All over the place

(tulips in front of my house...I'd like to say I planted them, but no, they came with the house 16 years ago...but man, I love 'em!)

I've been slacking on the blogging lately.  It's not that there hasn't been anything blog worthy.  I'm sure there has been, although I'm hard-pressed to remember what that might be at the moment.  I'm a blogger who likes to have photos with every post.  I feel like I'm cheating my three readers when I don't have one.  I just haven't been taking that many photos lately.

In my defense, I type 8 hours a day at work.  In the six weeks I've worked there, I have developed pretty bad pain in my right hand.  It's not carpal tunnel.  I am actually not sure what it is.  But I did some research online, and well, you know how accurate that can be!  I've self diagnosed myself with ulnar nerve entrapment.  You know, with that non-medical degree that I have.  Luckily, they did ergonomic evaluations of our work stations last week & they put in for me to have a new chair, a new keyboard & a keyboard tray.  Hopefully that will help.  And then my blogging will get better.

So what's been going on?  I haven't been scrapbooking, not since Sedona, anyway.  I've been walking a lot.  I had dinner out with my co-workers from when I worked at the doctors office years ago (so fun!).  And I had dinner out with Audra, Mindy, Kelly & Janet at Cuvee 928.  I cheated on my gluten free lifestyle (because seriously, what kind of fun is that?) and had the pesto fennel macaroni & cheese...OH MY GOD it was flippin' FANTASTIC!  And Don & I went to see the Green Hornet at Prochnow Friday night (free tickets from work....and free popcorn & soda when we got there!).  That movie is just ridiculous, by the way.  Oh, and today, I started my first day of work with Kim at Fizz Bath Shop, which you all know I love & adore.  Tomorrow we're headed to Sedona for some hiking (hopefully sans wind).  So yeah, I guess I've been busy.  Gotta start taking my camera with me again...

I've been wanting to change my blog header for a springy look...but have forgotten how to do it.  Maybe I'll figure that out tomorrow.  Silly girl, I know.

A few posts ago I told you about how I was listening to books on cd while I type.  Well, I have discovered that I can catch up on all of my tv shows & movies, too!  I can't watch them, but I can listen to them.  So I've listened to the whole first season of Drop Dead Diva, some episodes of Vampire Diaries, Bones & Modern Family, listened to the movies Easy A & Peggy Sue got married...and I'm quite enjoying it!  I do find it easier to listen to something where I've seen the characters before, but hey, I'm not picky!  I like it so much better than listening to music all day.  (Although I've discovered I adore Glee music, Colbie Calliat and Sara Barellis.) 

My hand is all tingly again, so it's time to catch up on my Google Reader.  I have 370 unread posts.  Sweet.  Sometimes I just want to hit "mark all as read" and start over.  But then I might miss something.  Talk to you later!

Just a few photos...

Family breakfast was out at my brother's house last weekend. Glad to have thought to bring my camera & snap a shot of my brother & I...

 And my mom & I, too!

I have to tell you, I miss seeing my mom every day.  We went from seeing each other 5-6 days a week to once every couple of weeks.  It's been an adjustment, to say the least.  Something I need to work on & to make time for.  Still in the mode of figuring out how this whole real job thing fits in with my life.  Love you, mom!

My sister in law just got a horse...and they have chickens, too!  A little too much work for me, but hey, it works for them!  Here's a shot of Shilo.  He was eating & had no patience for photos.

Bunny Tea

Every year Audra & I host a Bunny Tea.  We ask people to bring 2 dozen muffins to share & a stuffed bunny for the Women's & Children's Shelter.  This year, we had half the guests cancel.  So Audra thought we should go to Charly's & have cocktails & lunch  with those that didn't.  No muffins.  No stress.  Just some martinis & good conversation.  It was a lovely time.  We just hung out...for four hours.

Thank you, ladies for a beautiful afternoon! 

 We hope the bunnies made somebody happy!  Cute, cute, cute!

Just a couple of pages to share...

