random tuesday . . .

It feels like it should be Friday . . . it is only Tuesday.

It has been a hectic, chaotic . . . yet great day so far.

I am in the kind of mood that I like to be in . . . I should probably warn my family.

summer hair . . .

My summer hair for 2019.  I have a new boss this coming year.  I forgot to tell him that I do this at the end of the school year and it may have caught him off guard . . . or maybe not.   This was a couple of weeks ago . . . it is fading into a fun pink/peachy color.  There was some bright yellow in it that is hard to see in this picture.  I wish I would have added more yellow . . . maybe next time.

Where have I been?  I haven't posted in so long.  Let's see if I can get back to blogging this summer.   Happy Friday!

today is a good day . . .

Life seems to be a little more simple to me these days.

Don't get me wrong . . . it is crazy, hectic, and sometimes way more complicated than I would like it to be, but something in me over the past year has shifted.  

Life 

is

Beautiful!

celebrating . . .

I tend to take very few pictures at weddings . . . especially when it is someone I love.  I want to enjoy and celebrate.  So I have very few pictures of Sarah and Daniel's wedding, but will share a few that I  do have.  This is Sarah and her Uncle Whitney . . . an emotional dance . . . with Sarah missing her father on her wedding day.  Sarah was such a beautiful bride!

There were these two "Bridesmen"

 . . . and these three characters.  

How they make me smile!

. . . and always some crazy Grandma love!

Beautiful wedding!  Fun night . . .  celebrating love and family!

Life is good . . .

 My birthday crane!  

Avery's first visit to the zoo.  

Birthday wishes . . . . 

The kind of silliness that makes you smile . . . and touches your heart. 

An eye popping zombie toy . . . because my desk needed one.

(Some people just get me.) 

Getting a whole bunch of wishes from Charlotte!

Life is Good!

flashback friday . . .

This photo popped up in my Time Hop app this morning.  It made me laugh and it made me remember me - back then.  I was probably 21 or 22 . . . quite a few years ago and a lot of life between then and now.  Sometimes I look in the mirror and wonder what happened to her - but when I think a little more about it . . . I was me then and I am me now . . . with some changes of course.  Life and time have a way of doing that.

My word for the year is CHANGE and this photo got me thinking about that also.
I'm still working through what changes I need to make.  Some of them are simple . . . some of them not so simple.  In fact, some are extremely complicated.  Wish me luck with those.  :)

I am feeling the need for change . . .
. . .  but maybe I am just becoming more myself. 

Paint Night

Jennifer and I were sitting at my table one night . . . and she informed me that she had just signed us up for a paint night.  When she showed me the painting that we would be doing I understood why she decided we needed to go.  This is a busy time of year for me with the school year ending and getting ready for next year.  Also - once school is out we work four 10 hour days, which usually turn into 11 or 12 hour days for me . . . so by the time this night came around I was exhausted and the idea of going someplace at the end of a long work day seemed like more than I wanted to do . . . but how could I pass up painting?  Of course - I ended up having a great time and I am so glad that I went. 

This paint night was by no means instructional . . . in fact we had to hold our hands on our canvases and vow to not say things like,  "I messed up." . . . or "Mine is awful."

We were there to have fun and relax . . . and paint.  I love to paint - so of course I was going to have fun!  As much as I love skeletons . . . I am really not so sure what I am going to do with this painting, but I do have some ideas to turn it into something fun to hang up on Halloween.

A couple hours of painting . . . and a couple of Corona's with salt and lime . . . and the thoughts and any stress that I had from that 10 hour work day were gone. 

Now Jennifer wants to sign us up for another paint night.  

christmas tree farm

The light in a child's eyes is all it takes

to make Christmas a magical time of year.

We took Charlotte to pick out a Christmas tree on Saturday.  It was a beautiful day . . . a day of train rides, suspension bridges, rusty tractors, stone castles, flowers, and Santa Claus.  We found a beautiful tree . . . (which I didn't even get a picture of.)  

My fake tree is boxed up this year . . . after the great day we had I may never use it again.  

be thankful . . .

