My Happy Cup of Coffee

How Awesome is this cup?

It isn't mine, it's Ali's, given to her for her birthday. But since I teach violin from 9-5 today, she let me use it to put my latte in.

Oh, and guess how much Mr. Smile holds? Like 20 oz of coffee!!! Oh yes.

Smiling is contagious,

you can catch it like the flu.

Someone smiled at me,

And I started smiling too.

~unknown.

One more thing, because this is another thing making me smile today....

After my solo with MBY Symphony last Saturday, (we did Sheherazade, and I played the finale solo, "gulp"!)

We came home to this beautiful bouquet left by our friend Mrs. B. who attended the concert.

Bradley also had a solo in his Junior symphony for the song When Johnny Come Marching Home, on his clarinet.

He was AWESOME! Go buddy!!!

How cute is the chubby bumble bee balloon?

Have a great day everyone, and don't forget to smile at someone, it might be the only sunshine they see all day. =)

"Who cares what they are wearing? From Main Street to Saville Row,

It's what you wear from ear to ear, and not from head to toe that matters!

So remember, you're never fully dressed without a smile."

~Annie

11 Things With "Sun"

Due to our lack of sunshine, I got to thinking about "sun" things, and decided to share my sunshine with you. =)

Ali suggested this one, and just I had to add it! Sundae of course!

Sun Jellyfish

Sun screen

Sun Salutations Yoga pose. (I just had to sneak that one in on ya'll)

An old car called a sun beam

Sun burn. (not a recommended Google search. Ick + ouch, baby.)

Sun Bear

Sun Flower

Sun Glasses.

Sun Conure

Sun Rise.

What else can you think of?

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
C. S. Lewis

This literally made me Laugh out loud!

I can't wait for the weather to change so I can start playing tennis again.

The little things that make you smile...

You know, those little, inconsequential, nugatory things that just happen, that keep life from being monotonous, and banausic.

Like snow, or White Christmas by Bing Crosby on the radio, or buying a thesaurus at a thrift store... =)

For me, these smile-inducing little things include:

1. Black finger tips on my left hand from diligent practicing.

2. A thick, red callous on my right index finger from my violin bow.

3. Coffee and a Costco muffin.

What are some little things in your life that just make you inexplicably happy? Drop a comment with a list of two or three smile-inducing things, and if enough of you leave a comment, I'll publish a list with one thing from each of you in my next post!

Christmas Blessings,

Emily

Had so much fun at a dance.....

On Camano Island last Saturday with our friends the Moores.. (Square dancing and the old fashioned contra dancing, just to clarify) And then I found this adorable picture, I just couldn't resist posting it...(I know, I know, it's about time I found something I can't resist posting right??) And.... OH MY GOODNESS!!! I just realized it's SNOWING!!! Our first snow of the year!! How exciting! I love, love, love snow. Someday I hope I can live in one of the states that has long cold snowy winters, I love them! Well, happy Wednesday to you all... and happy snow-day! =)

Make 'em laugh ~Donald O'Conner

Donald O'Conner as Cosmo Brown from Singing in the Rain.

If you haven't already seen this movie, put it on your bucket list. It's one of my favorites.

Never be afraid to laugh at yourself. You could be missing out on the joke of the century...

Forget it.

Awful. Nerve wracking. Mind-boggling. Unnecessarily Complicated. Invented to make people wonder why there aren't more accidents on the road. Probably the result of more cases of insanity than drugs or 6th position on the violin. Bad.

All this flashed through my mind, as I killed the motor on the jetta for like, the sixth time during my first stick-shift lesson this afternoon. My wonderful daddy was everlastingly patient as he explained that once the meter on the dash board reaches 20, you shift.

Daddy: "Let out the clutch SLOWLY and when it's almost out, shift to 2nd gear. No Emily, 2nd, that's fourth..... Ok so the car stalled. (a nice way of saying I killed the motor) Turn the car on. Now, push in the clutch and the brake. Shift to 1st. Now let off the brake. Now SLOWLY let off the clutch, and give it a little gas.

