it is supposed to be spring!

I woke up this morning, and there was about an inch of snow on the ground. What the heck man? I thought we were supposed to be in springtime. You know, the new flowers, the birds singing, the capri weather? This stinks! We did BBQ three days last week, and ate dinner outside. Still working on the backyard. Sunday, We cut down a dead tree from the backyard. Then, we decided to make lots of plans to make it nice outside. Lets see how long we stick to it, because I KNOW when it gets really warm outside, i am going to abandon ship! I hope next weekend we can make a weekend trip to Oregon to visit family. That would be fun, because its a fun little road trip. I will throw some sandwiches in the cooler, fill up the gas tank, and GO!

another day, another dollar, oh, wait, i am off today. Okay. another day, another days' worth of chores. TODAY is the day i get to use my new dryer. (yesterday i ended up napping on the couch. man how i love naps!) i have also got to clean up some things we are going to post onto the ole craigslist. (de-junking the place i call it!) there is so much stuff on the racks over the garage door, that it is slightly bent. like an unused fish tank, a BUNCH of dvd cases, Oh and this slot machine i though i could fix. well, its not over the garage door, but it is taking up precious space. When the weather stays nice for a few days in a row, i plan on spring cleaning. We have so many cobwebs it looks like we live in the adams family mansion.
once again, not too much to report on. We havent been able to take any trips, becuase everytime we WANT to, it starts snowing.. But this spring/summer? you bet! i have LOTS of plans. :)

gunna conquer the day?

I feel sleepy. it is probably because Booda and I slept in until Noon today. After working nights this week, i was just too exhausted to do anything else.
Good new though, our new dryer came! yes, our landlord replaced the 20-year old energy HOG. I had to wait for the delivery guys Saturday. (I'm positive that's why i am so tired!) They brought it in and set it all up, which was great. i really didn't want to try to take that thing down the stairs. today, i am EXCITED to do laundry! (yeah, remind me in about 6 months) Not much else going on except its sorta nice today. the last two days were freezing and snowing! right after all that praise about the great weather. I think later today we will brave the cold, and cut down a tree in the back yard. Its ugly and killing another tree, so we are going to chop it up for camping firewood.
oh, and i got my surgery paperwork in the mail last week. It is getting scary now. I have been having alot of weird dreams about the surgery. But i am also excited and anxious to get this all over and done with. June 17th!!

Hope today is another great day!

Yesterday was WONDERFUL! it was about 65 (well, it felt that to me!) and it was sunny and warm. Blue skies, and just a perfect day! I ended up opening the windows to let the fresh air in (as well as the songs the birds were singing) Yes, i really hope spring is here at last!
here in the good ole Nevada, we don't get spring or fall really. It goes from 45 degree weather one day, to 90 degree weather the next. When you have 90 degree weather two or three days in a row, that's when "spring" is here. We go from winter to summer, and summer to winter just like that (snap of the finger)... I have gotten some overtime days, so I have been kind of busy. Plus, I made all my Easter cards, and then started on some really neat birthday cards. I had borrowed some stamp sets from my Nana, and I have been antsy every day to play with them. When I find a card I really like, I try to make at least 10 of that card. (just in case i need to sell a bunch) I just received a stamp set that enables me to make cards for little boys and girls. The stamps have an alligator, an elephant, a giraffe, and a penguin. I had originally gotten them to do baby shower invites and announcements, but then realized that i could make b-day cards too. On another note, we are HOPING to be able to take a trip sometime soon. Sorta getting cabin fever here cooped up in the house. Maybe a day trip to Tahoe? I would love to take another trip to Sacramento. I really like old town. First though, we need to make sure it wont snow on us over the pass!

Cool Website

http://www.explosm.net/comics/1589/

I found this cool website through a friend of mine. She had posted a comic on her Myspace, and it was pretty funny. I am always trying to find fun new things, so i went to the site, and they do Daily comics. Some are VERY lewd or crude, but then some are really funny! i saved a ton of them (not knowing what i will do with them, but thats how most of my folders are) and i guess i will share them with you on a semi-daily basis.
Not much to do today. going to finish up projects i started yesterday. The dishes are clean, and the floors are vacuumed, so i guess its a freebie. Tomorrow, i have to go back to work, and start our new schedule. (no more week off every month) but we work 3 on, 4 off. not too bad.
its off to refill my coffee, and clean off my desk. Ta-Ta for now!

busy little bee...

(bday cards i made to put into my store)

when i logged in, i noticed that it has been since feb 16th since i last posted. Sorry! Its been really crazy around here with trying to work, and then the card orders are going out like crazy (which i cannot complain about at all!)

I made about 50 valentines cards...

then i made just 10 St Patty's Day cards (they were kind of hard because its such a different holiday)

And then Easter card orders came ROLLIN in. I have 50 ordered, so i tried to make about 60 -75 so people had a choice.

