Why Blog??

Swimming fun 

One of my friends asked me why I started the blog.  Well I am not sure I have a short answer but I have been thinking about doing it for a few YEARS.  I know this is crazy.  I have read so many articles about blogging and I have a few blogs that I absolutely love and try to look at often.  I have looked at the “home tours” on pinterest and I wanted to be part of it.  Some of the homes are absolutely amazing.  And I wanted to be part of the fun.

Three of my precious four dogs

I talked with a very famous blogger.  I will not reveal the source right now because I do not want her to have a deluge of people asked her to help them.  Out of the goodness of her heart she gave me about an hour of her precious time.  She has a million views.  Amazing.  She told me to just do it.  Quit talking about it and do it.  I took her advice to heart.

 

More frosting on her than she consumed.  It was probably a good thing.

We ran into an old friend at a burger joint (celebrating National French Fry day).  This friend said he just read all of my blogposts and asked why there were no business books.  I told him that I read pretty light stuff these days and he was razzing me about my book choices, all in a good way.  He is in his 30's and said he had read every post.  I am so thankful that he took time to read about my life and talk to me about it.

Then when we got home from dinner one of the kids asked me why I didn't write about my "self-improvement" books.  I am always reading how to do something better, faster, smarter, how to live life to the fullest, etc.  So I may add some of these to my list....you never know what is next.

 

Cousin love

Another friend sent me an email that she was following my blog and had started writing a book because I inspired her to make something happen. Wow,  that alone makes me want to do a post everyday.  If I have inspired one person to do what they have been thinking about, dreaming about, wanting to do, I have succeeded.  As soon as her book is ready to publish,  I  promise I will share her success and personal accomplishment.  Go girl.  You always were at the top of the pyramid!

 

Soccer.  We try to make as many games as possible.  What a blast to be the Ya-Ya on the sidelines.

So why blog?  I love sharing my life.  I want my blog to be a happy place to spend 5 minutes each day.  There will never be politics or religion....I think a lot of people already cover these subjects and their opinion.  Ya-ya's house is supposed to be a fun place to visit and smile and laugh and dance and sing.  I told you that I can't cook,well I can't sing either, but I still do.  Good friends have witnessed my horrible singing but I still will grab that microphone.  Please sing along with me and you can drown me out.

 

Prepping for a swim

I am thinking of a song by one of my favorites by Jimmy Buffet, "wrinkles only go where the smiles have been"....from Barefoot Children by Jimmy Buffett.  If you have never seen Jimmy,  live,  you should go.  He knows how to enjoy life.  He always has a huge smile and loves his audience.

The ESPY's are on tv and Kobe Bryant just said "don't rest in the middle".  Wow,  I agree.

Okay,  now I am crying, VP Joe Biden just said,"every moment matters". It is so true.  Hug your kids and tell them you love them.  And have a song in your heart.

 

You can tell this pic was not taken today.  It will be 113 degrees today.  There will not be a fire in our fireplace.  But we do have much to look forward to.

Coming soon:

An engagement party

Three year old birthday party

Prepping for a beach get away

My top five

The birthday club

Girl friends get away

Thanks for spending  a few minutes with me.  Have a great day!

Love,

Ya-ya

Just Do It

I am in a whirlwind of activity,  just like every other working Ya-Ya of four Grandkids and four dogs.  The fourth of July has passed and now I need to figure out if I should remove all of the Americana décor and switch to beachy or just hang on until Labor Day and go straight to Fall.

A little about my goals and aspirations:  to always put family first.  I am the keeper of the family traditions, the record-keeper of all of the events, the decorator of the family home.  For the second half of 2016,  I will blog, learn calligraphy, downsize my collections and always be the one to count on to record the family events.  I actually print pictures and use them.  Shocking I know.  But when there is a school project due tomorrow, I always have the pictures needed of that family member or place that we have visited together.

I have been advised by a "master" blogger to just start blogging and it will evolve over the life of the blog.  She said to write about my passion.  I have several but at the top of the list are the Grandkids and our home.  I love to plan parties and go over the top with decorations, specialty cakes, cookies and favors.  We just celebrated my five year old Granddaughter's Birthday with a "Doctor" party.  The cake was a Doctor's coat with her name on the pocket, cookies with a red cross, pretzels with frosting to make them look like a thermometer. I will share party pictures in the future, so stay tuned.


I am a master tablescaper, home stager and party planner.  I do not cook but want to learn so there may be a few cooking experiences outlined in the future.

My husband wants to downsize.  The house is filled to the brim with my collections of baskets, yarn (I knit), crafting supplies, photos and on and on.  I have held two hugely successful garage sales in the past two years in an attempt to get rid of stuff and start the downsizing process.  The first sale netted $5000 and the second $2000.  I am planning another one for late fall.  We live in Scottsdale,  AZ and it is just too hot to make any attempt to sit in your garage and sell stuff in this heat.  I have mastered the art of having a good sale and getting traffic, so watch for this one in late fall.

What to expect in the future:

• Pictures of our home, which changes many times per year
• Party ideas and events
• Travel and traditions
• Downsizing and getting a house ready for sale (a few years down the road), including how to host a sale and actually make money
• What I am reading, crafting and where I am traveling

As an avid reader,  I am always looking for a new book.  I like the light,  beachy reads as my favorite place to read is on the beach (Coronado, CA) or floating in the backyard pool.

What I am reading now:
Summer at Oyster Bay by Jenny Hale
The Little French Guesthouse by Helen Pollard
By the Numbers by Jen Lancaster
I just finished:
Destiny Unleashed by Sherryl Woods
Those Summer Nights by Mandy Baggott
Here's To Us by Elin Hilderbrand

What I am making: I am currently knitting a baby blanket for a baby boy.  I thought it was a girl so I am almost finished with the girl blanket, just need to weave in the ends.  But I checked to make sure I was doing the right gender and I was doing the wrong gender so I finished that girl blanket and just started the boy blanket.  I guess I need to listen closer next time.  I am not as scatterbrained as I may seem, this baby-to-be is in Denver and so I do not see the Mom-to-Be.  I asked and I thought my brain registered the right gender but it did not work.

Later this month: A family birthday party, Beach décor at home, Getting ready for the beach vacation