As I mentioned in the post below, I went to Sedona to scrapbook last weekend.  I didn't do much scrappin'.  Mostly, I hung out by the pool, which was heaven on earth!  But I did manage to do a couple of pages.  Here are two of my favorites:

Love, love, love this page of Kendall!  The photo is from the day we had so much fun sledding & for some reason I got the best photos of the kids ever!  I made a paper snowflake under the bunny out of an ugly piece of paper.  Looks better in person, but you get the jist.  The bunny is for "snow bunny".

My nephew, AJ.  Kendall was behind me telling him to look like a monkey & then making these faces at him.  He was copying her.  Thus "Monkey See, Monkey Do".  Plus, the kid is addicted to monkeys.  and the color orange.  Seriously addicted.

Someday I'll get back into scrapbooking & I'll be the person at the retreat who does 50 pages (Kerry-Lyn).  But for now, I'm just happy to get one or two done, put my photos in albums & chill.  There's no rush.

I almost forgot...

When we went to Sedona I went for a long walk & stumbled upon Sedona Cake Couture.  They've been on The Food Network Challenge.  So of course we had to go get cupcakes.  Their cappuccino frosting was to die for!

The owner was so gracious & let us take photos of her lovely cupcakes.  I would really like to try the flourless chocolate cake (one of my favorites!).  Maybe next time...or maybe for my birthday, hint hint.  You have to go in there & check out the display cakes...they are stunning!  Here's there blog in case you'd like to see some of their work.

An Unexpected Surprise

I went to Sedona last week to scrapbook with some friends from my old store.  They had rented a house called Saddleback Ranch (I think) that is on the historic register in Sedona.  It was a charming old house on the mountain leading to the Sedona airport.  There is fabulous art in there...and it's rumored that John Wayne slept there when he was in town.  Very cool!  It had a pool, which quite honestly is where I spent most of my time.  A jacuzzi, which I used once.  And a nice big room for us to scrapbook, overlooking Coffee Pot Mesa.  

The ladies I went with were deep into their scrapbooking.  And I was not.  I mean, I made 8 pages & I put this year's photos into my album, but really, I was there to relax and I'm not to a place where scrapbooking is all that relaxing.  I'm sorry...but it's true.

Friday night Michele Fisher prepared a beautiful table & the best spaghetti sauce I have ever tasted!  When we went to sit down for dinner, I found a scrapbook in my chair.  I opened it up & saw a photo of me.  I even commented to no one in particular that hey, there's a picture of me in there!  Michele asked me to wait until everyone was seated to look at it...and then I knew I was in trouble.  Immediately I began to tear up.  I can't help it.  Honestly, I thought that no one missed me from my store.  And I was wrong.  Every page I turned made the tears come harder & faster.  At least they were silent...whew!  Here's a look at what they made me (I took the photos of the book in the flower bed in front of my house because the tulips are so beautiful right now):

 

I skipped the cover page with a photo of me...oops!

Michele Fisher.  She is a talented scrapbooker like no other.  Her pages are always so beautiful!

Vickie Campbell.  Our kids are friends & we've become friends through the store.  She has a deep, deep love for all things Basic Grey.

Vicki Wilcox.  An avid scrapbooker.  And reader.  I borrowed her Nook Color & read by the pool all day Saturday.  Best afternoon I've had in a long, long time.

Vickie Dyer.  I cannot remember a time when Vickie was not at the store for a crop.  Feels like I've known her forever.

Lyn Belongie.  We've been friends for years.  She was an invaluable help for me at the store.  Both personally & professionally.

Betty Groom.  She scrapbooks more than any person I have ever met.  She is passionate about it.  She cranks out so many pages I'm totally impressed!

Sarah Whitney.  She makes lovely pages!  She's so sweet & fun to be around!

