Ode To Spring

The first breath of sunny spring air,
Makes me want to chop off all my hair.
My neck, covered all winter long
Sings a joyous liberation song
Upon feeling a warm, balmy breeze.

But if the temp falls again, I might freeze.

Still Wildlife

Last week we had a business trip... We drove from Ohio to Johnstown, PA. Along the way, we stopped to stretch our legs at Cabela's in Wheeling, WV. If you've never been, it's a huge outdoor outfitter store that is filled with camping, hunting and outdoor gear...



And lots and lots of taxidermied animals.


It's kinda like visiting the zoo. Except that none of the animals move. Which is a little sad. But also a very interesting experience because you have the opportunity to really appreciate the beauty of these magnificent animals up close. Way closer than you would get in real life. Way closer than I'm sure you would want to get in real life!


We actually spotted quite a few familiar-looking faces...

We saw the polar bear from Lost.
Ahhhhh!!! Scary! Look how huge it is! Save me, Sawyer!

We saw Mr. Beaver from The Chronicles of Narnia.
We saw Jacob from the Twilight series! (Unfortunately, Edward was nowhere to be found.)
We saw Bullwinkle. Scott made a rare photo appearance because he couldn't resist saying "Hey, Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!"Yes, the rabbit is emerging from an orange hunting cap. Cabela's doesn't really carry formal wear such as top hats, and Scott left his at home.)

We saw Horton...I'm not sure that he's hearing much of anything these days though, much less a Who. But he is gorgeous and massive and it's amazing to stand next to him.
We saw Sabor (from Tarzan.) Wouldn't want to meet her in a dark alley. But you've got to admit, she's got style!
And we saw Bambi. Lots of Bambi's.
Also................ they had a shooting gallery!OK, I know I'm totally exposing my inner hick here, but I do enjoy shooting a rifle. I got a taste for it in college out west and I'm actually a pretty good shot. I am very proud of the fact that I beat Scott at the shooting gallery!! (In his defense, we're not sure his gun was working properly. Riiiiight.)

So, the next time you get an itch to inspect a polar bear up close or to shoot at tin cans that whistle and spin when you hit them, I recommend Cabela's!

Handmade Love

Scott and I decided this year to start a new tradition of having a handmade theme for our Valentine's Day gifts to each other.

We were in Maryland over Valentine's week. Scott went to some of my favorite local shops there and made this beautiful gift basket for me!


It included a gorgeous dark red, long-stemmed rose, sparkling apple cider and other goodies from McCutcheon's, a box of hand-selected chocolates from Olympia Candy Kitchen (all dark chocolate and no nuts - just what I like!), and a selection of gemstone focus beads from Potomac Bead Company for my jewelry-making projects! He picked them all out himself - aren't they gorgeous? I can't wait to play with them!

I loved everything, and was so impressed with the time and effort he put into thinking about what I would like, hand-selecting everything, and arranging it all so cute in a little basket. He really knows how to make things special.

His gift from me was these little covered soaps that I made.


Those big, manly hands of his have a hard time holding on to slippery bars of soap in the shower, so I thought washcloth covers would help make the soap bars non-slip and sudsy. He says he loves them. I had fun making them for him.

I'm so grateful to be married to my sweet, wonderful Valentine!

Getting Better With Age?

I went to the Optometrist this week. For the past few months, I've been having problems with wearing both my contacts and my glasses. I figured either my eyesight was getting worse or I had some serious, rare eye infection that was going to rob me of my sight slowly and painfully.

Imagine my surprise when the good doctor not only told me that my eyes looked perfectly healthy but that...

my eyesight had gotten BETTER!!

I guess it really is possible to improve with age.

I'll be honest. I really don't like this getting older thing, but in this case I'll take it! My improved prescription allowed me to order glasses without having to pay the big bucks for thinner lenses, so I took advantage of the store's 2-fer deal and got two new pairs...I've not worn glasses in public in years because I've never thought I looked good in them. I think I got teased about being four-eyes in middle school too much and it scarred me. (Along with being called mouse because of my small stature and beaver because of my buck teeth. Oh, and my future husband teasing me about having a uni-brow. Yeah, middle school was not my favorite time. Maybe getting older is a good thing!)

Anyway, I'm actually kinda diggin' my new glasses a little.

What do you think? Four-eyes or Fabulous?

A Small Accomplishment

I've basically been doing nothing but clinging to my couch since Saturday morning.

I got one of those colds that isn't just an annoying distraction, but rather a debilitating, knock-you-on-your-butt, can't breathe, can't sleep, can't move, sore throat, coughing, sneezing, headachey, nose-is-raw-from-blowing-every-2-minutes, tormenting affliction.

Not to complain. I've got a sweet husband who has been bringing me cough drops and hot herbal tea, cooking spicy food for me (to help clear everything out...plus it's about the only thing I can taste), running to the store for tissues with lotion and generally waiting on me hand and foot. And a sweet doggie who snuggles and keeps me company.

So being sick isn't ALL bad. ;)

In between blowing my nose incessantly, slathering on menthol ointment, pounding what feels like 14 gallons of fluids a day and watching WAY too much TV, I needed to find something to distract me and make me feel as though there is some merit to my snotty existence.

I decided to pull out some of the beads that Scott bought me for Christmas and try to get the creative juices flowing along with the mucus juices. (Sorry for that mental image there, but I couldn't resist - hee hee!)I combined these pink crazy agate beads with saltwater pearls and silver etched accent beads and pendant.There were enough beads to make a matching bracelet...
and earrings.I really love how they turned out. Now I just need to get feeling better so I can get out of the house and wear my little accomplishment!

Just Call Me Bessie

I wish I had four stomachs.

'Cause this is what Scott made me for dinner:

Homemade macaroni and cheese. Comfort food. Creamy, cheesy deliciousness.

(He says his secret is a touch of nutmeg and mustard.)

This will all be gone by tomorrow. I'll find room.

Helping the Economy

My girlfriend Angela and I met in Columbus this weekend for our Annual Shopping Trip. So we could, ya know, help the economy. ;) And take advantage of all the after-Christmas clearance sales. And have girl time where we get to shop to our heart's content, eat at restaurants our husbands don't like, and talk and talk and talk.

Ang is the QUEEN of Priceline and got us a 4 Star hotel room for 37 bucks! It was beautiful - it had french doors leading into the bedroom......and flat screen TV's in the living area and bedroom.We felt so fancy!

After checking in, we had lunch and then headed to Mall #1 where we shopped for about 8 hours.Back to the hotel with all of our goodies!
We were seriously pooped. We ate our traditional Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup in Bread Bowls. (Only they were out of bread bowls by the time we got there so we improvised and used their sourdough rolls.)
What's better than warm, creamy soup with crusty bread after a long day of shopping?I'll tell you what - sticking your feet in a hot tub. Neither of us had brought our bathing suits, so we just headed down to the pool area in our jammies, rolled them up and stuck our feet in! We did get one or two interesting looks, but it was totally worth it.

After a night of recuperating, we set out the next day for Mall #2.We both got some great buys and had a wonderful time together.

I'm so grateful for having such an amazing, fun friend in Angela, for serious clearance deals, and for our husbands who are so sweet to encourage us to do this.

Can't wait for next time!