Bloggin along...

what came next.. oh yeah, THE move

2011-08-27T11:48:00.000-07:00

So, here we are fast forward to 2010. We are saving and getting ready to move... Not too much exciting things happen. We say our goodbyes. we visit our favorite places> November of 2009 we DID take a trip to Seattle to see if we would really like the place. We fell in love. It was like a city, made just for us. It's relaxed, its fun, its natural. The really weird, yet funny thing, is that while we were here, there was a HUGE storm. There was thunder, There was lightening. There was rain, it was AMAZING to see. (ever since we have been living here, have NEVER seen another storm.)

The big day comes. We go get the budget truck. Load it up. And hit the road. Right off the bat, it was great. We were doing this! And then, well, you cant have a huge move without a little drama, right? looking back now, these things are funny. so we can laugh. and we have stories to tell. But that weekend, it was STRESSFUL!
to start, we really think the guy wanted to get rid of the truck he rented us. We did a rent and return at another location. The truck we were rented didn't even say budget on the side. And when we returned it here, in puyallup, wa the lady said the same thing. We decided to drive at night, since we were towing the car and had to drive slow... So, we head up into the mountains. The first steep hill, the brakes did a shake thing. you hit the brakes, and the whole steering wheel would gyrate. NOT GOOD. but we kept on truckin...
we hit Weed CA at about 5am. The weather starts getting windy, and snow flurries are visible. So we decide on staying the rest of the day, and getting some rest.

Then, its starts SNOWING. hard. We get caught in this freak snowstorm that lasts for approx 15hours. Mind you, I just wanted to rest for about 3 or 4 and keep going. We are trapped here. its wet, its snowing, and we go to McDonalds...

So, by now, its slushy snow. We could not take the car off the trailer, so we just left it on. Backing up and turning in a parking lot with a 10ft truck and car trailer is hard enough in DRY weather, but for this day, it was HORRIBLE. about 2 feet of slushy snow, and the parking lot was packed. I was supposed to get out and give Joe directions, but everytime he tried to turn, or go forward or back, he would slide in deeper and more toward the cars. I WAS FREAKING OUT. ask him. All I could see in my mind's eye was the truck sliding into the light pole and we would be screwed.

The AMAZING man that he is, he got us out of there. I still dont know how. He has proven time and time again that he is a really really good driver. We headed back to the hotel, I took a nap, and we waited. A few hours later, the sun came out, and all the snow melted. He woke me up, and said "look out the window" there was dry pavement. Sun shining. So we decided to get back on the road before it was too late.
We stopped at a gas station at the base of the biggest climb on the journey. The ashland mountain is the worst. I KNOW its the highest point on I-5 and its 4310 feet.

We checked the fluids, and guess what? the truck was out of oil. I always though when you rented a car or truck, they checked all that for you and made sure things were good to go. Guess I thought wrong.. So, we bought a few quarts of oil, and decided to unhitch the car for the massive climb up the hill. Later, we realized this was a great idea.

We get back on the road and start the climb. Joe is driving the big truck, I am in the car behind.
He starts climbing, and starts slowing down. 45mph.. 35mph.. 25mph.. 15mph.. later he told me (and we would find out on ANY sort of hill we tried to climb) that the truck just simply lost power. He had the pedal to the floor and it would not go very fast. It would kick up and redline, but not go faster. We crest the hill, and start going down. Its a very long, steep downgrade. He told me later, that everytime he stepped on the brakes to keep the truck slower, it would shake. Like the truck was going to fishtail. He said he smoked a whole pack of smokes on that downgrade. It was the scariest moment of his life. And I believe it.

We make it down the hill and finally to my parents' house. It is the halfway point. We pull in, and the first words are "give us a beer!" we were Exhausted! Halfway to our new home! Time for dinner and beers.

To pick up where I left off...

2011-08-27T11:28:00.000-07:00

For starters, No more black background. We are travelers, we are do-ers, and we are shakers... I think the world map is more fitting..

SO, I was looking through posts, and I still had braces! I got them off in December of 2009. I was fitted for a retainer. Two weeks later I lost that retainer. (I still have NO idea how he got it)
Apparently (and I didn't KNOW for sure until spring) I had gotten up to go to the bathroom. I took the retainer out and laid it on my nightstand. Booda had gotten it and taken it to the back yard and chewed it up. The bad thing, is that it was winter time, and there was 2 feet of snow on the ground. So, it was a mystery for about three months. Because When I came out of the bathroom, he was next to the door. He must have grabbed that thing and TOOK OFF.

new me with no braces. woo hoo.

At this point, we were living with Ninnie. The lady that owned our house was wanting to sell, and some things had come down at work. So Joe and I had a long discussion about where our lives were going and what we were going to do... I still can't remember HOW Seattle was brought up, but it had to do with a good friend that lived near there. We decided to take a leap of faith, and move.. So Ninnie opened her home to us for about 6 months. We were saving and prepping and getting so excited... April 1st was the big day. We put in our notices, Rented the worst Piece of Crap truck (this was not known until we were on the road) and moved 700 miles away. We sold EVERYTHING to make room since we did not want to make more than one trip, and we even sold our jeep. (so we could ride together and I don't think it would have made it!)
tomorrow, I will tell you about the trip!

Ready for some stories??

2011-08-27T11:20:00.001-07:00

alright pals. Its time to keep you in the loop. I cant post every story on facebook, nor can I tell it 100 times, So I am BACK to blogging...
I think its been awhile, so let me fill you in...

It looks like the last time I blogged it was 2009.. It is now 2011. Did two years really just go by?
In the last two years I (and I will often say WE, as in Joseph and I)
have moved from the amazing house to bunking with my Grandma Ninnie.
then have moved 700 miles away to SEATTLE Wa
I have gotten engaged, and also Married.
REALLY taken of in my business.
and lots of little things in between.

Pardon me, while I see how far back I need to "recap"......

it is supposed to be spring!

2009-04-03T07:18:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-03-25T07:55:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-03-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-03-19T07:09:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-11T06:46:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-03-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

(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

2009-02-16T06:20:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-09T07:11:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-22T05:49:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-20T07:11:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-01-16T07:01:00.000-08:00

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....

2009-01-15T14:10:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-01-14T13:59:00.000-08:00

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.

happy monday!

2009-01-12T06:52:00.000-08:00

okay i am back for another posting. This weekend i didnt post a single thing, because we did nothing but lay on the couch and watch movie after movie. Once a month we will take a weekend and just lounge around and catch up on movies. we watched:

Babylon AD (good movie)
A righteous kill (not so good movie, good twist at the end, but boring)
Crank (good action movie)
The golden compass (i fell asleep)
Zodiac (pretty good movie, based on serial killer from Santa Rosa)
Bangkok Dangerous (really good movie)
Pineapple Express (pretty funny movie)
Eagle Eye (great action movie)

So now its a monday and i guess its back to work. I have the week off, but have a slew of chores to get done. I am also working on a "special project" with my favorite pics. I have some pics from my "pre-Christmas" party i had two weeks before christmas. I would love to share them with you. so here they are:

First off, we had food! Joe and i didnt go too crazy, but we had:

chocolate fondu with the fixings (angel food cake, cherries, bananas)
Hot artichoke dip with homemade chips
Homemade guacamole and salsa
Pumpkin cookies (brought by Joe's mom
Hot Coco, Coffee, and peppermint tea

Ninnie at the "food bar"
everyone chowin down

After we ate and visited for a bit, we got right down to business!
we had WHITE ELEPHANT gift exchange, and then i handed out the gifts i had been working for months to get

aunt brandi opening her white elephant gift
there were lots of oohs and aahhs
she got a candle set

Nana is opening her gift. (she got a mug boss, its a thing that goes over a coffee mug to organize your desk. they make them for paint buckets for your tools, and i saw this and it was too cool)

for some reason, the batteries died for the rest of white elephant, so i couldnt get pics. we did get them recharged for me to play "santa" though.

Jim with his gift. he got a $10 starbucks card.
(i figured a hot cup of coffee or coco would be nice when he was out there putting chains on his truck)

aunt brandi opening her christmas gift. I am ever the cheapskate, and i MADE the wrapping paper at work, and MADE the to/from tags on the gifts. The words i heard the most were: "where did you get this" at which i replied "i made it"
here she is asking me how i did it.

now she is opening her gift. I had gotten her $15 in fast food gift cards. notice Uncle Dave's face in the background? he knew what i was getting and why, so it was funny. I wrote on each of the gift cards EXACTLY what she could get (at jack in the box with $5 you can get 10 tacos, or 5 items from the dollar menu)

looks like she was pretty happy with her gift

next its Uncle Dave's turn

I found this thing that's called a "buttstation" its a guy that looks like he is sitting on the toilet. he holds a roll of tape in his hands, and a pen in his mouth. In the "bowl" is where you keep paperclips. and there is a magnet on the guys butt, so when you lift him up, they stick. It was soo cool.

he is looking at his notepad paper i made him, there is a slot in the back for a notepad

it has this on the bottom of the sheet of paper. So now, if he leaves notes they will have his "stamp" on em.

after he went back to work, he sent me this pic of the guy on his desk. i guess the people at work thought it was pretty dang cool.

now its Ninnie's turn. Ninnie loves thomas kinkade. Joe and I were out shopping one day, and found a mug/tea set with a thomas kinkade image on them. as soon as we saw that, we knew that we had to get it for her.
I had a friend who has rubber stamps of his art work, so i asked her to send me some. I then made a set of 10 cards for Ninnie to use for birthday or whatever she wants to . She really loved em.

Joe's Mom is getting into scrapbooking, so when Ninnie gave me some rubber stamps with borders and stuff, i knew what i wanted to get for his mom! i went right to where Ninnie got hers, and ordered every set of stamps they had! She was tickled when she opened her stamps.

Now its time for nana's gift. Nana is not too hard to shop for. Her gift was wrapped with my "handmade" wrapping paper. That paper was a hit for gifts.

i used alot of tape when i wrapped, so nana had a hard time getting it open......

.... but when she did it was worth it. I had some of her FAVORITE cookies imported from Holland and gave her some chocolate syrup to go with it.

now its Katie's turn. I had picked up some white t-shirts, and tye dyed them pink (i refuse to use gloves for any kind of project, so after i tye dyed, i had bright maroon hands for about 3 days). Then i looked for some cool graphics to iron on. i found two that i really loved. And i was so worried she wouldnt like them. But she LOVED her shirts.

she has this look, like what is it?

and then she says, oh my! sweet! oooh! my camera couldnt take pics fast enough.
(as you can see, these pics arent in order of when people opened their gifts. because uncle daves gift is sitting on his lap, unopened.)

katie with her shirt....
...and then she went and tried it on. and it fit. Yaay!

oh yeah, and my mom had some gifts for everyone as well, and i gave them out for her at our party. everyone got some nice goodies.

I also mailed a box of goodies to my brother, cheryl and jacob. And another box went out to Jess and Kayla. and yet another box went to my mom and dad.

Bob, Cheryl and Jacobs box had:

movies for bob
The whole complete set of Nirvana for cheryl (she is a big fan)
movies for jacob
and some onzies for jacob. she sent me this pic of him wearing his sailor jerry onzie

(i did some iron on transfers for his little t-shirts, but forgot to take pics)

my sister got some really neat shoes i found on SUPER CLEARANCE, and kayla got some hair barrettes i made for her, as well as a headband.

My mom and Don got some movies, my mom got a neat cold weather hat (see below) and Cds. and Don got a bunch of cool things for his bday and xmas. (poor guy has both on the same day!)

Oh okay, i will do a 2 for 1 today ;)

2009-01-09T10:37:00.001-08:00

yes, i am here and i will just put a ton of pics into this post. So here are the reception pics.

well, i already broke one resolution.....

2009-01-09T10:24:00.001-08:00

as i sit here with my cup of coffee, i ponder back to the first of the year. I WAS going to try to post every single day. Then, i had to go back to work. Its very hard to post when i work day shift, because i dont have alot of time in the morning to post. When i get home at night, we eat, shower and go to bed. So maybe i will try to just post on my days off? (lets hope i do)
The big thing everyone is talking about in my family is the recent wedding of my younger cousin Kyia. I attended the wedding, and yes i captured some great pics.

I took 50 of them, but i dont know how much patience i will have with this computer to upload them all. i have another website that i have been uploading all my pics to, because eventually i will have them all printed from that site.

http://robinsgreatpics.shutterfly.com/

the wedding pic are all on there as well as some of the pics we took when we went to see Motley Crue in California.
so far this year it has been great. i also have some pics to upload from christmas. We have made some "general plans" to travel a bit more this year. i was going through our pics from last year, and there were hardly any from "trips" . This year i hope to remedy that.

