photohunt...

Photohunt's prompt is "The hands of Time"

with my internet off during the weekend, I didn't get to participate over the weekend, at first when I saw the prompt, I was a li'l oh-uh...then I remembered this:




while Fudge was visiting we took him around downtown P-town, he liked the cool clock in front of City Hall, so we got a pic of him and ds...
ds is going to be a dad in a couple of weeks, he wasn't crazy about carrying a bear around town...but I pointed out to him, that someday, this could be his daughter's assignment..teehee

kinda odd around here..

For part of the weekend, we were without internet, again. It has become such an 'on, off' thing. Again, the alarm started 'chirpin', so our phone lines briefly went out...and so did the internet.

I scrapped the little book for "Fudge" to take home to his girl. Used my March
I am a Scrapaholic Kit, so used the Dreamstreet Fresh line by Amy Teets..think it kept the book very versatile (so she can fill with pics of Fudge, her friends or her family) yet a fun color combo.

On Sunday, after church was the 'running around with mom' day. Took care of errands, and I can't believe I paid $24.99 at Michaels for paper pack, it was SEI lovebirds...but man oh man. Then came home and took a nap on the couch.

Stayed up to watch Celebrity Apprentice. Wow, what an episode. This entire season, D.R., was to me a completely unsympathetic character...but I did start to feel sorry for him, not only his 'actions' but his inability to see consequences to his 'actions'. He is continually blaming others, and seeing himself as a victim. As long as he stays the way he is, he will never change and he will continue to be on his own 'hamster' wheel. Ya know. Here is someone who should, by society's definition 'have it all'..but because of the way he is wired..he really has nothing.


This morning, I woke up too late to go to my workout...I don't do that. I am up between 6 and 7 every morning, so regular, I don't even set an alarm. But we have been having high winds out here, stirring up the pollen. My eyes feel so heavy, I actually feel like going back to bed. My hot chocolate is calling me.

Got some things to do....I'll have to take it one step at a time...

Fudge has come for a visit!

Fudge is a backpacker from Bureau Valley South Elementary School.

He comes to CA from Ill followed by Ky..his next stop is Reno, NV...then off to Houston, TX where my sis will take him to The Masters in GA. An exciting whirlwind of a tour for little Fudge. He needs to be back in Ill in early May.

At work, we had a lot of fun with this little guy.

Today he is going to do 'country' things, ride a horse, a John Deere tractor, maybe scrapbook a little. Gordon gets him back tomorrow so he can continue his journeys.

been a while,

crazy schedule, not much time at home.

Yesterday I got my Amazon package, "Twilight"!! So last night was spent watching both dvd's. Good thing CSI was not on, so no conflict of schedule. Some things, in the 2nd watching, I saw more of Bella's clumsiness..I liked that. But I do find Kristen Stewart to be so one-toned throughout the movie. And she 'grunts' a lot, did you notice a lot of breathed out 'grunt' noises..."huuuuuh"... Her best acting was on the floor of the ballet studio, when she is in a daze, writhing in pain and not saying anything!!


I saw her a little bit in "The Land of Women", and she was the same. The kitchen scene wher Meg Ryan tells her she is being tested for cancer...nothing...now if you tell your dd you are being tested for cancer, how would she react?

But it took "Face Off" for me to see John Travolta as an actor.

Let's see, dd got an official job offer! Last week it was a preliminary based on her background check..Weds it was official. She starts April 6...yay!!

DS is not an Oakland police officer, but in a town very close. He had an opportunity to pay his respects at the viewing of one of the officers. He has been working...so did not have an opportunity to participate in the memorials. There was a call out for neighboring department police to volunteer to work Oakland today, so all Oakland officers could attend the memorial. DS's dept had 37 volunteers, the next highest amount of volunteers was 10. DS's dept has a reputation of being 'strict'... they do have to deal with Oakland spillover...anyways, its been very tough on him. Esp those who call this killer a "hero and a soldier"...very disheartening.

How did we get to this place in society, where some would laud the actions of this monster? Is it media glorifying violence and criminal activity? Instead of people being responsible for their heinous acts they are seen as victims? I just don't get it.

Photohunt...a li'l late

Saturday's photohunt is Yellow,
with my tech issues, I'm a li'l late, but here it is:










Yellow is my mom's favorite color and she is usually wearing it.
When she was about 6 years old, her father passed away, and her favorite memory is that when she started school, he bought her a yellow dress.

