Just about to head to bed but wanted to get a few thoughts down.

This weekend included a quick trip to the ocean for Craig and I so we could celebrate (quietly) our 26th wedding anniversary. He loves the ocean ... granted, he mostly loves the ocean during the stormy fall and winter months ... so what better than to stay at our favorite place. After this weekend, we were reminded why we like our favorite place in the off season! Too many people, too much noise, bad food, bad service, and a rotten frame of mind = a not so great anniversary weekend.

Ah well, we got to spend time together ... alone, no phones/computers, kids and their "things" ... just us. Should be a good thing, but honestly sometimes it's not. We're just not "geling (sp)" these days. We've been here before; I know we'll get through it, and I know we'll be here again. That's just how our relationship has ebbed and flowed over the years. BUT ... it would've been nice if THIS weekend could have been ... well, better.

So I'm left very tired, unrested, a bit stress and anxious about where we're at right now.

I brought home some sand to use in my art journal, thanks to inspiration from Mandee J.! I'm looking forward to trying this out. I'm sad that I left behind two local attractions booklets in the hotel room. I'm sure I have others around I can use though.

I posted these photos from our weekend on Facebook already, but thought I'd add them here, too.

 I was surprised to see any sunset Saturday evening,

because the marine layer had been overhead all day.

 It was really stunning how quickly

the sun sets.

There she goes!

It's always fun to find a road named after you!

I thought this was a pretty little framed path

that lead to the beach where people were digging for oysters.

Another stunning viewpoint along the way. This is along Hwy 302.

This was our first time going home this way. Neither of us had

ever driven across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

I wish we could have gotten the entire house in the photo.

This is a 50-60's style rambler with these two restored classics parked in the driveway ...

pretty cool sight to see!

Good night!

What I did at work today ...

Not much to do today at work. So glad I brought my travel art kit! Tomorrow my hubby and I leave for the ocean for a couple days to celebrate our 26th wedding anniversary. I guess I was thinking about that when I created today's journal entry. Thank you to Melody Hahn for the happy mail that I incorporated into my entry today ... the leaves and flowers!

Here's a one-sided shot of my travel art kit. I wish it was a bit bigger, so I could bring more goodies! ;-) I got this bag here.

July 2013

July has been a fun month so far. The woman I replaced at work spent her last day on the job on the 12th, so I now have my office to myself. Tasks will be added to her duties as they present themselves. This is a very laid back office, so that is taking me time and lots of self-talk to acclimate. On the 12th, my boss gave me four cooked crabs to take home for dinner. So I made this:

Crab Quiche (recipe can be found here)

This same weekend, I drove east to visit my parents. Went by myself; had a very nice time! Love that drive ... we really are fortunate to live in a beautiful state.

On Wednesday, B and I went to Embellished in Edmonds to paint lilies on 16" x 20" canvases. I'm glad we went because I wanted to learn how they were able to teach everyone to paint the same thing. Except for that, and a good instructor, there was a lot of room for improvement. The canvases were cheap, the paint was cheap student grade, and the brushes were the worst I've ever seen (made it hard to put the paint where you wanted it to go)! And for $40, you'd think they'd include one glass of wine but that was extra. I saw a couple women in class come back to their easels with little tiny "glasses" of wine and am glad I didn't go that route. We spent three hours in class. I have a few more things to do to mine, but here are our paintings:

 The next night, I watched my grandkiddos so E and C could have a date night. They had a painting night at Palettes and Pairings in Kirkland. They bought a deal so paid half of what we did. But their event included one glass of wine or beer. Their supplies were the same quality/condition as the one in Edmonds.

In the morning, before their mother was even out of bed, my two oldest grandchildren, T and A, wrote lists of what they wanted to do with Gramma when she came over later. How sweet is that!!! Here's some of the fun we had:

Two games played outside

Snuggles and a movie (The Lorax)

 Combo art/science project

 Time to eat dinner ... one of their favorites!

Then we played Legos for a short time.

T wanted to play Skylander, but we couldn't find the game disk. :(

Then A wanted to draw (and paint ... but not enough time),

so she suggested I draw her while she drew me.

The kids were excited that I wasn't going to send them to bed at regular time,

and they elected to watch a movie instead of bedtime stories.

We watched Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3.

Right as the movie ended, Mom & Dad came home,

and our afternoon/evening of fun came to an end.

Love you guys!!

Someone posted this on Facebook, and I wanted to be able to find it again. 1962 was a good year!