Thats what i will post for now. I have some good pics from the reception so more to come later :)

Finally some time off!

2008-12-30T15:22:00.000-08:00

It has been a hectic last part of the year. I have made 25 gifts, and about 250 cards. Its time for a day or two off! Yesterday i did nothing and it was great. (well, i did do laundry)

i received this pic of my lovely nephew jacob along with a very cute text messgae from "him" (i am pretty sure cheryl wrote it)

hey aunt robin, this is kind of hard to see my cool shirt in the pic, but i wont sit still for mommy to take a better one. Just sittin here eating some cheese and animal cookies, drinking some apple juice.

I made him a few onzies with really cool images on them. you can kind of see this one. I put sailor jerry tattoo art on this one. it says "MOM DAD" on it. its way cool. I also did one with the mudflap trucker girl and one with a neat gutair art on it. I hope i get more pics soon! This week my goal is to get some pics up in the gallery and to share some neat pics of things we have done. I hope to post more soon. As of now, i have to work tonight, and then have a few days off. I think we are going to hole in the house and play lots of Wii.

oh my!

2008-10-17T05:59:00.000-07:00

Remember when we went to cruefest? well i found this picture online. I found it on MR. Sixx's myspace. the venue looks familiar. the security guard in yellow looks familiar. He is wearing the same clothes he wore at our concert. YES, it is the concert we went to! There was a better quality pic on there right after the concert, and i was looking to see if it was ours. so i scanned the front rows, and there is a person there with BIG black sunglasses. THATS ME! i swear!

it happened that right after the concert, I was pretty interested in Sixx AM, (nikki sixx's side project from Motley Crue) and so i wanted to read the book "the heroine diaries". its his diaries from the mid 1980's when he spiraled down into drugs and alcohol. It was a great book. i was cruising online, and i came across his website, which had links to a bunch of other sites. His books site, His myspace, Motley Crue's website.. so just for fun, i went to his myspace to see his pics. Thats when i saw the other version of this one. And it looked familiar. I recognized his clothes. I recognized the towers. I even recognized the security. Then i did some asking around. Turns out, they only travel with backstage security. so the guy standing in that pit, is from the concert we went to! So my boss said, "well do you see yourself?" and i found this picture (but he had altered it to the blue colors) i zoomed into the front 3 rows, and sure enough, there is someone with the sunglasses. I am in the way left of the pic. to the left of the island part of the stage. a few people to the left. i think there were 4 people between me and that stage part. and there was one or two people between me and the gate to the stage.
pretty cool huh? i think i will use this pic in the scrapbook. it WAS NOT taken by me, but by someone backstage. but its really cool!

ah, its getting warm again

2008-10-15T20:01:00.000-07:00

well, i tried for more posts. This weekend, and this week have been busy. Its also been VERY cold out! we actually had snow here on Friday. That evening i made a delicious dinner for my uncle dave's birthday. We had Caesar salad, Manicotti, and i make my first HOMEMADE apple pie. it was great!
saturday rolled around and we went to have dinner with one of my grandmas. we had the best dinner with her! it was great to sit and chat and catch up with her. She also made us this delicious roast! On sunday we had my nana and grandpa over for Parmesaun chicken. Their birthdays are a little over a week apart, so they had gotten a delicious homeade dinner for their bday. I think my family likes em. it gives us a chance to catch up.
then it was back to work. it has gotten warmer, but its still pretty cold at night. not much else going on here. i am working on christmas stuff still ;) i have all my ideas, just need to get them a rollin.
well, i smell dinner cooking, so i better get going. one more work day to go, then i get a glorious day off!
TTFN!

Hooray! we dont have to move!

2008-10-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

our lease is coming up at the end of November. we were kind of wondering if our landlord was going to raise the rent. everywhere i have ever lived, they did that after a year. This weekend I received the dreaded call.
She called and left a message asking if we were planning on staying. So i called her back and told her that we were, as long as the rent didnt go up too high. She replied "the rent isnt going to go up at all" but it was so friendly. she is such a great landlord, and i told her so. she said that she loved having us here, and she hoped everything was going okay. and then she asked about booda, which was pretty cool. so we are staying another year. woo hoo!

on another note, i have been so busy creating cards for my "stash" i added some to my store, since people online have been asking me where they can get some. Its been a busy weekend for orders as well. I have gotten text messages asking if i have any cards made. (of course!) plus, i am working on craft fair stuff, and Christmas.

(these little ghosts are so fun! i had originally stamped em black on white, but they just didnt look right. so i tried the silver. BINGO, now they are ghosts!)

(i absolutely love this card! so did everyone else! it was actually a full 12X12 sheet for scrapbooking. so i cut it up. congrats to my pal Renee. she grabbed it for her Halloween "stash")

(these turned out WAY cooler than i had thought. and i love that! i want to play around with the other graphics i saved from the sailor Jerry website. i am even thinking about tattooing the martini girl somewhere...)

So that's where i stand as of now. But i DID add another post for this week. (go me!)

watch your mailbox. you may just get something neat that i made ;)

yes, another blog post in one week!

2008-10-04T05:37:00.000-07:00

well, first off, today is my nana's bday. Happy bday to her! *big shout out!*

another day, another day i have to go to work. but, it pays the bills, so i cannot complain too much. i just hate getting up early in the morning. maybe i should put the coffee pot on my nightstand, that way i have it right there! and then i will get one of those long crazy straws, and i can just lay in bed and drink. mmmm.

on a good note, i have received an order for another 20 cards! woohoo yippee! i have been doing the happy dance for about 18 hours now. i have also been asked by a few people online if i have a store that they can check out. so i am going to be taking some pictures and re-opening my etsy store. that would be super cool if they started buying.

we have plans next weekend for a few bday dinners. like i said before, all my bdays are at the end of the month. and some family is VERY hard to shop for/make for. but everyone loves a nice homecooked meal that they didnt have to cook!

so ta ta for now, i must go refill my coffee cup, and head into work. check back for another post. soon. :)

im sorry!

2008-10-02T07:08:00.000-07:00

gosh, its been weeks, maybe a month or two since i last blogged. I have been INCREDIBLY busy! the more people that see my cards, the more people want to order some. I am not complaining though! its great. I have been holed up in my craft room creating great works of art. (toot toot) I also have a LOT of birthdays at the end of the year. I have been trying to hand make everything.

so i see the last time i posted was when we went to CrueFest.. lets see, what else has been going on? we have been homebodies since gas and such is pretty high. but that doesnt stop us from having a good time. We have been playing our Wii, and watching alot of movies. (gotta love that RedBox DVD rental. get em for a buck..) Joe has taken up making Hemp Jewlrey. He is pretty good at it, he made me a bracelet (but i lost it) and he made a keychain. he has been excited since i set him up his own desk in the spare room. now he doesnt have to share with me. ;) and i dont like sharing my space with anyone.
i have been trying to fix my computer. it has been running really slow for a few weeks now. I did go through all my pictures and deleted the duplicates. someday i will print them all out and make scrapbooks.
i also have been collecting coke points, and redeemed them for free music. That takes a LOT of time to do, since i cannot burn music and do anything else. I have expanded my music library to about 500 discs.
Christmas card season is upon us, and i have set a personal goal to make and sell 500 cards! so far i have orders for 100. so i am so very excited! once i start churning them out, i will start posting pics. This last week i made about 100 cards for my "stash". i will get some pics of those up as well.
i promise i will try to get better at posting. that is my 3/4 of the way year goal!

TTFN- ROBIN

CrueFest 2008 in Sacramento

2008-08-07T06:16:00.000-07:00

The other night my boss told me he had an extra ticket to Crue Fest for the next day. he asked if i wanted it. OH YEAH i did! I had been trying to win tickets on the radio for weeks! as soon as i got off work, i freshened up and got into the "funVan" that my friends had rented. We had a cooler full of beer, a DVD of Motley Crue videos and we were on the way! The bands scheduled to play were Trapt, Sixx Am, Papa Roach, BuckCherry and The almighty Motley Crue. We got to Sacramento around 3, and sat in the parking lot and had a little "tailgate" party.

(my boss billy)

(our buddy Dave. I dared him to wear this into the show, but he chicken out)

Doors opened at 4, but we were still hanging out, drinking and listening to the Crue. We made our way in, and to my surprise we had floor tickets. i have been to a few concerts, but NEVER had floor tickets, so i was excited.. after everyone got their souvenirs, and beer, we headed down to the "pit" Nobody really was there yet, but the band trapt was playing. we wormed our way up front, and i gotta tell ya, got a good place to be. there was only one person in front of me, and then there was the stage. It was hot. it was humid. but i didnt care! When trapt finished their set, everyone around me went to get more drink, but i wasnt going anywhere! Next up was Sixx Am.

they are a band formed when Nikki Sixx wrote an autobiography about his years with Motley Crue. (he is their bass player, and the bass player for Sixx AM) He formed a band and they put out an album to coincide with the release of his book "The Heroine Diaries" the album is like a soundtrack. so far I had read a few pages of it, and its a pretty good book.

(lead singer of Sixx Am, John Michaels)

(Michaels and Nikki Sixx Jammin on the Gutair)

(Gutair player DJ Ashburn. he rocked it)

(Mr Nikki Sixx himself)

(DJ Ashburn again)

after Sixx AM, Papa roach took the stage. This is the 2nd time i have seen them in concert. Back in 2000, i had gone to see Eminem and the Anger Management tour. Papa Roach opened for them. (except they werent that famous at the time)
this time they put on a ROCKIN show. it was amazing. being so close, whenever the lead singer would headbang, i would get his sweat on me (gross huh?) But i wasnt going to give up my spot.

(lead singer of papa roach, Jacoby. He also hosts the MTV show Scarred)

(he was so close, i could have touched him. but i was more into taking awesome pics!)

After them, BuckCherry took the stage. I like their music, so it was bound to be a good show. the lead singer was very energetic! he was jumping and running everywhere! it was hard to get a good pic of him, but i sure tried!

(buckcherry gutair player)

(lead singer of buckCherry)

(this guy was a BALL OF ENERGY!)

Now its time to the Crue. they just put out a new albums "saints of los angeles" From what i have heard, its a pretty good album. Having grown up listening to their music, i was anxious to hear them today. the concert up to this point has been fantastic! And the Crue did not disappoint.

(i tried to get a good pic of Tommy Lee. But it was getting dark and i was pushed back from the stage)

there were lights, there were fireworks, and the LOUD music! (the pics get a bit fuzzy because it was getting dark, and i was taking pics from my cell phone. but the pics i got were awesome, because of the lighting.)
(lead singer Vince)

(Nikki Sixx jammin)

(billy headbanging away)

(i like this pic. it turned out really good. )
(Nikki and the other gutair player jammin)

it was a very good concert. i had come off night shift the night before, so i ended up staying awake 34 hours straight. with help from a LOT of coffee and just the energy from being SO excited! im glad i have friends who are into this kind of thing. i am sure there will be more to come!

changes

2008-08-07T06:13:00.000-07:00

on the way back from oregon, a friend of mine called me and asked if we could come by and help him move some things. plus he said that he had a table that he thinks i would LOVE. so we went down, and checked it out. i fell in love with the table as soon as i set eyes on it. (but i did wonder if it was going to fit) we worked out a deal, took it home, and set it up. the table fit like a glove. we now eat every meal at the table. Beautiful!

oregon trip

2008-08-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

a couple weekends ago we headed up to oregon for some much needed time away from reno and the smoke. plus it is so peaceful up there that every chance we get, we head up that way. Friday evening came, and as soon as Joseph was off work, we jumped in the car and was on our way. Got in around 11. then had a beer and visited with my mom.
Saturday brought a trip to the falls. it was perfect. nice and hot, and cool water made for a great day. drank some beer, went swimming, and just Relaxed! That evening we headed into the small town and they had a Festival going on. at 10pm they put on fireworks and boy were they great! the actually were way better than the ones that the Nugget put on this year in Reno. it probably was way cooler since we were able to lay on the grass right under them!
Sunday we headed into Roseburg to go to the movies. We saw the Dark Knight with my mom. and then we came back home, and actually just visited and watched some cable tv. (i miss that!) Monday we had a nice breakfast and went swimming for a bit. Then it was time to head back to reno.

we stopped in Grants Pass at the Dutch bros MAIN coffee house. (its becoming a tradition) its really cool. looks like a bar, sounds like a bar (loud music is always pouring from its open windows) but its a coffee shop. We got our coffees, and it was time to head home. back to the daily grind.

