colors in our 'rainbow sherbet' theme?
Pink, lime green, yellow, orange, aqua (or blue)pink, lime green, aqua

7. What is your favorite sweet treat?
reeces peanut butter cups

8. Are there any craft or art supplies you would NOT be interested in receiving?
no, not really! lol

9. What is your favorite song today?
True Blue by Cris Williamson

10. How do you 'pamper' yourself during the hot summer days?
hmmmmm... let's see... curling up somewhere cool with a good book when i can be totally alone and get lost in whatever i am reading.

11. Do you have any kidlets or pets?
4 human children, 3 human grandchildren, 2 dogs, 3 cats, 8 sugar gliders, 3 ratties, and one granddog!

12. What is your best potluck dish for summer get togethers?
green fluff!

13. If you could take a summer vacation anywhere, where would it be?
gosh! that would be a hard one to decide! i have no idea...

14. Describe your decorating style. Does that say anything about your personality?
comfy, casual but nice, i love rich deep colors like jewel tones

15. What are your initials?
R A G

16. Why do you like to join swaps?
because i love seeing how creative people can be and i always learn something new!

17. You have 25 dollars to spend just on you for a little treat. What do you buy? (you can list more than one thing)
i want you to go to the recycle room at the childrens museum! whoo hooo! you can get a couple shopping carts full of art supplies with that! how fun!

18. What's one craft supply or art supply you absolutely can not live without?
scissors!

19. Who's the last person you hugged?
my granddaughter elena

20. What's your favorite number and why?
i really don't have one... sometimes i pick 7, or 4, or 9... i really don't have a single favorite number.

we're on our way!!!

well, they brought home the pool yesterday... and the box sat in the garage while it stormed all night. lol but that's ok, everything can't happen all in one day. they just got back from picking up the sand to lay out under it. so we are definately on our way to swimming! well, maybe not swimming, but lounging in the water! lol i mean you can only do so much swimming when it is 15ft across and 4ft deep! lol but oh how nice it will be when the weather is hot and yucky! hopefully we can get it set up and started filling by tonight! we might be able to swim by the end of the week! lol