Last Friday of 2013!!!

Can ya believe it? The last Friday of this year. Time is just going by faster and faster it seems and it can slow down just a tad bit if it would be so kind. ^_^

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Christmas Eve was spent with my youngest sister and her family (minus one of her daughters though...we missed ya Lauren) Everyone liked their handmade gifts...even my BIL put his on and wore it the whole time we were there. He's a good guy!!! Hopefully he will wear it even more and not just when I'm around. Then he will be a super duper good guy indeed. After we ate together we played some games....a card game called Apples to Apples and then Scattergories. I love that game. I have to tell you something that might be one of those things that "ya just had to be there" but it was funny funny funny. If you know how the game works, you have a big dice that you roll and it will land on a letter of the alphabet. Then you have a card that list items. You have to name things for those items that start with the letter that the dice lands on before a timer you set runs out. WELLLLL....the first game we had the letter P and the second game we had the letter E and my sis got a bit confuzzled (yes...it runs in the family..hehe) and used the letter P again but only after the first item using the E. It was so funny that I laughed til I cried because she was so excited that she came up with a word for each item. Like I said, ya probably had to be there.

Christmas morn was well...almost Christmas afternoon. The Chazman was so excited that he just couldn't go to sleep Christmas eve. I let him sleep in and thankfully he did get  up around 10ish. I was happy because I had been up since 6ish. That's a long waitish (hehe) when you are wanting your child to get up and open presents. I mean...really!!!! He was very happy with all his gifts and that always makes me happy too.

All those goodies in front of him came out of his stocking...hehe

Now yesterday and I must say I will NEVER go shopping the day after Christmas again but we did go and I had to go because I had promised the Chazman we would. Just goes to say, never make a promise you aren't willing to keep. Promises are important and I have learned that it's always best to keep them. Now, what was I talking about...oh yes...shopping. I thought since we weren't going to any of the big stores that it would be alright but NOOOOO, the small Gamestop store here had more folks than Walmart did I think. We stood in line for well over 45 minutes but the Chazman got his game and he was happy so it was worth it....this time!!! I'll promise we will go the week after next year. 

I was going to take the decorations down this weekend but Chaz talked me out of it. That's alright though because I love looking at them. His best bud is coming over today to spend the afternoon and the night and he wants him to see them. He also wanted them to be up when he gave him his gift from him. Yeppers, he had me make him another WhoDoo character like last year. Well, it wasn't the same one but it was, kinda. What I mean is that I made the same character but doing something different. Last year his WhoDoo was a surfer dude and this year the same character is a diving dude...hehe

 Surfer dude 2012

Diver dude 2013

This is the shell the diver WhoDoo is leaning against. It holds him up perfectly. It's a shell we found on one of our beach walks at Ft Morgan. Love our beach walks!!!

My niece is coming to spend the whole day with me Sunday and spend the night too. I'm excited. She loves to do crafts and since she is only 8 then it's FUN crafts that normally call for glitter and I love glitter!!! Doesn't every girl though? 

Enjoy your last Friday of 2013 and until next time...............Hugs,

Regi

Slowly working....very S L O W L Y !!!

This is how I am feeling these days....S L O W...as a turtle!! I can not believe that I let yet another week get pass me without posting. Good Grief!!! On top of being slow my camera has decided to put itself in hibernation and not work. It had better enjoy it because I am going to figure out how to wake it up..oh..yes I am!!

My last birthday was Thursday. YES..I said, LAST one and I mean it, darn it. I'm getting very forgetful and I'm hoping that it will just go on by from now on without a care. I mean let's face it I'm not getting any younger (and I'm falling apart where my super glue won't hold me together anymore) and I sure can't say I'm 29 any longer. 29 + 25 is more like it and OMGOSH....that makes me ancient. So....starting next year, the 18th is just a happy for everyone day. GOT IT? GOOD!!! ^_^

My SIL and her family (nine of them all together) came for a visit this weekend. YES...to help celebrate my birthday. Geez Louise...no one would let me forget about it. They brought me a BIG cookie and sang to me and I loved it!!  Our niece came with her family and this was the first time that my two great nieces and nephew had ever seen the ocean. We thought that perhaps the 2 year old would be afraid but WOW...she is part mermaid. She loved it. I wish my camera had been working because she had me crying I was laughing so hard at her. The seagulls would walk close to her or fly over head and she would start squealing..then they would start their laughing sound they make and then she would start laughing and trying to chase them. So cute. We all had a blast going places and just being together. It was a great birthday gift having them all here.

