Thursday, March 29, 2012

Blown and Painted Easter Eggs - They'll Last Forever! #EasterEggs #Easter!


Is this a Giant Strawberry??  Nooo, it's a blown Easter Egg, cleverly disguised as a strawberry! lol!


These little Blown Easter Eggs are so easy to make, and a lot of fun no matter what age you are, but will be tricky for the younger set to do without a fair bit of help.  Blowing out the eggs is really an adult job (insert jokes here for your own amusement! lol!).  The key is to use a really long nail (from the hardware store) or a turkey skewer thing... looks like a long nail, but is maybe used for holding the turkey legs together??  Lol!  Canny remember what that thing is for, I only use it for blowing eggs! hahaha!  (I'm making myself laugh, now! 'Course, you know what they say about me, I'm an easy laugh... man, I hope that's what they're saying, but you can never trust 'they'... hahahahaha!) 



So you can start with a dozen eggs, if you like, get a bowl, and whatever you've decided to use to make a hole in the top and the bottom of the egg.  It will need to be long enough to go right through the egg to comletely pierce the yolk, since that will never go through the hole intact.... silly!  The easiest way to make the whole in the egg at the top, is to wiggle the nail at the top a bit -- don't try to force it, will most likely result in a big mess, and who wants that? Nope, just take your time, it'll be easier than you might think.  Make sure the bottom hole is bigger than the top hole, but not too much bigger... maybe an 1/8", but don't despair if it's closer to 1/4"... the bottom of the egg won't be seen as much, and you could always cover it with a gem, or something, right? : )



Now, this is the fun part... Gently cover the top hole with your mouth.  Gently blow the egg out the bottom. Will seem slow at first, then whoosh, out it comes.  Directly in the bowl, if you're lucky.  haha!  Of course it'll go in the bowl, provided you remembered to put one there! lol!  



Hold the blown egg over a steady stream of water in the sink, and rinse the egg out.  Might want to use the bottom of the egg with the bigger hole for this rinsing stage.  Let some water go in the egg, cover both ends of the egg and shake it about, rinse it through, again.  The goal is for your egg to have NO smell, not even after sitting around for a number of days, weeks, months, years... you get the idea! 



Set each egg back in the egg carton, tilted to the side of each segment, so the egg can drain and dry completely.  



Once your eggs are completely empty and dry, you're ready to paint.  They will be virtually indestructible, so don't worry about them crushing in your hands when you're painting or decorating them... you should be fine, but a little care goes a long way, as with everything : )



I have decorated the blown eggs in sooo many different ways over the years.  Before my lovely children were born, I must have had a massive amount of free time (oh, and that was pre-internet, so maybe that's why I had so much free time! hahaha!), but I would go out and find all these gorgeous embroidery threads with a glittery streak in them, and carefully tuck the end of the embroidery thread in the bottom hole of the egg, then wind the embroidery thread around and around the egg, no spaces, until the whole egg was covered in the thread.  They were gorgeous.  I would make up baskets of these lovely Embroidery Easter Eggs for all the people I really liked (if I like you, you will know it by the amount of stuff I make for you! lol! Baking, crafts, babies... no, wait, that last one is not the same thing... hahahaha!)



Painting the Blown Easter Eggs is by far the easiest, and a lot of fun for the kids -- a great gift for parents, if you're still allowed to acknowledge Easter in your school, and you're still allowed to teach Art in your class (this part is for the teachers! lol!)... but you can decorate them with glitter, just rub the egg with glue, carefully sprinkle with glitter... that tiny, tiny glitter is pricey, but, man, is it gorgeous, and the kids will go crazy, they'll look so lovely.  A great gift for Mom.  Oh, hey, you could make these for Mother's Day -- there, pretty sure they can't stop Mother's Day! haha! 