It's a color that makes her very happy

odd weekend of tech issues...

let me count the tech issues:

our oven no longer works...the stove top does, but the oven doesn't, so no Chicken Bruschetta I was planning to make on Friday...Michael tried to fix it, looked at the book and went on an online chat, no progress, so hopefully a repairman will be out here today.

our phone lines went down...so no internet. and with the phone lines down, the alarm kept chirrping (to let us know)..Michael called the phone company (with a cell) and they are up right now, I just don't know how long.

Actually as ya'll can imagine, without internet, I got a LOT done!
finished my Shimelle Christmas Journal, did the last couple of pages of mil's book (now, that one is not my fault, she had to be here so I could finish), organized dd's Europe Album and took care of circle journal layouts.


And last but not least, dh's cell phone went kablooey. It was working till Sunday night.

Took this picture,




I don't know why I have a fascination with taking pictures of the sky. But this was Sat Morning, when the fog was still a blanket on our property and the sun was peeking thru.

I did not go to church on Sunday, was too sad. There is some stuff going on with my mom. So, I took her out instead. We just went out for lunch, with a Blockbuster and Dollar Store stop. She is bored and upset about some things, and is now talking about going back to Texas. Its about time, the pattern is about every 6 months.

She'll go and get too 'stressed' with all the activity over there...come here, get bored, aye yi yi. The problem is she helps create the stressed atmosphere over there, with all her complaining...and that does not help my sis, who is already raising one teen and one tween.. but my sis says she has enjoyed her break. and DH is feeling the need for one. I'm okay with mom and her complaining/negativity but it wears on others. Oh well!

got to walk the Expo!

yay! didn't get to stay for classes or crops, it was all last minute..but I figured the $8 parking + the $8 entry fee, made up for shipping if I had bought stuff online.

Bought BG Porcelain, Bazzil trios, Am Crafts pastel cardstock package (gonna be doing baby albums), smooch (bought 2 but must have lost 1 when my bag ripped), stickles (bought 6, brought home 5, another casualty of the split bag)...ribbons, filmstrips with the kid's names...Queen and Co assortment...patterned paper...a disney border punch with princess items.

Cat's Pajamas was there...I just love their stamps...but today I just bought some dew drops embellies...in Pink and Green.

Too much fun. Now a word to the wise, bring a bag...don't rely on plastic sacks!
luckily Green Tangerine sold reusable bags for $1...so those 2 items were my only losses.

All I can hope, is that the person who finds them, is someone who is on a tight budget and can really use them.

sooooo...hopefully tomorrow is a day I can stay home and play with my new stuff!!


soooo looking forward to the show in San Jose in August, cuz I plan to do all the stuff there..stay in the adjoining hotel, crop all day and night, shop and take classes...yay!!!

been busy...

well, on Tuesday, dh and I celebrated 25 years. Over the weekend was the actual celebration...last night was very low key, we opened our gift and cards...thanks everyone, we loved every one of them.

dh is having a difficult week at work...lots of problems. He has spent the last couple of nights (even now,as I type) having his "therapy" on his tractor. Think Forrest Gump driving around in circles.

I like coming home when the sun is still up. It helps me to treadmill. Coming home when it is dark already, just made me feel too tired. (I know its all mental, but I could not seem to overcome it). But now, I just have more 'energy' to use it.

I am still taking P365 pictures, but am running behind on the layouts.

Wish I could scrapbook...I am taking Friday off..same reason as last week, mil is going to arrive, so I need to get mom busy.

I got my March Stampin with Steph kit today...I wanna play!!

I really love the upcoming April kit...the colors are what ddil is planning for Adriana's room...maybe I should get 2!

photo hunt...Four!

this week's prompt at photohunt is four!




At one point at work, we had 4 preggos! This picture was taken early Feb...the 2 gals on the left had boys that month...the blonde in the middle is due at the end of next month and the tall brunette is due late May, both are having girls.

Tell you, for a while there, all childbearing women did not want to drink the water!!

I altered something...

found this Hannah Montana phone charger valet at W's for $2.50, I'm not much of a HM fan, but thought this was too good a deal to pass up...so...







after sandpaper and some Basic Grey Eve, ink, Prima collage flowers...I have a new phone charger caddy for my nightstand...
(now I understand the 'fever', while in Big Lots yesterday, I kept picking things up...hmmmm...I can alter this frame, this tray...this... teehee


I learned (and got BEAT at) a new card game last night, called 31, quite fun when I wasn't losing. Oh Well..

have a great Saturday!!

whatta crazy day!

