Yellow Mellow

Dear Mom,

So it has been awhile since I have wrote! I have only been home for a week since I got back from Louisiana though and haven't had much to write about. You know me, I haven't been doing much. Since I have got back, I have just been hanging around the house a lot because I haven't had much to do. We have been working on getting things set up on my computer so I can start working on this coming up Monday, so I have been busy with that! I am so ready to start working because I have been so bored!! Kevin has had the past three days off so we have got to hangout a lot lately, which has been nice. We went to beachwood the other day to go shopping for Kevin some new shoes for work. Beachwood is where the REALLY nice mall is so we had a good time. Other than that, I haven't been up to much. I did however, go shopping at Jcrew the other day and got some cute shoes on sale!! You know I always love a good deal:) I will post some pictures of the shoes.

Today I am just working on washing clothes, folding clothes and doing some more cleaning.. it never ends!lol   Also I am working on finding some material for making some curtains in my guest bedroom!! I am going to add a picture on here of the color and type of fabric I am looking for. Let me know what you think the material is made of... it looks like a very billowy fabric, but just not quite sure what the material is. I am also going to do my curtains in the same color, the bright yellow:) I love the idea. I am going to be working on the guest bedroom this weekend. I am thinking about using the bright yellow color, grey and a cream for the decor colors.

These are the curtains I am wanting to make and use the color! I love the poppy yellow:)

This is the headboard I was telling you about. I am going to make this as well for the guest bedroom. So cute right?

This is also one of my new knitting projects I am about to start working on. I will make it big enough to be a throw to go on the bed in the guest bedroom. I'm thinking about doing it in the dark grey color. What do you think? 

So these will give me some new projects to work on. I am excited to start working and getting the room ready for when you and dad get here!! I can't wait for August to get here.. and getting to go to Chicago!! I am so excited because I have never been there before. 

Well here are the picture of my new JCrew shoes:))

Cute huh? Navy blue!! I think they will look good in the fall:)

These are my new rainboots that I got from JCrew as well!! They are actually a bright coral color.. my camera doesn't show the color very well though. I can't wait to use them when it rains.. and also they will be great to wear when is snows!! 

I LOVE how they sip and button up the back:)

Anyways, I don't have too much more to talk about since you know I don't do much! I know I need to start getting out of the house, but I feel myself getting into a routine of doing nothing. I mean, it isn't very fun to go hangout with yourself lol. I think I am starting to go a little crazy so ever doing anything. Well, besides going to the gym.. because I do go to the gym some. The Zumba class is a lot of fun.. but would be more fun if I knew people in the class. 

Well I am about to go... need to eat some lunch!! I will call you a little later today. You better start packing for your trip to California!! Love you and miss you!! OH.. and don't forget to skype me tonight when everyone is over for mammaw's birthday party! I would love to see everyone (let's hope I don't get emotional like I did when you let me Skype everyone on the 4th of July :(  ). It is hard to see everyone having a great time though and not being there... anyways Skype me when they all arrive! Talk to you soon!

Love, Caitlin

Last Lazy Days Of Summer...

Dear Caitlin,
     I'm really missing you here in these last lazy days of summer.  I can remember when you were in high school and getting ready for the new school year to begin.  Between laying out at the pool, we would be purchasing your new uniforms, school supplies and backpack, while you were also gearing up for football season with cheerleader practice every day.  I know that you might not miss those days so much right now, but I surely do.

     This week has been a pretty busy one so far.  Monday morning I had to go in early for my doctor's appointment.  It had been a month since I had been off of my thyroid medication and I was anxious to see what my blood work would show.  Well, it showed that I definitely needed to be back on medication.  So, now I am on a new medication which I hope finally straightens me out.

Tuesday I kept Parker Ann.  She was SO good today; not that she is ever really "bad".  But she didn't throw any "terrible two" fits and we didn't watch Dora at all!  Yea...Sarah and I have decided that she was a little overly obsessed with Dora (although her birthday party will still be Dora to the max!) so I didn't even turn the TV on at all.  Instead, while she was looking out the window all of a sudden she noticed the pool.  She got really excited and started saying, "Swimming pool, swimming pool!"  I asked her if she wanted to go swimming and she said, "Parker Ann swim suit!"  Of course, I got in the pool with her...for about an hour!  She is so brave now, jumping off the steps with her floaties on. 

Before we went out to swim, there was a delivery made to the house; it was another wedding present for you!  Parker had to "Help me" open it...

                                                          Notice her pajamas...DORA!


                                And then she really enjoyed playing in the box for a while!

 AND...I have actually done a couple of those things I said I was going to try to do this week also.  I restarted that knitting project that Parker tore out.  Of course, I'm not nearly as far as I was before AND I have also been smart enough to place it out of her reach this time...

Remember...this is what the wrap is supposed to look like.  I really want to have it finished by early fall.

And then after getting back from my doctor's appointment on Monday, I decided to tackle some more  projects:  grocery shopping AND cleaning out the pantry!  I think cleaning out the pantry took longer than the grocery shopping.  Of course, neither are tasks I enjoy but they HAD to be done...