You can paint anything on your eggs... the strawberry was particularly easy, since it's all red, green for the leaves, little black dots for the seeds, and voila, a giant strawberry!  I have standard painting for eggs, ones that I do on every single Easter Egg I've ever painted (um, well, errr, that's a lot of Easter Eggs, over the years!)  I'll link you to y other Easter Egg page, in case you'd like to try Rolling Your Eggs at Easter... signifies the rolling of the stone from Jesus' Tomb (this is my favorite Scottish Easter Tradition!)... plus, is a lot of fun! 



Okay, have fun with your Easter Egg Decorating!  Be creative, you'll love it! 



Oh, and if you want to hang your Easter Eggs, say from a tree, the window, your Flower Tree (should that catch on! lol!), just use some yarn or embroidery thread, make a small knot at the bottom (small enough to go through the bottom hole in your egg, but big enough not to come straight through the top hole in your egg...!)... use an embroidery needle for this step... then either make a loop and go back through the top hole and tie off at the end, or make a loop and tie it at the top (much easier!).  There you go, Easter Eggs that will last for years! 





A closer look at the Easter Egg, blown by piercing each end of the egg, the bottom a little bigger than the top, pierce all the way through the egg so the yolk breaks (and your jaw doesn't! lol!), all decorated up! 
Marshmallow Bunnies for Easter
Oooh, this is my standard picture I paint on my boiled eggs every Easter!  The other side is a mountain scene with evergreens, a mountain lake and 2 deer at the side of the lake and a sunset over the mountains -- have no idea why those are my two 'go-to' pictures! 

Oh, maybe a bit silly, or, as I prefer it, sweeeet,  but this is my Christmas Tree turned into a Flower Tree, and there's my wee Strawberry Easter Egg hanging in the middle! Cute, right? Those are just flowers I've collected, many of them clips for my jackets, sometimes I pin the flowers to my purse, and mostly I use the flowers to hold the top of my dresses closed so I show less cleavage... man, the amount of cleavage that is normal in Los Angeles, and the tiny amount of cleavage that seems to be okay in Canada... especially in this little conservative area... hmmmm, perhaps this area is not for me, 'cause I gots'ta be free to be me, if you knows what I mean! lol! 



Decorate your Hard Boiled Easter Eggs for Easter... Rolling your Easter Eggs down a hill : ) (Scottish Easter Tradition, and a lovely Family experience!

Happy Easter!! Ailsa xox
Get $10 off any order of Thinner-U, start losing pounds and save $10 when you enter GETSLIM in the coupon code. $25 Off with $250 Purchase, Coupon Code: AFOCTWS25 valid from 10/15/2012 to 10/22/2012, First Come Fist Served from Alibaba.com, a great place to find all your craft needs! : )  Well, you know I was a Cat Woman - that's my kind'a costume - lol!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Mushroom Spaghetti - A Delicious Meal in 10 Minutes : ) #MushroomSoup #Under$5Meals #Mushrooms #Spaghetti #Yum!

Tasty Mushroom Spaghetti, simple and delicious : )

Great Deals for You, Baby!
This is a simple, but crazy delicious little meal... sooo easy to make, and the kids will love, it, too : )

You can make this meal for well under $5.00 - really, if your Mushroom Soup is, say, 50 cents a can, and the Spaghetti is a dollar, or less, you're looking at $2.00 to $3.00, depending on how much you like to use... and if you add in the mushrooms, there's another couple of bucks, right there... so, under $5,00 for this meal, one way or another, and will easily feed 4, maybe more : ) - in case you have been following the thing where Gwyneth Paltrow was given the challenge of buying food for a week for $29, and for bringing that to light, since I don't know how well known that information was - how much money many people have to make stretch, to feed themselves and their families, in America - the $29/week budget... not easy, that's for sure... so I hope this little recie for Mushroom Pasta helps, too : )

Prepaid Phones at AT&T  If you're on a tight budget, and you need to keep your cell phone, maybe consider switching to a PrePaid cell phone - can really save you a lot of money, if you don't use your phone very much, but still need to have it.