QUICK,!! NO, LOOK OUT, SHIFT! LET THE CLUTCH OUT! SLOWLY!! GIVE IT GAS!"

(Car: shudder, shudder, jerk, jerk, bounce bounce. Ominous silence)

Sigh. The car died again.

Daddy: Umm, it's ok. Turn the car on. Let's try it again.

Me: This is horrid.(as the neighbor lady gives me a sympathetic glance.)

Daddy: you're doing pretty well actually!

Me: Sigh. (as I give daddy a sympathetic glance.) Can we go home now? That is, if I can make it all the way around the block?

Daddy: No, no, keep trying. You'll get it.

15 minutes later...

Me: (starting the dead car again in the middle of a turn.) I suppose we should give it a rest. You look shell-shocked and I feel like a jellyfish.

Daddy: Ok.

So. That was my first lesson. I hate stick shift, but I guess I'll have to try, try again. Like daddy, rather too cheerfully I thought, said as we walked in the house, "Clarks NEVER quit."

Me: Sigh.

And the winner of the fall drawing is.......

Scroll down......

Scroll down....

Press on, your reward is sure......

Alexis Bento!!!!

Congrats Alexis, and thanks for entering! :) I'll be getting your prize to you when I see you at choir on Monday! (I need to add more chocolate to it still! :)

Thanks everyone for entering, it was fun! Maybe I'll do one every quarter...

Fall Surprise Drawing!

Enter the contest to win a fall surprise package! I won't tell you what's in it, that's for me to know and you to find out! But I will say, it will definitely include plenty of chocolate!

All you have to do is become a follower of this blog, and then leave a comment on this post with your name and email address or some other way to contact you if you win!

If you're already a follower you can still enter, just leave a comment with your name and email address.

On October 7th, one week from today, I'll put all the names in a bowl and one of my sisters will draw one out. But you have to be a follower to win! ;)

I'm hoping for lots of entries!

Happy Fall Everyone!

Trampaline (is that how it's spelled?)

Last night when my uncle Jeff came over to do some reloading with my dad, our cousin Dylon headed out front with us to play frisbee. After that got old we decided to head over to their house(just a few blocks up) to jump on Dylon's new tramp...ok time to do a spell check...ahh trampOline. :)

Uncle Jeff's house. Ironically, my parents used to live there (it's where I was born) and at the time, uncle Jeff and his family lived in the house where we live now!

Almost like flying. :)

Playing the game 'popcorn'.

Doing fancy flips (Dylon looks like he's going to taste trampoline, but he usually lands on his feet!)
Hope to see some of you at Mothers and Maidens!
It's good to be back. :)

Hmm... what to post....

I think I'll do another of our family's favorite poems out of that same book, this one is really cute,

Mom said when I was just 7 or 8 years old I used to read this poem, and it was a favorite!

Do you carrot all for me?

**********************

Do you carrot all for me?

My heart beets for you,

with your turnip nose, and radish face,

You are a peach.

And if we cantalope,

Lettuce marry;

Weed make a swell pear.

~Anonymous

Isn't that the cutest thing? :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Love,

Emily

Homework oh, Homework...

After I got home from class today, I was thinking I would blog about my English class, and the dreaded homework I have, and I instantly remembered a poem I used to read when I was little, and it made me laugh out loud because of it's funny words, and I could only remember the first line!! Being the only other one in the room, I do believe Ali thought I had finally gone crazy! :)

I looked around for the poetry book it was in, and finally found it, it is very thrashed, frommany readings, and it's even book-marked as a favorite! I think we all loved this book as children:)

So I definitely don't feel this strongly about it, even though it's not my favorite thing to do! ;)

Homework Oh, homework! I hate you,

you stink, I wish I could wash you away in the sink!

If only a bomb would explode you to bits.

Homework, Oh, homework! You're giving me fits!

Homework, Oh, homework! You're last on my list!

I simply can't see why you even exist,

If you just dissapeared, it would tickle me pink!

Homework Oh, homework, I hate you, you stink!

~Jack Prelutsky

Just to make you laugh...

We found this online, and I thought it was so funny, I just had to post it!

