Okay – we got Christina’s mango wood bench in and her loft came together fantastically. Most of the authentic decorations have come from grandma, who has been great at helping even though she lives in Eureka Springs, AR and has never seen the room before. She has a knack for “finding just the right thing” and saving it for you. Lots of hand made details were added to help it look finished, but it takes some help to find them.
A resting place for all fo the stuffed animals...including several Neopets hiding in there.
What kid's room/area is complete without the obligatory poster...
in Japanese, of course.
With hand-dipped, gold pins
ooops - looks like they weren't "done"...I spy a fingerprint
And the Japanese bamboo shade along with
authentic Japanese calligraphy done on rice paper that I purchased in Colorado last year. And a painting...
done by yours truly...I have no idea what I wrote - I simply picked two katakana characters that I thought looked pretty :-D And some kanji characters done by her friend.
love, happiness, and peace...perhaps not in that order, I can't tell
A nice wood table to hold the red paper lamp, another treat from Colorado, the essential radio, and Japanese vase. Under which hides her beading supplies and another vase from grandma...
with a treasure inside.
a graphite sculpture so she can sign her art work with a "work of art"...again, from Colorado. They have a bunch of neat stuff there!! :-D
And the first pillow I attempted to make...
uh...how many more of these did I say we were going to do??
And finally, THE BENCH...
how perfect is that with grandma's lamp, red vase, and lamb skin rug to lay on!?!?!along with the gold & black fringed lamp shade I made.
Now - a few more decorations need to find a home...another shelf perhaps?
VOILA!
clearest water, softest sand, best shopping, and greatest Cuban food in America (which is not surprising since about 700,000 Cubans call Miami home)!!! We were fortunate enough to be able to pick up a business contract in Miami Beach so we went down there looking for housing. No luck there yet, but we did enjoy some much needed family time and moments of relaxation!! We stayed at the 
Christina was a little uneasy with the elevator because you had to manually open and close the outside door and it frequently stopped below floor level, so we ended up taking the three flights of stairs every time we left and came back to the room. We spent most of our time on the beach and little time shopping this time. 
It’s hard to prepare for the intense sun with even the strongest of sunscreen, but thankfully we had a fabulously colorful umbrella that made sitting out and enjoying the breeze on the beach very enjoyable. 
She hates driving, so she claims. Unusual for a teenager, perhaps, but I personally think it’s just because she has a better understanding of the consequences and therefore a greater feeling of responsibility than most that get behind the wheel at such a young age. I love to pick on her, but she really does well once you get her going.
and now my daughter 
and celebrate life remembering a different type of hero who fought the demons of her mind and lost at a very young age – my mom. The uniqueness of my childhood made me who I am today…so there is no bitterness regarding the past only gratitude for being given the opportunity to make a better future. In loving memory of my mother, Juli… 
and even more so when she wired my head to receive signals from Mars, 
but after a relaxing massage and shampoo
…I was putty in her hands. Besides, any place that lets their dog hang out can’t be all bad, right? 
So, I let her do what she wanted - after the first cut there is no turning back. 
A nice summer do is what she came up with so now I can be carefree in the bug. 
I was satisfied with the new look, although I think we missed on the whole “10 years younger” thing!!!