But this is delicious, one way or another, whether you
re on a budget, or not, is a delicious little comfort food meal, and the kids will love it : )

AT&T Next. A new way to get a new smartphone every year! No down payment, activation fee, upgrade fee, or financing fee.  (And this plan is great if you loove t have the latest phone, every year... good deal! : )

Mushroom Spaghetti - yum!

2 - 3 cans of Mushroom Soup
1/2 can of milk, for easy measuring : )
1 package Mushrooms, sliced, sauteed in butter and a little Seasoning Salt (optional - is just as delicious all on it's own)
Spaghetti, about 3/4 a package - or make it all - depends on how many people you have, to feed, right? lol!

You don't have to add the extra mushrooms, but, man, are they ever delicious!


Directions: 

While the pasta is cooking, pour the two cans of mushroom soup in a bowl and gently mix in the 1/2 can of milk. (And milk is good for you, no matter what you've heard, lately... ; ) Cover with a plate and pop in the microwave for 6 or 7 minutes.

Clean and slice the mushrooms.  Yum, I love them, already! lol!

Heat the frying pan with about a tablespoon of butter.  Put the mushrooms in the frying pan, saute for a few minutes, sprinkle on some Seasoning Salt.  Get as fancy as you like with what you add, spice-wise... onion powder, garlic powder, garlic salt... sometimes we just like a really simple meal, so I just use the seasoning salt and, of course, a wee bit of butter (nothing wrong with butter, either... all natural, your body knows what to do with anything that God made... lol!)(Are you wondering where God makes all that butter, or thinking, oooh, that's why everything's better with butter!! hahahaha!).

Drain spaghetti, then run cold water over it so it won't be sticky, then serve! Is so simple and delicious, this super-easy Mushroom Spaghetti!  Enjoy! Ailsa xox!

Health Benefits of Mushrooms... see, they're not just delicious, they're good for you, too! lol!

Easy variations:  Use 1 can Mushroom Soup, 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup : )
                         Use 1 can Mushroom Soup, 1 can Cream of Celery Soup... but I'm saving my Cream of Celery Soup because I bought a lovely stalk of Celery, today, so I'll chop that up and add it to the Cream of Celery Soup... will be delicious!  You can add the same veggie to any of the Campbell's Cream Soups, and they will be sooo delicious, you'll love them -- Cook Broccoli Florets add to Cream of Broccoli Soup -- will be soo lovely, or add cauliflower florets... I love adding extra veggies to any meal -- really makes your meals healthier, and much more delicious : )

Crystal Trees - Great Holiday Craft and Gifts! #Easter! #EasterCrafts

Pretty little Yellow Crystal Tree 

Easy to make Crystal Tree... about $3 - for real!  : )

Now I can't stop making these pretty little Crystal Trees! lol!

These wee Crystal Trees are super easy to make, and you'll only need the pre-made colored clay pot and tree from the Dollar Store (how much are they??  lol!  A DOLLAR! Looove the Dollar Store!) -- they'll probably be in the Easter section, with all the other pastel things!

The 'crystals' come from a different Dollar Store, and are $2 a package, and they have a little hole in the top of each crystal.

Take the wire part of the tree top, and separate the wires out,  they'll be covered in white tape, so the wire will be thick enough to hold the crystals in place without glue (although, you could easily add some glue if that happens to appeal to you!).  Just put one crystal on the end of each wire 'banch', and loop around once to secure the crystal. I like the crystals to hang, so I like them loose, but if you feel like adding the glue, you probably won't need to loop the wire, just glue the crystal on straight to the end of the wire branch.

I really love bling (clearly! lol!), so I put a little pile of crystals around the base of the tree, too -- all very pretty, and makes a lovely wee Easter Gift.   The crystals will cast light and rainbows around the room, so all very pretty!  You can make rainbow wishes all day long, if you like! lol!


