catalina vacation and some random thoughts….

hey everyone!

sorry it’s been awhile….june was an extremely busy month with one daughter’s high school graduation, prom, senior awards nite, grad nite, and grad party. and, if that wasn’t enough, i turned around and it was fathers day AND my other daughter’s sweet 16! (yes, on the same day!)  then, it was off to catalina to spend the week of 4th of July only to come home and celebrate my husband’s birthday….and wait! it doesn’t stop there! monday is our 24th wedding anniversary….with a celebration that night and a celebration on wednesday night with the two still married couples that we met on our honeymoon…who, by the way, also share our wedding anniversary! can anyone bring me a breath to take? lol i am exhausted! :0)

so, to back up, I must tell you that the fathers day album was a huge success! My husband LOVED it….more than any other album I have made him. see for yourself! and, for those of you who don’t know what album i am referring to, please read the last post for an update!

we spend every 4th of july in Catalina as my husband went as a child every year with his family. so, we have carried on the tradition. one of my etsy colleagues/blog reader/friend, yes, you liz, told me i should share what catalina is like since most people have not had the chance to experience it. so, i took a ton of photos to show you in pictures….

dinghy dock

the beach

going to shore on the dinghy!

the walkway between the isthmus side and cat harbor

the bbq area

the red schoolhouse on the island

the walkway to cat harbor from the isthmus side- the water you see is cat  harbor where other boats are moored

the catalina island yacht club

catalina island office- they keep box of dog biscuits and water by door for their furry little friends

this is Ramsey, our morki, sailing over!

this is our little Roxy, our maltipoo and newest KINGS fan!

cuddling on the boat! ❤

enjoying the sail!

bougenvillas growing outside schoolhouse

for those of you that want to experience the island, there is a catalina express boat that leaves from marina del rey. the cost of a ticket is pretty reasonable and they have a couple/few different hours of the day that they go to the island. so, you could spend an entire day there and then return on the flyer in time to go out to dinner.

now, on to some random thoughts…..

while relaxing on our boat, i was browsing the web and came across a scrapbook site called scrapbooksteals.com. not to be confused with allscrapbooksteals.com. yes, i have already bought! not only do they offer great items, but their prices are soooo reasonable! not only that, but the shipping can start as low as $3.00 depending on the item and where it is being sent! no more of this minimum $5.99-$7.99 shipping fees! yay for that! :0) and, if that isn’t great enough, did i mention that they have not ONE, but TWO steals every day? Yep….TWO! one at 9 a.m. and another one at 9 p.m.  the only downside right now is that they only offer one option to purchase….and that’s via google! personally, i would prefer paypal. so, i wrote them and asked about this option. not only did they give me an immediate response, as in same day, the good news is that they.are.working.on.it! yay! :0)

i’m still having a hard time with the wayne simmonds/brayden schenn trade. i really liked wayne, especially when he gave 100% of himself! he is a team player, he always had a great attitude, he would pump the guys up, never walk away from a fight, and could SCORE! and his smile after a goal was pretty awesome too! and then there’s brayden schenn, who we will never get the opportunity to see play.  for us. so much for thinking he was untouchable. i am slightly concerned over drew doughty’s lack of signing to date. i get that the powers that be probably held back on negotiations with him when they were up to their eyeballs trying to get the other richards! but, that’s done, gagne is signed, what’s the problem? is drew a little ticked at them for trading his roomate??? i can only hope that he signs soon and for more than JJ in both $ and duration!

i am also still trying to wrap my head around the fact that we had a pretty solid team of guys at the end of last season…..and thought i heard it said that they were not breaking up the boys. but, they did. i have been waiting for the cup to come to LA since i was 12. without divulging my age, cuz girls don’t do that, suffice to say it’s been.a.long.time.waiting. and i am not one to promote the “i want it now” stance because i want the boys that have been around, playing hard together, being solid teammates, to bring it home. not to diss richards or gagne, but two players do not a team make! i am hoping they will be a great addition, but i know that they are joining an already pretty solid team…..with that said….i am excited for the new season…….i just wish they would play reruns of games during the off-season as hockey withdrawals are seriously hard to deal with! just ask my family! :0)

lastly, there have been some new additions to my etsy shop! some new cards and new mini albums! please take a look and see what’s on the shelves @ http://www.etsy.com/shop/19Designs. lots to choose from and at some pretty great prices!

please don’t forget to leave a comment so i know you stopped by. should you have any questions re catalina or my shop items, as always, please don’t hesitate to ask! until next time….

P.S. please excuse the photos & info part if they aren’t matching up…..still learning how this blog thing works and sometimes, the blog doesn’t want to cooperate! seems my preview shows one thing and then i get something else……hmmmm)