**To read part one click here**

We’re making our yearly pilgrimage to Fort Collins, Colorado to see my mom’s brother and his kids. His daughter Kally is not only my cousin, she is also my best friend. Not having seen her in a couple of years, I thought about seeing her again. I smiled at the thought of her. I had always wanted to look just like her, with her naturally curly brown hair and soulful brown eyes. Not so many years ago after telling her how much I had always envied her looks she told me that she had felt the same way about me. She had always been the one whom I could tell anything and she could tell me anything, even though it had often been done through letters, instead of in person. It had never made a difference. She’d always been the outgoing one, while I hung back shy. Her energy and excitement had affected me over the years, though, and I became more extroverted. She had done whatever she wanted and had hauled me along. Her parents had gotten a divorce a few years before. Soon after it her mom had moved to Spokane, Washington and had taken the kids with her. Kally and I had been friends practically since birth and we had always lived apart. We had written to each other all our lives, but with her move and both of us starting college, our correspondence had lessened and finally ceased. It had been so long. I wondered what she was like. I wondered what she looked like and what she’d been doing.

“What did Uncle Evan say Kally said when he told her we were coming?” I asked for at least the tenth time.

“He just said that they were all excited that we were coming,” my mom replied shortly.

Wriggling once again, I looked at Joe and marveled at his ability to sleep through all of this. In his sleep he had slumped over in an awkward position and it looked painful.

**To read Part 3, click here.**

Love this material....

Cute Zaragoza Bag from Paco and Lupe... How sumptuous is that material? And how fun is the word sumptuous?

That word is for you Matt if you're out there. Are you flummoxed? *wink**

We'll Never Feel Sad

Another MagpieSkinnies original listed in my shop. Check it out! :D

Reunion Part 1 - Short story

***After reading PioneerWoman's romance story, or part of it at least, I decided to post a story. this is a fictious short story I wrote in college, enjoy**

Sitting in the back seat behind my mother, I looked over at my father, confidently maneuvering the car through some heavy traffic. Then I looked at my brother next to me and thought how alike and yet completely different father and son are. Like me, my brother had inherited a fierce temper and a reserved nature from our mother. That sounds like a weird combination, I know, but believe me that is exactly what we have. My father, on the other hand, is very laid back and he rarely loses his temper.

Lately though, conflicts between my younger brother Joe and my parents had been driving all of us over the brink. Having already passed through this teenage rebellion my brother had sunk into, like a leaf pulled into a whirlpool, I wanted to reach into his head and push the button that would give him the understanding and tolerance that maturity would bring. If only it were possible. Sighing deeply, I thought of the years it could take for him to reach this understanding. I shook my head. Maybe having children was overrated. Fidgeting against the uncomfortable press of the seat, I searched for a less painful position. I swear the car seats get harder, and this trip gets longer every year.

**to be continued, click here to read part 2**

The Lucky Ones

I've listed a new painting in my shop everybody!! I think it's a cute one. I love my little frog and rabbit paintings. :D

Cute CUTE cute

I've been meaning to blog about the adorable couple behind Something's Hiding Here and their awesome loft that I saw in Readymade Mag, but I never scanned the article. LAZY!! I just pilfered this scan from their site (thank you!!) to show you how cute they and their loft are. **sigh**

Oh Monday...

Hubs and I just partook in an excellent vintage (aka $4.69 from the cart of the nearly expired things at the grocery), Hardys Cabernet Sauvignon...

And then he said to me:  Your eyes look glazed...  You been eatin' jelly donuts?  

Oh and I talked to my youngest nephew tonight, who is such a honey.  He said "Hi *!  How are you doing?"  And then he said, "Daddy talk on Daddy's phone."  He's pretty good at the talkin' bit for a 2 year old!!

Re-usable Shopping Bag???

I've been looking for a cute, reusable shopping bag... How cute is this one from Sirena con Jersey.

Lake...

C and I spent the week at the little cabin on the lake.  It was so lovely to get away from it all, unplug for the week.  We ate extremely healthy (Pizza King, Pizza King, root beer, Pizza King), biked quite a bit, paddle boated, swam, read.  *sigh**** It was lovely...  