Get $10 off any order of Thinner-U, start losing pounds and save $10 when you enter GETSLIM in the coupon code. $25 Off with $250 Purchase, Coupon Code: AFOCTWS25 valid from 10/15/2012 to 10/22/2012, First Come Fist Served from Alibaba.com, a great place to find all your craft needs! : )

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Mr. Burns reads Tina Fey's Bossypants on The Simpsons, tonight! lol! #TinaFey #Bossypants #TheSimpsons

 Oh, what beautiful hands you have... the better to hold a book with, mah' dear : )


This is hilarious! I just watched The Simpsons, Them, Robot (2012), and wouldn't you know it, Homer runs to Mr. Burns' house(trying to escape the robots he has, in some way, irritated (lol!), and finds Mr. Burns reading Tina Fey's Bossypants.... hilarious!

I just read Bossypants, and it was sooo funny, I couldn't stop reading it -- was up 'til 4:30 A.M. on Friday night, just to finish it!  Was soo funny!

We are huuuge Simpsons fans (I wrote 3 Simpson spec. scripts in the 90's, and just recently my little man, Aidan, and I started watching all the old 30 Rock shows... hilarious. We love Tina Fey, and then Cara got me Bossypants for my birthday.... was such a great read!

Plus, Tina Fey's hands are so pretty and delicate on the cover... you'll laugh when you see it : )

But Tina Fey's Bossypants was one of THE funniest books I've read in a long time -- Wanda Sykes had such a funny book years, ago, and I looove the old Erma Bombeck books (remember those??  If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, What am I doing in the Pits? I think that was one of the titles, but anything you can find by Erma Bombeck is hilarious.. and Ellen Degeneres... omg, Ellen's books are soooo funny, laugh-out-loud funny... so if you haven't picked it up, yet, or borrowed it from a friend, or put it on your Kindle... I think you get the point, there... you'll loove Bossypants -- hilarious read!

 This link will take you straight to Tina Fey's Bossypants - you' gonna laugh! Or the person you give it to, they gonna laugh! lol!

 And these ones are just to save you some money! Yahoo, reading books, AND Saving money?? Yes, please! Can there also be chocolate? (I'm on it - will go get you a chocolate Deal! lol!)

Friends & Family Sale! Take 25% Off A Single Item with Code BNFAMILY at checkout. Shop Barnes & Noble Today!

Delicious Chocolate. Great Values. Shop now at See's Candies! And See's Candies have my favourite, favourite, Walnut Bars - omg, deeelish?! and the Chocolate Mallows,...and da Buttercream chocolates... okay, you got me - me yuvs dem all! lol! : )

Shop Christmas Gifts from $3.40 at See's Candies!  (For the people you feel obligated to get something for - bah'hahahaah! I say, send those delicious treats to yourself, forget them - hahaha! I have other helpful hints, to, but, really, they all just end in buy more chocolate for yourself...haha! My Easy Solution to Everything - Have you tried Chocolate? lol!)

Free Shipping on Orders $65+

Shop Gift Baskets Perfect for the Holidays at See's Candies! (Dis what me Wishes for - Baskets and Baskets o' Delicious Chocolate! And lots and Lots of Books! Candy for mah' mouf, and Candy for mah' brain - the poifect combo! : )

49 'n Lookin' Fine... 'n Feelin' Fine, too! #LookYounger #BeHealthy #BeHappy #AgeSchmage #TheMoreTheBetter!





My Birthday Flowers from my wonderful, wonderful friend, Kim -- see, great friends, and great beauty (these flowers were the most beautiful bouquet of pink and white roses, daisies... all things pink and white, so of course I ran in and put on a pink and white dress to match the bouquet!! lol!) and lots of laughs keep you young! lol!

One of the necklaces my lovely daughter, Cara, gave me for my Birthday -- see, presents keep you young! hahaha!

The other necklace Cara gave me for me birfday... isn't Cara lovely??  Great children keep you young!! lol!

Aidan, my little man... having a child later in life for sures keeps you young!! haha!

St. Patrick's Day at the park, yesterday... a small waistline really makes you look young!! lol!

