Summer Fun…on the Beach at Galveston

 

 

I wanted to do a more ‘informative’ post today, but spent most of yesterday making a meal for a friend. The day before that found me altering prom dresses for another friend’s daughters.

 

Peggy took my son Jacob to San Diego for the national speech and debate tournament, so this was one way I could say ‘thanks’.  I’ll be going back next week for a day too. It’s wonderful to spend a ‘girly’ day now and then with friends. :o)

 

 

Tomorrow morning will find our family dancing away for the  entire day as part of an all-day square dance workshop for our new members. We will all go as ‘angels’ or helpers since we are so experienced.

 

 

Since we have to leave so early in the morning, I thought I’d just share some photos of our trip to the beach from last weekend. There was so much sand that I could only swim a bit. The ocean water sometimes looked brown! So I practiced my photography skills..such as they are..LoL! :o)

 

 

 

 

 

We have done some fun things this week that I plan to  share with you later. :o)  We just ordered The Way to Cook and The Art of French Cooking, both by Julia Child. Rebekah is really wanting to do ‘fancy’ cooking and we were both so inspired by the movie, Julie and Julia,  that we are wanting to try more.

 

 

My newest favorite dish is an Italian one called Milanese Style Penne Pasta and it is just heavenly!  I’ve learned to ‘de-glaze’ a pan and make a reduction sauce!  This is great to know as you thicken by cooking away the liquid rather than adding a bunch of thickener. Great news for us dieters! 

But if I go on any longer, I’ll be writing my Italian cooking post..so I better stop. Ha!  

     

Rebekah, Christian and Jacob with their friends from “Ultimate Frisbee’.

I also have been working away at my six things list and it really is as  life changing as I thought it would be! So this is what it feels like to be ‘caught up’! I’d never experienced it before! (That I can remember that is.)   So many good things are happening as a result of this habit.  I’m starting to enjoy what I do in a whole new way!

  

And I’ve been able to do some extra things like pick flowers to take with my friend’s meal..and do something really special..rather than just my usual ‘casserole’.  I even volunteered to handle our square dance club’s ‘store’. (Donated clothes for the new dancers to buy very inexpensively.) I’ve been behind and had to say  ‘No’ to so many things, I was afraid I’d forgotten how to say ‘yes’.

  It’s like I suddenly ‘woke up’ and could be a ‘giver’ again because I’m not so burdened down with things that should have been done a long time ago (and the accompanying guilt.) 

  

My brain seems to be functioning again and I had given that up for lost! Who knew that having so many belated tasks piling up would cloud your ability to think clearly. I certainly didn’t!

 

Today, I also took before and after photos of one of my VERY favorite cleaning tricks..Piling it!! It’s a fast and easy way to straighten the house, which is what I had to resort to in order to spend the day cooking and shopping. 

       

Next week will be so fun! I can’t wait to join you all and drop by. (Finally got to do some visiting tonight! Yippee!)

I do hope you all have a lovely weekend and a blessed Sunday.