Mimmsical Creations

I am moving to a new blog home

2009-05-11T15:43:00.004-06:00

Wow. It has been a lot longer than I thought since I posted here! I took an unexpected/unplanned break!

I've decided to jump back into blogging, but I'm going to do so at a new blog home! I hope you all will come visit me again over at my new place!

Off Center Studio - http://offcenterstudio.blogspot.com/.

I hope to hear from some of you who used to stop by here!! I've missed you! :)

Hugs,

Tammy

Wishcasting Wednesday

2009-02-18T15:13:00.005-07:00

Today's Wishcasting Wednesday prompt is: Where do you wish to go?

I wish to go:

to Oregon - permanently!
to Italy - wine country
forward
to Hawaii
back to NYC again!
into a place of authentic creativity and self.

Wishcasting Wednesday

2009-02-04T15:15:00.002-07:00

Wishcasting Wednesday prompt:

"What do you wish to become?"

Short, sweet and to the point. I wish to become the "real me". I'm working on that!

During Circe's Circle last week, Jamie led us on a guided visualization. (I have had some amazing things happen during guided visualizations in the past - I had a conversation with Merlin, the wizard, once!)

In this one, she took us to 10 years in the future to converse with ... well, ME. I saw the real me - the Phaedra side of me - living on the coast in Oregon - being the person I know I am and the real me.

I want to get to that point before 10 years from now!

Health

2009-01-30T08:56:00.005-07:00

You may have noticed - I haven't been posting nearly as much lately as I used to.

Part of the reason for this is that I haven't been feeling well for several months now. I have been dealing with migraines for many years now. I've had many doctors tell me "there's nothing wrong with you"... But then why does my head feel like it's going to explode?! On a bad week, I have 4-5 migraines. On a good week, maybe 2.

Since about October, I have been taking a daily medicine to try and prevent the migraines from ever starting. The medicine is an anti-convulsant that is now being used for migraines. It is EXPENSIVE (even with insurance) and I am realizing - the side effects are worse than any benefit I'm getting from it! I've given it a good long try, but yesterday, I went to see my doctor and I am stopping it!

I feel like I have the flu about 90% of the time on it. I am achy, and exhausted all the time. I have had a couple of "episodes" where I couldn't form complete thoughts and sentences because I was so completely exhausted. It was a bit scary. It felt like I had mono again truthfully. Many mornings, I wake up more tired than when I went to bed. It is hard to function when you feel like that all the time.

So - my energy level has dictated my blog posting. I haven't wanted to really post about how I feel all the time, but I guess I wanted to share now! :) I am tapering off of the old medicine over the next few days, and I'm starting a new medicine that apparently is being used to try and prevent migraines now... It's an anti-depressant. (Migraines ARE depressing!) So, I'm hopeful that I'll start feeling better over the next couple weeks! (Mike is too!) Maybe I'll have more things to share if I start having actual energy to do anything outside of the house!!

Eggplant Extraordinaire

2009-01-24T11:20:00.004-07:00

I normally don't like Rachel Ray. She annoys me for some reason... however, she does have good recipes on her show now and then. On this particular day, she was featuring eggplant, so I kept it on to hear the recipe! Boy, am I glad I did. This recipe was YUMMY! It was supposed to be a 30-minute meal, but it definitely took me longer than that. It was still a pretty easy meal overall though - and really tasty! And it was pretty healthy too! :) (The recipe features a side of orzo too - I only made the eggplant though.)

First you slice up two smallish eggplants into about 8 slices (length-wise). This is a bit tricky in my opinion! Brush each slice with olive oil and grill both sides for about 4 minutes each. (Grill pan - I don't have an actual grill!) While the eggplant is grilling - sauté some garlic, diced roasted red pepper (from a jar), and thawed frozen spinach. (you're also supposed to put in diced olives - I forgot them!)

Once your eggplant is done and your veggies are sauteed, lay out the slices of eggplant on a baking sheet - put a few spoonfuls of the veggie mixture on each slice of eggplant. I put a few crumbles of feta on each slice at this point too (though the recipe didn't call for it!)

Then spread a couple big spoonfuls of hummus on each slice and top with breadcrumbs! Bake the whole tray for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Enjoy - it's really good! :)

01-20-2009 - A Day to Remember

2009-01-20T07:37:00.010-07:00

Inauguration Day. I have never been so aware before of a day like this in our history. I am aware today. I can't turn off the TV!

My high school alma mater marching band is in Washington DC today. They were chosen to march in the parade there! How cool is that?! I marched all four years of my high school career (except when I had knee surgery!) I was on the color guard and played either French Horn or Bass Clarinet in concert band.

I went to Windsor (about 15 miles from where I live now) last Wednesday afternoon to watch the band in a mini-parade for the community in preparation for their trip. They looked awesome! I hope they rock today in Washington and enjoy the amazing experience they are having! I also have a short video of them playing. You can see it here. I can't get it to embed correctly on my blog this morning!

Very late holiday post!

2009-01-16T04:37:00.004-07:00

I wanted to share our holidays with you, even though they are well past! Mike's birthday falls right before Christmas. We had quite the crazy couple of weeks filled with celebrating and presents! Mike was very good to me for Christmas! Not only did he buy me a couple things that I had put on my "list" - he surprised me with other unexpected things too! Project Runway - Season 4 DVDs were on my list! Yay! Amazing, superb jewelry was a surprise!!

The gift wrap was also entertaining! Mike does not do gift wrap. I'm lucky if anything is even sort of wrapped. He sort of outdid himself with one of my gifts! It was wrapped in a brown paper bag (from a local restaurant) and "taped" with tape from a lint roller that he tore into strips. So lovely! And then right next to it was the lovely present that the jewelry store wrapped for him - what a contrast! We had a good laugh about that!

We enjoyed our low-key holidays. We spent a lot of time enjoying our new TV and blu-ray/playstation as well! I did a lot of cooking of recipes that I got from spending way too much time watching the Food Network - my new addiction!

Baked Garlic Cheese Grits - a little bit of southern heaven in a pan from Paula Deen. Yummy!!

And Brussel Sprout cooked with Pancetta - WOW! I can't remember which show these were on! But, man, were they ever good! I also made these hash browns from Tyler Florence. Of course, they weren't as easy as he made them look - but they were tasty!

And just because I have some really adorable photos of our cats, and I haven't shared any in a while - here are some great shots! :)

Wishcasting Wednesday (on Thursday)

2009-01-15T15:44:00.006-07:00

I'm a day late on this one, but I want to play! Wishcasting Wednesday prompt for this week is:

What do you wish for your creativity?

Well, now if this isn't the perfect wish for me to jump on! On Tuesday night, I actually got on the phone and joined into the first call of Circe's Circle with the amazing Jamie and Suzie! We have a small circle for the group - just the three of us, but it is going to be a wonderful and magical 12 weeks - I can just tell already!

On the first night of our circle, we talked mostly about our creativity.

My creativity has a name and a personality of her own. While I had thought about this before, I had never given voice to her actual presence and being. I gave her a name and traits. Or rather, I let those things surface. They are already hers - and therefore, mine too.

My creativity is named Phaedra. (Phaedra is Greek and it means bright.) She wears flowy, "hippy" clothes - flowery print dresses, loose flowing skirts and shirts, bright colors, mismatched colors, stripey socks, fabulous shoes (that might or might not match the clothes she is wearing!) Loads of jewelry! She is someone you would notice on the street and think, "Wow! I wish I could pull off wearing something like that!" She is comfortable no matter what situation she is in.

She is a Libra (which is also my sign). She loves art, dresses for the occasion, is a perfectionist, is bossy and detailed. She loves beauty, attention, color, texture, and intellect. She dislikes noise, pressure, deadlines, and criticism.

Phaedra lurks just below the surface of my own personality. Glints of her come through now and then, but for the most part she remains hidden. I feel her bubbling there most of the time, but I am scared to let myself become her, or allow her to become me.

One of our homework prompts for the week is to collect things, images, words, whatever that might be for Phaedra, or representative of her. (our creativity) This image is for her. I took it before we started Circe's Circle. It is the window in my new home office. It is for my creativity - FOR SURE.

My wish for my creativity for 2009: for Phaedra and Tammy to merge. For me to be her - her to be me. For the fear of letting her bubble to the surface to disappear.

A Belated Thank You!

2009-01-09T14:50:00.005-07:00

I am WAY behind in posting about this wonderful package I received in the mail a couple weeks ago! I was very surprised!

The wonderful Mary Ann sent us a great package for our wedding! It was so fun to find this out of the blue package from her with such lovely stuff in it!

Included is a beautiful album that I am going to have so much fun filling with our photos! Also, a bunch of stickers and embellishments to accompany it! She also made a little piece of wedding art for us! So cute! I just love it! The whole package was so thoughtful! Thank you SO much Mary Ann!

Wishcasting Wednesday

2009-01-07T10:38:00.005-07:00

Jamie has been hosting Wishcasting for some time now and for 2009 she is changing how things are done. Each week, she will post the Wishcasting prompt at her blog. Then YOU (or in this case, ME!) answer the question and submit the link to your blog post at her blog. It's a wonderful way to track your wishes and dreams!

The first prompt for 2009 is:

What do you wish for in 2009?

My wish has often involved moving to Oregon. That hasn't changed! My wish for 2009 is for Mike and I to actually get moved to Oregon! We have been dreaming of this for so long and it hasn't happened yet. We both want it so bad.

We have talked about why it may not have happened yet, and there are good reasons... but it's time I think! My intent and true wish for this year is to see us pack up and move and start our new life in a new place! I'm keeping the ocean in my sights!

Mamma Mia Memory Lane

2008-12-30T09:40:00.004-07:00

One of the things that Mike got me for Christmas, along with many other wonderful things (which I'll post photos of soon!), is a copy of the movie Mamma Mia! I saw this in the theatre a while back, and of course - being a huge ABBA fan, I loved it. Had to own it!

Like ABBA's music, it makes me happy - it is a totally campy, cheeseball movie, but I loved every minute of it.

The thing that surprised me was how sentimental I got during the movie. And in rewatching it on DVD, I'm really realizing how much I miss my friend Travis. He instilled my love of all things ABBA in me. We listened to them all the way to Canada and back on our road trip back in 1995. We watched Priscilla, Queen of the Desert countless times! I can't tell you how many times I would get home while we were roommates to hear Gimme, Gimme, Gimme cranked up on the stereo!

I find myself getting a little teary while watching this movie. I miss Travis very much. We were friends from childhood. He died in January of 1996 - almost 12 years ago. He was just barely 21. He had cystic fibrosis. One of my only regrets in life is that we had a falling out a few months before he died. We talked only once more after our "fight" and never really got the chance to make up. It has taken me a very long time to work through that.

This movie would be so much better with Travis laughing and singing along with me. He is there in spirit I'm sure! If Travis were still here, he would approve of Mike and be friends with him too, I'm sure of that! :)

My 2008 Book List

2008-12-28T11:39:00.006-07:00

I realize there are still a few days left in 2008, but I thought I would post my book list for the past year now anyway! I have read 60 books this year, and I listened to five on audiobook also. Of the 60, 27 were new books that I had never read before, and 33 were re-reads. The audiobooks were ones I had read, but hadn't listened to! I kept track using www.listigator.com.

First Time Reads (in the order I read them):
1. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
2. New Moon by Stephanie Meyer
3. Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer
4. The Naming by Alison Coggin
5. Songs of the Humpback Whale by Jodi Picoult
6. Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
7. Something Blue by Emily Giffin
8. Baby Proof by Emily Giffin
9. Midnight Champagne by A. Manette Ansay
10. There's a Slight Chance I Might Be Going to Hell by Laurie Notaro
11. Crazy as Chocolate by Elisabeth Hyde
12. Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
13. Cooking for Mr. Right by Susan Volland
14. Just Like Heaven by Marc Levy
15. I Did, But I Wouldn't Now by Cara Lockwood
16. The Last Time I Was Me by Cathy Lamb
17. Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
18. Love and Meatballs by Susan Volland
19. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
20. The Girl with No Shadow by Joanne Harris
21. Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell
22. The Boleyn Inheritance by Phillipa Gregory
23. The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
24. Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives by Guy Fieri
25. A Lick of Frost by Laurell K. Hamilton
26. Gypsy Masala by Preethi Nair
27. Sage-ing While Age-ing by Shirley McLaine

Re-Reads (also in the order that I read them, but they were mixed in between the 1st reads!):
1. Julia's Chocolates by Cathy Lamb
2. Dance Upon the Air by Nora Roberts
3. Heaven and Earth by Nora Roberts
4. Face the Fire by Nora Roberts
5. Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn by Kris Radish
6. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
7. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
8. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
9. The Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
10. The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon
11. A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon
12. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
13. Dance Upon the Air by Nora Roberts (NR) (yep, re-read this one twice in one year!)
14. Born in Fire by NR
15. Born in Ice by NR
16. Born in Shame by NR
17. Blue Dahlia by NR
18. Black Rose by NR
19. Red Lily by NR
20. Key of Light by NR
21. Key of Knowledge by NR
22. Key of Valor by NR
23. Jewel of the Sun by NR
24. Tears of the Moon by NR
25. Heart of the Sea by NR
26. Daring to Dream by NR
27. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
28. Celia's House by DE Stevenson
29. Holding the Dream by NR
30. Finding the Dream by NR
31. The Last Time I Was Me by Cathy Lamb
32. Love and Meatballs by Susan Volland
33. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (yep, again - after seeing the movie)

Audiobooks: (I will listen to 6 and 7 in the series too, but they take a lot of time to get through on audio, so it will be next year!)
1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

You'll notice - I went on quite a streak of reading Nora Roberts this year... I love her trilogies. I have read my favorites numerous times. For some reason mid-year this year, I didn't want to read anything new - just "comfort" books. Stuff I knew I liked, etc. There was a lot going on in my life, and I think this was one place I could have something familiar without change!

Next year, my goal is to read at least as many books as this year - and to read a few more new than I did this year! I have a list started of new books I want to read. Not necessarily new publish-date wise, but new to me! :)

Any recommendations for me? I'm sure I will have some of the same books on my list next year that I have on my list this year... I am a creature of habit when it comes to reading. I love to re-read my old favorites pretty regularly!

Do you do this too? Or once you've read a book is that it? Do you move on to something new? Also - do you always buy your books, or do you use the library? I used to always use the library as a kid. Then I worked at Barnes and Noble for a number of years. I own MANY books. I love having them in my possession (in case I want to read them again!) But this year, I did use the library a bit more than I have in the past... I am bad about getting books back on time. Not because I haven't finished, I almost always have... I just forget to get it back by the due date!

Happy Reading in 2009! I have a stack of new cookbooks calling my name at the moment! :)

OOOPS!

2008-12-20T16:18:00.003-07:00

Well, I went and did something really dumb last night. Something I have done many times, and never thought about!

I wanted a coke... I couldn't get the plastic rings off of the bottles, so I used a knife to cut them... only the knife slipped and sliced my hand open as well! Yikes!! It hit me in the fleshy part of my palm right under my left thumb. OUCH!

It is a pretty deep cut. We probably should have gone to urgent care last night, but we were able to stop the bleeding with pressure and it seemed like it was OK. Then I realized - I have NO idea how long it has been since my last tetanus shot... so, it was off to the urgent care this morning instead.

The doctor thought maybe it could have used stitches, but since it had been a while since it happened, he couldn't do any at this point. (It was iffy whether it needed them anyway...) So he put on the steri-strips to hold it closed, gave me a shot, and sent me on the way (2 hours of waiting later). Now, not only does my hand hurt, my arm hurts too from the darn shot!! Sheesh!

Oh well - it could have been much worse, of course. And I'm covered on my tetanus for 10 years now! And because it took so long waiting - we went out for lunch instead of breakfast to our favorite new place - Cafe Athens! Yummy Greek food! :) I took a very long, cozy nap when we got home.

My cookie-baking plans for the weekend have been foiled. I have to keep my hand all wrapped up for several days... Darn!