I laughed so hard when Aidan put on this shirt -- laughter makes you younger!!
Aidan has a great sense of humour, and I laugh with my wonderful kids every day... is the bestest, ever!!
Niagara Falls, the other day... getting out and about, doing fun things, eating great food.. these are the secrets to a great life, and staying youthful (as opposed to 'youthless', which I jokingly say as 'useless'... me own little joke, there, makes me laugh! hahaha!)

Ailsa (that's me! lol!) at 44... now I'm 49, and I still do the same exercises at the gym -- it's not true that you have to change up your entire gym routine every day, every year... that's marketing... what you need is to work out your 'big' muscles (arms and legs... mostly legs) with weights, and you will look great, guaranteed.  Works for everyone.  Find a great gym, get on the machines, you'll never regret it : )
So I just turned 49... where did the time go??  Feels like I can travel back to any age in my mind, and I'm there, at that age... is weird!  I always had a bizarre image in my head of what someone would look like at 38 (kind of a haggard bar lovin' gal, wrinkly... why did I think that, me wonders??? lol!), and when I was 38, I was soo busy with my little baby, I forgot about what I should look like!

Who thinks about that when their child is running madly through grass that's as tall as him, and the same color as his hair?  Aidan had blonde hair, and it was the fall, we had just moved into the acreage house (the Big House, we called it), and Aidan was a 'runner'.  You'd set him down, or he'd make a mad escape, and just start running -- was a nightmare, constantly making sure every door was locked up tight behind him, never taking your eyes off him... so never a second to think about how I looked.  I was the least of my worries, for sure.

So my late thirties went by without me noticing too much, and I was in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, married, (not happily married), and just too busy to really look at myself, so, I guess in what I now see as a way of making myself feel better, I had a lot of chocolates... and a membership at Costco, my favorite store! lol!  And a lot of pie.  Mostly the Apple Pie.  Which I thought was delicious.  With a lot of whip cream.... so 35 pounds crept on, and by the time my 40th Birthday rolled around, I think I was, errrr, ah, well-rounded... and when I look at pictures from my 40th Birthday, and pictures from my Birthdays after that (yep, I'm obsessed with my Birthday, as many of us are... why not, it's our own extra-special day, right?? lol!).

So here's the thing -- I think I look 'younger' now than I did a decade ago.  How is that, you may wonder?? haha!  I think it's the weight.  For real. (And Happiness level! lol!)  I know everyone says you should always accept yourself the way you are, which is true to a certain extent, but I'm glad I finally woke up and had a good hard look at myself.  I was terribly unhappy in my marriage, so I ended up getting a divorce (often the catalyst to better yourself, oddly enough, but in all fairness, I was in great shape when I left my marriage, and it didn't make ANY difference in how kind my husband was to me -- I guess he just thought he didn't have to be nice, didn't have to be kind.

A life without basic kindness is no life to lead, so with the divorce, I did find a whole lot more happiness, definitely a much more peaceful household (I'm a lover, not a fighter! lol!), and I had the time and the interest to hit the gym every day.  That's the key.  Get to the gym : ) Work those big muscles so the weight will come off easily, and I found that when I was on my own with the kids, I didn't have to make those giant fancy dinners every night, so I wasn't eating nearly so much.  If I wanted to have just cauliflower for dinner, I could have just cauliflower for dinner!  See the Freedom?? lol!  (Well, maybe that last cauliflower dinner didn't appeal to you, so much! lol!)

But the keys to looking soo much better, was losing the weight (easily 35 pounds), being free, and being happy.  And no more fighting.  Maybe that explains the no wrinkle thing at 49! haha! Maybe some smile lines, whatever they are, but who doesn't want proof that they've smiled and laughed a lot in their life??

I definitely believe in ageing gracefully, but I think you can improve yourself at any age, and age any way you like... oh, and I think the long hair helps, too, and it doesn't hurt that it's long blonde hair! lol!  Hey, if it works for the Housewives of Orange County, it can work for me!! lol!  So, laugh as much as you can (not in a crazy way!! lol! Okay, sometimes in a crazy way... haha!), eat well (just eat what you really love, not much else, and learn to love healthy food! lol!)(dinny forget to eat the oatmeal!!), be happy, live well.  That'll keep you lovely and young forever!! Age, schmage!! lol!

