On the road less traveled...

Happy Valentine's Day

[photo taken in St. Pete Beach, Florida - February 2, 2012. Shell found on the beach]

Where does the time go?

The last few months have just flown by.  I'm not really sure where the time has gone!  There are lots of things that I could update on...but where do I start?

Here's the finished product from the last post...hung up downstairs.  I probably should have planned just a little better with the colors, but it works.

[Tribute to Kayci, 2011]

Almost all "extra" time right now is spent on putting together my Stampin' Up! adventures.  I've been having a ton of fun with it, and am realy hoping that it will pick up more and more.  My website and blog are HERE and HERE.

Forever Young

When I turned 30 this year, there was something tough about it.  It was another decade.  I was no longer "twenty-something."  I'm not really sure why, but that kind of hit hard.  It was like I was starting some other chapter, although not.  I remember, as a kid, when I was with friends and we pretended to be older we were never over 29.  So somehow "30" was old.  Wasn't I supposed to be somewhere else in my life by now?  I had once thought that I'd have 2 kids by the time I was 26.  But where am I really supposed to be.  Maybe I'm in exactly the place that I am supposed to be...wherever that is!

[self-portrait, 1998]

Today (well techincally yesterday, since it's after midnight) would have been Kayci's 30th birthday.  But 13 years ago the world lost out on her and another bright light, Nick, in a fatal car crash.  ((My posts from 2008,  2009).  Each year that goes by it's like I have to recalculate how many years have passed, because it just doesn't seem possible.  But 13 years.  In 3 years she will be gone as many years as she was here.  Crazy.  She will forever be 16.

Tonight, my mom and I went to SweetLife for a birthday dessert to remember her. Kayci would have loved this place.  A creative little bakery, with a large variety of teas to choose from.  It would have been right up her alley.

[Happy Birthday!]

The anniversary this year, October 6, had an added layer to it in that last year the night before the anniversary her dad was diagnosed with multiple brain tumors that took his life within just a few short months.  I do find some comfort in knowing that this is the first year that her and Bob are together again.  I spent the anniversary of her passing working on a painting- I wanted and needed to be creative with paint to remember her. 

[Painted Oct 6, 2011, in memory of Kayci Mc-Curry-Armstrong and Nick Ferrer]

Nick and Kayci- we all still miss you so very much.  I have no doubt that the two of you would be living amazing and unbelievably creative lives.

Mischief Managed

About 3 weeks ago I remembered there was a project that I've been wanting to get around to for...oh, a year?  :)  So out came the sewing machine…oh what might it be?

[Sewing Machine hard at work…circa 11:30 pm on July 12, 2011]

Some time later and more frusteration than I'd like to admit later before I figured out how to make all the seams look the way I wanted them to...these were created:

And by the 14th, it was all wrapped up like this:

And off I went to deliver the owl post to McKenzie.  (I also had a small one for Marcus).

This was one exited girl!  SO AWESOME!  When I got to the door, she had already drawn the lightining bolt on her forehead.  But when she told me she had the scarf from last year and a cloak, I nearly had a heart attack.  You have a what?!  I was relieved to hear that it was just a black cape from a former halloween costume.  Whew!!

[The opened owl post!]

[And here we are...ready for the movie!]

And off we went!  First we stopped to visit Casey at work- had to show off the robes!  And then we grabbed Five Guys for dinner and headed to the theater.

And a little magic before we head in...

[Our wands were picked up outside Casey's office...the robes need to be modified for wand pockets!!]

And an iphone photo once we we were in line:

The movie was, as expected, awesome.  But it was a little sad that it was the last one of the series.  I  know that I looked forward to the next movie with McKenzie at least as much as she did!  We went in July 2009, and November 2010.  Had such a good time each time! 

As I was going through blog posts, I discovered I never posted anything last year about our Harry Potter night!  And I barely have any pictures at all…makes me wonder if Casey took the pictures?  Because I doubt we made it out the door without taking any…but must not have been on my camera.  The only one I have from last year is this one from my iphone:

While we were waiting to be let into the theater (we were there by 9pm for the midnight movie) we walked around the mall a little and wandered on into a little store with lots of random costumes, masks and things, including super hero costumes!  (I tried to convince McKenzie that she should wear a superhero costume for her speech for vice president…I didn’t get very far!)

McKenzie- I love this tradition.  And we will have to find something to take it's place...I'm sure there will be more movie costumes in our future!  ;)

Birthday Adventures

In March, a few weeks before my big three-oh, I posted about what I referred to as my “Forgotten List.”  When I turned 29, I made a list of 29 things I wanted to do before I turned 30.  Of course I had forgotten about it entirely.  And so there was a little bit of a mad scramble to check off a couple more items.  To be clear, I have done some of the items before…they were just things I wanted do for the first time, or do again before I turned 30.  So I had just a couple of last minute birthday adventures!

So I managed to complete 8.5/29 of my “to-dos before I’m 30.”  (and to be fair only 7 of the 20.5 items left were things I’ve never done before….namely,  #4: lose 40 lbs and keep it off, #5: Go to the range to learn to shoot, #6: Learn to waltz, #7: Apply to train at a national DV program, #8: Go fishing, #10: Finish the deck, and #23: Watch the star wars movies.  But on to the things I did do!

