At least it wasn't a total loss...

This weekend we headed down to Crystal Cove which, lately has become a bit of a ritual... I get to walk about 4 miles so I can check off the "hobby" from my to do list and the kiddos get in some play time with the aunties.... BUT this weekend there was just no way I was gonna let anyone, even a 30 year old near the water! Dang those waves were scary! Beautiful, but scary!

(This just doesn't do them justice!)

So we walked a long, long way with no relief of the cool clear water for the long, long walk home.

But my good friend Laura brought her camera and captured some great photos!


So it wasn't a total loss...


she loves her uncle K-love...
And he loves her, so cute!

By the way, this is how Emmy winks!

My little buck-toothed beauty...

just where I like her, up away from certain peril!

Judah doing his "baby blue steel"... can't wait to see "magnum!"

If you haven't made a point of going down to Crystal Cove and you live in Southern California, do yourself a favor! I lived here for years and for a long time never bothered, I have no idea what I was thinking.

When you go here, there's definately a feeling of going back in time, it's like a ghost town on the beach, so charming! It has abandoned cottages lining the beach, complete with weathered boardwalk and picket fences!

There is even a little restaurant called the beachcomber, which occupies one of the old cottages, that serves it's food on Fiesta ware under palm leaf umbrellas while playing the tunes of the 40's! Love it!

Free audio books!

I wanted to pass on this valuable piece of information, incase like me you have no way of managing to accomplish all that you'd like to in this life-time. I want to be a reader, I long to be a good reader, but actually having the time to get anything read has proved very challenging for me in this season of my life. But now I have christianaudio.com !!
And they even give me a free book every month! They'll even give YOU a free book too... not cuz you're extra special or cuz I'm extra special, they're just really cool and they do that! They actually have lots and lots of free books and some really inexpensive one's as well... like only $1.98! This month I'm going to listen to "Crazy Love" on my phone when I work out...


I can't wait to actually get some "reading" done! It's not like no one's ever heard of an audio book, it just never really registered in my mom brain that it was an option for me in this busy season, so just incase you forgot that this kind of technology exists... bye for now

Hi-Ho! Cherry-O

A few years back, I found myself waiting in a very, very long line to get into what was going to be one of the biggest scores of my life... A rock concert where you met the Cute Kiwi, you ask? Nope... Must have been at an amusement park, and the Cute Kiwi was the ride attendant... Nope! (He would never ever be the ride attendant at an amusement park) No offense, I'm just not into Carnies...
Strangely enough I was waiting with tons of other people, who were also chomping at the bit, to get into one of the best rummage sales I've ever been to! And let me tell you, this one was a score! I love, love, love old people who never throw anything away, they make my life so much fun!

Well at this particular rummage sale, I was able to pick up a 1940's Gabardine Western Ware skirt with sequins and all! A 1950's Pendleton ladies coat, a 1950's wool coat and bonnet for Emmy, a 1950's Cookie maker set, 1940's Salt and Pepper Shakers, and the first edition of High-Ho! Cherry-O.... What a fun day... there were lots of other scores, but I won't bore you with the details

Fast forward 3 years and Emmy is finally old enough to understand the principals of playing a game, and playing to win...haha!

So all this morning we've played and we've played and now I remember why I loved this game so much as a kid!

Primary colors, cute little cherries, a spinney wheel with cute little pictures on it, and simple good ol' fashion competition! What fun!

what a little point and shoot can do!

I often find my self frustrated by the limitations being a frugal person presents me with, but then I get creative and I make do... and sometimes when I make do, it actually turns out great and I save myself a $1000 to boot! And this last week is no exception, for a long time I've been tempted by the idea of purchasing an SLR camera but have realized it's just a whim and not something that I really, really need.... I guess ever since I've been exposed to the blog world, I've realised the blogs I love the most have great photographs and I've longed to create my own great shots and express my self in that way... But then I started thinking to myself.... "self, you don't need a fancy camera, you live in 2009, where there's a answer for everything!" So I started googling "point and shoot tutorials" and found a few really helpful sites that have guided me in taking better photos... Here is one of the many I found....Photography Tutorial Point and Shoot Camera Layers Magazine ... Pioneer Woman Photography is also a great resource for learning lots about taking pictures, she uses an SLR but I've found that a lot of the principals are the same no matter what you're using... So scour and devour all her great knowledge that she passes on!