Booda Discovers the Fish Tank!

2008-07-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

Well, booda is the type of dog that likes to chase flies, butterflies, balls, pretty much anything that moves will catch his attention. the other night, we were sitting at the table eating dinner, and the fish tank finally caught his eye. the fish swimming back and forth just fascinate him.. the other evening he and I sat in front of it and watched the fish for about a half hour.. im sure thats what he does when we are not home. here are some of the pics from that first day he noticed them. (sorry about the blurry pics, they were taken fast on my phone before he got down)

after we snapped the pics, we made him get down though. cant have him knocking over the tank! (even though its very heavy) so now he sits and watched them.

another week comes to a close

2008-06-21T10:23:00.000-07:00

whew. glad that week is over. I worked night shift all week. its very weird when you work night shift. Days run into each other. you feel like a vampire. i haven't seen Joe since Monday. But its over, and its the weekend, and well, all is good!
The other day in the break room i was playing some cards. and this one guy who is looking at houses to move into says to another. "man, i just GOTTA get rid of this aquarium i have. I got it for my daughter, but she moved out and its just too much work to move it.." well, i heard this and said "I WILL TAKE IT!!" and so we made the plans for me to take ownership of his tank. so now, we have a really cool 55 gallon tank! we set it up yesterday. it was a rough day. came off night shift. went and picked up the tank. brought it home and tried to set it all up before any of the fish died. (i had 10 fish in a 5 gallon tank to transport. we were lucky though. they all made it.

happy weekend!

So far-- this week

2008-06-05T10:41:00.000-07:00

its been a crazy week here. Saturday we had a party for my cousin Kyia. she graduates this year (actually last night was the big day) so we got to see and visit with family i haven't seen for a long time. Got to see my aunts new place. pretty snazzy. oh yeah, and on our way out there, joe and i hit up a few garage sales. (they live in the "nice" part of town, so the garage sales were guaranteed to have good stuff!) we ended up getting a few good things for a few little coin.

Sunday, joe woke up not feeling well. but we had a poker party planned for some friends, and we usually flake, so we couldnt cancel. as the day wore on, he felt better, and we had a great bbq/poker party. (i won one game!) it was good times with friends from work who had never been to my place.. the first thing everyone did was ask if i stole the "starbucks" sign that uncle martin had made for me. i had to tell, and re-tell the story over and over.

Monday rolled around. Joe felt even worse, but being the good guy he is, he went ahead and went to work.. i pittered around the house. read the book Odd Hours by Dean Koontz. i started feeling sick ..

today is now Thursday. i have finished the book and started a new one, but full-on sickness! i couldnt even go to the graduation last night because i had a very high fever. and all i have to ask is WHY? it should be against the rules of nature to be sick IN THE SUMMER! its the worst..

good news is, i got my mojo back. this is good, since i have about 40 fathers day cards to get done. so i have been napping, then working on cards. then napping. man. i hope we get better. its terrible to be sick in summer!

A referral to Boomertowne

2008-06-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

I joined an online community a few weeks ago. I heard about it from a friend of mine. its pretty neat. there is SO much stuff on the site. games, a chat board, daily tips, recipes, jokes, a live chat. its kind of like a community for adults.. Plus, here is the bonus. You get points for participating. you get them for playing games, looking at pages, rating things. just about everything you do, you will earn points. Once you have earned enough points, you can cash them out for things. (i have already cashed out for a $25 best buy card) but i need more points so that joe and I can get our Wii. so im asking you to sign up for the site under MY referral code. anyone who logs in under my code, i will get referral points for you. So, if you are interested please go to this website

http://www.boomertowne.com/tools-n-resources/signup.aspx?referralcode=224201541

and make sure you use my referral code # 224201541

if i get enough points i just may use some of the gift cards for Christmas gifts! (hint hint, wink wink)

but seriously, it is a really cool website. i love it!

newest pics of Bob, Jess, and Baby Jacob

2008-06-03T17:50:00.000-07:00

(the look on his face is priceless!)

So as of this minute, my sister is in Arkansas visiting her dad and our brother Bob, Cheryl and the baby. I was cruising around today on the internet and came across these pics. they are GREAT pics. looks like she is having a great time. which, i hope she is. this is her first time seeing baby Jacob. Since i have these pics, i decided to share them with you.

yeah, yeah.

2008-05-30T07:34:00.000-07:00

i know. i am bad. im not really that good at updating this blog. especially when the weather is nice, and all i wanna do is go PLAY! lets see. from the last post, we have been

to Idaho
to Oregon
to Sacramento

we have re-arranged the house. i have read books. i have worked and worked. We got a hammock! (yeah!) and we planted a herb garden. we have little sprouts in the garden. (guess i have a green thumb after all!)

Idaho was fun. we drove up there Friday night. got there around 2 am (it was about a 7 hour drive) we got a room and slept a bit. then headed over to Josephs brothers place. we had a nice day with him visiting and stuff. then we decided to come home Saturday night. (at that time we were having all those earthquakes, and we decided to make sure everything at home was good) it was a VERY quick trip and i didn't get very many pictures.

the very next weekend, we went to Oregon to go visit my parents. that was a fun trip. but short as well.. we drove up Friday, back on Sunday. Friday night we had quesedillas and movies. my sister came over to visit.
Saturday we headed over to the coast. The guys went out on a charter boat to go deep sea fishing. Poor Joseph had sea sickness from about an hour into the trip.

it was windy and cold! before their trip we did get a chance to walk on the beach..

after the guys got off the boat, they wanted to just head home. so we headed back to my moms. and that night we went to their local casino for a magic show. it was a good show. better than some that we have here in reno.

so we got back and it was back to work. We have been working to get caught up, money saved, and we want a few "toys".

one day, while i was on nights, Joseph came home from working with his dad in Truckee. He was in and out for about an hour, and finally i got up and asked him what the heck he was doing.
"hanging up your present" he says. "look outside"
well he had gotten a hammock at a yard sale. and he knows i have wanted one for a VERY LONG TIME!

he hung it in the back yard, between two "perfectly spaced" trees. i have read many books out there so far. early morning and early evening are great times to sit out there. i don't hear anything but the birds. no traffic or anything. its the Ultimate backyard getaway :)

and then, for mothers day i made cards for this guy at work, and he paid me with a small fish tank.
we have two fish in it. and they have lasted about a week. (yaay!) i robbed a shelving unit i was using upstairs. and now i have a fish tank stand AND a bookshelf for my dean koontz collection.

Ive also been working on getting the "clutter" out of the house. we brought in the water cooler since its not getting drank out in the garage (was that proper english?) and then i used my little table i got at michaels awhile back for the wine rack.. i like it way better than a tall dark one.

we are now working to get the gutairs out of the loft (the humidity from the dryer is warping the "necks" so i have to come up with a solution.

this last weekend, we took a trip to Sacramento. it was fun! we went to ikea. got some great ideas, and some neat little things.. we then headed to old town sac. THAT was neat. there was a store there, its a HUGE version of spencers joke store. we diddled around there, and headed home. spent the next day watching MANY movies. and planting more herbs with the pails we got at ikea.

so, i think thats about the extent of whats is going on here!

The NEW paypal?

2008-04-21T15:37:00.000-07:00

okay. so i have checked this out. Read reviews, and I decided to join. I really hope they put paypal out of business. its ridiculous how much they charge in fees. I opted for the paper check, instead of inputting my bank account info. (there is that option)
so, sign up if you are interested. so far i haven't had a problem. Plus, they give you $25 for signing up. (NO JOKE! i deposited my check today! paid for gas)

another post coming soon. I made a shelf for my craft room!

My new "workshop"

2008-04-16T18:41:00.001-07:00

Well, Joseph decided he wanted a workspace of his own. i don't blame him. he has been great about letting me have the big nice desk, and my junk all over. So, one day while he was at work, i made him his own space, behind my desk. the only bad thing, was that i was using that space for my stamps. but i improvised. at work, we have a ton of garbage wood. i cut some down, sanded it, painted it, and then Gorilla Glued it together (i had a problem trying to nail it or screw the pieces together.) so now, my stamps hang over my desk. (easy access for viewing)

(isnt it so pretty?)

so now, we can work together in perfect harmony (hehe) or just be in there together and not have my crap fall all over him. plus, he is getting interested in the hemp jewlry and making his own bracelets and necklaces.

(my desk)

(and his desk)
we still need to work on it. he needs supplies, and hooks to hang over his desk. (i am working on it !)

so, im sure people will be getting handmade stuff for bday and xmas when we can find the time to make it!

Booda thrashing his toy

2008-04-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

I have probably been on the phone with some of you, when, all of a sudden, i burst into hysterical laughter. This, right here is why.

sometimes he gets bored (i guess) and he plays with himself. well, it is hilariously funny in person! finally, i was able to capture it on video. Everytime he does this (and he will do it with either his monkey, his ladybug, or this toy) it makes me stop and laugh my butt off.
i was able to catch this one after we had given him a bath. guess he was THAT happy to be clean. enjoy!

We did it!

2008-03-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

We made it up the hill... A few weeks ago, joseph found a trailhead behind rattlesnake mountain (its the mountain that our backyard looks up onto) so we have been walking all the different trails. well, he REALLY wanted to hike to the top of the mountain.. The first time we tried, i was unsure if we should go. There IS a radio tower up there, and didnt know if we would be trespassing. so the first attempt we stopped. But on the way back down, we saw some joggers coming down from the top of the mountain. So, yesterday after i napped off my hangover from the St. Pattys day party, we got ready to hike to the top of the mountain. Whew, it was a tad bit harder than i thought (or my body was more resistant) so it was well worth it when we got to the top.. here are a few pics from way up yonder....

Honey, Load up the Goats. We r going to TOWN!

2008-03-16T16:09:00.000-07:00

I apologize for "borrowing" this story. it is not my own. but my friend at work told it to me, and then posted it on HER blog. so i had to take it and share it with you. i laughed SO hard when she told me... just the mental picture you dream up!

"Last Thursday my man and I decided to head into Reno for dinner at the Nugget. We got to the roundabout here in Fernley and noticed a station wagon making it’s way through. This brought about memories of our childhood days and the station wagons our parents used to drive. All the fighting between siblings for the seat in the very back. Making faces at the people driving behind us. Good times.
Anyways, I looked over at this station wagon and noticed mom, dad, and son all were seated in the front while the rest of the kids took up the remaining room behind them. Except these kids happened to be four or five goats, as well as a full grown and very big sheep. We both laughed at the sight of this family. I suppose it would be cheaper than buying a horse trailer, but I don’t imagine the livestock would be house trained or car trained even....which may be the reason they drove with all windows down. So Dan and I rambled on about the possible destinations of this family and wished we had brought our camera along. The station wagon got onto the freeway behind us and soon disappeared as we sped off towards town.

Just thought I’d share this sighting of the redneck horse trailer aka the beloved station wagon. Only in Fernley."

So much to buy, so little coupons in my wallet

2008-03-15T14:46:00.000-07:00

I went to Michaels yesterday. if you don't know, its like a humongous candy store for crafters. Minus all the unwanted calories. I absolutely LOVE LOVE it there. as i walked from isle to isle, clutching my precious 40% off coupon i was very undecided as to what to purchase. oooh, should i get canvases? Distress ink? regular ink? a 4 stamp set? just one stamp? oh man i was so overwhelmed with the possibilities. Then the phone rings. Its Joe.
"whatcha doing?"
"I'm at Michaels" i whisper. i can HEAR him roll his eyes.
"oh really? and what might you be doing there?"
"well, i have a coupon," i begin. another rolling of the eyes, IM SURE OF IT!
"oh. okay. how long have you been there?"
"bout an hour."
"i knew it."
i guess he doesn't get how Michaels makes me feel. forget the lottery. i would like to win a shopping spree there. I guess its the way he feels when we go into gutair center, and he gets SUPER EXCITED. me, I'm pretty bored. i look at all the stuff, then announce I'm going next door to linens and things. if only they would build a Micheal's next to a gutair center. then, we could live in peaceful harmony.

And WE are the lucky ones?

