Adventuring with Karen

Creative

When I think about myself and words that describe me I know there are many different aspects to my life that may require different descriptors. How does one describe themselves with one word?

I have had to be, and wanted to be, creative over the years for lots of different reasons. When our kiddos were small money was tight and sometimes non-existent. During that time I found creative free ways to show our kids the world. The library is one of our favorite places to explore.

I have had many creative outlets over the years and hope to continue to be creative!

Jack of all Trades, Master of None….

I feel like I jump into a lot of things, get kind of good at them, and then stop before mastering anything.

My first and foremost go to, to share amazing news is to tell my hubs! He’s my person after all and I always want to share news with him first. Next up is my kiddos, family, friends, and then social media. 😉

Hobbies and activities are so much fun! I definitely have gone through spurts where I get hooked on something and then it peters out a bit.

I love photography and have even been paid to take photos before. I bought a light kit and have taken on lots of photo challenges over the years. The switch from film to digital was rocky and devastating when I deleted a whole file of photos of my baby son and couldn’t get them back. I upgraded my camera when my old one stopped working but the new one was heavier which made me not feel like carrying it as much. I was having some back issues at the time as well so that didn’t help. I still love taking photos all the time and my convenient pocket computer makes it possible but I haven’t pursued getting paid for it in a long time.

I also loved scrapbooking when my kids were little. Unfortunately all of my supplies are in a closet I can’t get to at the moment and I haven’t printed pictures in quite some time. But, if I were to plan a weekend I would still love to scrapbook!

At the moment hiking and reading are my favorite hobbies. I still like to bake as well but I don’t like the clean up. How about you?

I like candy a lot but different candy in different circumstances!

If it is Valentine’s or Christmas I love a box of See’s Candy with raspberry creme, scotchmallows, and milk butterscotch!

If I am on a road trip I like cold brew MnMS or red licorice.

If I’ve had a terrible day at work peanut butter cups are my go to.

If I am hiking I love trail mix with just a little chocolate in it.

When I was pregnant with my daughter I loved Milky Way Midnight.

I do not like candy with nuts. It’s a texture thing.

I feel like I could just say yes to this prompt and move on with my day. There are lots of things I need a break from.

Diet coke, chocolate, carbs, teaching….

I don’t think I want a break from the first three though.

If you ask my husband and my father in law ( and I did) what the most important invention in their life is they would say the personal computer. I mean I am typing this, using my thumbs, on the tiny personal computer that I carry around in my pocket. For both of them the computer is central to their jobs.

I suppose that is definitely high on my list as well as I used to blog frequently, edit photos, communicate with long distance family and friends, buy stuff, etc ..

*sigh* well I suppose if I don’t pick the computer it has to be the Caboodle because how else am I supposed to store my 80’s hair accessories and giant hoop earrings?

There are so many things I love it is difficult to plan just one ideal day.

One option would be with my hubs and kiddos: breakfast, a day at the beach, dinner at some place fancy followed by a delicious dessert

Option 2: a day with my fam at an amusement park with no lines and free food

Option 3: hiking all over the place all day long

I think it is important to find beautiful things every day and according to my father in law everyday is “the best day ever”!

I remember my mom always saying how fast time was going as we were growing up. I suppose I believed her but only to the extent that when you were doing something fun time seemed to speed up and that fun thing ended far too soon. Of course, waiting for the fun event took forever!

As a parent of children that have now grown up I remember hearing the phrase “the days are long but the years are short”. Too true. As a young parent, in the trenches of diapers and meltdowns, there were definitely days that didn’t seem to end. But, those years went by so fast!

My hubs and I often talk about how it feels like we haven’t been together that long but also feel like we have always been together.

To quote another quip, “time is fleeting” so I want to make the most of the time I have with the ones I love.

At the beginning of each year I make a list of things that really need to get done around the house and post it on our front door. It is a list of big projects that require quite a bit of time and money to accomplish. Some of those items have been on the list for years!

I have things like: replace the front steps, purge the attic, tear down the play structure. For years “get a new fence” was on the list and every time we thought it was the year we would have our pipes collapse or a storm take off the roof or some other crazy thing. I was pretty excited when we were able to cross new fence off the list!

One day my to-do list will be completed…maybe..