Oh So VERY Sick!!!!

John and I have been attacked with the worst sickness that both of us has had in forever.
Last time was just a trial run I guess.

I could blame my little brother- but it was not his fault that he was sick on Christmas day- or that we spent about 11 hours there.
And then the next day John and I had to get to work early, and start the DAYS long chore of Inventory. John and I both started the Cough and nose issues that morning, and while he was sitting at his desk and I was in Assembly counting millions of little parts (and it was COLD out there- in the 50's or low 60's)

Then 2 days later, we both got attacked big time. So for the last 2 days we have had 101-102 fevers, and are not hungry (a HUGE sign we are sick) and have been coughing and sneezing to no end. To top it off, we were stuck at work, and he was sitting at his desk burning up with a fever, and I was out in the shipping area, in the misty wet cold, and we were both doing inventory. (and to top it off- John is the ONLY one who knows what to do and can make all the corrections- it sucks to be the "go to man" at times.)

Inventory is at best- a horrid & miserable thing in the best of conditions, and with the 2 of us down, it was a long, long long horrid day. And we are not done yet. It all has to be finished by the 1st, (for tax and inventory reasons) and so no matter how bad we feel in the next day or so, we will have to drag ourselves in and finish it. At least it is all computer work for now (I think).

I technically do not have to go in- my Days at Maximum Motorsports were over on Friday- but the last thing I am going to do is send John into work to finish it himself into the wee hours of the night, while I sit at home and mumble Thur the shivers.

All I can say is ugh- and ugh again.
Typing is not a huge chore at the moment. John and I are in the office- 2 jackets each, scarves, socks, slippers and polar fleece pants, and the heater is on, and we also have a space heater that is at the moment pumping out 76 degree warm air, and has been for about 2 hours. It is nice and cozy in here, and I almost feel like my finger can function. But poor John, he was laying on the floor in front of the space heater in 2 jackets, many layers of socks and slippers, and a thermal headband and shivering. I keep jabbing the new thermometer at him, and have informed him that if his fever hits 103.5 or higher it is time for the doctor (he hates to go).... but I am grateful that as lousy as I feel- i can still care for him- he really shuts down when he gets sick, and it worries me.

Oh well- off to drink more tea- that is all that sounds tasty to me. Even chicken soup is not appealing. ugh.
night all!

Ho Ho Ho!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I hope that you all have a very merry, happy and wonderful Christmas.
John and I are about to sit down and watch "The Bishops Wife" (oh how I love Cary Grant!) and have some dinner. And then we are going to go get some tasty Starbucks holiday drinks and drive around and check out some of the amazing lights around here, and then home to watch "the Grinch" and then probably play a game or two (not sure what yet, but I am hoping for trivial pursuit 90's edition) and then off to bed and then tomorrow- Christmas!

We will have out Christmas together (and with the birds- they love to play in the wrapping paper) and then we will head to my parents house to hang out there and do more gifts and have dinner :)

Well- Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a Good night!

SO True!

Ok- we have birds- and this movie truly highlights how they interact at times. Yes they are usually sweet and kind, but they can be a bit "peckish" at times. The Parrotlets are not overly sweet to the parakeets, and while the parakeets want to be friendly with the parrotlets, the keets usually turn on each other faster than anything else. Anyway- Enjoy the movie! This Is John and I's fave short movie that Pixar has made :) Pixar is the best!

A Christmas Treat for you!

How the Grinch Stole ChristmasBy Dr. Seuss

Every Who Down in Whoville Liked Christmas a lot... But the Grinch,Who lived just north of Whoville, Did NOT! The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season! Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason. It could be his head wasn't screwed on just right. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight. But I think that the most likely reason of all, May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.

Whatever the reason, His heart or his shoes, He stood there on Christmas Eve, hating the Whos, Staring down from his cave with a sour, Grinchy frown, At the warm lighted windows below in their town. For he knew every Who down in Whoville beneath, Was busy now, hanging a mistletoe wreath. "And they're hanging their stockings!" he snarled with a sneer, "Tomorrow is Christmas! It's practically here!" Then he growled, with his Grinch fingers nervously drumming, "I MUST find some way to stop Christmas from coming!" For Tomorrow, he knew, all the Who girls and boys, Would wake bright and early. They'd rush for their toys! And then! Oh, the noise! Oh, the Noise! Noise! Noise! Noise! That's one thing he hated! The NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!

Then the Whos, young and old, would sit down to a feast. And they'd feast! And they'd feast! And they'd FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! They would feast on Who-pudding, and rare Who-roast beast. Which was something the Grinch couldn't stand in the least! And THEN They'd do something He liked least of all! Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small, Would stand close together, with Christmas bells ringing. They'd stand hand-in-hand. And the Whos would start singing! They'd sing! And they'd sing! And they'd SING! SING! SING! SING!

And the more the Grinch thought of this Who ChristmasSing, The more the Grinch thought, "I must stop this whole thing!" "Why, for fifty-three years I've put up with it now!" "I MUST stop this Christmas from coming! But HOW?" Then he got an idea! An awful idea! THE GRINCH GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA! "I know just what to do!" The Grinch laughed in his throat. And he made a quick Santy Claus hat and a coat. And he chuckled, and clucked, "What a great Grinchy trick!" "With this coat and this hat, I look just like Saint Nick!" "All I need is a reindeer..." The Grinch looked around. But, since reindeer are scarce, there was none to be found. Did that stop the old Grinch? No! The Grinch simply said, "If I can't find a reindeer, I'll make one instead!" So he called his dog, Max. Then he took some red thread, And he tied a big horn on the top of his head.

