C3's Trip to Florida! (last year?)

So I just noticed that I had this Post in my "drafts". These pictures are from 2 visits ago to Naples, Florida and visiting Grandma and Pepaw. To be honest I can't remember when this is from. I know its not from our last time, because that was at Christmas time and we didn't make it to the beach. Colton looks so little here! My guess is that he is 2 1/2 here, and now he is almost 4! It seems like yesterday we were moving from Naples, FL to Greenville, SC. Now we are in Tulsa, OK. C3 has moved a lot over the last 3 years. Anyway, enjoy the older pictures. Can't wait to go back and visit everyone in Florida. We will have to plan a trip for 2012. In the mean time, we are looking forward to showing Grandma and Pewpa a good time in Tulsa, OK next month!

All you need is Love...

... and Polymer Clay!

My friend Shayna and I got together tonight for polymer clay jewelry making.

 I'm having so much fun. I made a "earth day" necklace and earring set.

The earrings!

 Copper, Freshwater Pearl, and Gold beads.

The necklace!

Green and blue polymer clay with letter stamps. Copper, Freshwater Pearl, and Gold beads.

The set!

I have not decided if I am keeping or gifting these.

My goal is to make all of my Christmas gifts for family and friends.

 Speak up if you like these :)

26 books and the Joy of Less

At the start of 2011 I set a goal of reading 26 books in the 52 weeks of 2011.

 I met my goal yesterday when I finished my 26th book!!!

If you want to see the otehr 25 books that I have read this year, check out my Shelfair profile here.  

My 26th book was "The Joy of Less" by Francine Jay. It got me motivated to declutter my stuff. I have not finished our house, however am getting there.

Currently I'm happy with our bathroom, closet, kitchen, and pantry.

I wouldn't say that I'm over attached to items, however I think often think "what if I may need this in the future".

This is half of the stuff that I donated from my closet. I finally got rid of the clothes that do not fit me. Why am I holding on to a pair of pants that I wore on my 21st birthday. Chances are if I can get back to that size, i will not want to wear pants that are 9 years old! I also donated my wedding dress to a local charity. It was just taking up space in my closet. I do not have any daughters, and If I did, would they really want to wear a dress that has just been sitting in my closet for 30 years? No.

I got rid of all the shoes I no longer wear. A majority of those shoes were ones that I have worn once or twice and they killed my feet. So those went off to the Goodwill. The ones that were falling apart went to the trash. Yes, I got rid of my Rainbow flip flops from college :(

(but that's ok, I now have Birkenstocks!)

Look at all the counter space! My stuff was over taking our bathroom. Why was I holding on to makeup, lotion, and those tiny hotel samples of junk? I kept what I actually use. The rest has just been taking up space! It went to the trash! (plus I'm sure most of it was out of date and past the use by date, nasty)

Look at all that cooking space! I hated that we had 100 things on our counter top and I would have to move stuff to get dinner ready. The coffee pot that we only use on the weekends went under the counter. The empty container that completed my flour and sugar set of 3 is off the counter! The junk mail is gone! I also took out all of the stuff out of my cabinets and got rid of stuff. I don't need 4 muffin tins and 700 Tervis Tumblers. Goodwill was happy when I showed up this week.

As far as our pantry goes, I has spices that expired in 2006 that were still following us around. I also filled a large bag to donated to a food bank. Aww it feels so good to see our house some what decluttered. Next is the bedroom, Colton's room, and the storage room Guest Bedroom!

2011 Day of Caring- Tulsa, OK

Today was Tulsa's Day of Caring. Over 600 volunteers in Tulsa got together to volunteer our time to make Tulsa a better place. I helped a woman's shelter organize their warehouse space. People throughout the community donate clothing (new and used) to the shelter. They get so many donations that bags and bags and bags were just sitting in a storage space. We worked through all of the bags and organized the clothes.



I have a new appreciation for volunteers and people that work at consignment stores. People will donate the nastiest of clothing. No one wants to wear a stained, ripped shirt. Also please wash the clothing you are donating.