The kids are here!

but it was crazy for them...

they missed their flight. had an issue with the pet boarder, who was not there when they tried to drop their dog off. long story short, they had to make other arrangements...so were late to the plane by about 5 minutes. Options were not good...but they went standby...and after not getting kicked off the plane in San Antonio and Vegas...they finally made it. Long day, no food..but they are here!! Yay!

but they are not here, they stayed with ds and ddil last night. DD went to work with ddil and dsil is going on a ride-a-long with ds's dept. (try to say that fast 3 times)

Of course, the Texas vs CA battle started up quickly. We stopped at an In N Out, and after one bite dsil proclaimed "Yup, In N Out isn't as great as I remembered...WhataBurger is better" Of course, dd had to defend her In N Out.
(I'm not much help, for me, any trips to Texas must include WhataBurger and Cracker Barrel)

And when we arrived at ds's apt...one of ds's first comments was "Isn't it great to be back in CA".. dd agreed ...dsil "Oh sure, I can smell the smog, and feel the rudeness around me already"

So, I took today off...mostly to babysit my mom. With the 'event' on Sunday, dh's parents are here. They stay in their American Eagle Coach on our driveway, but my mom does not like his mom...so, I'm here to get her out of the house this afternoon when his mom is cooking and doing laundry in our house. I tell you what, sometimes 70 year olds can be worse than a toddler. aye yi yi!

my wedding band.

dh took me to Walmart today to buy me a wedding band.

its going to be our 25th next Tuesday and this Sunday we are having a recommit ceremony, so we thought I should get a ring.

you see, this is my 4th or 5th ring...I've 'lost' the rest.

now, to be fair, I did eventually find the first ring, but I weighed 118 lbs when I got it...I weighed considerably more when I found it, (under dd's bed) and it does not fit any longer.

The others, I just don't know where they are. The very last one, a gorgeous ring I absolutely LOVED... I think I left behind on a hotel nightstand. (I now put my rings in my purse when I take them off while traveling) I once lost a stone on a ring, when I was 18, so I don't sleep with them on.

sooooo...for this one it was Walmart. Lucky for me, the $28 bands were not in my size...so he got me this...

and I love it!! teehee.

a couple of things..

I got my last stamp from Simon Says!! ordered 1-15-09, last stamp rec'd 3-09-09!
I was very happy to close my claim with Paypal. It took a while, but I don't feel like I was robbed. Will not order from them again, but so glad to get my items.

now a fun story...
ds has a new nickname on the force... Gazelle.

on Thursday, during a foot pursuit, his fellow officers had captured the fellow behind some warehouses...ds saw that they were struggling with him, and scaled and jumped a fence to get to the scene...and help them apprehend him. A Sargeant was behind ds, and told him..."That was a great wall scale, and you leapt over the fence like a gazelle, but did you realize that the gate was open?"..teehee. Rookie!!

Well, he certainly does not get it from his mother. After posting this, while getting some water from the garage fridge, I caught my toe on the patio steps and went SPLAT!! Water and woman all over the patio...to make it worse, dh was there!
landed hard on my hands, knee and my poor toe! oh well, had to skip the treadmill!

ha!!

last friday...

last friday, I asked ya'll for prayers for my dd, for something she was doing on Saturday.

Well, I guess I can reveal it now.

She was going to a photo shoot for the Lonestar Dream Girls' calendar. My daughter is accomplished and beautiful and smart, but she isn't really a 'pin up' girl, so I was a li'l worried. Not sure of what would be required of her...but she said though it was definately what Tyra (on ANTM) would call a men's magazine shoot, most of the girls were pretty 'conservative'..only a couple were ...pushing it.

So, here she is, my baby, Lonestar Dreamgirl...Cierra. (look at her eyes in the picture, she would make Tyra proud with her 'fierce' eyes) teehee.

yesterday was exciting!

Mom and I went to Livermore to join Nyki and Jason for lunch. We did not get to go to Outback, since they don't open till 3pm...we went to Black Angus instead...but the cool thing is after lunch...I saw the baby move.

Soooooooo cool! of course, when I put my hand on Nyki's belly, the baby stopped. and as soon as I took it off, she started again. So, Adriana's gonna be stubborn and onery like her parents! And whenever she would kick to the side, it made Nyki jump and say 'ouch'...so whatever Adriana was doing...teehee.


Then we worked on the baby shower invitations. We used Nyki's colors of purple and green, and then some in Betsy's pink and white. The preggo stamp is in a window.



and we dry embossed using my old red sizzex and a cuttlebug folder.




its getting closer, and more real..I'm gonna be a grandma!!! yay, yay, yay, happy dance!

well, slept through it...

Looks like there was excitement at the home front. @3 am, the police were going up and down the street in front of us, the dogs going bonkers...and I slept thru it!

