4th of July 2016!

AAAAGHHH!!! 

I love 4th of July, sun, sand ,friends, fireworks, watermelon.... its the best. 

And last year some of use decided to decorate some shirts and they turned out like homemade shirts but we had oh so much fun!

Last year...

We had so much fun we are doing it again. 

Check out my pinterest page to see some ideas for all things 4th of July!

https://www.pinterest.com/byjblogger/4th-of-july/

Best Wishes

By -J

4th of July

Basically my life is Pinterest. 

Well, I think it is but mostly its

the Pinterest Nailed It section. 

But I am hoping this weekend 

turns out pinterest perfect!

My very good friend and I are spending the 

4th together along with our families and

we decided to make shirts this year!

Our Pinspiration

We haven't decided to match or to 

each do our own, so we will see how it goes. 

I got all the supplies

shirts, paint, I saw one example used 

a cookie cutter to make shapes, 

so that is what I bought. 

Anyway I also got a TON of glow sticks. 

And now I have to decide if I want to make 

a dessert or snack of some sort. 

These are my options. 

Pop Rocks sugar cookies?

Chocolate Pretzels?

Chocolate covered Oreo pops?

Or chocolate dipped strawberries?

I want to do something simple. 

But they all have a measure of time consuming. 

Anyway those are my plans. 

A day at the beach with friends and family, 

yummy food, fireworks and DIY shirts. 

Best Wishes and Stay Safe!

By - J

Busy Bee

It is the time of year when everything 

seems to be happening. 

Students are ready to finish the semester, 

teachers plan recitals, parties, tests, and much more. 

I personally think we should divide all of 

these events up over the months but it tends to 

fall to just a few weeks. 

And then summer. 

I love summer! It is my favorite time, 

especially when I get to go to the beach. 

But now I have a job that doesn't take summer off.

So I have to put in for actual vacation days. 

It's strange getting old. 

And I'm taking an online class this summer 

so I won't be completely school free. 

But I'm still excited. 

I was going to talk about something completely different, 

its been on my mind for days. 

Remember the post about dreams

and how I figured I have sleep problems because 

I don't confront people in reality. 

Well I stumbled onto a situation that 

I felt had wronged me. 

After venting to my very best friend,

I decided not to confront that person. 

1. Because I knew that they simply would brush it off.

2. It would serve no purpose ruining a night 

just so I would feel better. 

I also figured that if they did it on purpose, 

I would only give them satisfaction over my reaction. 

So I'm trying to let it go, 

even though they did the wrong thing, 

I'm the only one who is hurt. 

Now that I understand my sleep problem

I'm better at addressing why I'm not sleeping. 

But that doesn't solve the problem. 

It's something I'm working on :)

Anyway I'm planing a trip to Texas with sister 

so here are some fun beach/summer pictures. 

Baseball-The American pastime.

My family loves the mountains so summer for me would 

include mountains. 

Disney- We live close and go to a Christian concert night 

but this year we are going to Texas instead. 

I've been para sailing twice now

and I love it!

I would love to go again. 

4th of July is huge for my family 

so I made this last year. 

So I covered like five topics. 

I hope you have a great end of the semester 

and start your summer planing soon!

By -J

Spring Break 2015

I know what you are thinking,

Not another person telling all about their awesome 

plans for Spring Break...

Nope my plan, because I have online classes 

and I don't really get a spring break, 

especially with work.

I could ask for the time off and get it but I like work.

And money :) 

But I do have plans to go to the movies at lease once,

get ice cream with friends and visit the beach at least once

and visit my best friend in St. Augustine for the day.

Really not exciting or exotic plans for the week.

So it kind of got me thinking about the people who don't

have the time or resourcing to do something crazy.

Which gave me the idea to share some ideas on easy 

Spring Break ideas.

1. Play Tourist. 

Your local area can be a treasure trove of fun 

visit your online visitors bureau or locate your visitor center and explore. 

2. Girls day.

Local shopping or browsing maybe get your nails done too.

That is on my list of things to do but I'm 

waiting for my nails to grow.

You can also organize a slumber party.

Movies, comfy clothes, maybe some spa treatments.  

3. Day trip.

The price of gas might make you cringe but 

grab some friends and split the cost. 

Set out for a planned day or a day of getting lost.