2008-03-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

topic: hair removal. yes, its a nasty subject. but this conversation the other day with my boss got me thinking. You see, we have to wear respirators at work, and it has to fit over your nose, mouth and chin. well, the guys HAVE to be clean shaven, so it has a tight seal around the face... and they don't shave everyday. well, the big boss came out and was yelling at the guys for not keeping up with their facial hair. Well, my immediate boss comes out and says to me "you are so lucky!"
"why?"
"because you don't have facial hair and have to shave it for the stupid respirator!"
"oh. well ya, im glad that i just didnt get in trouble for that, BUT im a girl and thats the only place i dont have to shave! you, my good friend, have it WAY easy!"
and just like that, he was dumbfounded and i was gone!

A world without T.V

2008-03-15T13:40:00.000-07:00

Yes. its gone. the t.v has been removed from our home. (well, the huge one in the living room, the small one in the bedroom still remains) Why you ask? well, we don't have cable. so all we can really watch is fox. AND with the writers strike, theres really nothing on. and did i mention, we are becoming a couple lazy butts, always sitting around watching the one channel we have. sometimes, i watch those ridiculous Judge Judy knockoff shows, Just to watch the damn tv! so i got rid of it. Usually i spend most of my days upstairs in my craft haven, so that hasn't changed.. we get a really good classic rock radio station that i have been listening to for about a week.

the verdict? i miss the t.v for the movies we watch. but with summer coming, it will give us that much more of an excuse to get out of the house and do something fun and active. so maybe we will go all summer without it. right now, i have gotten more stuff done, and listened to some really rocking tunes for about 2 weeks now!

Joseph and his Gutairs!

2008-03-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

Here is Joe playing his electric..

And here he is playing his new bass

Walkin on a beautiful spring? day

2008-03-12T10:39:00.001-07:00

yes. is it true? is spring here? i dont know, but i DO know that Joe has found a trail behind the mountain that is in our back yard. its a park with a bunch of trailheads.. he took me out there on monday and we leashed up booda and went for a walk. Its was okay. you are surrounded by nothing but rock and dirt and sagebrush. but thats what you get when you live in nevada... it was a good walk. went by fast with our chattering. The very next day, we attempted to hike to the top of the mountain behind the house. but i was unsure if we were allowed up there. BUT we saw some joggers coming down on our way back down. so i guess its okay to hike up there. The view is breathtaking! I will definably get some pics!

updated art!

2008-03-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

i have updated the "cool" art in the living room. we had 2 pieces of wood the same shape and size. so i got the one mounted underneath. we used a really good picture of Booda.. now, i just want to find some wall sconces that are VERY long (i saw some at michaels) and we can mount those on either side of the art.. OR, i can go have 2 more pieces of wood cut to this size and make it with 4 works of art.. dont quite know what i am going to do yet..

someone asked me if i was going to paint. i tried my hand at it, and failed MISERABLY. BUT i have another idea with some ink. so check back! as soon as i get that piece done (it will go in our bedroom) i will post pics!

A new piece of art!

2008-03-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

if some of you have been to our house (or looked through the pictures) you may have noticed we have a LOT of blank wall space.. we didn't want to hang a bunch of stuff on the walls, cuz we have to repair all the holes.. BUT i had this idea at work the other day, and the first stage is finished ( i want to make another one to hang just under it, with a picture of Joseph's choice.) I picked this pic, its from the sana crawl this last year.. what do ya think?

this is it hanging in the livingroom..

new gallery site

2008-03-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

alright. it is in the beginning stages, for some reason google wont let me upload pics just yet.. but here is the link.. http://bloggin4fun-gallery.blogspot.com/

and i will also keep it with my favorite links! check often, since i am ALWAYS making something!

gallery coming soon!

2008-03-08T12:01:00.000-08:00

a lot of people have asked me to see my work.. and i don't really have a place all my pics are stored except on my computer... I DO have a site that has some work, but thats the "for sale" so i am going to try to make yet another blog to showcase some of the really neat things i have made.. watch for it! i know you will love it!

New friends, Old friends, Lets just BE friends

2008-03-07T14:35:00.000-08:00

I had an idea about this post a few weeks ago. I was helping my partner, and realized that we have become "friends" for another better term. it wasn't always this way thought. when she first became my partner, i HATED it. almost quit my job (oh how naive i was!) but i stuck through it because i have an amazing set of bosses. Pretty much they told me just to DEAL with it. Do my job, and i don't have to like her. so i did. i think for the first few weeks we didn't speak to each other at ALL! then it was one or two syllable words, or grunts. It all kinda changed one day when out press was down, and our boss, Billy, was sick of us not getting along. he MADE us work together, while him and the other guy went to go do work. He said that we would have to get used to working together because we NEEDED to be a TEAM. So he sticks us on this job, where we had to use the dry-ice machine.. its a machine similar to a sandblaster that spits out dry ice. its used to chip off ink. We actually bonded over it... you see, dry ice is AMAZINGLY fun to play with. Oh the possibilities! you can freeze things INSTANTLY. you can blow up bottles. you can stick a rubber glove in there and shatter it..... well, we were messing around. don't know what i was thinking, but there we were with the nozzle, pointed into the hopper which is FULL of dry ice. and I pull the trigger... BAD idea. we were showered with dry ice pellets... and if you don't know, dry ice BURNS! (since its just frozen Co2) well, that was the turning point. After that, we had that story about how we were two dummies looking for cheap entertainment.. now, this didn't make us the "OMG we are so BFF!" but i learned that hating this person isn't going to solve anything. in fact, it just lets all the other people out there win.. so we started talking more.. a "hey how you doing" here and a "could you help me" there. pretty soon, we became pretty good friends. enough so if she called in, she would let me know, and vice versa.. And its strange, but it goes to show, that you just gotta let things go, and be nice to people. Because if you would have asked me a year ago if we would be friends i would have said "oh HELL NO!" but now, thanks to the bosses who, well, didn't want to work with the girls, i have found a new friend.. so i if i hear something stupid on the news, or if i think of a funny question, i can go into work and tell her... and she always has something weird on her mind as well... its cool. and i like it. :)

What are they taking? Cuz I want some!!

2008-03-01T11:21:00.000-08:00

good news. they built a starbucks in Fernley. (the town which i earn my coin) so now, on nightshifts, we can go down at 4:30 am and get coffee. (its that extra boost that gets us through the rest of the night) so Thursday night, 4:15 rolls around, and i say "guess what! its just about 4:30. " so we all pull out cash, get our order wrote down, and off i am to get liquid goodness. I arrive at the local starbucks and not to disappoint, they are all VERY chipper. AT 4:30 AM! So i place my order and just cause i am in one of those moods, i ask "do you drink a lot of coffee in the morning or do you take something?" she just kinda looked at me with a look that said "what?!" i told her i was kidding, received my drinks, and was on my way to deliver liquid goodness to those back at work. when i relayed my question to my partner, Tessa, she said that she had a very odd experience in there a few days before. She had gone in, ordered coffee, and they were very happy. Then, she left and had noticed that a car in the parking lot had a flat tire. so, she went back in, and said to the baristas "hey someone parked outside has a flat tire, is it one of yours?" and one barista chirps, "yeah, its me. i noticed that too. its Ooohkay!" and Tessa was just kinda in shock. "its okay to have a flat tire?" she told me later... "i would have been like oh CRAP! " guess if you drink starbucks, nothing brings you down!

awe shucks!

2008-02-29T15:28:00.000-08:00

(the card which started it all!)

OH MY! i MUST share this story with someone!

it seems my card business is getting some attention, which is perfectly fine with me!
At work this week, we have a guy who was retiring. well, since i always chastise people for buying "store bought cards" they told ME i was on card duty. which was great, because i had seen a card in a magazine i wanted to try, but was waiting for the right possible person to give it to... so i attempted the card. It turned out way better that i would have expected. I bring it in, and we decided to have everyone sign it. well, i am making my rounds, and i was having one guy sign in when he says

"man, this is a NICE card. where did you get it?"
"I made it" i replied
"wow! this is top quality. you make cards?"
"yup, its kind of a hobby of mine" (meanwhile im blushing slightly)
he tells me "you should sell these!"
"i do. i have quite a few for sale actually"
and THEN, he replies, "well, i would like to see some of them. i really like your work"

inside i am just JUMPING, LEAPING for joy. friends and family are great, i know that they would never say a bad thing to me, and they do WONDERS for compliments. but a complete stranger was very impresses. so on the way out i am saying in my head YIPPPPPEEEEEEE!!!!!!

so THEN a little while later (after everyone had seen that card) i asked some people in the break room if they would be interested in mothers day cards. i got a few people who said YEAH! bring em in! so, that, completely made my night. i was VERY excited after that! so i must get to making cards! more and more and more and more!!!

more pics!

2008-02-29T15:19:00.001-08:00

Bob & Jacob

2008-02-21T17:48:00.001-08:00

This post is just going to be pictures of Bob and the baby. Most of the time we just snapped away with the camera. (we had SPECIFIC instructions to bring back a TON of pics) so for your viewing pleasure, here are more pictures! (for those of you who aren't family, well, a few more posts of this wonderful family and it will be back to my normal antics!)

See how he is looking at his daddy?

This picture ROCKS. Cheryl said that Jacob is mesmerized by the sound of Bobs voice

he musta just had a big burp!

after bath time

family pics @ bobs place

2008-02-21T17:34:00.001-08:00

We took a few pics of all of us. (plus Bobs dad stopped by to visit with me, i haven't seen him for about 15 years) and so with his help, we got pics of each variation of the family. these pictures turned out very well, so maybe, some of you will be receiving a hard copy of it (and if i am good enough, i will frame it as well!)

Myself, Bob, and his dad, Robert (or Red as we call him)

Proud Grandpa holding his Grandson. the look on Jacob's face is priceless

Bob, Mom and Jacob

same, but with myself added (and Jacob getting fussy)

And Cheryl joined us. (she calmed down Jacob so we could take more pics)

The three generations of Schumacker

Bobs Family in Arkansas (or missouri, or Oklahoma- wherever)

Bob and his dad. being, well, HAPPY

where the heck are we?

2008-02-21T17:16:00.000-08:00

So, as I have told many friends, family and anyone who will listen, "hey im going to arkansas to visit my brother!" well, we went to alot more than just arkansas!

when we got off the plane, we were in Oklahoma.

then, we traveled to Missouri to where Bob and Cheryl live.

see, us in missouri :)

to go anywhere fun (or where they had a coffeeshop) we had to travel to Bentonville, Arkansas. so we were back and forth between the three states. More than once i had to ask "where am i? what state are we in NOW?" and its really weird, the alcohol laws. apparently, the county where Bentonville is located is a DRY county. Myself, living in RENO, NEVADA, home of prostitutes, legalized gambling, and 24 hour drinking; i was like "whats a dry county?" and Bob said to me "didnt you notice at walmart they didnt have beer?" AHH! so we had to drive to ANOTHER state to get some drink for that night. It was also confusing because all the different "towns" we went to had Different state souvenirs!

But they all come together at a place called "The Corner Stone" and i thought i would be totally cool!! yeah, i get to be in 3 states at once (kinda like up by montana and idaho, you can stand in all 4 states) but it was just a rock. but a cool one!

"hmm, should we touch it?" "inside my head i am thinking THATS IT!?!"

them at "the rock" and not the one you are thinkin of!

Visit to bobs part 4

2008-02-21T16:48:00.000-08:00

Warning! this post contains MANY pics! :)

we took over 300 pics. for the sake of time, i am only going to post the "best" ones. here are some of those "bests"

Bob feeding and burping the baby. Whenever Jacob burps he lets out a HUGE belch, and Bob would get this grin on his face.

me just relaxin with the little one

One of Bobs MANY faces. He is the king of 2 things
1. weird facial expressions
& 2. Movie quotes

Mom playing with the baby

My brother holding his son
(there are alot of these, i couldnt stop taking them!)

I really like this picture. This is cheryl with her son. I took it and she didnt even know i did. thats when you get the best pictures. its like only her and the baby exist.

This is one of the top 3 pictures that i took that came out so very well! we went to walmart to print a few off for Bob and Cheryl and when Bob saw this one he said "wow, this could be on the cover of a magazine" hmmm is that my hamster wheel turning? getting an idea!

This is one of the "glamor shots" as i think of em. but its a VERY nice pic.

i couldnt figure out if i like this more in sephia or black and white. each has its own character. its interesting how the three different settings (color, sephia, B&W) change the "mood" of a pic

Daddy holding baby

and Mommy holding baby. they are both very good parents. new, but good!