To see all the cards I have been working on, check out my Gallery

Every day off (that i dont have chores) have been spent hunched over my desk creating stuff.
after easter I dont really have that much to make, so i decided i want to take up knitting. That way when we are watching a movie, or if i am watching Joe play video games, i will have something to do with my hands. I also NEED to get my scrapbooking going for the fun stuff we have done. (the concerts, and all the trips we took) Sheesh. My to-do list is always a mile long... but like my mom says "its alwasy like that!" I amreally wishing for spring. Last night we did BBQ some steaks. It was great to pull out the ole BBQ, dust it off, and FIRE IT UP! the steaks were delicious! We have been trying to keep the backyard clean, so when that great time comes around when you can go outside and not freeze to death, we can enjoy it. Not too much goes on here, until it thaws out a bit.

more pics from our weekend

When i got back to work after the long 9 days off, my friend who went to the motley crue concert with us told me that he had uploaded the pics that he took to his website. Just a little while ago, i cruised over there and took my favorites...

(Dave and I)

(Just Me)

(Joe and I after a few drinks...)

(Joe and our friend Billy getting ready to take a shot of Jack)

(Dave and I getting ready to take a shot of Jack)

(Cheers! one last beer before heading over to the events center)

(Nikki Sixx doin the "hey how you doing" thing)

(Tommy Lee introducing the "Muther F@#ker of the Year" song)

Now, i REALLY REALLY need to start on scrapbook pages for all these fun things before i forget what happened. (naw, i will just come back to the blog...)

Motley Crue- yet again!

during this last week, we went to yet another Motley Crue Concert. (it was an xmas present we gave to ourselves) It was here in Reno, and they didnt disappoint. They were playing with Theory of a deadman, and Hinder. (i have seen Hinder once before, and they were good)
First, we booked a room down at Circus Circus. (there was a good deal on rooms for $25, and i figure its cheaper than a cab, and WAY cheaper than a DUII.)

(the view from our room)

I got everything ready, and waited for Joe to get off work. To pass time, i met some friends down at the Rum Bullions, and we had a few drinks.

My buddy dave, drinking some budweiser

Joe showed up, and we drank and chatted some more. We were having such a good time, that we didnt end up going down to the Events center until about 7:30. when we walked in, theory of a deadman was just wrapping up their set.

(the only good shot i got off during theory of a deadman, actually i think its the only shot i got off)

(we were kind of bummed about that) The friends we went with had gotten floor tickets, but Joe and I got seats, Just in case he didnt get home in time, and then he wouldnt have to fight the crowd. It wasnt too bad having seats. The good side, was that you had a place to park your butt in between sets, and if you had to go the bathroom or get a beer, you had a place to come back to. (when we went to cruefest, it kinda sucked becuase i had almost front row, but i couldnt leave my spot at all) the bad side was that i wasnt able to get really great pics like i did this summer. but it was worth it.

joe and i in our "seats"

We did, however catch all of Hinder,

and all of Motley Crue.

They played a lot of older songs (both bands) so it was a great time.
After the show, we went back to the Eldorado for more drinks, but after a couple of beers, Joe, myself, and another friend, decided we were ravishingly hungry. So, at 12:30 am, we set out for food. An awful awful sounded good, so we ventured outside to head to the little nugget. (where they make the best big greasy burger in town) Only in Nevada can you go to a hole-in-the-wall diner in the middle of the night, and it be PACKED like its daytime.

(this poor guy. we hassled him so much becuase, well we were a couple of drunk kids. He cooked us a great burger though!)

After dinner (or late night snack) Joe and I headed up to our room. Too much alchol and the concert started a RAGING headache. Check out was at 12-noon, and we slept until about 11:30. i think i am getting old, becuase i had a hangover (i never remember getting them before) We checked out, and decided it was time for some breakfast down at blackbear.

(us checking out)

mmmm. Coffee!!

superstition

I broke a mirror the other day. I was trying to put some shampoo away in the shower, and the mirror joe keeps in there fell. I was hoping it didnt break. But as i picked it up, there was a big crack in it. I am not really superstitious, but some things will get to me. Like at work, if our press is running good, and someone comments on it. i do the "knock on wood" thing. likewise, i get kinda weirded out if i break a mirror. But spilling salt? doesnt really bother me. I really hope i dont have the 7 years bad luck thing. Not only that, but now i have to buy a new mirror. Rats!

like what you see? you can purchase cards at www.sobeejoe.etsy.com

On a lighter note... i made some valentines cards. I am SO trying to keep ahead of myself this year. I have been working on them for a few weeks. I put out some feelers at work, and i think a bunch of the guys are wanting to buy some. plus i have my "Regulars" . This year, they were really fun to do!

