April 30, 2011

Fun




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April 27, 2011

Fun



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April 25, 2011

I really love this poster




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April 23, 2011

Fun



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April 21, 2011

Fun



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April 19, 2011

Fun


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April 15, 2011

and we're gone



Our bags are packed and we're leaving today.  I won't be blogging for the next two weeks, with the exception of some scheduled post.  I'm holding my breath; hoping that works out!

Bob's always wanted to take a cruise thru the Panama Canal, and that's what were doing.  The past few months he's undergone pain management treatments for his back and it's worked wonders.  He's not pain-free but close.  He no longer is walking with a cane, and he's no longer grouchy and depressed.  He's even riding his bike!  That's what lack of pain can do for you!

Today we're staying at a hotel close to LAX, because our flight to Miami leaves at 6 AM, on Saturday.  When we get to Miami, we're staying at another hotel near the airport, because the ship doesn't leave until Sunday.  We've never visited Miami, but won't have much time to "see the sights".


We're sailing on the NCL Pearl.  Our ports of call are Cartagena, Colombia, then we have a daylight transit of the Panama Canal; then, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, Huatulco, Acapulco and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  On the 14th day, we return to California to the Port of Los Angeles.  We have a total of six complete days at sea!  We'll have a lot of time on board because of all the "at sea" days, and because some of the ports of call aren't especially safe or the offered tours were appealing.  We very independent, and may strike out on our own, like we did in Bermuda, or just stay close to "home", and relax.  This should be pretty interesting.  Plus, there's plenty to do on a modern cruise ship.

I'm sure you realize you'll see lots of photos when we return.
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April 13, 2011

Shoot me



I'm normally don't indulge myself, unless it's books or fabric, but this week I had both a mani and a pedi.  It's a special occasion, we're leaving Friday, flying to Miami, and boarding a ship on Sunday for a two week cruise; plus we're celebrating our 47the anniversary.


Kelly AKA the Church Lady, host "Shoot Me".  Go visit her to see who else played, today.



Forever In Blue Jeans


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i am



Megan of Brassy Apple, started a great new meme blog, called i am in February.  Each month she sets a theme and bloggers email her their photo responses.  This month the theme is ME, other themes have been SURVIVOR,  and LOVE.  Next months' theme is MOTHER.

I've sent Megan three photos and she's used them all.  Want to send her a photo?  Just click the contact button at the top of the i am blog, it's that simple.
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April 12, 2011

Wordless Wednesday





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April 11, 2011

Memory


Mariner's Scout Pin-Reproduction


I was a Girl Scout practically until I was married. First I was a Brownie Scout, then Girl Scout and finally a Mariner Scout.  Yes, I sold Girl Scout cookies and calendars, door to door, every year until I was 17.  While a Mariner, I met Bob, and we all know how that turned out!  Great!

When our teenage Mariner group would travel together, we would frequently commandeer the adjacent Men's Room.  Seriously, there's never enough Ladies Rooms.  Usually the Men's Rooms were pretty disgusting, but when there's a need, you get over it.  This memory was prompted by this post.

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April 10, 2011

Girly Day


Yesterday was a birthday party for two great little girls.  Sharon and Oden arrived at our home with Cassia, 2 1/2 years old, wearing her party tutu.  She'd never been here, but immediately made herself at home.  She found my Super Hero doll and claimed it for her own.   She has three other brothers, one named Hero, and Super Hero went home with her.  You can see, she was never still.


Off we went to Temecula for the birthday party.  These are the Birthday Girls, Olivia, 4, and Isabella, 3; they are also never still.  We had a wonderful chaotic day.



Oden, is such a great big brother.  He stuck by Cassia and was there whenever she needed him.
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Handmade Pay It Forward


I haven't done a Pay It Forward post in a long time.  I did one in February '10 and one in August '09, so I guess it's time.  I just did one on my Quilting blog, and thought I'd do one here, too.  That's right 2 different Pay It Forward's goin' on.  The good news is I have 365 days to get 'em done.

How does it work?

  1. I will make a little something for the first 3 people who comment on this post. It will be a surprise and it will arrive when you least expect it.
  2. I will have 365 days to do it in. What's the catch? To get a handmade present from me, you have to play too! This means YOU pledge to send a little handmade something to 3 readers of your blog. It doesn't have to be quilty - just handmade.
  3. You must have a blog.
  4. Once you receive your "little something", you must post about your Pay it Forward on your blog to keep the fun going - be sure to use the Pay It Forward badge.



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April 8, 2011

Springer



I'm reposting this, from my book blog, because my friend, Brian Springer, is finally published and I want to give him the widest audience possible.  He's a great guy and deserves to be successful. 

Highway to Vengeance: A Thomas Highway Novel (Volume 1)

When Bob and I had our babies, we wished for healthy babies, we really didn't care about their gender.  We have two wonderful daughters, and feel very blessed.  We couldn't have chosen better, if we tried.

