Can You Identify These Minerals?

Some of these I found at the beach. If they look shiny and like they have been tumbled, then I probably got them in some gift shop where you can fill a little bag and get a bunch of little rocks for a set price. Some I found at the beach in La Jolla and some I got from a mixed bag of river rocks when I was taking a hot stone therapy class for massage school. With the exception of rocks #1, 2, & 8, they are all on the flat side which is what makes them good for hot stone therapy --they lie flat on the body. If you have any ideas as to the identity of these rocks (for instance, I think #8 is a rose quartz and #9 is a crystal quartz), please feel free to leave them in the comments. Thanks!

 #1:  Above is 2 shots of the same rock --probably gift shop. About the size of a quarter.

#2 gift shop?  About the size of the top third of my pinkie finger.

Clockwise from LEFT: #3, 4, 5, and #7 on the bottom. Rock on left is about the size of a quarter, but smaller than the blue one above. These are fairly flat rocks. I don't remember if I found some of these at the beach or in a gift shop.

2 photos of #8 & 9 --I thought it might help to see them with different backgrounds. Similar in size to the rocks 3 - 7. Most likely a gift shop.

#10. about the same size as my thumb mound on the palm of my hand. Either a river rock or the beach. Until otherwise indicated, the next several rocks, I believe came in a mixed bag of river rocks --not sure of the actual source.

#11. About 2/3 the size of the rock above.

#12. 3/4 the size of #10

#13. About the same size as #10.

#14. Same size as #10

#15. 1/4 bigger than #10

2 shots of #16. About the same as #12. Bent in the middle -so it's sort of like a tent.

#17. About the same as #12

#18. Slightly smaller and flatter than above.

#19 --this is even more glittery than the picture shows. About the same as above. Got this at the beach

#20. Same as #17. Got it at the beach.

#21. about 3/4 of #18. Got it at the beach.

Inspiration

kaffe fasset - inside my fort:

'via Blog this'

New School Clothes! (Day 4)

Guess what her favorite color is?

New School Clothes! (Day 3)

I made the hat. The main color on the hat is purple, similar to the shoes though it looks more bluish on my computer

New School Clothes! (Day 2)

Next ensemble:

It is hard to see the stripe pattern in her capris, but they are there. The scarf she is wearing around her waist came with those capris to use as a belt. Personally, I think the shirt would look better without the belt because it cuts off the picture on the front. She prefers it this way in spite of my opinion. 

New School Clothes! (Day 1)

Even though Thursday the 11th was the first day of school, we waited till yesterday to go shopping for back-to-school clothes --due to waiting for the paycheck, plus, Ceana already had a couple of new pairs of shorts thanks to a shopping trip with her aunt. Here she is, modelling her first outfit for this week:

Fifth-grader, Ceana on her first Monday of school, all new clothes. There is a tank top under the shirt she is wearing so she won't be breaking any dress codes about bare shoulders if her new shirt moves around too much.

Close up of raccoon hat and zebra-striped sunglasses (that match the frames of her regular glasses)

I wanted a close-up of her pretty blue eyes. It took several shots to get this one--the flash kept making her need to close her eyes. Finally, Ceana got the bright idea (no pun intended) to look to the side.

I Might Have a Problem....

This is not a fictional blog. This is the August theme for NaBloPoMo

Here are the "after" photos I promised from yesterday's post. 

Pretty! The yellow polish on the right was purchased yesterday when I purchased the train case. The polishes in the center section were too tall to fit in the compartments on the sides, which is probably a good thing since it doesn't look like more polishes are going to fit there anyway.

This morning when I went to Walgreen's to pick up some sundry items, a few more colors reeled me in:

I like weird nail polish colors. This has been established. Also, I clearly have a problem because even though my brand new, larger than ever nail polish storage case is filled to the brim, I continue to by more polish.

Right now, I am actually fantasizing about taking pics of each individual polish and putting the name next to it as sort of an inventory. I may have a serious problem. For now, I'll just tell you the names of the four newest colors. From left to right: Gentle Blossom (pearly sea foam green(pale ), Let's Meet (pearly bright yellow), Unicorn (pale butter yellow), Cloud 9 (pearly tangerine orange). Normally, yellows, oranges and sea foam greens are my least favorite color, especially in clothing, but for some reason, I'm really starting to like them for my nails. Oh, and there is also the French manicure pen. I didn't mention it, because I felt like it pretty much spoke for itself.

Currently reading: Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Nail Polish Galore!

This is not a fictional blog. This is the August theme for NaBloPoMo

I finally got the gorgeous case I've been wanting to hold my nail care accessories. My project for today is to go through all of my products and start tossing things, reorganize and fill up the new case. Here are some before shots:

The silver box on the left is my new case. It is also a Caboodles, like the purple one in the photo.

When I'm done, I'll post the "after" photos.

What My Husband and Daughter Did Over the Summer

Two weekends ago my husband wanted us to jump in the car and drive up to Yosemite to see all the extra waterfalls brought on by the extra heavy snows from last winter. As beautiful as Yosemite is, and as much as I love waterfalls, my instincts told me I would be unhappy with the spur of the moment EIGHT HOUR road trip that would include at least one of our children. Our twenty-year-old twins opted out, preferring to spend the weekend with their friends than with their family. Our ten-year-old was up for it, so her father and I decided it would be a daddy/daughter trip, which would also save money. Below are some photos taken from the trip. My daughter too the pictures, with the exception of the photos she is in.

Charley wearing his Simon and Garfunkel concert T-shirt. 

I think they wanted to show the juxtaposition of the snow and the tourists in shorts and tank tops. It was very crowded that day, so I am not sorry I missed the trip.

They actually saw this young buck while they were walking along a trail. There is a better picture somewhere of this, but I couldn't find it. 

What a beautiful view! And Yosemite looks good too! 

Crocheting a Lacy Sweater

So the theme for August is "Fiction" yet, more often than not, I'm writing non-fiction posts. Glad it's optional!

In addition to reading Mockingjay, I'm also working on a crochet-a-long sweater with a pattern from Interweave Crochet.

If you follow the link, you will see photos of how the finished product should look. I am way behind on my sweater. I'm making it for my daughter. She preferred a different color. I'm using Naturally Caron.com SPA, which is a bamboo blend. The color is called "Greensleeves."

Here are some photos of my WIP*
*Work In Progress

The flash kind of washes out the color

I put a standard sized ball point pen here as a size comparison.

This is supposed to be the "wrong" side, but I think I prefer it to the "right" side shown below

The "right" side

Random Thoughts

I know this is a Jerry Seinfeld bit, but really, I thought of it before I heard him say it. Why do I suddenly have to go to the bathroom as soon as I'm inside a bookstore? My bowels just suddenly drop and thank god they have a bathroom!

Starbuck's Protein Bistro Box is the same thing as their Protein Plate, but in a box.

I really like their Berry Hibiscus Refresher. I keep forgetting to get it in a vente instead of a grande.

That is all for today because I'm only 1/3 of the way through with Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. Yes, I am 43 39 years old and am reading a young adult novel. What of it? I AM a young adult. I mean, I'm not a senior citizen, right? I am an adult and I'm young (ish).

Starry Night

This counts as a blog post, right? Because normally, I don't go on the computer on Sundays. It isn't a religious thing, it's just that I like to have at least one day where I'm computer-free. Sometimes I skip Saturdays as well. See you Monday!