The Chazman and I caught a bad tummy bug Sunday afternoon and spent Monday trying to coordinate bathroom time. We only have one bathroom and normally it's not a problem but Monday it was!! He felt better by Monday night and well...this ancient one is still feeling the effects. Thank goodness though I have the bathroom all to myself. ^_^

Today, I'm hoping to work on my Santa and Polar Bear piece. I have so many more I need to get done. Wish me luck...I'm going to need it.

Until next time..........HUGS,
Regi

Lions and Tigers and Bearded Dragons???

What a great weekend!! I hope that YOU and yours had an awesome one as well. I know for most it was a much needed long one...one to have that extra day to have fun or rest or both. ^_^  and to celebrate Memorial Day. (Thank you to all of the men and women that put their lives in harms way to protect us....I do know that FREEDOM isn't free. Our thanks goes to all that have served, are serving and will serve in the future)

Our weekend started out with a much anticipated trip to our "Little Zoo that could". We promised the Chazman if he made A's and B's for the year overall then we would go and visit all the amazing creatures that live there. I do believe we have found a place to visit at least once a month from now on. I haven't been since it first opened in 1989. Yes...I can still remember back that far..HAHA!! It has definitively been through some changes since then. It's a wonderful place to visit....again and again. Please watch the video with the link below to see just why our Zoo became "The Little Zoo that could" and see just where it is headed in the near future.

http://vimeo.com/user6820298/amazing-green-zoo

Most of the animals at the Zoo are rescues or have been donated but I can assure you that each one is very loved and well cared for. Patti Hall is the director and she has done amazing things for the zoo...she had a dream and is making it come to life. If you watched the video then you know that there is a new and amazing  new zoo coming in 2013 and the Chazman is so excited about it. He said that he will always love the little zoo that could and wants to keep visiting until their big move....and we will!!!

Oops...I forgot I didn't have makeup on....

Oh well...it was to hot...it would have melted off.

The Chazman is going to be a tall one....he is only 9 and look at where he comes on me. I'm not short either...by any means. (5'8") Just look at that adorable face...my Li'l angel for sure.

Now those of you that come to visit under the old Southern Ooaks know how much we love our turtles and fish and ok ok all God's creatures. ^_^   These little guys swam right up to the edge of their pond to get some treats. Unfortunately, there were also some VERY greedy little fish that were much faster than the sweet turtles and they gobbled it up. Bad fish...BAD!!!

This handsome fella was just sitting in the shade (very SMART handsome fella) and seemed to be enjoying looking at all the folks walking by. Ever wonder just what the animals are thinking as they watch us watch them? If only they could talk or perhaps it's best they don't..hehe!! This guy did pop his big old bill for us as we were walking away. Chaz turned around and waved at him and I swear this guy nodded his head at him.

You know...it seems that these amazing creatures are much smarter than we are....they were all laying in the shade as we were "melting". It was worth the heat though....isn't this guy a true beauty? 

This lovely beauty was laying down and then slowly got up and walked to her water. Looks like she is looking into it and admiring her reflection....and she should. Big cats just fascinate the Chazman and me. 

OMGOSH...watch out..this is a very dangerous creature...NOT!!!! He was the cutest little bunny and he hopped right over to Chaz and sat looking at him. Chaz wanted to pick him up so badly but he respects all the signs hanging about that all the animals might bite. Might....that is the key word but he figured that might was close enough to may or will. Smart boy!!

I so need to get a video camera...hummmm...I think mine is a video camera...LOL!! I will try it out next time we go. These were the goofiest and most comical characters. They waddled up to the fence and saw that Chaz had a treat cup. Ohhh yess..they knew exactly what it was and what it contained. They started chattering at him and he gave them each one. They wanted another...and another and another. Chaz got tickled at them chattering and moved over a bit and they moved over a bit. He moved back to the other side and they moved back to the other side. They were copying him and so the dance began. I laughed til I cried.