See how nice and organized everything is once again?!  I wonder how long it will stay that way??

To reward myself, I decided to bake another loaf of fresh bread this week!  Focaccia Bread was what I decided on...

Bread smells SO good baking!  I am adding this to "Recipes We Love" on here so you can try it out; it is a super easy bread to bake.  HEY!  Be sure to check out the recipes section; I have been adding more recipes, including Mam-Maw's Biscuits and her Cupcake/Muffins.

The rest of the week is probably going to be even busier that the first part has been.  I will be keeping Parker again tomorrow and also getting ready for Mam-Maw's 84th birthday party  (and Cliff's birthday too...) at my house.  It will only be family but Caki and I are planning a meal and I will be baking a yummy Butterfinger Cake!  YES...I will put that recipe on here too.  Then Saturday will be the Grand Opening for Justin's Archery shop in Winnfield and FINALLY Sunday will be here (Yay!!!).  Oh...Did I mention why I'm so excited about Sunday getting here?!  Well, Dad and I and Doug and Sandra have decided to take off on a little trip for a few days...To SAN FRANCISCO and NAPA VALLEY!  I LOVE that area and the temperatures should be so cool and this southern chick sure needs a reprieve for the heat down here.  Anyway, we will be gone from Sunday to Thursday and then Dad and I will have Parker for the following weekend while Justin and Sarah go to New Orleans with friends.  And THEN the countdown begins to when I get to come visit you!!!  I'm SUPER EXCITED about that and can't wait to spend a couple of days in Chicago with you first!

Well, if I continue to sit here typing, I will never stay on schedule for the day.  So, let me go work out and head to the office.  Maybe we can SKYPE tonight since Dad will be in late; he and Keith and Josh are going fishing down south some time today (Hope they bring me some Red Fish back!).  I love you and Miss you MORE!!!
                                                        MOM

Saying Good-Bye Stinks!

Dear Caitlin,
     Well, I have been up since 4 a.m., when it was time to get ready to take you to the airport this morning.  It was wonderful just having you here with us this week.  I know we didn't get to "do" a lot since you worked almost every day but yesterday was a great "hanging out" day.  I had my "pool buddy" back and enjoyed floating around the pool while having someone to talk to.  AND I'm quite sure I won't be having fried okra and fresh cucumber and tomatoes for lunch again any time soon!  But YUMMY...weren't they good?!

And, of course, catching up on watching my taped episodes of The Real Housewives of New Jersey with you was fun (and entertaining...).  But now that you are on a plane headed back to Cleveland, I find it so quiet here...

I came home after dropping you off (at 5 a.m....) and was not able to climb back into bed and sleep any more; I'm sure that will catch up with me soon after lunch time today and I will be in desperate need of a nap.  I'm thinking that if it doesn't rain today, I will take that nap out by the pool.  So, when I got back home shortly after 5, I flipped on the T.V. and got started on my laundry...

Dad had to get up at 6 to head out to work for a while and I have also considered getting my watercolors out and working on those sketches of my doxies today.  Usually on a lazy day like this, when I really don't have anything planned, I would consider heading over to the movie theatre to see a show.  However, in the light of the shootings in Colorado, I'm a little wary of doing that.  It's not that I think anything like would happen here, but I'm sure those people in Colorado never thought twice about going to the theatre that night either.

Saying good-bye stinks but I suppose I better get used to it since I will be doing it for the next 5 years (sad face here...).  I am, however, really excited about my first trip to your new home in August!  I'm also pretty excited that we will get to spend a couple of days in Chicago together before heading to Cleveland. I've only been there once and almost froze to death...SURELY the weather will just be pleasant this time of year and cooler than it has been here.

Well, I guess I should go ahead and eat my breakfast and get out to the gym to get my work-out in for the day.  Here are a few things I'm going to try to do to stay busy this week:

Work out every day
Skype you
Clean out and organize the pantry (ugh...terrible task but necessary)
Text you
Do laundry
Call You
Start a new knitting project (actually restart it; I think Parker took the needles out of it)
Text You
Do MORE laundry (ugh...it NEVER ends!)
Clean out my office (another daunting but necessary task...)
Text You again
Baby-sit Parker
MISS YOU TERRIBLY!!!

Oh well...I'm gonna attempt to stay busy; at least I am starting out with a plan, right?!

I LOVED having you home and cannot WAIT to get to see you again in a few weeks!

                                                                                                Love you and miss you MORE,
                                                                                                                       Mom

A Relaxing Week In Da Boot

Dear Caitlin,
     This is only Tuesday but it seems like this week is going to be a good one so far.  It has rained almost every day since Friday, which has cooled things off considerably.  From inside, it almost looks like fall outside, with the cloudy skies.  Monday was not a very busy day; I mainly hung around the house and did laundry (You know Monday is "Laundry Day"...) while catching up on some of my taped television shows.  Dad cooked chicken on his new Big Green Egg and we also has some wonderful fresh vegetables.  I love this time of year when all of the crops are coming in and I can get lots of fresh produce; we even had cucumbers and tomatoes.  I think I might go to the stand up the road and see what they have.

