life has been a bit distracting lately, what with homework, volleyball, photography, laundry, dishes, painting… i must confess that i haven’t made a priority of finding a place of focus in my mind.  so today’s post is going to be an exercise for me… or perhaps more accurately, an exorism of the thought plethora racing inside my head.  disclaimer: the thoughts written here are completely random and the order is not reflective of importance or amount of preoccupation on a particular subject.  if i haven’t scared you away or bored you to tears, i think i’m ready to begin… so just roll with me!

i have never desired a cartilage piercing… now, i realize i have my nose pierced, but i’m talking about ear cartilage.  two holes in the lobes are plenty enough for me.

my st augustine grass has all died and i don’t know why- i used weed and feed and now all i have is weeds.

blue bell once again knocked it out of the ballpark with tiramisu ice cream… but it doesn’t hold a candle to the actual dessert… NEED.TO.EAT.AT.DIPALMA’S…

speaking of candles, i love them so much but i rarely remember to light them.  i love it in the spring and fall when you can open up the whole house in the evening, turn off all the lights, light candles, and listen to jazz on npr.  ironically, i haven’t done that in ages either. 

i really want to be one of those people who gets up early in the morning and enjoys the peace of that quiet hour, but have thus far been unsuccessful at implementing that change in my life.

i am unashamed that i like peanuts and coke.  together.  at the same time.  as in- nuts swimming around in the cool effervescence that is coke- the real thing baby.  and if it’s mexican coke, well that’s even better.

coke is my drink of choice for stress.  it’s one of the reasons i’m not an alcoholic today.  it’s also one of the reasons i had to go on a diet.   and is probably eating up my insides with its phosphoric acid.  but everybody dies of something.  pick your poison…

confession:  i accidentally typed someTHONG in the last sentence but i corrected it…

another confession: i giggled when i saw that i had typed thong… and giggled the other times i made the same mistake.  it’s not my fault they put the i and o right next to each other on the keyboard…

if God had made only flip flops, i would not think any less of him.  i would wear flip flops if i wore nothing else… but what were those guys thinking when they made those weirdo running shoes that look like toe socks with a sole??  smh…

why on God’s green earth did i take trig?  like i can remember ANY of it… wasted year in math class.  rodrek williams, i still can NOT believe you were a schoolteacher…

i was the only girl in men’s choir in high school  (no i did NOT have a beard… i was the accompanist)  which you would think would make me popular, but i was awkward  a late bloomer and that was prior to the blossoming.

i love the trees at oak alley plantation- it’s a very spiritual place to me.

i love it when the heater comes on for the 1st time in the fall and it’s cold outside and you can smell that weird burnt smell from the dust in the heater. 

i miss snow. 

i never knew love could be so visceral until i had children. 

i miss whidbey island and my people up there. 

what do i mean, up there?  it’s not like they are above my head…

people can be so petty, silly, and cruel.  but then along comes a loving faithful friend and it makes me not despair to reach out and have a relationship with another human being.  it makes me free to be who i am without fear. 

well, that took a serious turn.  but i think that’s all i’ve got to say about that.  i have a random picture to offer (after all, everything else has been random)… a couple of years ago, my goldilocks child drew and watercolored this little piece of paper blue, and it ended up on my refrigerator hall of fame (every mom has one).  it says so much to me, and it is SO moriah grace…

i don’t want to be all mr rogers, but i do hope that today finds you happy… and blessed

]]> http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/seaux-random/feed/ 6 butterflymusings butterfly1 2011-09-15_001 http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/2011/09/01/sugar-and-spice-and-everything-nice/ http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/2011/09/01/sugar-and-spice-and-everything-nice/#comments Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:58:54 +0000 butterflymusings http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/?p=670 ]]> i’m feeling a bit random today… not really sure where the heck this is going, so just bear with me.  school is in full swing, and life is crazy nuts from 3pm until bedtime.  it’s still hot as hades outside and when i turn on my cold water (i generously call it cold because that’s what the “c” on the faucett handle says… i swear i’m gonna tape over that letter “c” for the summer) 100 degree water pours from my faucett… which would be nice if i wanted to take a warm bath… lol. 

