Pictures from Costa Rica 2005

We didn't put pictures online as much 10 years ago, but here are some that I found that I blogged about.

Fun & Crazy Pics from WA & BC that I might not post other places

With the boy at Chihuly, taking the picture down at us, before I realized the awesome glass above us and then.......

Took this one......btw, over half of my pictures either have him sticking out his tongue or pretending he is a zombie

Nice picture of the kids looking out at the waterfront at Pike Place

Kids pointing at where they put their first piece of gum (not touching it) before we found out that was the "official" wall and gets scraped clean a couple times a year. We then put it on the opposite wall in the location that is on the national historical registry and so will never be scraped clean

In front of all the gross gum.....imagine all the germs....

Kids on the water stairs that are across the street from the Seattle Art Museum

 Random weird find of a wooden  Sasquatch

On the stage at the Seattle Center.......a couple of crazy kids.....

Wearing her wiki stix glasses she made....great idea to give WS with a kids meal!!

My burger, the New Yorker (one of the sauces on it is a hot sauce ketchup) from the Lunchbox Laboratory

It was hot in Seattle (usually it is 10 degrees cooler) so the kids enjoyed some shaved Ice at the Seattle Center after playing on the playground

Brain eating zombie & statue of liberty poses in front of Little Sister Liberty...

 With the kids on Alki Beach

 
I look happy here, but I was actually slightly terrified that the boy would lean forward and fall right out of the ski lift as we were carried up to the top of Grouse Mountain.

Everyone using their binoculars at the top of Grouse Mountain in the wind turbine viewing area. I bought them before we went on this trip. We didn't spend a whole lot of money on souvenirs on the trip, but I did buy some things ahead of time (like binoculars) to help make this trip more enjoyable and that we could continue to use afterwards and not be spending money just to spend money on souvenirs. We did buy a Seattle t-shirt for each us, but that will get used. Kids have each worn their twice on the trip already.

Rock stacking at Lynn Canyon....It was like a gallery of these that so many people made, this is one the girl made

He looks like I caught him doing something he shouldn't. This is at the 30ft. pool at Lynn Canyon.....there is cliff jumping here that some crazy young men were doing.....not sure if I would be brave or crazy enough to do it....perhaps...

Back in WA at Larrabee State Park....view of the San Juan islands....picture before we changed to explore rocks in another cove that were covered in a slick moss & seaweed as well as tons of SHARP barnacles which I slipped on proceeded to gas up my hands so that I looked like I was in a fight with a cougar and thus ended our playtime there, but only about 10-15 minutes earlier, so we had lots of fun exploring before we left.

So happy to find starfish. 2 years ago when we were in Oregon we saw tons of them, then some kind of disease killed them off last year and we didn't see one starfish last year on the coast in Oregon. It wasn't until Day 9 of our trip that we even found these starfish in Washington, but we were happy to see them.

Locks of Love Donation

Couple of before shots of my hair combed out straight before I donated 10+ inches to Locks of Love. My daughter donated 8+" to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, but because my hair had permanent dye in it, I had no choice but to donate to Locks of Love.

And below is a picture of how short it is afterwards. I do not care for it being short at all. I think all my curls like this are too poofy and add bulk around my face making it look fuller.

We grew out our hair because 2 years ago my daughter (almost 8) decided this was something she wanted to do and wanted to do it together.

It's going to take a while to get used to this hair but in the meantime it will grow back and hopefully I can figure out how to style it so I don't want to hide.

Exterior Updates to the Cabin

 I just received pictures, the after one, from the hubby this evening. He started some of this work last weekend, but the weather wasn't good so they didn't work as long. This weekend he was working on it with one of his brothers and they got everything on the exterior finished that we were planning.

 So there was this rot stuff in the front that had to be removed and then new wood had to be put in its place, which is what was done last Saturday and then they got started on the siding on the front.

Today they put in two new windows on the road side and the woods side (below) and finished the siding on the front and side and added trim.

In one of the top pictures you can see a sign I made, I will have to get more pictures when we go back up again and I plan to touch up the paint on the fishing exterior decorations.

Our Rustic Cabin

We are starting small, quite small, but really what much more do you need in a cabin. We just bought a rustic cabin today. We actually stayed up there this Saturday - Sunday to see if we liked the area (Mille Lacs) and to see if we wanted to buy this rustic cabin. It is a one-room cabin with electric that is only 12x18 in size. Outside there is a storage shed that has a kitchen set up in it with counters, fridge & microwave plus other small electric kitchen appliances. There is lots of outside deck (some boards we will need to replace right away). Inside is bunk beds, sleep sofa, cpl end tables, a coffee table, dresser and portable closet and a table with chairs and an AC. PLus a firefit and weeber charcoal grill outside too. It is carpeted and has an electric baseboard heater, but you can hook up a furnace in there, as there is a gas line running in/out that you can put propane tanks on.