THEN He loaded some bags And some old empty sacks, On a ramshackle sleigh And he hitched up old Max. Then the Grinch said, "Giddap!" And the sleigh started down, Toward the homes where the Whos Lay asnooze in their town. All their windows were dark. Quiet snow filled the air. All the Whos were all dreaming sweet dreams without care. When he came to the first little house on the square. "This is stop number one," the old Grinchy Claus hissed, And he climbed to the roof, empty bags in his fist. Then he slid down the chimney. A rather tight pinch. But, if Santa could do it, then so could the Grinch. He got stuck only once, for a moment or two. Then he stuck his head out of the fireplace flue. Where the little Who stockings all hung in a row. "These stockings," he grinned, "are the first things to go!"

Then he slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant, Around the whole room, and he took every present! Pop guns! And bicycles! Roller skates! Drums! Checkerboards! Tricycles! Popcorn! And plums! And he stuffed them in bags. Then the Grinch, very nimbly, Stuffed all the bags, one by one, up the chimney! Then he slunk to the icebox. He took the Whos' feast! He took the Who-pudding! He took the roast beast! He cleaned out that icebox as quick as a flash. Why, that Grinch even took their last can of Who-hash! Then he stuffed all the food up the chimney with glee. "And NOW!" grinned the Grinch, "I will stuff up the tree!" And the Grinch grabbed the tree, and he started to shove, When he heard a small sound like the coo of a dove. He turned around fast, and he saw a small Who! Little Cindy-Lou Who, who was not more than two. The Grinch had been caught by this tiny Who daughter, Who'd got out of bed for a cup of cold water. She stared at the Grinch and said, "Santy Claus, why,” "Why are you taking our Christmas tree? WHY?"

But, you know, that old Grinch was so smart and so slick, He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick! "Why, my sweet little tot," the fake Santy Claus lied, "There's a light on this tree that won't light on one side." "So I'm taking it home to my workshop, my dear." "I'll fix it up there. Then I'll bring it back here." And his fib fooled the child. Then he patted her head, And he got her a drink and he sent her to bed. And when CindyLou Who went to bed with her cup, HE went to the chimney and stuffed the tree up! Then the last thing he took Was the log for their fire! Then he went up the chimney, himself, the old liar. On their walls he left nothing but hooks and some wire. And the one speck of food That he left in the house, Was a crumb that was even too small for a mouse.

Then He did the same thing To the other Whos' houses Leaving crumbs Much too small For the other Whos' mouses! It was quarter past dawn... All the Whos, still a-bed, All the Whos, still asnooze When he packed up his sled, Packed it up with their presents! The ribbons! The wrappings! The tags! And the tinsel! The trimmings! The trappings! Three thousand feet up! Up the side of Mt. Crumpit, He rode with his load to the tiptop to dump it! "PoohPooh to the Whos!" he was grinchishly humming. "They're finding out now that no Christmas is coming!" "They're just waking up! I know just what they'll do!" "Their mouths will hang open a minute or two, Then the Whos down in Whoville will all cry BooHoo!" "That's a noise," grinned the Grinch, "That I simply MUST hear!" So he paused.

And the Grinch put his hand to his ear. And he did hear a sound rising over the snow. It started in low. Then it started to grow. But the sound wasn't sad! Why, this sound sounded merry! It couldn't be so! But it WAS merry! VERY! He stared down at Whoville! The Grinch popped his eyes! Then he shook! What he saw was a shocking surprise! Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small, Was singing! Without any presents at all! He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME! Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?" "It came with out ribbons! It came without tags!" "It came without packages, boxes or bags!" And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store." "Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

And what happened then? Well...in Whoville they say, That the Grinch's small heart Grew three sizes that day! And the minute his heart didn't feel quite so tight, He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light, And he brought back the toys! And the food for the feast! And he, HE HIMSELF! The Grinch carved the roast beast!

Back in the game...

Hello Hello!!! I have returned from the land of the plague. It took about a week to go away, but I am finally feeling mostly back to normal. I still cough from time to time, and I am still sleeping a bit more soundly than normal, but I no longer feel like I am walking around in a fevered fog.
Since I wanted to post a update about the time that I was struck down, this will be a bit of a mini catch-up.

For the Holidays I wanted to have some fun tasks that John and I could do together. So instead of the usual Advent calender, I made a Holiday Project Bowl. I made up some small cards with Holiday Ideas, and stamped them, and tied them with ribbon. So every evening we pick a card to open and we follow what it says the next day. Some of them are tied with blue ribbon, and those are bigger tasks and so we save those for the weekends.


The First one that was drawn was one of the larger tasks. It was "bake Holiday cookies and Deliver them to Friends". John (who can bake, but has not done it for years) was a bit wary, but we had fun. Here we are about to get started. (john will be upset that I posted pics of him unshaven, but If he only wants to shave once a week, than he is risking getting posted on the blog looking scruffy) If any of you notice my apron- it is vintage Starbucks. I still have a few of my Aprons from when I was a Barista :) (good times, good times!)



Here is John making one of the most popular treats we made. It is a cookie\bar that is filled and topped with Chocolate chips, white chocolate, marshmallows, and Caramel bites. Very tasty and rich! And you can see a bit of the kitchen remodel in the background. We tore out the old window and have not yet Drywalled up the wall yet.



