"sweet escape" number six

MUSIC!

yesterday my girl came over for lunch and brought with her a gabazillion cd's. we reminisced about the good ole days and hummed a few bars of familiar songs and then the itunes loading began.

music has always been a huge part of my life. when I was younger I would listen to tapes and pause, playback and write the lyrics down in my notebook and then I could sing along. music is a great escape be it singing at the top of my lungs in the car with laurie or in the studio while creating. what are some of your favorite tunes?

well, hell! just 'bout plum forgot!

"boo!"

"sweet escape" number seven

today's sweet escape is probably not a surprise to anyone who knows me and spends any amount of time with me. I love starbucks! it seems like I am always fighting some sort of addiction with one of their beverages. since being off dairy I have fallen in love with an "iced venti decaf caffe americano with carmel". 

I love walking to the mall and grabbing it. I love when laurie and I grab drinks on the way to meetings or have meetings in starbucks! I have even figured out how to duplicate the drink at home with my handy dandy espresso maker. great on days when I am short on time and cannot justify going out simply to get a drink.  if ya ever wanna "sweet escape" with me just holla!

do you have a favorite drink?

"sweet escape" number eight

I know I already mentioned this one in the last post with my "bubble bath escape" but I am a book loving girl! I love them like no one else! do I read them all? nope! am I worried that I may die before I have time to read all the books I have acquired? yup!

I used to buy books by the bagful. magazines too and then my lovely friend reminding me of this thing called "the library". ya, I used to go all the time when dan was little. the summer reading club, the weekly trips, the whole kit and caboodle and then it sort of was forgotten. and so now I can reserve a multitude of books and read/preview them as much as I want. I LOVE that! there are still those books that I HAVE to have. here is five of my latest fave books:

excuse me, your life is waiting - lynn grabhorn (currently on my nightstand, but so far LOVE it!)

twilight - stephenie meyer (say what you will, but I loved it and am on book two!)

glass - ellen hopkins (have also read crank and burned - quick reads)

sharing your story - ali edwards (great ideas for mini books)

crazy sexy cancer tips - kris carr (inspiring and packed with tons of info)

my favorite place to read other than the bathtub is...

a hammock! why? cause it supports my head and neck perfectly and usually a hammock is situated outside which is another place I love to be! 

what are you reading lately?

"sweet escape" number nine

yum! coconut bubble bath! my favorite! sharing with you another one of my "sweet escapes" which is jumping in the tub to soak the body. I might be feeling achy or just really wound up and to take a break I jump in the tub. ANYTIME! sometimes I grab a good book or else I just close my eyes and relax. I like to add some epsom salts too which are great for flushing toxins, better sleep, and reduces inflammation. bonus! but again it is...

something about the bubbles and the quiet that takes me away...sweet escape!

top ten "sweet escapes"

today I begin the top ten "sweet escapes". the things you do or places you go to get away from it all. the kids, the hubby, the telephone, the to-do list and just plain escape "life" for a little bit. I have been in a bit of a funk lately and so I thought it would be important to figure out some of my favorite sweet escapes and I thought I would share them with you. beginning with number ten.

aren't they sweet! one of my favorite things to do is grab my girl and go play somewhere else. it could be going to crankpots to paint and chat or it could be taking a class together. either way we get out of our house and away from everything familiar and jump into the unknown. new media, new tools, new instruction and a little challenge for us. we get so used to using the same things over and over and sometimes it is good to leap out of the box and see what is else is out there and I get to spend the time with her and just "play".

I hope you will share your sweet escapes with me over the next ten days!  I would love to hear how you "get away from it all!"

one week?

last week flew by as fast as the birds flying south for the winter.  what's the hurry?

monday - met with laurie to set the calendar for the month. while I was away she set up a meeting for us with two lovely ladies from "vibe". they scooped up all of our pieces and ordered more! woo! we are national!

tuesday - studio sweetness with paint flying and excellent coffee!  one order almost complete and the other has a good dent in it.

I also started my "vegan cooking class" and as you can see by the above photo - it was a short class! I was having SO much fun chopping, cooking and rockin' the kitchen with my table buddy val. and no WE did not start the fire!

wednesday - run day for me which is always an awesome thing! after the run I came home and mom popped by with her new look:

took sparky to the vet and he lost a pound! double woo!

and my bil came to bug me and stayed for two nights

thursday - started the day out with a run! yay! after the run things kind of went south and so I bolted.