The Pooch snoozes in the back seat...

...until you look at him.  He has NO sense of personal space and he's quite the cuddler.  I was sitting on the front porch lookin' at the lake and he came and sat down beside me and scooted sideways to get flush with my side.  :)    

Hubs's mom and I went to Amish country - Shipshewana one day.  The town is so neat to see, a weird mix of old timey and current, with the Amish horse and buggies on the same road as cars and trucks.  They have an enormous flea market.  I was hoping for old junk and a lot of it was new junk.  

I'm looking for necessary items, such as a cake plate.  Do I make cake?  Rarely, but I really think I would if I had a cool cake plate.  No, seriously, I would.  From scratch too, scout's honor. ;)

Tiny Visitor

This wee guy joined me for breakfast the other day.  Are you sick of frog and toad shots? Tough!  Just kidding, but seriously I see a lot of frogs and toads out here in the boonies...

Quiet as a mouse, er, mice...

Here's a painting I did not too long ago. 2 wee mice..

Camouflage

I went to water my trees the other day and I had a wee visitor!! He blends quite nicely don'tcha think??  I'm so bummed, my pics of him are all blurry.  :(

These tree starts are for Hubs's sister.  We have lots of baby maple trees.  Everywhere.  Even in our rain gutters.  Probably in Pooch's tummy too, knowing that he eats weird things for a dog.

"Awwwk"

That's the sound Hubs made when this guy jumped on his arm as he walked out the door the other day. Never heard that before, typically he's QUITE unflappable. You can't scare him, tickle him, nothin'.... Hee hee... :D  

This guy was large, probably 6 or so inches from head to tail....  Of course I'd have squawked if he'd jumped on me, but that's just a given, nothing noteworthy.  Magpie squawked, screamed, jumped?  Of course she did, YAWN.

Movies...

C and I watched Dan in Real Life the other night.... This was one of those movies where the main character behaves so oddly that I'm completely uncomfortable for them. Not unlike this movie.

I loved this song from the movie. Tell me you can listen to this and not shake your booty. I won't believe you, but go on and tell me. :D

Decor for the tank of the fish....

Every self respecting fish tank should have an Easter Island statue in it. Which might explain why my tank has no Easter Island statue... But seriously, isn't this a hoot?? Where is the tiki statue for the fish tank, hmmmmm??

Hand Carved Stamp Tutorial

Check out this adorable hand carved stamp tutorial from Geninne. I'm so impressed with all the illustrations on her adorable blog! Thanks for the cute tutorial Geninne!! I can't wait to buy some erasers and a carving tool!

Anniversary...

Today C and I have been married for 1 YEAR!! I can't even believe it!!

You're awesome C. Thanks for the laughs, being a great companion and for the beautiful earrings. ;) Love ya! I couldn't dream of a better partner. (except for your whole fascination with World of Warcraft - that's just weird. hahaha!).


After eating out for our anniversary we came home and made ice cream in our Cuisinart Ice Cream and Sorbet maker, following the simple vanilla recipe. MAN was it rich and lovely.

A cautionary tale...

Hi all, I just got my hippo coin purse Sat. after driving down to an apartment complex where I lived 3 years ago. Somehow in my paypal account I had that old address marked as my default "home" so when I made my purchase and did the rapid click through it didn't allow me to choose an address and shipped to the default. The main office called the residents whose apartment it went to and they were kind enough to take it to the main office. So make sure you have a current address as your default!! Probably everyone knows this except me, but *just* in case. :D

More Queen Anne Lace...

I love this pic... I realize I'm not much of a photographer, but still it's cool right??

Kahlua bear...

I'd like to say thank you to my Mom and Pops for taking such good care of Kahlua. She's my kitty, but she lives with my folks now because C is allergic. She's not feeling so well lately. I wish I could have her with me. I miss her sweet little face. Hugs and pets, Louky.

When you've had a rough day...

A hippo coin purse (hippo bums!!) makes it all better... This cute little thing is from Simbiosis. I can't wait to get it!!!

Cuteness

Check out how to make this cute succulent planter from Giant Jeans Parlor (seen on Whip Up).
You gotta see her cute little helper. :D