Here is some of the packages we made up for family and friends. We ended up making Frosted Sugar Cookies, Peppermint twists dipped in chocolate with crushed peppermint on top. Chocolate surprise cookies (chocolate cookies, topped with a marshmallow as it bakes and then frosted when cool with chocolate frosting) the Rocky bars (already mentioned) and last but not least- the snicker doodles that John made all on his own :)

Then a few days later the plague set in, and I was not able to function very well, and avoided the blog out of guilt and and not feeling well.

Then as I was feeling better, I started taking more pics again. On Saturday night John and I went to the PAC and we saw "The Nutcracker" Ballet. I had heard some of the music, and knew the story (sorta) but I had never seen it performed (live or on TV). WE had Awesome seats. We were at the front row of the top balcony, and seated front and center. I was thinking that we may be far from the stage, but it really was perfect. I would not want to pay double just to be about 10 feet closer- we could see everything, and I liked the higher up view. It was sun to watch, and they took some liberty in the story and so I was a bit confused from time to time, but we had a good time :)


Well that about sums it up for now.

I am really happy to be feeling better. I am finally feeling more like myself- I am happy most of the day, feeling creative, happy for the holidays, and wanting to eat again. I know when I am sick when I am warm, un-talkative, never hungry, and unhappy. It is nice to be back :)

I Surrender!

Fever- Check.

Stuffy head- check.

Sneezing- Check.

Throat on Fire- Check.

Bottle of Nyquil and a king size bed- CHECK!

I have been hit with a mini plauge. I was feeling kinda "off" on monday and tuesday. But there was a Brush fire around here, and I blamed the sore throat and sneezing on the smoke that was lingering in the air. Well yesterday it all hit the fan. I had a fever, and was chilled (I was wearing a long sleeve shirt with a jacket with the heater on and it was 77 outside). But I gave in, went home from work, slept all afternoon, and last night I took the Nyquil.

John is not very fond of it, but it is one of my best friends, and I surrendered to the bliss that I knew it would bring. I took a half dose, and was asleep in about 15 minutes. I didn't MOVE last night. I woke up in the same spot that I feel alseep in & I still had a clip in my hair this morning, and it didn't move either.

I slept like the dead last night, and when I woke up this morning I felt better. Not well, but better. I am sitting here at work, drinking hot water with Lemon and Honey (trust me, that works better than any cough drop that I have ever used!) and sitting back here waiting for the phone to ring and happy that I feel a bit better.

I love you Nyquil.... you are the best.

*40 Months*

Today John and I have been dating for 40 Months. (3 Years and 4 Months for those of you who are year inclined)
He is the best guy ever, and it has been the best "40 months" that I have ever had.
Here's to you John, I love you and Happy Anniversary!

The "Long Catch Up" Post

Alright, Here it is- the long awaited (and promised) Post. This Covers quite a Bit so sit back, grab some popcorn (or whatever floats your boat) and get ready for a lot of scrolling down!

About 2 weeks ago I was in a Holiday Mood. So I decided to do some pre-holiday time decorating. Never mind that it was a week and a half before thanksgiving, I was in a Christmas mood. I took some white Xmas lights, and ran 2 strands of them around our large front window. I then took some Silver Bulbs and hung them with some holiday looking ribbon from the lights. I staggered them height wise, and it looks quite nice when you walk in the door, flip the light switch and it is warm glowing lights that come on and not just a lamp.

(Half of the Front window)

I also have a large collection of "mini" sized Christmas Bulbs. (they are silver, pearl and frosted glass) I decided to place them in a spare Martini glass and display them with our "Birdie Santa". Our Santa is on display all year on the table, but it now looks even more festive with some holiday spirit behind it. I also placed a few "mini pedestal compote" dishes with holiday Mint M&M's around the room (much to Johns delight!), and it really made the room feel like Christmas was coming.

Well John Had his birthday on the 20th, (a Tuesday) and I decided (on Sunday) that it would be fun to throw him a surprise birthday party. So I scrambled around and in 2 days I managed to pull off a party :) It was a lot fun. There was a nice size turn out, (about 11 adults and 2 kids) and it was a nice relaxed evening.

We had drinks, and food and john was excited to see the cake that he had been drooling over at Costco. It was a fudge Macaroon caramel cake thing.It was super rich, chocolate, and covered in toasted coconut, caramel and fudge hunks. Just his style :)

In the midst of the rush to get things taken care of (and be a good hostess) I didn't manage to get pics of any of the party. I did get 2 shots, but none that had John or the "partyscape". Sorry!

Then 2 days later it was Thanksgiving. We headed over to my parents house for dinner. It was a lot of fun, food and laughing. At the dinner was My parents, My younger brother (because to call him my "little" brother would be to ignore the fact that he towers over me at 6 foot 3), My younger sister, her boyfriend, My grandmother (moms mom) and my uncle (moms brother), John and myself.

And last but not least, my sister, her Husband and their 5 kids "joined" us Via Webcam. Us "kids" spent a good deal of time in front of my brothers computer so we could talk and laugh with them and see how the children reacted to being able to "see" us while we were talking to them. It was a great deal of fun to see them react to us in that way.

(John and I on Thanksgiving)

Both my brother and sister made pies for this thanksgiving. Usually I, or my grandma, is in charge of making pies, but this year I ducked out and (gasp!) purchased a pre-made pie pumpkin pie from costco. So my brother (who at 16 can bake as well as my mom and myself!) (sorry mom, but you have to admit that his Toffee is better than anything any of us has ever made!) So this year Chris made a pecan pie, and my sister made a peach pie. They were very proud to contribute pies this year......

