SUNDAY

Sunday Morning we woke up when the alarm went off and promptly decided that, after the meeting, we would take it easy and just REST today. Well, we did TRY to rest....but the sun was shining and the birds were chirping and we just HAD to go play outside!!!!
So we all worked in the garden and picked flowers and played....The girls like Dirt Gardening Best of all. Bella makes little dirt piles and Mia picks up a shovel and starts digging little piles of dirt just like her big sister. Everything Big Sister does, little sister has to do as well. It's so cute watching her watch her big sister so intently and then do her best to imitate her. But Mia picked herself a daisy all on her own and practiced "smelling" it (which means snorting loudly and scrunching up her face and saying "mmmmm, niiiice" ).

This rock pile is about 2/3rds of the rocks/bricks/bones/broken bottles/rusty nails that I dug up while getting the dirt patch ready to put in some plants. All this was in just the area that the garden was in....

Just about every time the shovel went into the ground, I would hear a loud "thunk" as it hit something hard. It was more like archeology than gardening.

Towards the evening yesterday, I dug up (with Richie's help) another little area and surrounded it with large stones and these rocks (using Bella's, Richie's, Ron's and my elbow grease and a little help from the girls red wagon to haul them around) ....kind of a patch of garden for flowers surrounded by a mini rock wall. No pictures of that yet. It needs some plants in it first. But our little driveway needs some curb appeal in the worst way! More on that later!

OUR GARDEN

OUR GARDEN - PHASE ONE.....looked more like a pet cemetary at that point....
We have lots and lots of wild daisies growing on our property....Mia picked one and carried it around yesterday. I have grown very fond of our wild little daisies!
OUR GARDEN -- phase TWO ....it's a bit bigger but still mostly brown...

SEEDLINGS....
OUR GARDEN - PHASE THREE ...this is about what it looks like now...we've got tomatos, peas, pumpkins, basil and some other stuff we planted but by the time it grew into seedlings, we forgot what it was we planted. Those are the mystery sprouts here and there. Only time will tell!

SATURDAY

Saturday we had a bit of a girl's day out and a bunch of us went to Old Orchard Beach. For folks raised around here, it is totally ho-hum.....it is only like half an hour away but for me it was totally fun since I DIDN'T grow up around here and had never been before. We hung out on the sand for awhile, then we got hungry and ventured out onto the boardwalk, ate some junkfood and did a little shopping (mostly at the candy stores....sugar overload!...but also had a bit of fun playing dressup at some of the clothes stores) and people-watching. Every other car parked was from Quebec. A LOT of Canadians visiting this time of year. All in all, totally a blast!

WHOLE ENCHILADA

My mom graciously photographed the whole collage and sent me a picture. You wouldn't know how big it was seeing it all at once like this but I personally think it looks tons better as one peice. *wink*

TA DAAAAA!!!!!

Well, after putting that poor lil' hamster thru it's paces, my little ol' noggin started to smoke.....

However, CafePress is quite a bit easier to navigate than I thought it would be. You can now be the proud owner of a t-shirt, sweatshirt, magnet, or totebag with one of my little ol' pieces of art du jour on it! I'm just so darned pleased with myself at this moment. So check it out! Tell me what you think of my fledgling little enterprise....I'm sure it will need work so don't hold back on any kind of criticism- positive or otherwise!

Come visit my store on CafePress!

Hmmmm.......got my little brain hamster running in his wheel...

Well now....Miss Andrea has kindly brought to my attention that our dear Rodriguez was recommending putting my little works of art on a t-shirt with silk screening....Kinda has the little wheels in my mind turning....that would be kinda fun! Although I'm already pining away for one of the "I AM ART" t-shirts put out by the two sisters (fleshly) that wrote visual chronicles. I am told the etsy....wait no, not etsy....hmm....can't remember now the name of the site that will mass produce that kind of stuff for you....I gotta look thru my bookmarks....its one of those really cool sites LIKE etsy though where everything is really one of a kind and not too pricey....hmmm... (which reminds me, if someone wants to buy me a gift ....i know, i know, take a number, but i would realllly like one of the t-shirts with the caffeine molecule on them...how coooooool is that????).