(Pack snacks or their will be blood) ;)

4. Tour your local restaurants.

This is on my list too.

Set out to eat, eat, eat, 

You don't have to do a full meal

 but ask for drinks and appetizers and try out new places.

5. Museums and Aquariums. 

Art is coming back in a big way.

Street art, pop culture, and even historical are making 

their way into fun chic environments. 

Try out locally or drive to the "big city"

And aquariums are awesome...

Have fun and be safe!

By -J

What are your plans for spring break?

P.S Happy St. Patrick's Day

Beach Creatures Encounters

On my Instagram @by_j.blogger I am participating in a Blogger Life Photo Challenge for the month of March.

Day 12 was post a picture of an animal. 

I chose me holding the stingray I caught at the beach a few years ago. Which reminded me of all the crazy creatures I have seen over the years. 

So today I wanted to share some of my crazy beach adventures. 

Back Story

My parents bought a small condo on the beach when I was 5 and I spent most of my summers there. 

I loved it! still do, its a place where I feel safe and at home.

For years I've been building sandcastles and catching crabs, 

riding biking and fly kites,

making way too many friends count and enjoying when of the

prettiest places ever.

So animal #1 Dolphins

Unfortunately Dolphins have lost some of their magic 

over the years. I've seen them from afar and up close, 

I even watched the mama's teach the little ones to play in the surf. Majestic!

#2 Whale 

My first whale sighting was a remarkable thing. 

It was winter and we were visiting the beach and friends when we noticed a helicopter flying over the ocean.

A little bit later we saw the whale's tail rising out of the water. Breathtaking. It then flipped over and was flipping its fins out of the water, like he was waving at the helicopter. So cool!

#3 Shark

Shark should really be one of the firsts because I live in FL very close to the most popular shark attack beach.

 I'm no stranger to these guys. 

My brother even got bite while surfing.

(He is fine not even a scar, it was a baby and it bite his foot)

But this story is unique. 

I was casting netting, which if you don't know is where you launch/throw a big net into the water with weights on it so it sinks quickly in order to capture the fish. 

(we let them go after, unless they were big enough to eat)

Anyway I was standing in water about calf deep with my 10yr old niece next to be. I looked down into the water and saw a 5ft nurf shark just sitting in the water 2ft from us. 

Needless to say I turned, grabbed my niece and ran. 

Not the best idea because you are supposed to be calm.

But I was 14 give my a break.

A few miutes later I went back having tackled my fear and stumbled upon another shark about 4ft. 

Just sitting there waiting for something, 

This time I was with my younger brother, 

I turned and pointed, showing him the shark 

and he turned around and ran. 

I guess I was no longer scared. (Kinda)

#4 Stingray

The Picture on IG shows the baby stingray I caught one summer with the cast net in the shallow water. 

That was amazing. I was so surprised when I saw it in the water and he took awhile to catch

(they are very fast swimmers)

#5 Crabs and Jelly Fish

Okay these really should have been first because I have 

been messing with crabs for years. :)

#6 Puffer Fish and Seahorse

The puffer fish I saw when I fell of the surfboard right next to it in really clear water and it puffed up. 

I must have scared it ;)

The seahorse I caught with my hands.

When I am out waist deep I look for seaweed because little fish, crabs, seahorses and other creature hid in it. 

I pulled one apart and found a seahorse. 

That was really exciting. 

#7 Manatee 

The manatee is a newer edition to my collection of crazy animal encounters. 

My friends and I were in the surf 

(where the water crashes and is about waist deep)

and all of a sudden this huge "thing" rises up out of the waves right next to us and it kinda freaked me out

(only cause I have a fear of finding a body in the ocean)

Until I saw the very manatee looking tail. 

My brother has had one rub up against him in the water.  

#8 Turtles!!

OMG this past summer (August 2014)

My sister and I were going for a walk on the beach at night and when we stepped on the sand I turned on my flashlight to see and we found baby sea turtles that had just hatched and where headed to the ocean. 

15 of these adorable guys!

Turtles head towards light so we guided them with our flashlights into the ocean.

Watching them get it by the ways and still swim towards it was entertaining.

I've had a few other shark encounters but I'll save them for another day. 

By -J 

These are just a few reasons why I love the beach.