Of course- they had different ideas as to who had the best pie.

(Chris and I after dinner)

My brother and I got a little loopy after all the turkey and pie, and somehow ended up in the bathroom for a "Zoolander" inspired photo shoot. Crazy glasses- check. Messed up hair- check. too much sugar and nothing to do- check. Crazy photos to last forever- check!

(THE "ZOOLANDERS")

The day after Thanksgiving was pretty Mellow. Yeah, John and I went out and did some shopping, but nothing really all that drastic. We are not the 4 am door buster types..... we were the 1:30pm- after a good night sleep and a tasty brunch- kind of shoppers. I think we did score a few good deals, but nothing that I would have woken up at 3:30 am to get.

Then the day after that (Saturday) we headed on down to Anaheim to go to Disneyland. It was a pretty nice drive and we got off the 101 outside of Ventura and so we missed a lot of the holiday traffic (if there was any). We got to our hotel (the Ho-Jo) around 4Pm and it was nice to get there and have time to relax before it got dark.

Our Hotel was RIGHT across the street from Disneyland (no joke- our balcony view was Tomorrowland and the Matterhorn) and so we admired the view and then went out looking for food. We ended up at Islands. It is a great Grill and we do not have any around where we live. I have only been there a few times, and it was a favorite of John's when he was living in LA, so it was a perfect place to go and unwind (With a tall mug of passion fruit Iced Tea of course!).

One nice thing that has changed about Disneyland since we were last there (in May) was that the "finding Nemo" Ride had finally opened. It was a LONG LONG line, and after it looked like it had died down some we finally got in line.
It was "only" 75 minutes before we got to get on. Lucky for us it was a warm but overcast day- I know that I would have not been able to stand in the hot Anaheim sun for that long for just 1 ride. The ride was a update of the old yellow submarine ride, and for the last 3 years we have been going, this is the first time that they have been up and riding around- the ride was closed even from view- and it was nice to be able to see the blue lagoon again with the yellow submarines riding around.

I also saw this sign, and my first thought was "Yeah- that is always a good Idea" no matter where you are. They should post these on every roadside- not just at Disneyland.

"Always a Good Idea"

While waiting for the Firework show to begin, I decided to play with the slow night speed on my camera.
I set it for night shots, focused on some lights in the distance, and was playing around with making "light storms". (this happens to be the Top of the "Carnation Cafe") I got a lot of cool shots, but this was one of my favorites..

On the way home, we were stopped at a red light and I looked over and look what I saw! A Bobs Big Boy! Those are SOOOOOOO hard to find. I used to go to one here in town when I was quite young, and my grandparents would take my family and I out to breakfast from time to time.
I remember that my grandpa purchased a Bobs Big Boy Piggy Bank for me, and I still have it (somewhere) to this day.

The BBB in our town closed years ago, but John and I still go to eat in the cafe where it used to be, and I am always reminded of those "good ole days". It was nice to see that they are still around in some places (even if the Bob statue is smaller, and is considered a "express") :)

Well- That is about it for now.... I need to go get ready for bed, Put the flock to bed, and make sure that John doesn't stay up to late working on his PC.

I hope you liked all the photos, and I will try to not take so long to update things so that you do not have to spend 20 minutes trying to catch up :)

Good night!

Button Love and Random Thoughts

Yeah- Buttons are kinda random- but I was Flickr surfing today, and I found these pics to be cute :)

Well I have a lot of blogging to catch up on. There was John's Birthday, Thanksgiving, a Trip to Disneyland and I STILL need to post the photos of the decorations that I made more than a week ago. I am pretty tired from our trip, but as soon as I upload my photos I will try to post about all the above subjects.

Here are some random thoughts for today:

1. I really want a sewing machine- I am also scared about getting one because I have no idea where I will find the space to hold yet another "craft" in the craft room- it is bursting at the seams already.

2. I am really excited about the holiday season- but the #1 item that I get most excited about (the Christmas Tree) I am not excited about yet. It will probably hit me all at once and I will be ho-hum about a tree one minute and then the next moment I will have a "all consuming" need for one- but that is just me I guess :)

3. I am so excited for bubble baths right now- How can you not love a tub of hot water with pretty smelling bubbles and a book- that is my fave way to spend the nights right now.

4. I am about 70% done with my Christmas cards--- well 70% done MAKING them- I still need to make another 30% and then write and send them all- (so there goes the bubble baths- I need to spend my evenings working on those instead!)

Anyway- I need to get back to work- but I will really work on getting things more updated around here :)

Happy Birthday John!

(note: I did not make this cupcake, but I will try the cute decorating idea sometime)

Happy birthday to you honey! (He is 38 today- but I didn't tell you that!)

I have not posted lately- but I have been busy and I have a few things to do before I can post again (get photos off the camera, edit and crop them, etc.) but I will try to post again soon!

With Johns birthday, thanksgiving, decorating the house for Christmas, working on Christmas cards, and getting some shopping done I have kept myself busy- We are also leaving on Saturday and heading down to Anaheim.

And anyone who knows me, knows what that means..... That's right! DISNEYLAND!!!!! (whooooooo hoooooooooo!) I have not been there since mothers day when we met up with my family there for the day (we had been at a wedding the day before down there, and my fam was on the way back from a vacation). We will be in DISNEYLAND on Sunday and maybe a bit on Monday morning before heading back home.