The night before my birthday I decided that I would try to check of #11, “bake a batch of cupcakes from scratch.”  They were supposed to be some form of Red Velvet cupcakes…I have to honestly say I wasn’t all that impressed.  The frosting was a version of cream cheese frosting.  Personally, I just wasn’t thrilled with the results of either…but others seemed to take a liking to them, as they were gone pretty quick!  I totally forgot to take a picture of the finished product too!!  But here was the mess I made:



Casey asked me to take some time off the morning before my birthday, she had some plans for me.  We went to breakfast, at Off the Waffle...super yummy waffles, with the un-expected on them.  Pears and cheese?  Yes please.

At the end of breakfast she presented me with a card that seemed to lay out the plans for the day.  We would be doing #21 and #12.  Of course I couldn't remember what they were...so I was left guessing for a little while.  First we headed to the mall, for #12, “get a pedicure.”

Then we bummed around the mall for a little while and before too long found ourselves at Cinnabon.  Love their cups.  Casey has turned it into her blog banner, and I love it.  So true.  Life does need a little frosting. (And we were messing around with camera aperture to blur the background).

From there we went to The Potter’s Quarter to get to work on my #21, “Paint a piece of pottery.”



On my actual birthday, I came home to Dave putting out barkdust in the front yard.  While not specifically enumerated as something I wanted to do (other than in just a general get the house landscaped, encompassed in "finish the deck"), I was really greatful to see the front yard looking much better!

And birthday flowers...all my favorite kind.  Love them! 

Dave took me to dinner with Casey, Marc and the kids to Chapala's.  And Casey and Marc presented me with some supplies for #13, “Host a deck party.”  Because every good deck party has margaritas!  So let’s just call that .5 completed!

[neglected to actually take pictures of the glasses....I guess that will have to wait until the other .5 of this to do is completed!]

Dinner wasn't complete without a sombrero either.

...until Marcus stole it that is...

wow.  I can't believe I'm 30.  (Actually 30 and 4 months by now....)

Check it out!

So I've been super busy putting together a new blog/website for all of my Stampin' Up! stuff.  I'd really like to be able to take off with that...

check it out... It's my new CREATE blog (at www.sarahsabri.typepad.com/create) ...there are apparently some problems with the first link

I need to get it all linked up on the side bar on this blog.  A "to-do" for tomorrow!  Let me know thoughts?  I'd love to hear what should be/could be changed or added!!

If Only...

...we were still here.  A vacation would do me a world of good.

[Metolius River.  June 2011]

Haven't watched Grey's Anatomy in awhile.  But I watched the season finale last night...Thought this quote was worth remembering and sharing.

"There's a reason I said I'd be happy alone. It wasn't 'cause I thought I'd be happier alone. It was because I thought if I loved someone and then it fell apart, I might not make it. It's easier to be alone, because what if you learn that you need love and you don't have it? What if you like it and lean on it? What if you shape your life around it and then it falls apart? Can you even survive that kind of pain? Losing love is like organ damage. It's like dying. The only difference is death ends. This? It could go on forever." - Meredith Grey

It's been awhile.

Well, so much for being better about posting more often each month!  Doing all sorts of things...became a Stampin' Up! demonstrator again so I've been working on workshops and plans.  I've signed up for the Snapshots of a Good Life photography class.  I've been crazy busy with work.  We've been working on Saturday Market.  I've been getting some additional items into my Etsy Shop.  Honestly, I haven't been very good about keeping up on my project 365.  I wish I was better...I'm really hoping that I'll get back into it!

Here's a photo I caught almost a month ago, as the daffodils were in full bloom around here.  I saw it on my way to work, and ended up taking the next turn and doubling back to park the car and snap this shot:

Burning the midnight oil.

Tomorrow Eugene's Saturday Market starts.  My mom and I became members last year- and did pretty good through the market season.  I had all these grand ideas at the end of the season about what I wanted to do with my booth this year- what I wanted to change, how I wanted to decorate and display.  And what did I get done??...well, pretty much nothing.  ... until tonight.  Because that makes perfect sense, right? I have less than 24 hours to go...and that means GO TIME!

I managed to get a few things done- primarily a cover for the table, rather than just throwing some fabric over it.  That looks cleaner.  I minimized the 3 rubbermaid totes we lugged around last year, to 1, and then I have a couple of display pieces.  So far, already looking like LESS- which is definetly the goal.  I don't like it when the booth is too full- just not my thing.

I have a couple of other ideas- which hopefully I'll get around to before next weekend.  Idealy before next friday :)  And now, at 2:00am, it's time to get a little shut eye before I have to be out of bed and downtown by 7:45.  Sigh.

So if you're around...swing by Market...hopefully the weather semi-participates.  It should be a good day!

(btw...Hey Casey, remember those inserts we want to sew for our carts at coburg?  Let's try to do that in the next month or so...otherwise I have this sneaking suspicion we'll be sewing all night and then throwing back lots of caffeine to make it to coburg at 5am!!  Just sayin' :))