ride'em cowboy...

we're home

~

after leaving florida just a bit earlier then planned

{my prayers and thoughts to all the families affected by the tornadoes}

we're safely back in wisconsin

have you ever driven seventeen hours straight through from point A to point B.

for some reason we pride ourselves on the ability to do just that. 

granted, we stop for gas and potty breaks and this time we even stopped to switch drivers,

but normally my hubby does all the driving {i think he's part truck driver} and we just go. 

i have to say though, that driving the last leg, which fell from midnight to 6am, 

{the first time we've done that and even took turns}

is brutal and produces zombies that slightly resembled us.

so we beat the storms and arrived home just hours before mother nature gifted us with five inches of heavy, white snow. personally, since i got to spend six weeks in florida, i think she did that just to play the na.na.na.na.boo.boo game with me.

today was over sixty degrees. freaky.

now i'm kind of in a nesting mode. 

cleaning, organizing, re-doing and decorating. an early "spring fever" perhaps.

so all of my beachside daydreams are put to rest for now

{i mean i'm still dreaming, just not with my feet in the sand}

and my smile, well that never really changes no matter where i am.

*

a simple reminder~be yourself...

i was lucky enough to stumble across an amazing artist and her shop while i was in florida. 

her name is ginger and she is a doll. 

when you meet someone and immediately think, "i totally wish she was my next door neighbor," well in my book, that only holds true for very special people.

when i asked her about making me a custom piece, recognizing my blog and and my mantra, she smiled and said, "i'd love to." 

when i returned to pick it up, the shop was closed and she was airing out her store.

sadly, a little eatery just two doors down from her and sharing the same building, 

burned up in a horrible fire. 

thankfully she only suffered smoke damage.

fortunately we were still able to pick up my little piece of art.

when we walked in and i went to the back with her to her "work table" 

she gave me options for some of the finishing touches. i basically said, "what would you do?"...."just do it your way." after all, she's got a style that i just adore.

while she finished up, i walked around and took some photos to share with all of you.

her style. her art. her flea market finds.

everything in her studio is just yummy.

before we left, we spent lots of time talking with her. she has an amazing amount of energy, with ideas and visions that mirror some of my own. i can only hope that maybe someday our paths will cross again.

her adorable shop/studio is in grayton beach. she's also in the process of opening another shop in the same plaza called "wunderland" for children. we got a sneak peek and it's going to be amazing. so if you find yourself in the panhandle, i highly suggest you visit her. you won't be disappointed. 

and if florida isn't on your radar screen, lucky for you, she has an etsy shop....

tell her "beth sent you."

*

i miss him...

i'm not sure about american idol this season. i miss simon. i mean i really miss simon.

i know some people felt he was too harsh. personally, i loved his honesty.

~

i also love these kids. just being kids. on a beach.

i used to be really regimented regarding keeping my white loads, white and my dark loads, dark.

now i'm kind of lazy and mix a whole lot of anything with anything.

maybe it's just an "i'm in my late forties" thing.

back to american idol for just a second. is ryan really that short.

i have learned to be very appreciative lately for the foggy weather we've been having here this week.

it's not snowy or cold. that's my daily mantra.

meet our resident mrs. dove. i thought an introduction was necessary.

i didn't want you to think she was just an ordinary bird. oh, and mr. dove shows up with her.

he's just not quite as photogenic as she is.

for some reason, this building reminds me of italy. i've never been to italy

but in my mind, i think it kind of looks like this. but surrounded by french people.

sometimes i swear, the seagulls are just as fascinated with the gulf as i am.

remember when you were little and would spend hours building a sandcastle. me either.

but as an adult, i truly appreciate the imagination of children who get to play in the sand.

"what. you're surprised that i tore apart the bird feeder you hung in the tree out your back door.

give me a break. i'm a squirrel. that's what i do.

a S.Q.U.I.R.R.E.L. got it.

this is my hubby out there rocking the waves. no it's not.

{made you look}

happy thursday

*

life in your world....

when she looks at me like this

~

i give her a treat. fill her water dish with fresh water. let her outside to go potty. 

ask her what she wants even though she can't hear a word i say,

and still she looks at me. like this.

so i sit on the couch and she sits near me. 

life in her world is good again.

life in this little boy's world is pretty darn good, too

{maybe all you really need to be happy is a shovel and some sand}

and

these girls who laughed and jumped and jumped some more

well, life in their world is really great

 even though they probably ache from all the jumping they did

this mocking bird

oh lordy, she lives on the beach

so life in her world is spectacular

and 

last but not least, pretty shells. 

life in their world is amazing because they're going home with me.

to wisconsin. to the cold.

to be put in a really cool vase on my kitchen island.

~

okay, maybe amazing is a bit over the top. for all i know they're pissed.

totally upset that i took them from the only beach they've ever known.

separated from their siblings and other family members.

okay maybe not...snort

but i think i do have the beginnings of my first children's book.

*

i carry randomness with me like a security blanket...

i watched the oscars last night and honestly i was a bit bored.

okay, meryl's speech was amazing. well she's amazing.

but angelina's leg, sticking awkwardly out of the slit in her dress. weird.

the other night, as i was getting ready for bed, i moved my jeans off the bed to put them away and a spider was on them. of course he jumped quickly off my jeans and onto the multicolored comforter, where he was impossible to see. so i hit the living daylights out of the comforter with my bare hands and felt confident that i had killed him. just to be safe, we took the comforter off the bed and shook it to death. 

next time god, give me a lizard or something else large enough to see, that i'll know for sure isn't still hanging around waiting to crawl all over my face while i'm sleeping.

tell me you have tried and fallen in love with the 

"no-bleed no matter how thin your paper is" 

fine point sharpies

since i've been here, i have fallen UP the stairs twice. once with my arms filed with laundry and the second time just walking up the porch stairs into the house. 

this is cd. he's one of those people you want to invite for dinner because you know, just from meeting him, that he is easily more interesting then the last ten or fifteen people you've met.

after i took his photos, he shook my hand and said "one love"

i have to admit that i LOVE stuff like that. totally love it.

non-drowsy claritin makes me drowsy...but not until about four in the afternoon, 

which is a good time to nap anyhow.

this is NOT the heart shaped piece of sand dollar with wings that i spoke about in my last post. 

no unfortunately, that piece is broken, spit out in little pieces and gone.

please consider removing your word verification from your comments area. please.

AND....if you have comment moderation on your comments, you do NOT need the word verification, too.

honestly, and i don't want to sound bitchy here, but it's a bit maddening when you have both. so please, take the time to see how your comments are set up and change what's not necessary. try to go without the word verification for awhile and add it back in if a creeper shows up. the new double word thingy is just so time consuming and i know some bloggers are really struggling trying to decipher the words.

thanks for listening to my little rant here

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{design/settings/comments/check registered users/comment moderation-never/save}

{the above will eliminate your word verification setting}

what can i say, they love my husband....

we don't feed them. instead we fake them out. 

holding your arm up in the air, with a shell in your fingertips, draws them in.

a piece of driftwood works, too.

~

on this same afternoon, i found a beautiful piece of a sand dollar, 

in the shape of a heart that looked like it had wings and could fly. 

it was really beautiful and unique.

i held it up to the sky so john could take a photo of it and within seconds, with no seagulls even in sight, it was gone. one of the gulls, swooped in from nowhere, scared me to death and stole my heart.

i screamed. we laughed.

*

straight A's....

Audrina and Ashley

friends

jumpers

laughers

and

all around, really cool high school seniors.

~

thank you audrina and ashley for being so much fun

and

the best of luck to you both for whatever you do next year.

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