The Beach~Italian Style

I love going to the beach. Or to be honest, anywhere I have a view of water. However, I don't think I will ever live on the beach. Maybe a 2 mile bike ride away. That way I can walk or ride my bike & stay in shape. Also, I wouldn't have to worry about the salt air turning everything rusty-that would drive me crazy. Yep, 2 miles away sounds good to me (and hubby, too).  He wants to blow glass when he retires. So we have a few things on our list. 


A few years ago we went on a vacation to France & Italy. In planning the trip, I did a lot of research. Can you say TripAdvisor? There were some bumps in the road, but it was an incredible trip. As we were traveling in the July, I wanted to make sure that we visited some beaches. In my Italian Riviera travel guide, it had great info on all of the towns & which one had beaches. This gave me a general guideline to what cities we would try to visit. Did you know that in many places you have to pay to go to the beach? The rates are per person & you can rent an umbrella, as well. Also, if there is a pool, it is extra to use the pool. Below is a picture of a beach & pool just a few blocks from our hotel. It also had a diving board into the ocean, which the kids enjoyed! This was taken in Rapallo, Italy across the bay from Portofino.

Here is  a view looking at the beach & toward our hotel, Hotel Italia e Lido Rapallo. The hotel had its own private "beach" as well. You had to go through a bar & a narrow dark hallway to get to the beach. There were a few chairs that rested upon rocks that jutted out into the ocean. With 3 young kids in tow, we opted for the beach down the road. Our hotel is the yellow building with green shutters & awnings. 

This is a closer view of our hotel. Our room overlooked a small beach & the castle. Also, we looked out onto the bay toward Portofino. It was incredible! 

One of my favorite memories of this trip was watching my kids play ball with the Italian children on the small beach outside our hotel room. I didn't get a picture of it (bummer!). Hope you enjoyed dreaming with me today. I'll be back soon with more "beach" photos:)

**My good camera with the zoom lens wasn't working on this trip. I was so happy to have my 2nd camera with me, just an inexpensive Kodak. Be sure to have a backup camera on important trips!**

The Music in My Life

I have tried to make music a part of my kids' life since they were rather young. It started by taking them to music classes. To be honest, I think I enjoyed the classes more than they did at the time! Their classes involved music & movement. They played with shakers & drums, held hands with the other kids, sang & danced. I have very fond memories & realize that many friendships developed from those classes. We usually went on Friday mornings & I always felt as if it were a reward for making it through the week! My children now are too old for those types of classes & it makes me a bit sad to think that this is true. 

This is a picture of Mr. F & Miss Boo from about 5 years ago @ music class:

Now we have voice lessons for Miss A and piano for Miss A, Mr. F & Miss Boo. Miss A has also played the violin & the cello. Mr. F. played the cello for a year, too. He also plays the electric guitar. And the trumpet. He is becoming quite talented at the trumpet. He has good musical genes as his uncle, grandfather & great-grandfather were trumpet players & his dad was a trombone player. I am looking forward to the outdoor practice sessions. Perhaps the neighbors will notice the sound that has been cooped up inside my home all winter. Since he won't be in school this summer, maybe he can practice when I am already awake, instead of the pre-7:00 am timeframe!




Mr. F  a few weeks ago, in an early morning practice session:

Miss A on the left with friend Miss I. They sang the national anthem (Miss A was 10 years old!) in  front of about 1,000 people prior to a swim meet. Then both girls swam in the meet, too. It was awesome!

Miss A a few years ago with the electric guitar:

The cello was a beautiful sound in our home. Although now it rests quietly in the music room. Isn't it funny how when you move into a new home, you have all these grand ideas of what you will do with the rooms & then over time it changes & develops into a use you hadn't thought of? So our dining room is now a music room. I love it and it makes me happy to know that I can plop down & listen in.


The piano was a hand me down & at the time, I wondered if we would ever use it. A few years back as we embarked upon a move, I wondered where we would put it in our "new" home. I am glad it made the move & that the kids have taken a few years of piano lessons. They have their first recital next month. I  think we are all a bit nervous about the performance.


From the archives circa 2004, this is a pic of my friend's daughter, Miss S along with Miss Boo & Mr. F. Funny how they love the piano when a friend comes over!:

These days we listen to the radio & the ipods & tune in every chance we get to American Idol. Times change & I know one day in the future I will miss the musical notes now being played out in my home. I am thinking about taking cello lessons. 

Quick Scrapbook

What do you do with all of the snippets of life; concert/dance recital programs, newspaper clippings, certificates of achievements, sports programs/photos, heat sheets, ribbons, etc? Well I have a quick & easy answer! A few years ago when I attended my niece's graduation party, I was able to flip through her life via a 3 ring binder. My sis' mom-in-law, has saved & archived all of her important papers. It was awesome to flip through & see all that she had accomplished in her school years!

I had been saving these items for my kids since pre-school & throwing them into a drawer. But trust me, there was NO organization to it! As soon as I got home, I rushed to the office store & bought the clear sheet protectors. I use the *Avery* brand where it states "acid-free, archival-safe".

Recently I put them into the binders & did a quick "pretty up" to the binder using coordinating scrapbooking papers. This was a very easy & quick project & now all of my 3 kid's snippets of life are organized. My first grad party is in 5 years. I already have one thing checked off my list! Hope you like this idea~Cathy M

Update to Mr. F's Room~Finally!

I updated a few items in Mr. F's room last year. It broke my heart to rid it of the PB sail quilt! I did an inexpensive change of bedding, decorative items & a rug to make it more pre-teen than little boy. One thing that has been on my list was to add some decorative elements that would personalize the room to his style. If you have read my blog before then you may remember that Mr. F (my son) is an 11 year old, avid snow skier. I have had this phrase about skiing running through my head for the past year & I finally got it on the wall.

I bought the Cricut vinyl which you can purchase at Wal-Mart for about $10 for 2 pieces that were 12"X24". They come in assorted colors. A friend of mine owns a Cricut & cut them for me. All I had to do was pick the font & watch her cut it~it took about 2 minutes.

Here is the before picture (like the 5 gallon bucket & all the clutter?):

This is a picture of hubby giving me a guide, so I knew how to line up the letters. I definitely needed him for this project!

And here is my $10 update:

The picture in the frame is a photo of Mr. F. hitting a big jump this year. Here is a close-up:

Ski season is now over. Mr. F. will have a corner of his room in which to dream about next year's ski season. Don't we all need a bucketless place to dream?

*Mr. F still has his bucket, but a lot less junk as we spring cleaned his room this past week. Every drawer & basket has been organized. We found a great corner of his closet for the 5 gallon bucket:) As a bribe to get him to cooperate, he got to go to his favorite Mexican restaurant!