Moral of the story... don't use knives to open things they shouldn't be used to open! :)

Nine Questions and Growing

2008-12-18T08:49:00.005-07:00

Jamie at Starshyne Productions tagged me with a new meme!

The rules are:

1. Link to the person or persons who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Copy these questions (originally 8, plus Jamie's added 9th, and my own 10th) but add your own answers to them
4. Add one question to the last one, don’t forget to answer your own question
5. Tag as many as you feel like but you have to a least tag one
6. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog
7. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
8. If anyone catches this out in blog world is welcome to jump on board

The Questions:

1. Real or Fake tree?

I haven't put up a holiday tree in many years. The last time I did was probably about 11 years ago. I had two young cats - Lissy and Oscar. (Oscar is still with me!) They got rambunctious one evening and knocked my tree (fake at the time) over and broke a whole bunch of my antique Shiney Brite ornaments. I was so mad!! I haven't put up a tree since! I have a ton of ornaments and decor, but I never get it out anymore! I should pass it on to someone who would use it I guess!

2. How many do you expect at your family holiday dinner?

On Christmas day, it will just be Mike and I. We have made it our tradition to stay home on the day of - just the two of us. I make a breakfast casserole for the morning and then we do something different each year for our meal. Last year I made Cuban food. I'm not sure what we're doing this year yet!

3. Do you know one of your great great grandmother's name?

I honestly cannot remember either one. I feel like I should know, but I can't find it in the old memory! I knew my grandparents, but not my greats, and definitely not my great, greats! I'll have to ask my mom for some names! (My paternal grandmother was Lula Annis Travis, and my maternal grandmother was Elma Etta Evans.)

4. Did you have chocolate today?

Not yet, but the day is young!

5. Do you visit all of your blogging friends everyday?

I definitely try to. I don't make it every day, but usually at least every couple of days for sure!

6. Do you have carolers come to your home?

Never

7. What is on your feet?

Black socks with multi-colored hearts and black tennis shoes

8. Do you make Candy for the holidays?

I haven't made candy, but this year, I'm in a cookie baking mood! I saw a recipe for salt caramels yesterday that is tempting me. Maybe this will be a first for making some candy!

9. What's a favourite holiday memory of yours?

I loved my first Christmas on my own. I lived in an apartment with my (still) best friend Andrea. We got this giant (real) Christmas tree. It wouldn't even fit in the door of our apartment. It sat outside on our porch until my dad could come over and saw off like two feet of it! It was huge! (I'm not sure what we were thinking!) We way overestimated our space! It was so much fun to have our own tree in our own place though!

10. (my question) What is your favorite holiday song? (sticking with the holiday theme here!)

I get irritated by holiday music in stores this time of year. You hear the same songs over and over. And yet, there are so many good songs that you never hear! My favorite song is Silver Bells. I haven't heard it one time this season and that makes me sad!

I also really like White Christmas as sung by Bing Crosby. (actually - I like anything as sung by Bing!) I like the old classics, sung by Bing, and Frank, and Deano! :)

I'm tagging to do this meme:

1. Lila
2. Mary Ann
3. Jana
4. You!! :)

Bear with me!

2008-12-16T16:06:00.001-07:00

Bear with me as I make some changes to my blog!! :)

Happy Birthday to Mike!!

2008-12-16T08:56:00.009-07:00

Yesterday, 12/15, was Mike's 40th Birthday!! Whoo-hoo!! We celebrated by having dinner out at Carrabba's - our restaurant of choice for celebrations! Yummy!

I went a bit crazy and found 40 presents for him - he started opening them the night before his birthday and finished last night. There was a LOT of little stuff and a few bigger things mixed in. Let me tell you - it was tough to find 40 things for someone who "doesn't really like presents"! (I think he liked his presents though!) And Christmas is just around the corner... I've been a shopping fool!

Happy Birthday Mike!

And I just decided on a present to myself today.

I am joining in Circe's Circle led by Jamie of Starshyne Productions! I have been considering this for some time - and I just decided to take the leap and join in! I'm very excited about this 12 week group! Jamie is fantasticly creative, and I know that this group will inspire and will hopefully help me kick-start my creativity and confidence!

Bread!

2008-12-04T13:11:00.004-07:00

Suzie reminded me - I forgot to mention the bread I made on Thanksgiving day!! I finally tried out the breadmaker!

I started this out mid-morning because it takes three hours from start to finish in the machine for this particular loaf of bread. By the time it started baking, we were getting hungry, so the smells coming from the machine were quite tempting!! YUM!

I have made bread a few times before, but never in a breadmaker. I had my mom's "bread bucket" and used it a few times. (I actually just passed it back to my sister Rhonda. Hopefully she'll put it to better use than I did!) I decided to try what looked like a simple recipe for my first go.

Jo's Rosemary Bread

1 cup water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Place in the breadmaker according to your machine's directions and bake as directed! Easy as that!

I was pleased with my first attempt! It tasted really yummy! The only problem with it was that it was quite crumbly and a bit dry. I think I realized - I used all purpose flour instead of bread flour. I'm hoping that will make the difference for next time. I wasn't really paying attention! I'll try again! Next time, I'm going to make the dough in the machine and bake rolls in the oven - Suzie's thyme roll recipe has been tempting me for some time now!

It is snowing like crazy here today. I'm wishing I was home making soup and baking cookies - maybe tonight! :) Stay warm!

Our Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T11:17:00.004-07:00

For our first Thanksgiving as a married couple, Mike and I stayed home on the day of! We cleaned the house like maniacs, and I cooked up a storm! We went to his family gathering on Friday, and his dad and step-mom visited us on Saturday, so it was a busy weekend!

Our menu for Thursday was rather "odd" for a Thanksgiving meal, but Mike doesn't like turkey, so I made stuff I knew he would like! I made a pot-roast with veggies in the crock-pot, creamy brussel sprouts, and rosemary bread!!

First the pot-roast:

When I asked for help in the meat department on Wednesday, the guy was incredulous that I wasn't buying turkey! Buy red meat the day before Thanksgiving! It is WAY marked down! No one is buying it! He told me it didn't really matter what cut of meat I chose if I was going to slow cook it, and he was right - it was absolutely fall apart tender after 7 hours in the crock pot!

I took my friend Andrea's advice and cooked it with a can of coke. This is supposed to make it even more tender I guess. The only thing I would do different next time is maybe use only half a can plus some water - the flavor was just a bit sweet from the coke! (not bad - just a bit sweet!)

I placed in about 4 small chopped red potatoes, 1 onion, chopped in large pieces, 4 carrots chopped in coins, and towards the end 16 oz. of mushrooms. For spices - I used 3 bay leaves, garlic, salt and pepper. That was it! I let it cook on medium heat for about 7 hours - until I could tell that the meat was totally tender. I pulled the veggies out about mid-way through because they were too soft! Next time, I'll wait and add the veggies mid-way through instead of at the beginning. About an hour before we were going to eat, I added the mushrooms (they don't take much time to cook.) YUMMY! I also did make some gravy from the liquid, but it was pretty sweet from the coke, and the veggies didn't really need gravy, so we didn't use very much of it!

Now - for the brussel sprouts. Wow. I have to say, this is one of the best dishes I have ever made!! I found the recipe online at the Dutch Girl Cooking blog (which I found via one of my favorite food blogs - Pioneer Woman). It was super yummy - if not super healthy! Mike and I both love brussel sprouts, and these were the best ever! Her recipe is very easy to follow, so I'll let you do that (plus she has step-by-step pictures!) The only thing I did wrong was I didn't see that I was supposed to cut the sprouts in half, so ours were whole. I would definitely cut them - they were a bit difficult to manouver on the plate in whole form! I WILL be making this one again (perhaps even this week as I have everything leftover to do so!) My only modification was I used half gruyere and half havarti cheese. For some reason, gouda was ungodly expensive!

I neglected to get pictures of our other cooking ventures for the weekend! I'll do better next time! For our Thanksgiving dinner with Mike's dad and step-family, I made creamed corn! I used a recipe I found online (of course!) I would have liked to make it with fresh corn, but in November, that wasn't possible, so I used organic frozen corn - and it turned out great anyway! The recipe I used is this one - I didn't make any modifications except to make the recipe a bit larger since there were quite a few people to serve! (Oh - I did add a bit of nutmeg - I had used it in the brussel sprouts and really liked the flavor, so I thought it would be good in the corn, and it was!)

On Saturday, Mike's dad and step-mom came up to our house to visit. It is easier to visit with them one-on-one than in the big group such as the day before. More enjoyable in my opinion! They requested Mike's pulled pork recipe for lunch. So, he pulled that together while I made potato salads to go with it. I will share his recipe here at some point, but I don't have it to share at the moment! (It is a TON of spices making up the rub followed by hours of baking at a low heat! Yummy!) I made two versions of potato salad. I like mine made with green olives/olive juice, but some people don't so I did another version made with my homemade bread and butter pickles. Both turned out great!!

I had fun cooking up a storm all weekend! Now, I have to get on the ball and make Christmas cookies to mail out for a swap, which I am behind on! (Thankfully my partner is OK with this!! I promise they will be on the way soon Terrie!) I have a busy weekend ahead again too! Wow! And Mike's birthday is on December 15 - he is turning 40!! Busy month for us! How is your December starting out?

Beef Mushroom Pockets

2008-11-26T14:07:00.006-07:00

So apparently cooking is my creativity lately! I am drawn to the kitchen! (Mike is happy about this development!) A few weeks ago, my best friend Andrea sent me an email recipe exchange - her recipe that she included was one that she had invented, and boy, did it sound yummy! I finally tried it out over the weekend!

Beef Mushroom Pockets

3 tubes refrigerated crescent rolls
1 lb. ground beef, browned/drained
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
3 tbsp. butter
12 0z. sliced mushrooms
1 bunch fresh spinach, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 can cream mushroom soup
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Brown hamburger (I always add in onion, s&p, garlic when cooking hamburger). Drain and set aside. Melt butter in a pan and add green onion, garlic, mushrooms, spinach, salt and pepper. Cook until spinach is wilted. Add ground beef, soup, and cheese and mix well.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

On a baking sheet, lay out the crescent rolls keeping two together forming a rectangle. Spoon some of the mixture into the middle of the roll and fold the sides around to form a pocket. (Press all the seams together to seal, but don't worry if there are a few holes!) Bake for about 15 minutes or until rolls look golden brown! YUMMY! (Andrea did hers a bit differently - she used two rolls on the bottom - placed a lot of filling in, and sealed the top with two more rolls. I made more smaller pockets, she made fewer, larger pockets. If you make the larger version - bake for about 20 minutes.)

New Possibility...

2008-11-19T12:21:00.003-07:00

For me... I would love some input from any of you who work from home. My bosses have put an offer on the table for me to work from home starting early next year. Rather than coming in to the office, I would set up at home. I don't need to be in the office for the work I do. I am not involved in the day-to-day end of things anymore. My job is all web-based, web design, and mostly independent.

I would need to come in probably at least once a week for meetings, etc. and I would have to be available to cover things at the office if needed... But otherwise, I'd be independent at home.

I think it sounds like a good deal... Mike is a bit jealous! What do you think? Have you done this before? I'd love to hear what any of you think who have worked independently at home!!

It's only a letter!

2008-11-17T08:22:00.003-07:00

Janet at the Lavendar Loft did a fun meme-y thingy a bit ago and I asked her if I could play along!

If you decide you want to play along, leave a comment for me. Ask me for a letter (and leave me a way to contact you!) Then all you have to do is list 10 things you love that start with that letter on your blog!!

My letter from Janet is M (appropriately since I am in the process of changing my name and eliminating a bunch of Ms from my last name!)

M type things that I love:

1. Mike - I have to start with the obvious here -my new husband! :) Handy for me that his name starts with M! :)

2. M&Ms - I love these candies - especially the new "designer" ones - raspberry almond = YUM!

3. Movies - I'm a huge movie fan. I don't go to the theatre as much as I used to, but I just love movies. I'm not a critic - I like most shows! (and most genres with the exception of horror!)

4. Making things - Although I haven't been creating art lately, I do love to make things. This includes cooking, art, crafts, etc. Cooking has been at the top of my list lately - with the cool weather, I want to make cookies, bread, soups - fall type foods!

5. Moving - Well - OK - not really the act of moving... but wanting to move. Moving to Oregon is high on my list at the moment!! We are in a bit of a holding pattern with the job market the way it is... but we're still hoping to move to the ocean next year!!

6. Murping... This is what we call the noise Miss Girl makes. She has taken to "murping" when we come into her room (she is isolated much of the time - it works better for her and for the other cats!) We go in and play with her, and she comes out and visits when we are home. She Murps happily when we open her door. She is a much happier cat now than ever before! Murps = happy Miss G.

7. Music - Mike might disagree with me on this one - he loves music WAY more than me, but I really do love it! (We don't meet on very many genres or artists either!) My favorites include Alison Krauss, Melissa Etheridge, Dixie Chicks, Pink, and loads more! My favorite radio station is KBCO. Every year, I stand in the cold to get a copy of their Studio-C CD!

8. Mollie - the name. I've always loved this name. If I were ever to have a little girl, I'd use this name! (I'm not going to have kids, so maybe a cat will be named Mollie down the road!)

9. Mom - my mom, Carol. Nice that Mom starts with M, so I could fit this one in here! I don't talk about my family a whole lot. Mom and I play Scrabble via email all the time - it's a fun, enjoyable way that we keep in touch!

10. My Maiden Name - weird saying maiden... Mimms. I really love my maiden name though. I debated about actually taking Mike's name or not when we got married. I decided I wanted to though. For so many years of my life, I've had so many Ms in my name. (Tammy Mimms - 10 letters, five of them are Ms!) It's a bit sad to leave Mimms behind, but fun and exciting to move on to my new name too!

Gnocchi Soup

2008-11-12T15:36:00.007-07:00

We have decided not to continue the Fabulous Foodies blog. So... instead of posting my food thoughts there, I'll post them here!

When the weather turns cooler - I get more in the mood to cook! Mike and I heard an ad on TV mentioning a gnocchi soup. I decided that I needed to try and make my own version at home!

I found a recipe online, but I didn't like the total package. I took just the basic skeleton idea and then I ran with it and changed it up to make it my own!

Here is what I did:

Tammy's Gnocchi Sausage Soup

Ingredients:

16 oz. gnocchi (I just used the brand I could find in my regular store. I prefer the kind I can get in our local kitchen store.)

1 lb. hot Italian sausage

8 oz. sliced mushrooms

1 cup (or so) sliced carrots

1 cup-ish frozen peas

1/2 onion, diced

minced garlic - as much as you like

basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano (I used dried in this case - it would, of course, be better with fresh herbs!)

black pepper

4-6 cups Vegetable stock (I used better than boullion to create my stock.)

grated parmesan cheese

Start by cooking your sausage until it is brown. Add in the mushrooms and onions about mid-way through cooking.

While this is cooking - start heating your stock and carrots. Once this is boiling, add in the meat and mushrooms - add any water you may need to have a nice pot-full (leaving enough room to add the peas and pasta later!) Let this cook for about 30 minutes. Add your herbs at any point you like.

Once your carrots have softened, add your peas. This will cool your soup down, so bring it back to a boil. Once it boils again, add the gnocchi. This takes only about 5-6 minutes to cook, so don't add the pasta until you're almost ready to eat!

Once your pasta is cooked - serve this up with a bit of grated cheese on top! Fantastic, if I do say so myself!!

Wedding photos

2008-11-11T16:12:00.007-07:00

Mike's vows were Dr. Seuss-ical. I will admit - we didn't write them, but found them online. Mike had intended to write vows for us, but had some trouble! I did some research and found ones I liked (even though other people wrote them!) So we went with them since Mike had writer's block!

Mike's: (Rebecca read the officiant role for us!)
Officiant: Will you answer me right now These questions, as your wedding vow?

Groom: Yes, I will answer right now Your questions as my wedding vow.

Officiant: Will you take her as your wife? Will you love her all your life?

Groom: Yes, I take her as my wife, Yes, I'll love her all my life.

Officiant: Will you have, and also hold, Just as you have at this time told?

