About Me (Part I)

I feel that, when you stop by to read a post or two, you should know who is writing to you. Since I have so much of myself to tell you about, I am going to work on writing a few different posts that reveal a little more about me. Hopefully, these will help you understand where I'm coming from and want to read more (and, maybe, even share my posts with others!) So, on to "Part I":

I guess I should start off with, "Hello! My name is Alicia." I grew up in Northwestern Ohio. In fact, except for my twenties, I've lived within a 50-mile radius of western Lake Erie my entire life. I've always been interested in creative pursuits, animals/nature, and learning. The learning part would surprise you if you'd seen any of my grade cards - I'm more of a learn-on-your-own kind of person. In fact, I'm currently working toward a Bachelor in Education. Of course, it will be followed up with a Master's, and probably a Doctorate (if I can afford it!)

There's nothing like the smell of
a freshly-opened box of Crayolas!

I have always been a creative person. There's nothing better than a brand new box of Crayolas (64-count, please!) and a pile of blank paper to get my creative juices flowing. My mom was always working on one project or another when I was young. She'd repaint the rooms, refinish furniture, make clothes for us, and made (and tried out, of course) all kinds of play doughs, paints, and glues for us to play with. My father is musical. I remember his band practicing in our basement when I was little and playing from our garage during neighborhood block parties. Right now, he's playing in a band with a group of guys he just met in Panama (his part-time residence since he's retired.)

Can you believe it?!

I wish I could say that I spend every spare minute in one creative pursuit or another but, sadly, I don't. I just don't seem to be able to find the time. I love cooking and baking. I've found that they really help me get some of my pent-up creativity out. My mom even gave me a professional Wilton Decorating set for Christmas! My oldest will be 13 in March and I really want to see just how creative I can get with that set and his cake. I'm already making sketches!

I get a lot of chances to play with art supplies with my kids, too. In an earlier post, I wrote about Gummy Lump's "300 Crafts for Kids in 2011" and how I plan to follow along to the best of my toddler's abilities. I'm having as much fun as he is!

Nature has also been an important part of my life. Living so near Lake Erie most of my life, there has always been a river or creek within walking distance. As a child, I would collect amphibians, insects, and (to my mother's horror) reptiles. I also collected leaves, flowers, interesting-looking sticks, rocks... you get the idea. Our porch was the depository of many interesting collections... until I went to bed and my dad cleaned it all off for tomorrow's load of treasures. I still collect a lot of these things. My junk drawer has unmarked envelopes filled with seeds from flowers and other plants that I've come across that I thought looked interesting. These envelopes sit among the typical pens, paper clips, screwdrivers and rubber bands. There are also pretty rocks, shells, and even the occasional snake skin. Oh, and I like bugs. Last summer, I couldn't bring myself to kill the caterpillars that were tearing apart my carrots and parsley, so I brought them inside, put them in a big Ball jar with carefully selected sprigs of their favorite leaves and I ended up with a bunch of these:

Swallowtail Butterflies!!!



I always take my camera along whenever we go for walks. I have come across so many interesting way to incorporate nature in my photography. On those rare occasions when I forgot my camera, I do nothing but see those scenes that would have made great photos. I love my little $90 digital camera and I think it's the best investment I've made in a very long time. Some day, maybe I can save up for a really nice Canon. For now, I'm happy with what I have!