aaah, the joy of sleep

yesterday i slept. and not just slept in, but slept. I got home from work around 8am. I hightailed it straight to bed. (with my book, just in case i woke up, and didnt want to get out of bed) I turned the t.v on, turned the volume down so i could barely hear it (weird how that puts me to sleep)
I dozed off and on all day. I remember waking up, and Trivial Pursuit was on. I remember thinking "grrr, way to early" so i rolled over, snuggled up to my pillow, and went back to sleep. I woke a couple more times, and did the same thing. Finally, around 4:30, I woke up fully, looked at the phone, and there was a message that Joe was on his way home. I shamefully sent him a message that said i was still in bed. Then, i cracked open that book, and put myself to sleep once again... I woke when he came upstairs, and luckily, he just wanted to go to bed. So, we were cozied up in bed by 7:30. And we slept. all night.
i guess what i am getting at, was that yesterday i was probably the most lazy person of the day, but you know what? it felt good. it felt great actually! today i feel refreshed and ready to take on ANYTHING (i better be, becuase i have to go to the dentist) So i guess what im trying to say, is that once in awhile, a bunch of sleep will do a body good.

good morning!

its another day, and tonight it will be another dollar. Going back to work today... All week long, i have slept in till about 9am. today, woke up at 5 am and cant go back to sleep. So, i am working on some valentines cards.
For a couple of weeks i have been talking about wanting to turn the loft into a "mini library". for Christmas, Joseph gave me the bookcases to make it happen. He also gave up one of his chairs that ninnie gave him. (muscles brought it upstairs by himself) so now, instead of laying on the bed (and falling asleep) i can sit in my chair, enjoy a cup of coffee, and a great book. This week off i have taken advantage of that! (i read 3 books) its very weird how i obtained so many books. Originally, i just wanted to collect dean koontz. so little by little i have been getting one here and there... Well, i saw a posting on craigslist for some free books, and since i LOVE to read, and at the time, had no new books, i went and got them. She had about 40 books, mostly James Patterson. So, i stacked them on a shelf i had over my desk in the spare room. Fast forward a few months, and my parents come to visit. My mom says she has a big box of books for me to read. Turns out, she had brought down a bunch of james patterson as well. so she says "you can add them to your collection" so i guess thats how i started collecting his books.
Then, we went to a book sale, and they had a bunch of J.D Robb books (Nora Roberts' alter ego) and they just happened to be the ones i havent read, so i picked em up. Then my mom says, "you should get all hers too!" So, theres a shelf for good ole J.D Robb. Plus I belong to 2 swap book clubs, and i posted some Ann Rice books i had gotten (in that big ole pile of free books) and swapped em out with Jodi Picoult... alas, another author to collect. :) it feels good, because i havent read all my books, so when i feel like reading (usually when Joseph wants to play gutair) i can pick one from my stacks...

looks cozy doesnt it?

i still need a gutair stand for that gutiar... i have to share my space with the gutairs... but thats okay

booda loves it when i take pics... he tries to get in everyone

I printed out some of my favorite pics and put them on my bookcases, to remind me of fun times, and family i miss...

Also this week, i had some crazy mojo, and made about 75 cards! they just flew outta my crafty little fingers. i will be sad when its time to work again, because i do nothing on work days but sleep, eat dinner and go to work. I hope this mojo stays with me until monday.

a couple of the designs i came up with... kyia took the rest of the cool ones for her thank you cards...

Oh yeah, and ONE of my bookcases is almost done. i just have to spray a coat of glossy topcoat. Joseph said that will dry in 10 minutes though, so i figure i will give it about an hour, then bring em in, and load em up.

last day off before i have to go back....

its that time again. time for work. Today is my last day off before going back into night shifts. I still have a long list of things to do, but i am doing what i can. So far today i have:

• loaded and unloaded the dishwasher (twice)
• completely cleaned the fish tank (poor little guys are swimming in some MURKY waters)
• Put a base coat and another black coat on my bookcases. (i am so anxious to get them upstairs)
• started on the mountain of laundry that has piled up this last week
• started cutting papers for cards (i NEED to get some in my online store, just in case)
• and started on a special starbucks project for the empty wall space that sits to the right of this computer.

slowly my to-do list is getting shorter. for now, i am killing time so that i can go back out and work on my bookcases. I would at least love to get one completely done by tomorrow, so i can bring it in, and fill it with STUFF.

working on some side projects...

well, i had a to-do list for this week off that was about 50 items long. I tried to do some things like computer work, but the computer just didnt want to corporate. I did, however, pick up a couple of bookcases from craigslist for free. They were a yucky brown color, so i am repainting them black, to match the rest of the bookcases i have. As of right now, they are out in the garage drying. (thats what i hate about projects, especially PAINT projects)

I got some mojo back this morning and had a few idea for some cards. So, i guess in between drying times, i can work on some cards. I was asked to come back for the craft fair every 3rd saturday of the month. So i am working on some cards for that.

I found some pics of when everyone came over for a "pre-Thanksgiving" dinner. They turned out pretty nice. All in all, we had about 13 people over for dinner, dessert, and good times.

Booda, the King of the kitchen

part of the party chowin down, and doing what we do best in our family, take pics

Miss Pauli

My Mom, after a long day in the kitchen, with me

While we finished up dinner, Joe entertained everyone in the garage. "a game of darts anyone?"

My Aunt Brandi

Kyia's Husband Eddie

Nana and Aunt Brandi

I think this pic was taken after I told him he was doing the dishes

MMMM. steaming broccoli and carrots. my favorite

My Cousin Katie, She was the photographer for me since i was busy cookin.