A few of my coworkers were assigned to warehouse organization. There were 13 of us total volunteers, plus a few woman from the shelter.
When I think of a woman's shelter I think of woman that leave abusive situations. These woman are actually getting help from substance abuse problems that were jail bound. The woman that helped with the warehouse organization were very open about the program and felt like they were given a second chance to make something of their lives. It's good to know that Tulsa is doing something to help these woman, instead of just kicking them back onto the streets after they finish their prison sentence.



Overall it was great day and I felt that we helped Tulsa today. If you have a Day of Caring (or something similar) in your town I highly recommend volunteering.
 It's always to give back, especially in the community that you live in!



Fall is here!

When Starbucks starts selling their Pumpkin Spice you know fall is here! It could not be a more perfect week to bring it back. We have had 100 (ok maybe not that many) days over 100 degrees, it has been HOT HOT HOT and today our high was only 81 degrees. Ok, that still sounds warm, however it is a cool front for us in Oklahoma!

I'm excited for all the pumpkin flavored stuff, sweaters and jeans weather. I'm looking forward to the holiday, our upcoming trip to Colorado, and Casey's parents coming to visit soon. I am defiantly ready for the summer to be over!

Oh, and check out my shellac nail polish. This stuff lasts up to two weeks with no chipping! I don't get manicures often (only a few times year), but from now on out I'm paying $5 extra for the shellac polish.

Oklahoma City- Science Museum

Part 2 of our trip to Oklahoma City was going to be a visit to the Zoo. However this being the first nice/cool weather day we have had in months, I think the rest of Oklahoma decided to visit the Zoo too. So instead we went the Science Museum, and could not have been more pleased with it. Colton had a blast (and he was free, under 4!) We didn't
 spend the day outside like we planned, however we had a great time exploring the museum.



The playground first caught Colton's eye, since he still had that in his mind from the  Botanical  Gardens. Once he got it out of his system we got to explore the rest of the place!  



Colton's first time playing with Legos! He loved them!

 

Very hard at work making the perfect racecar!




On your mark. Get set. Go!



We got lost in the house of mirrors! Colton loved looking for daddy or mommy.
 I'm pretty sure he will have a mark on his head due to running into the mirror a few times.



Someone is getting sleepy here!
Colton got to fly a plane.
"3-2-1 Blast Off!"

Colton watched the trains for a long time.

He got to "drive" a Segway!
 I think our camera is on its last life. A good majority of your pictures from the day looked like this :( .

Playing with paper cups in a wind tunnel.

And playing with water !
We will for sure be going back again. Colton had a blast. We did so much and there is still a lot more for us to explore.
As Colton get older, there are more advanced things for him to do and see.

On the way home we drove Route 66 and stopped at POPS! I got Cream Soda and Casey got Root Beer. Colton was fast asleep at this point. He was wiped out from a day of fun!

A nice family took our picture since our little photographer was sleeping in the car!

Oklahoma City- Botanical Gardens- CLOSED :(

C3 headed to Oklahoma City for a day trip this Labor Day weekend. The weather was perfect for outdoor activities. We decided to spend the day at the Botanical Gardens and the Oklahoma City Zoo.  I researched the Botanical Gardens and saw that it had a childerns outdoor activity area. Colton was looking forward to playing on the playground after being cooped up in a car for the 2 hour drive.

The playground was closed :( Colton was pretty bummed. We decided to walk the grounds to see what else there was to do. The bridge behind us in the picture above is the indoor section of the Botanical Gardens. That was also closed and under consturction. Even if it was open, i'm not sure how interested Colton would have been when he had high hopes for a playground!



We walked the ground for about 10 more minutes.



The Botanical Gardens were nice. Walking distance from Oklahoma City Brick Town. We will have to go back once the gardens are open and in full bloom. We will also need to explore Brick Town. I hear there are many resturants, Hotels, and the baseball stadium withing walking distance.



We decided to leave the Botanical Gardens and head to the Zoo ( about a 10 minute car ride) in hopes of some better outdoor activites for C3!