the dale household is in a temporary bit of upheaval, as we are about to switch houses with our friend, aaron.  we are scraping, painting, patching, and praying a lot that   A.  the work will actually be done one day before we die and B.  that the 2-way move will go smoothly.  all in all, an exciting time, replete with possibilities and expectations.    oh, and twice as much space… can’t leave that out!  so, we are happy and ready for the long row we have to hoe to get there. 

our neighborhood has a new farmer’s market, and saturday i thought visiting the new farmer’s market would be a great method of task avoidance, i mean an excellent reason to interrupt painting in order to support our wonderful neighborhood.  it’s called the sankofu farmer’s market, and it’s located in the parking lot of holy angels on saturdays from 10-2.  it was quite a diverse experience for me… i got to drink pecan milk (move over soy), i got to see my husband holding an infant pig as if it were his firstborn, and i saw purple okra.  they also had an awesome barbeque truck… omg the smell was amazing!  of course, the baby pig wasn’t so happy to be next to it… when they get a lemonade stand that sells gourmet lemonade it will truly be the most perfect place on earth.  (ok… my humble opinion.)

as much as i enjoyed the experience, i only walked away with okra and some really awesome pepper jelly… note:  grown and made in the lower 9th…

i was a bit ADD about the farmer’s market because of my plan to FINALLY try out the weekend-only bakery across the street- shake sugaree.  it’s a little storefront with big smells and awesome baked goodness.  i feel like i need to apologize for 2 food posts in a row… but it’s what has been in my life lately, so i guess we’ll just roll with it.  here are some samples of the goods:

ok… we’re gonna come back to this blueberry lemon muffin, as it was my fave and left me wishing that shake sugaree was open for breakfast every day… but at this point, my help got involved with the pictures:

now, back to the muffin AND my able assistant…  i was taking this picture:

looking through my happy little viewfinder, and this is what i saw next:

little sneak!!!!  so i call her name, giggling all the while…

so sorry to disturb you and your time alone with MY muffin… lol…

how could i begrudge this??  don’t hate her because she’s beautiful…  and anyway- you know you wanted to see the inside of the muffin.  it’s nice to have willing help.

]]> http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/2011/09/01/sugar-and-spice-and-everything-nice/feed/ 3 butterflymusings butterfly1 2011-08-31_001 2011-08-31_003 2011-08-31_004 2011-08-31_007 2011-08-31_009 2011-08-31_010 2011-08-31_012 2011-08-31_014 2011-08-31_015 2011-08-31_016 2011-08-31_018 http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/2011/08/21/the-way-to-my-heart/ http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/2011/08/21/the-way-to-my-heart/#comments Sun, 21 Aug 2011 23:10:47 +0000 butterflymusings http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/?p=662 ]]> hello, all!!!

it seems that my muse has been on vacation… but i am trying to call her back.  funny thing about muses, apparently they have a mind of their own- much like cats, and only come when they feel like it.  hmmm…  here, little muse…  (enter the big guys in white uniforms carrying the straight jacket… shannon backs slowly and quietly away)

so i think what i want to talk about is cupcakes.  yep, you heard it right.  i know- cupcakes are all the rage right now, and as you know i am very fond of them.  fond… if fond is synonymous with OH MY GOSH I GOTTA HAVE ONE NOW!!!  if the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, then a cupcake will get you straight into mine… for that matter any kind of good cake with plenty of icing gets you a one way ticket in. 

i have a friend, neighbor, and coworker (all in the same person) named amy who likes to make things.  one day, she’s going to have a bakery/ studio/ boutique to showcase the plethora of things she is talented at making, and i hope that day is soon!  so on wednesday, amy decided to make her new flavor, chai cupcakes with buttercream icing and candied almonds.  since this is my birthday week, i shamelessly offered to be a taste tester, as did every other nurse AND tech (she went to ashley tiller’s house after mine- i know this for a fact) in the bywater/marigny.  take a look:

now, i’m not a food critic, but do you see those candied almonds on top?  they were so good i ALMOST shed a tear…

so thank you, amy, for spreading some goodwill and cheer to the ‘hood.  if every neighbor delivered cupcakes there would be world peace, i’m convinced of it.  