First words from dh's mouth, "I wish I had that gift"...teehee.

Yesterday, after getting my stuff done was a LAZY day. Did prep the baby shower invitations for today..going to dil's to make them. And printed some pics for Betsy's scrapbook, but after that...movies and the couch. I remember watching most of "Hairspray", that is a fun movie, made me smile. And "Under Suspicion" with Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman..well acted, but, the movie was less than good, to me.

Did watch Connor Chronicles...soooooo good! I really wanted Riley to win that fight. Oh Well.

And then the last half of America's Next Top Model. Okay, that Sandra...me no like, she is one selfish little _________, and she said she had no friends because she is 'different'...sorry hon, you have no friends cuz you're a li'l b_______... I think I like London or Fo (it is Fo, right?)


So, today its a trip to Livermore, work on those invitations and lunch at Outback, cuz my mommy is in 'the mood' for it. I'm such a good daughter, to 'suffer' so for my mommy...ha!!

this pic is from Weds...had some intense rains then this...

soooooo glad I'm not working today...

Today is a 'save money, have only a few hourly people come in to work day'. It is the company's attempt to not have to do a lay-off. Anyways, I am one of 2 accounting people who got the day off. Now, I love having a day off. But I am not the primary wage-earner of the family. So, I was looking forward to this day in my pj's, maybe even scrapping.

THEN, this morning dh got a call...most of the front office is under 1" of water. The sales end, not in accounting, yet. It's up to the cube next to mine.

Sooooooo, at least in the offices, looks like its a no computer, clean up day.
(guess it would make an interesting P365 picture)

Betsy gave me 2 cd's full of pictures that I am going thru for her wedding scrapbook.
cd #1, had 1505 pictures!!!!! I am in the process of ruthlessly weeding them out.

Well, off to finish the around the house stuff that needs to be done, litter boxes.
Gotta go into town at some point, bank and grocery store...so its not a total pajama day. But if I get the 'stuff' done, I can work on the scrappin' or movie watchin' or something else that is fun! rrrrrrrrright???

If you think about it, pray for dd, Cierra, tomorrow she will be doing something 'unusual' for her....we are not sure of...but its kinda cool...but its...
just praying that whatever the results are its in God's hands.

My friend, Michele, emailed me that America's Next Top Model is accepting girls who are under 5'7". Now, ever since the series started a lot of us have been saying that Cierra should do this. (but at 5'3"...) So, I emailed her the info, and she said 'no thanks, lol'...she is just not interested. And you have to have the 'eye of the tiger' for that life...it was the same with acting in college. If she got a role, great...but she did not go out to every audition and casting call, like some of her fellow acting friends. So, tomorrow has nothing to do with ANTM...I kinda wish it did...she would be amazing...oh well, a girl has to follow her heart, right?

almost got in trouble...

for my P365, I pulled out my camera while dh was getting a lottery ticket.

Across the convenience store's parking lot, a bunch of kids were 'hanging out'...so I was going to snap a pic..

dh, "were you going to take a picture of that gang"
me, "sure, for my picture of the day"
dh, "don't take a picture of a gang!"
me, "why not, its a 'slice of life' in this town"
dh, "I don't want them to target my car"

so, I took a pic of the hardware store's interesting entry...what is that column made of anyways?

busy weekend...

Saturday was the spaghetti) 'feed' at church. It was dh's 'gig', so I did not have to do a lot of work, but helped him with the pre-cooking prep (cleaning 12 heads of garlic) and opening cans of tomato sauce. While prepping that garlic, I watched a movie called 'In the Name of the King' with Jason Strathom, that I surprisingly liked. I don't usually watch stuff with him in it...
Esp the end, when his wife, I think its Claire Forlaine, does something unexpected.

Nyki came over during the afternoon and we worked on the design for the baby shower invitations.

The dinner was actually very good, there was a raffle and silent raffle. My P365 pic is of Reagan ( a 3 year old from the church), enjoying her spaghetti. she is soo funny, she was sitting at another table, and she 'caught' me taking the pic!


Sunday, I was hoping for a nap, by mom wanted to do a li'l shopping. It was fun!
We went to Michaels (she needed more yarn) and Walmart and then ate Japanese food.
Then dh and I went to a friend's house to watch Fireproof...a very good movie.

So, though I have not been posting my P365 pictures, I have been taking them.
and I did not do last week's layout over the weekend, I have been keeping up.

Got some good news on Sunday. DD called and asked 'what adhesive do I use to put a rhinestone on a flower" "use a glue dot, ummmm, baby, does that mean you are scrapbooking?" "Yeah" ...!!!! insert 'happy dance' smilie