Happy Thanksgiving

Snow people sitting on my deck

We had some snow fall over the weekend and now it is starting to melt again...doesn't it look like people are sitting in the chairs? Nothing has been done to make it do this-just nature at work!

a perfect post it

I bought this Post-It pad at Francesca's (http://www.francescascollections.com/index.jsp) and thought it was perfect for those "I wanna do over" days!

My senior

We've narrowed it down to 2...vote for your favorite!

Silent Sunday

Happy Halloween!

SEC

Saturday Eye Candy is usually about objectifying a particular man I find cute/sexy/hot, but today, in honor of Fall and having to mostly give up wearing open toe anything, it's shoes and boots! As Carrie (http://www.sexandthecity.com/) would say, "Hello Lover!" Enjoy.

heel-less Nina Ricci...OK, how does one walk on that??

OK, I'll take them all!

I am all about these!

see full stories and more shoes at:

www.glamourvanity.com/.../

http://www.thefashionablehousewife.com/tag/thigh-high-boots/

www.bombchell.com/2009/09/nina-ricci-badass-e...

Ant and the Grasshopper and how times change

OLD VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.


MODERN VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving. CBS, NBC , PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.' Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant 's house where the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.' Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake. Nancy Pelosi & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share. Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Ant Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government. The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ants food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it.The ant has disappeared in the snow. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

Happy Anniversary to us!

19 years ago today my hubby and I tied the knot...it's been a great ride!

Love hate relationship with the garage sale

Rummage sale, tag sale, yard sale, lawn sale, whatever it's called in your part of the world, I love and hate them simultaneously.

Not going to them and finding bargains-that's fun!! It brings out the serious hunter gatherer along with that giddy feeling when you score something extra special.

It's the hosting of one that brings out my ambiguity. At first you are optimistic: yeah, this will sell, more room, get rid of junk, I'll donate the few things left over, my friends will help, I'll make a little money, woo hoo! etc, etc,. Then reality sets in...

It's a lot of work physically-going through everything, dragging out tables, pricing, staging, putting an ad in the paper, signs up etc. It can be hard on the psyche too-as you set out and price items, you are reminded of "seemed like a good idea at the time" purchases, "I can wear this when I lose 5lbs" clothing or lame gifts from relatives. Your friends have stuff for the sale but all they do is dump off a box for YOU to hang/price/stage and no they can't come and help you sell, but will swing by to get their money later. There is also the let down period after the sale is over when it dawns on you that you've spent all this time putting the sale together, there is still too much crap left and you only made 5 cents on the dollar....really??

After every sale I say, "Never again!" because to quote Rain Man, "...About a hundred dollars" is all I ever make and I decide it's not worth the effort. I'm usually pretty true to that-only about a year later do I start thinking about it again because there is too much stuff clogging up my world: clothes that no longer fit, toys , kids stuff, broke down furniture or other items that have been replaced-stuff "too good" to donate just yet, but not good enough to sell on eBay or Craig's List. So, it all gets hauled out to the garage and/or driveway again....

hmmm, it seems this poster needs to reread this post, rinse, lather, repeat! OR maybe just stop putting so much thought into the anatomy of a garage sale-Over thinkers Anonymous here I come!

let's start with a new look

In my continuing quest to retrieve my creative mojo from where ever its been hiding, I decided to overhaul my blog for starters. I found a site called the cutest blog of the month (and I'm certain I'm the LAST one to board that train!) and found a background I liked. I'm still in the tweak stage, but am liking my new look so far.

If you haven't seen this site yet, click on the logo on the upper left corner of my blog to go there.

Happy Wednesday!

The first inspiration!

http://flight-fancy.blogspot.com/

Flight Fancy was kind enough to share thoughts on how to ditch "creator's block" and has a beautiful blog and Etsy store. Show some love by stopping by!

Add your comments to be linked, too!

I've lost it

not my keys nor my mind (well , that's debatable)...even worse...my creativity!

The part that worries me the most is it isn't like the usual "artistic dry spells" I've been through before. I have been uninspired and unmotivated consistently for over a year and it makes me sad because it used to bring me great joy. It also makes me mad because I have all this STUFF I bought sitting around taking up space and not being put to use! *sigh*

A friend told me it was the time of year and she was going through the same thing. I noticed as I was reading through blogs that other artists have gone through this as well.

I'm tired of wondering why I'm going through this-I just want to get back into it!

