Zen Doodles

Have you heard of Zen Doodles?  I love to doodle- in meetings, in church (sorry Pastor!) and while I'm on the phone.  But I have no artistic talent AT ALL.  Basically, I can only draw good horses butts, umbrellas and palm trees.  Recently, I have been hearing a lot about these drawings called Zen Doodles or Zen Tangles.  Basically they have these specific patterns with different names that you use when you doodle.  Anyone can do them and they look good- even mine! I ordered two books on Amazon and am hooked!  A friend of mine, who is not the craftiest person, told me that she has been making thank you cards on blank note cards with zen doodle patterns- so clever!  I made copies of the different patterns in my book, laminated them and made them into a book of flip-cards for my daughter, so that she can doodle in the car!  What can you think of to do with your Doodles?

crafts, recycling and beer

My daughter has always been artistic and loves making crafts, but today I realized that her affinity for crafting has evolved into a full fledged addiction. There are a few signs that caused me to realize that this hobby has gone too far. The first is that she takes things out of the recycle bin quicker than I can put things into it. If I pick up an empty box or paper towel roll that I find laying around, she will scream like I make her eat worms or even broccoli, and beg me not to throw out her creation.
The next reason I know the crafting has gone too far is that whenever I am not watching, my daughter sneaks onto my laptop and looks at crafting blogs like this one or that one to get ideas for new creations.
The last reason I know that the crafting has gone too far, is that this morning when I came downstairs at about 9:00 with a slight headache and a need for a (large) cup of coffee, she asked if I could drink a beer "real quick" for her so she could have it for a craft she was making. Oh well, it's 5 o'clock somewhere!

A sick day will wear you out

My daughter and I have both been sick for two weekends now. We have been coughing sneezing with fevers and she has a confirmed case of the flu. Even though she is sick, she never slows down- not even with a 104 degree fever! I think I probably could have gotten more rest if I had gone in to work and taught 120 middle schoolers. Seriously. Here is a sampling of what we did yesterday: woke up at 7:30, played some games, watched some tv, built fairy houses with acorns, leaves, mini-bird houses and hot glue, had lunch, watched a little more tv, snuck into the library for 10 minutes to switch out our library books and went through the McDonalds drive through for ice cream (I swear we did not breathe on anyone!), took naps, made some crafts, painted each other's nails, cooked dinner that she wouldn't eat, watched a little more tv, colored pictures, took bubble baths, watched a little more tv, read some books and FINALLY went to bed! I am exhausted just typing this! What do you do when your kids are sick to entertain them?