it's been forever,

i know. things have just been crazy busy around here. It seems as though I'm being pulled in a million different directions lately. SO, sorry for the lack of posting!

I am currently in the middle of getting things ready for the opening of the Olsen's Orchard. (thanks Emily!) I am super excited about showing and selling my work at the orchard this season. What an opportunity for one who creates for no one but themselves! To think that others look at my work and want a piece of it ... a piece of me, really. It's huge! I'm still quite shocked.

On a different note, this summer has completely flown by! Can you believe September is just around the corner!? In an attempt to savor it a little longer, I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos of the summer. I hope you enjoy them. Have a great weekend!

The Shop is Open!!

That's right! My shop is finally open. I've only been able to post 4 different pair of earrings, so far. But it's a start! You can check it out here. Hope everyone is enjoying their week so far!

morning in the big city

I had to be in Portland this morning at 8am. This means that I had to leave the house no later than 7am. I wasn't entirely sure what traffic would be like so early, so I left a little early. This gave me plenty of time to snap a few photos of the big city just as it was waking for the day. To my surprise, Monument square was turning into a farmers market. Everything was so beautiful, and looked so yummy! I was limited on time so I wasn't able to get any more than one photo of the market. Maybe I'll give myself more time on my next trip.









You'll notice that all of the photos have been altered except for the market photo. I've recently discovered Picnik.com and I am LOVING it. Check it out, but make sure you have time to play ... it's addicting!

What a long day

As the title suggests, I had quite the day today. For some reason, I was running about five minutes late this morning. I was supposed to make a couple appointments for Phil this morning before I left but I ran out of time and so had to do on my way to work. So I got to work late, was there for two hours, and then had to travel up to our mother-ship store in Boothbay Harbor to drop off orders and "shop" their inventory for our store in Freeport.

The Boothbay store is THREE floors. The Boothbay store has NO air conditioner! Can you guess what floor inventory is on?? That's right ... the third floor. It was so hot up there. I spent about three hours going through product and selecting things for restocking. Needless to say, I left there with an enormous headache.

I did take a few minutes to go down by the water and was able to snap these photos:







It really was beautiful there and I wish I'd had more time to explore. Maybe I'll go back for a visit on my own time instead of company time. Although I started the day rushed, and am ending the day with a headache, I'm definitely glad I took the time to enjoy some of the beauty of the day. I hope everyone had a good day. Take time to enjoy the week!

Tumbledown

Phil & I took Alyson and Kelby to Tumbledown yesterday. We had a great time, although you wouldn't know it by this picture:



We made a few pit-stops along the way up:



And Kelby practiced his rock-climbing skills:



It was such a beautiful day, we were able to get these pictures at the top:







After the long, hard climb it was nice to sit by the lake at the top and enjoy lunch.





Our lunch was ended quickly by some torrential down pours that lasted all the way down the mountain. By the time we reached the car, we were all soaked through, underwear included! Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of this as we didn't want to get the cameras wet. But take my word for it, wet doesn't even begin to describe it! I'll leave you with this tikki man we saw along the trail. Enjoy your week!

I know, I know!

It's been forever! I'm sorry. Things have been crazy around here since Phil got back from his trip on the Comfort. It seems like we have been going non-stop yet I'm not sure what we've done. Weird, I know.

Let's get you back up to speed! I had to work the 4th but Phil was able to visit his family up in Farmington. Here you'll see a few pictures of Fred's blueberry bushes and a picture of our nephew, Jonathan.







I joined up with the crew for fireworks in Augusta. And then back to Chris and Wendy's for some fun with Mason and the rest.





I'll post a little later about our hike up Tumbledown. For now, Phil needs the computer. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

I couldn't resist...

...stopping on the way home to capture these shots!











Phil is out to sea for two weeks. He's spending some time on the USNS Comfort. His, and my, hope is that when he gets deployed again, his services will be needed on the Comfort instead of overseas in the middle of combat zones.

While Phil is away, my sister Alyson is staying with me. We're managing quite well, watching TV and playing Wii.

I'll leave you with another picture from today, taken on my lunch break:

Mmmm ... cookies ...

This morning I didn't have to be to work unitl 12.30! We've started our summer hours at Sherman's and are open until 9pm every day excepting Sunday. This being our first week of the late hours, Josh and I decided it would be nice if we spent the morning of our late shift making something for the crew. So today is my day to make something.



I asked Josh what he wanted for goodies and he suggested, "cookies or something worthy of snacking on." Claudette then piped up with, "oh yeah! You could make some chocolate chip cookies and save some for Rachel and I when we come back from our weekend!"



So chocolate chip cookies it is! I just hope they turn out well...



On an arsty note, I decided to try something new with the camera today. I got out the tripod and used the timer to capture me in action. For the first try, I think they came out pretty well!





Have a great weekend!

The new nightly routine...

...does not make our kitten very happy. (she can be seen here completely ignoring us)



I know this isn't a very clear picture but our camera does not do action very well.



And the reason for said action:



That's right .. we have a Wii. And Phil and I have been ending our evenings playing tennis. It really is quite fun and takes a bit of energy. And by a bit I mean A LOT. By the end of the match we're usually removing clothes...



It's definitely a good time but Miko is sure to let us know when bedtime is approaching. She is not a happy camper when her schedule gets interrupted.



Not an exciting post by any means, but this is life at the Jackson house lately. With me now working full-time again and Phil pulling extra shifts, this is just about all we have energy for. If anyone out there is managing more excitement we'd love to hear about it so we can live vicariously through you... :o)

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

We're still here...

So we haven't fallen off the face of the earth. We've just been super busy this week. This was my first week at my new job (2 more days to go!) and adjusting to a new schedule has been interesting. I'm used to sleeping until 10 or 11 am. But this week I've been up at 7.30 or earlier every morning. I am completely exhausted! But it's getting better. And the job is very good so far. Phil has been busy, too. He picked up a shift on his day off plus has Reserves this weekend. Ten days of work without a break. I don't know how he does it!

On a different note, we picked a wedding date last night! So mark it in your calendars ... June 13, 2009!! We are both very excited!! Now the planning can begin!

I'll leave you with a few pictures of Phil's Mother's Day adventures...








Hope everyone has a great weekend!