broken

/

there's something about this that i love.

I was trying to figure out what it's called when you emerge from a blog break. Have you "breaked"? Are you "broken"? Either way, hello! I'm back. Sorry for the unannounced disappearance. I had been pondering a little blog break at the end of this summer and planned to make it more of a formal, announced kind of thing, but I suddenly found myself needing it sooner than later. And then of course the internet outages and storm-induced power outages made it all seem a little bit easier to slip away. So, I believe that I am back. Although you may find me a little quieter until we get back into the routines of Fall again.

I think it is good to take a break every now and then. To reevaluate why it is you blog, what exactly you want to blog about and to remember who it is you are blogging for. Next month will mark my fourth year of blogging, I still can't believe where it started and where I am now.

But while I was "breaking".....

first.

**we ate the first watermelon and corn from our garden.

they. are. wacky.
**I celebrated my 33rd birthday and felt overwhelmed by the love and attention. I received gifts in all forms--hugs and kisses and handwritten notes left on my bed, sentimental things I'll cherish, and things I never would have gotten for myself--(like time in a recording studio, to put together a CD.)

auction haul

**I revisited an eastern shore auction with my mom and came home with a truckload of treasures and lots of funny stories.

emily. they're waiting for you.

**I started picking flowers from MY row in the garden.

**I discovered the *joys* of having house guests during a power outage.

still here, just summering.

**I took a daytrip to the beach and watched how each of my children experienced it differently--Emma: spent all her time mastering the waves. Mary: was done with sand and salt and ready to go home after 20 minutes. Elizabeth: didn't want to keep her bathing suit on and needed to go the bathroom every 10 minutes.

And today, I'm up to my ears in to-do lists. Why does one day without power feel like coming home after a week's vacation? And Emma and I are scrambling to get her fair entries ready for judging later this afternoon. There are photographs to print, cakes to bake and paintings to finish.

And while we spend the week doing all kinds of fair-type things, I'll be handing over the blogging reins to my cousin Katie Pertiet. She'll be doing a series the rest of this week on digital scrapbooking and basic photo editing. I even suspect she'll have some giveaways, too! I may be biased because she's my cousin, but Katie is one sweet, talented lady and she has so many wonderful ideas to share. I know you'll enjoy hearing what she has to share!