Groom: Yes, I will have, and I will hold, just as I have at this time told, Yes, I will love her all my life As I now take her as my wife.

Officiant: Will you love through good and bad? Whether you're happy or sad?

Groom: Yes, I'll love through good and bad, Whether we're happy or sad, Yes, I will have and I will hold, Just as I have already told, Yes, I will love her all my life,Yes, I will take her as my wife!

Officiant: Will you love her if you're rich? Or if you're poor, and in a ditch?

Groom: Yes, I'll love her if we're rich, And I will love her in a ditch, I'll love her through good times and bad, Whether we are happy or sad, Yes, I will have, and I will hold(I could have sworn this has been told!) I promise to love all my life This woman, as my lawful wife!

Officiant: Will you love her when you're fit,And also when you're feeling sick?

Groom: Yes, I'll love her when we're fit, And when we're hurt, and when we're sick, And I will love her when we're rich And I will love her in a ditch And I will love through good and bad, And I will love when glad or sad, And I will have, and I will hold Ten years from now a thousandfold, Yes, I will love for my whole life This lovely woman as my wife!

Officiant: Will you love with all your heart? Will you love till death you part?

Groom: Yes, I'll love with all my heart From now until death do us part, And I will love her when we're rich, And when we're broke and in a ditch, And when we're fit, and when we're sick, (Oh, CAN'T we get this finished quick?) And I will love through good and bad, And I will love when glad or sad, And I will have, and I will hold, And if I might now be so bold, I'll love her my entire life, Yes, I WILL take her as my wife!

Officiant: Then if you'll take her as your wife, And if you'll love her all your life, And if you'll have, and if you'll hold, From now until the stars grow cold, And if you'll love through good and bad, And whether you're happy or sad, And love in sickness, and in health, And when you're poor, and when in wealth, And if you'll love with all your heart, From now until death do you part, Yes, if you'll love her through and through, Please answer with these words:

Officiant and Groom: I DO!

Officiant: You're married now! So kiss the bride, But please, do keep it dignified.

My words were somewhat more simple to Mike. Heartfelt and true!

Because of you, I laugh, I smile, I dare to dream again. I look forward with great joy to spending the rest of my life with you, caring for you, nurturing you, being there for you in all life has for us, and I vow to be true and faithful for as long as we both shall live.

We also "jumped the broom". A very old tradition of "sweeping" away your single life and moving into your married life together. We asked each person to tie a ribbon to the broom as their blessing or intention for us. We'll find a place to hang this in our house with all the colored ribbons on it!

Special Comment

2008-11-11T08:46:00.007-07:00

Keith Olbermann is wonderful. This Special Comment is so phenomenal in my opinion that I needed to share it.

I just got married. We celebrated with our friends. Other couples in this country are not allowed to do so because they are of the same gender. I personally think that this is wrong and very sad. (this is MY opinion... on MY blog... I'm not asking you to change your mind. I am simply stating my opinion. And I am sharing a wonderfully worded video from Mr. Olbermann.)

We celebrated (again MY opinion) the election of Barack Obama last Tuesday. At the same time, there were defeats that I think set us back. Thank you Keith. Your eloquence touched me on this one!

I have a new last name!

2008-11-04T17:45:00.006-07:00

It's official! Mike and I tied the knot on Saturday! Actually, we jumped the broom if you want to get technical! :) Either way, we are officially married! We brought the paperwork to the courthouse today, and my name is now Tammy Dale Durham. (For now, my blog name is going to stay Mimmsical Creations even though Mimms isn't my last name anymore!) I have lots of paperwork to file to get it officially changed everywhere, but it is in the works!

I don't have many photos yet - we didn't get very many digitals. I turned in the film though, so should have them tomorrow night! I can't wait!

Everything went pretty smoothly. We had a hotel snafu on Friday morning. Our hotel had no hot water... problem!! They made excuses, but it was clear they had known about this issue, and rented us the rooms anyway... so when we also learned that our room didn't lock unless we were in it, we packed it up and found a room in a much nicer hotel. (And got a refund for the other one - I will not be staying in Quality Inns anytime soon!! Blech!) Thankfully this wasn't the day of the ceremony - that would have been really bad!

We got into our new hotel with plenty of time left in the day for me to arrange my flowers for the next day and we spent some time playing dominoes and exploring yummy restaurants! :)

The weather was quite nice, if too hot for my taste. Day of the event it was going on 90 degrees with humidity! Too hot! I hope I don't look all wilted in the photos! My dress was HOT! We had our close friends with us and our ceremony was very casual. Mike and I did all the talking and it was interactive - we didn't have a minister or officiant. Our friend Rebecca helped us out with some of our vows. I'll share them here - Mike's were Dr. Seuss inspired! :) We exchanged rings, kisses, and we had our friends each tie a ribbon to our broom with their blessing. They helped us jump the broom from our single lives into our married lives.

We finished celebrating with a yummy dinner at a Lebanese restaurant that we love.

All in all, it was a wonderful time. We had a great time, and think that our friends did too. It was simple, casual, and memorable. All the things we wanted it to be. Our families were mostly understanding about us not inviting them (thanks family) and keeping it to just a few friends. It worked for us. (In a way - we kind of eloped - with a bit of advance planning!)

We rally!

2008-10-26T17:40:00.014-06:00

Mike and I have gotten political this week! (Not that we weren't before, but...)

Mike went to Greeley (a nearby town) to attend a Joe Biden rally on Tuesday. There were about 4,000 people there. He got to hear Mark Udall's wife, Betsy Markey, and others speak before Joe Biden came out. His speech was great! (We watched a livestream of it later in the day so I could hear it!)

We then decided to go today to attend an Obama rally here in our town of Fort Collins!! He added a stop in our town at the last minute. And, I can tell you, it was a smart move for him!! He spoke this morning in Denver (about 60 minutes south of us) and drew a crowd of over 100,000 supporters!!! Wow!!... Well, not to be outdone - our much smaller town drew a crowd of about 50,000 people!

Mike and I had NO idea that the crowd would be so huge in the "fort". We arrived about an hour and 15 minutes before the gates were to open. The line was literally about a mile from the gates already (and Mike just read that by the time they opened the gates it was over 2.5 miles long)! Unfortunately, we didn't give ourselves enough time. Obama started speaking at 3:30. This is where we were then:

The secret service opened up the security at this point, so we moved faster, but we only got to hear about 5-10 minutes of his speech. We couldn't really pinpoint where Obama was in the sea of people, but I just pointed my camera and shot a few pictures. Somehow, I managed to catch him!! (Small and tiny, but he's there!)

Now, my feet hurt, and I'm enjoying a martini! :) No job news for Mike yet. We're hoping to hear in the next couple of days!! I may be a bit absent until after our wedding, but I will have loads of photos after to share with you!! It's coming up soon!! Almost ready!

Good news!

2008-10-10T17:24:00.003-06:00

Mike has a job interview... in Oregon!! YAYAYAYAY!!

The interview is via telephone on Tuesday. The job is in Portland - not our first choice of places to live/work, but it's about 22 hours closer to the ocean than where we are now! So... that works!!

Send Mike some good energy on Tuesday afternoon if you can! I'll keep you posted! Yay! :)

Roses from Mike

2008-10-10T09:05:00.004-06:00

Mike surprised me with a dozen red roses yesterday afternoon! They are so pretty!! A wonderful, sweet surprise!

Misty has gone pink

2008-10-02T05:27:00.003-06:00

One of my blog friends - Misty at Rainy Day in May - has gone pink for October! For the whole month of October, she is doing everything up in pink to honor and support breast cancer awareness.

She is having giveaways and all sorts of fun stuff going on! Please go check it out! (Her giveaways rock - the Beau-Coup gift certificate I won is from her!) The cause to fight against breast cancer and to honor and remember all of those women who have battled the disease is a great one! Go take a look at Misty's blog and join in! :)

All Sorts of Fun Stuff!

2008-10-01T12:17:00.003-06:00

Whew - I have a lot of fun things to report!! :) All good!

Good thing #1 - I participated in the Fall Random Re-Gift Swap over at Just Be Connected. My partner was Angie. We discovered that we both love the musical Wicked and she followed that theme through with my goodies!! (I sent her goodies too, but not as themed as what she sent me!)

She sent some fun colored M&Ms, some handmade notecards (so cute!), an adorable cat pin cushion, and "wicked" green gloves! The coolest thing was the copy of the New York performance script from the musical Wicked! Wow!! What fun! I will enjoy this for sure!! Thanks Angie!

Good thing #2 - I won a contest! Wow! What a fun surprise! I entered a contest at Misty's blog - Rainy Day in May - and I won! Whoo-hoo!! My prize is a $25 gift certificate to the coolest site - Beau-Coup - fine favors. Yay! I will have so much fun spending this prize! Thanks Misty and Beau-Coup!

REALLY Good thing #3 - My shoes have been found!!!

I know you all were waiting with baited breath to know if I found my red shoes. (yeah, right!) But, I FOUND them!! My friend Andrea and I went shoe shopping on Friday to celebrate my birthday. We literally shopped til we dropped! My mission was red shoes for my wedding! And I found them (and had a couple of other options too!) They are perfect - flats, shiny, the right red to match, etc.!! Yay! Andrea found some pretty amazing shoes for herself too. I also found necklace and earrings for my wedding day! I bought a new nose ring - in blue - for my wedding day (something borrowed, something blue... ) It was a very fun day all in all! :) And a success! (My headband is also in the picture! I found it elsewhere, but it matches everything VERY well!)

Are you registered to vote?

2008-09-29T10:28:00.005-06:00

The presidential election is a mere 36 days away. There has been quite a lot of misinformation out there about voting regulations. Go to www.vote411.org. You can find out if you're registered (for sure!) and also where to go on election day - your polling place. (I'm glad I checked this one - it is different this year!) The Colorado deadline to be registered in time to vote in this election is Monday, October 6. (It may be a bit different in your state, but suffice it to say you only have a few days!)

Misinformation and stories related to voter registration:

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/100/story/53024.html

http://news.racinepost.com/2008/09/gop-absentee-ballot-mailings-called.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/25/us/politics/25voting.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1222706070-8SFzp368gb2A02wNhe+eqw

No matter who you choose to vote for - just be sure to vote! It is an important right that we all should exercise!

The Next Chapter

2008-09-25T06:57:00.006-06:00

I am joining in a book-blogging group starting in November. (I will join a bit late as soon as I get home from my wedding!)

It is hosted by Jamie and the blog is here. We will be reading Soul Coaching by Denise Linn. I'm very excited to join in on this. I've read a couple books by Linn and enjoyed them!

Wedding details

2008-09-18T15:21:00.006-06:00

Wedding planning - even for a tiny wedding - takes a lot of time! :) It's fun though. Things are coming together! I am in process of ordering my flowers today! I am going to create the bouquets myself, so I needed to order loose flowers! I am working with a local florist to get them all picked out!

I am going to make bouquets of dark red roses with white calla lilies! Simple, hand-tied bouquets is what I have pictured! I have done the flowers for three weddings, and I know I'll do as well for my own as I did for the others!! I'll also make boutonnieres for the guys of smaller, spray roses and perhaps mini-callas.

We picked up Mike's suit and his new ring on Saturday!! His ring is great!! It is three strands of gold - one white, one rose, and one yellow that are braided together. He wants to wear it already - so he is wearing it on his right hand. I had to leave my ring behind (boo!) on Saturday so they can make a wedding band to match! I'm already used to wearing it and I miss it!!

Mike looks so handsome in his suit! He still needs to buy new dress shoes (as you can see in the photo!), and a tie!

The only thing that I still need (yes, STILL!) is red shoes! I have had no luck in my search for the perfect red shoe! I have ordered three pairs and sent all three back. I think the problem is that I do NOT wear heels. I fall down in heels. So... I have to find flats, and I'm not willing to spend $400 on them! So... Andrea and I are going shopping next Friday. It is a shoe-finding mission! My birthday is Thursday, so I'm taking Friday off and we're going to find the perfect shoes! Wish us luck!

New food post

2008-09-14T18:09:00.005-06:00

Go on over to the Friendship of the Fabulous Foodies blog. I posted a new recipe today! Super easy, super yummy soup!

http://friendshipfabulousfoodies.blogspot.com/2008/09/fall-stewsoup.html

My Quilt

2008-09-09T16:09:00.009-06:00

Here are some photos of the quilt my mom made for us (king size for our bed!) It's not quite cool enough to start using it yet, but very soon! It is gorgeous, Thanks Mom!! It is double-sided. One side is all greens/yellows. The other side is all mixed up. All of the fabrics are batiks. I like the bright side best! :)

I have intended to get more photos of my shower up, but just haven't gotten it done! I will - soon! For now, here are quilt photos! And a couple of the gifts I mentioned in my last shower post (before I veered off political... all done with that!)

This is the bracelet from my sister. (several of you mentioned you'd like to see it!) I have worn it a number of times - I really like it! Thanks Connie!

And this is my dishes set from my co-workers. They are SO pretty!!

Political rant

2008-09-05T13:26:00.007-06:00

I don't very often get political here on my blog. In fact, I have stayed away from posting much about my views and beliefs intentionally. I don't want to stir up bad feelings or whatever. But now, I am good and stirred up myself. I want to rant, and as this is my blog, I will post it here. If you are offended, or shocked, I'm sorry. You can add your comment and let me know. Or you can post your opinion on your own forum as well. This is MY opinion only. I am not forcing you to change the way you think. But, I do ask - read what I think with an open mind. That's all.

I am absolutely incensed about the way things have gone this week - the choice of Sarah Palin for VP of the Republican ticket. I think McCain may have hoped that by choosing a woman, he would sway voters who supported Hillary Clinton. But Hillary and Sarah only share one thing in common - their gender.

I am a registered Democrat - always have been. (sorry family!) I have been an Obama supporter from day one. However, I have been trying to be open and listen to the other candidates and know what they are presenting. We watched all of the speeches during last week's Democratic convention, and we have also watched this week's Republican convention. (Although - our electricity went out right as Giulianni was speaking on Wednesday night and we had to listen to Sarah Palin's speech online the next day!)

The difference in the speakers was stark. I found myself cringing this week. It seems that every single person who spoke THIS week at the RNC had something very negative to say. There were slams and lies. I know I am biased simply because my beliefs run to the Democratic - I tried to keep an open mind though. It seemed that the Democrat speakers were not doing the negative - if they had something negative to say it was about the policies NOT the person. There was a lot of slamming the person from the Republicans and belittling accomplishments, etc. Not OK.

What has made me the most upset though is the lies. Honestly, they are easy to disprove, so I'm not sure why the RNC speakers thought it was OK to put them in the speeches and try to sway audiences with lies.

An AP article lays out some of the mistruths that were in Palin's speech alone. Here are a couple - read the article to see them all.

PALIN: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending ... and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere."

THE FACTS: As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "bridge to nowhere."

PALIN: "There is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform _ not even in the state senate."

THE FACTS: Compared to McCain and his two decades in the Senate, Obama does have a more meager record. But he has worked with Republicans to pass legislation that expanded efforts to intercept illegal shipments of weapons of mass destruction and to help destroy conventional weapons stockpiles. The legislation became law last year. To demean that accomplishment would be to also demean the work of Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, a respected foreign policy voice in the Senate. In Illinois, he was the leader on two big, contentious measures in Illinois: studying racial profiling by police and requiring recordings of interrogations in potential death penalty cases. He also successfully co-sponsored major ethics reform legislation.

Mike Huckabee also grossly exaggerated the truth:

FORMER ARKANSAS GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: Palin "got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States."

THE FACTS: A whopper. Palin got 616 votes in the 1996 mayor's election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of 1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the ballot during the 2008 presidential primaries.

OK... being nasty about your opponent is one thing. I don't like it, but it is politics and it does happen. But out and out lying is a whole other story! I am afraid what McCain/Palin are hoping is for the voters/American public to take what they are saying at face value and do no homework.