I'd love to know how you handled a dry spell, what you use for motivation, and how you stay inspired and positive. Please leave your comments and a link to your blog or website so I can see your work. I promise I'm not a copy cat or stealer of your ideas/designs. I do my own thing-just need to find my way back to it. What better way than surrounding myself with lots of creative juujuu??

As I'm getting my groove back I'll be featuring blogs and sites that helped me on my journey-maybe it will be you! Feel free to follow along to see how this turns out.

50th wedding anniversary

Today my parents celebrate 50 years together-Congratulations!

Wordless Wednesday

it's waaaay too early for school!

My freshman and senior feigning excitement for the first day of school. Truth be told, they were both excited-one is almost done and the other can't wait to be out of middle school!

Happy vegetables

We have gotten an unusual amount of rain this year and the plants, flowers and veggies couldn't be happier! Between the leaves of my rhubarb (as large as elephant ears) and the crookneck squash, broccoli plants and cabbage taking over the universe, I finally beat back everything enough to harvest some goodies.

This year, I grew red cabbage, broccoli, sweet corn, tomatoes, crookneck squash and jalapenos. I am most proud of my sweet corn (have never had good luck until this year). I am now wishing I would have planted more! Here is a photo of the recent harvest:

Back from Wisconsin

Just got back from a road trip to Wisconsin (from Colorado) for a family reunion-fun was had, music was played, a canoe trip taken, family members gathered and ate good Norwegian food.

On the way back, a stop at
SPAM Museum in Minnesota (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2126) ya gotta go!
Wall Drug in South Dakota (http://www.walldrug.com/) tourist trap extraordinaire!
and inadvertently made my way through Sturgis during Rally Week! (http://www.sturgismotorcyclerally.com/) a little tip for ya-not one single place to stay within hundreds of miles of Sturgis during bike week...yeah, didn't do my research before hand, so no sleep for me until back home in Colorado-oh well, I enjoyed all the motorcycles!

Here are some of my photos of the events:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2031373&id=1392885889&l=60e771ec37

It's been too nice to blog (and other lame excuses for not posting)

Summer is in full swing, I've been spending time at the pool, filling in for vacationing co-workers, and putting together a 30 minute video retrospective of our family (all the way back to Norway). All the descendants from my grandfather's family are meeting in Westby, Wisconsin for a family reunion on August 1st. Find out about Westby: http://www.wistravel.com/cities_in_wisconsin/westby_wisconsin/

I leave for Wisconsin on Monday and I believe the video will actually be ready! It's been a BIG project-all done remotely since, like any family, we are spread all over the country. Emails, phone calls, photo CD's all gathered at my house for a pretty great look at our family from the Late 1800's to the present. I can't wait for everyone to see it!

There's a Fungus Amongus!

My first reaction when I came upon this growing in my garden was, "OMG, what the hell IS that?! It looks a bit obscene, other worldly and is slimy and spongy to the touch (yep, I did touch it)

Upon further research at http://www.mushroomexpert.com/, I found out it is a "stinkhorn" mushroom (Phallus impudicus). It's Latin name certainly seems appropriate!

Saturday Eye Candy is back!

Being on the radio playing country music is what motivated this week's SEC. I just got done playing George Strait's Troubadour and the video for that song proves that George keeps getting better with age! (see video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aca3s7l_Db0

Yeehaw!

45 "Rules"

I originally received this as a "pass it on" email with the proper guilt attached to it to try and get you to propagate it to others. Maybe you have seen this in your inbox as well.

First of all, I despise this type of email because:

1. It is usually full of lies, half truths, scare tactics and bad luck/karma if you don't forward immediately. (hmmm, haven't died yet)
2. Some people apparently believe everything they read and just forward without researching. (yes I was guilty of it early on too until I discovered Google www.google.com)
3. Said people then get offended if I point out the myths. I'm not a jerk about it, I just refer them to www.snopes.com (OK, so now I'm the a-hole for pointing out the truth??)

With that said, every once in a while though, a good one comes along with some useful information. I still always fact check, so I deleted the half truths and the "bad karma if you don't pass this along " at the end. It is written By Regina Brett but she isn't 90!! Here is the original 45 and if you want to see the updated version of 50, go to www.reginabrett.com

Take what you want and leave the rest:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone...
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.Don't save it for a special occasion, today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years,will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

The SEC

Crappy weather this week prompted watching a bunch of movies on Encore, so I happen to catch a few Kevin Costner flicks along the way (Field of Dreams, Bull Durham) and Mr. Brooks from Netflix (www.netflix.com). Although Mr. Brooks freaked me out, Kevin Costner plays a very good psycho!