But I will try to get with it and post all the stored up stories and photos soon, I promise! :)

Lots of fun stories and photos to soon follow!

Tuesday Mosaic

Here is a Mosaic for today. I just wanted to share a few photos that I thought were cute :)

Enjoy!

"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"

They are BACK!

YES! I love love love my eggnog lattes on a cold weekend morning! Ahhhh- so cozy, so warm, so..... christmasy!

Even a Tall Straight Eggnog (straight eggnog-no milk) with 1 shot is enough to give me a happy day.

(sigh)

It really IS the most wonderful time of the year!

"Brew me a cup for a winter's night.For the wind howls loud and the furies fight;Spice it with love and stir it with care,And I'll toast our bright eyes,my sweetheart fair." ~Minna Thomas Antrim

Beware the "Curse of Palm Desert"!

That is right- "The Curse of Palm Desert". I seem to have this curse attack me each and every year for the last 5 years, and this year was no exception.

My parents (and any siblings still living at home) travel to Palm desert every year at this time to stay for a week or 2. My dad has Business seminars to attend and they make a vacation of it and usually stay a bit longer. I have never been, but I get a "special" treat anyway.

I am not usually a person that has "issues". Yeah, I have my own set of problems like anyone, but for this 2 week time period every year, some disaster strikes me in one way or another.

The first 2 years my family went to Palm Desert, I got a infection, was stuck in bed at home for a few days on antibiotics. This only happened once a year, and each year was during the week they were gone. I thought that it was kinda funny, and joked that maybe I am cursed when they go away.

Skip ahead to one year later. A few days after they left town, I was having dinner with my Boyfriend and I started to feel funny in my chest. It became a sharp, crushing pain. After laying awake all night in pain, (thinking that I was maybe having a heart attack since it runs in the family) I felt all fine, and went about my life. Later I was to have a full check up (EKG included) and nothing bad happened, but it still scared the bee-geezus out of John, and when he filled in my mom on what happened, I was nearly in big trouble with her for not going to ER when I was in Pain. Once again, we laughed about the Palm desert thing, and wrote it off.

Skip ahead another year. I had lived in a large walk-in part of my parents attic for awhile a few year before, and they wanted it cleaned out of all the other stuff that I had left in there. So one hot afternoon, I was up there cleaning it (a few days after they left for Palm Desert). Since it was so hot- and I was alone in the house- I took off my shirt and was in my jeans and kinda skimpy undershirt (and I am not skinny, so it was not super attractive) but I didn't think of it since I was alone and inside. Well I went down to the kitchen to get some water to drink, and somehow the attic door locked itself from the inside (it does that sometimes- I am not sure why) and we don't have a key that works. So I walk out to the garage to get a chisel and hammer to take the door off it's hinges so I can get back in and finish up in there. I go to get back in the house, and I discover that the door from the garage back into to the HOUSE is locked. My keys, shoes, and shirt are all inside. That door is NEVER locked, but they locked it before the left, and it is one of those doors that you can open from the inside even if it is locked. after all- all i was getting was a few feet from the door and didn't think that it would lock behind me.

As fate would have it, I had my cell phone in my pocket, but the ordeal was not over. They had just changed the locks on the house the day before they left town, and so NO ONE had a spare key (I was the only one). So I then decide to check and see if any of the doors or windows were unlocked that I could crawl thru. I walk outside to the side yard where the dog lives, and I look over the railing, and see water gushing out of a retaining wall that runs under the driveway. I then get confused and call my dad. Turns out that the water main to the house had broken, I was going to have to be talked thru how to turn the main off at the street. So here I am, barefoot, sweating, in a ugly and revealing undershirt, bending over at the curb outside as traffic goes by, trying to turn off the water main. After I fix it, I am still faced with the "how do i get back inside where my shoes, keys and purse are?" (and since I drove to my parents house, I cannot get my car, because it is locked and ALL my keys were in the house). and to top it off- the attic was still locked upstairs as well.

Well I remembered there was ONE open door in the house- my parents balcony door was open to keep the house fresh. The Balcony door that is 3 stories up the side of the house. I had to drag a HUGE heavy latter to the exact opposite side of the house, and set up the ladder, and climb all the way up and crawl over the side of the somewhat shaky railing (barefoot) and get in the house. By that time, John had made it over and he was able to take the attic door off it's hinges and get my stuff out of the attic.

Since the water was still off- I had to melt all the ice in the house and use up the Reverse osmosis water just to be able to water all the pets. Once again- we laughed about the Palm desert thing. (it was less funny this time)

Now move onto this year- My parents were supposed to leave for Palm Desert on Saturday- but postponed it for 2 days (they leave tomorrow).

Well- yesterday was proof that I am not nuts about this Palm desert thing.

I was at In-&-Out for lunch yesterday. I stood up to get some napkins and ketchup- and there was water on the floor unannounced to me under our table. As I took a step forward, my back leg slid out from under me and went backwards. My left leg collapsed and my knee down to my ankle and toes made full contact with the floor (getting cut up on the grout and concrete tiles). In that position, i was doing a half split with my back leg, (I cannot do splits and so that didn't feel so nice). they came out and cleaned up the water, and I didn't think of it at the time. 2 hours later my ankle and foot were getting pretty puffy and it was throbbing pretty well. We went home and iced it and I was on the couch for a few hours resting it. The swelling went down, but it still hurt.