PLEASE - don't just take what these candidates are saying and run with it. I urge you to do some homework. Make sure they are telling you the truth (and this goes for the Obama/Biden camp too!) Research what they say and make sure it fits with your beliefs before making your choice. And make sure what they are saying is the truth.

There are a number of articles/sites that have inspired/made me hopping mad/scared me this week. Yes, they are anti-McCain/Palin. Yes, they are MY beliefs! So, if you don't agree, don't click through. But if you want to read and see what's got me going, take a look! I have never been so involved, inspired, hopeful for change than I am this election year. I truly think Obama/Biden are a great ticket, and I hope that Obama is our next president. I am getting involved, and I am letting my opinions be known!

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/taxes.asp (Snopes.com is a very fact-based, non-partisan site that debunks myths. Any emails that come around to you that are forwarded - check them out on Snopes first before passing them on to others!)

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-steinem4-2008sep04,0,7541303.story

http://www.sarahpalinisnthillaryclinton.com/

http://jezebel.com/5045887/the-daily-show-palin-is-able-to-make-the-choice-she-doesnt-really-want-other-people-to-have

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/02/palins-church-may-have-sh_n_123205.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/04/jon-stewart-hits-karl-rov_n_123852.html

http://jezebel.com/5043669/sarah-palin-when-choosing-a-woman-might-not-be-choosing-for-women

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/06/09/ST2008060900950.html

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/fightthesmearshome

The Shower has come and gone!

2008-08-25T16:08:00.009-06:00

And it was a blast!! Andrea did an awesome job of planning this party! It was just amazing! Being the center of attention all afternoon was a bit difficult, but seeing everyone was great! I didn't get to visit with people as much as I would have liked (of course). There were 34 people there (including me!) A few family, a few in-laws to be, and lots of friends!

I have a few photos to share now, and I'll have more later this week. I took just a few with my camera, so I'm waiting for film developing on some disposables that we asked the guests to use! We'll see what they saw!

We had hors' douevres and cake. Andrea also served wine (red and white) and iced tea. Her mother-in-law Donna contributed the most fabulous deviled eggs! (thanks Donna!) They all disappeared. The cake was simple white cake/frosting, but it's my favorite, and it was yummy too! (Mike got a piece or two of that leftover!)

Andrea had games planned - all of which were really fun. She started out with a mad-lib about Mike and I. I will publish it here later this week for you all to read. Quite laughable. She also had a quiz about how well the guests knew me. I think I will post the questions here. Do any of you know me? There were 14 questions. My mom and one of my co-workers (Susan) tied with 11 of the 14 correct. Not bad! (Mike got all but one right when I asked him later.)

The gifts were amazing. I got totally spoiled! My in-laws-to-be all went together and bought us a lot of things off the registry we had at Target! A rice cooker, a food processor, a wonderful blanket, bookshelves, pans, and the list goes on. My amazing co-workers went together and bought us the entire set of dishes I wanted from our local kitchen store The Cupboard. I will get photos of them as I unpack and wash them. Such an amazing gift! The pattern is stunning!! I got lots of kitchen ware (so we will be replacing Mike's 40 year old stuff now!!) My mom surprised me by having my super-duper quilt finished!! She had told me it wasn't finished yet!! (It wasn't really a gift, but we had it displayed so everyone could see her handiwork!)

My favorite gift came from my sister, Connie. She wrote me a sweet letter to go with it. (Thanks Connie! It means so much to me!) She put a lot of thought into a personal gift of a charm bracelet. She wrote out what each charm meant to her. Perfect and so meaningful. I'm wearing it today!

Andrea gave me a recipe box, and had asked each person who was invited to send a recipe (whether they could come or not!) So I have a wonderful new box with tons of new recipes to try out! Yay!! All my new cookware will be put to use with these new recipes! (My food processor already got a work-out making pesto yesterday!)

(The photo below is me, releasing the balloons after the party. We took this because I have a photo of Andrea from 10 years ago at her wedding shower doing the same thing!!)

What's going on here?

2008-08-11T14:52:00.007-06:00

A lot is going on here, actually!

It's still summer and still hot... but it has been raining every afternoon so that it cools off! Open windows at night - ah, bliss!

Wedding plans are rolling along. I go to the seamstress tomorrow for alterations on my dress!! I hopefully won't need much (definitely no big hemming!) so it won't break the bank! It needs to be bustled since we'll be outside. The train would be ruined! I found THE perfect wrap to wear over my bare shoulders (so I don't feel quite so exposed!) It was from David's Bridal and was only $20! Yay! It's the perfect deep red shade that I wanted. Now the search for red shoes. I enlisted the help of my favorite Red Shoe blogger, Deb! I hadn't had any luck finding what I wanted (and yes, I AM going to wear red shoes under my ivory gown!) She gave me all sorts of ideas! I took off running from there, and I found two pairs that I ordered (both were only $10 each on sale!) And there is a third pair that I'm going to order - not for the wedding, but I LOVE them! Thanks Deb!! I appreciate your help!

My shower, which I am looking forward to, is coming up in less than two weeks. Andrea has all sorts of fun stuff planned that she won't let me in on! I wish all of you, my blog friends, could be there! If you are in the Fort Collins area on the 23rd, let me know!! You're invited!

Mike and I are making solid plans to move to Oregon. He doesn't have a new job and prospects aren't good right now. So... instead of waiting for the job, we're going to plan the move anyway. He is saving a lot of money right now, so in a few months, he will have enough put away that he can live without an income for about 6 months. I will have my income since my job is portable! So, we're going to look at moving in the spring of 2009. We have to stay put until after the wedding and also because of the election. We have to have residency so our votes count! Moving in December/January won't be fun, so we'll aim for spring! Now that we have decided, I think this is a really good thing! He can find temporary work for sure, and once we're in the area we want to be, he'll have a much better chance at finding jobs. It's difficult since many of the jobs he has applied for were for local commuting area only. They won't even give him a shot since we're in Colorado and not Oregon.

So... we're going to find the town we like (I think Corvallis) and find a house, and move. Then he will start job-hunting there. I have my job to take along, and hopefully, it will be just the change we need! Corvallis is about 1.5 hours from the coast - so we can go every weekend! (which I know we'll want to do at least at first!) It is also kind of in between Eugene and Salem, so the job possibilities are bigger! It's going to be an adventure for sure, but I'm ready. I'm ready to move out of Colorado and to be closer to the ocean! Any tips for us as we plan our big adventurous move?! I've never done this before. I will be slimming down my posessions over the next few months for sure!

That's the news from here! What's going on with you all?!

Lacking Motivation

2008-07-29T15:22:00.004-06:00

Summer. I don't like it. It's too hot, and my motivation, what little I have, goes down the tubes. I'm ready for fall! Or a move to cooler climes.

I think I have seasonal affective disorder, but instead of being like most people where winter affects you, it's summer for me. Honestly, I just can't handle being hot - I get cranky and irritable (just ask Mike!) Andrea (my best friend) and I were just discussing this the other day. She is much the same way as me. We just don't want to do anything in the summer - want to stay indoors, out of the hot sun. It's depressing!

On a more positive note - I did scoop up a bit of motivation on Sunday. My art room needed cleaning (for months!) and I finally motivated to do it! My reason - I want to be able to do yoga before work in the mornings. There was so much crap on the floor that I didn't have room! So, I cleaned, threw junk away, am sending a big bag of "stuff" to my sister Vicki, etc. I have bags to go to Goodwill, and used books to turn in to the bookstore! Yay! AND - best of all, I have room to do yoga again! And I did do it yesterday morning. I could hardly move this morning because my unused muscles are so sore! But, I'll keep trying! It felt good! (Although I was too hot - go figure. A new fan is in order!)

I hope you all are well! Wedding plans are moving along. My shower is coming up in less than a month! The invitations are going out this week! Fun!! :)

Tattling on Mike... and updates

2008-07-18T11:22:00.004-06:00

Wow - it has been a couple weeks since I last posted. Time flies! Things have been busy!

First off - my wedding dress drama has been solved! I purchased the more "traditional" dress rather than the red Indian dress. I love my ivory dress - I feel pretty in it! That is a good thing for your wedding day! :)

Next - I HAVE to tattle on Mike. I caught him trying to be sneaky last night. As I mentioned in my last post, I am trying to not let him see my dress before our wedding day. I didn't bring it home with me when I purchased it - it's stored somewhere else! Well, he reads my blog now and then, and he decided he would "borrow" one of YOUR names (my blog readers!) and email me using that name to try and get me to send him the picture of me in my dress! Turkey!

Only thing is - he did this while I was home, and I saw him attempting to do it! I can't decide if he was really trying or if he wanted me to catch him at it - which I did! I'm glad now that I didn't bring the dress home - he said he wouldn't go looking, but now... I don't know! I foiled his master plan though! It was very funny to see him spluttering trying to explain what he was up to!

Let's see... other than wedding plans - what is up? Work has been extremely busy lately. I got a promotion! I'm no longer the business manager - I am fully web now - webmaster/web designer! It is a good change for me!

Mike is still looking for work other than his current (awful) job. There is a possibility in Corvallis, OR - send out some positive vibes for that if you would. It would be great!

My parents are home (in Colorado) for a couple of months. I haven't seen them yet, but will soon. Mom is going to help me do some shopping for wedding stuff soon too! That will be fun!

I hope all of your summers are going well! Don't give up on stopping by - I will post now and then! I am posting over at Friendship of the Fabulous Foodies more regularly, and my work blog too if you're interested - http://claypaws.typepad.com/.

Wedding Dress Drama

2008-07-02T16:32:00.003-06:00

So... I posted a bit ago about my wedding dress plans - red, Indian, etc... Well... yesterday my sample dress arrived from India. This is a mock version of the dress I was intending to purchase made in my measurements, etc.

Um... yeah... don't so much like it! Andrea told me I look like an Amish schoolteacher. Not exactly what I had in mind for my wedding day! So... we went on a quick trip to a wedding shop nearby and I tried on some more traditional (white) dresses...

I was prepared to not like them either since that is never what I have wanted for my wedding. Well, color me surprised! I LOVED one of them. I wish I could put a photo but I'm keeping it secret from Mike. If you want to see it - email me and I'll send you the photo!

It is strapless, but I'm fixing that issue (it's an issue for me!) by adding a red scarf around my arms/shoulders. I'm also going to add some other red accents. It's a corset back so I'll have the ribbon closure in red as well!

I haven't bought the dress yet, but it is on hold for me. I am going to make my final decision tomorrow... I'm pretty sure my decision will involve a white dress though. (Actually, it is ivory.)

Gah! Who knew I'd wind up buying a traditional wedding dress? I certainly wouldn't have guessed.

Adventures in Dining

2008-06-30T17:38:00.004-06:00

On Friday night, Mike and I drove to Denver to go to a Gong Bath. (You can learn about the Gong Bath by visiting my post about the first experience I had with it. Go here. It was even more positive this time!)

Before the Gong Bath, we went to a wonderful restaurant for dinner. It's called the House of Kabob and serves Lebanese food. Wow - it was truly phenomenal!! I've had this food once before in Fort Worth - actually, we'll have our reception dinner there after our wedding in November!

We shared two appetizers and one entree (and had leftovers!) The entree was beef shawarma, and honestly, it was some of the best food I've ever had!! Garlicky, spicy, so tender - YUMMY! I can't wait to go back again. I'm trying to invent reasons we need to go to Denver!

Monday brought a whole other dining adventure. I had my annual review lunch with my bosses for work! We went to a restaurant in Old Town Fort Collins that I had never been to, but had heard good things about. (I'm not going to name names in this story!)

My bosses each ordered the special which included salads. As our food arrived, and we started eating, my boss Debby started flicking her salad onto the table - in a distressed manner. She was pointing at something on the table and saying "What is that?" over and over. Laurel and I looked and my brain tried to make whatever it was a mushroom... but it most certainly was NOT a mushroom. It WAS a FROG!! A dead frog in Debby's salad. Oh man... that is perhaps one of the grossest things ever! Debby was pretty calm, but all of our appetites were killed instantly! The manager handled things very well - he saw the frog and started sweeping away all of our plates. No charge of course. I told him thanks for how he handled things, but boy, I don't think I'll be able to go back there - I will be grossed out every time! It was a memorable review lunch - and it had nothing to do with my actual review (which was good!)

Have you ever had any dining experiences like that?! I'm awfully glad (for my sake) that it wasn't MY salad! I think I would have created a much larger scene than Debby! (Like screaming or barfing!) Blech!

My Quilt

2008-06-24T09:31:00.006-06:00

My mom is making me a quilt (well, it's for both Mike and I really!) I think I've mentioned it before. She is very close to having it done!!

The materials I picked were quilter's batiks!! Very wild colors, but oh-so-fun! Mom has had fun making this one - so many people have commented on it as she works! Here are pictures she sent of what she had put together so far. They will be home (to Colorado) in mid-July. Maybe she'll have it done by then!

This is the front:

And this is the back:

Foodies Blog

2008-06-24T06:50:00.005-06:00

I am a new contributor at a wonderful, new blog!! My blog friends Jana and Suzie came up with this idea! The blog is Friendship of the Fabulous Foodies! Each of us is writing about our recipes and cooking experiences!

I just wrote my first post this morning. Go check it out!! My next post there will be about canning and making pickles! :)

Fun Flickr Meme

2008-06-18T15:58:00.004-06:00

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.

b. Using only the first page, pick an image.

c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The questions:

1. What is your first name? Tammy (the bride was coincidentally the first image to come up in this search!) :)

2. What is your favorite food? Indian food

3. What high school did you go to? Windsor High School (not my school pictured)

4. What is your favorite color? Purple

5. Who is your celebrity crush? Harry Connick, Jr.

6. Favorite drink? Fizzy Water

7. Dream vacation? Tuscany

8. Favorite dessert? Creme Brulee

9. What you want to be when you grow up? Artist

10. What do you love most in life? Mike (this photo is titled "No Strings Attached" - fitting!)

11. One Word to describe you. Loyal

12. Your flickr name. Tamberstone (I cannot get this image to work in the mosaic! Click HERE to see it!)

See the mosaic at my flickr with links to the photos.

I'm apparently a girly-girl

2008-06-12T14:03:00.007-06:00

Funny, but Mike said to me the other day "You're shocking me in this wedding planning... You're being so girly!"

And I guess I am! I'm really getting into the planning, the details, everything for our upcoming wedding!! It's coming up pretty quickly, so I had to dive right in!

We are keeping it VERY tiny. We kind of had to go all or none. My family is gigantic. With just my siblings and their families, there would be close to 60 people and that doesn't include aunts, cousins, etc. So... we're going the "none" route. Right now, I think we'll have 7 people plus us. Just a handful of close friends to share the day with us! (I'm sorry family - if you're reading... thanks for understanding!)

My best friend, Andrea, is planning a traditional bridal shower for me though. She's already figuring out the games, the food, the decor, etc. She is having SO much fun with it! I know we'll have a great time! (Family - you will be invited to this... well, at least the females will!)

Andrea and her daughter, Savannah, will be my special attendants! (**We're not doing a traditional wedding ceremony, so they won't be standing up with us as actual bridesmaids, but they are going to help me and are definitely my best girls no matter what!) I've pretty much decided on my dress. Mine is NON-traditional - no white dress for me! (Well, it is traditional... if you're Indian!) The dress is a secret from Mike, so if you're interested in seeing it, please email me! I'll send you the link!

I'm on the lookout for some cool, unique toasting glasses. If you see them, or know of them, let me know!

I think my flowers are pretty much decided as well. I'll be creating the arrangements (of course!). I'm planning on using mini-calla lilies and dendrobium orchids in simple bouquets and for boutonnieres, etc.

I had no idea my brain would be all-consumed with wedding stuff once we were engaged and planning! But, it is! I haven't been sleeping well because my brain is running! But, it's good - and I'm having fun! I think Mike is too, to some extent! He doesn't care as much about the details though. (Andrea is going to go with me to create a registry - Mike doesn't like to shop! The only thing he wants is a meat smoker!)

As for our moving to Oregon... for now it's on hold. Mike is still searching for a job, but he has resigned himself to staying in his current one for now. There are a few possibilities looming, but nothing imminent right now. We'll get there though - it may just be down the road a bit!