Visit to bobs part 3

2008-02-14T15:12:00.000-08:00

We flew in friday night, so bob had the weekend off with us. we stayed up late visiting (he is the brother i remember before he got sick. the last time i had seen him, he was VERY sick with the tumor in his head. it was before the shunt was put in. he was very moody and grouchy. i was unable to go for his surgery because i had JUST started my job and THEY told me i couldn't have the time off. little did i know, i could have taken that time off)

but he was GOOD OLE bob again. he kept quoting movies and just being a great guy. the guy i remember growing up. they dont have cable tv, but they do watch a TON of movies. so we popped in a dvd. we probably watched about 15 movies that week, but it was great. and i love it when BOB laughs. its a funny laugh. unfortunately i didnt get any of that on video. but, cheryl let me feed Jacob and mom recored it..

when you feed him, he looks up at you like he has a "milk high" its just a look of PURE JOY. its very cute.

(mmmm. i just had me some MILK!)

this last pic shows the look on his face perfect. thats mom feeding him, SHE loved to play with him..

the next day we headed into BENTONVILLE (fyi the home of the very first walmart) and we went to OLD NAVY and they have a really cool outdoor mall. kinda makes our summit sierra look bad! and we walked around in the sunshine and browsed in the stores.
old navy! yeah!

cheryl and mom in clairs

Cheryl and i outside somewhere at the mall

Bob and I at some clothing store

we then headed to walmart because they didnt have a coffee pot, and i REALLY need the bean to get going in the morning. so i bought them the stuff to make their own pot of bean every morning. Plus, bob wanted moms famous spaghetti sauce. he will NOT eat any other spaghetti

at first bob was like "yeah i like coffee in the morning, but we dont have a pot" and cheryl was like " i kinda like it. i dont like the taste thought" well we bought a bag of kenya blend and a few creamers, came home and brewed a pot. cheryl said it smelled great. she tasted a cup with a tiny bit of french vanilla creamer and liked it. she is a diabetic, so mom and i went and got her some sugar free creamer so when she got home from work after that, she would make a pot and drink it with her new creamer. it was funny cuz she told me "im going to make a pot of coffee and you gotta help me drink it!"

we also rented some movies and took MORE pics when we got home. And mom made the famous spaghetti. he was in heaven!
(bob and cheryl dishing up their plates)

("oh my lordie, i cannot believe i am eating moms spaghetti ")

(dishing it up)

(so much it covers his bread!)

(jacob resting)

(bob and i in front of his MISFITS poster)

(mom with the baby after he changed into jammies)

me and mom toasting before we eat our spaghetti

(bob playing with his son)

so thats it for this post. i will do more in the next one!

Visit to bobs part 2

2008-02-14T14:48:00.000-08:00

So we visited with cheryl for a bit. checked out the baby. pulled out the camera. and of course snapped pics like crazy. i bet they felt like movie stars! Bob was still working, and cheryl said that he should be home around 7. sure enough, he pulls up and shes like "hes HOME! do you want to hide?" i said "naw, we will just sit on the couch like you have company" so he walks in the door , sees us, and says "NO WAY. NO FREAKING WAY! HOLY SHIT!!!!" and started crying. you see its been 6 years since i saw bob and about 4 or 5 since my mom has seen him. he was VERY happy to see us.

(the first picture is the look on his face when it registered who we were,
the second is the joy he felt)

so we had a round of hugs, and tears, and we told him that cheryl was in on it the whole time. she kept it a secret to surprise him. he said it was the best kind of surprise to get.

He kept saying " i cant believe my mom is sitting on my couch!"
Then we made him get dressed to go eat dinner, since mom and i havent ate at this point since the morning. we had been a bundle of nerves. bob and cheryl showed us this great little mexican place they eat at. it was VERY good food. he is a Fajita LOVER. but with only meat, no vegetables
Bob, mom and I had our FIRST beer together. it was so weird to see him drinking LEGALLY, but it was a good feeling as well. and then, the food arrived!

mmmm. it looked so good! cheryl had to feed jacob so we chowed down

and she was trying to eat and hold the baby, so i said i would hold him while she ate.

he is SOO tiny! and so adorable. he liked my ma and i after a few hours. we ate, paid the bill, and couldnt wait to get back to bob and cheryls place to visit and of course, HOLD THE BABY!

when we got back home (our home for the week) Jacob was very fussy and bob said check this out ( when he plays his guitar, the baby LOVES it. he calms down. cheryl also said that if bob talks to the baby he will calm down.) so bob hooked up his gutair and played some stuff for us

he has come A LONG way from the day he taught himself how to play Marylin Manson's SWEET DREAMS. he now plays all his own stuff. he doesnt cover other peoples' songs. and i REALLY like the stuff he plays. i guess the baby does as well, since it quieted him.

here is a video of him jammin. it was great!

I am back!

2008-02-14T14:25:00.000-08:00

i am back after a quite awsome week in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri. (yeah, all three states) you see i went to go visit bob and cheryl and of course baby Jacob (my mom met me in tulsa and we went together). they live on the very tip of where all the three states connect. so they actually LIVE in Missouri, and where cheryl works and the next biggest town, is about 20 miles away, and its oklahoma. and then, to go visit Bentonville, (where the big stores are like starbucks, the mall, taco bell, best buy, and old navy) you drive into arkansas. ( i circled it on the map above) it was crazy because everyday we were in a different state. we planned it so that cheryl was the ONLY one who knew. bob had NO idea we were coming. a few times we talked to him on the phone and he was VERY upset that we couldnt come out. (mom said she couldnt get time off work, and i told him i was too broke) well it all went smooth. she kept the secret LIKE A PRO, until the week before we got there. she had to tell bobs dad that way they wouldnt make any plans. but it was still a secret. we got in around 2 pm to the airport ( i flew out of reno, had a layover in denver and got into tulsa about 1:00pm)(mom flew out of portland, had a layover in texas and got in about 2pm.) we got the car, had our directions, and were on the way! ( hmm, lets see what mapquest has in store for us)

(yeah, a chevy malibu. Automatic as well)

we were on our way! mom was copilot. and an excellent one as well. we did NOT get lost once. it is a flat, boring drive to their house. no mountains to look at. just flatland and clouds

and some trees that look dead. but it was a good drive. we got into GROVE OK about 4pm, where we met cheryl. the town they live in is so small, it doesnt register on mapquest. we met up with her and followed her to their house. about 30 minutes later, we were sitting on the couch, cozy and visiting with cheryl and the baby Jacob Noah. who was quite fussy. I guess he has colic.. so he cried alot the first day, but calmed down after that.
(cheryl giving baby Jacob what he LOVES!)

and i will save the reveal for my next post. oh yeah, the suspense. but i will leave you with this picture i snapped of the baby while my mom was holding him

(Jacob Noah Schumacker)

2008-01-23T11:29:00.000-08:00

I am sorry its been awhile but sometimes life gets away from me. I tried really hard to do the everyday posting but i just cant... but here i am, i was digging through some other blogs i have posted and came across this one... its pretty funny. it made me laugh pretty hard.. its a story from when we (a bunch of people from work and i) went rafting a couple years ago. hope you find it as funny as i did! the original post date was july 3, 2006

"okay. we just got back from rafting.. ive got one story that still makes me laugh. so camping next to us is a group of bachelors. the guy getting married had to carry around a blowup doll. if he left her somewhere or if someone got her away from him, he had to chug a beer to get her back. (they said it was to get used to the "ball and chain")
so these guys were havin a good ole time hangin out with us around the campfire. i kept tryin and tryin and tryin to get the doll away from him with no success. we were roasting marshmellows and such. well. they get the great idea to go to the coloma club. (its a bar in the middle of nowhere, but the river raft guides go there to chill) well, we were not gonna let em drive drunk. (and they were pretty drunk at this point) so we took them down to the bar. (and yes the bachelor brought his doll.) well, they offer to buy us a drink for taking them down to the bar. and we accepted. just one, then it was back to camp to roast some more mallows. as we were waiting for our drinks, the bachelor let his buddy hold his doll. Bad idea. already he had to chug a beer. so the buddy kept shoving that thing in my face. finally he LET ME HOLD IT! Worse idea! so my friend (who shall remain nameless) says "u got the doll" and i say "yup" so shes like "RUN!" so i tuck this blowup doll under my arm, and we hightail it outta the bar. i can hear behind me "uhhh GUYS, the GIRLS ARE STEALING THE DOLL!" but they are too drunk to realize whats happening. we get about 50 feet away, and gettin away when we hear "HEY!!!!!! YOU HAVE OUR DOLL!! YOU CANT GET AWAY WITH HER!!!" so we run faster.. well, later i find out this guy is a runningback for some college football team. He caught up with us SUPER FAST!! in an instant he was on us! he ripped the doll outta my hands and said "shame on you for taking advantage of drunk guys!!" all we were gonna do was duct tape her in a provocative position to their tent. i think he was pretty angry!! but he forgave us.. (the other guys didnt remember) so empty handed we headed back to camp to make some awsome smores!"

2008-01-05T10:11:00.001-08:00

Greetings!

so sorry I have not been blogging. Things got kind of hectic around Christmas. Places to go, food to munch, presents to open.
The holidays this year were quite fabulous! we had drinks we had amazing food, and we had a few surprises.
the first, is the birthday/Christmas gift from my beloved "uncle" (pictured above)
there is a story behind this one (as is much of what we do)
you see, when he was here visiting for thanksgiving, we had to get some starbucks (the man is addicted!)

so, we are driving to the starbucks that JUST opened in my neighboorhood. there was a sign out front, almost identical to the one pictured (the stand up kind) that had the starbucks logo, and the words "NOW OPEN" on it. Jokingly i turned to him and said "lets steal that!" he took me seriously. pulled off to the side and was getting ready to jack the sign. "NO! we cant! there are too many cars!" so it was on to get coffee and do our thing. i completely forgot about it, until my nana called me and told me there was a very special gift for me at her house. So i went on over chirstmas eve. i opened it and OH MY! it was perfect! i would have to say it is the most unique gift i have ever recieved. i really love it! for those who have been to our house, i put in the the landing right when you come in the front door. the "tigers lair" well, thats another quite interesting story. his nickname for me has always been Tiger. one of those things that just sorta came into play when i was visiting. he is the ONLY one though that calls me that, which makes it even cooler

booda, not to be left out, got Christmas presents too!

We did christmas eve out in yearington, nv. it was good. one of joes aunts introduced me to MUDSLIDES. mmmm. god i love those things!.... we came home to sleep for awhile and then dug right into Christmas! Joe got a set of binoculars from my grandparents. they will come in very handy, since we have a huge mountain for a backyard!

"why didn't i think if wearing these earlier"

after the festivities, Joe hooked up his new playstation and i proceeded to fall asleep on the couch....

booda however played with all his new toys! he got so many new chew toys so maybe, just maybe he will leave my socks alone!

pics of the NEW baby!

2007-12-23T17:19:00.000-08:00

i was just forwarded these pics of the baby! they were taken on a camera phone so they are very small, but here he is ! baby

Baby Jacob Noah Schumacker!

we welcome another one to the family

2007-12-21T12:36:00.000-08:00

hello! well, i have some exciting news. if you have been following what has been going on, my brother and his girlfriend were expecting a little boy. They decided to name him Jacob Noah Schumacker. well, wednesday night, i received a voice mail from my mom. Cheryl had gone into labor and they were at the hospital. i called the appropriate numbers and was able to talk to bob. seems she was in labor. We were able to talk for a brief time, and then Cheryl was in a lot of pain so he got off the phone. an hour later, i received another message that Cheryl had to go in for a c-section because the baby wasn't in the right position. An hour later, Jacob Noah Schumacker entered our family! he was born AROUND 9 pm. 8lbs and about 17 inches long (its not the exact numbers, but you can ask bob about it) he has to stay in the hospital for a while cuz he was a full month early (she was due the 19 th of January) so baby and momma are doing fine. he is bummed because "i cant play with him for a couple weeks cuz he has to stay in the hospital" but merry Christmas to them! if you would like to send them a card just email me at sobeejoe@yahoo.com and i can give you his address. i am so dang excited!! i cannot wait to go see them in February with my mom!

Rant of the Week --> THIS JUST IN!

2007-12-17T14:22:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES - It seems like only two months ago that Pamela Anderson was aglow with happiness over her quickie Las Vegas wedding to Rick Salomon.

Actually, it was.

But the 40-year-old ex-"Baywatch" beauty has filed for divorce from her 38-year-old husband after just two months of marriage.

