just a little bit HOT

I know hot. I grew up in Arizona. I have been outside when the temperature spiked to 122 degrees and it felt like the sun was going to bake the meat right off of your bones. I've had sunburns so bad that I blistered and peeled for weeks and had to live in my swim suit for days and slept with a bottle of lotion at my side for those middle of the night attacks of pain from the burnt part laying against my sheets for too long. As a child I once ran out to meet the ice cream truck barefoot. I thought I was going to miss him but it turns out that I had way more time than I imagined because in the end I stood on hot asphalt waiting for the other neighborhood kids to get their frosty treats and I bounced back and forth from one foot to another trying to cool my feet down for a few seconds. That was a disaster, as you can imagine. I spent the next week on the couch or in bed. Walking was excruciating. I had 2nd and 3rd degree burns on the bottom of my feet. To this day my feet are so sensitive that I don't much walk barefoot inside the house, let alone outside. Yeah, I know hot.

Now I live in Kansas and I've been spoiled by summers when it barely hits 85 on a good day and the public pool closes early (or doesn't open at all) because it just isn't warm enough. I've also had summers where the mere act of leaving the front door and walking to the mail box made me feel as though I was trying to breathe in a steam room because of the crazy humidity. We've always said that Kansas has crazy weather. Where else would you have rain, snow and then sunshine on Halloween with temperatures going from the 30's to the 60's in a matter of hours? Okay, I'm sure there are other places as well who share our crazy weather as we can't be alone in that but none the less, it gets kind of unpredictable at times. So, I suppose this summer shouldn't be a surprise.... but...

This summer is HOT. It was pretty hot last summer too but nothing like this. Last summer I stalked my old home town on weather underground and watched as our temperatures and heat index soared above them. I commented a few times that it would be cooler to move home and I longed for the 'dry' heat of Arizona instead of the mugginess we had here. I don't think mother nature took kindly to me coveting weather elsewhere and making such comparisons because this summer is so much worse. This summer we have had crazy days of high temperatures and heat so dry it feels like you could cook a turkey on the front steps. We've had those humid days too, the sauna days when you are ringing wet but it isn't all sweat. We've had the days of burning your hands opening the car door or picking up a penny from a parking lot. Its been hot. Too hot. In fact, we recently went on record for having the 4th hottest day ever in our area and the hottest ever in the month of August. Last night the heat index was 124 and as we sat here sweltering I couldn't help but check out my old neighborhood to see how they were fairing. It was 4 degrees cooler by the thermometer and their heat index was 107, a degree lower than their actual temperature. I hate to mess with mother nature and all, but seriously? I am starting to think maybe we do need to move home... or at least take our cue from the snowbirds that visit the area every winter only do opposite and spend summers there. LOL

So, how is it in your area? Are you baking right along with me? I am dreaming of autumn and long sleeves, of crisp air and long walks. And to think, its only the beginning of August.

another passion of mine

I like to scrap (though I haven't in quite a while... see the post about longing to find inspiration), I like to craft (yep, there's a post about not being able to do that lately either) and I love to take pictures. I also love to decorate my home. I have such an eclectic taste and style that home decorating has been a long and tedious project with more misses than hits as I fumble around finding what works just right for me... well, for us, my family and I. I follow home improvement blogs and decorating blogs and watch design shows. In fact, I probably watch, read, devour too many because I see too many things that appeal to me. I love modern and contemporary and rustic and industrial and shabby chic and the list goes on. I have a hard time pinpointing my favorite style because I see beauty in almost everything. I don't like the dark and macabre and I'm not too fond of mid-evil but most other genres (if you will) of design appeal to me. I suppose you probably already guessed as much considering the eclectic nature of my designs though, right? LOL

Anyway, I had a fun weekend finding goodies at the flea market to transform for our home. I picked up an adorable little table that was sporting a very unfortunate coat of lime green paint. Actually, in the store under the fluorescent lighting I didn't find the color half bad. My husband thought I was nuts but I kind of liked it. However, once I saw it in natural light I realized just how appalling it really was and therefore my cute little table had to have a new coat of paint. It is now sporting a very chic coat of satin finish black paint. Every table can use a little black coat, eh? Yeah, I know, that wasn't a good joke. Its late, what can I say?

So, while I miss scrapping and crafting and designing, I am staying busy doing something creative at least. I am also counting down the days until the kids to back to school and I can get my design on!