Give that dog a bath!

The weather couldn't be any better this weekend.  We decided to give Bailey a bath.  The pictures speak for themselves.

 Bailey doesn't want to get in the water but once she's in she loves it.  You can tell by the look on her face.

 Dan decides he needs a bath too.

And then there was one!

I'm A Vegetarian!!!!!

Yeah.....right.......No really!  At least for a few days.  A year or so ago Blair made a bucket list of things she wanted to do in her life time.  One of them was to be a vegetarian for a month.  This is HER bucket list.  Not MY bucket list.  My bucket list is much more realistic. i.e. drive a Ferrari, sail around the world, sing on stage with Aerosmith...  Yet some how I have been sucked into doing it with her.  For those of you who don't know me.....I don't really like fruit and veggies.  For those of you who know me.....quit laughing!
I am five days into it and being a very good sport. (Only 25 days to go.  Beef industry prepare accordingly.)  Blair gave me some websites to check out which have been very helpful.  The site I like the best is a runners website.  They have great recipes.  I made black bean croquettes a couple of nights ago.  And I'm making spaghetti and non-meatballs tonight. (Apparently, black and white beans are my new best friend.)  This website says I'm going to have incredible energy and be able to run twice as far.........we'll see.  I CAN say I've slept better the past two nights than I have in a year.  Do I give my diet the credit?  Or exhaustion?  Again, we'll see.

Sky Is The Limit!

My friend Lise wanted a sky painted on her laundry room ceiling.  I've never painted a sky before.  Lise knew how to do it.  She took the time to teach me the technique.  I'm hooked!  I can't wait to do this in someones home.  This is a sunny day sky with some blue peeking through.  But she taught me how to make sunny sky with a few clouds and stormy skys.  Thank you Lise!  I had a blast!.

The First Day of School

Look at my handsome boys.  Le started 8th grade and Daniel 5th.  Both are growing up so fast.  I can't believe it.  Le had his physical this summer before Boy Scouts.  He has grown FIVE inches in ten months.  I can't keep him in pants!

As IF I Didn't Have Anything To Do!

With all of my MANY sewing deadlines I took off to the lake with my family.  It was such a great day.  It was overcast humid and stormy when we departed Greenville.  By 11am the clouds burned off, the humidity dropped and there was an awesome breeze.  We didn't get home until 11pm! 

 Dan's friend Joe, who spent hours stirring up red clay.

 Dan and Joe would dig up clams? and crack them open looking for a pearl.  No fresh water pearls were found........

 Le and Ben taking a drive around the cove.

 Dan driving with Sandy on the back.



WRONG! All will be shipped tomorrow.

I sewed my little fingers off Monday.  In between two school open houses and Boy Scouts.  But it. just. didn't. get. done.  I had a little freak out/break down Monday night but then I thought, "Is there anything I can do about it now?  Even if I finished at midnight could I ship it?"  I've sewn ALL day today and YES it is all finished and ready to ship.  My house is a mess.  No laundry is done.  Forms are not filled out for school tomorrow.  But my client will have her stuff before her party on Friday.  It's 9:37pm.  I'm shot.  I will wake up super early and get forms filled out and THEN I will officially feel a sense of relief. 

The boys start school tomorrow.  I will miss having them home.  It has been a good summer.  As usual, Le can't wait and Daniel is begging to be home schooled.  I will take their picture and post it as I do every year.

It'll Get Done.......Right?

For those of you who know me, you know I am not a procrastinator.  Well here I am on the computer......goofing off.....I've a sewing job that is supposed to ship...um....TODAY!  I worked all day Friday and Saturday on them.  But Sunday the boys wanted to go to the lake.  So off we went.  We didn't get home until 11pm.  It's now 8:37am.  they.ship.today.  I refuse to freak out. 

On the flip side we had a GREAT time at the lake.  The weather was awesome.  I took a couple of photos and I'll post later.  When I have time.......

Lunch With Joe and Kathryn

LOOK Kathryn!  Your eyes are open BOTH times!

On the way to the beach we stopped in for lunch with Joe and Kathryn in Wilmington NC.  Thank you for a wonderful rest and lunch.  We enjoyed our visit and hope you will make it to our home soon!

My Love Affair With Forts Continues

My favorite fort is Ft. Sumter but this fort is a very close second.  Fort Macon was built before the Civil War.  The elements of nature have claimed it twice only to be rebuilt.   It saw 11 hrs of battle during the Civil War before surrendering.  (Damn Yankees!)  It became a state park until it was brought back into commission during WWII.  It was SO hot but we had a breeze the whole time there.

On The Beach

Here are a few photos of our days on the beach.  We chose this beach in NC because it has some of the best surfing on the East Coast.  After surfing in Hawaii last summer the boys were wanting to do it some more.  The waves were better than I expected.  They were approx. 5ft which is perfect for the boys.  They were very different than the waves in HI though, coming in at quicker succession.  Le had to really fight his way out to be able to surf in. 

A Day At Shackleford Island

We spent the day at Shackleford Island.  This island is home to 114 pure breed wild Mustangs.  We saw two harems while we were there.  They are SO beautiful.  These Mustangs have lived on this island for 500 years undisturbed.  What a life!

Ghost and Pirates

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We signed up for a ghost and pirate tour in Morehead.  It was at the Webb Memorial Building.  This building has been investigated 31 times by TAPS and several other para normal companies and shows.  It was a lot of fun and well organized.  We were lucky too...sorta.  They said we could experience seeing something, feeling something, cold air, scratches, actual words spoken etc.  Well, we had none of that.  BUT, we did catch an orb in one of our photos.  We have emailed it to the Webb Library where they keep and document all sightings. 

The orb is in the bottom left corner of the flag with the skeleton.

Update

We are having a really nice time in Atlantic City, NC.  On the way up we stopped and had a great lunch with Joe and Kathryn in Wilmington.  They have an amazing house and yard.  The only thing missing is a sign "George Washington slept here."  (Which seems to be on every house in Wilmington.)  Our house is in Atlantic Beach is nice.  It's a three story duplex.  I think if I lived here full time I would get tired of running up and down steps though! 

We have spent the last couple of days on the beach.  There is an awesome breeze coming off the ocean which makes the heat tolerable.  Le rented a surf board and has surfed the past two days.  The waves aren't like north shore but hey, "Ya get what ya get!"

Today we are taking the ferry to Shackleford Island to see the wild mustangs and go shelling.  Tonight we are going to go on a ghost tour.  I will post photos later.  To all my blog friends have a great day!

Heading East

After a CRAZY week of work we are headed east to the beach. We departed at 6pm after Sandy got home from work. This is a real fly by the seat of our pants trip. I let the boys pack their own bags. I brought three pair of shorts, three t shirts, swimsuit, and flip flops. We are on NO schedule. We usually get in the car and drive, Drive, DRIVE. The boys were in the back seat asking, "How late are we going to drive tonight?" "Let's go as late as we can!" They were surprised when we pulled into the hotel at 9:15pm! Sandy and I decided to stop in Florence, SC for the night. We are three hours  down the road. Tomorrow we will stop in Wilmington, NC for lunch with friends then mosey on up the coast. Now if I can just get my mind and body to RELAX and embrace this no schedule, fly by the seat of my pants way of life.....TO BE CONTINUED......