]]> http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/2011/08/21/the-way-to-my-heart/feed/ 0 butterflymusings butterfly4 DSC_0024 http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/deception-pass/ http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/deception-pass/#comments Sat, 30 Jul 2011 05:40:16 +0000 butterflymusings http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/?p=649 ]]> alas, i have finally reached the last  page of my vacation blogging… i hear the great collective sigh of relief.  don’t pretend you didn’t participate

i would like to preface this post with how much i loved whidbey island.  if i could scoop up all of my loved ones and relocate them there, i would.  i might even go with them.  i will even admit to a few tears the night before we left.  MIGHT…

deception pass was NOT the last excursion for the dale family, but since sweet little cutie pie got sick, she and i opted out of the mt baker trip on the last day.  deception pass is beautiful… here are a few highlights:

while the pass may have been deceiving, the beauty was anything but.  charlie took the older kids on a hike (which i was ASSURED was safe… until i found out otherwise), so  i found an awesome piece of driftwood that God left for me to sit upon and ponder, and it was the perfect loungechair.  it also had cool patterns on it… apparently God is into form AND function:

i’ll give a dollar and a beach rock to the person who gives the best “what i see in the driftwood” comment. 

here’s mia in action:

here’s cousin aubrey showing some brotherly love to mia, which i hope compensates some for my apparent inability to bear sons:

i guess i have held on to this last post because of a refusal to let go of this place.  but, as all good things must come to an end… i will close with a path picture.  it reminds me that endings aren’t always as they appear… there is always something after… even if we don’t see it from where we currently find ourselves standing. 

we’ll meet again,

don’t know where, don’t know when,

but i know we’ll meet again

some sunny day…

i LOVE lavender.  love, love, LOVE it!   while we were on whidbey island, we passed several signs for lavender farms,  and trying to be coy i suggested that we visit one of them because of course “moriah would REALLY enjoy that!”   i say that only because at every bath and bodyworks type shop that we have passed for the last 3 weeks i have had to pry the child off of the lavender displays, so it wasn’t completely self-serving of me.  turns out i was right, not only did mo jump at the chance, but nephew harrison joined us as well and we had a great time.  before i show the great beauty of my 2 favorite colors (green and purple), i want to share a quote.  mind you, the natural beauty of this place BLEW ME AWAY, and i hoped to find a quotation that mirrored and expressed what i saw and felt.  instead, i found one real quote and thought instead of going with the overused ONE real quote about lavender, i would go with a more fun, off-base quote that uses the word lavender… i KNOW it’s not referring to the flower, but perhaps you can look past that:

when the light turns green, you go.

when the light turns red, you stop.

but what do you do when the light turns blue

with orange and LAVENDER spots?

-shel silverstein

now wasn’t that cute?  ok, so on with the pictures of the lavender wind farm:

the smell of dried lavender was a-MAZE-ing…

let’s take a closer look…

it’s even pretty dried!  there were tons of lavender flavored jams, honey, chocolate, and ice cream.  normally, i like to keep flowers where they belong, in my NOSE not my MOUTH, but the jam was actually very good… thanks, ba-ba, for buying that jam and never pulling it back out again while we were there… but i’m not bitter…

here’s mo and harry showing some love in the lavender:

oh my gosh, there were myriads of all kinds of flowers everywhere (well, maybe not quite myriads), but i’m just going to cut to the chase and show you some lavender.  ready??

frolicking children…

wow they look so happy, don’t they???  you would be too, if you had sniffed a little too much lavender…

ba-ba, you look gorgeous in the flowers… thanks again for not sharing that jam…

i like the look of misty-rain-frizzed hair… i’m not sensitive about it… really…

omg i think i could live in the lavender… but that would be counterproductive to life, right? 

needless to say, i took countless photos for the purpose of using as computer wallpaper (because apparently that’s how i see the world), so here’s the wallpaper of the day:

happy lavender!!