                            ************************************************

Well, today I am 54 - 54, Success Galore! Haha! I always like to have a little rhyme for mah' birfday... and I'm happy to say I have a great relationship with my ex-husband... sometimes you just go through things... anyway, just wanted to clarify that! lol!

And I'm still at the gym all the time - we love to go for a gym 'n swim, since I AM a fish, #Pisces! haha! We're all swimmin' along, tryin' to be all alluring - lol! (Gee, I thought there was one 'l' in alluring - maybe because I want to spell it a-lure-ing? haha! It's all a part of being a little fishy!

 And now my son, Aidan, towers over me - so funny! And my lovely daughter, Cara, is so wonderful - I'm super lucky, and oh-so-grateful! That's gotta be a big key, too, right? lol!

Enjoy Every Day! Your Fishy Little Friend, Ailsa!! : ) xoxo!


Monday, March 12, 2012

Washington D.C., A Totally AWEsome Vacation : ) #Washington #Travel #AmazingVacations #Museums #MartinLutherKing


Man, are the roses ever big in Washington! lol!  Isn't this a gorgeous sculpture of a rose??

Hmmm, for some reason, these 2 pics keep sliding on up to the top, when I go to the posted page... let's see if this works! I just play around with things, 'til they work - in my whole life - lol! 



Interestingly enough, the first thing we came across in Washington, DC, was Occupy Washington. Good place to make a political statement!

Occupy Washington, about 1 block from The White House

 Well, is Washington synonymous with Healthcare, now? lol!
Cara at the back of The White House

 Speaking of a nice place to stay in Washington, DC... Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump - or maybe Bernie Sanders?  Huh?  Huh?? (I'm nudging you, now - lol!) I love me some Bernie Sanders - lol!  Here's an easier way to find a great place to stay in Washington - lol!

Wow, I called it on the Donald Trump thing - very inneresting, eh?!

And now I LOVE Andrew Yang - Andrew Yang is so kind, so smart, and Andrew Yang wants to give every American adult over 18+, $1,000. a month - that is HUGE! That would pay part of your rent, let people finally get a mortgage (provided the banks are forced to accept the Freedom Dividend, Andrew Yang's Signature Policy, the Guaranteed Income of $1,000 a month, for life - the banks are notorious for not allowing people to use real sources of income, in order to get a home loan - AND, I would like to see the percentage that you have to put down on a home to be lowered - they used to have 5% Down, but that was back when houses were a normal price, and now homes are often in the million dollar mark, so, everyone needs a longer mortgage, and an easier path to home ownership... but I digress - What? Has that ever happened to me, before - haha!) ~

Anyway, I looove Andrew Yang! And I hope you do, too! lol! 
Me at the FRONT of The White House... we got a little bit lost! lol! And it was freeeezing, that day! 

Am I holding UP The Washington Monument?? lol!  Is critical to pretend to hold anything up in any picture! hahaha!

The Washington Monument is phenomenal -- soo hard to look straight up at it! 555 feet high! 



Cara in front of the Lincoln Memorial Statue.  Is incredible!

EVERYTHING is massive in Washington -- the monuments, the statues, the pillars (meee??  Ruh-roh!  Who's goin' back to the gym?? lol!)... and that's the Washington Monument behind me -- was freeeezing that day!

Aidan in the Lincoln Memorial, in front of the carved speech from Lincoln.  So moving.

Looking out over the Mall at the Washington Monument -- we're sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

This is where Martin Luther King, Jr. stood to give his I Have A Dream Speech, right  at the top of the steps of the Lincoln Memorial looking out over the Washington Monument

The Potomac River -- what a famous river!  And I really liked this tree, too! lol!

These walls surround the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial -- so moving.

Ailsa in front of the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial  -- unbelievably moving.