The shadow knows!!! It does look like just a shadow, doesn't it? I so wish I could have gotten a better shot of this awesome creature. This was the only shady spot and he/she was NOT going to move. 

While we were walking around, we heard a siren far off in the distance. So did these lovely creatures. Wolves...I love them...always have!! They started singing with the sirens and what a lovely song it was. The Chazman and I just shut our eyes and listened until they stopped. 

Of course we have the comical little monkeys. This one was pacing all around and as soon as one of the keepers came by he immediately stopped pacing, sat and kept an eye on him. He even started reaching through the bars at him. You can tell that the folks that work at the zoo love these animals because you can see the affection the animals have for their humans in their actions.

The Chazman got a bit upset when we walked over to take a closer look at these two. He thought that the bird was pecking at this little furbaby. Come to find out that the bird was pecking at the flies that were hovering a bit to close to it. Can we say Mother Hen?  LOL

They have an area where at certain times of the day they will bring out some of the animals and tell you a bit about them. This guy is one that the Chazman has been saying that he wants. A bearded dragon. They say they make good family members so I "gulp" told the Chazman once he gets a little bit older and more responsible then we will check into getting him one. Maybe he will forget...ri iight??

I could show you so many more photos of our Little Zoo that Could (I took 96 of them) but I will end for now. We had a blast and the Chazman is ready to go back. I hope that if you are ever in our area that you will visit. I promise that it will be a day filled with owwww's, ahhhh's, giggles and smiles. 

Until next time.............Hugs,

Regi

Whatcha doing??? ^_^

I can NOT believe that another school year is only hours away from being over....gone... kaput!!! The Chazman and I are so soo sooo excited. We love spending time together outdoors and discovering new adventures. Now don't get me wrong...he loves school...he really does but he loves me more..hehe WHEW!!

I think while I am waiting for the clock to tick by until it's time for my li'l man to come home (so soo soo excited..did I tell you that already?) I'm going to work on some of my booklet COA (Certificate of Authenticity) on some of my older pieces that I have sold. A collector of several of my pieces has requested one for each of her 4 that she has. OMGOSH...I have a collector...I have 2 collectors actually and I love them both. OK....calming down now....ahhhhummmm!!! ^_^  The rest of my day will be drawing the front covers for these booklets so the time should pass quickly until my Chazman is home for the summer.

SO whatcha doing today? Until next time.......Hugs, Regi

Who knew we had swamp near us!!!!!

Now....those of my sweet, darlin friends that come to visit with me here know that on the weekends we try and give our Chazman an adventure or two. (If you are visiting for the first time, WELCOME, and it's so nice to have a new friend here under the old Southern Ooaks trees) Chaz is an easy child to please and so loves living here were adventures abound. We like living here too and all the awesome things you can do for FREE!! Free is a good thing.....a  VERY good thing. I only had to clean one unit this weekend and that was on Saturday so that gave us all Sunday afternoon to go and explore.

Our first adventure took us only about 6 blocks away from our home. WHO KNEW WE HAD SWAMP NEAR US?? Well obviously several folks..HAHA...we had no clue but now we do and so do you. It's a nature trail called Melvin Roberts Parks or better know to the locals as Cedar Street Park. When we first drove in we saw a baseball field, tennis courts and some basketball courts. What caught our eye was the covered picnic area and the swings. What really caught my eye was a sign that said nature trail...a rock laid path around beautiful cypress trees and a gazebo sitting in the middle of a tiny portion of swamp. I still can not believe that there is swamp so close.

There is my little man (who is growing wayyy to fast these days..LOL) with a pack of crackers in his hand. I have to admit that we didn't just happen upon the park, neighbors told us about it BUT they said there was a tiny pond where you could feed the fish. They kinda left out the part that it was a freakin swamp!!! OK deep breath....ahhhh...there I'm calm now. I LOVE nature and love to explore nature. I just like to have a little bit of warning before I head off to a swamp.

