Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

Yay! I'm on vacation! For the next six days, I am going to be in the best place of all... Not At Work. Yippee! It's not that work's been bad or anything... I just needed a big ol' break. At home with the girls (all four of them).

So far today, we've slept in, had smoothies, started (but not finished) the dishes, and now I'm fiddling around with blog stuff. In bed, in pajamas. Again, let me just say, Yippee!!

I don't want to overplan or anything, but I would love to do some unstructured creative play this vacation. The Art & Soul Room is now open for business (not in it's final form yet, but definitely workable). I did my first project in there for Terri's recent birthday:

Someday soon we WILL be on a beach overlooking the ocean on a warm evening, watching the sun go down.

Happy Birthday to my sweetie, the best other-half ever. Did I ever tell you how great she is? She's great. Really, really, indescribably great. Big birthday love. I also made a pie for her.

I don't have many plans for the next six days. Getting my hair done. Dinner with a friend. Art supply shopping. Closet-sorting. Maybe some hiking and photo-taking. Some house-straightening. Possibly couch-shopping. Lots of laying around reading, for sure. And maybe some casserole-baking. It's that time of year, you know. Warm things coming out of the oven just make you happy.

Oh, speaking of ovens. My resistance finally crumbled, as we were offered a free, almost-brand-new microwave. I couldn't resist the lure of quickly-heated leftovers, perfectly-soft butter for baking, the ability to give baked potatoes a headstart before popping them in the oven to crisp... we took it. And now we have a nice little microwave sitting on the counter. I have mixed feelings, but since it's small and they really are useful sometimes, I think it's okay. It's very pretty and shiny, at least.

Also, my newest beauty discovery: Jojoba oil (preferably from Trader Joe's... $7!). I've been using fancy face oil for quite a few months now, with great results. I bought some of this oil for my feet (chronically dry), but started reading about it and how it's great for the face, too. I've been putting a little on at night... yep, it's good stuff. I wake up with super-soft, clear skin. Not oily at all. I think when I run out of the fancy stuff, I'll try just using this during the day. It's a bit lighter than what I've been using, which I think might also be good. So, for $7, it might really be a miracle in a bottle.

OK. And now, time to finish the dishes, and maybe read the paper with Tiger Lily.