Brain Dump Post (Warning...sorta long)

Happy Friday to you! I don't have any artwork to show you, I've got lots of random thoughts running around in my head and I feel the urge to just get them out so I can move on with my day. LOL Read if you want, or simply skip along to your next blog. I don't mind. *Ü*

Are you happy that I don't have a spider web picture or two or three? Well, the reason for that, is Mr. (Mrs.?) Spider has moved the web yet again. I'm not sure why, except maybe he/she really didn't like me nosing around so much and misting it. LOL I noticed the web was still there in the morning and a bit later as I was watering plants, I saw that he/she caught a bee. Success! It was all wrapped up in whatever they create to make their web (silk?). The girls and I went out for a playdate and when we got home just a couple of hours later, the web was gone! No, not torn down, the links to the web were still there, but no web and no bee. And I haven't been able to see where it's been moved to. So, I guess my little foray into taking photos of spiderwebs is over. I thought to myself, I probably should have taken a photo of the success the spider had, but oh well. Thanks for indulging me a bit, but you can rest easy that I will not be posting any more spider web photos. Honest, and for true.

We went to the "big park" for our playdate with my friend, Becky and her kids yesterday. The kids had a great time running around and playing together. The park has a small water "fountain" feature where water streams shoot up at random from the ground. It was very entertaining watching the little kids (not ours) play in it. Although Amy got herself soaked and then ran off to play, knowing she'd not melt and her clothes would dry. Becky had a Sudoku puzzle book with her and I told her I knew it was super popular but I never could get into it because I didn't understand how to do it. So she showed me and I was really intrigued. So much so, I went to the Dollar Tree after dinner and picked up a book of puzzles after dinner. $1 for some fun. Can't beat that. Thanks, Becky for showing me how to solve the puzzles. I have done 4 of them already! Of course, these may be "easy" ones, but I am enjoying the challenge of figuring them out. Gotta keep the brain active, right?

After lunch yesterday the girls and I then went to the local pool. We had talked about it earlier in the week and I said I might even swim this time. I lived up to that thought and got myself into the pool. The weather was warm, but pretty cloudy, a storm was blowing in. Anyway, I impressed myself because I tried diving for the first time since I was a young adult (most likely). I was trying to remember how long it had been. I''ve been in CO for 15 years now, for 5 years before that I lived in Palmdale, and while I had access to a pool at my apartment, I don't remember diving then. I grew up with an in-ground pool in our backyard. So throughout my childhood and before I moved to Palmdale I had daily access to that pool. I'm thinking the last time I actually did a dive was in my early 20s or late teens (and I'm gonna be 44 at the end of the month). Although I used the pool, a lot of times (in my late teens and early 20s) it was to lounge on a raft/floating chair of some sort with a drink and a book to read so I could catch some rays and keep cool. LOL I was initially surprised at how nervous I felt at first when I decided I would actually dive. So I ended up starting from the side of the pool and not from the diving board. I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't do a belly flop! The lifeguard told me it looked pretty good, too. So I tried the diving board next. Dang, I didn't remember being SO high above the water! It sure is a leap of faith to do a dive. But I did it and didn't embarrass myself too badly (and I got water up my nose). I was proud of myself for not worrying too much about how it looked and enjoying some fun play time with the girls. We got a couple of hours in of playing and swimming before lightning was spotted and we had to get out. Then it started to get windy and knowing how cold Jessica gets anyway, the wind would just make it more uncomfortable for her, so we left. And joked that the storm blew in just because I wanted to swim this time. LOL

After dinner, I mentioned I went out to find a Sudoku puzzle book. After I found that, I had an urge to head to the Goodwill and just look around to see if there was anything interesting-maybe I could find an item or two of clothing for the girls. When Sandy was here she was full of stories of the neat things she picked up there for low, low prices. I am happy to donate to Goodwill, but havne't ever felt too successful at finding things to buy there. This time I just browsed every where not expecting anything. I found a couple of books, a dress for Jess (for $1.50 because white tags were 50% off) and a swim suit for Amy. Now I know I just got them suits, but this suit held a bit of sentimental significance (at least I knew it would for Amy). She had one that she LOVED for over a year. She called it her purple suit. Well, this suit was faded to pink and the elastic in it was all stretched out, but she'd still wear it. Until I finally had to hide it when I discovered it now had a hole in it as well. She was so disappointed that she couldn't wear it anymore. She really loved that suit. And guess what I found at the Goodwill? THE same swimsuit only newish. It was in super shape and I had to snatch it up for her. She was so excited when she saw it! My other fun find was a denim jacket for me. A Levi Strauss denim jacket and it had a white ticket (meaning it was 50% off). It fit and I got it for $7.00! Whoa Nelly! I know have my own "Sandy Story" from the Goodwill. *Ü*

Okay, I think I've cleared my brain of the random stuff pinging around in there, so I will close for now. Thanks for indulging me if you read this. Have a great Friday and super start to your weekend!