Aidan in front of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial -- it's critical that the next generation, and every generation after them, know the past, see where we've come from, where we need to go

See the walls surrounding the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial? They all have beautiful quotes on them

Aidan going into the Natural History Museum, part of the Smithsonian series of museums

The Hope Diamond! 

How much for all of these?? lol! The Gemstone section of the Smithsonian Natural History  Museum

This gemstone section of the Natural History Museum was so beautiful 

Cara considers changing her name to 'Jonah'! lol!



Get a 'whale' of a deal with Priceline - bah'hahahaha! Like that? Hahaha!  Silly!  Made me laugh!

Aidan loves dinosaurs!  Who doesn't??  Okay, Creationists, but everybody else! lol!

Aidan in the Land of Time?? lol!

He's safe, don't worry!  Looks like the one dinosaur is desperately trying to warn his buddy  of something ("I'm tellin' you, we gotta get outta here, man!"), but, noo, he doesn't want to listen, just eat 'til he drops! lol!

I loved the architecture in the Natural History Museum -- would this look good in my next house?? lol!

Cara loves diamonds -- especially the Hope Diamond!! hahaha!

This is hilarious, because this is a SCULPTURE of a tree -- it's all metal -- cool, eh??

Cara and Aidan on the steps of the National Gallery of Art - West Building, part of the Smithsonian Museums 

Well, not a great pic of me (lol!), but sooo pretty inside the National Gallery of Art - West Building ... flowers everywhere, just what I love!

The underground tunnel between the West Building and the East Building of the National Galleries of Art

Aidan in the moving walkway tunnel -- it was like a giant piece of art, in itself!

Whaat??  I couldn't believe my luck to find some Georgia O'Keefe paintings in the Museum of  Modern Art, in the National Gallery of Art - East Building 

I loved this piece of Modern Art because another 'Ailsa' had sponsored it! lol!

Cara in front of Andy Warhol -- cool, right??

Aidan and Modern Art -- can you see the building -- was incredible modern architecture -- glass and metal!

I just loved this piece!


A gorgeous water wall -- and I looove water walls!!

We were freezing and worn out from all the walking, and everything we'd taken in, that day, and here's Aidan in front of the Capitol Building,  where Congress meets, and we were right beside their parking lot -- pretty cool! 


Looking for something amazing and awe-inspiring to do over the Spring Break, or any time you happen to find yourself on the East Coast, like maybe for an Inauguration??  How about Washington, D.C.?  We were just there, and it was incredible.  More AWEsome than I would ever have imagined.  And I rarely use the word 'awesome'! lol!  We did the whole Historical Circuit, starting at the White House, first thing in the morning, over to the Washington Monument (unbelievable! I could hardly even look up at it -- if we hadn't actually been right there, I would never have known it's vast size -- 555 feet high. Incredible.), to the Lincoln Memorial (waaaay bigger than you would think, too!), then to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial -- so moving. The Civil Rights Movement is so close to my heart, so standing right there was one of the most meaningful things I've ever done. There are quotations on the surrounding stones that are so important... and what a beautiful setting, right across from the Jefferson Memorial, right on the water.

We spent the whole afternoon at the Smithsonian, which was incredible.  Really, the whole day was out of this world amazing.  Everywhere you looked, you were looking at the face of history, and phenomenally crucial history.

We went to the Natural History Museum, first, and it was stunning -- my favorite part, not too surprisingly, if you know me at all, were all the gems! lol!  I loved the Hope Diamond -- so beautiful. And the massive gemstones... dazzling!  Aidan loved the Dinosaur section, of course, what with being a 12 year old boy, 'n all... lol!  We must have been in the Natural History Museum for hours, there was so much to see.  I loved the whole section on Pangea -- that is soo fascinating to me. I love that stuff! haha!