]]> http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/2011/07/23/lavender-fields/feed/ 2 butterflymusings butterfly wi (242) wi (244) wi (307) wi (251) wi (254) wi (258) wi (259) wi (263) wi (265) wi (290) http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/2011/07/15/fort-casey/ http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/2011/07/15/fort-casey/#comments Sat, 16 Jul 2011 05:40:16 +0000 butterflymusings http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/?p=615 ]]> i probably should be able to spew some hysterical, um, historical facts about fort casey, but for the life of me i was really there for the view.   it was absolutely beautiful!  i think that my ability to appreciate beauty should FAR outweigh my ignorance, nay, my lack of interest in the history aspect, right?  don’t you judge me!!  here- see for yourself:

SEE???!!  what did i tell you?  here’s more proof:

i love this picture in particular because i find paths so interesting.  i mean, where does it lead?  who will go with you and what will you do when you arrive?  will the destination be as lovely as the journey? or, if roads truly ARE for journeys, not destinations, then surely i would never want to quit this one.  the possibilities are endless, and it leaves me with a  yearning need to know… 

this is me showing some love to rhonda… she’s my favorite sister-in-law

we were sporting the windtunnel windblown look that day… i think it works!

there was a lighthouse as well…

our kids just ran free all over the place… apparently that’s how we from the south do things.  they had so much energy about them- i’m guessing it was the clean air, maybe?  here they are with ba-ba:

if you have ever wondered what it looks like on the INSIDE of the lighthouse (and you know you have), then the next one is for you, baby:

this is my lovely goldilocks climbing the lighthouse stairs…

wow… she is SO beautiful!!  i can’t believe i produced a child like that!! 

the last picture of the day is both a journey and a destination… a path by the sea to just sit and wait and listen to the wind and the water below… to sit with a friend and chase rabbits all day…

]]> http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/2011/07/15/fort-casey/feed/ 1 butterflymusings butterfly wi (158) wi (170) wi (179) wi (181) wi (192) wi (205) wi (215) wi (219) wi (221) wi (208) http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/a-swift-sunrise/ http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/a-swift-sunrise/#comments Fri, 15 Jul 2011 05:03:53 +0000 butterflymusings http://butterflymusings.wordpress.com/?p=606 ]]>
Pippin: “It’s so quiet.”

 Gandalf: It’s the deep breath before the plunge.
Pippin: I don’t want to be in a battle. But waiting on the edge of one I can’t escape is even worse. I didn’t think it would end this way…”

Gandalf: “End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain- curtain of this world rolls back, and all changes to silver glass. And then you see it.”

Pippin: “What? See what, Gandalf?”

 Gandalf: “White shores, and beyond…The far green country under a swift sunrise…”

 Pippin: “Well, that isn’t so bad…”

Gandalf : “No…No, it isn’t.”  

i have this bizarre, deja vu-ish feeling that i have already entitled a post with “the view from the top”, but as it’s late and i’m feeling lazy, we’re just gonna let it slide.  if you have already read the disclaimer regarding post-vacation blogging, then you i’m sure you know one of the dangers is getting things out of chronological order, and let’s face it, you don’t really care what day i did whatever on.  this is about the pictures anyway, right?

so, one day after the holiday weekend, we went with uncle bruce and aunt judy to mt. erie.  here’s the proof:

now, as long as you obey all rules, you will have a great time.  that means as long as you don’t consume alcohol, you don’t start a fire, you pick up  your pet’s poop, and secure your valuables.  there you have it.  the rules. 

it was a beautiful day… and silly me i thought hiking was the point, but the point of going up mt erie was this:

it’s ironic that, sometimes in life, you have to climb one mountain to see a bigger, more beautiful mountain.  here we are, the dale family, doing the tourist-y thing and taking pictures of ourselves:

(note the mountain in the background)

here’s uncle bruce and charlie looking out over the view and contemplating the meaning of life:

well, it’s part of charlie… i’m sure they are being philosphical or historical or something. 

more tourist-y pics of my fam:

the hot blonde is my happily married sister-in-law, fyi. 

lovely views from the top (besides mt. baker):

if you look really REALLY close at the very top of the previous picture, you can see mt rainier.  it’s kind of like those magic eye pictures.  (i was AWESOME at those… miss ‘em!)

i often look for pictures that would make interesting wallpaper on my computer, so in closing (i know you were waiting for that) here is a picture of a moss bloom on the forest floor:

nitey night!!