The top picture is of the side with the door and you can see some of the decking. The deck run across in the side front door area and around the back side of the cabin, and across in front of the shed from the cabin.

This is the view of the lot with the cabin, shed and small metal shed (on the left) for wood. The decking does go out past the kitchen shed.  As you can see there is plenty of parking in front to park the boat and a couple cars (our car is park, but it is further to the right & back, so out of the picture).

We only bought the cabin/sheds/and everything in them. The lot is rented seasonally & year round in a resort community. There is a heated bathhouse just a little ways down that is heated year round too. We will be renting it year round so that it can be used as a destination for ice fishing and year round fishing.

We plan to do a little work on it to replace deck boards and give it more curb appeal and fix the bottom of the door side (some exterior rot at the bottom but doesn't go through more than a 2x4) and hope to put in a couple more windows (there is only 2 windows right now) in the spring. We want to add one to the front and then another one on the door side.

The kids are very excited. There is a playset on the seasonal lot side and a BIG brand new playset over on the motel/resort side (the two sides are separated by a road, the motel/resort side is on the lake). We can use both. There is also a restaurant at the resort, as well as kids play area with video/book library in the office. There is also a boat ramp/ boat wash area/ & fish cleaning shack to use. As well as shuffle board, volleyball & tetherball and a fishing pier. The resort is right on Mille Lacs.

We bought it from friends who also own a little larger cabin a little closer. The hardly used this one so they wanted to part with it so they weren't paying the lot fees anymore and could use the money we paid to buy the cabin & sheds to fix up there other cabin which needs work.

We'll do a little redecorating inside to give it our own personal touch, but since it's small there isn't much to do. And we are thinking of rearranging the furniture a bit to change it up and possibly add in some other kind of either bunk or futon/bunk or murphy bed for a different sleeping and conversation area. The couch is fine to sit on and to sleep on as a couch, but the sleeper part is not at all. So we are figuring out what we want to do.

So, it's a starting point for a cabin and we don't have to wait until we are retired to have one. And it's still

kinda like camping, a little. But now we don't have to haul all our stuff with us. Just pack a suitcase and cooler and head on up. It is a 2 hour 50 minute drive to there from our house.

There are Sooooo many lakes up there we are excited to explore and 2 state parks within 5-10 miles of the cabin. One of them is huge and has lots of XXC ski trails and snow shoe trails, as well as a swimming beach & regular trails and sledding hill and warming house and boat launches. And there are lots of ATV and snowmobile trails there too. Next we'll have to get a 4-wheeler. :)

Hubby is pretty happy. Let him get a boat last summer, this summer we get a rustic cabin, maybe a 4-wheeler next summer. All the toys he's ever wanted. LOL!

2012 in a (Photo) Review

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This pretty much took FOREVER! to create. Really! I worked on this so long. I think next year I will make a folder in My Pictures that is 2013 Favorites, so I can just put them in there and easily get them quickly for next year. Jeesh! Going through all the pictures by date on my computer is what took forever.

End of 2012 Review

Well, I went back and looked at my goals for 2012 and I didn't quite accomplish all those things I had
set out to.

I did do 5 different 5K runs, one was a Warrior Dash which has 11 obstacles (tough!) over the course.

The runs were:
*Maple Syrup Run
*Medford 5K (don't have a pic from this one)
*Warrior Dash
*Color Run
*Scare in the Bear

I took snowboarding lessons which ended badly with me hurting my wrist. I was bull headed and never went in to the Dr to have xrays but wore a metal brace (courtesy of Andy's motorcycle accident several years ago) for over a month, but I have maintained exercising 5x a week all year even while I was injured. Did I mention that before that I fractured a rub, Jeesh! I didn't start out the year good to my bones.

So, those injuries squashed my plans for the indoor tri. I still would like to try one of those first before I do an outdoor one.

As for my goal for an outdoor one, I was dragging my feet on buying a road bike (it's a big expense I wasn't sure I wanted to spend but I do love my new bike) and I wasn't working on swimming and all of it kinda freaks me out. I need to build up more confidence in myself to be able to tackle I tri I think.

I did take my wheel pottery class and enjoyed it - you have seen the posts. I joined the art center and hope to get back to there 1-2x a month so I can make new creations.

I did not make my rag rug. I wonder if I could get that done in a day. There is still tomorrow left to 2012. Or at least start it.

I did go kayaking - once. I think the fact that we bought a boat this summer had an impact on this.

And the winter of early 2012 did not yield snow to do any XXCing or snowshoeing. Boooooooo!

Looking in to 2013 I still would like to try my first indoor tri and I think I have convinced myself to do my first half marathon (in May - eeeek!). I am signed up for another Warrior Dash (different location this time) and will probably do a couple other 5Ks (not signed up for any others yet)

I would also like to tackle a do-it-ourselves (on a budget) semi remodel of the kitchen involving updating cabinets, wood trim & wainscot,  backsplash and possibly countertops (we gotta see how much that will cost.)