John then walked in the house and stated "I stabbed myself". I leap (wobbley) off the couch, and hobble to him. He was using a sharp screwdriver and it slipped and it jammed into the flesh under his thumb and only stopped when it hit the bone. Of course, his hand are covered in grease and gasoline and are super dirty. We both hobble\walk to the bathroom and I try to wash his hand off as well as I can. At the site of the puffy gash bleeding all over the sink, he needs to lay on the couch. I hobble off to get rags and something for him to drink to bring his blood sugar back up. I call my mom and between her advice, WebMD and me, John and I decide to head off to the ER. (for a tetanus shot if nothing else- but I thought he would need some stitches)

So we go off to the ER. I hobble in with a ice pack on my leg, and him with a towel wrapped around his hand- we made quite a picture- and after about 25 minutes we went into have his hand looked over. They decided to not give stitches (because he may have some zinc bits in his hand), the cleaned it well (twice actually) and gave him a shot and we got to go home.

So- people laugh when I mention a Palm desert curse- but I beginning to think that if my parents keep going to PD that one of these days it is going to kill me :)

UPDATE: My Dad says this is probably the last year they will go - Thank goodness! I may make it yet. But I still have 2 weeks to try survive this last trip they take- I am worried about what can go wrong in 2 weeks :)

Here is John and I in the ER. I had my leg still elevated with a ice pack while sitting next to him, and John was still holding the rag to his hand while we were waiting for his Tetanus shot. We made a pretty sad pair :)

**Thoughts for Today**

I am SO excited that John is coming home today! He has been gone since Sunday, and this is the only time during the year that we are not together every day. He had to go on a business trip and he is also happy to be heading home. His plane will be in around 5 tonight, and he will be home in time for dinner ( I am making one of his favorites- BBQ Chicken Pizza with purple onion)

Also- talk about some good marketing. I was listening to Pandora Radio, and a song came on that I thought was pretty rocking. I then started thinking about Chocolate dipped fruit, and how tasty that sounded. I did some research on the song, and it was the song that Verizon played on the commercials for the new "chocolate" phones over and over again. (the ones with the phones rising out of melted chocolate). I thought that while I never payed any attention to the commercials, it obviously had some merit, because "chocolate" came to mind- Too bad that the image that came to mind was chocolate dipped fruit and not the "chocolate" phone :) LOL, Oh well!

I am also glad that it is the weekend. This week I have been feeling really tired and worn down- but that may be because I do not sleep as well when John is not next to me. Funny how that makes such a difference.

Anyway- Have a great weekend all!

Projects Galore for Method Playground

Ok- As Promised- Here are some of the projects that I have been working on. I have already gotten razed by 2 people about for taking so long to post anything- so I figured I would put up the first few I have made to stave off the pitchfork and torch bearing crowds. This is a long post- but I have lots to share with my new "method" that I leaned this week. My Ideas went crazy and I made about 5 projects, but I will share 3 with you. I have never posted a scrapbook layout before so I am a bit nervous about putting it all "out there"

Ok- over at Method Playground (http://methodplayground.blogspot.com/) there was a challenge posted from Ali Edwards (one of my fave artists ever- her blog link is at the top on the right side of this bog) and I knew that this would be one that I would have to participate in.

Her challenge was to use Diamond Glaze and glass beads to create art. Well as luck would have it, I already had the Diamond glaze and needed to find Mini-Beads. After 3 stores I settled on Mini Seed beads- not exactly what i was looking for but I would pull a "tim gunn" and "make it work".

The night before I discovered the challenge- I was reading my new copy of "CK" and I saw the article titled "Because NICE matters" and as soon as I read that phrase, John came to mind and I KNEW that I had to do a layout about him using that phrase. And when I discovered the MP Challenge, I knew that is what I wanted to work on with my new Ideas.

Here is the Layout I created.

(PS I TOOK THESE PHOTOS WITH A WHITE BACKGROUND- THE LAYOUT IS ONLY KRAFT COLOR AND BLACK)

I really wanted to focus on the "story" and so I created the layout in a very simple manner so that you can really just focus on the story and not a ton of accents (which i usually love to use, but I am REALLY trying somthing new and I hope you all like it).

I used Bazzil Kraft color paper, with a simple black under layer. I used naked Chipboard letters (basic grey), and painted them in a ox blood red, and them covered them in a layer of Diamond Glaze for a "pop" affect.

I used a Rub-on (fancy pants) and then placed a layer of DG over the swirls, and then I tried to "pour" the beads over it. Well that was a disaster- and I ended up having to HAND PLACE all the beads over the swirl- needless to say that took about 1 or 2 hours to get "cleaned up" and looking right- but the effort was worth it- it has a great 3-D Quality that is also delicate looking.

Also- John in the Photo is holding our Baby bird Sprout- who as you can see is falling asleep.

While I wanted to tell the story of "Nice" to me with out distracting from the photos, I decided to write the story and added it to the back of the layout. I also Punched out 2 flowers from cardstock, and then added 3 layers of Diamond Glaze and Beads until it was a nice thick heavy accent for the page. (the large letters are rub-ons from Making Memories)

To read the text- click on the Photo and it will expand.

Here are some Close ups of the accents

Ok- for the other 2 projects. I was So inspired by this idea of beads and glaze that I wanted to see what else I could make besides a layout.

I was at the craft store the other day getting beads when I saw that a 6 pack of Glass Christmas bulbs were only $1.30 and so I grabbed a pack thinking that I would create something cool this year with them.