If I had to choose a son or two, I'd choose someone like my son in law, Ole and this author Brian Springer.  They're both great guys, intelligent, athletic, handsome and caring.  Over the years I've mentioned my SIL, a lot, on various blog posts, so this post is about Brian; who we call Springer, so does his wife, Kim!

Who is Springer?

Brian Springer has been writing fiction for more than ten years.  I met him when he was one of our managers at Barnes and Noble in Temecula.  Talk about a varied career path, he's also been a financial planner and a baseball player in the Spanish Professional League.   He's a really good writer and I've read and tried to help with the editing of many of his books.  He had a hard time getting published, many good authors find themselves in this position; and has decided to self publish.

Springer is SoCal guy and spent four years at the University of San Diego playing baseball. He graduated with a degree in Business Administration, and earned his MBA from USD.

Currently, the Springer and Kim live in Temecula, CA with their two children, 10-year old daughter Mikayla, and 8-year old son, Jake.

If you have a nook, buy Springer's book here.
For kindle users, here.
If you want the paperback version, it's here.

What is the book about?

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble:

For fans of Dennis Lehane, Lee Child, and George Pelecanos:

When ex-Navy SEAL Thomas Highway's wife is murdered right in front of his eyes, he sets out to find the men responsible. His investigation leads to Ferdinand Montoya, the former kingpin of a powerful Mexican drug cartel, but before he can exact justice, the Department of Homeland Security steps in and orders him to back off.

Despite threats from the DHS, Highway presses on, and soon finds himself caught up in a conspiracy involving Weapons of Mass Destruction, underground cross-border tunnels, and a shady government agency intent on using Highway to execute their own agenda.

From the sun-drenched beaches of San Diego to the crime-ridden streets of Tijuana, HIGHWAY TO VENGEANCE combines a hard-boiled, neo-noir, first-person POV with modern thriller elements and a dash of real-life SEAL training to create a twisting novel that explores the darkness within us all, the lengths one man will go to avenge his lost love, and the very nature of revenge itself.

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April 7, 2011

Advertising chuckle


Thanks to Chaletgirl for the head up!




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Broken nose humor




My nose was broken on 3 separate occasions.  That's a lot for a non-athlete, don't you think.  The first time, I was pre-school age, my Mom was in the hospital, and I was staying with family friends, the Saddlers, so Dad could work and visit Mom.  The Saddlers had two girls, close to my age and we were playing on park benches and I fell, flat on my face, and broke my little nose.



Years later, I was married, Bob and I were living in Downey, close to North American Aviation where he worked, building the space shuttle that went to the moon.  This was early days in our marriage and we were horsing around (wrestling) and he threw me, up, and off of him, into a wall, and my nose broke.  That's #2.

The next time was years later, again.  We'd bought our home in Long Beach, I was in my late 30's.  I'd woken before daylight and was walking down the hall toward the kitchen, and fell, flat on my face, for broken nose #3.  Why did I fall?  One of our wonderful dogs, Seger, a black German Shepard was laying in the hall, and it was dark and I hadn't turned on a light.  I fell so suddenly, I didn't even put my hands out to brace myself.



I waited until I was 61, to have my nose straighten out.  I didn't have a nose-job, a rhinoplasty, because most of the damage was on the inside.  The surgery was called a septoplasty.  Now, here's the humor - because of the surgery and healing time I had to take 2 weeks off from work and from teaching Tai Chi, so everyone knew I'd had nose surgery.  When I returned to Tai Chi, two of my students, came up to me and told me how great my "new nose" looked.  I was pretty surprised and told them that they were looking at my old nose, because nothing had changed on the outside.  Later, I guessed that these particular students might have been familiar with cosmetic surgery.  Whatever floats your boat!

This post is in response to the I am post, today.  I was featured two days ago.

P.S.  My nose is still a tad crooked on the outside, that's just me.

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April 6, 2011

Shoot me


 I snapped this photo - me reflected in the back of my car - while out running errands, today.  Last week, I was wearing shorts, this week, back in jeans.  For the bottom photo I used http://www.photofunia.com/; they're always fun the experiment with.


This is my 45th Shoot Me.  Kelly AKA the Church Lady, host "Shoot Me".  Go visit her to see who else played, today.


Forever In Blue Jeans
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April 4, 2011

Wordless Wednesday, back in the day




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Birthday Surprise




If you know me, you know that I have great daughters.  Sharon's BFF, Kimberly, has included  Bob and I in many of her family functions.  This month we're invited to a joint birthday party for her 3 and 4 year old daughters.  (She also has an almost 21 year old serving in Afghanistan.)  So, back to the birthday part.  I decided to make Kimberly's daughters headbands.  I used this great tut, and since these are little girls, I made them a bit smaller.

I know what you're thinking, there are two birthday girls, but three headbands.  When I talked to Sharon, today, she told me that Oden's half-sister, Cassia, two and a half, will be coming, too.  I know that at that age she'll love getting a gift, for no reason; so I made three.

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April 3, 2011

love this


119th Anniversary of the First Documented Ice Cream Sundae

love this graphic.  google says today is the 119th anniversary of the 1st documented ice cream sundae.
whatever their reason, i love the graphic.
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