Today was one of those go-go-go until I crash & burn kind of days, but it was great none-the-less! (Well, mostly great minus one little detail, but I'll get to that later) I was up by 7am to get a workout in before heading over to JoAnn's to sign up for a few crafting classes. They were running a 50% off special today on all of their crafting classes, so I wanted to take advantage of that. I signed up for Wilton Cake Decorating, Knitting, & Crocheting. Should be interesting for sure :) The cake class is 2 sessions, but the other two are just one session each. Next I headed off to the post office & was pretty surprised to find it pretty empty - typically it seems as though Saturday mornings are pretty crowded, but thankfully not today!
After that I popped in a store real quick to look at some clothes before heading over to the dermatologist for my least-fun experience of the day: wart removal. Gross, I know, but it was necessary. I somehow managed to get one on my middle finger near my cuticle as well as another tiny one that seemed to be cropping up on the finger right next to it. I tried an over-the-counter removal system to no avail, so I decided to bite the bullet and have it professionally removed. Despite the doctor's warning, I didn't think it was going to hurt too badly and, quite frankly, it really wasn't that bad initially when he blasted me with the liquid nitrogen, but basically as soon as I stepped outside the doctor's office, my fingers felt like they were on fire! OUCH!! It took an hour or so for that on-fire feeling to subside, but then the blisters appeared. They look disgusting, but I'm really really hoping this will get rid of them once and for all.
Once finished with all of
that, I made my way over to the Cummer Museum of Arts & Garden in downtown Jacksonville to take some photos. Lately I've been trying to make an effort to visit various sights in Jacksonville that I have yet to discover to not only expand my horizons in this city, but also to stretch my photography legs a bit. Taking photos simply for the art & joy of taking photos relaxes me and makes my little heart happy :) I had seen a few photos online of the gardens at the Cummer Museum and with a description promising a feeling of stepping into "The Secret Garden," I knew I had to see it for myself. Quite frankly, no picture truly does it justice. This place is beautiful! The fact that it's tucked away in the middle of downtown Jacksonville really adds to its charm - you'd never believe that something so serene could exist in the middle of a city's busy core. They also boast a nice collection of art ranging from pre-historic cave paintings (actual stone cut out of the caves, I presume) all the way to modernism. Also inside is a fun interactive area for kids too. I'm really glad I went - it wasn't too crowded and the staff is incredibly sweet and seem to be very proud of their museum. The lady at the front desk was particularly sweet - through Labor Day the museum is actually offering free admission for military personnel & their dependents so upon showing her my dependent ID she asked me to thank my husband for his service and was so very genuine about it. It warmed my heart :) I'm so glad I went and whether you're an art enthusiast or not, simply going to see the beautiful garden is worth the trip!
As I was leaving the museum, I noticed a Riverside Art Market set up under one of the many overpasses downtown. If you know me, you know that I'm rarely able to just pass up a market visit, so I did a quick u-turn, parked, and set out to see what they had in store for me. I didn't actually walk away with much, but I always really enjoy walking around things like that. One thing I was sure to grab was some ice cold raspberry lemonade - I was sooo thirsty, so that was just about the best-tasting lemonade I think I've ever had ;) I also picked up a jar of homemade sweet picked squash. I've never tried it before so I was intrigued.
Needless to say, I think I used up most of my energy on this beautiful Saturday :) I got back to my apartment around 3:30pm and was completely worn out. Since then I've been relaxing on the couch going through photos, watching the Olympics (of course), and occasionally finding myself dozing off a bit. Oops. Perhaps that's indication that I should put myself to bed now. Until the next adventure...
Ever since we set foot in Florida 3 years ago (hard to believe we've been here that long), I've looked for ways to get involved and volunteer. I've done a few miscellaneous things here & there, but I've never been able to find an organization that I could volunteer with for multiple events throughout the year that also mainly served the military community because, well, let's face it - I have a soft-spot in my heart for the military & military families for some pretty obvious reasons :) Anyway, I'm SO excited because I've FINALLY found exactly what I've been looking for through Operation Homefront! They are a nationally recognized organization that has smaller outreach communities throughout the United States that exist to serve the military & their families. Perfect!
