Mopping and Mother's Day

Not sure what's gotten into me but I've been on a cleaning and baking jag for the past two weeks!  My domestic goddess adventures include the following:

• Cleaned and vacuumed the car - like serious nook and cranny cleaning followed by a good dousing of coconut spray!
• Cleaned and organized my office and spare room
• Cleaned and mopped the bathroom
• Went through a big box of my dad's pictures, viewing all, reading letters, and organizing.  My next project will be to take photos of all the pictures and share them with the family.
• Examinined and organized a huge tub of vintage jewelry, gloves, and other memorabilia I was given by sis Luna.
• Dusted the entire house.
• Along with making Manny an omelet last weekend, have also made chicken fettuccine Alfredo, shrimp pasta salad, spaghetti, chocolate chip cookies, and peach pie with homemade crust (am obviously experiencing a high carb indulgence diet!)  Thank the Lord we have people to share these goodies with as we are overflowing in food!
• Painted 20+ items in my 5x5 watercolor journal. Close to finishing my 5th book so it's pretty obvious this hobby has become an obsession!
• Started walking again and remind myself daily that the first step is the hardest.

Add in my 40-hour workweek and life has been busy!!

Here's a few more of my watercolor/acrylic pictures. 

This one's for you Jube!

Received the absolute best fortune cookie from a recent Chinese dinner:

On that note, have a fabulous rest of your week!!  Happy Mother's Day!!

Coffee, Creativity, and Birds

Yesterday met up with Luna and Arlene for coffee at The Storybook coffee shop. Was great to see each other and catch up. 

Received sad news today. The Salvation Army owns the big tree in front of our place. They were trimming the branches then told us we had to stop feeding the birds and squirrels and to remove all the decor on and around the tree. Such a bummer as watching the animals eat and play is such a highlight for us. I tore down and packed up all the decor, bird feeders, and gnomes and now the tree is bare. It is what it is but a little heartbreaking. 😪 

Speaking of birds, here's a new pigeon that came to visit. Beautiful white with touches of black. And this pigeon was HUGE!  It was like a turkey breed of pigeon.

Busy with work and have been working Sundays to get my certification credits completed. Still spending my free time drawing and painting.  Need to get my butt in gear and get back to walking and breaking my sugar habit!

Tomorrow is Friday once again! Enjoy your weekend!

Fun and a Flat!

A couple weeks ago sis Julie and I met up in Vancouver to hit a few Goodwills then had lunch at The Kitchen Table, a breakfast/lunch place. Food was excellent and we grabbed a bunch of bargains!  We definitely need to schedule these get-togethers more often.

Here's one of my Goodwill beach bargains - a centerpiece with all the seaside elements included!

On another recent Goodwill trip I found a vintage pair of Nike Cortez, which were the end all be all when I was a teen. Saved up and bought a canvas pair and wore those things to death so much so that I padded the soles with cardboard so they could still be worn. Found a leather pair for $7.99! Love them!

This last weekend Manny and I were on I-5 when bam! Tire blowout! Pulled over to the side of the road and called roadside assistance. So glad I added that to my auto policy - have used it 4-5 times and it's quickly bailed me out of emergency situations.  They arrived within 30 minutes and put my spare on lickety split!  That I-5 traffic is scary - loud, fast, and stress inducing. Now time to get a new tire!

Still pursuing my painting. Spend a lot of time browsing for inspiration on Pinterest and saving example pictures.  Here's a few favorites I've completed recently.

The good news is we have had blue skies and sunshine! That gloomy rainy weather drags me down!  Counting the days until summer! 🌞

My Cold and Other Stories

Survived my birthday in January - barely!  Planned to meet kids and friends for dinner out then woke up with the cough from hell!  Had been hit with the winter crud and it was on the mend but it reared its ugly head right on my special day!  Set up a new dinner plan two weeks later. Unfortunately, the crud had spread to many so cancelled that attempt. Ended up taking Sam and his girlfriend to Red Lobster to celebrate his upcoming birthday on 2/17. 

Our surprise waitress was the mom of one of Sam's long-time friends.

Before the cold hit, was able to meet twin  brother Todd at La Fiesta Bonita for an early celebration.  This has been an annual gathering for the last three years.  Guess we are just addicted to Mexican food and sombrero.

Bought myself a new tee for my birthday. No, that not me in the pic but she's my inspiration!!

Sis Luna has been living the dream in Ireland the last few months.  She has shared photos of castles, scenic shops, and lush hills. I ended up using one of her pics for inspiration.

Have to get back on the wagon with my walking and dieting!  The holidays and rainy weather enveloped me in lots of sugar and laziness so it's time to buckle myself in and get back in shape!!

Continuing my "therapy" painting. Free, relaxing, and entertaining!

Happy March everyone!!❤️