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Okay, just checked the bookmarks and it is www.cafepress.com that makes that kind of stuff. THEY ARE TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL, I TELL YOU!!!! You create it and they mass produce it for you. NIF-TYYY

Science Says GET YO-SELF TO DA BEACH!!!!

Found this info on a healthy lifestyle site....

Re-Charge at the Beach

AMYou just can’t explain that feeling you get at the beach. Maybe it’s the sound of the waves or the feeling of the sand on your toes or the warm sun replenishing your vitamin D levels. Whatever “it” is, you just feel good. Something must be in the air.

According to mounting research, there really may be something in the air at the beach.

Because of the constant crashing and movement of the waves, the beach contains high levels of negative ions, which is a good thing. High concentrations of negatively charged ions have long been thought to affect the way you feel, and there’s now supporting evidence they can boost mood, ease depression and even improve physical health.

Negative ions can also be found in high concentrations at waterfalls and after a summer rain storm.These special air particles are actually biologically active when they enter the body, yet how they work is still unknown. Animal studies have found that living in an area free of negative ions can actually shorten the lifespan. Researchers at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow found a negative ion-rich environment improves an animal’s ability to handle physical stresses. They also appear to help boost production of protective antioxidant enzymes in the body. Preliminary research conducted by Michael Terman, Ph.D. at Columbia University Medical Center, suggests that high density negative ion therapy may help those suffering from Seasonal Affect Disorder, a type of depression experienced in the winter. Besides their positive physiological effects, negative ions are thought to also help clean the air of odors, allergens and pollutants.Indoor environments tend to have very low levels of negative ions. Our modern lifestyle is to thank for that. Computers, electrical appliances and air conditioning all contribute to negative ion depletion.

Think about how good it feels to open a window after a thunderstorm when you’ve been stuck inside all day, or when you roll your window down after the air conditioning has been on in the car. It just feels good!So make your vacation plans and head to wear the water moves! Or step outside every chance you get after a storm rolls through this summer. You’ll definitely do yourself some good.

Rambling Rhetoric

A little free-form thought today in the form of ATC's.......it's been awhile since i just 'played' and created some with no thought to theme or content and just let them develop however they are going to be.....if a piece of paper sitting on the table looks good on another random piece of paper then whamo! I glue it down and voila! ART! LOL

Well, here is the painting/collage I made that is basically the Grotton Family Reunion. The original is 16 by 20 inches so I had to scan it in pieces. You'll have to use your mind's eye to see it as all one piece. Tess and Justin are in the front middle. Mia is in the lower right in the wagon with Bella just besides her (holding a kitten). Mom is cleaning up after us all and I'm peeking around the house waving. The guys are mostly hanging out on the roof and dad is looking up out window in his own little world. When I first glued Matt down to the roof, Bella was all excited and wanted me to put her on the roof with her uncle Matt. I think she just liked the idea of sitting on the roof of a house ....LOL

COFFEE!!!!

Here is the two-page-spread I did in the latest altered book that I got in the mail. The theme was 'pleasures'. Someone else had already done spreads on the pleasures of reading, art, family memories.....so I did mine on one of the next best pleasures....COFFEE!!!

...hello......????

...missed the meeting last night....feeling yucky.....and lonely today....and uninspired to boot...

More pictures

Here is one more picture of me with the girls....not loving myself in either of the pictures but I love pictures with my little ones so what are ya gonna do, right?
There is also a picture of Mia in her carseat (same day as the one with Bella & Javin) and one of Bella with the injured Butterfly she found walking around next to our driveway. (I drew some arrows on it so you can kinda make it out.)

A few Pictures

So....I finally uploaded the pictures that were in my camera. The first is a picture of Bella and Javin in the van one day that we (grovers and me & the girls) all worked in service together. The rest are from the weekend of the district convention. I loved the one of Mia walking hand in hand with Richie, especially because if you look really closely, she is reaching for Richie's hand. How cute is that?

hmm....

Hmmmm......