The other do-it-ourselves (on a budget) semi remodel I want to tackle is turning the unfinished area in our basement that I use for sewing (& storing all my crafting supplies) in to a cheery and more organized space. Most of it will be painting the gray bricks but there is also a floor treatment I want to try and getting more storage solutions and organizing it more.I have started the organization piece and have all my fabric organized (holy cow do I have a lot of fabric!!!!) but there is so much more that need to be sorted and labeled in bins.

And we need to get a new flat room (over the playroom) put on next spring and want to put in some more gutters -- those are not really goals, but something that is is in the works for 2013.

I should be working on a rag rug instead of still typing this post. LOL!

Elf Yourself

This video is only good through 1/1/13, so enjoy it now!

Photo Album of Fall Family Photo Session

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FINISHED POTTERY!!!!

Week #1
Have not made plans yet with what to do with this small bowl or this mug. I think I am keeping both mugs for us and this small dish will be on my night stand to hold small things like chapstick or hairties.

Week #2
Another mug I will probably keep and my husband has put a claim  on this small bowl to use on his nightstand.

Week #3
I do plan to keep my bulbous vase. And the bowl in the back with the black on it is being used as a candy dish. I have not decided what to do with the other bowl.

Week #4
The smaller dish I plan to give as a Mother's Day gift to be used as a butter dish. I have made another one that I will be glazing soon so that I have a butter dish to give to my mom & my mother-in-law. I have not decided what to do with this platter. My instructor had suggested we can always give pieces as a hostess gift when we go to a dinner or party and put a snack to share on it and leave for the hostess to keep. So that might be what this one becomes, although my daughter really likes it and wants it. But I do have something else for her that is waiting to be glazed. The circular platter is being used as a candle holder, it matches the candy dish I made above.

Week #5
My daughter has already claimed the curvy dish as something to put her jewelry in. The other curvy piece is a low vase, which is perfect for the wildflowers we have planted in our landscaping. The others  I was thinking about giving a friend with a candle to use as a candle platter and the circular piece I am planning to fill with candy and give to my daughter's teacher for Teacher Appreciation Day.

Week #6
The 2 big pieces I did to use as decorative pieces in our bedroom (a bedroom re-model is in the near future). The bowl and other cylinder piece I have no idea what I will do with.

This is everything I created during the duration of the 7 week class. I did go in a few times and made 12 more items! I am still amazed that I made 17 items during those 7 weeks and only 1 broke. Currently, the 12 items have all been glazed and being put in the kiln for the final firing this afternoon. I plan to go pick them up this weekend.

Most of those 12 pieces I have plans for and made them with people in mind. I made 4 coordinating pieces for my brother and new sister-in-law to give them as wedding presents. I hope they like them and appreciate them. I can't imagine that they have much for party/dinner service ware and might appreciate having some matching pieces. Also, I made plates with my kids names on them for them.

I hope to take another class in the future to learn better techniques and how to make some new stuff, but in the meantime I did purchase a membership to the Art Center so that I can buy more clay and make more stuff. I spent some time on etsy & pinterest yesterday getting ideas of other things I want to make.

Pottery Class - Week #7

 Here is the glazing room at the Art Center. All those buckets are different colors of glazes.

On one of the walls is examples of all 2 color combinations of glazes on both red and porcelain clay.

This was fun trying to figure out what color combinations I wanted. Since I had no plans for any of the pieces (couldn't get attached, you know!) I had not thought how they would be used or given to.

I ended up decided to use the color Caribbean Green as the under or over glaze for each one of my pieces, then no matter what I chose to use them for they would coordinate regardless of the type of clay, pattern or shape of the piece. That color was my favorite.

This picture is of many of our glazed pieces, just waiting to be fired next time the kiln was loaded.

Pottery Class - Week #6

This was my most productive week. I made 5 pieces in one night, but it helped that I didn't have anything ready to be trimmed and there wasn't much for instruction this night, so we could get right to work.

I hopped on the wheel right away and made 2 pieces. I really have no idea what I will use this for. It could work well for a vase my my peonies, or maybe a pencil holder.

 I wanted to learn to make a piece that flared out, as I had not really done that with any other pieces. There is just so much to learn how to do.

I wanted to do some slab rolling with the porcelain and see how it worked with that. This platter I did a fabric imprint. I am not sure I am happy with how it turned out with the creases, but I guess we will see how the finished product looks when it is all glazed.

 This was a deeper dish and I really liked the curvy pieces I made before so I thought I would try a bigger one. I was thinking it might make a very pretty fruit bowl, very decorative!

I had made this piece in the red clay during week #4, but it had shattered after when I put it in the bisque room. I really wanted a platter this size/shape/pattern so thought I would try it again in the porcelain clay.

I should totally be wearing makeup if I am going to have my picture taken. Thought I would get at least one picture of me with my stuff, to show I was actually there. :)