Counting Down

five days.
and counting.
until the Lazy River . . . (also known as Pirate's Cove)
is opened for another summer of fun!

there are certain things that
i will always think make funny
joke content.
random things.
like pants.
pants jokes will get me
every time.

the other thing that i like to tease
herb about it building a moat around the house.
with a bridge
and crocidiles.

what he doesn't realize
or at least pretends to be oblivious of
is that i SAY moat but what i REALLY mean is
"what would you do if you came home and there was a LAZY RIVER around the house?!?!"
you see, i would call it a moat . . .
because i know it is just quirky and funny enough that herb could get into it
and it would technically be a moat
really it would

minus the crocodiles and henchmen
and add a waterfall streaming down from the bridge.

same thing.

studies show that guest bedrooms given exposure to the arts are 4 times less likey to smoke cigarettes and find more success in school.

A Story in Pictures

sHow are you doing today?

Today at the Harjes Haus . . .

listening to a little bonnie raitt today . . . she always makes me smile and dance a sexy little dance!
go bonnie go!
it is a rainy day . . .
just perfect for testing out all of my . . . well, i don't even know what they are called.
gels and varnishes . . .

basically, i spent an hour or so just messing around, mixing different mediums into my paint to see what would happen.
i think the super cool, "i have funky colored hair and you don't" girl behind the counter at the art store must have thought i was nuts when i showed up at the counter with all of these mediums.
she was probably thinking, "amateur! you are buying four things that basically do the same thing" . . .
and i thought about making a cute comment so she would know that i am indeed NOT an amateur.
then i thought, "but i AM an amateur. that's okay."
i left her alone.

then i went to the pool last night after work and felt like an amateur again when the girl i was sharing a lane informed me that she needed to get into another lane because the older gentleman and i were going a bit too slow and she was getting ready to start her workout.
what?
seriously?
she had already been kicking our butts!
and she was just beginning her workout?
that was her warm-up?
after noticing that she was faster than her new lane partner . . .
who happened to be on the Master's Team . . .
i consoled myself by telling myself that she must be training for the Olympic trials.

well . . . she might be.

anyway, i realized that when i just DO something . . .
sometimes, ANYTHING . . .
i have fun . . . more fun . . . than if i just sat on the sidelines wishing i could paint or swim fast.

this week i have been having fun swimming slow and playing around with my paints.
so there you go.

herb and I went to counseling this morning.
things are really moving fast for us . . . finally in a good direction.
we are so thankful.
on the way home, I suggested we run by Target for a quick little peak at the fun new pretty stuff . . .
well, an hour later . . .
I found some books for my pal Noble Sing Nanda . . . a four year old who reads at a second grade level.
Noble recently went to the doctor's office for a check-up.
he had so many questions that the doctor just handed him her copy of Grey's Anatomy and told him to take it home to read with his mom and grandma!
I hope these will serve as some lighter reading for him on the side!

In other news:
We are picking out new cars, as the lease on my car ends in a few weeks. Hmmmmmm.


There is lots and lots of work for me to do at this week at "the office" (basically, wherever i choose to set up shop at any given moment becomes, "the office").


And, just in case you are curious . . . here is our new living room set up. We hosted a little party on Easter and moved some furniture around to different rooms in the house. This is what we came up with. We like it.


Bye!

ps - i am very proud of herb . . . and this project he did earlier this month!

. . . And the Winners Are . . .

In these little bags, you will each find a pretty little pair of bobbles for your ears! ENJOY!

Sarah, if you could email me with your address, I will pop these in the mail to you! cara@herbandcara.com

Also, I simply must share this guy with you:


I passed by the larger (and much pricier) version of this little guy several times before breaking down and deciding i would be sad if i left the island without him! And though my view of him has changed just a little bit since herb called him Elvis and our innkeeper called him Richard Nixon, i still love him!

And in case you need proof that we were actually on this glorious vacation, here are a few pics of herb and i from the trip . . . (were you begining to think that i just downloaded a bunch of pics off of google images?)

WHERE Has That Girl Been?

Well, the OCD monsters seem to have crept in and taken over these past few weeks . . .
I said I was going to engage in Advent and blog about it every day . . .
and then I missed a day.
and then another one.

and then the voice inside that says,
"If you can't do it just right, then don't do it at all!
What's the point?
Oh, and by the way, because you are a Christian, by nature,
you believe that NOTHING can be done just right."

And then you KNOW nothing happened after that!

SO, I was MIA for awhile.

here are a few little thoughts and tidbits . . . .

I have now tired three times, and failed, to make Christmas candy!
I had a group of ladies over last week to make candy with me . . .
three types of candy were on the roster . . . .
I was in charge of one of them.
It ended up in the trash.

So, we enjoyed the other two kinds of candy for a few days.

And then I decided that a toffee recipe should not be able to stump me . . . .

So I tried again.

This time, I wised up and didn't triple the recipe.
This was helpful in making it more manageable when stirring . . . .
and also when throwing it away -
again!!!
At least I didn't have THREE pounds of almonds and THREE pounds of butter to throw away this time!
That was a $20 Christmas candy mistake!

So, I decided to make something more simple today.
Peppermint Bark.
Easy.
Couldn't be easier.
Melt white chocolate.
Crush up some candy canes.
Stir together.

Well, I somehow managed to burn the chocolate.
On top of that, it didn't melt.
It just didn't melt.
Is chocolate that picky? Can it choose when to melt and when to clump????

But if there is one thing I am, it is determined.
Mix that with a mild (maybe make-believe) case of OCD . . .
and well, I am not finished!
I still have fudge and macaroons to make!

We'll see.

This year I made my own Christmas cards!
That makes the list of "things learned the hard way"!
We made 100 cards . . .

and next year . . .
a 20 pack from this great place.

But . . .
they did turn out great!


Today . . .
it is snowing.
Really snowing.
So bad that Herb didn't even take the Mini out today.
It is all public transportation all that time for that boy today!

I think I heard him yelling at Mother Nature as he left the house today.
Sort of a "bring it on" thing!

He was as a giddy as a school girl as he left to "go on an ADVENTURE!!!" (his words!)

I am doing laundry . . . . and things like blogging and making yet another unnecessary Christmas stocking stuffer for my mom . . .
putting off the things I don't want to do . . . like paying bills and filling out my billing sheet for work. Keep in mind, I don't have that many clients. This is not rocket science! But, I have a little bit of self-sabotage mixed in with that OCD!

I have an art project that I am working on . . .
being paid to do!
she is buying the supplies . . .
and instead of paying me for my time, I asked her to display the piece in her shop with my name and number displayed.
She is a small business owner with a LOT of creative souls (and soles) tromping in and out of her doors all day!
I can't believe i am being paid to do this!
I have been praying for something creative to do for work . . .
Counseling is something I am good at, but don't always have space in my head or heart for it.


How about these AMAZING earrings I received in the mail this week from Herb's folks!?!??!


And . . .
Our "first" Christmas decorations:

Last year, our first holiday season as a married couple was a whirlwind.
I won't complain . . . I mean, it was a blur because we just returned from two weeks in Southern Italy.
But it did make for limited attention paid to the holiday season.

This year, I am excited about having lots of (second) firsts!

The first Thanksgiving meal . . .


The first Christmas Card photo shoot (can you tell which ones where posed by Herbie???) . . .



The first Christmas tree . . .

The first time sticking our heads through a ply wood cutout!


Oh . . .
And for your reading pleasure . . .
A quote from my man . . .

"Do you think that if I was a cheeta, I would sweat when I ran? I mean, they can run much quicker, with less input of energy."

Come Stay Awhile