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Close up at the fountains at a splash pad. You should have seen me trying to time it just right, darting in to get a water shoe without getting wet.

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We got up close and personal with some ducks at a playground, of all places. Really fun park if you get the chance to go. Not your usual playground. I'm glad I wore my Chacos - I ended up wading through some muddy water. Fun!

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before

The office redo is really shaping up so I thought I'd show it to you. Before, I had a cramped little desk shoved in a corner. I kept the wall color the same and kept the coverings I'd made for the closet doors. We had new carpet glued down and an L shaped desk built so that there is more work space and a spot for each of us to work.

The desk materials and labor for install was only about $350. That's not bad considering you can buy a small desk for that price but we got twice the work area and something that's custom-fit.

We put that over the file cabinets I rehabbed and then I sewed window coverings that let light in but reduce the horrific glare I was getting before. We found imitation designer chairs for $150 on The Foundary. I'm not sure how long they'll last, but they're VERY comfortable.

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I went to another cupcake decorating party and brought my son with me. He sprinkled some non pareils on a table to drive a car through. It made a neat effect.

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Branding doesn't usually amuse me since I've been working in that field for a while, but seeing "Suck it in and cinch it down" on a hanger for a belt made me laugh. I was also excited because the belt came free with a pair of my favorite shoes.

Some time ago I resolved to stop wearing flip flops, shoes from Target, and other things that are not good for my feet. I searched for last year's styles on sale because they're normally pretty expensive. I also like them because some of the styles don't have that "I'M A HIKING SHOE" look, plus I walked all around New York city in them and my feet felt fine afterwards. Just don't ask about my back after carrying a two + year old around that same city.

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It's project time! I'm making curtains (or, rather, a minimal kind of window covering) for the office redo. They should be finished in a week or so. I'll post a photo at that point. I am very excited because I bought this roll of upholstery fabric at a yard sale for only $4. FOUR DOLLARS! Crazy. I felt guilty paying for it, it was so low.

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I love the neat rows when everything's coming up green.

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Saw this and loved the textures and colors. It helped that it was a rainy day when I took the photo.

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My coworker is working hard to raise $4600 so she and her mother can go to Chicago to participate in a 60 mile cancer walk. This is her story. A few of us wanted to help. We made signs for her bake sale and helped her decorate cupcakes. FUN!

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My son and I hopped on a bus and headed downtown to check out a new park in Columbus. The Commons is where City Center mall used to be. On Fridays from 10-1 they have free stuff for kids: bounce houses, story time and a carousel. My son wasn't interested in the carousel or the bounce houses, really, so that left us with story time and he wasn't in the mood for that either. So we spent some time playing with some really fun toys. And some bubbles that were for public use. After baking for two hours in the hot sun (there isn't much shade) we grabbed lunch at the food stand. Their selection is pretty good and tasty too. The line moves slowly though. All in all, it was fun to be able to just hop on a bus and ride down there. I'm just not sure how many times we'll go based on the activities they have. It is, however, a good way to spend the morning and kill half of a day.

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Cleaning day: struggling to find something of interest.

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Another small step in the office redo project: new carpet. I had to look high and low to find something I liked. I wanted to buy local but ended up at Lowes. They not only had what I wanted but were at least half the price. Their communication skills left something to be desired: I'd been promised that they'd schedule the install weeks in advance, but ended up getting a call asking if they could do it the next day. So that meant I had to stay up late moving furniture and ripping up the old carpet. I'd say it was worth it though. The desk should be ready in a week or two, then I can post true before and afters.

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I despise shopping. Unless I'm by myself and really need something. So that makes what I'm about to say sound really off-brand: my son and I were bored and went to Easton and ended up spending about three hours there. We spent most of it at the train. I found myself staring at this tiny woman on the porch of her house, her baby on her lap, frozen in time while everyone bustled around her. We walked to Central Park in the hopes that the toy sailboats we'd once played with were there. Nope. Turns out that the sailboats you can sail on the fountain and the free trolley rides are only on weekends. There's also a splash area if you bring a swim diaper and/or swimsuit for your kids.

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The last time I went out by myself, I went to a place that makes their own beverages. I bought a bottle of bergamot blue to take home to share, but I might drink all of it before anyone else gets any. It's THAT good. They also like to give tours, so it's a fun place if you're meeting with a group.

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I found this shimmery, metallic little beetle in the garden. I'm not sure what kind it is, but I love it. As long as it doesn't destroy anything. :)

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I know: stop taking bird photos! I snapped this one because I thought it'd make a cool graphic for fabric or something (not sure what yet). The bottom picture is a graphic treatment of the same image. Maybe I'll paint it somewhere in my office redo project.

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Spending some time at our favorite playground. I LOVE summer.

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Garden update: All of the seedlings we planted are doing well except for the eggplant. I don't know if it's too late for me to buy a mature one, but I'm going to try since I love it so much. The picture is of a pea plant. I love the little tendrils.

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Yeasted waffles. This is a great recipe from one of my favorite books. (Scroll to the bottom of the link for the recipe). My son and I made the batter the night before, then devoured them the next morning. I think he ate FOUR before the day was over.

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I bought some small plastic cups at a yard sale and my son is really enamored with them. He loves to get them out and stack them, or take them to the library to fill them up at the drinking fountain. Embarrassing.

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This is Cookie. She's the newest member of the family. She's incredibly difficult to photograph because she's always moving. And if she is sitting and I get close enough to snap a picture, she trots over to me.

We weren't sure if adding a fourth cat would work, but we did so gradually and the others seem nonchalant about it. One of them even is a little protective of her.

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I took some time last week to drive home and inadvertently got a ride in a tractor. My son LOVED it. It felt weird to be in an air conditioned cab. I can remember riding with my grandpa or dad and bouncing around behind him, holding on to his seat for dear life (there really wasn't a place for us to sit), covered in dust and sweat. Good times.

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Bumblebees! We have lots around the house in the summer and I love to watch them work.

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I found this fun little birdhouse recently. They come in all sorts of colors and shapes and are easy to put together (my son loved helping). It might be too late in the year for birds to move in, but I hope to fill a vacancy soon.

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I'm kind of in the middle of a home office redo. I'm having a desk built and am going to support it using file cabinets. I had one that I spent $12 on at a thrift store and one that was given to me for free. They were in good shape but different colors so I decided to paint them. I've seen some file cabinet ideas with beautiful results, but the lateral file cabinet was too large to cover with paper that was big enough or fabric that I could find that I liked. I also wasn't fortunate enough to have one that needed cute little handles that I could replace. So, I painted them silver. And hated the results. I bought two more cans of spray paint and taped off stripes to let some silver show through so my work wasn't completely wasted. I think the end result will be great once the room is put together. That shouldn't happen for another two weeks, so I'll post photos when it's completed.

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We played with squirt guns at a friend's birthday party and it was so fun (and so warm) that we went out and found some for ourselves. We found these in a four-pack at Big Lots. I highly recommend them: they hold lots of water, shoot far and were only about $5.

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The peonies are out! Their fragrance is so amazing. The only thing I like better are lilacs.

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Another one of my little bird friends.