I removed the holder on top and I took a long paintbrush and used the Diamond glaze to make a puddle on a plate. I then used the glaze INSIDE the Bulb like you would if you were painting inside it. I made swirls, or lines or even spelled out "love" in one of them for some fun. I then gave it a few seconds to start to settle, and then poured in some beads and swirled them around to cover the glaze. I then added more and more beads until no more would stick and then poured the rest out. 1 of them I made 2 tone. I just waited for the first beads to dry and then "painted" a new coat of glaze with a new pattern and then added different colored beads. They look so cute that I think I may make some "year round" bulbs to hang in the craft room as a whimsical decoration.

I also took a 4x4 square of acrylic (left over from my clear acrylic album I made a few weeks ago) (found here http://1craftygirl.blogspot.com/2007/10/my-really-busy-weekend.html )

and I "painted" a pattern on the corners, added green beads, and let it dry. I then added red beads around the edge, and after those dried I added a inner band of green. when it was fully dry, I covered all the beads in 2 thin layers of Diamond Glaze to set them firmly. I now have a festive colored Coaster for my cups.

Well that is my LONG Post, and I hope you all like them. I love that I was so inspired to play with beads in a new way ( meaning not just on jewelery or fabric) and I think that I will use them again in the future. I love the flowers that I made- they turned out great.

Hope you all like :)

Comming Soon...

Some new art projects and fun things- stay tuned =)

Jumping the Gun

Ok Ok- I KNOW that it is only the middle of October- but it is never too soon to be thinking about Christmas Crafts and Decorations. My new Pottery Barn catalog showed up today and I found some major inspiration.

Here are a few items that I thought were awesome---

I was thinking of buying some Foam balls at the craft store and using some of the overflowing ribbon I have already and making some of these myself. (since these are not really the colors that I like to use, and to top it off they are $10 each-I can make them for about $1 or less)

I also love these-

But I am not sure if I will buy any- but they are cute. It will keep the tree from being too "cute".

I also love the tablescape here- if you tweak it a bit you could use it year round

Anyway- that is a few things that I found today that I loved. :)

*Networking*

Well we are back from Vegas. We had a great time, and the weather was perfect. 80's in the day, and high 60's at night.

And like I thought- we didn't put 1 toe on The Strip. I never really knew what Vegas had to offer off the strip, and so it was nice to see. John-John Lives in a cute gated community, and if you walk out on the street in front of the driveway, you can look down the road and see the stratosphere standing in the not to far distance.

(Here is the 3 of us. From left is John-John, Me and then My John)

The first night we went out to a super tasty Italian place and had a lot of great food and conversation, and back to the house for glasses of port and a walk around the neighborhood to burn off some of the carbs we ate. I love being outside at 10 at night, and it is still warm enough that you don't even need anything other than jeans, a tee shirt and flip flops.

Day 2 was a slower pace day. We had a bagel\Juice\coffee feast for breakfast and decided what to do with the day. John-John and John wanted to take me on a motorcycle ride up to red-rock, and go hiking. Well... one of the motorcycles were not being super co-operative, so they spent about 2+ hours working on it in the drive way, while I sat in the shade in a comfy chair and worked on my crochet in comfort.

They were both having a grand time getting greasy and grimy, but the fun had to end when they fixed the bike (something about Carbs and Floats kept getting mentioned) and they cleaned up and we rode out to find some food. We ended up in a great place that had awesome food, and was a nice place to kick back and talk some more (yes- this weekend ended up being mostly about food, drinks and talking).

After lunch we made the attempt to go out to red rock. After about 15 minutes of riding, the bike decided it was still not happy, so we cut the trip short and went back to the house to hang out. Later that night we headed out to see some "night sights" and headed up a nearby hilltop and came to a place called "La Collina" which was a swanky Italian place with a amazing panorama view of the strip all lit up down below us. We sat at a front window seat and had drinks and dessert. ( The Pear Martini was amazing i must say)

The next morning was a bit sad because we knew it was time to pack up and get going. We finally made ourselves leave about 1pm and made it home safe and sound at 9 something that night.

John and I are already going thru "John-John" withdrawls, and we hope we can see him soon. Next time we think that we will find some cheap Airline tickets (so that 16 hours of the trip is not spent driving) and we will try to get out more often to see him.

Also- I am now exploring the world of Myspace and Facebook. I have been really NOT wanting to use them, but it seems that most people I know use them more than once a day and it would be SO much easier to try and keep in touch that way. So I bit the bullet and actually DID something with my Myspace page (it had been blank for quite awhile) and created a Facebook Profile. You can find the links on the right side of this blog under the title "where you can find me" or something like that.

Anyway- time to get working. Hope your weekend was great!

Vegas Baby!

That's right, John and I are off to Vegas for the weekend. We were supposed to go to a wedding up in Utah this weekend, and we were going to crash at a friends house in Vegas on the way there and back. But this has been such a busy month, (and John will be out of town for a week later this month) so we decided to not go the wedding, and just make a quick road trip over to Vegas to see our Friend (who is also named John, so I call him John-John to keep things easier for us all).

Ok- Vegas is not exactly a "quick trip", it is about 8 or 9 hours to get there, but what is 8 or 9 hours when there is such a friend to be met?? (stealing a line from Pride and Prejudice there- hope Jane doesn't mind).