So I'm getting to know my little camera a lot better I actually kinda know what the different settings do now, and I'm starting to understand the importance of light and shadow in a good shot... so I'm reading more, learning more and trying and trying again... And this last week I got some really great shots! Yeah for frugality, creative resourcefulness, google and good lighting!

I got a little sweet gaze
a look of amazement at how awesome his mommy is

a coy smile

he thinks my canon's awesome!

she can't resist the squishy face either!

So the moral of the story is, if you can't afford a sweet SLR with lots a fancy lenses... learn more about your little point and shoot and keep trying, you might surprise yourself with what you can come up with!

Little Homestead in the City

There seems to be a shortage of Cyndi going around... Everyone is feeling the affects! My new hobby has been monopolizing my free time, thus if you need some Cyndi time, you might wanna put on your running shoes! Unfortunately I have not figured out an exercise to preform whilst watering my garden (any ideas?), thus it has never looked worse... Sorry Mom! At least I've harvested a few measly veggies and it wasn't a total write off... but when I start to feel sad about my little weed plot in the city I head over to Little Homestead in the City and I dream and I wish and I hope that one day I will manage to have a garden like the Derveas family... they are a family of 4 living on 1/5 of and acre in Pasadena CA that have cultivated 1/10 of their acreage and are managing to grow 10,000 pounds of produce a year! Hello people! 10,000 pounds on 1/5th of an acre... I'm a serious under achiever! Head on over to to check out the write up on a documentary that has been filmed about them and learn some more about this inspiring family! So until I manage to muster up some old fashioned gumption and add at least 6 more hours to the day... I'll have to pretend that the tomatoes I buy at the store that say vine ripe are actually vine ripened.... not just exposed to gasses while still atached to their vine... so sad...

My new hobby

Paper mache you ask... why no.... oh then, model plane making??? why never entered my mind... then surely it must be underwater basket weaving, Heck no! I haven't got time for any sort of shenanigans!
It's really just a ironic way of saying that I'm dieting again and I can't wait to exercise each and every day! Yeah! Well it is my number 1 well... number 4 priority... which for me is pretty high up on the list! And surprisingly once I get going, I do really enjoy myself, which for some reason my brain blocks out from any sort of rememberance even the very next day... why do you do this to me brain??? Exercise good, french fries bad.... say it 10 times! So anyways, my new favorite tool to help me maximize my new "hobby" is gmaps pedometer, Yeah! Check out my walking route in the town where I live... And who knows maybe you can make a route of your own if your thinking of taking up a new hobby! They've made it very simple to record and even save your favorite walking routes... but if you're anything like me, you need variety, so I use this little puppy to map out where I think I'll go on a given day and see if I've got enough muster in me to make it... another favorite route of mine is to Trader Joes down in Crystal Cove, but I think I may be a few weeks away from that one... I might need to replace some cheese on my thighs with muscle to power me that far to buy some more cheese... it's really all just a vicious cycle isn't it!
Exercise good, french fries bad.... say it guys!

A song for the Cute Kiwi

About a million years ago, at least it seems like it... my cute Kiwi of a husband and I were living in Australia, and he was not yet my husband or even close! We weren't even dating... but oh man did we wish we were! I've decided to post about our story here soon, it's cute, maybe encouraging and yes even romantic... (Mike sighs) so stay tuned for that, but in the mean time you can tune into a song I wrote for him Here . A friend helped me record it when I was home for a break, a whole ocean away, wondering if I'd ever see my cute Kiwi again... oh puppy love...

Oh that T-shirt, what ever happened to that T-shirt!