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving this week.  Although I seem to be hearing more about Christmas than Thanksgiving.  I am trying to ignore that and enjoy this last week before the real holiday craziness begins.  I thoroughly enjoy Thanksgiving . . . no huge build up, no shopping necessary (other than food), and I am surrounded by the people I love.  

I also get the whole week off from work!!!!

I am thankful for so many things.  I think we all need to remember what we are thankful for all of the time . . . not just when there is a holiday to remind us or when things are going good. 

The recent turmoil in our country has made me thankful for the way I was raised . . . I was raised to care and be compassionate - not to hate.  I was raised to be optimistic and look for the good in people and in situations.  I was raised to believe in a loving God and I have a deep faith that gets me through when things get difficult.  I was raised to be joyful . . . and no matter what life throws at me . . . 

I can always find my way back to that.  

I am thankful for the people in my life.  My family of course . . . near and far . . . still here and some gone . . . those related by blood as well as those that are family because they came into my life and belonged there.  I am reminded daily of the importance of family!  Family is obvious - right? . . . but what about the lady who smiled at me when I was walking into the grocery store (a complete stranger) - such a genuine smile - that it changed my day.  I work with a group of people that make going to work a pleasure . . . my friends (old and new) warm my heart with their thoughts and prayers and laughter and tears.

 I am more than thankful for my husband.  I look at him and know that he loves me and will always love me - not matter what happens between us -  he will always be there for me.  My children and their families are my biggest blessings!  I love when we are all together . . . and I love that when we are - the house is more full than it used to be and when they leave there is a happy mess made by children having fun.  I am thankful for children.  My grandchildren are amazing creatures that make me see the world . . . not necessarily in a new way, but in a way that adults tend to forget.  I am thankful for their magic . . . and that they share that magic with me.

I am thankful for this life . . . with all it's ups and downs and twists and turns.  It has taught me to be strong, and kind, and to choose happiness every day.  It has taught me who I want to be . . . and who I don't want to be.  It has taught me to never give up.  It has taught me the power of prayer and the importance of forgiveness.  Life has taught me to be thankful!

good things yesterday . . .

Yesterday's heart . . . 

 Flowers greeting customers at the grocery store . . . 

 Some more February Valentine fun!

 Charlotte adding her touch to my Day of the Dead table . . . 

I love this little girl and the things she does.

Picking out a fun color for some highlights . . . 

 A new hair do . . . and I love how the red turned out!

photo challenge 1/31/16 . . . self

Just be yourself.  

Let people see the real, imperfect, flawed, 

quirky, weird, beautiful, and magical person that you are.

 My final post for my January Photo Challenge.  It has been fun and gave my creative side the little bit of a kick start that it needed.  I like messing around with photo collages . . . just a simple one of me and some of the things that I like.  Clare, Sis, Mom, Planet, Clare Helen, Amma  . . . whatever name I go by - it's still me.  From baby to nearly 57 years old - it's still me.  

I've changed a lot over the years - its' still me.  

Sometimes I look in the mirror and wonder where that young person went . . . but it's still me. 

 I can say I lost myself a few times along the way . . . but not for long.  

I have learned that I have to be true to myself . . . 

I just have to be me.

photo challenge 1/30/16 . . . once upon a time

Once again please pardon all of the photos.  This prompt, "Once Upon A Time" seemed like a good excuse to walk through the antique stores yesterday.  I loved all the old Valentines.  I picked up a couple of them and found a birthday gift for a friend.  

Once Upon A Time . . . 

 . . . two lovers sat on this love seat.  

 . . . a young mother sewed clothes for her new baby. 

 Once Upon A Time this was creepy . . .
and it still is!

 Once Upon A Time . . . a young woman was invited to a wonderful party.

 . . . she put this hat on her head and walked into the party feeling beautiful
and hoping to meet someone wonderful.

Once Upon A Time . . . 

 . . . memories were captured.  

 . . . gifts were given. 

 . . . and special Valentines were picked out for loved ones.  

Once Upon A Time . . . someone made a phone call

 . . . or typed a letter to someone they loved.  

"Once upon a time there was a boy that loved a girl, 

and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his

whole life answering."  

~ Nicole Krauss