You’re Drinking Too Much Coffee When:

You ski uphill.You speed walk in your sleep.

You answer the door before people knock.

You sleep with your eyes open.

You just completed your third sweater today, and you don’t know how to knit.

You grind your coffee beans in your mouth.

You have to watch videos in fast-forward.

The only time you’re standing still is in an earthquake.

You lick your coffee pot clean.

Your eyes stay open when you sneeze.

The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse.

You can type sixty words a minute with your feet.

You don’t sweat, you percolate.

People get dizzy just watching you.

People can test their batteries in your ears.

Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil.

Your Thermos is on wheels.

You can outlast the Energizer Bunny.

You don’t even wait for the water to boil anymore.

You don’t tan, you roast.

Stony Ridge Farm

Every fall our family goes to Stony Ridge Farm for an afternoon of fun.

Stony ridge is a family's farm that they have opened to the public during the fall. They have hay wagon rides, pumkin patches, corn mazes, & animals ranging from donkeys and goats, to geese and chickens. We went this October during the last weekend that they're open, and we had alot of fun. We fed goats, rode the hay wagon, got very lost in the corn maze, picked a couple squash and some mini pumpkins, and topped off our fun afternoon with\apple pie, and carmel apple slices. (heaven in a bowl, consisting of sliced apples, topped with vanilla ice cream, hot carmel sauce, and whipped cream YUM!) We love Stony Ridge, and I know we'll keep going every year. As long as they keep seving their carmel apple slices!!

Oh what a cute picture of buddy!

Not tall enough Emily!

I hate geese... They scare me!!
I don't think this one liked us either!
Maybe he was craby 'cause he knows he's gonna be Christmas dinner!

Makeover update

If you read the previous post you can see the pictures of my new room before I painted it.

Now after four days of living out of boxes and laundry baskets, it's done! I can move in! I still need to get the new bedding, and make slip covers for the throw pillows, and I'm sure I'll find lots more little odds and ends. And I can't put anything on the newly painted shelves either for a couple days until the paint is good and hard. It's been fun painting though mostly... I didn't like painting the ceiling one bit! My neck is still sore! :) But it's done. And I love how it turned out.

The Makeover

So one day about a week and a half ago, Ali comes running up to me and she says she has the best idea ever. I cautiously asked her what she had in mind, and braced my self for a shocker, remembering what some of her other good ideas had brought on. (Ask me sometime about the messes she and I have gotten into with our great ideas!)

She said that she thought it would be "really cool" if her and I switched bedrooms. She said that she was tired of sleeping in her own room by herself, and that she thought I'd like having my own room. Now if you had asked me before if I'd like to have my own room, I'm sure I would have answered with an enthusiastic YES! But I was surprised to find that I was rather apprehensive. Samantha and I have shared a room since I was two years old, and the idea of being by myself didn't sound real good. when I voiced this, she replied quite quaintly that I wouldn't be by myself! I'd have Rosie. I thought this was funny, and Samantha gave her a sideways glance and said she didn't think her invaluable companionship could be replaced by a dog, and that she wasn't sure she liked the idea either. We were going to say no, but she gave us those puppy eyes, and pleased and pleaded, and finally we agreed to a one week trial period.

And we've found that we all rather like this new arrangement, and decided to make it permanent. So now came the chore of moving all our stuff from room to room. And now that we're settled, I HAVE to paint the room. The colors she had painted it were bright pink, bright yellow and bright green. And even Ali is very tired of the bright colors! I tried to take a picture of it, so you can see the before and after.

Pretty bold huh?

So I thought I'd paint it something a little more subdued. (so I could at least wake up in the morning and not feel like I'm being blinded by color!) I picked a light green, but it's hard to get a good picture of. It looks grey in the photo, but rest assured, it's light green.

So Ali helped me, until around 4pm. (We started around 2pm), and I finished the bottom two coats around 7pm. We had fun though, and I'll probably paint the upper half later this week. I think it will turn out nicely, and I can't wait to put the room back together, and see the end results. I'll put up more pictures of our progress as we go.

Our supervisor.....