A Girl can Dream!

I think all kids have a dream of what they want to be or do when they grow up.  How about you??  What did you want to be??

Some of those dreams never really die, they just continue into adulthood.  

When I was a kid, I had several ideas of what I was going to be.   

          #1.  I was going to be a race car driver!

          #2.  I was going to be a famous singer!

This is nice!  My current race car is more of the family sedan variety. 

I could totally be a rock star like her!

I know I'll never achieve these childhood dreams, but I continue to enjoy my delusional thoughts. 

For instance, I feel like AM a race car driver every day on my drive home from work.  There is a particular "fly-over" ramp that causes everyone to slow down.  NOT ME!  I take that thing at 60 miles per hour (please note that is the speed limit), passing all the slowpokes, and loving every minute of it!  (I think I should explain here that the whole reason the "fly-over" ramp was created was to cause traffic NOT to  slow-down, so by utilizing my race car driver expertise, I am actually just reinforcing the effectiveness and superior designing skills of our state-employed traffic engineers.  See, I can justify the need to drive like a race car driver in almost any situation!)  

Although, my age, maturity, and the acute fear of physical harm severely limits my race car driving experiences.  Let me reassure you, I am a completely safe driver. 

And...  My dream of being a famous singer is alive and well (at least while driving in my race car!).  You see, I am a total rock star when I am alone in my car.  I can sing as loud as I want and whatever I want and nobody complains.  If I don't know the correct words, I just make up my own words!  Yes, ONLY when I am alone because I sound GREAT!..... to myself.  and only to myself.  

Really, the only thing holding me back as a rock star is my extreme lack of talent...  and my own insecurities....  and stage fright.  

But, seriously, I could totally be a famous singer! 

So, you may be wondering why I am telling you all this.  

It's because my husband, Andy, has a childhood dream that has recently been partially fulfilled.  

He has always dreamed of being an airplane pilot.  Well, we have a friend, Kenny G (no, not THAT Kenny G) who is a private pilot.  Although, maybe if I had become a famous singer THAT Kenny G might have been our friend.

Kenny G goes flying at least once a month for several hours at a time.  He often takes people up with him.  Kenny has taken Andy with him twice now. (I went this last time too!)

Both times, Kenny has allowed Andy to take the controls.  (Of course, under Kenny's supervision at all times)

So, Andy's dream has been partially fulfilled...  He realizes that he is NOT a pilot, but he pretends to be one when he goes flying with Kenny G.  

So, although the day was overcast and we flew through rain part of the time, it was a really cool experience!   I gotta say, I was truly impressed by Andy's flying skills! 

Kenny G doing the pre-flight inspection.

Checking the oil.  Or the gas.  OK, he's checking something.

We are ready for take-off!

We just took flight - looking for our house...

Found our friend's house!

There's our house!

Andy has taken the controls!

Yeah, pay attention to that... whatever it is. 

I don't know exactly where we are, but we're flying!

I found this patch of green in the middle of the trees intriguing.  I don't know what it is or how anybody gets there - there doesn't appear to be a road! 

A nuclear power plant.

Don't worry, we weren't really that close. 

Kenny G is consulting the map!?!  Should I be concerned?

I like the lines in the dirt. 

Did you see me fly the plane???  Huh??

More lines in the dirt.

We landed in small airport in the middle of the state. 

On the way home we flew through some rain.  Kenny G took the controls. 

Our fearless leader!

Notice the horizon in this photo.

... and now the other way.

.... and back again.   Anyone feeling a little sick yet?

We leveled out. 

I have no idea what this is, but it looks cool. 

I know the people who live there!

This was right before we landed. 

Beautiful!

We landed!  Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing.  :-)

Andy had a great time!

Have you ever read a book or seen a movie where the handsome leading man whisks away the beautiful leading lady on a plane, has an utterly romantic meal, and then returns home a few hours later?

Well, I have now experienced that! 

OK, so, in my story...

          the Handsome leading man = Andy 

          the Beautiful leading lady = ME 

          the Utterly romantic meal = local pizza joint 

OK, not exactly the same, but a girl can dream, can't she??

Deco what?

I was in a friend's office and I needed to make a note.  So she hands me her clipboard.  Her clipboard looked just as exciting as these...

Boring!!!

My friend's job as a counselor is to help people, giving them hope and inspiration.  (I know that sounds cheesy and corny - are there any other applicable food-y terms? -   but she IS a counselor, sometimes she says things like this and she does NOT sound cheesy or corny - or any other food-y term!)

Let me just say...  The clipboard was so UNinspiring !    It looked hopeless.   OK, I know that's overly dramatic, but seriously, it was just so...  brown.

I told her she needed to decoupage it.  I think she may have said something like, "deco what it?...  Yeah, like that's gonna happen!"

For those of you who don't know - decoupage is just a fancy word, derived from the french, that means gluing paper to stuff to make it less boring-ish.    (That's not the definition you'll find in the dictionary, or any book, but that's what it means to decoupage)

Doesn't decoupage sound more glamorous than gluing??  Gotta love the french for that! 

So, of course, I had to decoupage a clipboard for her!

I found some scrapbooking papers that I thought she would like.

Calming, Soothing, and Inspiring. 

I knew the edges of the clipboard would show, so I painted them before gluing the papers to the clipboard.

 Then I decoupaged the papers onto the clipboard (again, just a fancy word for gluing). 

Yeah, those are wrinkles in the papers.  It adds character!  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I really like the paper on the back. (The side with the bird cages on it).  The bird cages are glittery!   I thought it was pretty and inspiring, reflecting what she does on a daily basis - she helps people "learn to fly".  (Yes, I know - cheesy and corny - still haven't come up with any other food-y terms to use -  but remember, she's the counselor, and it sounds completely natural coming from her.)

After decoupaging the papers onto the clipboard, I used a varnish to seal both sides.

I really like the pen too!

This is the back side  

 
I attached the pen to the clipboard with braided embroidery floss to keep it from getting lost (I'm not saying that SHE would lose it.  I actually bought the pen a while ago and I didn't want to be the one to lose it).  Then I added the stamped washers (they were an experiment in metal stamping with Sarah).  I like them.  

I hope she likes this clipboard and her clients find it more inspiring than the boring brown one and, with her help, learn to fly.  (again, I know, cheesy and corny.  Just imagine her saying it.)

You may be wondering.....   What was Sarah doing during my project?....

Sarah's philosophy on Spicy Nacho Doritos....  1 bag = 1 serving.

Doritos and Mountain Dew!!  What's not to like?

You may have noticed there were 2 clipboards in the photo at the beginning of this post.

 I decided to decoupage a clipboard for myself.
 

Sarah helped pick out these very calming, soothing colors and prints.  :-)

I found the pen and HAD to have it!   It matches so well. 

I wasn't sure if this is my style, but I guess I must have a suppressed "wild side" because I really like it.