I hit the road, in my car, plugged the meter and walked and walked. picked up some bling, good coffee and just took a break from all my to-do's.

the evening took me to bootcamp where I was SHOCKED that I had to run to warm up. hee hee! I figured we would lift a few weights and call it a day. a little chit chat, friendly sweat, trendy water bottle and done. whew! it was SO much more!

friday - back in the studio where we completed one order and kept plugging away at the other.

saturday and sunday - workshop with connie. what a wonderful lady! look at all the fun stuff I did!

whew! and so we begin another week. happy monday! got a few things up my sleeve this week that I will share...

later!

crazy? old? both?

I have officially lost my mind or am getting old.

I left the house today and about a block away I couldn't remember if I had locked the dogs in their kennels or not.  

I turned the car around to go back and check and YES in fact I did lock them up.

I got back into the car and at that point couldn't for the life of me understand why this miracle of an iphone didn't have a little doggy camera on it so that I could just press a button and make sure they were safe and sound.

I mean I can take pictures, surf the net, check and answer email, get directions, play games, talk to friends and family, do my yoga, track my runs....

but no doggy check?  WTF?

precious...

last night while waiting for the train I met a little boy, his brother and his mom.

he said "excuse me", put out his hand "please to meet you" and proceeded to tell me his story.

he was born without a thumb. he was raising money to send disabled kids like him to sports events. he had handmade stationary available. "$3.00 for one and $5.00 for two" he said. "how many would you like" he continued. 

"two please"

I looked in his eyes and said "you are precious" and he said "thank you".

his mom pulled out the handmade stationary to give us. she gave us one of each design. on ruled paper there is a design made with pencil crayons of the st. louis blues logo and the envelope is decorated as well. the other has a design of the st. louis rams and again the envelope is decorated to match. he was so happy! " now there will be kids going to the game!" he said. I am not sure if his brother helped with the coloring or not, but it was all very special.

made by hand...

by a boy...

without a thumb...

"god bless you" he said, as we parted.

"god bless you" I said.

another memorable moment in st. louis

show me etsy!

I was extremely fortunate last night to be able to attend a show called "crazy autumn art and craft show.  this show was put on by the st. louis street team show me etsy. check out the links on the page to see all the beautiful items that were available for purchase.

it reminded me of the show that I had attended a few weeks back in Edmonton. about the same size and similar items. the difference was it was at night. one night only and they had wine ($) and cheese. the other difference I noticed was how all the vendors seemed very familiar with each other and they had similar packaging/freebies with your purchases. 

it will go on my list of favorite things I have done while in st. louis. back home tomorrow!

do I look happy?

damn straight! so what do you do when you are away from home? do ya shop? pamper yourself with spa treatments? curl up with a good book and a cup of tea and stay in the hotel room?

just wondering!

I usually try to find a grocer. that's right kids! preferably a place that has a deli, bakery and fresh produce. today I entered "whole foods" here in st. louis. what a beautiful place. we used to have a similar store in edmonton (debajis) and then they closed down. I guess we weren't ready for that kind a cuisine back then. I am now!

I purchased enough items for the next three days breakfasts, lunches and snacks. this way I don't need to be doing take out or room service and explaining my food issues over and over. I just wanna relax! chill!

I just finished my lunch of tuna salad with cranberries (yum!) laurie you would love this! I paired it up with a bag of krinkle kettle chips in salt and black pepper flavor. uh, hello? YUM! team that up with baby carrots, sugar snap peas and the most perfect drink in the whole wide world - venti iced deaf caffe americano with carmel. oh yes - there is a starbucks in the lobby of my hotel!

I have unpacked and my new address is room 1828 - hilton at the ballpark, st. louis, mo. please forward my mail. ciao!

C - ya!

on my way to st. louis. here is a picture of the cover from my travel journal. supplies used are from this kit. so far I have made two journals with it and I still have oodles of stuff left. more pics when I return...

wtf?

can someone please tell me why my father smells like a pine tree air freshner?

I think my mother in her efforts to keep him from smelling has tied an air freshner to his jacket!

peee eeewww!

and could someone please tell my mother that a bottle of cologne is not like a bottle of wine - it does not have to be consumed in one evening!

I am off to locate an otolaryngologist to take away my sense of smell!

and might as well pop a couple of pills to get rid of the migrane...

anyone wanna adopt a cute, old italian couple who smell funny?