Slow and steady

Pretty much every month I find myself rushing around the last three days of the month trying to get all possible billables and bonus hours in for work. I am again doing that this month! My goal for August is to follow the advice of the tortoise and go at it slow and steady ALL MONTH LONG so that maybe next month at this time I will be cruising along rather than tearing my hair out!

But forgetting about work and remembering another great day at the zoo is so much more fun, lazy days where you just walk around and see amazing sights and animals you didn't even know existed share pens with ones you have known since childhood - a great life lesson, why can't we all just get along.

Make a Smilebox free ecard

Turtle facts:
Turtles have good eyesight and an excellent sense of smell. Hearing and sense of touch are both good and even the shell contains nerve endings.

The shell of a turtle is made up of 60 different bones all connected together.

The bony portion of the shell is covered with plates (scutes) that are derivatives of skin and offer additional strength and protection.

Turtles range in size from the 4-inch Bog Turtle to the 1500-pound Leathery Turtle.

Turtles will live in almost any climate warm enough to allow them to complete their breeding cycle.

Turtles live on every continent except Antarctica.

For more information on turtles check out:
http://www.peteducation.com

6 Months

It has been a half year (to the very minute) since Mom grew her wings and went to be an angel elsewhere... It feels like 100 years and 5 minutes. The room is still off limits, the jewelry is still locked away, and the pain is still pretty fresh. BUT I have survived and THAT is more than I thought was possible...

I found out yesterday that they are having a fundraiser with 4-H to place a granite bench in her honor at the fairgrounds. In the spot where she always sat - with her name inscribed.

They miss you too Momma

The fun, the fabulous, the fourth

SO... I love scrapbooks, I think they are a thing of beauty. Each picture shown to the best of it's ability (much like a horse in fitting and show but I digress) and together the pictures create a story or a snippet of a day worth remembering. The flaw with all this is that I do NOT like to scrapbook. Sigh, what to do what to do... Well in walks our hero without his cape and he announces "Hun I bought you a year's subscription to smilebox, it says you can make gorgeous scrapbooks online and then have them printed or print them at home... I thought it would help you get some photos off your camera" WELL was he ever right, it also helped me realize I don't need to save every picture I take :-) AND AND AND it allows you to blog what you made with just a click of a button - how cool is that? So here is my first installment of "A day worth remembering"

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

I do realize that my pages are nowhere near as beautiful as those of Michelle, Danielle, and Tricia but I actually made them (which is something I never would have done otherwise) and they are beautiful in my book... The only thing I "edited" was that there is that white border around pages when you print them so I cropped that and glued the whole page to some pretty cardstock. All in all the 5 pages took me about 25 minutes and are an okay substitute for someone like me who will never spend the time for real scrapbooking...

Oh and PS I printed 2 copies and gave one set to my sister so she would have pages to remember the day too...

Swapping fears

skirt
Originally uploaded by AlwaysJoy

So I have been enjoying swapping for quite a while now (I would say a year or so) and I love getting to shop for someone and hopefully sending them a package that will make them feel thought and cared about...

This time I was swapping lengths of sheets (26" and from a twin sheet so exactly that wide)

I got the pattern and joined the swap from http://www.polkadotcreations.com/blog/ a fun blog that I read...

I honestly have no idea why I would even join this swap since I DON'T SEW! But I did and I had a great time finding a sheet to cut and send and I loved seeing the pretty material that came in but I was pretty sure I was never going to "Get around to it". Well long story short my fear of sewing machines continues (Sharon this is why we need to take that class) but I really wanted a cute new skirt so I made not one but 2 (for me and 1 for my niece) by hand... I did a web search on how to sew by hand and it taught me the stitch and I bought the elastic and some thread...

And although by machine it would have taken less than an hour (and probably wouldn't have had any oopsies all over it) I was so pleased that less than 4 hours later I had a skirt I could wear. And wear it I have - to work, to the 4th of July, to walk the dog... And I have made another one which is just as nice (though I don't like the waist as much I wonder what I did wrong) and has been worn as well...

So with no more chatting here are my "masterpieces"
Okay having issues with blogger so see the post below for skirt # 2

Swapping fears skirt two

Skirt #2
Originally uploaded by AlwaysJoy

For some reason I couldn't get both pictures in the same post so here is the second skirt

Everybody's doing it

My creation
Originally uploaded by AlwaysJoy

1. joy!, 2. flickr colors fruit slushies, 3. Autumn walk, 4. The closed window, 5. Blue in the face, 6. the dead come together to drink their desires, 7. " One Hundred Years of Solitude " - Loneliness - by Janusz, 8. 送你一颗棉花糖 Cotton Candy, 9. papapapapapapaaaa..., 10. Meeting the pregnant princess of the forest, 11. Snap. Crackle. Pop., 12. Swap-bot ornament from AlwaysJoy

1. What is your first name? Joy
2. What is your favorite food? Blue Vanilla Slushies
3. What high school did you go to? SEEM
4. What is your favorite color? Pink
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Michael J Fox
6. Favorite drink? GOOD Lemonade
7. Dream vacation? Cruise
8. Favorite dessert? Cotton candy?
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Happy
10. What do you love most in life? Walks
11. One Word to describe you. Bland
12. Your flickr name: Alwaysjoy
I think (looking at this) that it actually gives you a pretty good picture of me.

Working on goals...

So back in the spring I posted some goals for the summer.
ONE of which was to take some classes (still looking for a good writing class - may try it online) and am currently taking cake decorating at AC Moore... It is interesting to say the least and I am enjoying learning a new craft... Hopefully a few of you will get to be the recipient of a beautiful cake in the future...

Nope I am no Duff and never will be :-P



This was a "practice cake" that was teaching us lots of different techniques! Next week is an actual cake because we are celebrating Dad's birthday the next night and I asked if I could do my work on a cake so he could have something beautiful to cut into!

Make new friends

But keep the old

"One is silver and the other gold"

This weekend I was fortunate to get to meet Mr. Christian and see my good friend Tricia at the same time. We got to go for a nice walk and chat and all around have a great day.

Christian wasn't too sure he liked me in the beginning but I think by the end he had warmed up to me :-)

Thank you for a wonderful day Tricia and for letting me hold your beautiful baby boy... And I am so glad that I am not meeting him for the first time when he graduates kindergarten!

This is one of my favorite pictures of the mister because I know that he is only half in the frame because he was WAY too busy jumping for me to get a great shot and I love the absolute joy his face holds here.

And seriously look at Tricia! Her tomatoes are almost as tall as she is... She is the wonder gardener!