Monday, November 26, 2018

New Toy


Allen got me a Silhouette Cameo cutting machine for our anniversary and yesterday I finally felt confident enough, and had enough time, to play with it. (You know me, I had to read the manual and watch about 15 YouTube videos before I dove in.)

S and K each chose a design and now have brand new, customized shirts made with heat transfer vinyl. This thing is going to be so much fun. One guess which shirt is for the 12 year-old girl and which one is for the 14 year-old boy...



Sunday, November 25, 2018

Done


Those may just look like random trash bags to you, but to me they look like a job well done. Yesterday, the kids and I spent several hours cleaning out their bedrooms. We were ruthless. Too small? No longer played with? Not particularly important? It all went into a bag. The bags (and boxes) above, are the donate pile. Next time I head to the mainland, those eight kitchen trash bags and three boxes full of toys, books, stuffed animals and clothes will go with me and get dropped off at Goodwill.


These five bags are the trash pile. If I learned anything yesterday, it's that both of my children are in desperate need trash cans for their bedrooms. 

It just feels so good to have crossed that job off the list.

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Eeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwww


Usually creepy crawly things don't really bother me. Often I pick them up and investigate them, but there was something about this bug that made me keep my distance.

Maybe it was because the thing was gigantic - over three inches long. (Those paper clips a the jumbo sized ones, not the typical-sized paper clip.) Then again, it could have been those huge eyes. I swear the thing moved its head and watched my hand every time I opened its box. It also could have been its giant arm-like legs.  It held them open - like it was just waiting for an opportunity to latch onto my finger.

Two of my students knew what it was,  "It's a toe biter. We see them sometimes in the Grand Pool. Well, not ones thaaaat big."

I refused to touch it, and I'm glad I did (I wouldn't let the kids touch it either.) Apparently there are five species of these giant water bugs that can be found in Michigan and they do bite. They inject toxic saliva that liquefies the tissues of their prey and causes paralysis. I kills the prey but we're so big, their bites just hurt like there's no tomorrow. Check this video out if you're curious.  (Skip ahead to about 13 min 30 seconds if you just want to see him get bitten.) And for the record - ours was every bit as big as that one.

I still haven't figured out what this thing was doing walking along the sidewalk near the high school entrance to our building in November. I'm really hoping we don't find any more, and I think I need to exchange the flip flops I usually wear when the kids and I explore in the summer time for a pair of closed-toe water shoes...

Thursday, November 8, 2018

So Glad

So glad I dove, head first, into yard work last weekend. 








It looks like we may end up with five to eight inches of snow this weekend. So thankful to have this off of my "To Do" list - cleaning up in the spring is so much easier when I do a clean up in the fall.

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Mackinac Blue


Back in 2012 I dreamed of painting my laundry room a lovely shade of blue.  Specifically, Grand Hotel Mackinac Blue. (Yup - it's a real paint color.)  I love it so much. Now that my eyes are more attuned to the color, I'm noticing it all over the island...




It really is a lovely color...