Just because...

Did I ever write how much I love my husband? If not - now is the perfect time. We have been together for 24 years and he still finds ways to surprise me and make things interesting. Let me share a special story...
Last Friday I was sitting at my desk at work, trying to figure out what needs to be done and how much can I finish before I become free to go home. I had floating thoughts about the weekend, about our son visiting from college, how I need to stop at the store and buy things so that I can prepare his favorite meals, how I need to pay the bills, do the laundry etc. etc.... all the things you don't get to do over the work week. Around noon, the door opened and I saw a familiar face. My husband showed up, holding an envelope in his hand, saying that he has a job for me. I was in complete shock. I didn't even know what to think... I opened the envelope, saw the words Tahoe, cottage... but still didn't connect the dots.
He had to spell it out for me.... He rented a cottage on Tahoe for us to spend the weekend, made secret arrangements with my boss, packed everything I might need in the car, talked to our son so that he can take care of Hana (and return my car home). All I needed to do is - pick my purse, sit in his car and relax. Isn't that AMAZING??????? I couldn't believe it! When I finally understood that it is really happening, I started jumping up and down and pretty much dancing in the middle of the street... My son says he doesn't remember when was the last time that he saw me being that happy.
How could I not have been happy??? To leave work much earlier than I should, not to think about anything except two and a half days of pure bliss.... And that's exactly how it was - blissful. Every single second was beautiful. We walked, talked, cooked together, snuggled, enjoyed the scenery, talked some more.... and wished that it would last forever.
My coworker asked if it was our anniversary... or my birthday... or some other special date. When I said it wasn't, she whispered: "So it was just because..." YUP! Just because... we love each other and needed this time to rest and spend together and connect.... And now I feel great! For a long time I was feeling some kind of heaviness in my chest, but it completely disappeared... it's light and soft and warm. I feel very lucky. And I love him very, very much (and miss him because he's gone on a business trip this week).

Update

This is a post that I prepared to upload on my blog on Friday, but something unexpected happened and I couldn't get to it. I wanted to give a quick photo update of what was happening the two weeks I was not blogging.
I planted a square foot garden. It is amazingly simple and I think looks adorable:
I can't help looking at it and noticing every tiny little change.
I end every working day with words: "Bye-bye. It's time for me to go home and look at my little radishes". And here is a picture of them from 5 days ago... they look very different now.
While I am busy looking at my plants grow, my sister is going to be busy watching here new baby grow. Here he is, ready to leave the hospital. He is wearing the same thing my son did 22+ years ago... That's my sister... she knows how to get you all emotional (like looking at a newborn wasn't enough). I didn't even know that she was keeping that little piece with the blue-dotted heart. A new boy in our family:
Back to plants.... No more babies for me (although I must admit I did dream about little ones these nights). Do you know what these are?
Tulips! We didn't plant the bulbs on time... it was way too late for them to be planted, but they decided to reward us with beautiful flowers anyway! I've never seen tulips open so low to the ground. I love it!
I love my daffodils and poppies too.... and the rose buds and purple trees and everything. What can I say... I'm very much into plants these days... They make me happy.
What about art? Almost nothing... I don't feel like I have anything new to say there, so I'm not really creating. The only thing I made is this little girl on a piece of wood.
And one other thing that I don't really want to show. I'll show only details - they are always the coolest anyway.
That's about it.... I am entering again a very busy period at work, one that will leave me tired and unable to do much else. Reading your blogs will be like having a happy vacation for my eyes and soul... even if I might not be able to comment. Wishing you a wonderful week!

xoxoxoxoxoxo

It's orange!

You know that life is good when you receive something like this in your mailbox. She calls it 'mail art'. I think it's art that needs a frame and a wall so that everyone can see it.

I am enjoying the warmer weather and sun. It gave me more energy and happy moods than I had in a while, so I'm spending much less time in front of the computer. I wish I could say the same about the TV, but I got sucked up by "American Idol" and "Dancing with the Stars", so most of my evenings are spent in front of the screen. I did paint a little bit.

This colorful girl was inspired by the beautiful owls I received from Jacky. Can you see them?

The other one has words that I read somewhere in the blogosphere... I don't know where, but I liked them so they are here.

My daughter Hana wants to thank you all for supporting her wish to have the walls painted orange. We waited for the right time (dh leaving for a business trip) to try it out... He will be so surprised when he returns! Here is Hana hard at work:

Could it be brighter? Maybe if we put pale yellow big polka dots over the orange? At least, that's what she thinks... We had an extremely fun time trying to squeeze between the fresh paint and the furniture piled in the middle of the room. The afternoon was filled with laughter and jokes and that meant to me more than any 'calm' color ever could.

Searching for answers

My daughter Hana would like to have the walls in her room painted orange. I guess I was trying to prepare for it by painting a 12x12 piece of wood in different shades of orange and red. I really like the colors, but am not sure that they would look good on the wall.

This was really fun to paint. I added elements from one of my collage sheets, including words ("As long as one keeps searching, the answers come"). It is always interesting to reuse fragments from previous paintings. I think these too woodburned guys are my favorite detail on the painting.

It's listed on etsy.

Lucky me!

Look what waited for me in the mailbox today:

Jacky sent two adorable owls to live with me! I couldn't be happier! I love every single thing about them... the colors, their faces, the way they feel in my hand, the detailed stitches... EVERYTHING! I want to paint them. And carry them around with me. Thank you Jacky! I will love and treasure them always.

Epoxy bird

Soooo, you hear me complaining about my work from time to time and I decided that it was time that I wrote something nice. Not only write, but show too. Look what I made at work:

A tiny baby bird! They were fixing one of the machines with something I never saw before, so I got a demonstration of the product. It is a "hand kneadable, steel-reinforced epoxy putty adhesive/sealant". Very cool stuff! On the website it says that it will be pliable for 30 minutes, but the little piece that I used to make this bird was almost completely hard after 3-4 minutes. Four minutes of complete bliss (for me) in an unusual place. I love how the bird feels.... it's heavy and metal like and very different from clay. I might even buy the epoxy putty to play some more. Fun!

Bubbles of Inspiration

You might recognize my bubble girls from my banner. I had fun with them over the weekend. First I had them printed on a wonderful smooth paper. Then I cut them up, mounted on round wood pieces. I inked the edges, painted the back side, stamped and embossed the words on the front. I also added a little sawtooth hanger on the back.

My dh liked them so much that he hung them on the wall. The diagonal thing didn't work so well, so we changed both the wall and the way they are positioned (I don't have the photo yet). Now they are the last thing we see when we leave the house and I can hear both my daughter and dh recite the words "Dream, Create, Inspire, Explore, Seek" before they open the door. Not a bad way to start the day.

If you need some inspiration, they can be found in my etsy shop.

Have a happy day!