OH... and tell me this... once I marry Mike and change my last name, should I change the name of my blog?! Mimmsical is a play on my last name (Mimms) and whimsical. My new name will be Durham!

**Please NOTE: I had to remove a few comments to protect some information. If you commented and see that your comment is gone - know that I still have your lovely words, but needed to remove the public comment!**

Trip Part 2... and bad news

2008-06-03T06:01:00.004-06:00

Well, my last news was exciting - Mike was eligible. (We were led to think that if he was eligible, he would get the job...) But this misleading information was untrue. Although he was eligible, he was not hired (nor even interviewed!) for the job. We were quite upset and sad on Thursday (I started writing this post on Friday, and never finished!) He got the news mid-morning. So... the job hunt continues. We're researching other options for getting ourselves moved out to Oregon. My bosses continue to be supportive of me! That helps immensely!

Well... enough of that bad news. Here's more about our trip!

On our second day at the coast, we didn't go too far mileage-wise. We found a beach called Agate Beach and we stayed there for a couple hours (or more) and walked the shoreline. The weather was still sunny and warm - the water was COLD! We had lunch and then decided we'd find a hotel on the coast since we were already tired for that day. Well, did we ever find an amazing place!! Near Yachats, OR there is a place called the Overleaf Lodge. I can say I HIGHLY recommend this hotel. It was truly five-star! We got a good rate (more than we'd normally spend, but worth every penny!) on a third story suite with a balcony overlooking the coast. And not just any coast - a very rocky and beautiful stretch of coast!! We could hear the waves crashing in our room! We had naps that afternoon to the sound of the ocean and slept that night so deeply with the sea air and sounds!

More pictures at flickr!

Yachats itself is a tiny town, but we found an amazing restaurant there called the Drift Inn. Truly gourmet food, and a wonderful wine list! They even have live music most every night. We wound up eating there that first night and the next as well! It was so enjoyable (and yummy)!

We drove further south the next day to Coos Bay and North Bend and then Bandon. The towns themselves weren't all that impressive, pretty run down and depressed. We did quite a bit of driving around the towns seeing what was what! We came across another really great restaurant find in Coos Bay - a mediterranean place that had just amazing food! Yum! (I had a gyro, but I "regret" not trying something a little more unique. I was coveting Mike's schewerma! {sp?})

Our favorite place of our last trip was Coquille Point, near Bandon. It is beautiful, of course, but our previous find of the Overleaf and its coast made it less spectacular somehow. We didn't stay on the coast long because it was COLD!

We then drove inland to Eugene, Corvallis, and Salem (and Portland a little bit) We spent some time in each town driving around again and finding the houses we saw in the paper for rent. It was a great way to see the neighborhoods.

We like Eugene and Salem OK, but we really loved Corvallis! It's much smaller than either of the other towns, and it has kind of a "hippy" feel to it! That's the town we're hoping for now! (But many of the others will do as well!) Salem felt too big to me. It's not that much bigger than here, but it feels more like a big city! We'd "make it work" though! Portland is too big. Neither of us like it very well. I have never lived in a truly BIG city, and it's scary!

This trip was truly wonderful. We got a needed vacation, but we also did some needed research. We learned that we truly DO want to move out to Oregon! We both love the grey, rainy weather! We're ready, now all we have to do is get a job for Mike figured out! Anyone know a town that needs a reiki master?

Trip - Part 1... and news!

2008-05-27T21:12:00.004-06:00

I'm working on uploading photos! But, I took a ton, so it's slow going!!

The first part of our trip to Oregon was east of Portland to the Columbia River gorge! We headed directly for Multnomah Falls. It is truly a breathtaking waterfall!! I am blown away by it each time! It is 620 feet tall and the water just absolutely crashes down! It was running VERY full on this visit, so was even more impressive if that's possible!

We spent an hour or more just taking it all in! We got quite soaked from the spray from the falls! It was a very hot day (95 degrees+, very unusual I guess!) so the spray was welcome!

We then headed a few more miles down the gorge to The Dalles where we stayed for the night. We found a Mexican restaurant where we had eaten on our last trip - really yummy food!! (They had actually moved, so we couldn't find them right off, but wound up there!)

The next morning we headed back west (making our way to the coast) and took the time to drive the gorgeous Historic Columbia River highway! This takes you back along the hills and several other waterfalls! We saw Horsetail Falls, Wahkeena, and we hiked the short way back to see the Bridal Veil Falls. It was so amazingly gorgeous the whole way! All of the falls were spectacular. We timed it right! They were running pretty full and fast because of the spring run-off!

Then we made our way to the coast - I believe we met the ocean near Astoria. We stopped at several places we remembered from our first trip! It is so beautiful no matter where you stop and look! I absolutely do love the Oregon coast! (And it wasn't stinky this year - there were dead jelly fish last time because of a storm and it was smelly!) We stayed the first night in Lincoln City. We had an amazing dinner here - recommended by our hotel. It was a restaurant with an ocean view where I was able to get some truly yummy fish! (It was halibut encrusted with macadamia nuts, on top of garlic mashed potatoes, smothered with dungeness crab and parmesan cheese, and a sherry clam sauce. Wow! So unique and totally yummy!!!)

I'll continue with the story tomorrow - if you want to see more (MANY more) pictures - I'm uploading them to my flickr. There will be more, but I've got a good start at uploading them!

And in other news!! Mike is eligible for the job in Salem!!! WHOO HOO!! We're hoping he'll hear more news tomorrow. If he gets this, things are going to move at a whirlwind rate - like we'll be moved in six weeks! Yikes!! I'll keep you posted!

Oregon Bound!

2008-05-16T18:58:00.004-06:00

We're headed off tomorrow morning for Oregon. This is a combo vacation/searching to move trip. We're going to spend time in Portland, Salem and the small towns along the coast - all with an eye to moving to OR!

Be back in a week or so with trip updates (and maybe wedding details - as I'm sure we'll discuss more on our trip!!)

BIG NEWS!

2008-05-15T09:23:00.006-06:00

No - it's not about Mike's job. Still no word there.

However, Mike proposed to me last night!! It was a surprise to me - I had no idea it was coming!

WOW! He picked out the stone and the setting and had the ring custom made! The stone is a perfect purple sapphire, and is set in white gold! (Sapphire is my birthstone. I've never liked the customary blue. We saw a purple one several years ago and he remembered that I liked it!) He even got the size exactly right!!

The inscription is ZOMG! Love FTW! Yep - he put gamer speak on my ring! (ZOMG = Oh, my god! FTW = For the Win, so Love for the win! He said he debated on putting that on there, but I'm glad he did - it makes it very personal!!

We haven't talked details at all at this point. I'll keep you posted! I was so shaky last night I could hardly walk. And today, I'm so distracted I can hardly focus on anything!!

More ATCs!

2008-05-14T13:03:00.006-06:00

I am up to 8 out of my challenge of 30 ATCs made during this month!! I doodled while watching TV last night! These first two are in the mail on their way to my niece and nephew. Joy drew a picture for me about a month ago (I posted about it here), so I thought I would send her something in return. I included a card for her brother David, too.

Cards 6, 7, and 8 are just doodles! This is what I do best, and what I enjoy drawing the most! No rhyme or reason. I almost always like the outcome! These were very fun!! I will probably do more like them as I head toward my 30! The outline on the first card is a continuous line. There is an entry and an exit point for the line, but no other breaks!

In other artsy news, my art therapist is having an open house/art show at the end of the month. She asked me to bring in some art to display! I am meeting her this afternoon with three potential pieces!! I'll try to get some photos when she has the show! Fun!!

New Art gasp

2008-05-13T12:19:00.004-06:00

No really! I know - my blog is called Mimmsical Creations... but I haven't been creating much lately!

However, I couldn't pass up the challenge of the Sharpie! My sharpie group did a challenge back in October of 2006 called SAC - Sharpie Art by the Card. We pledged to make a certain number of ATC cards during the month. I did 90 cards that month! Well, this month of May we're doing it again. I've pledged to make only 30 this time. (Challenge enough when I haven't made any art lately!) So far, I've made 6... not exactly on track for my 30, but we'll see! I have the first three scanned in to share with you!

I'm taking pens/paper with me on our trip (we leave on Saturday for Oregon! Yay!) And we'll see if I can create more while sitting by the ocean!!

Sad Weekend at My House

2008-05-12T10:58:00.002-06:00

I had a sad kitty weekend at my house. It's sad AND happy actually.

We have five cats - 3 boys and 2 girls. The girls (Miss Girl and Luna) do not get along. We combined our kitties about 2 and a half years ago, and for this whole time - they have not gotten along! We kept thinking that it would settle down, they would get used to each other, but it hasn't happened.

Miss Girl is a special case. Mike (my other half) rescued her and Ben from a very abusive situation. She has some pretty odd medical issues that we are working on figuring out. What I finally decided is that this little cat deserves to be happy, and with Luna in the house, she is not.
So - after much worrying, we decided to try and place Luna somewhere else. Luna is a happy-go-lucky cat who likes everyone, so she'll adjust. We're hoping that Miss Girl will adjust and settle down a bit with Luna gone.

Thankfully, our friends Rod and Rebecca love Luna and have decided to take her (temporarily for now - but permanently unless something bad happens). We took Luna to them on Saturday morning. (They have two cats - both boys, so we think she'll do well!) She was doing quite well when we left her on Saturday - wandering around and checking out the house. She was nervous, and shedding like a fiend, but she knows and loves Rod and Rebecca already! Their two cats (Angus and Fezzig) hadn't come out of hiding while we were there.

I had to call (concerned kitty mom!) yesterday to see how she had done over night. It seems like she is going to adjust quite quickly! The boys are taking longer to adjust to her, but there hasn't been any actual fighting or bad stuff!

I am very sad that Luna had to find a new place, but I will be happy if it helps Miss Girl be a happier kitty. Knowing that Luna is with people who love her, and knowing that I can still see her and get updates has helped immensely! If this works out, and Luna stays with Rod and Rebecca permanently, the next time I visit, I plan to make a ClayPaws® print for myself of Luna's paw so I have a keepsake of my big girl!

You know, the thing I missed the most about her this weekend? She has been my "bathroom buddy" her whole life. I never went into the bathroom where Luna didn't come with me for almost five years! It was lonely without her!

(I cross-posted this blog entry with my work blog - it was pertinent to both work and home!)

Photos from Arkansas

2008-05-05T16:09:00.003-06:00

I am slow on the uptake! I am finally just now getting my photos from my trip to visit sisters in AR uploaded!

My sister Vicki wasn't able to go out and about with us, so I took tons of photos. I won't post them all here, but you can see the whole set at my flickr!

We went to this amazing, magical place on Sunday with my sister Rhonda and niece Sheri (Sheri is Vicki's daughter. We also got to see my niece Amanda (Rhonda's daughter) and her family.)

Terra Studios in Durham, AR, is the home of the Bluebird of Happiness. What an astonishing place! Artist's live on the premises and there is art absolutely everywhere!! You can purchase some of it - blown glass, sculpture, and pottery in the gift shops. But, the grounds are just the most amazing thing - gnomes, dragons, fairies, everywhere you look! There is a wonderful labyrinth (it was too muddy to walk...) and a path back into the woods! It was such a great place! I took SO many photos - here are a few of my favorites!

Back from a Quick Trip

2008-04-30T15:02:00.003-06:00

My best friend Andrea and I left on Saturday morning to go visit my sisters in Siloam Springs, Arkansas! We flew into Tulsa, OK and drove the hour or so to their town.

As some of you may remember, my sister Vicki is quite ill, and is house-bound, and pretty much bed-ridden now. (Some of you wonderful bloggers out there have sent her sweet packages and notes!) She wasn't able to get out and do fun stuff with us, so we brought the fun stuff to her! We spent Sunday out and about and documented the day so Vicki could see all the photos!

Then we spent Monday and our Tuesday morning at Vicki's house just hanging out. Got home last night!

I'll have loads of photos and stories to share, but for now... my green shoes! A wonderful vacation treat that I bought for me! :) I knew I would obsess about them if I didn't go ahead and buy them. Now I want to get my tattoo re-touched because it looks so cool with my new shoes!

Plan B

2008-04-25T06:35:00.004-06:00

So, I'm still not feeling like writing much. There is a lot to share, but as stressful as life has been recently, I sound whiney even in my head, and I didn't want to put that out there!

What I DO want to put out there is our Plan B. Since the job we were really hoping for fell through for Mike, we've been discussing (I almost wrote disgusting...) every possible option. Options like Mike quitting right now, taking about 4 months off while he looks for something else. Options like Mike looking for lower grades than his current one (he is a federal employee and they use a grade system for pay scales) ... Mike flipping burgers, etc.

The option that we are going with (and makes the most sense) is this: (thanks to my sister Mary for planting the idea in my head - blame her Mom!)

We had a trip planned in mid-May to California. We were flying into San Francisco where we would see Mike's brother Jeff. Then we'd drive down the coast - taking several days to reach the LA area where we'd head east to Desert Hot Springs to see my parents for a couple days. We'd fly home out of LAX. (This two city flying trip wound up costing BUNCHES not in airline prices, but in rental car charges. Did you know you can't go one-way without huge fees?! I did not!)

Well, timing of this trip wasn't good. Mike is job-hunting (here in Colorado, all over WA and OR, and in NC). Here we were trying to figure out how to get ourselves moved, and going to spend a bunch of money on a vacation. Well, timing is also such that it feels really good - what we did instead! We made a change to our itinerary! We are now leaving on May 17 and flying to Portland, OR instead. We'll take our week of vacation and look at Portland, Salem, coastal towns, and Mike can actually look for jobs. We'll look at the towns as potential residents instead of tourists.

This feels right! The airline ticket changes totalled less than the rental car would have cost in CA! I will miss getting to see my folks, but I talked to Mom before we ever decided for sure. She understood and agreed that this was a good plan. So that helped cement our decision!

If you can spare a thought - send out some energy. There is a good opportunity in Salem, OR that Mike is working on. If it were to come through, we might know something BEFORE our trip! If that happens, our trip could be a house-hunting expedition instead of a job-hunting one! I'm not setting all my hopes on this one job this time, but I am hopeful! It is a downgrade, but it is a handleable one! (Is handleable a word?) Downgrade = Less Stress for Mike, and that is WAY more important than money. Cost of living in Salem is less than here too.

If anyone is still visiting my little blog, I will keep you posted. Thanks for thinking of me! Some day this stress will subside - sooner rather than later! Luckily, my work is NOT stressful! (And my work comes with us - I have a job to bring along!)

Fun Mail

2008-04-17T10:37:00.003-06:00

I received a lovely letter in the mail on Monday from my niece, Joy. She wrote to me about the stuffed animals I had sent them a couple months back. She told me that she wrote a book (I believe it was spelled "rowt"!) and thought maybe I would want a copy (which I do, of course!)

She also sent me this wonderful artwork!! I'll find a special place to hang it for sure!

Thank you Joy!! It was so fun to hear from you! I will write back!

Disappointment

2008-04-07T16:26:00.002-06:00

On Friday, Mike got the news that he had not qualified for the job in Oregon. Needless to say, I am very disappointed. He took the news better than I did - perhaps because he has worked in the gov't system for a long time and understands better what it takes to qualify.

I had definitely set my hopes high for this one. It was the "perfect" job - because of location mainly.

So... now we move on to Plan B. We don't really have a plan B as of yet, but we're trying to figure out what we should do. Both of us long to move to the coast, so that's still where we're focusing.

Things have gotten worse for Mike at work... everything is still settling after a big reorganization, so we'll see what shakes out for him. Last week was VERY rough. If it continues along those lines, he will need to get out of there for his health's sake (and mine! I had a horrible migraine on Saturday.) Sometimes, I truly think we should just pack it up and head for Oregon, job or no. I am extremely lucky in that my employers will let me keep my full-time job with them even when we move! So, we have one job to move on! Now we just need to figure out a job for Mike! Anyone know of any openings on the southern coast of Oregon?

