What I'm doing on this Saturday Morning

Good morning, friends! Hope you have relaxing plans for this weekend. Here's what I am up to and what I'm planning...

~having girls night with my Mom and my daughter tonight: watching a movie and eating cupcakes together to celebrate Mom's 79th birthday...with roses!

~hoping to hear from some family and friends who received, in the mail, lovely vintage, homemade save-the-date surprises for my daughter's wedding! ♥

~getting ready for a close friend's bridal shower party tomorrow: packaging up the gift all pretty and deciding what to wear!

~creating my May calendar for Kate's 2011 Calendar Challenge!

~making some Paper Pumpkin goodies.

~being really really good about power walking and eating better because I am determined to lose the 8 pounds by the time Michelle's wedding day arrives!

~hopefully having an hour to do some art journaling, because it's been difficult to fit in lately...

~and praying for all who got hit by the terrible tornadoes down south...♥

* What are YOU up to this weekend?

I Remember...

...the scent of spring now!

If I could, I would make this a scratch-n-sniff for you!

Oh! I am happy again.

Thank you, spring.

I just knew you wouldn't forget me.

It is softly raining out, with the sunshine, and the winds are blowing ferociously,

but I had to, just had to,

 run outside after work and snap this photo.

I've been waiting for 6 months.

Ah, spring...

Kind Words

Is it possible that strength has something to do with being kind and patient on the outside,

even when one doesn't always feel it on the inside?!

♥

More From the Broadway Market!

Please tour it some more with me- it was so much fun!

With there being no spring here yet, this view of green plants growing was very therapeutic!

Polish Pottery. It was all really gorgeous, with all of the blues. I loved it and though it was expensive, I felt that I could indulge in one small piece this year. I bought a small oval bowl that had the "forget-me-nots" type pattern that you see at the bottom. Maybe next year I will get another piece...I am Polish by the way.

My Grandmother would have loved these.

No venture out at this time would be complete without chocolate bunnies.

Never tried chocolate dipped Peeps?  Hurry!

...and the linens! It all reminded me of my grandmothers.

I bought a few traditional Polish foods for Easter Sunday Brunch: kielbasa, ham, platzek, pierogi's.

Thank you for coming with me!

Next year, too?

Hoping to Start a New Tradition

...At Easter Time, the Broadway Market!

I had such a great time people watching, egg gathering, pottery purchasing (will show you more), chocolate shopping, and discovering more good traditional foods. Definitely had fun with my camera!   ~k

Once Again, Seeking Balance

 Do you do this: wonder, when on vacation, if you are doing what it was you expected to do?

Rest, or catch up on everything?

What is the KEY to you having time well spent when on break from work, but staying at home?

 And, in disussions with friends around the country, SPRING seems to elude us still yet.

Even the newspaper today couldn't escape the search for something spring-like

as sleet, hail, and snow continue to blow in

with the (strong) winds.

Spend each moment the way it seems fitting at that moment, and let the weather go, like a butterfly.

Mystery

Last page of this journal! Many many pages of feelings and thoughts since last September.

I guess it has followed me ( and led me) through this school year.

I'd like to think I was full of hope

and it will get better

and better.

Lots in store for my family and me this summer

for sure!

A wedding, a graduation...

and another surprise...coming soon!

Thanks for following. You make my day.

~kath

9 Days...

 Saturday, Sunday, Monday through Friday, Saturday, Sunday again: my vacation. Need I say more? Ah.

These pages were done in layers of paints with tape love and fabric,

and copic sketching around the watercolor flowers,

but I did not do the watercolor florals that are gorgeous, only the rest of them!

This journal has only one page left!  It's been a friend for so long and I am almost done creating in it! Wow.

What fun to choose a new journal to play in now...hmmmm...what kind and what size?

I Love a Good Story

Who do you have in your life that can tell a great story,

and have listeners wrapped around their every word?

I love a good storyteller.

My favorite part of my work day is when I can read stories to children.

No matter the tale, I immerse myself in the way I read it, tell it, express it.

I love to look out at the childrens' faces and see the wide eyes.

I love to hear them ooh and ah and giggle.

I would like to be the listener right now though. {sigh}

~Happy Friday everyone!  Woo Hoo!

And on This Day

I took a quick photo of this journaling page after gluing and taping and stamping and doodling...but before writing. This page is simple, but my day really wasn't.

But hey, I learned a few good things

and I gave myself permission to stop something

that reached a limit I had.

Breathe. Don't react. Be.

Such good lessons. Such profound words when reached for at the most necessary of times.

There is good in the seemingly bad.

I found gratefulness instead of tears.

May you always find some quiet in the storms.

May you be able to stand on tippy-toe

and reach way up to the highest shelf

to find...gratitude.

Do You Ever Do This?

Today's a brand new day!

The Path of My Spring

Willing spring to come...
Finally having a bit of time to journal...
Wanting to be healthy again, and fit...

With spring comes power walking outside!

Colors of Last Night

...all untouched photos.

Now, if you could just ignore the wires, weren't they gorgeous?

I am such a sky watcher.

Have a happy week, friends!

~k

April Calendar

When I worked on the layers of this month, I was feeling heavy and overwhelmed with winter's reoccurring weight. I wanted light, I wanted spring and it's glorious bright sunny colors, and I needed simple and open spaces. This is what sprung from me. It's not my favorite, but there are some things about it I really like...so, here it is. April, please remember to bring us sun and warmth and some daffodils and blue skies and bunnies.

Gosh, I do love buttons...
Happy April everyone.
~kath