I've always been a fan of his movies (yes, even Waterworld wasn't so bad) and his music www.myspace.com/kevincostnerandmodernwest, so that is why he is this week's Saturday Eye Candy-enjoy!

it rained ice cubes

the gathering storm, hail coming down and ice cubes at my feet

The SEC

yippee! It's Saturday and once again time for Saturday Eye Candy.
Today's feature: Johnny Depp

The evolution of a mohawk

It started out as punishment for not keeping his grades up...although incredibly smart, Kyle is not the studious type, nor is he organized or think that life's time frames apply to him. Thus getting good grades from actually turning in schoolwork is not a priority! I get this-he is me then, so there ya go.

So, he did manage to pass 8th grade as required to keep his mane. However, a D meant a number 2 buzz cut. He thought warming up to the idea of short hair after having it long for 3 years would ease the 'punishment' aspect, but he was still very nervous. Dad suggested a Mohawk for a bit more fun and he agreed but was still worried.
Here is the event in pictures:

Good thing he has a nice shaped head! Did he take his punishment like a man? you bet! Will it turn him into a straight A student with piles of discipline and organization skills?? Probably not. But he will get there-just like me, so there ya go.

Save the TaTas Poker Run-Breast Cancer Benefit

We are the local Hooters on Scooters scooter club and we joined in with real bikers to help out Breast Friends Cancer Support Group (http://bfcancersupportgroup.org/index.htm) on Sunday, May 31st. We had a blast and raised much need funds. Here are the highlights:

Deuces Wild MC and Bam Bam adopted Hooters on Scooters-l to r: me, Bam Bam, Julie and Tracy
Tracy looking bad ass on her Metropolitan

Julie is all smiles!

Some of the real bikers

the Survivors

and me in my new helmet

The SEC

Waaay more sexy than the Securities and Exchange Commission, it's Saturday Eye Candy!

Today's feature: Hugh Jackman

ENJOY!

My awesome drummer son!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nxKXMcoy8I

The unpredictability of life

First of all, is that even a word? yes, according to http://www.dictionary.com/ it is:

un⋅pre⋅dict⋅a⋅ble 
 /ˌʌnprɪˈdɪktəbəl/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [uhn-pri-dik-tuh-buhl]
–adjective
1.
not predictable; not to be foreseen or foretold: an unpredictable occurrence.
–noun
2.
something that is unpredictable: the unpredictables of life.
Origin: 1855–60; un- 1 + predictableRelated forms:
un⋅pre⋅dict⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, un⋅pre⋅dict⋅a⋅ble⋅ness, noun
un⋅pre⋅dict⋅a⋅bly, adverb
Synonyms:1. erratic, fitful, variable, uncertain.

Not only is it a proper word, all the definitions fits my life!

On April 29th my life was changed by the death of a co-worker. My job is such that I fill in for vacationing or ill co-workers as needed. This is the first time I've had to fill in for someone who died. Not easy shoes to fill since he was a beloved local news and sports anchor. I don't do sports and barely did news until a month ago when I stepped in to fill the hole created by Rich's sudden passing. Since then I've had to learn how to get up at 3 am and be coherent enough at 4 am to write and report news stories on the radio every 30 minutes for 5 hours, 5 days a week. At first I couldn't sleep because I was scared to death I would sleep through my alarm! then I was nervous about getting the stories written on time for the first newscast (15 minutes, all me). After about a week, I started to relax and build my confidence-I learned my alarm wouldn't fail me and that I always get the stories done on time. It is still weird to be filling in for someone who is no longer with us and I'm not crazy about doing the news, but a job is a job right now. I can now add news anchor to my radio resume.

On May 13th, my life changed again with the crash of my hard drive (see previous post). For the first time in 5 years I was unable to complete the Senior Sweet Memories video which was finished but lost along with everything else. I had to start over from scratch and lost $500 in the process (unable to complete the project on time) Still smarting from how stupid I feel about not protecting my livelihood better-an expensive lesson that I will only need to learn once!

The one constant seems to be Summer-we are members of the same pool, the boys always join swim team and a bunch of us hang out together enjoying "sun and surf" I can count on riding my scooter around and making a bit of money filling for vacationing DJ's...looking forward to the predictability of that-BRING ON SUMMER!

Oh the heartbreak of a hard drive crash

My hard drive is now a paperweight after a massive mechanical failure late Wednesday night. On top of losing precious family photos, gobs of business and personal records, I had the unfortunate task of telling clients that their projects and photos were gone! I felt absolutely horrible that a video project due Friday wasn't going to happen.