We went from the Natural History Museum over to the National Gallery of Art - West Building, which houses all the Masters, and that was stunning, but here's what was unbelievable, and I'm glad one of the Guards in the Museum told me about it (I am forever chatting with people, and I canny tell you how much more I find out/learn/have great laughs and experiences because of that little social skill! lol!)... anyway, he told us to take the elevator to the ground floor of the National Gallery of Art - West Building, which takes you to the tunnel that connect the West and East Art Galleries, over to the National Gallery of Art - East Building, the Museum that houses the Modern Art, and, oh, man, was he right about it being spectacular.  You come out the elevator and go along an underground tunnel to the National Gallery of Art - East Building, go past a beautiful Water Wall, which I looove (I wanted one in our last big house! lol!), then you go through this stunningly beautiful walkway, a little like the moving walkways in airports, but completely surrounded in lights... sooo cool!  The kids will loove it!

Here's a much better photo of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC.  Is so moving. 
Oh, and guess how much this day cost us??  Nothing!!  Admission is FREE at all of the Smithsonian Museums we went to, so check and see before you go, but I think they're all free admission to the Smithsonian Museums... if we had had more time, there are soo many incredible museums in the Smithsonian, and soo much to do in Washington.  We met our wonderful friend, Mike (he's siiingle!!  Ready to mingle!!lol!) (me, too! lol!) (or, rather, Mike came and picked up our freeezing cold selves up in front of the Capitol Building, our last touristy thing of the day, and Mike took us to this fantastic restaurant about a block from the White House... I'll have to ask him what it was called, but we were freezing and starving, and it was the BEST Brisket I've ever had... was deeeelicious, and the restaurant was really pretty, and very reasonably priced, for such a nice restaurant :)  Thanks, Mike, for the great dinner!  See how useful and practical it is to have friends?? lol!  and in different and fascinating places, no less? Fascinating Friends in Fascinating Places! Sounds like a new site for me! lol!  Turns out, the phenomenal brisket is at a really, really good restaurant, The Hamilton , and I highly recommend it - deeelicious!

WASHINGTON DC Deals from Specials by Restaurant.com

Oh, and be sure to stop by the National Museum of Natural History GIFT Shop -- omg, it's amazing, and their prices were really good, too.  Aidan got a beautiful piece of Agate Crystal, blue (maybe $8.50, I think), and Cara and I each got a lovely Crystal Necklace -- both Quartz, which I love, and mine is shaped like a pyramid, so of course I feel like it's really lucky (I'll let you know! lol!).  Was sooo much fun -- one of our most memorable days ever!! And only a days drive from where we live in Ontario, Canada, so, easy to get there -- perfect!

We took the Subway (the Metro) from the hotel into the Federal Triangle, where all the 'good stuff' is!  Was pretty easy, but we were super happy that Mike drove us back to the hotel -- was a phenomenal day, but exhausting trying to fit everything into one day!  Would be great to have a whole week in Washington, DC (or just move there! lol!).

The Hope Diamond, absolutely stunningly beautiful, at the National  Natural  History Museum in Washington, D.C.  Always nice to have a little hope, right?? lol!

Ailsa in front of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial  -- was so emotional for me, and there happened to be a little class of  older students with special needs -- reminded me of my wonderful students in L.A., and how much I would have loved to have taken them to see this incredible Memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr.  My students used to love to look up Martin Luther King, Jr. on the computer, almost any time they were on the computer... I hope all students who have really special needs have teachers who give them full access to the computer and to the internet -- it is the biggest break-through in improving the lives of people with Special Needs, since it allows them access to the world, no matter where they are in the reading scale, and the computer is the best tool to teach reading to adults... clearly, I am a big believer in technology in the classroom... and everywhere else! But they would have loved it, there.  I wish I could have shared that with them -- maybe they'll find my blog!! lol! (Helllooo, if you do, and giant hugs all around! )



Dynamic Groupon Getaways banner  I love the Groupon Deals - we got some fantastic packages for Niagara Falls, and then local deals for restaurants that we wanted to check out - was great!


 


LeftLane Sports  
New Years Blowout! Up to 80% Off