Anderson cited irreconcilable differences in papers filed Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The documents were first obtained by the celebrity Web site CelebTV.com.

Anderson and Salomon wed Oct. 6 during a break between the 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. shows of "Hans Klok's The Beauty of Magic" at Planet Hollywood resort, where Anderson was starring as a magician's assistant. The couple separated less than 10 weeks later, on Dec. 13.

Salomon is best known for making a sex videotape with Paris Hilton, his girlfriend at the time, and was previously married to actress Shannen Doherty. Anderson was previously married to singer Kid Rock and Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee.

all i have to say is "are you FREAKING serious?" this is just an example of how famous people are idiots. as i raise my cup'o'bean and roll my eyes, this, is my rant of the week!

crawlin was a success

2007-12-17T09:53:00.000-08:00

Saturday night was, well great. as i mentioned before, you must dress like santa and hit as many bars in downtown reno as you can. the catch, well, instead of just stumbling around like a drunk, a portion of the proceeds went to the food bank. so we were doing a good cause as well. We dressed up like santa and his "helper" my costume actually was FREAKING AMAZING. yeah. except i wore the tall boots. yeah, my feet really hurt. but we met up with some friends.

This is Erika (a friend of Kristi's) she was dressed like a Reindeer Yaay!

Andy and Kristi. They were mr. and mrs. liberty clause. andy's says he is the one that sneaks back down your chimney after you get presents and takes 10%

this strapping lad is Billy. He was "dirtbag" santa.
but we all called him biker santa.
complete with chaps and all.

and we come to MATT. he is in Andys band. He is grumpy santa.
no, just angry cuz we had to wait 3 hours for a beer!
someone GET THIS SANTA A BEER!

we started at the CLUB UNDERGROUND. there were some people there, not too many, so drinks were pretty easy to come by. that was about the only place though... next door is a place called "BLISS". as we were getting ready to go into the joint, we hear "i just wanna dance, and THAT looks like the place to be" if anyone has ever heard the skit that dane cook does about "Dancing" well, you will find this hilarous. Joe and i did. we are still laughing. and this place WAS the place to dance. sadly, it was NOT the place to get a drink. who only has one bartender on when there are 5,000 santas running around? hmmm. so we headed over to the next place.

It was PACKED! good thing it was still early in the night, so people dont smell like BO and vomit. we had to worm our way in. I already had to start going to the bathroom (looks like its going to be a long night) so while i am waiting in line, two people (woman AND man) come out of the girls' bathroom. hmmm. wonder what was going on in there? "oh you were just fixing your hair? "RIGHT. so, i do my business and get to the bar, and Joe is STILL waiting. seems the guy before him put an order in for about 50 drinks. so i put on the charm. as he is trying to figure out who he bought drinks for, i say "me me!! you got one for me remember?? yeah. drunk santa and a hot elf, i so got a free drink! "mmmmm. tasty!"

Joe ended up having to drink the two that he got for us. i bet he was happy about that!

"yes, mmm. very happy!"

Next Bar PLEASE!

we go to the next one on the list. (i cant even remember the name) we get situated with the beers, and its time for a drink shot! yeah. mmm. we are living the life!

its time to dance, or just time for joe to stick his big white head in my face. i am STILL pulling white hairs outta my teeth.. we stayed long enough to drink our beer, and listen to the band, and it was on to the MENS CLUB. yeah, they let us in. sadly, i was NOT able to take pictures (guess the strippers dont like their naked bodies on the internet.) so we drank our drink there and watched the "entertainment" Joe was in heaven. but after we finished out drink, it was time to skip outta there and head to the downtown cue n cushion. where, i ordered the best margarita i have ever tasted!"its so good once it touches your lips"

there was also a "mini" bowling alley, so matt and andy decided to play a few rounds. i forget who won. i think andy did. by this point, i really didnt care!

"me hungry! get me a cheeseburger!"

after i finished savoring that delicious margarita, it was time for some pics. here is kristi and i

Joseph and I

Billy, Joseph and I

and then it was time to go to the next place. Next on the list was Shooters. but we opted for McDonalds since our tummies were rumbling. (oh yeah, food. thats very important when you go drinking for 8 hours straight) while we went to mickey d's the rest of the gang went to shooters. they had a VERY hard time getting a drink. (once again, who only staffs one bartender on a night like THIS?)

don't we look positively EVIL in this picture?

so, it was on to the eldorado. we tried the next 3 places on the list. and after waiting in super long lines, we said screw this! "LETS GO TO THE NUGGET FOR OYSTER SHOOTERS!" we head down there, and the bartender didnt have ANYTHING we wanted! GRRRRR! so we went to a bar NOT on the list, we walked over to the harris. THEY had drinks galore! even Smirnoff :)

as we are enjoying our beverages, Andy comes back in and says all the santas are waiting under the arch. so we "cuff" our beverages, and head outside. all you see is santas EVERYWHERE! in the meantime, we totally lost my group. it was like the sea of santas pulling us apart! joe and i got seperated, so we took some pics...
unfortunately, since my batteries were dying this is the only that turned out! the rest of em look like this

so, i couldn't locate my friends. we went into the next bar, and well, i think we were one step either ahead or behind them. i received a txt from them, and that was it. with a dead camera and just each other, we got into some mischief of our own.. i will save that for another blog though.

Santa Crawl-- in less than 3 hours!

2007-12-15T16:00:00.000-08:00

i sit here with my cup of "bean" as a good friend put is, and i am waiting for my mate to get off work. we are participating in the annual "Santa crawl" there are 3 rules to crawl by.

1. dress as Santa (or some other "Christmas" character)
2. hit as many bars in downtown reno as you can
3. don't drink and drive

this year, i am going as an elf. i really really wanted to be the gingerbread man from shrek. but, i am a chronological procrastinator, so they were sold out by the time i got around to ordering my costume. a trip down to party city ensured, and alas, they had the elf costumes still available. (i was going to be an elf last year, but it was cold, and my costume was a bit small, my bum hung out of it.) this years costume covers the bum, and i purchased some racy red tights to wear. i shall be "santa's helper" next year, we are going to find great costumes, way earlier than 3 days before the crawl!

well, things are going. i am working on a lot of projects. i have sold everything out of my store, so i must work on stocking that up in the upcoming year. at work, we are going in on a weight loss challenge. more people than i thought were entering. for 20 bucks you get to enter, and whoever gets closer to their "target" weight, well they win the pot. this may give me the drive to get my butt into shape!

as the holidays arrive at a locomotive-barreling-toward-a-stalled-car-on -the-tracks kinda speed, i sit in my cozy home and stay away from all the weirdos that seem to come out of the woodwork this time of year. really, the traffic gets worse, every day the calendar announces "10 more shopping days left before Christmas!!" please, just give me a nice mug o coffee and a fresh piece of paper. shopping? bleah. i shall just make my gifts.

at work, we decided to do a secret Santa. except we put a $10 limit on the gift, and the theme is "make it interesting" hell, i can make a whole lotta stuff for 10bucks. in fact, those were the first words outta my mouth. i was going to get a bunch of cans of jalepenos for one person. Jalepenos and playing cards. the ultimate gift.

well, it seems my break time is over. please feel free to check out my store www.happyhourcards.blogspot.com. yeah, yeah, i know its empty, but please feel free to add that "subscribe to atoms" thingie, and it will let you know when i add more stuff. or, you can just check it out often. i probably will have it stocked up by the end of January.

ta ta for now, and try as i might, i hope we hit at least 11 bars tonight. oh yeah, its for a good cause. 10% of our drunken proceeds go to the food bank. so i am doing good, not just being an drunk tonight...

work is not entirely all.... work!

2007-12-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

A lot of people know i work long hours. (12 hours, days or nights) but its not all work. We do our share of goofing off (somehow the endless hours have to pass) sometimes, our press runs really good, and as the motto at work is "run time is fun time" so, here is some of our antics.

this is Renee. she works on the press next to mine. at 3 am one morning we were, well, bored. fresh outta bean, we found a mop head to amuse us. it was hilarious. that is what you get when you are dog-tired though.

initiation ritual

the girl in the following picture, is my partner. she is a VERY tiny girl. when she first came to our shift, we were all very wary of her. well, one day, just playing, the offend comment came out that we should saran wrap her to the pole. the other guys took my comment serious, and to this day, she doesn't know that i am the one behind it. i was just an innocent bystander, taking pictures. they are a bit fuzzy, since she is so feisty.

Billy, my boss

this is the guy who is in charge of me. yeah, he is my boss, and this is his "sexy" pose.

and we come to pat. he used to work for us. he was my favorite person at work, since the most off the wall stuff would come out of his mouth. Billy was yelling at us one day, and out of no where we all hear "shut your wh*re mouth" yeah, we had a lot of laughs with this guy around. His nickname when he first came to our crew was "grey shirt temp" since all he wore was the same grey shirt every day. (later we found out he has about 100 of em) he ended up going to my news years party with val, and well, we all had a blast.

and we come to the guys playing poker. at 3 am, when i have a pocket full of quarters, (as does everyone else) i will walk into the breakroom and there is a pickup texas hold em game happening. when i was addicted to RockStar, i went in with 50Cents, and walked out with 3 bucks. so i cashed it out, and bought pat and i a RockStar. mmmmmm.

Booda gets some new toys

2007-12-09T10:07:00.001-08:00

While out shopping, "uncle" Martin found the perfect toy for our pup. He said he wanted video of booda trying to take it out the doggy door. too bad the poor lil guy cant even drag the bone! watch as we give him his "gift"

These pictures capture his excitement perfectly, i suppose. He was very excited to have something new. the 2nd picture is my favorite. He is just staring off into la la land. (which he often does when the mood strikes me, and i have the urge to CREATE! he stares out the window and watches traffic go by.

We took a break from the excitement of getting a new bone to take a semi- family picture. The only thing missing is Joe. (i think he is in the other room playing gutair.)

NOW, On to the LIPS!

Booda received these enormous lips from my dear Aunt Mandy. "uncle" Martin had won them at some kiddie game at the circus circus midway. He gave them to her, and she, gave them to booda. (funny how everything turns out to be his in the long run).. He also was given a bright pink pillow with the word DIVA scrawled across the front. (as of this moment, he has NOT destroyed the pillow)

Well, i came home from work one morning, and every day I walk the house to make sure he hasnt gone potty anywhere. I get all the way to the spare bedroom, and i find THIS.. He has destroyed the lips. Now, only the bottom lip has any puckering power.

and he looks at me like he is going to get into trouble. i told him " im not going to spank you, its your toy. if you wanna tear em all up go right on ahead." the next day, he did.

Rant of the Week!

2007-12-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

I hate it when people come to work sick. if you can afford it, then stay home! DO NOT bring that to work. and if you DO decide to get dressed and bring your sick butt to work, STAY away from people. don't share their food, don't get into my "bubble" to talk to me, and WASH your hands. most of all, i hate it when somebody does take the decency to stay home, everyone else at work complains that they are missing work. if i had a nickel for every time i heard "we only work 14 days a month. blah blah blah, you need to come to work" well, id have a buttload of nickels. you don't get to pick and choose when you get sick, so that it comes on your day off. so if you need to take a couple day to recoup, then do it. and those of you who complain that the sick person stayed home, good, because if they come to work sick, they infect everyone else. and then MORE people are out sick. then its a epidemic. so my rant boils down to this. STAY HOME IF YOU ARE SICK, and quit complain about the ones who actually care about other peoples' health. and if the complainers get sick, well, i will laugh at you, so be prepared!

Ah, another day, another move!