Sherry Oien.  I met Sherry when she wanted to work at the store.  I could not have made it as long as I did without her.  She was so much more than an employee...she is my friend.  And I wish she hadn't moved back to Minnesota (I hope it snows all summer there :) )

Kerry-Lyn Love.  She's the organizer of the whole trip.  And she was FANTASTIC!  She should run scrapbook retreats in her spare time.  Seriously!

Judy Locklear.  I had no idea that when I told Judy she should print all her photos & put them into the photo sleeves that I adore that she would do just that.  And it's a good thing, too.  Her computer crashed after she had uploaded all her photos & she lost the computer...but not the photos.

I was so touched by the things they wrote...it was overwhelming.  This is what I miss about my store.  I do not miss being a business owner.  Not at all.  I miss the people.  (Not all of 'em though, let me tell you!)  Thank you so much for including me in your weekend!  It was just what I needed & I can't wait to go again next year!

A Little Scare...

One of the horrible things about being a mother is seeing your kid sick or hurt.  Doesn't matter if you were furious with them a few minutes before....it all melts away when you realize that they are hurt.  It's a knot in your stomach.  And your heart feels like it's being crushed.  And this was just a minor injury.

You see, Kendall was babysitting her cousins, Ryan & Analise, Sunday morning at our house.  Because Kendall was babysitting, not me, I left to run my Sunday morning errands.  She said she'd be fine.  Why wouldn't she?  So I went & visited Don at work...went to Kohls.  Even talked to her a few times on the phone.  As I'm leaving Kohl's I get this phone call:

Kendall:  "Mom, I'm sorry, but Analise spilled her chocolate milk on the table & it ruined your Bunny invitations.  I tried to clean it up, but they're ruined."

Me (a little...um, irritated):  "Kendall, really, why didn't you clean the stuff of the table before you put the kids at it?  It was covered with stuff & you should have known they'd make a mess.  They're little kids!"

Kendall (now crying):  "I know mom, I'm so sorry.  But I have to go clean up my arm.  There's blood all over it."

Me:  "Blood?  I thought they spilled chocolate milk?  What's going on?"

Kendall:  "I ran upstairs to get a towel to clean up the mess & when I ran down the stairs I missed a step & hit my arm on the stairs."

Me:  "Are you ok?  Do I need to come home?"

Kendall:  "I'm fine.  I just really hurt my arm."

Me:  "I can come home.  If you're ok, why are you crying so hard?"

Kendall:  "I'm sorry about the invitations, mom..."

(I was a little irritated about the invitations, but I said that already, right?  I feel bad about that...she feels bad about that...)

(a few more rounds of this...)

Kendall:  "I'm fine. Dad will be home in a few minutes."

(15 minutes later)

Don:  "Just letting you know I'm going to take Kendall to the ER."

Me:  "What?!"

Don:  "She hit her arm pretty hard & can't move her wrist, I think its broken."

(Now I feel like the worst mother on the planet.  Awful. Unfeeling.  I cannot believe I almost yelled at her...thank goodness I wasn't that heartless...)

So I rushed home & grabbed Kendall & took her to the ER.  Don stayed home with the kids.  Several hours, xrays & tears later, it is not broken.  Just bruised & battered.  Every time the nurses or doctor touched her arm & made her cry I had to choke back tears & the urge to punch them in the face.  She was so miserable.  But then I cheered her up by taking her photo.  You know how much she loves that!

As of today, one day later, it's still hurting.  And she wimpers like a puppy when she accidently hits it on something.  But it's going to be just fine.  And so are we.

Long Canyon Trail Sedona

We've been trying to take a hike every weekend since I started this new job.  You know, two weeks ago.  But seriously, we (meaning Don & I) love to hike.  And for some reason this year Kendall is joining us.  Hey, whatever gets her out of the house & away from Grey's Anatomy! 

Kendall and her dad picked this Sedona hike called the Long Canyon Trail out of our Cosmic Ray Flagstaff & Sedona Favorite Hikes Book.  (That book is AWESOME, by the way!)  It's 7 miles round trip, which sounds worse than it is.  We only took Maggie with us today.  The little dogs wouldn't have enjoyed it...at all.