John-John is one of my favorite people on earth. He is sweet, kind, fun, loving, caring (and single ladies!) and he is the one of the people that I can share my real thoughts, dreams or disappointments with, and he is always there, always understands, and can always make me feel better if something is wrong. I have been distraught and missing him since he moved to Vegas almost 3 years ago. If not for him, I would have probably never met MY John.

John-John had a crush on my roommate\co-worker and asked us to his house for a 4Th of July BBQ, and that is where I got to know MY John, who was living there as well. They were about 5 guys living there together, and they came into Starbucks all the time (where I was working) but I didn't really know them that well. But after the BBQ, my John and I have been together almost ever since, and John-John is a best friend to both of us, and we miss him incredibly.

Seriously Ladies- He is awesome! (hint hint)

Anyway- we leave tomorrow morning, and will spend Friday night through Sunday morning with him. We will see what kinda mischief we get into- we do not gamble, we do not drink "heavy" (aka more than 1 drink) when cars are involved (and he lives way off the strip) and we do not "do" shows. So we will see what is planned. But for me- I would be happy to sit in a coffee shop and just talk with him for 3 days- I have missed all the "coffee talks" we used to have.

**My Really Busy Weekend Part 2**

Also- I came up with my own recipe for Caramel Apple Martinis. I had to tweak it to get it just like I like it, but here is the easiest way to make them.

3 Parts Butterscotch Schnapps

2 Parts Apple Pucker

1 Part Vodka

Garnish glass with ribbons of caramel (ice cream topping works ok)

Shake with ice, and pour in glass (Makes 1 Drink). Drink while very cold for best flavor.

This is not a heavy apple flavor. if you prefer a stronger apple flavor, use equal parts of the Pucker and Schnapps.

**My Really Busy Weekend**

Ok- What a weekend! It was so busy that I never really got a chance to relax in the conventional sense- but it was a great weekend.

There was a TON of stuff that I did, so this is going to be a long post (with lots of pics to keep things interesting).

Ok Friday-

I spent the early afternoon at my old job visiting friends and using a band saw to cut up some acrylic that I bought. After seeing Elsie's post about her clear album, I decided I wanted to make one, but I didn't want to spend a small fortune on clear panels of plastic and shipping (around $40 to get what I needed and not much at that) and so I decided to get creative. And I LOVE finding Scrapbook and Art supplies where you would least expect them.

Like I told my friend Matt, It is not that I am cheep, I just try to have some ingenuity. I ordered some 12x24 Acrylic sheets from McMaster Carr (a place where you can get almost anything that is remotely related to hardware and manufacturing supplies) (http://www.mcmaster.com/) and got decided to cut the panels up the size that I wanted. I cut out a ton of 8x8 sheets, and then made some 4x6 for a smaller albums. I also cut a few 4x4's but that is another project.... (you will see in the next few weeks when I get a chance to make it)

I then went home and drilled out holes and went to work. I made a Album about my siblings and I growing up. Nothing fancy, but I took some old family photos, scanned them, changed the colors to black and white for a better flow, and had them printed in wallet size. I then painted on, used rub-ons, added stickers and paper and made this little guy-

(I just love how you can see thru multiple layers at once)

Ok, then that afternoon I was in a baking mood, and I had found a SUPER *tasty* sounding recipe for Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake. I like cheesecake- I love pumpkin pie, and I adore baking- sounded like a good plan. I had never made a Cheesecake before and so it was a adventure of sorts. By the end of the adventure, I had cream cheese on my shirt, ginger snap crumbs in my shoes, and batter that somehow ended up on the toaster (I think it was the electric mixer that is to blame for that one!), but it was SO pretty and super tasty.

If you would like the Recipe- go here ( http://food.yahoo.com/recipes/kraft/50339/pumpkin-swirl-cheesecake )

Note- I used half ginger snaps and half gram-crackers, and skipped the Pecans- it keeps the ginger flavor from being overwhelming and keeps the crust smoother.

On Saturday I spent the morning Scrapbooking and finishing the above album. On Saturday afternoon I went over to my parents house for a visit. My sister and her 5(!) kids were visiting from Oregon. I then went over to a nearby Nail Salon to use a Gift Certificate that I received for my birthday 4 months ago. I got the Deluxe Pedicure and a Manicure. It has been AGES since I have had a Pedicure and my toes were very happy (and cute!)

John and I then went to the San Luis Obispo Symphony's Opening night at the PAC in Cal poly. We had the TOP balcony, in the very back in the very center. Before we got there I was nervous that we were too far away, but once I saw our seats, they were perfect. We have been much closer before, and I really liked being so high- you could see all the musicians playing in harmony- it was like watching a ballet. The music was amazing and there were great pieces by Mozart, Shostakovitch and Brahms. It was a nice relaxing way to end the day.

(our seats were center- but I took this after the concert from the side)

Then Sunday Morning John and I got up and went to Church and saw all the fam there.

(Me and my "little" brother, Christopher)

After Church we, along with my Mom, Dad, Brother Older sister and her 5 kids went out for pizza and Salad for lunch. It was a loud but fun event. Here was my nephew Eden, (yes, he is always that happy!) enjoying his pizza.

Sunday afternoon was spent shopping at Costco, and baking another Cheesecake (to share with the masses) and trying to get some rest while reading my book. Sunday night John and I caught up on our taped TV shows and headed to bed totally wiped out from the weekend. It was a busy weekend, a exhausting weekend, but all in all- a great weekend!

I hope yours was great too!