Today, I kept Parker, as usual, and we decided to go out first thing this morning to see Mam-Maw.  She was, of course, very excited about our visit.  The minute Parker walked in, she asked Mam-Maw about her birds!  She remembered that she always helps her put food out for the birds, so out they went...

They also went for a walk around the yard, where Parker came back in bringing me a flower she had picked.  Once she had been there for a few minutes, she also remembered where the toy box was and began taking her favorite toys out to play with.  Oh, and Mam-Maw introduced her to Froot Loops!  Yea...I know it's another sugar coated food, but she loved it.

 Oops!  She poured them out...so she could pick them up again, say the colors she thought they were and eat them!

Mam-Maw tried to convince Parker to eat some of her home made vegetable soup,  but she was having none of it.  She did, however, enjoy eating the cornbread!

I hope the weather remains mild so I can actually get out in the pool and float around this week.  Dad, Justin, Ryan and Allison will all be heading down to New Orleans this weekend to get David and Codi moved into their new apartment.  I will be picking you up from the airport!!! (Yay!)  And I have a few things planned for us to do as soon as you hit the ground...So make sure you get a good nap in on the plane!

I can't wait to see the finished item that you are knitting!  I told you it wouldn't take very long to make it.  And as soon as you're finished with it, I'll be sending you another one to start on!  As for me, I haven't picked my knitting up in a while; I've just been so busy.  But I miss it and am about to being again soon.  I also want to start on a new watercolor project.  Those note cards that you bought the other day inspired me to get my paints out again too!

Now, on the food front, here's what Dad and Ryan made for a "snack" last night...

 That is Mam-Maw Parker's chocolate fudge icing!  Dad told Ryan he was passing that recipe down to y'all so it will continue on.  And YES!  Those two have eaten all that cake by themselves!

I'm making my chicken and vegetable casserole for dinner tonight; I will put the recipe on here under " Recipes We Love" so you can make it...

                                                    This is such a yummy comfort food!



Well, Parker has been napping for about an hour now and hopefully will sleep for a while longer.  So, I suppose that I need to get over to the couch and finish folding a couple more loads of laundry (You are right...laundry NEVER ends!).  But I cannot WAIT  for you to get here so I can spend another WHOLE WEEK with you.  I love you and miss you (More!)
                                                                                              Mom

P.S.  I finished writing my next children's book and submitted the manuscript yesterday!  Keep your
        fingers crossed that they will decide to publish it.

Art Festival Fun

Dear Mom,

So it has been a few days since I last wrote... not too much has gone on. This weekend Kevin's hospital was hosting an art festival and he had to do blood pressure readings for a few hours at their booth. While Kevin was doing work, I decided to walk around and check out all of the booths! Of course I took lots of pictures... just wish you were with me!

This is some of the tents where everyone has their stuff set up

This is a local pottery maker... her work was amazing and I think I am going to try and find her store to look at all of her other collections:)

Some more tents.. the whole festival was actually around a walking track . 

Another neat pottery place

All the tents from far away

Cute little dancer boutique 

okay, this guys work were very impressive! He had makes all of these out of some sort of metal. They all represent different things... like doctors, teacher, pianist, fisher... everything you can think of!

The one right in front is actually a surgeon.. neat huh? 

The lake in front of the hospital 

I loved this ladies booth.. she is does watercolor and all of her work is very bright colored! I actually bought some of her art that she had on stationary.. you will be getting on soon:)

Some outdoor art for the yard

bakery!! Yum!

This artist was very unique as well.. he paints all sorts of instruments and then adds pieces from actual instruments to the artwork. 

These are some of the stationary I purchased from the lady that watercolors!

After the festival we were going to do down to downtown Cleveland to look around, but the weather was SO HOT! It was 106! They say that it has never been that hot in Cleveland before. I was dying of heat so instead we went looking for bikes and then went to a movie and dinner:)

On Sunday we decided to try out a new church and I was very excited about hopefully finding one we liked... but during church as you know I got sick and passed out:( We ended up having to leave because my blood sugar was too low. The rest of the day I didn't feel very well so I just sat around the house and watched TV. I did actually end up finishing my curtains on Sunday evening too!! They turned out great! I think I am going to add some design to them still to put some color on them though. I ended the night by cooking a dinner for Kevin and I and I must say it tasted great!! I grilled pork chops, fresh green beans and mashed potatoes:)

Dinner on my new dishes!

My work station for making my curtains:)

All finished!!

Open

Closed

Side view.. I really like them !

Well today I have been very productive.. I have washed all the dirty clothes, cleaned kitchen, washed dishes, and worked on cleaning and unpacking the guest bedroom!The rest of the day I think I will knit and just relax:) Well I'm sure I will talk to you later tonight. I love you and miss you!! Can't wait to see you Saturday!!

love, Caitlin