The hike was sandy at times (I loved that part, Kendall did not).  And there were a bazillion butterflies & bugs all around.  There was one spot where it smelled like honeysuckle all around us.  Amazing! 

Kendall wanted to take a break about 1/2 mile from the end.  She'd seen enough & was done.  Thought we should just leave her in the middle of a dry creek bed & go ahead without her.  As badly as I wanted to see the end (there were supposed to be petroglyphs & ruins, dang it!) I was not leaving my teenage daughter in the middle of a dry creek bed.  Alone.  So I didn't get to see the end of the trail...**sigh**

I like to take photos ala "Yes Man!"  Zooey Deschanel is a jogging photographer & takes photos randomly all over the place.  So while we're hiking, I pull out my camera & snap photos over my head.  I love to do it.  Sometimes it works...sometimes not.

Then somewhere down the trail my husband decided that I'm not in any photos & started taking them of me.  Yipee! 

That's me yelling "yipee!"  It was a good day!  I cannot wait to see where we'll hike next weekend!

Fizz & Cupcakes

Thursday night I got to hang out with my friend Kim from Fizz Bath Shop.  We were just sipping wine, eating cheese & enjoying the beautiful night at Cuvee 928.  Talking about life, our kids, being business owners (even though I'm a former owner), and the directions of our lives.  Kim has big, big plans for Fizz & I'm so excited for her!  My life, however, has had no direction.  Yeah, I have a job.  And yeah, I know my husband is going to retire in 15 months (holy crap!), but really, what am I going to do with this life?  I miss being creative...I cannot tell you how much I actually miss that!  But there's so much more to me than scrapbooking.  I love all sorts of creative things!  We talked about having a plan...where you're at today is not necessarily the path you are on forever.  Things can change if you're willing.  Opening your mind to possibilities.  It was all rather deep...and yeah, I cried.  What a baby I am.  It's hard kinda floundering along wondering what there is in this world for you...

I really took Kim's words to heart.  They've been with me & on my mind for days now.  So much so that I even have a better attitude towards life.  Towards everything.  Quite frankly it's profound.  And I think that her words, coupled with the words from my closest friends & family, are finally sinking in.  I'm starting to see that I don't suck.  That a couple of rotten people who talk shit about me are not me. They don't even know me.  Not the real me.  And I don't want to know them, because, they're mean.  And for some stupid reason, it makes them happy to make people feel bad about themselves.  No more.

Anyway, today I decided to head on down to our public library to check out a book on cd (believe it or not, I can listen to whatever I want when I do my data entry job...I looked for something profound, but alas our library is not so advanced.  I settled with Love the One Your With by Emily Giffin...it's fiction).  While I was there I decided to read the magazines that I used to subscribe to and/or buy but no longer do so.  The chick on the front of Entrepreneur Magazine made me pick up the issue:

First of all, her haircut rocks!  I'm going for that look after this lovely grow-out phase I'm in (who knows if I'll make it, but hey, now I have a goal).  Her article is freaking amazing!   This chick owns a cupcake shop that is hip & instead of being all cute & cuddly it's cool!  Her shops specialty is pairing cupcakes with wine & imported beer.  Ok, now I love her!  Then I read her blog and, well, damn she's cool & I really love her! 

While I am not in any position to be an entrepreneur anytime soon, I have a goal, and that my friends is all I needed!  I may not ever be a cupcake shop owner, but you know what?  I'm going to start making cupcakes & seeing if I'm any good at it.  And if I suck, I'll pick something else.  I'll take advantage of that sweet discount I get at the university & take a couple of classes.  Photography, for one.  And who knows what else.  

I am not just going to sit around & wait for life to happen to me.  There are things I want to do, places I want to go.  I am not going to allow life to beat me down anymore.  Everything is a means to an end.  Living with intention...purpose.  Having faith in myself.  I know 100% with all my heart that selling the store was the right thing to do.  And now that I'm over myself, it's time to get down to business.