Keep thinking ocean thoughts for us! We'll get there - just later than I was hoping!

In other news - I'm still having trouble wanting to post and write here. I think that things are sufficiently stressful right now that I am withdrawing a bit and being my introverted self more than usual. I still visit all of you and I hope you'll still stop in here even though my posts are few and far between!

Swap goodies and fun mail!

2008-03-27T08:52:00.005-06:00

I'm very late in posting about these goodies, but late is better than never, no?

First off, I purchased a lovely bookmark from the amazing Janet. She has a new Etsy shop, and I had to have this lovely mermaid!! She is just beautiful! Along with my purchase, Janet sent a great ATC as well! She even decorated the envelope!!

Next, I purchased this amazing handmade journal from Jolene!! I received this so long ago, but am just now posting! Sheesh! Jolene does amazing work! This journal is NO exception! (Jolene - I borrowed your photo - I hope you don't mind! I couldn't get a good one for some reason!)

And last, but certainly not least, I am getting photos posted of the Spring Re-gift swap over at Create a Connection! My partner was Donna (meaning I sent to her, she sent to me!) She really spoiled me (and outdid me I think!) She sent so much fun stuff, including a handmade pin (which I love!), an art doll that I can decorate, books, paper, bath stuff, candles, tea, you name it! It was such a fun package to open!! Thanks Donna!!

Getting in on the Movie Fun!

2008-03-21T13:56:00.018-06:00

This meme has been making the rounds, and as I'm such a huge movie fan, I had to get in on the fun! (I borrowed this from DebR, but I have seen it in so many places lately! Let me know if you play along too!)

The Rules: I pick the quotes from some of my favorite movies off the IMDb website and list them, then you guess which movies they’re from without any help from IMDb, Google, or other search engines. Leave your answers in the comment section, and as people get them right, I’ll start marking off the ones that have been guessed correctly. No prizes awarded, but it's fun to play anyway!!

Guessing is closed - I stumped you all on #6, 7, 11 and 14! I've added (in green) those movies! :)

(A little clue - the music player that I added to my blog yesterday will give you hints to the movies! The playlist is all songs from my 15 movies! Also Pretty in Pink was a guess for #6 - but that's not it! Pretty in Pink IS one of the quotes though!

Another clue - one of the quotes IS from Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Kristen figured that out from the songs, but not which quote!

DebR correctly guessed that one of the quotes is from Singin' in the Rain. This is my all time favorite movie! She didn't guess the quote though. Anyone, anyone?)

1. "Short people have long faces, and long people have short faces. Big people have little humor, and little people have no humor at all. What's the first thing an actor learns? 'The show must go on!' Come rain, come shine, come snow, come sleet, the show MUST go on!" (DebR got this one {and I didn't even add an additional quote... I forgot!} It is from my all time favorite movie - Singin' in the Rain!)

2. "You truly love each other and so you might have been truly happy. Not one couple in a century has that chance, no matter what the story books say. And so I think no man in a century will suffer as greatly as you will." (The Princess Bride - DebR got this one in a snap!)

3. "Wilt thou give me a lock of thy jet-black tresses?"

"But I don't have any black dresses." (Anne of Green Gables - Kristen got this!)

4. "Do you remember that night? As long as it's not Swiss or tap water it will be fine, preferably French, no bubbles. I want it cold, no ice, no glass, just the bottle and a straw. Do you want to write it down? I don't want Swiss water, I got sick on an imported Swiss water once... " (This is Jill too -This is Return to Me. Said by "the date from hell".)

5."He can really cook, can't he?"

"Yeah, although for grilled cheese, I might use the wool setting."

"That's what I told him."

"Really? What did he use?"

"Rayon. Silk would have been too soggy. Cotton would have..."

"Would have burned it."

"Right. Fortunately, he consulted me before giving it steam. I was four square against it." (Correctly guessed by Jill - This is from Benny and Joon.)

6. "You're my knight in shimmering armor. Did you know that?"

"I think you mean shining."

"No shimmering. You shimmer, and you glow." (This is NOT Pretty Woman as has been guessed.)

(Another quote - which I forgot earlier! - to help you out: "Match in the gas tank, boom, boom!")

This quote is from another of my all time favorites (top 5 for sure!) "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?"

7. "Oh, there's nothing worse than a finicky agapanthis."

(Another quote to help you out in guessing: "Every now and then everybody is entitled to too much perfection.")

This movie is "Bed of Roses" - total chick flick, but I love it!

8. "We don't have none of this stuff in the boy's room! Wait a minute! We don't got none of this... we don't got doors on the stalls in the boy's room, we don't have, what is this? What's this? We don't have a candy machine in the boy's room!" (Jill got this one too - Pretty in Pink when Ducky gets thrown in the girls' bathroom)

9. "Me? I'm scared of everything. I'm scared of what I saw, I'm scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you." (Dirty Dancing - DebR got this one too!)

~~10.~~ "What's the décor? Early Mexican brothel?" (Chocolat - Kristen got this one also!)

11. "I know I can't the make the bad go away. You're right, I can't. But when the bad comes again, I am gonna be next to you."

(Another quote to help in guessing: "I'm a BLT down sort of person, and I think you're looking for someone a little more pheasant under glass.")

I'm surprised no one got this one! It is from "Frankie and Johnny". A truly great movie in my opinion!

~~12.~~ "Dancing's just a conversation between two people. Talk to me."

(Another quote hint: "Why does everybody keep asking me if I've been drinking? What? Is there like a coaster stuck to my butt or something?") (Dragonfly got this one - these are quotes from Hope Floats! The first one is Harry Connick Jr. speaking to Sandra Bullock. The second is Sandra Bullock's character!)

~~13.~~ "What fun. Baby bottles of booze."

(Hint: "That's just what this country needs: a cock in a frock on a rock.") (With the help of an additional quote and some music to inspire - DebR got this one too! This is from Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. It is a fantastic, but vulgar movie, which I absolutely love! The soundtrack rocks!)

14. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing that a rooftop and an AK-47 won't take care of."

(And one last hint: "My regime? The regime from which the radicals are trying to get free? Are we selling face cream or staging a coup?")

There are many good lines in this movie, but my first quote is my favorite! I've used it on occasion! It is from "The Truth About Cats and Dogs".

~~15.~~ "You'll never find peace by hating, lad. It only shuts ye off more from the world. And this town is only a cursed place, if ye make it so. To the rest of us, 'tis a blessed place!" (DebR and Kristen guessed right - one of my favorite musicals, Brigadoon! Gene Kelly is my favorite and another of the quotes is a Gene Kelly movie!)

Intentions

2008-03-12T13:09:00.003-06:00

I set my intentions earlier this year and the biggest one was to move closer to the ocean (like within a few miles!)

I need to put this back out there in writing. I want this to happen - feel like this WILL happen - this year.

I know I have mentioned again and again job opportunities for Mike and so far, they have not happened. Well, this one came along on Monday and I'm very hopeful, very excited that this is the one. Maybe the reason all the others have fallen through even!

It is a government job, a transfer for him, a pay raise, and relocation is covered. AND... this is the amazing part - it is in Coos Bay/North Bend, Oregon. This is one of the places that we fell in love with when we traveled the Oregon coast about three years ago! We truly loved the area! Our favorite beach from the whole trip is about 30 minutes away! (Coquille Point - near Bandon, OR).

We think that Mike's chances are good for this one because it is such a small town, and it seems that they may be having trouble filling the position. It is 2.5 hours to a "large" town (Eugene) and it is 4 hours to Portland. Otherwise, there isn't much nearby except the Bay and the Ocean! Coos Bay and North Bend combined have about 25,000 people.

Monday night, Mike and I spent three hours talking about it, looking up stuff on the Internet, looking at potential rental houses, etc. It was fun to dream a bit, but it also felt really real. We won't know anything for a bit yet, of course, but I'm telling myself this is the one. I'll deal with the disappointment later if it isn't, but for now - it IS.

Please send some good vibes our way as we hope for this opportunity!!

Blogging Break?

2008-03-03T11:43:00.002-07:00

I appear to be taking a break from blogging... not sure why, but I just don't feel like blogging lately.

So, I'm going to post and make it official! I'm going to take a bit of a break - and put no pressure on myself because I am not blogging! I'll be back, I'm sure, because I'll have stuff to share!!

Right now - nothing new to share! We're still in CO - no new jobs for Mike on the horizon just yet (damn!)... He's searching - trying to find a spot where he'll be happier (and closer to the ocean!) I'm ready to move when he finds the right one!

I'm still reading your blogs! So I'll be around - and I will return to my regularly scheduled blogging soon! Hugs!!

Yummy (homemade) Dinner

2008-02-20T08:37:00.004-07:00

Mike and I have decided we love polenta. I knew this already, but I've never cooked with it - only ordered it in restaurants! We bought a tube of pre-made garlic/basil polenta last week. I tried a breakfast with it over the weekend ... it was OK, but not great - wrong combo of flavors.

But, dinner! That is another story - a yummy one! I got a brainstorm and tried it out - and it was a huge success!

First, I sliced the remaining polenta into 1/4" thick slices and put them in to fry in olive oil.

While that was cooking - I started the "sauce" or topping. (Mike was helping me by chopping mushrooms and tomatoes!) I started with olive oil and garlic (minced, from a jar) in my skillet. I added sliced button mushrooms and sliced crimini mushrooms. And then, I chopped up some fresh basil and added that. I also added a couple slices of red onion (because that's what I had on hand.) Isn't it pretty with that bright green basil in there? :)

Next, I added in three chopped, roma tomatoes. This time of year, they don't have much juice, so I added a splash of sherry to give it a bit of liquid. I let that all simmer for a couple minutes, and then I added a handful of grated asiago cheese.

2/18/08

We spooned this concoction over our slices of polenta and added a bit more cheese, and there you have it... dinner! A very fast, quite simple dinner - but, oh so yummy! I WILL be making this again. I can't wait until summer for the fresh produce! We have a mushroom farm near us - their unique types of mushrooms will be so good in this too!

Now, I've gone and made myself hungry and it's a while 'til lunch!

365 Catch Up

2008-02-19T09:02:00.004-07:00

2/13/08 - Lunch at Lucile's - Chicken Robicheaux - SO yummy!

2/14/08 - in the carwash

2/15/08 - My intention for the year - to be fearless

2/16/08 - Mike scraping the car windows (I'm in the car)

2/17/08 - My best friend Andrea wanted to go to the movies to celebrate her
birthday this year. We saw three in a row on Saturday afternoon! The first two were
great - I really loved them both. Sweeney Todd? I could have lived without seeing it -
especially in the theatre - too gory for me!

3 Years Ago This Month.

2008-02-19T08:54:00.004-07:00

Three Years ago in mid-February, my best friend Andrea and I (and her friend Stacey) were in New York City to celebrate her 30th birthday! I pulled out some of my stuff from our trip. We saw Wicked and ate at this amazing Italian place (more than once!) We went to museums (the MoMA being our favorite!) We played tourists! It was fantastic! Both of us were reminiscing and wanting to go back!!

2/11/08

2/12/08 (taken 2/12/05)

We were also there for the opening of the Installation Art Exhibit by Christo and Jeanne-Claude called "The Gates". This photo above is Central Park on that morning! Amazing sight. We didn't know about it until we arrived in NY. What a cool thing to be a part of!!

Stacey is on the left, I'm middle, and Andrea right. This shows how tall these gates were. (I'm 5'8" or so!)

My Work Blog

2008-02-15T09:46:00.002-07:00

*Start Shameless Promotion* I haven't been writing here much of late. But, I am still blogging! I'm getting paid to blog, in fact!

I have had my work blog for about a year, but just recently, we decided to broaden out my topic and I've really been having fun with it.

I work for a company called World by the Tail, Inc. My job is business manager/webcrafter. Our main product is called ClayPaws®, the original paw print kit. We sell these all over the country to veterinary clinics who then make paw print impressions for their clients. Many (most) times they are in conjunction with the death of a beloved pet as a memory!

My blog is called the ClayPaws® Connection. I am writing about our products, of course, but I'm also writing about many other pet related topics! Jump on over and take a peek if you're interested! I'd love to "see" some familiar faces over there too! *End Shameless Promotion*

Moving update and Creative Life Mosaic #2

2008-02-11T20:16:00.001-07:00

As you know, Mike and I are hoping to move to an ocean this year. His job is very stressful, and he has been looking for other jobs for quite some time. Well, today, he found out from his current supervisor that a job in Portland, OR called to check his references!! He knew he was a candidate for an interview, but hadn't heard anything more than that.

SO... still no set interview, but hopefully, we'll hear that news soon! This is the closest he has come to an actual, possible job somewhere else! It's exciting. I'll keep you posted as we hear! Portland would be a great place for us. We both love the Pacific Northwest! Send some good "interview" vibes to Mike!

Below is my next Creative Life Mosaic - Bookshelf! I had fun with this one. I love books - and have way more than fit on my current bookshelves. (In boxes in the basement!) I also have a lot of "stuff" on my bookshelves - pictured here too!

2/10/08

Join in on this project if you can! It really is a fun idea!! Go visit Kelley! :)

My Creative Life Mosaic #1 - Bathroom

2008-02-10T18:33:00.001-07:00

Kelley at "a resting place" is hosting this fun photo challenge! (I mentioned it the other day!) I finally had time (and motivation!) to take my photos. Here is my first mosaic for the first challenge she posted - Bathroom.

2/09/08

This is my bathroom (Mike has his own and we have a third guest bathroom.) I love bright colors and I matched my rugs and towels to my curtain. My rugs are lime green. I have bright orange towels and lime green hand towels.

Mike actually bought the hangers for the curtain. I sent him (on our move in day, actually) to get a few things - thinking he would come back with very plain, simple shower curtain hangers. He picked these instead. (I really like them!)

You can see I'm not really organized - some of my jewelry is jumbled up on my counter! I have candles there too, even though there really isn't room! I showed you some of my favorite products too. Olbas is fabulous and I use it when my neck is hurting - the menthol helps for whatever reason! I also really love Burt's Bees - this cleaner for my face smells citrusy. I can't eat citrus but I love the scent! :) I also have lots of things in a scent called Velocity - they are mostly gifts from my friend, Andrea. She sold Mary Kay, and I love this scent!! :)

The mirror (sun/moon) is actually outside the door of my bathroom. I love this mirror! It was a gift from my friend (and previous landlord) Nancy!

I really like this mosaic - it was fun to take the pictures and to see them all grouped. Join in on this project if you can! It really is a fun idea!! Go visit Kelley! :) I'll be back tomorrow with my second mosaic - Bookshelf!!

Cute cat and fun mail and a NEW project!

2008-02-09T19:48:00.000-07:00

2/7/08 - Miss Girl pauses precariously to scratch - at the top of the stairs!

2/8/08 - Fun Mail! My returns from the "Art Not War" ATC Swap. You all saw my "T"
cards a while back - well here is the whole set! (Mine is the upper right "T")
Awesome, no? Loved this one for sure!! And it came in this FUN envie!!

Jana Tagged me too! I'll post my answers to the tag maybe tomorrow! :) I am also participating in a new project called "My Creative Life Mosaics" - Kelley at "a resting place" is hosting this fun idea! I'll have my first two mosaics to post tomorrow hopefully too! I helped her out by creating a badge for this project - check it out! I think it will be fun! And it fits with my 365 photos too!

Luna chases sunlight

2008-02-06T18:35:00.001-07:00

This is my "photo" for today! I caught Luna in her favorite activity this morning - chasing light. She loves it when Mike makes toast in the morning because the knife catches light so she can chase it. She sits in the kitchen and talks until he plays with her!

365 Photos (catching up... again!)

2008-02-06T18:21:00.000-07:00

2/5/08 - Sunrise from our back yard

2/4/08 - Remington in the snow. Remi comes to work with my co-worker
Patricia every day. He was entertaining us this day being cute in the snow.

2/3/08 - Breakfast at Lucile's - our favorite breakfast place! YUM!!