I won't bore you with the details, just know that I lost everything! Those that have been through it, know the heartbreak, frustration and disappointment. Those who were smart enough to protect themselves from this ahead of time-I bow to thee-way to be prepared. But please don't "tsk, tsk" me ...shoulda, coulda, wouldas are meaningless. For those of you who haven't backed up your computer yet, see this as a cautionary tale - don't wait until tomorrow, hope it doesn't happen, or any other excuse you can think of. Do it now.

new hard drive: $139
additional external hard drive: $109
pile of flash drives: free from Comcast
Carbonite storage service (www.carbonite.com): $54.95
peace of mind: priceless

Paying homage to mom

Jim and Pat in Florida-2009
Happy Mother's Day mom!

What a week...

It started off like any other week but quickly went down hill on Tuesday when we were all called in to a meeting to find that out that there were two less employees due to budget cuts...dang it-again! and two of my favorite people no less. Even though the rest of us were told "this is the last cut" none of us felt any better or more secure.

I was woken up Wednesday morning at 4:30 AM to a phone call saying "the news guy didn't show up can you fill in?" oh dear, this man is a professional -I hope he didn't come down with the "blue flu" in protest. My other thought was 'something is terribly wrong' and that nagged me all morning until the worst was confirmed: his wife called and told us he had suffered a stroke and was in the hospital. We didn't find out until later that night how bad it was and then right before the Thursday morning news, we found out that he had passed away...no, no, no! I went from filling in for someone who was "just in the hospital" to now I'm filling in for a beloved local news and sportscaster who has died! A friend, colleague, really great guy and now someone I have to deliver a sad news story about like I don't know him...ugh! Needless to say, a rough morning on Thursday and surreal still.

A few links to find out about the man:

http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090501/NEWS01/905010345&template=printart

http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2009/04/rich_bircumshaw_voice_of_csu_r.php

An audio tribute put together by Chris and Kramer:

http://www.kissfmcolorado.com/pages/remembering_the_king.html

We will miss you Rich!

Neato! I'm a featured artist.

http://freecraftfair.com/2009/04/sue-from-allofasutton/

Show Dawn some love by visiting her site!

I'm not a "real" news anchor....

I just sometimes play one on the radio. Like this last week for example, I was the afternoon anchor on our AM station (www.600kcol.com) while our regular PM guy was traveling with the Colorado Eagles hockey team in a play-off run. (www.coloradoeagles.com)

Doing the news means I actually have to pay attention to what is going on locally, in the US and the around the world. Unfortunately there is a lot of bad news everywhere and it wears you down! Most of the time I try and avoid news, newspapers news programs if I can-too depressing/upsetting/maddening!!

Just in our local area last week: a guilty verdict came in on a transgender murder case (first hate crime conviction), animal cruelty-a local resident finds newborn puppies in the trash, murders, extortion, job losses, threats of tax hikes, etc...I'm glad I only do fill in on the news-I might not be able to keep my sunny disposition if I had to deal with this every day!

and then...at the same time as I think the world has gone mad and humanity is all but lost, I see random acts of kindness and friendliness, get word that a local fundraiser DOUBLED it money raised this year for the first time ever and look into the hopeful faces of my children-who have no idea how creepy life can be. *sigh* all is not lost!

After Prom photos

I do alot of volunteering in my sons' schools and decided a long time ago that if I was doing it for free, I was always going to do something fun. This year, I am in charge of decorating for After Prom at my son's high school. (I know, I'm a weirdo for thinking that would be FUN!) It was last weekend and thankfully a success-whew!

I was nervous because this was the first year I was in charge, we are required to block off hallways and cover the bleachers with tons of visquine tarp and the monsoon rains (which rarely happens here on the high plains of Colorado) changed the humidity enough so nothing would stick right-not even duct tape!! Long story short-nearly everything we taped Friday night had to be redone on Saturday before the event! ahhhh! The Decorating Gods showed mercy, the rains had stopped by then and everything decided to stick properly the 2nd time

Although I had my camera with me, I didn't take one single picture! Thankfully another mom took some with her camera phone and sent them to me-so here is how it looked right before the event:

the balloon arch was beautiful the night before-standing tall all on its own... but helium likes to escape, so we had to secure it to the ceiling.This is the senior prize table and behind it the tarp covered bleachers with all the senior mask souvenirs (we had a Mardi Gras theme)