2007-11-10T10:40:00.000-08:00

Okay! so we had to move again. some of you know the story. its a pretty long one. basically we found out that we couldnt have the dog. even though in the rental agreement it doesnt state that. So we called on a house for rent down the street from where we were. The lady was VERY nice. and the place was BEAUTIFUL! i fell in love with it when i walked in the front door.

this is the view when you come in the front door! the staircase right in front to the left takes you upstairs to the bedrooms and the loft. straight ahead is the living room, dining room and kitchen.

this is the view looking up that first set of stairs. the closet looking doors is actually a laundry room with OUR OWN WASHER and DRYER! YAAY! now we can do laundry at our own time, and if it has to stay in overnight, owell! at the top of the stairs, to the right is the master bedroom, and to the left is the spare bedroom.The spare bedroom is pretty big! it has enough room for my craft desk, and it will have enough room for a bed for company.

it also has its own bathroom. which i thought was really neat! now company has their own place to shower and stuff!

then if you get to the top of the landing and turn around, there is the loft.

here are a couple pics of the loft. we decided to use it as an office/lounge. we put the computer and all the movies up there. along with the ottoman, and his gutairs. now he has his own place to jam. (there is booda as well! he follows me everywhere!)

so going back down the stairs, this is a view again from where the front door is. it is just past that first set of stairs.

this is looking down into the living area, and the pic below is our coffee center. (it was the first thing i set up!)

here is a pic of the dining room table and nook area. we are eventually going to get bar stools for the counter. (that comes way later !) i still have my wine rack. but i did away with some of the extra stuff. we have boodas kennel in there for now, cuz we cant really leave him out if we leave. but he does good all day and at night.

this is a view coming in from the garage. its the kitchen area. VERY small, but its okay!
looking into the kitchen from the dining room

more kitchen. we have a gas stove and i really like it!

this is the living room. we have a gas fireplace. its SO cozy! and we have so many windows!
this is the view from downstairs. i am standing at the coffee area. that first landing you see with the tile takes you to the front door, or you can keep going up to get to the bedrooms.

here are a few pics of the back yard! this is the greatest thing about the place! we just leave the door open enough for booda to get in and out, and he goes in and out all day! (when he isnt running up and down the stairs)

and the View from the loft!

we still have a ton of work to do, things to set up. the master bedroom to clean since we just threw all the clothes on the floor in there. but its a nice project.and a great place for us! we now have plenty of room for company, and no one complaining about us. so far our neighbors are really nice! so i invite you to come by for a cup of coffee and to chat sometime!

oh yeah

2007-10-31T08:54:00.000-07:00

and

glitter-graphics.com

wow!

2007-10-31T08:48:00.000-07:00

Hello family and friends!
well, i have a great story to share with you all. the other day i had taken some journals to work just to get an idea on prices. well, the people i showed em to loved em and asked if i could make special ones for their family for Christmas. one guy wants two for his daughters, and the other guy wants three for his nieces! i was really excited! THEN i go to Michaels to see if they have more paper for me to do the journals, and they do AND ITS ON CLEARANCE! that made me more happy!

plus! i had taken in that paper bag album i was selling because i had to find a box for it. well another guy liked it so much he pre-ordered 3 of em!!!! yippee!!!

I went to the orthodontist yesterday and its a go for DECEMBER 19th! SURGERY! it kind of sucks its so close to Christmas but hey, merry Christmas to me! So i am kinda looking forward to that. Things are good here. We do have to move because of the dog. Its weird, they let you have a cat, but not a dog. and i think cats are worse. their pee smells, and they scratch, and you cant really train a cat. our pup is really good. he doesnt bark, doesn't chew. but we are looking at a few houses right in the area. having a house would be easier. we had taken the little guy over to nana's to play with her dogs, and he did his business outside. plus, he would have a place to run around.

So i will keep you posted on that development. right now i have to get the rest of my crafts done for this craft fair i have coming up next week! wish us luck (me and nana!)

just a monday....

2007-10-22T14:09:00.000-07:00

Today is just another one of those "get all the projects" done kinda days. I have many many projects out and i figured since i cant really go anywhere i might as well as get them done.. so far, i have finished my coat rack! (i brought home a piece of wood from work, and with alittle elbow grease i turned it into a coat rack) since we have no where to hang our jackets by the door.

i still have to get more hooks so i can have some that go all the way across the board. but i think its really neat.. simple, yet elegant. and it didnt hardly cost anything at all.. Also i found my hooks at the dollar tree, so we can go back and get more when we are ready.. I did this project ALL BY MYSELF! i wouldnt let joseph help me, i wanted him to be proud that i could do it. he did help me with the visual part. (even though my level said it was level, he said it didnt look level) so i moved it while he told me how it looked. So now we have a simple coat rack for all the stuff that has been thrown on the counters and on the floor!

also, we had to borrow a carpet shampooer from a friend of mine. We had a few stains from potty training the puppy, and general stains that WERE there when we moved in. Also just wear and tear (im terrible with my coffee cup, it always spills) so we got most of the carpets shampooed. it smells and looks WAY better than before.

Then, i decided to work on decorating a bit. I subscribe to this magazine called REAL SIMPLE. i really love it, it comes with ideas for just about EVERYTHING! (visit www.realsimple.com) and you can check it out. but they say to use nature to decorate. there is no reason to go out and BUY decorations, when you have some right in your front yard! (for us it was the park) so i went around and gathered sticks and acorns, and pinecones. plus with the leaves changing, we have a very pretty pallet of color right there! i came up with these ideas

i had this vase left over from a trip to IKEA. i filled it with acorns and pinecones and stuck in a picture holder.. then i printed off some pics that i took of joseph and i. I then topped it off with leaves and VOILA! a really nice centerpiece......

the next idea was to take a bunch of stickes, tie them together with some twine, and have a nice little center piece.. so i tried it..

I dont really like it though. Every time i walk by i feel like im in the Blair Witch. kinda spooky. but it was worth a try! (we also rearraged the furniture, we wanted the ottomin next to the big couch so we could both lay down. so we moved the coffee table to the side of the couch. i really like it!

next on the list, is to get some things done for the craft fair.. so i worked on this journal..

the back of it has silver gutairs. all toghther i think i have 6 journals to sell. those were quite interesting to do. Nana bought my very first, so she had the original idea. i expanded on that idea by using ink instead of paint for the black. i am REALLY hoping these journals sell great. The ladies i have been corrosponding with have really liked the idea. (yay!)

also i have been introduced to Paper Bag albums. I really like doing them. I started one with a RockStar theme. that one isnt going too good. so i put it away and hope to get a great idea later... I made another album which is a CELEBRATION book. it is listed on ebay here http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=300163351500&Category=11792&_trksid=p3907.m29

you can check it out. let me know what you think. Everyone that has seen it, has really loved it. i am really hoping they sell! next i wanted to work on an address book.

Here it is on my desk. (the little paper bags with the color) next to that is some stitching cards i worked on earlier today. i need to get them mounted and ready to sell!

so basically, i have been trying to get all these ideas and projects done. I know Joseph says he doesn't care, but i think he wants me to get some of the crap i bring home put to good use. he is very supportive of my ideas though, so i cant ask for much more! so that is it for now! break time is over, i have to get to creating more good stuff! ta ta for now!

Hello Hello!

2007-10-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

well hi there. Once again it has been awhile. sometimes life just gets away from you. but i am back for another posting. I have added some new links in the sidebar. to the right of this posting --->
the first is google news. thats always been there. but if you want some news, there you can find out what is going on in the world.
then next link is Nana's Place. Nana has created a forum where good people get together to share jokes, poems, crafts and just be there for one another.
The link after that is my NEW store. after alot of feedback, i have decided to just go with another blog like this one, and post whats for sale. if anyone wishes to buy something, they send me an email with the item number, and i send them a paypal invoice. easy as pie, and no fees to pay. and i like how the colors stand out more!
Under that is craigslist. if you havent visited that site, DO IT! its really neat. you can find just about anything on there. you can also sell just about anything on there. i have done alot of business, and gotten great ideas from people there.
The next two are new one. I added them today. the first is a blog called POST SECRETS. people send this guy postcards with their innermost secrets on there. (anonymously) on his blog he picks a few and puts them up. at first i was kind of skeptical, but i really enjoy going to that page. it makes you stop and think about things.

and the last link is one that is REALLY cool. its called the buried life. these guys are on a mission to complete their 100 things to do before they die list. and they have accomplished so much! they also encourage people to create their own list (i am working on mine) and they help people acheive their goals. Its neat because it shows that you can do ANYTHING if you work at it hard enough. so thats it for now. i will leave you with these pics. One is of Booda with his slipper. (too bad it only lasted about a week. if anyone comes across a doggie stuffed slipper, will you let me know?)

and this next pic is one i found of Bob. It is semi recent.

2007-09-04T17:21:00.000-07:00

Here is Joe sliding down the falls!

We got a PUPPY!

2007-09-04T13:18:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago, Joe calls me from work. Says he has a HUGE surprise for me! Turns out one of the guys he works with had just gotten a new puppy, and had too much going on in his life. so when him and joe were working, he asked him if we wanted a puppy.. And of course, we had been looking but everyone wants all kind of fees for small puppies. All this guy asked was that we gave him a good home. Of course we agreed! So here he is! our new lil guy!

He is a purebread chocolate cocker spaniel, 12 weeks old. he has blueish green eyes.. Its funny cuz they are "sad" eyes. we never know if hes happy unless we look at his tail (or rather nub, they dont have tails) and if its waggin, then yep hes happy! We named him booda.. he is really cute, and VERY smart! As of today, we are playing fetch! he has a little soccer ball and ive been throwing it and he goes and gets it, and brings it back. (until he gets tired, then he takes it and puts it under the couch) we are working on potty training. Ive been reading alot online about these dogs, and they are great apartment dogs.. they are very very smart. Originally bred to be bird dogs.. their tails are cut off when they are no older than two days old, (back when they were bird dogs, they cut the tail so it didn't get tangled in the underbrush.) so far, he is a VERY good dog! and so adorable!

Last part of vacation... Oregon

2007-09-04T12:43:00.001-07:00

After the big party, and the weekend in California, we went to work for 5 days, and both had a week off.. so after all the go go go pace that we had been doing for 2 weeks (it was fun, but exhausting!) we decided when we got to Oregon we were NOT going to worry about anything but relaxing! and we did.

The view up in Oregon! Its so green and pretty! but to get that way it has to rain all the time!

Booda and LuLu hit it off (shes my parents' puppy.) they played so much!

and here is the boys. tuckered out from a days worth of activity!

We took a trip across the street to the river.. we introduced Booda to the water. He did NOT like it! i tricked him one time by wading out into the water and calling him.. he ran right in, but freaked out when he realized he was in the water. He doesn't like to get wet!

the whole time we were there, joe kept saying "i cant believe you got to grow up here" he took this pic of our "swimmin hole"

here is booda after his run in the river.. he was quite mad at us for tricking him...

We went up to the falls one of the days we were up there.. Those of the family that have been there have had SO MUCH FUN there! its a natural waterfall that you can slide down or jump off. it was just perfect for swimming, since it was late august and the level of the water went down... Just as everyone else, Joe LOVED it!

Here is Joe, my mom, and my sister making the trek up the mountain. its VERY slippery so you have to be careful!

Yaay they made it! they are at the top!

My mom is sliding down the falls in this picture.. shes in the blue...

and here is everyone standing up there. usually it takes awhile to get the nerve to take the initial plunge into it... we debate, and check stuff out, and then someone decided to jump in! after the first time, then it takes nothing to keep going!

Santa Cruz

2007-09-04T12:34:00.001-07:00

Sunday before we headed out to go home, we headed down to Santa Cruz. It was such a beautiful day!

Don, Pauli, and Joe rode this. if you look at the left side, the first set of people that you can see the fronts of, thats them!

So nice! Blue sky, palm trees, oh and CRAPPY Traffic!

I wouldn't mind living here! it was so laid back.. Its what people think of when they hear Sunny California
Here is Joe tryin to win me something!

Pauli and Joe before getting on the ride..

Alcatraz

2007-09-04T11:23:00.001-07:00

We did Alcatraz at night. it was neat but spooky. The night tour gives you a bit more information. The boat also went all the way around the island, so you can see the back side from in the water..

It was FREEZING and windy! people were running in and outside of the boat to get pics and get out of the wind. NOT US THOUGH! we stayed put, Braved the wind, and got the "full effect" here is pics of Joe and Pauli..

The ROCK

The three of us on the "inside"

The Exercise yardAll of us had our hoods up and we were all bundled up. it was so windy, damp and cold!

one of the many pathways and staircases. it was Forbidden for us to go up the stairs..

The water tower

The cell blocks
There are 3 guys that have made an escape attempt and still to the day have not been found.. Their story has been on unsolved mysteries, and they made the movie "escape from Alcatraz" with Clint Eastwood about these guys. Here is one of the dummy heads that they made to fool the guards into thinking that they were asleep in bed. It bought them some time to get a head start on their escape. they had an 8 hour head start...

The tour had a new section open. "the hospital" it was very creepy! gave everyone in our party the creeps... we didn't get any pics of the operating room, but i think my mom did. I will update later with those pictures.. This is the hospital beds section..

And a pic as we were leaving.

Weekend in San Fransisco!

