Woke up. Went grocery shopping. Bought a ......

POOL!

I'm an impulsive person. Always have been. It's kinda the fun, spunky side of my mostly perfectionist, follow-the-rules way-of-life. So, after we had laid around a bit in the morning, we decided to do our usual Sunday things (e.g. go grocery shopping, do laundry, etc).

We had stopped at Big Lots looking for a canopy for my farmers market stand. And while Big Lots didn't have what we wanted in that department, we had perused by a display of pools. Suddenly, I realized that we needed a pool. What a great thing to add to our home on a 90+ degree day. What was my favorite thing about summers as a kid? A pool!

So, after a quick price check around town, we came back to our good and trusty Big Lots to purchase our very own 15' round, metal framed pool.

The stars must be aligned, because right as we set it up, Mother Nature decided that she'd like to do her part in filling the pool. It began to downpour. All is good, though. We have our pool.

A common theme

Just a lazy pug Monday...

Success!

For my first farmers market, I'd say things went well. My goal was to sell 3 items, and I beat that goal by 1! Overall, I have $38 in my pocket (that's with the $10 fee taken out), so I'm a happy camper. The items that went over well were the wine topper and charms (they were bought for a wedding present... very fun, I think). Besides gaining a little revenue, I had fun just sitting and people watching. I chatted it up with passerby's. It was an easy day. Quick set-up and tear-down. I'd definitely do it again. Actually, I had a lot of people ask if I would be a regular at the farmers markets, and I was happy to say "yes, as much as I can be." Next week we'll be a no-show, because Randy and I are celebrating our 3-year wedding anniversary. But, after that, the schedule is wide open. Ready for business :)

Preview

You're invited to preview my wares before the first farmers market tomorrow here in Alton. I've been hard at work this week trying to build up my inventory and make sure every thing's ready for the big day. It's my first time doing anything like this, so hopefully, I'll find my niche in the farmers market world. I'll be featuring my fused glass pendants, hair pins, wine accessories, and (my new favorite) bracelets! Here's what I have so far.

Partially set up... just taking inventory

A sampling of wares

My new favorite things! The bracelets turned out great.

The sign

Attached some fused glass for fun

I'll have necklaces hanging from here for people to buy

Weekend Highlights

This past weekend, my parents came for a visit. It was nice to have them down, as they are always very helpful for all the work Randy and I put off.... like weeding and hanging up a new ceiling fan. But, we did have add some fun activities in the mix. We all headed down to the Anheuser Busch beer tour in St. Louis. And man, they keep that place beautiful. Don't think dingy, ugly, industrial buildings. It's beautiful red brick everywhere. Immaculate landscaping. Intricate detailings on walls. The tour ends at the Hospitality Room, where you can have two glasses of the beer selection on tap. And, despite my dislike for beer, I've found that Bud Lite Lime and the Golden Wheat beer is quite delicious on a hot day after you've hiked it on the tour for an hour and a half.

One of over 200+ Clydesdales Anheuser Busch owns.

The tack room. It takes five hours to put the whole regalia on a horse (hair braiding and all...).

A look inside the stables where some of the horses are kept. This wagon was one of the older models used to deliver beer.

The brew house

A look inside the bottling & packaging building

The reason for my absence

Living in a 1940's house, constant house projects are just a fact of life. Sometimes I don't even recognize the old pictures of our house before we bought it; we've changed it that much. This latest project was kind of a biggie. We re-taped and mudded our master bedroom. Following that, we painted and ripped up all the carpet. Then, laminate flooring was laid and trim was applied. It took a good two weeks of work to finally complete it, but I am happy to say that today, I have no house project agenda (minus the fun stuff, like finding accessories). And, the only place in our house with carpeting is the stairs. Not too shabby, not too shabby at all.

Taping, mudding, and sanding phase

(aka my least favorite phase)

Wha la! New flooring, new paint, and new closet door! 

The wall color is distorted here, but it's the lightest shade of 

robin's egg blue. 

The only thing needed now is accessories... the fun part!

My clientele

This scenario happened yesterday at work. Seriously. Makes me lose all hope in parenting.

In an effort to teach the kids about plant life and a life cycle, we had kids grow grass seeds in nylons to make into grass heads. They turned out adorable... and looked something like this:

Once they were decorated with a face, the kids got to take them home to share with their families. Yesterday, a parent dropped off her child to our room and had something to ask. The conversation went something like this:

Parent: I have a question about those grass heads.

Teacher: Yes?

Parent: Is that marijuana that's growing at the top?

Teacher: Um. No. It's just grass. 

Parent: Oh, my husband was wondering if it was marijuana. I'll have to tell him.

Yep. That's my clientele. First, they a) think that we could possibly grow an illegal substance in our classrooms, b) probably wished the grass was marijuana because it would be an easier profit than actually working, and c) think that having this conversation in front of children is appropriate.