Quote of the Week: {Feb. 17, 2014}

"We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch - we are going back to whence we came."

-John F. Kennedy

Happy President's Day!

I hope that you are enjoying the day, remembering some presidents of the past and, if you are lucky enough to have the day off, enjoying the ocean! If you don't live close to an ocean, and have the day off, I hope you are finding something fun to do!

I am going to the beach after I finish an essay that I have to write, and I can't wait! It is gorgeous outside in California today, so I am very excited to go soak up some of that sun. 

Have a wonderful president's day, everybody!

xoxo

Summer is Sailing Away

As made clear through many of my prior posts, I am very much looking forward to Autumn. It is my favorite season: I love the crisp, chilly air, especially when it is foggy. I love the sweaters, pumpkins, Halloween, hot cocoa, and so much more.

But, I will also miss Summer: the heat, daily walks on the beach, swimming, shorts, smoothies. It's all sailing away now. This summer, I was not able to go sailing, although I have had a very strong urge to. I've admired the cute sail boat fence (above), watched sail boat races and went to see the regatta at the harbor:

A grey day, but well worth it!

Since I was not able to go sailing this Summer, I have resolved to go sailing within the next 1,001 days (well, now we're at 997, but you get the picture). It's a part of my 101 in 1,001 to-do-list/challenge, and I am very much looking forward to it!

xoxo

Slightly Tweaking the Name!

Before this day, my blog was called Mason Jars and Southern Charm, to match my tumblr of the same name: here. However, since I live in a coastal town and post much more content relating to the ocean, I thought a name change was in order! 

Sorry if there was any confusion. 

xoxo

Pre-K Wednesday: Ocean & Sea Creatures!

Hand-print crab!

Since the Summer is drawing to a close, we wanted to make sure to include a week (or two) dedicated to the ocean before we send off our kindergarten kids and begin our new school year.  Since we live by the beach, it was easy to create a sensory tub full of shells and seaglass, and I even found a fully intact sand dollar to show the kids! We created hand-print crabs (my example is pictured above) at the beginning of the week, hand-and-foot-print lobsters (example pictured below), and paper-bag jellyfish.

We also did a variety of circle time activities involving music and books. The kids' favorite song to sing is called "Slippery Fish," and it goes:

Slippery fish, slippery fish

Swimming in the water

Slippery fish, slippery fish

Glub, glub, glub

OH NO! I've been eaten by a...

Octopus, octopus

Swimming in the water...

And it continues with a tuna fish, great white shark, and finally, a humongous whale! After you sing about the humongous whale, rather than saying you've been eaten again, you sing, "Glub, glub, glub... BURP! Excuse me..." The kids love to hear their usually-ladylike teachers letting out a huge, fake burp!

We've also been reading a large number of sea-related books, like Eric Carle's Mister Seahorse (you can buy it at my Amazon store) and A House for Hermit Crab (buy here). We also read The Ocean Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta, and the kids loved hearing all about the creatures we could find in the ocean.

Enjoy your last days of summer!

xoxo

Quote of the Week: 8/12/13

Evening in Santa Cruz, California

“When you do something noble and beautiful and nobody noticed, do not be sad. For the sun every morning is a beautiful spectacle and yet most of the audience still sleeps.” 

- John Lennon

This week's quote is really special, I find, because often we do good things because we want to be acknowledged for it, and that is not the point of doing something good is not suppose to be to gain praise. To do something noble and good just for the sake of doing it, out of the goodness of your heart, is something to hold dear, whether there is praise or not. As long as you know you did a beautiful deed, that is all you need. Cherish the feeling and harvest in yourself the ability to do noble and beautiful things just because you can and you want to. That will take you far. 

Also, wake up every so often to enjoy the gorgeous sun on a chilly morning. You will not regret watching the beauty of a sunrise, promise. 

xoxo, 

Caryn Elizabeth

Boardwalk Concerts

Last Friday, 7/12/13

Every Friday night during Summer, the Boardwalk has free Friday night concerts, which is great entertainment for people on a budget (like me!). So my roommate and I headed downtown for some cheap food before going to last week's concert, Blue Oyster Cult. 

It was a pretty great show. We were a bit late so we had to sit pretty far back, but as you can see above, the view was pretty wonderful. The music rocked, and the crowd was enthusiastic, which made the show that much better. 

For those of you also on a budget, you should check out if there are free concerts or shows in your area! It certainly does something to shake up your weekend. 

xoxo

Caryn Elizabeth