2/2/08 - Henry

2/1/08 - Sunset at our house

1/31/08 - Ben

1/30/08 (taken in 1993!) Obviously, I didn't take this photo, but I'm including it in my 365.
My friend Nicole (in the hat) scanned this in. It is our drama group - at our awards banquet.
I think I won the award of "Best Female in a Male Role" that year... yes, I played a male in
several of our productions actually! (if you don't recognize me, I'm the one in red.)

Photos, news, updates, fun mail

2008-01-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

I have not felt like blogging lately. I'm not sure why... I have been reading your blogs, but just haven't wanted to write on my own.

Things have been a bit stressful over the last couple of weeks - maybe that's why. I've had a lot of dental work done - which I hate - so I haven't felt great. I also threw my back out on Sunday... PAIN! It's better now thankfully.

Mike's job is just awful, so his stress carries over to home. Please send out good vibes, energy, prayers (whatever you believe) for a new job to come through for him. He has applied to two different possibilities in Portland, OR - both would be great, with relocation costs covered!! (Vicki - remember... Portland, not Seattle! :) )

I've been keeping up with taking a photo a day! That's been my only creative endeavor lately, but it is fun!

This first photo is an amazingly FUN photo of my Random Re-Gift Swap (hosted by Melba at Create a Connection) package that I received from April!! WOW!! What a fun box to open - so many treasures. My sister Vicki said, "just pack this back up and send it on to ME!". Thanks April!!

1/22/08

1/23/08 (My feet in stripey socks and curious Henry's paws)

1/24/08 Oscar in the bag with Henry looking on.

1/25/08 - Grumpy Mike

1/26/08 - Screenshot from World of Warcraft. Mike's character Pleiades, and
my warrior Andromedah defeat the spider Terokarantula! :)

1/27/08 Luna and Oscar cuddling together! So cute!

1/28/08 - Fun mail from my nephew David, and niece Joy. Love the envelope! :)

1/29/08 - Miss Girl cuddling with me. She was even purring
(which doesn't happen often) and drooling!

My 2008 Treasure Map

2008-01-28T08:35:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday, I attended a one afternoon art group with my art therapist. It was a session to make a Treasure Map of your intentions for 2008. I'm so glad I went. It has been a long time since I did an art group, and even a one day session was so good for me!

We met at 3 p.m. and introduced ourselves. Turns out all of the other participants were mental health professionals - colleagues of my art therapist. I was the only non-mental health pro! But, it wasn't a bad thing. They were all there to do the same project!

We took quite a bit of time to search through magazines finding the images that inspired us. We weren't supposed to use too many words, but I found a few that really fit, so I did use them.

Many of my images turned out to be the ocean, the shoreline, etc. I know that my intention for this year is to get Mike and I moved somewhere near the coast! Either one - I'm aiming for either Oregon, or North Carolina. We love both areas!

My treasure map feels very peaceful to me. I wanted that feeling for sure. The background is made up of a "breathing space" spread from an Oprah magazine, always my favorite pages! It is magnolia blossoms on a black background. I cut it to fit my circle and then pasted my other images on top.

I don't normally choose butterflies, but these bright colored ones spoke to me. One of the other participants said that butterflies can represent a new change/new life. That is good and it fits with my intentions! The zen garden and the woman with the cat also represent peace to me. Our cats are in dis-harmony still, and I hope for peace there too.

The words "the spice of life" is to remind me to live my life to the fullest and take opportunities. Fearless is a biggie for me. I am excited about the possibility of moving, but it also scares me. I want to take it on, and not let my fears keep me from doing anything!

It was such a positive experience (as always with my art therapist!) I'm glad I have this image now to remind me of my intentions for this year!

365 Photos - catching up

2008-01-23T17:54:00.000-07:00

1/18/08 - Ben the Fuzz

1/19/08 - Berry Crisp from this recipe.

1/20/08 - Treasure Map mandala - made in an art group with my art therapist.
I'll do a whole post on this soon!

1/21/08 - Miss Girl enjoying catnip.

1/17/08 - Miss Girl Plays

2008-01-23T06:32:00.001-07:00

She is so funny to watch. She wobbles, so on the tile, she slips, slides and bangs around. She is chasing a twist tie in this. The voices are mine and Mike's.

The last few days

2008-01-16T16:20:00.001-07:00

have been busy!! Things at work have been hopping, and I've been really tired in the evenings!

My photo-taking for 365 this year is going well! I'm enjoying taking photos of my every day life.

1/14/08

This is Mike in his favorite environment. In the dark, playing World of Warcraft with his lighted keyboard! :) He is playing the battleground Alterac Valley with his level 67 Warlock, Bantz.

1/15/08

Oscar has enjoyed this bag immensely. It's torn to shreds, but he still loves sitting in it!! :) He chases across the room into the bag.

Yesterday was my favorite thing... a dentist appointment. YUCK! I hate it, but it wasn't too bad. It was a new dentist, and he was really nice. My teeth aren't too bad in spite of the fact that I haven't been in about three years. I was prompted to go in because I'm having some jaw pain. Turns out I have a really bad, crooked bite. It's been that way forever, but only now has it started hurting. For today, he made me this bite splint - it fits on my front teeth and keeps my jaw straight when I'm wearing it. I can't talk with it in, but it has already helped - the muscles in my jaw feel less tense already!

For more long term, he will make a bite plate for me that I'll wear much of the time. Hopefully I'll be able to talk better with it than this splint! It's not a cheap procedure, but if it helps, I'm game. I think that this jaw problem may be the source of some of my headache trouble too. Maybe correcting this will help that!

1/16/08

And last but most certainly NOT least, the wonderful Mary Ann gave me a "You Make My Day" award a couple days ago!! Since she nominated me for this, I'm now supposed to pass this on to ten other bloggers who make MY day! There are so many, it is difficult to narrow down! I know some of you will have already received this from someone else too. If you have, and don't want to pass it on anymore, that's OK too. But, it really made my day to know that I make Mary Ann's! So passing it along is a good thing!!

My ten nominees for this fun award are (in no particular order):

Mary Ann - I have to pass it back. She is always so positive and upbeat. She creates up a storm, which is inspiring. And she is always so loving and generous with the blog community! She is definitely a blogger I aspire to be like! Mary Ann makes my day every time - no matter what the post is about!

Melba - Melba inspires me as well! Her blog is so open and honest. I have learned a lot from reading what Melba writes about her own journey! I don't always comment, but boy, she makes me think! She has created a wonderful place for creative bloggers with the Create a Connection blog also. I have "met" many new, wonderful bloggers through challenges and swaps there! Melba's photos always make my day too!

Tammy - The Daily Warrior - she is inspiring partially because she writes about her struggles with ALS. Tammy makes me laugh and cry with her honest posts. (Plus, she has a great name!) The music on Tammy's blog always makes my day!

Suzie - Suzie has inspired me to find my path again to do with all things pagan! I feel like Suzie and I would be great friends "in real life" too! Suzie's recipes and kitchen photos make my day!

Jamie - Suzie's sister - she inspires me with her drive to accomplish her goals. Her progress reports and accomplishments always make my day!

Shannon - Yes - she is Suzie's sister too! Shannon makes my day with her updates to her 101 in 1001 list. She has accomplished so much already, and it's so fun to see what she is working towards!!

Jana - Jana's blog amazes me because of her openness to share. I've learned a lot from Jana. She makes my day with her little comments... such as *giggle*!

Lila - She is so creative and has so much artistic talent! She makes my day when she posts new projects and art!!

Jill - aka The Happy Hooker. Jill makes me laugh! Her posts always make my day. She is quirky, crafty and very funny! I was lucky enough to have a winning bid on an altered journal of Jill's. I love it!

Jolene - aka Jill's mom! Jolene and Jill are two bloggers who I just know would be fun to hang out with! Jolene never ceases to amaze me with her talent! I also own a journal that Jolene made - I was the lucky winner of a drawing!! :) You make my day too Jolene!!

Pizza Casserole

2008-01-13T18:28:00.000-07:00

1/13/08

This is our lunch from today (and will be leftovers for dinner too!) I found this recipe somewhere on the internets at some point... I'd reference where if I could remember... I've modified and changed it (of course!) It is yummy and easy.

All you have to put in is one jar of your favorite marinara type sauce (I used Barilla roasted garlic flavor), one can of refrigerator biscuits - cut into small pieces, and cheese. I used 8 oz. of mozzarella. Then from there - go crazy on your favorite pizza toppings. This time I only added pepperoni (turkey), and black olives. You could add any veggies you like, sausage, ham, whatever... Mix it all together, put it in a casserole pan, and bake for about 30 minutes. Yummy! :)

Favorite Number Challenge

2008-01-12T21:13:00.001-07:00

Patti, guest host over at Create a Connection, challenged us to find our favorite number displayed in our every day lives. My favorite number is 13. I saw it this morning when playing with my new World of Warcraft character, Purnima. She was level 13. I snapped a shot of my screen!

1/12/08

I've been having so much fun with Purnima today that she is already level 18! She is a Tauren Shaman (with engineering as a profession - hence the green goggles!) Purnima means "full moon" in Hindi.

Such a small thing....

2008-01-11T16:32:00.000-07:00

that makes me happy every time.

1/11/08

I have wanted to photograph this before, and I finally did it! I open the checks here at work, and my shiny letter opener sometimes pulls the paper into these pretty curls! Every time it happens, I smile! Silly, but fun!

Mischievious Ben

2008-01-10T19:17:00.001-07:00

1/10/08

Ben likes to hang his head over the side of the cat tree when he is looking to cause some mischief. Mainly, I think he's scanning for another cat to pounce on! He was being super cute tonight! :)

Hopeful New Habits!

2008-01-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

I am enamored with reusable shopping bags. Particularly my new ones from Whole Foods! I have 2 of these now, this one purchased last night so I could carry my groceries home in it! I want to keep them in my car so I can use them instead of plastic!

1/8/08

This morning... I got a cleaning bug at work. My desk is now the tidiest it has been in a LONG time! It is a nice feeling to be organized. I hope I can make this last a bit! I'm the queen of "piles". I bought a couple of organizing desk pieces to help me out!

1/9/08

Basking in the Glow

2008-01-07T18:37:00.001-07:00

1/7/08

My Himalayan Salt Lamp - a gift from Mike's family Christmas exchange. His step-brother Gordon had my name. He chose well!

Week's End

2008-01-06T18:38:00.001-07:00

Friday night:

Saturday - 1/5/08:

(Google the "Flying Spaghetti Monster" to find out more about the emblem Mike is installing on his car...)

Sunday - 1/6/08:

My current obsession

2008-01-04T17:39:00.000-07:00

1/4/08

Beginning and End

2008-01-03T18:14:00.000-07:00

Beginning of my day:

Looking out our bedroom window - Mike took this shot of the sunrise. Look at the blue line on the horizon - clouds vs. clear sky.

End of my day (well, almost):

1/3/08

Coming home to my guy cooking dinner for us! He is making Chicken Curry - yummy! (He took the week off so he vacuumed yesterday, cleaned the kitchen today, and is cooking dinner as we speak! I could get used to this!)

Website work

2008-01-02T16:37:00.000-07:00

1/2/2008

My job today- de-Christmas-fy our website. I had to take down the cute photo of Bear in a santa hat (my boss's Chesapeake Bay Retriever) and find a cute, non-Christmasy front page photo. I think I succeeded. (www.petpeoplehelp.com)

Happy 2008!

2008-01-01T16:58:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a safe and fun New Year's Eve. Ours was uneventful because we are still trying to get rid of the cough leftover from our illnesses! Blech. We stayed in and I made some yummy treats for us. We watched some Lost and went to bed pretty early. (Definitely didn't make it to midnight!)

I've decided - I am going to take a photo every day this year. I will try to post it every day on my blog as well. I may not get to posting every single day, but I will try to have posted 365 photos from my every day life by the end of the year. (I'm sure there will be days when I have multiple photos to post as well, so probably more than this!)

Here is photo #1 - taken this morning.

1/1/08

This is Mike reflected in our laundry room mirror. He is playing with my "wall-walking" robot that he put in my stocking. It suction cups to the surface and walks up the wall. It's fun! :)

This, That, and the Other

2007-12-26T10:27:00.002-07:00

I realized it's been a while since I posted. Mike and I have both been sick ... AGAIN! This cold/flu we got at Thanksgiving has just hung on!

Our 3 year anniversary was December 22 - Saturday. We met online, but met for the first time in person three years ago! We met for dinner at Rasta Pasta, and we planned to go have dinner there again. But, we were sick, so we didn't get to! Blah! (We didn't get to go last year either because we were snowed in!) But, we celebrated anyway by getting Chinese takeout. Mike bought me a really great necklace. I've never seen anything quite like it! Moon phases in beads! Perfect! I bought him a bottle of scotch - he's going to exchange it for a type he likes better. I so cannot remember all the intricacies of scotch!

We were supposed to go to his family Christmas get together on Sunday, the 23rd, but couldn't do that either. I was MAD! We missed Thanksgiving too - sheesh! Oh, well. Nothing we could do about it. We'll get together with his dad and step-mom maybe this weekend.

We opened our presents very early on Christmas day. I think we both liked what we got each other! Mike did great picking out some beautiful jewelry for me. Two pendants - very different from each other. I will get good pictures to post. The ones I took quick this morning didn't turn out well at all. He also got me season 3 of Project Runway on DVD! Yay! :) My stocking stuffers were all kinds of crazy gadgets that he found at ThinkGeek.com. We had fun playing with them. I got him a Jellyfish tank and the game Oblivion - which he proceeded to play all day! The cats liked the wrapping paper!

Luckily, I did my grocery shopping and Christmas shopping before getting really sick again. I had all my ingredients to make special foods for us for Christmas day. We had planned to just stay home that day! I'm glad we did - it snowed most of the day! We got about 2 inches total. It was really pretty, but I'm glad we didn't have to drive anywhere! I made the breakfast casserole for us that I did on Thanksgiving. Then for lunch (wound up being late in the afternoon!) I made Cuban food! Yummy!! The first step is making sofrito sauce - which is then the base in the Ropa Vieja. Here is the sofrito in process. (Look how Christmas-y it is!)

Sofrito Sauce recipe:

Sofrito recipe
courtesy of Sonia Martinez

Sofrito is the base of many typically Cuban recipes. My mom used to chop up all the ingredients (except bay leaf) in a blender and store in a jar with a drizzle of olive oil on top. Stored in refrigerator, it can last about a week. (I blend it and use about half for my ropa vieja - and freeze the rest.) She would spoon out amounts needed for each recipe, add the bay leaf and then sauté and simmer as directed. The secret to a good sofrito is to let it simmer a while so all the tastes meld.

21 cherry tomatoes, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
8 to 10 garlic cloves, chopped
1 or 2 bay leaves
touch of ground cumin
touch of dried oregano
3/4 cup Sherry, or to taste
4 Tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste (optional)

Sautee tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic, bay leaves, cumin and oregano in oil slowly until all vegetables are limp. Add Sherry and let simmer. If you add the salt, taste beforehand as you might not need it at all. Blend it all together to make a sauce.

Ropa Vieja Recipe:

2 1/2 lbs flank steak, cut in strips
5 tablespoons oil
2 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic or 5 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
6 ounces sofrito sauce (I use about 3 times this much!)

Heat 3 tbsp. oil in skillet on medium, brown meat on all sides. Remove from skillet, add remaining oil to skillet, stir in garlic, onion and green pepper and cook until translucent. Stir in black pepper, browned meat, tomato sauce, water and sofrito. Simmer until meat is tender and shreds easily, about 1 hour (takes more than an hour for me). Serve on top of rice.

Helpful cats and Christmas shopping

2007-12-18T10:03:00.001-07:00

No, the two are not really related. But I have some photos to share! :) Last week, our cats Ben and Luna decided to help with laundry. Ben was buried in my clean laundry and didn't budge when I put hangers on him! Luna just had to get into the act as well. They were so cute, I couldn't be mad. What's a little cat hair?!