Swamps really are beautiful areas. So much flora and fauna to be found. I have always liked cypress trees especially the little stumps that grow around them. Talk about inspiration....I saw Santa's and wizard's just staring out at me. If it wasn't a state park I would have loved to have cut a few and painted them so you could see what my muse was showing me. Of course, I'm a good nature lover and I totally and completely respect the law...so I didn't cut any.

Do you see that orange right in the middle of the photo? That's a KOI fish and believe me it was one of the biggest I think I have ever seen. It must have weighed at least 30 lbs. It stayed right in the middle of the swamp...happily and lazily swimming around.

There were several KOI fish swimming around. These two were among the grass and both stayed right next to one another. One orange with black spots and one white with black spots....both fairly good size too. Aren't they pretty? This is why I want a new camera....one with a zoom lens. Perhaps I need to drop a few hints to the old hubbikins!!

The Chazman threw some of the crackers to the KOI but they didn't want to come in close enough to get them but we soon discovered why. The swamp is filled with painted turtles and two HUGE snapping turtles.

Look close and you can see one of the painted turtles in the upper left hand corner. The one you can really see was one of the snapping turtles.

Here is a better pic of him. I leaned WAYYYY over to get this shot...thank goodness the gazebo was built strong. See him poking his head out....patiently waiting for another cracker or two. That or he was smiling for the picture. ^_^ Among the turtles...there were little black fish trying their best to join the buffet and they did get a nibble or two. Those turtles were greedy little things. They didn't want to share with any others until this little guy came out of hiding....

Ahhh yep....that's exactly what you think it is...a baby alligator. He was about 48 inches long and surprised the dickens out of us when he decided to come out and see just what was going on. The Chazman saw him first and started tapping my arm and kept saying in a whisper "Ahhh mom...mom...mom" until I turned to him. We were so amazed that, there, right in front of us was a cute little gator. He was even eating the crackers. Needless to say, he got first dibs on the rest that were thrown out in the water. He didn't care for the camera much though....he would stay close to the gazebo until I held it up and then he would swim around behind a tree and peek out at us.

We were ohhhing and a ahhhing at him and then noticed that we might be fixing to see a stand off between cute baby gator and one of the big old snapping turtles. I don't know if you can see it but the turtle is looking up at the gator (on the side away from the tree) and the gator was watching the turtle and it got really tense there for a bit. I threw a cracker in the water behind the turtle and of course being the greedy thing he was he turned to get the cracker. Little baby gator just floated by the tree for a bit. I began thinking that the mean old snapper could really hurt that baby and then I begin thinking "HOLD UP....WAIT A SECOND" where there is a baby there has to be a "GULP" momma!! We started looking around but we never did see her, although I'm fairly sure that she was quietly watching us.

It really was so quiet and peaceful sitting under the gazebo and watching. After all the crackers were gone and the turtles retreated under the gazebo and baby gator slowly swam back off into the grass we started walking back towards the swings. I caught a beautiful dragonfly on a leaf.....

Have you ever heard dragonflies called snake doctors? That's what my great grandmother would call them. She also told me that where ever there were snake doctors then of course there had to be snakes. I so didn't even think of snakes while we were sitting in the gazebo but once I saw the dragonfly then I started looking around. We didn't see any  until we started walking on the rock trail to go to the swings and I think we actually scared him more than he did us. Well....ok not us but me...the Chazman wanted to touch it. NOOOO, I yelled and I got "OHHH MOM" back as a reply. Needless to say that he and I had a long (very long) discussion about snakes and that they should be left alone and in their natural habitat. Ohhh, you want to see the snake.......

Now....I don't discriminate against snakes. I don't care if it's 3 inches long or 30 feet long...they all scare the hibbie jibbies out of me. They are pretty and some have beautiful colors but they are one of God's creatures that should be seen (from far far away) and not touched. Just my thoughts......

After Chaz and Daddy had some fun swinging, we left our neighborhood swamp lands and went to the grocery store and then to the beach. It was a very good day for adventures.

Until next time.............HUGS,
Regi