Friday, August 31, 2007

A Perfect Friday Morning.

Ainsley and I spent the morning at one of my favorite shopping spots. The Virginia Beach DAV (Disabled American Veterans) Thrift Store. I've been shopping there for years, and when we lived in WV I would even have my mom go for me to scour the store for great finds. When I was pregnant she would send boxes and boxes of little newborn clothes from the thrift store. Aren't moms the best?

I can count on one two hands the number of brand new pieces of clothing I've bought for Ainsley. Everything else has come from the DAV. It's a bit of an addiction really. But I'm saving $$ and helping out a great organization, so it's okay, right? *wink*

So here's my stash from our trip this morning.



For $43 I got:

27 Yards of Fabric
Fisher Price School House
Pink Tractor
2 Books
3 Pairs of Pants
6 shirts
2 skirts
2 dresses
An undisclosed number of surprises for a friend who just gave birth to her first baby girl

Here's some of the fabric I found. I thought it was really cute. It's a 100% cotton king duvet, so I think that's about 16 yards. Right? I have no idea what I will do with it. Open for suggestions.


And here's the best part. 16 yards for...


If you can't decipher thrift store scribble, that's marked down to $3.98. *proud smile*

And here is a pink tractor I picked up for Ainsley. What two year old little girl doesn't need a pink tractor?

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Oh Sweet Summer.

Will I miss summer?

1. I will not miss the heat or the overwhelming, take-your-breath-away humidity.

2. I will not miss sweat. Whoever said it cools you off was lying.

3. I will not miss my husband working longer hours just because there is more daylight.

4. I will not miss the mosquitos that take over our coastal town.

5. I will not miss the tourists and the crowded beaches.

6. I will not miss my two year old thinking she can stay up until 9:00 because "it's not dark yet mommy." (although, really.... deep down I like to stay up late with her)

But now that summer is almost over, I know I will definately miss one of the sweetest parts of summer....

Tomatoes from our garden.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

The Picture Below The Title

Where is it? WBGV. Anyone know what that means? *wink*


West By God Virginia. Fairmont, West Virginia precisely.

It's the end of August and I've already got fall fever. Spring and fall battle it out for my most favorite time of year. But when we were living in WV, it was definately fall. It's just such a beautiful place. We only spent three years there, but I really miss it, especially this time of year.

What you see in the picture is downtown Fairmont. And I use the term downtown very loosely. We were living in downtown Fairmont when our daughter was born. She spent the first year and a half in that house, and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

So if you're ever in the area, check it out. Especially around October. Oh, and if you're there you must get a hot dog from Yann's. A Fairmont institution. His hot dog shop sits right on the other side of the bridge seen in the picture. The bridge was originally built in 1921, and was nicknamed the Million Dollar Bridge because that's what is cost to build in 1921. But the bridge was restored in 2000 and got the new nickname, the Billion Dollar Bridge. The local joke is that the bridge was built to let Fairmont residents on the other side of the river eat at Yann's. Great hot dogs. But I think part of the greatness comes from the experience more than anything. Oh and the crazy spicy chili hot dog sauce. But don't dare order ketchup. There are even signs forbidding customers from ordering anything but mustard, onions and "hot dog sauce." Seriously.

I'm finally here. My first post.

I made it. Finally. I set up this blog ages ago, but there it sat. Out in cyberspace. Probably because I didn't want to deal with this first post. But also because the first title I came up with was Latin that I translated myself. So I was always afraid I had it terribly wrong. Spanish? Yes. Latin? Not my thing.

I've wanted to blog for a long time, and it seems like almost every day I think "ya know, if I had started blogging I would post about this." Or "I would take a picture of that and put it on my blog." And I have so many blogs that I love to read and so many friends that are loving the world of blog.

But, I've put it off. When I set up this blog I got totally excited, sat down to write my first post and said "humph." So that was the end of that. Put off until tomorrow....isn't that how it goes?

So what do you put in a first post? Should it be simple and to the point? Grand in nature? Written more for me or for a reader? I guess to get started I'll strike a balance. Haha, see my blog title? How appropriate.

A brief explanation of the title - Almost ten years ago I was an undergrad on I think my third major and found myself enrolled in an intro to political science course because it qualified as an elective in my major at the time. But only about two weeks into the course my life took a pretty big turn. Up until that point I was pretty indifferent about the whole college experience. It was okay. Going to class was more of a chore, and I struggled to get my work done on time. But I fell in love with this poli sci course. I declared a second major, and from then on I had a new attitude towards higher education. It was pretty damn fun. So I spent almost the next ten years of my life as a full time college student. And I'm still completely distraught that it all had to come to an end.

Oh yes, the title of my blog? Well the title of the book for that course was called "A Delicate Balance." I really don't think there is a more appropriate title for an American Politics textbook. So I love the phrase, but not just to describe politics. So much in life I think is a delicate balance. We all try to balance work, family, school, friends, community, etc. We try to balance growing older while trying to feel younger. We make sacrifices in some parts of our life so we can more fully enjoy other parts. It all really is simply a delicate balance.

Well this first post is already longer than I would have liked.....

So what you'll find in my blog. I'm a wife, a mother, a college instructor, a photographer, a fairly new homeowner....so you'll see a lot of pictures. Mostly of our fabulously cute two year little girl, but also of our never ending home improvement projects, our coastal virginia community, did I mention my two year old? And I'll throw in posts about life, current events, cooking, gardening, and all the other projects I never seem to have enough time for. Oh yeah, we just got a new German Shepherd puppy, Eliza, and she is an adorable handful. So you will no doubt get to read about our adventures in puppyhood.

So I'm going to fight the urge to read over this a thousand times and just post it. Then I will go off and figure out how to add pictures, links and other really cool stuff. Maybe someday my blog will actually be pretty.

Okay, now that this is out of the way I am really excited!