Last night, Mike and I went to Old Town, Fort Collins to do a little Christmas shopping and have dinner. We found a few things for Christmas, but still have more to get! Sheesh! He has his dad's name and I have his step-mom's. They aren't the easiest to buy for!

While we were walking in the plaza, we noticed the fountain! I don't remember seeing it actually running this time of year before - it was SO beautiful. Some of the water was frozen, and some was moving. It was just great!

Weekend Fun!

2007-12-17T08:56:00.000-07:00

I'm late in posting these photos. Last weekend, I went to my best friend Andrea's house. She invited several people for a "tree-trimming festival"! :) Her friends Dana, Stacey, Shirley and I were there to help Andrea and her daughter Savannah trim their Christmas tree!

I haven't put up a Christmas tree since about 1997. My cats (at the time) Oscar and Lissy knocked my tree over, breaking a lot of ornaments. I haven't put one up since! I have TONS of holiday decorations that are going unused in my basement (which is just sad...) So, when Andrea invited me, I was excited to help! Savannah and I had a good time putting up the lights and the garland. She held the bulk of it and untangled it as I wrapped it around.

We all had a good time placing ornaments on, listening to Christmas music, and eating cookies and having cocoa. The weather outside was quite frightful - snowing like crazy (so pretty!) but we were having fun inside!

THIS Saturday was Mike's birthday! We had dinner on Friday night to celebrate - we went to Carrabba's - his favorite Italian in our town. He isn't a steak eater normally, but loves theirs! It's so good! We went all out - had wonderful appetizers (zucchini fries!!), drinks, yummy dinner, and to top it all off... Blue Bell Vanilla Ice cream!! Blue Bell isn't sold up here - it's a southern thing - Mike grew up with it. It is truly the best ice cream ever! Well, Carrabba's serves it! Yummy!!

We were going to go out for breakfast on Saturday, but Mike wasn't feeling great, so we stayed home and went out on Sunday morning! He had a good day in spite of not feeling great. I got him good presents! :) A ThinkGeek.com gift certificate, some jammies, and the oddest gift of all... ground Yak meat. It's his favorite thing ever, and hard to find! We had yak burgers for dinner - it really is yummy!

On Sunday afternoon, I met Andrea and Savannah to see a movie. We went to Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. This was an unexpected treat. I really loved this movie. In fact, it's likely I'll buy it on DVD when it comes out! Dustin Hoffman is wonderful as always. The message of the movie was wonderful!! My favorite quote:

Your life is an occasion, rise to it.

Really Cool Idea

2007-12-13T14:00:00.002-07:00

I work for a great company!! We had our holiday party last Friday night. It was such a fun evening. It was at a local French restaurant - very posh! I got all dressed up for the fun of it! :) We always get lovely presents and a bonus, but this year, our bosses decided to do something a bit different too.

They gave each of us $100 in "virtual money" to spend on the Heifer Project. They are donating money and allowing each of us to choose how to spend the money through this amazing project!!

The deal is the donated money buys an animal or flock of animals for a family which provides not only food, but a way to make money as well. For instance, I am choosing as my animal a dairy goat. (I love goaties! I lived at my little house in the country for 10 years - my landlord's kids raised pygmy goats for 4-H.) The website explains how this gift helps:

"Goats can thrive in extreme climates and on poor, dry land by eating grass and leaves. The gift of a dairy goat can supply a family with up to several quarts of nutritious milk a day - a ton of milk a year. Extra milk can be sold or used to make cheese, butter or yogurt. Families learn to use goat manure to fertilize gardens.

And because goats often have two or three kids a year, Heifer partners can lift themselves out of poverty by starting small dairies that earn money for food, health care and education."

My co-workers have chosen to give a llama, honeybees, chicks, and shares of pigs and water buffalo. I have gone one step further and I donated a flock of chicks for a friend for Christmas! (In addition to other presents of course!) If you are looking for a way to help others or to give a donation - I think this is a really cool idea!! I love that my bosses at World by the Tail did this for us, and I hope my friend likes that I did it for her and her family too!

It's snowing...

2007-12-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

And has been since Friday night it seems! We had about 4 inches over the weekend, and woke up to about 3 more this morning. It's still snowing too! I can't decide if I'm irritated or happy about it. On one hand, it is pretty. On the other, driving in it is NO fun. This morning took me more than twice as long to get to work as usual. It seems the roads weren't at all plowed!!! Even the main "drags". Sheesh. I think... just maybe, I'm ready to move somewhere that gets little or no snow! (And I know for sure, I don't want to live on a corner ever again! Scooping twice the sidewalks!!! Blech!)

Our backyard on Saturday night - the first one with flash, second one without. I love the flakes that are visible in the air.

My grumpy Oscar boy begs to go outside when there is snow. I don't let him stay out at all alone - but just for a couple minutes with me. He was SO happy!

Our Tibetan prayer flags in the backyard - with snow sticking to the line.

My mirror gazing ball in the front yard... look at all the snow piled on top! :)

Sharpie ATC Art

2007-12-10T10:27:00.001-07:00

I created some new Sharpie art over the weekend! Yay!

I'm participating in an ATC swap called "Art Not War". Each person (9 total) are assigned one letter from that statement. Then when returns are sent, we will each get ATCs that spell out Art Not War.

My letter was T. (the first T!) I decided to go for a "tie-dyed" look using sharpies. I tried something first that didn't work. I used white crayon to draw the peace signs on my cards. Then I colored over it with my sharpies. My hope was the sharpie would not stick where the crayon was, but that didn't work! So, I revised my plan!

I drew on my colors - tie-dye, and then drew on my Ts in a dark, matching color. On top of that, I used my metallic sharpies to draw in the peace signs.

I like how they turned out! And now, I can't wait to get back my full set!! These nine cards took me about an hour and a half to do - I was watching episodes of season three of Alias while drawing! :)

New Hair

2007-12-07T08:55:00.000-07:00

Just in time for colder weather (and SNOW!) - a new, shorter hairstyle. It was quite "poofy" when I got home from the salon last night - but this is my version - a bit messy, and not quite so over-styled! My stylist likes to play with my hair, so I let her - then I wash it out and do it my way when I get home! :) I think, just maybe, I'm going to have her do some color on it. Chunky pieces, maybe some reds... we'll see if I get adventurous!

Fun Mail

2007-12-05T14:56:00.000-07:00

Well, I've taken a few days off in December. I needed a break from my every day posting. I don't know why it was so hard, but it was!!

I am LATE in posting about this fun mail from the amazing Mary Ann! She was so kind as to send me a lovely charm she made. I LOVE this!! It is so tiny and yet, so detailed!! She included a cute little "follow your bliss" button too!! I'm sorry I didn't post sooner about this wonderful package! (Bills buried the fun mail! Can you imagine?!)

THEN - on Monday, I got this wonderful card from my best friend Andrea.

She wrote a brilliant note to me inside. I am so lucky to have her for my friend. We've known each other for about 15 years, and have been best friends most of that time! We were even roommates for one year! I am so fortunate to have a friend like Andrea. I can count on her for anything (as she can count on me too!) The one thing that worries me most about potentially moving away from this area is not being close (physically close) to Andrea!

LAST day of NaBloPoMo - and New Art!!

2007-11-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it!! I've posted at least something every day this month!! I didn't think I'd make it when I got sick. It was hard to consider what to post when my brain was all fuzzy and cold-addled!

I did get some new art done this month (as promised, Vicki!) I procrastinated until the last possible minute... I know, I know - hard to believe I'd do something like that! :) I'm mailing these cards off today to make it under the wire for postmark by date!!

The swap is a Project Runway swap for my Sharpie group! ATCs based on the Bravo show Project Runway - which I had never seen until recently. One of my fellow Sharpie Scouts sent me a tape with the first two episodes of season 4! Boy, it is a fun show! I'm sorry I can't watch more as we don't have cable! I'll have to keep up online and watch clips I think.

I made three cards that were my take on some sketches from season 3, and one card based on the first challenge of season 4 - to show how I would be as a designer. A fashion designer I'm not, but these were fun! These first three are my take on the sketches.

This last one is my attempt at a design. I used real fabric for the skirt and top. The belt and embellishments are pieces of ribbon. And the background is silver sharpie. I think it's cute, but it certainly wouldn't win any fashion awards!

New, Interesting Meme Thingy

2007-11-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

OK - I found this meme here and thought it was very fun, and very odd - a combination I like!

The deal is this: Answer the prompts by typing the answer into a Google image search. Choose a photo from the first search page and post it! The results may wind up a bit odd! :) (I linked to where I found the image so credit is given!)

1. Age at next birthday

2. A place you'd like to travel (Tuscany)

3. Your favorite place (The Ocean)

4. Your favorite objects (Shoes - Mary Janes to be specific!)

5. Your favorite food (Green Thai Curry)

6. Your favorite animals (even looks a bit like Oscar!)

7. Your favorite color 8. Town where you were born (This B&B - The Porter House - is on the same street where I grew up - about a block and a half from my house! Windsor, CO)

9. Town where you live (Fort Collins, CO)

10. Name of a past pet
11. First name of a past love (we're going present here - Michael!)

12. Best friend's nickname (She doesn't have a nickname, but her name is Andrea.)

13. Your screen/nickname (this is from Flickr, and I commented on this photo using my screenname!)

14. Your first name (We had friends when I was a kid who called me Tammy Faye much of the time!)

15. Your middle name

16. Your last name

17. Bad habit of yours

18. First job

19. Grandmother's name

20. College major (Business Administration)

Loving Etsy!

2007-11-28T16:35:00.001-07:00

I've been shopping on Etsy lately! I'm looking for great, unique presents, and boy, am I ever finding them!!

I think I can share some of what I've found here IF I don't attach names in case the recipients are reading!

I bought these and these. I may be keeping some for ME! :)

I also couldn't resist this little guy! SO cute! (I'm going to have a hard time parting with him, I'm afraid!)

I also bought something from this shop, but I won't tell you what since it might ruin the surprise!

This is my favorite place for soap! I haven't purchased any lately, but I will! Love it!!

AND, I haven't bought anything yet, but this shop, and this one, AND this one are among my favorites and all have things I'm considering!!

Mike's birthday is coming up, but Etsy isn't working for him! I have found some fun stuff though! I can't share though because he might look here now and then and I don't want to ruin his surprises! :)

Lacking

2007-11-27T15:32:00.001-07:00

anything interesting to say... but I'm so close to the end of NaBloPoMo, I won't give in now! So... I'm going to share more interesting (?) facts about me! Suzie "unofficially" tagged me to share eight random things about myself. Now... coming up with new things about me is hard, but here is my attempt!

1. I LOVE shoes. But, here's the weird part, I hate to wear shoes. I kick off my shoes very first thing in the house (and also in other people's houses too!) I sometimes have them off in my office also. Why do I like shoes, but not like wearing them? It's a mystery! My favorite style is Mary Jane's because then my tattoo shows!

2. If (when?) Mike and I get married (which I think we'll do at some point!) I want to wear red! I've never dreamed of a big wedding like some girls do. I don't want anything traditional at all! I'm thinking outdoors, fairly pagan in nature, and definitely a red dress! Perhaps a sari (like this one?) and I'd definitely like to have traditional Indian mehndi on my hands too.

3. I love Ethiopian food. I didn't even know what it was until I met Mike. We have a wonderful restaurant here in Fort Collins called Nyala. The food is so yummy! It's eaten with no utensils. You use a bread called Injera to scoop bites. I don't really like the Injera, but I like the food so much it's worth it! My favorite is a butternut squash dish! YUMMY! And the mushrooms - to die for!

4. My mom and I play Scrabble via email. We have been playing like this for a couple years. She used to always beat me, but now I beat her every now and then.

5. When I get a new CD, I tend to listen to the one song that drew me to it in the first place over and over. Right now, I can't get enough of Brandi Carlile! (Playing now on my blog!) I love The Story and Turpentine. I play these two over and over and tend to ignore the rest of the songs!

6. KBCO is my favorite radio station. Each year they make a Studio-C CD - live performances for their station put on a CD. They release it in early December, and you have to stand in line for several hours to get one (and they sell out FAST!) I have done this three times! It's always freezing cold, but fun. I am trying to decide whether to do it this year or not! It comes out on Saturday and has a great line up of songs... we'll see if it's snowing or if I'm willing to brave the cold!

7. I could eat Chinese food for every meal. No, really! I love it that much. Unfortunately, Mike isn't a huge fan, so I can't talk him into ordering nearly as often as I'd like. I get it for lunch at work whenever I can talk others into it! Cold Chinese for breakfast is about the best thing ever! (I DO prefer the leftovers cold!)

8. I love to re-read books. I have re-read my favorites SO many times. I think I've read the entire Harry Potter series at least 4 times. And Nora Roberts - I re-read my favorite trilogies by her often. I know the story, and the outcome, but somehow it doesn't matter. It's like an old friend!

OK - that's all the weirdness I could think up for today! I'm not tagging anyone specifically, but if you do play along, let me know!

Me, by my middle name

2007-11-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

I was back at work today... but still feeling pretty bad. I called the doctor and we're going to try antibiotics since this illness is being so stubborn. I sure hope they help!!!

I thought I'd "borrow" a meme from DebR for today. She did this a while back and I thought it was fun - tucked it away for a future post - and here it is.

The rules are - spell out my middle name and tell you something about myself starting with each letter.

My middle name is Dale (named after Tammy Wynette and Dale Evans)

D - Drink - my favorite drink is Canada Dry club soda - raspberry flavor. It's not sweetened - just has a hint of flavor. I go through many bottles of this a week. I have to run to the grocery store often to procure more fizzy water!!

A - Anne of Green Gables - one of my all time favorite book series AND movie series. I've read the whole series numerous times and watched all umpteen hours of movies many times. I recently watched the first four hours again! Love it just as much as ever!!

L - Libra - I am a Libra - totally! I fit the bill on everything about Libras - my chart is full of Libra and very little else. This makes it hard for me to make up my mind because I can always see both sides! I have to find balance in everything.

E - Energy - Until I met Mike, I had never done any energy work. Because he does Reiki, I've been introduced to that and to several other modalities of energy work. I like it! I don't feel the energy as much as Mike does, but I can feel energies now!

Mimmsical Creations

I am moving to a new blog home

Wishcasting Wednesday

Wishcasting Wednesday

Health

Eggplant Extraordinaire

01-20-2009 - A Day to Remember

Very late holiday post!

Wishcasting Wednesday (on Thursday)

A Belated Thank You!

Wishcasting Wednesday

Mamma Mia Memory Lane

My 2008 Book List

OOOPS!

Nine Questions and Growing

Bear with me!

Happy Birthday to Mike!!

Bread!

Our Thanksgiving

Beef Mushroom Pockets

New Possibility...

It's only a letter!

Gnocchi Soup

Wedding photos

Special Comment

I have a new last name!

We rally!

Good news!

Roses from Mike

Misty has gone pink

All Sorts of Fun Stuff!

Are you registered to vote?

The Next Chapter

Wedding details

New food post

My Quilt

Political rant

The Shower has come and gone!

What's going on here?

Lacking Motivation

Tattling on Mike... and updates

Wedding Dress Drama

Adventures in Dining

My Quilt

Foodies Blog

Fun Flickr Meme

I'm apparently a girly-girl

Trip Part 2... and bad news

Trip - Part 1... and news!

Oregon Bound!

BIG NEWS!

More ATCs!

New Art *gasp*

Sad Weekend at My House

Photos from Arkansas

Back from a Quick Trip

Plan B

Fun Mail

Disappointment

Swap goodies and fun mail!

Getting in on the Movie Fun!

Intentions

Blogging Break?

Yummy (homemade) Dinner

365 Catch Up

3 Years Ago This Month.

My Work Blog

Moving update and Creative Life Mosaic #2

My Creative Life Mosaic #1 - Bathroom

Cute cat and fun mail and a NEW project!

Luna chases sunlight

365 Photos (catching up... again!)

Photos, news, updates, fun mail

My 2008 Treasure Map

365 Photos - catching up

1/17/08 - Miss Girl Plays

The last few days

Pizza Casserole

Favorite Number Challenge

Such a small thing....

New Art gasp