disclaimer: vacation got a little busy so the remaining vacation posts were written after the fact.  if dead musicians can publish posthumous work, then i can blog my vacation after it’s over.  totally.

july 4th weekend is ALWAYS a biggie for us, as our 2nd daughter, moriah, shares her birthday with that of the nation.  she has always been spoiled to the notion that the whole country shoots fireworks for her birthday- lol.  this year we celebrated all weekend… as aunt judy ALSO has a birthday on july 4th… whew!  

we began festivities the day before at big lake with aunt judy’s family… the lake wasn’t so big but the view was HUGE!!

 and what would a post be without a cute mia picture?

here’s aunt rhonda and mia getting some quality time:

and 2 of my 3 favorite nephews (sorry- you only catch aubrey’s back and the pic is a little dark, but i just like the fun glowy effect on the football.  yes, i made up the word glowy.)

harry, i LOVE your beautiful smiley face!!!

i need to give a shout out to the 4th of july parade we experienced in the morning… dang it was a busy day!!  we were a bit tired and jet-lagged by this point…

here’s ba-ba and mia feeling all patriotic:

i think mia is saying “PROVE to me that this is going to be better than a mardi gras parade. ”  i could be wrong. 

we spent the 4th at bruce and judy’s LOVELY home with the great view… we ate WAY too much crab and salmon, but i heard that calories don’t count on vacation (my jeans say they are lying).

this is rhonda and me… making a fashion statement of sorts…  after gorging ourselves in true american fashion (after all, it’s the birthday of the nation, moriah, AND aunt judy) we walked over to the beach to enjoy nature and work off some of those calories that don’t really count… i LOVE the rocky beaches here… i discovered i have a rock problem.  it seems that it’s against the law to take rocks and driftwood from the beaches.  so of course i brought some back.  it’s not that i live to be obstinate (mom and dad- you are NOT allowed to comment), but they are just so pretty.  i think it’s amazing that they look so normal and drab until water runs over them, and then the colors come to life. 

see???  lots of pretty colors!  and my fave, of course?  the GREEN ones!!!  did you know, by the way, that you can get a sunburn on the beach EVEN when it’s a bit nippy? 

a sunburn, a driftwood fort, and an ice cream bucket full of rocks later, we got our party on with a cake…

here are the birthday girls (or gals, as they say up north):

aren’t they BEAUTIFUL??!

at this point, i feel the need to say that i DID stay up for the fireworks at city beach, but i was unimpressed with my pictures so you won’t see them here.  or anywhere else for that matter- lol… it seems that i am spoiled to seeing fireworks shooting from barges on the mississippi… some things are just better remembered by the mind’s eye. 

Purple!!!!!!!  yay!!!  back in the saddle- lol…

i just want to preface today’s post with this little tidbit of my opinion:  if it weren’t SO far away from everyone i know and love, i would TOTALLY move here.  michaela feels the same way…

once semi-recovered from traveling, we hung out in seattle for a day.  we started at the pike place market… had to see the fish guys, of course.  i mean, they have showed their good-attitude-at-work video at EVERY hospital orientation i have ever attended.

and here is a fish mid-toss… look closely for the blur…

so, kewl… but what amazed me more was the smell of freshly baked bread and other unhealthy treats, which we ate for breakfast, and the beautiful fresh flowers everywhere.  OMG… i can NOT get over the flowers! 

and MORE pretty flowers

LOVE my girls!

and then there was the produce- talk about option overload!

now, i feel at this point compelled to take a moment of silence for the strawberries… i just need to say that before this day i didn’t like fresh strawberries…

someone else couldn’t resist the strawberries, either

i can NOT for the life of me decide what is sweeter: the chubby little hand or the strawberry…  i think the chubby little hand wins.  so sue me, i’m a mommy.

after lunch with cousin leah (sorry, leah- i don’t have a picture with you), we went to the space needle to do the tourist thing.

ever feel like you are running in circles?  (sorry- that was corny… but it’s my way)

and here  (finally) is the view from the top…

that’s it.  really… i know it’s too late to say long story short… but keep in mind a LOT of space was taken up by pictures that required no reading. 

adieu!!