2007-09-04T10:58:00.002-07:00

We spent the weekend in San Fransisco with my Parents, Aunt Mandy and Uncle Martin, Steven, and Pauli... Gpa Bob and Gma Dorothy met up with us for some of the fun as well.. We did the pier 39, a San Fransisco city tour (in a short tour bus), then Alcatraz, then went to dinner at the wharf... it was fun! chilly though! good thing i keep an extra jacket in the car... here are some of the good pics we took!

Me in the gardens. really pretty colors!

We were trying to get a nice serious pic of joe and i.. and here comes steven in the background!

These houses are called "the four sisters" cuz they look exactly the same. behind it is the city..

Mom and I under the windmill.. The dutch gave this windmill to the city of San Fransisco to use wind to generate electricity way back when the city was first being built.. all it does now is sit there and look pretty!

Steven and my mom....

Another pic of me with the windmill behind me..

My mom in the gardens

Steven and Uncle Martin doing their "Trolly Pose". we didn't have enough time to actually ride the trolly :( but next time we will schedule some time for that. The whole time we were taking pictures i kept thinking "rice-a-roni- the San Fransisco treat! DING DING!

this is Lombard street. it is in the book of world records as being the most crooked street in America. Sadly we couldn't drive down it, Buses and trucks are not allowed. we couldn't stop either so i snapped this pic just as we were speeding by!

Uncle Martin, Pauli, and Mom in the "tour bus/van"

The golden gate bridge is an awesome structure to take pictures of.. the last set we took were at night. This day we were able to snap some good ones in the daytime. It was SO PACKED there! WAY to many people. when Joe and i went in February, it was midnight and deserted!

another golden gate pic....
and the last golden gate picture...

We wanted to have lunch at Bubba Gump on the pier. But unfortunately the wait was an hour. since they didn't feed us on the bus, and we all skipped breakfast, we couldn't wait! so we went to this pizza joint. it was good!

Virginia City!

2007-09-04T08:49:00.001-07:00

The day after the party we took a trip to Virginia city. this time we decided to not tour the shops and go learn some history.. we went to a museum, the train ride, the mine tour... and then, hit up a couple saloons!

This picture ROCKS! i absolutely LOVE it! i printed it and hung it in my work locker to remind me just how much fun that trip was! its all of us in the first saloon stop of the day! in the pic from front to back is Eveline, Aunt Mandy, Aunt Becky, My dad, Uncle Martin and my mom, joe, steven and all the way in the back, Tracy and Fred! Good times!!

Us on the train. my mom is good at getting into the pic at the LAST minute! hehe

here we are on the train. in the pink shirt is Aunt Mandy. the only one who looked when i said "HEY GUYS" was Tracy. That's her in the black shirt. We had a great time with her and her husband Fred.

As we were coming back from the train ride this guy was welcoming us back with his pup... A man and his dog. i think the dogs name is duke..

Eveline under the oldest saloon sign...
This is a pic of the staircase that goes up to the gentleman's club. I heard from someone at work that they are going to open the upstairs part of the gentleman's club up. the pictures that we took turned out quite odd... in some, there is a blurry part. (the bright light in the corner is just from my flash, no ghosts there) but up in the right corner its quite weird.. and my mom took some pics with her camera and one, i swear you can see something!!

haha. my mom and Aunt becky.. funny pic.
We tried to take a good pic of Aunt mandy and me. but the guys in the back were up to mischief!

So we tried another with Eveline, in the background, the boys are busy talking

Steven and Uncle Martin. "claiming" their innocence. "no we didn't do bunny ears! are you crazy?"

Party Night!

2007-09-04T08:05:00.000-07:00

This brings us to the party! It was SO. MUCH. FUN. !! everything came together beautifully! and everyone who came had a blast! here are some of the "Best" pics from my camera!

My mom danced the night away! she danced with everyone! here she is getting her groove on! i think this picture is great! it captures her inner boogie fever!

Toward the end of the night things started getting crazy! Here is Steven, Aunt Mandy and Uncle Martins friend from Holland. this guy is HUGE! very tall! but just as fun as the rest of us! This is his samurai pose. Except he has a beer instead of a sword!

Ah yes. I am "pimpin" Stevens cd. its a great cd.. songs keep getting stuck in my head... he asked me if i would "make them available to obtain" during the party. so i tried like hard.. he got a few out though!

Yes, thing were kinda crazy after a night of endless drink and fun! (it was an open bar, and i think i drank like 3 bottles of beringer wine) this is my dads "mack daddy pose"

My Nana and grandpa... All of us were VERY surprised to see the moves they were pulling!

This picture is just really cool.. he took it up over my shoulder... I was in charge of "DJ-ing" while the band took breaks... Uncle Martin had composed a few cds with some GREAT tunes on them!
All i can say here is HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! that would be my mom!

Me with my Stunna shades on! They are the Blues Brothers glasses. we had to wear shades cuz her cake was so bright!

My mom is still getting her groove on!

some of the dancing people!

Joe and My mom. Posing.

I started just snapping away with my camera (sometimes you can get some good stuff) well i ended up getting this picture of my Aunt Brandi and Uncle Dave talking... and i got it just right so that he looks, "funny" this one makes me laugh so hard!

Cousin Katie with her little friend (i didn't get her name) they were quite energetic. they also sat at the table with the band. (groupies already!)

Joe took my camera for a bit. he took this picture of me. i don't know why, but i just LOVE it...

Everyone dancing. in the black dress is Aunt Mandy.. next to her is Aunt Becky, and my mom with her beer.. taking a break from grooving.. next to her is my dad. probably resting from dancing with my mom
Joe and Myself.

A good friend Barb and Myself (Nana and I had met her online and she turned out to be a great person in person! not one of those serial killers)

one of the many group shots that were taken. (sadly the only one we captured on my camera) from left to right, Myself, My Mom, Michelle (a good friend of the family) her husband Steve, Gpa Jim, Gpa Bob, and Gma Dorothy

Cheers to you! Joe and My mom...

And Here is Joe DJ-ing for me while i take a picture break!

Shorma Nite

2007-08-24T23:05:00.001-07:00

Friday night before the party we had a "get together". Uncle Martin Made shorma. it is an awesome meal that is popular with the family.. it is an Egyptian meal (i think)

Here is a pic of the "dinner". Ever since uncle marting has been making these European dishes, he makes a "sample" so that you know how you are supposed to fix your plate... this is the shorma.. mmmm. makes my mouth water just lookin at it...

Here is a pic of us chowin down. they set up tables in the garage and we all just sat around and ate! All you could hear for awhile is the sound of people munchin... Good food, Good company, what more can you ask for!

Myself and Joseph. Yes, this was his first year participating in the "get togthers" It was a great time, and he fit in just fine!

This picture is really funny. we were all snapping pics left and right (some of us haven't seen some others of us in quite awhile!) myself and Aunt Becky were posing with Uncle Paul. so my mom decided to "crash" the pic.. look at her ponytail. its still swingin! HA

This is just a fun pic we were goofing off.. it turned out pretty dang cool! see what happens when you just snap away! in the front its cousin Katie, then Kyia her older sister, Then Emily, one of our 2nd cousins, then Cousin Pauli, and theres me at the end! we did it in order of height, so i really should have been behind kyia. good times!

hello hello!

2007-08-24T08:50:00.000-07:00

hello friends and family! well, lets see, its been a couple months since i last updated. alot has happened. We had aunt Mandy's 40th birthday bash! it was SO much fun! we had good times! they brought a new friend down with them.. His name is Steven. Cool guy. GREAT musician! you can check him out here

http://www.myspace.com/stevenverbeek

we had a blast visiting with them! they came to Reno, had good times here, we went downtown, went to Virginia city, had a big shorma dinner, oh and the party of course! So after that, they went to California to show Steven more of America (it was his first time here in the states) and We drove over on Friday to meet them.. We did a S.F city tour, and then walked the wharf (pier 39) and then did a nighttime Alcatraz tour. (they have a new exhibit, the hospital, is open on the 2nd floor. VERY creepy!) so here are some of our great pics from the trip!

this is right after we all went to the nugget downtown and had some Oyster Shooters.. its almost a ritual when my mom and dad come and visit.. We all went down and had some! yummy!

Here is a pic of me and mom.. You can see parts of Don in the Background...
we had so much fun!

Okay, we took another and let him in the shot as well! i was so glad they came to visit!

This is a shot.. Aunt Mandy, Mom, Evelyne (i think i spelled her name wrong, I'm Sorry!!) she is my aunt Mandy's best friend from Holland, and she moved to Canada, and at the end is Joe...

Here is Evelyne trying to get the chicken into the pot to win a prize.. she got jipped tho, her rope wasn't very long, so she couldn't hit the catapult very hard... (hmmm..... )

My Ma tried it too... they both almost got chickens in the pot.. No Prize here thought!

Here is a pic of us doing the water gun into the clowns mouth. it was the one that blows up the balloon, first one to pop it wins... i LOVE this game! in this pic its Aunt Mandy in the front, then Nana, Then my mom. FUN TIMES!

Here is Evelyne at the mine inside the dome at the silver legacy. or for you local folks, its the patio of RUM BULLIONS. (a very awesome rum bar!)

ah, My ma and aunt Becky with Captain Morgan. Looks like my mom has a little captain in her!

So that's it for this set of pics.... got many many more to come! The next set i will post in another blog!

New Kitchen!

2007-07-27T10:35:00.001-07:00

Hi! well, i have finished the kitchen! I went from THIS......

To THIS! i think it turned out very very well! we have some work to do to the table.. Have to stain it and re-do the fabric.... but here is the finished product! (almost) ... What do ya think?

Artown Opening Night!

2007-07-02T11:43:00.000-07:00

Last night (july 1st) was the "kick off night" for artown. For those of you not living in reno, its a month long celebration for the arts. dance, music, visual, just about any kind of art you can imagine! We started the day off walking around reno. just hanging out, going to the free midway shows at circus circus. around 5:30 we headed back to the park to get the blanket. we got ourselves a nice shady area in the grass and just hung out. Here are some of our pictures from the day!

This is "strange fruit" they are an australian group. This is the first stop on their US tour. The were on these poles, WAAAY up in the air, and below all different kinds of music played. Everything from classical, to opera. And they swayed and danced and just "played" up there on the poles. It was very interesting to say the least! if you want to check them out here is their website --> http://www.strangefruit.net.au/

This was the marching band that kicked off the whole thing. They started somewhere on Virginia street, and marched all the way to the park. They are sort of a PUNK band, which I liked cuz they were different. The music was different too! Sorta swing, sorta marching band, with some good beats! They were quite spectacular! and here is their website if you are interested! http://www.marchfourthmarchingband.com/

Here is some pictures of us that I took. Just playing around with the camera some more!

Me at the bridge just before we got into the park

There was a mural being painted on some buildings on virginia street. The guy did a fantastic job!

A lil trip over the mountain

2007-07-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

So last weekend we decided to head over the mountain to Virginia City. Just to check it out a bit and have a picnic. We did the usual tourist thing. checked out all the little shops and places. next time we go, i hope to have more info about the city on hand, and maybe go on that dang train ride! Here are a few pics. Didnt really take many cuz we forgot about the camera!

update!

2007-07-02T10:58:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I am so sorry it has been such a long time! I have been quite busy settling in to the new place. Working on my arts and crafts. Would love to try to sell them at one of the "markets" we have around here! lets see, in the last couple weeks I have worked, but also we have done some neat things! First off, my parents came to visit. They got to check out the new place! they like it! and its funny, they knew right where it was! here are some pics from their visit down here..

Here is us all at dinner! we went over to applebees! it was so tasty!

Then, later that night we went to the midnight madness bowling... we had a pretty good time! I suck at bowling, but hey, its all fun!

After bowling, we went downtown and played the tourists. (well, half our group was!) We went into the nugget and got margaritas and some of those oyster shooters. they werent too bad! Then we went to a liquor/souvenir shop. They had the tequila with the worm in it.So we got some to try. (hey try everything once!) I made a margarita with my tequila. here is me pouring my margarita. Look at me, so excited to have it!

But, it wasnt quite what I was going for. i think the look on my face says it all! YUCK!!!!!

its really hard to see, but we have the worms in our mouths! Oh yeah, we ATE them! it was NASTY!!!!

while we were playing with our worms and tequilas mom just drank cosmos. It was a safe bet!

All in all, we had a GREAT time! so much fun!!

I went skating today!

2007-05-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

So today we decided that i would try to learn how to skate. most of anyone who knows me knows im a klutz. so i did pretty well. only fell once! and DIDNT break anything! here are some pics!