Caught big pink teddy trying on a tutu from the girls' "Wizard of Oz" ballet performance (2013)

Super Moon over the Atlantic

Don't just toss those catlogues, you never know when you'll be on the cover:)

It's not everyday that you take your mail out of the mailbox, sort through it, and do a double take when you realize there's a picture of yourself on the front of a catalogue.

tbt Bonus: 15 years ago...our honeymoon

our honeymoon 15 years ago ... In which we take a train from Chicago to Portland, OR ... Visit The Rose Gardens; stay at various lodges and B&B's along the coast of Oregon and Washington; stop in the Hoe National Forest; catch a ferry to Vancouver Island; and hit the Alaskan Inside Passage Cruise from Vancouver...where we spend a week amongst quaint Alaskan towns, whales, harbor seals, salmon, glaciers, and absolute majestic beauty!

Celebrate!

Thinking about my hubby and his family... Wishing his brother Peter, bottom left in the photo (whom we lost just over a year ago) a very happy birthday in heaven 💚🙏🏻
J and his two brothers celebrate birthdays within the same week. (Add into the Aug/Sept bday mix, two nephews, my fairy girl, and his dad who is about to turn 93!)

LWS rehearsal scenes

I haven't played clarinet in over a month because of the events surrounding my recent surgery, and it will probably be about one more month before I get to start playing again (hoping for sooner... it was hard for me to be at rehearsal, NOT playing:).
But the good news, this break is a good opportunity to bring my clarinets in for their "physicals"...it's been about 10 years. I received a call today with the estimates (only half the cost as was originally anticipated, neither will require complete overhauls)....but what surprised me was the report on the Eb clarinet....apparently there are several bent keys, and missing pads....yet I never noticed....played fine to me, haha:)
And the other good news, I may not be on clarinet at the moment, but my camera was in tune:)

Happy National Dog Day

the girls decided to gift Piper with a Swiss Cowbell:

he loves us  :D

back to ballet and tap and lyrical...2015

and they are in the same classes this year...woo hoo!

Dream Crystal, Heart, and Tealight Gem Tray - Mini Altar Set: infused with Love and Reiki

This is such a special set!
I have a deep love of crystals and I've wanted to put together a mini crystal altar for you for quite some time now. As a Reiki Master, and a spiritually-seeking person, I focus a lot on Intention and Energy.....Intention IS Energy! Intention is Magic! Intention is key in Manifesting your Heart's Desires!
**Follow this link to see other mini Intention Altars: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DFInspirations/search?search_query=mini+altar&order=date_desc&view_type=gallery&ref=shop_search **

I lovingly assembled this mini altar to help facilitate very focused intention. What a beautiful way to amplify not only your Dreams, but your Dream-time! This set helps to focus and amplify your Dreams! This is a great set to adorn your Sacred space, your office space, it can even travel with you!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/241387506/dream-crystal-heart-and-tealight-gem?ref=shop_home_feat_4

Coconut keylime Pie

Press in crust:
1/2 pound of crumbled cocnut macaroons
1/3 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of melted butter

mix and beat til smooth:
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup key lime juicer

refridgerate 3-4 hours til set

scenes in Sun City

...(the girls made this...with grandma):

my little pumpkin

my little fall equinox pumpkin reminded me today, that exactly one month from today, I will no longer have any children in the single digits

how much is that doggy in the window?

Errands and Outing on the north side of the bridge...it's been awhile since we had a girls' day out!

Did some "exploring" on our little outing to Lady's Island today....that's where we lived our first 8 months in SC. I miss all our days of exploring and the newness of the adventure when we first arrived to SC.
This fall (when it cools down), I'd like to do some of that again on our Friday Fundays....with Grandma and Grandpa! 
(of course, I prefer discovering nature.....and the girls, honestly, not so much....Balance:)



and check out these cool shelf clouds!

Fairy Girl returned home from ballet to find Teddy in this predicament

My sweet 9 year old, modeling her new dress

memory from August 17, 2009.

5 hrs ·

Six years ago today, my three year old proposed to her daddy

FB Memories: one year ago today....We survived our first storm at sea

One year ago today....a word about boating on "the open seas" (technically we did hit some blue water;)....and Mother Nature...RESPECT!
We were on an outing with a group of boaters to Daufuski Island. The purpose of the trip was to help teach boaters who are new to the intra Atlantic Coastal Waterways, how to navigate them, and to get familiar with the area.
It was sunny when we left, but after lunch it was obvious a storm was rolling in. Our boat was moored to somebody else's boat, and the leader of this trip decided to try to outrun this storm. Our boat was smaller and less powerful than the others, and this is all new to us here (much different than WI smaller inland lakes, not counting the Great Lakes, which we wouldn't do).

John made the decision to abandon the "brave" ones, found a dock and tied us up. This was a wicked storm, but thankfully NO lightning where we were. (We could hear thunder off in the distance).
So, in a word, this was probably the most educational boating trip we had.
1. Just because the others may be in the "teaching" roles, doesn't mean they make wise decisions
2. We are the captains of our own boat... The decisions and responsibility belong to us alone
3. We were unfamiliar with our new navigational equipment, and were somewhat dependent on the boaters we were following to find our way back....never, you must find your own way!
4. Mother Nature + Boating = Respect
(For the record, we were soaked to the bones, I was laughing, the girls were crying....but our Captain is a wise, sensible and experienced small aircraft pilot, small water craft captain, scuba diver, and mountaineer.... We're in excellent hands

the day started out like this!

and then we made it to Daufuski Island and had a perfectly lovely lunch:

but when we emerged from the restaurant after lunch, the skies were no longer looking sunny...they were looking quite ominous:

but, we decided to follow the crowd, partly because we didn't exactly know where we were going:

and the skies were getting quite dark, as you can see....these photos have not been enhanced:



and our captain made the wise decision to abandon the fleet and dock us; the girls were petrified (with good reason)...thankfully, there were no lightning strikes in our immediate area....

and the storm quickly passed; we got drenched; we safely found our way home...happy ending:)

off to the post office!

$255 order!  I'm so grateful for each and every customer, and am SO amazed at how many repeat customers I have...that means so much to me!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/DFInspirations

TBT: with grandparents, aunt and uncle, my mom and brother, and cousins