sorta like santa

I've been thinking of Christmas,
as I look around the living room,

Alice + Olivia Fall 2012 RTW

at all the decorations, people throughout my life,
have given me, and what each one means.

Left: Alexis Mabille Fall 2012 RTW
Right: Victoria Beckham Fall 2012 RTW

Those gifts from people I used to work with, 

Cacharel Fall 2012 RTW

gifts from parents whose children I once took care of,
 

me and my husband in front of our old house
December 2006

gifts from my friends,
 that they bought or made for me.

My nephew, Speed Racer eating ice.
It's one of his favorite things.
Notice his Stormtrooper cup, and his favorite yellow helicopter,
that his daddy gave him.

We used the tripod and self timer.

I look at the Christmas ornament from my dad,
 the year of the accident.
Gifts from him are few, and far between.

My nephew Baby JJ,
 and my twin nieces Lil Bug, and EJ

My husband hamming it up. ;)

My art journal page

My guy painted our front window.
He also made the green heart shutters and window boxes.
In front of our old house
December 2006

I look at  the wooden bear ornaments, my mom painted. I remember when my guy hung them from our lace curtains, in our bedroom, when I was sick in bed.

That's my idea of romance.
He knows how to cheer me up.
He still surprises me.
He still makes me smile.

lounging in florida

 We just got back from our 5 day trip to Florida.
The hotel internet didn't work most of the time.
That's why I couldn't update my blog, or go online.

Me at the hotel

My shorts are thrifted

Here are some palm tree inspired fashions I like:

Vintage Palm Trees Dress

I really like the way this dress is styled.

Tropical Sun Dress

Upcycled Distressed T-Shirt

I think these shorts are so cute,
 but I could never wear them,
 because they are too short for me.

Hand Painted Cut Off Shorts

Vintage Print Blouse

Hand Painted Front and Back Black Tank

More trip photos below:

Hotel pool with ocean view

My guy

Hotel lobby

More hotel lobby

Beneath the palm trees on the hotel lounge chairs

Art journal pages

 I drew these in my in laws backyard,
back in May.
I added the paint later.

I've been up since 2:45 AM, with about an hour nap.
 I was basically dead tired when we got home.
 I'm feeling more refreshed now, though.  :)  

canoe fest

here's my guy

he went canoeing when he was a boy scout. the guy that looked like crocodile dundee said he did see a baby alligator that morning. yep we're in the south. we didn't see any alligators, but J looked for them.





 it was very hot and it made me dizzy.
 i felt like i was drunk when i stepped on land. it was also very pretty. now i can say i've been canoeing.

i sang, "alligator pie, alligator pie if i don't get some i think i'm gonna die, you can take away the green grass, and take away the sky, but please don't take away my alligator pie."

Me celebrating

There I am paddling.

my guy mr. nature

Dolphin Encounter

In Corpus Christi we went on a dolphin encounter. No, it wasn't swimming with the dolphins.
Which I still plan to do some day, like my cousin Cass.
 This was all in honor of her.

My guy is kissing Shadow in photo.

 Shadow was the oldest dolphin. I think he was age 16. Shadow had the most calm temperment, and was the first dolphin the trainers get to know and learn. He was darkest in color, and he weighed about 450 lbs.

I'm explaining the hand cue for talking,
to the lady, at the dolphin show.

We learned so much about the dolphins: hand cues, training signals, and adolescent male dolphins.
 Each of the three dolphins had their own personality, like kids. They love praise and cheering.

DJ was Shadow's half brother, and the youngest dolphin at age 12. He was the watcher and imitator. His spots were scars similar to acne. DJ was the second dolphin the trainers got to know.

Each dolphin had certain tricks they excelled at. 

They get treats as rewards after the whistle blows, and they perform each trick. The rewards they get are: fish, ice, touch, praise, or playing with their toys.

Kai was age 13, and the lightest dolphin in color. I called him the flirt, cause he was the most free spirited.

Did you know that it's illegal to swim with wild dolphins? Dolphins in captivity have to be bred or found sick. They tend to live longer than wild dolphins because they receive medical treatment.

When dolphins are asleep half of their brains are still awake and functioning, or they'd drown. They can also move their eyes independently of each other. One eye can be looking at you and one eye can be looking at something below.

I talked to the trainer about how she got the job. She said you need a bachelor's in science of some kind, more experience with domestic or other animals, and luck. She had been working with dolphins for 6 years.
There were about 7 total trainers at the aquarium.

They only do the dolphin encounter once a day because this is like work for the dolphins and they get tired. They make sure they get enough rest and play.

There were two groups of 4 people each. They can have up to 5 people. So one group goes with one trainer and dolphin. The other group goes with another trainer and dolphin. The third trainer plays with the dolphin, and the dolphins can rotate, and get breaks.

That's DJ on the left with spots,
and Kai on the right.The encounter lasts an hour.
We got to feed them ice, (DJ's favorite), have them throw a ball, spiral in circles, kiss the dolphin, rub their bellies, and fins, get splashed, and strut their stuff.

I'm so glad we went, and did it.