Mimmsical Creations

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

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! :)

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! :)

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/.

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?

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!

More stories and photos tomorrow!

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

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!!

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!

1/22/08

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!

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!!

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!

(AFK = Away From Keyboard)

Don't know why I have been missing from blogging... I just haven't had anything to say or share for a while I guess. Not that there isn't stuff going on... because there is. I've just felt like I needed to be quiet.

Mike has been traveling a lot for his job. He may be sent out again soon, but we don't know yet. We're going ahead with plans for our trip to Raleigh in a couple weeks though! I'm really excited to go down there and see the area! I think I could use the vacation too!

Work has been a bit more stressful than usual. We are introducing a bunch of new products (all at once!) and so my work load has increased. Because I am the only one who can do the website work, it all falls to me at the last minute to get our new products up and ready! I think the first wave of new stuff will be ready and posted today!! Whoo hoo!

We're still having kitty issues at home. Miss Girl and Luna are just at it constantly. It's getting OLD. I wish there was a way to MAKE them get over their differences. But, there isn't... we're going to try the Feliway dispensers again to see if we notice a difference. Oscar has even started not being nice to Miss Girl. Sheesh! Poor little cat. She is just so hissy - no one likes that!

My folks are leaving today to head back toward their winter home in California. My mom is going to make a King size quilt for Mike and I! Yay!! I went and bought the material on Sunday. This is definitely a ME style quilt! I picked out all batik fabrics! I think it will be SOOO pretty! It's a Grandmother's Flower Garden design - you can see another quilt my mom made at her blog. This will be the design of mine, but below are the fabrics!! I love them!! One side will be all mixed colors with the tan connecting pieces:

And the other side will be all green tones with sage green connectors:

Mom has to finish my sister's quilt before she starts on mine, but it's fun knowing she has everything to start it!! She's pretty fast - although she's never made one this large before!! I have two others she has made for me (both the same pattern) but they are only full size. I have one on a guest bed. And the other - well, I wore it out. It's packed away because it's falling apart. I LOVED it to pieces! :)

That's most of the news from here! I think I'll be back sooner rather than later... I'll have some art to share soon as well!

Yes, I know, I've been talking about moving away from Colorado for a long time now.

But, Mike and I are kicking it into full gear. He is looking for work in the Raleigh-Durham, NC area. He's getting his resume out there, and we are really starting to work towards moving!

In mid-October, we are going to take a trip down there since I've never seen the area. We'll take a few days to be in and around Raleigh, and then we'll head to the coast near Wilmington. His brother and sister-in-law just moved there. Mike really likes that area also. Both of us want to spend some time at the ocean!!

I'm sifting through and trying to downsize my "stuff" overload! My first recent Ebay auction ends today! My lot of Merry Miniatures will sell for at least $20 - not bad! :) I posted a new auction yesterday, something you creative types reading this might like - a Lot of five SARK books! Take a look.

With some time this weekend, I'll really get the Ebay ball rolling. Hallmark ornaments, anyone?

I'll keep you all posted as we prepare to move across the country. It's not happening next week, but even in six months, it will be a big deal. Having lived within 30 miles of where I am now for my whole life - this will be a HUGE adventure!!

I went missing... I didn't intend to, but I did. I have these periods of time where I need to be introverted I think. This last week was one. It's been pretty stressful around here, so I just sort of drew in! I visited all of your blogs, but I just didn't come update my own!! But, I'm back, with at least one post today - maybe even two or three! :)

Mike is very unhappy (still and ongoing) in his job. So, we are now really pushing to try to move away, move on, find something new for him! We're both very excited to live near the ocean, so that is where we're focusing. Right now, our target (still) is the Raleigh, NC area. His brother, Jeff, just moved to Wilmington, NC, and Mike got to visit last week. The ocean, the beaches, and the visit with his brother really rejuvenated him. He loves the area. So, we're going to aim that direction. Raleigh is close enough, but not too close to his brother. And there will be lots of job options for me too. I'll keep you posted, but we're trying to make this happen sooner rather than later because the stress isn't good!!

On to happy mail! I participated in this swap last month. And when I got back from my day off yesterday (another blog post there) I had a package waiting from my swap partner, Jana! Wow - what a fun box to open!!

Our assignment was to send things that made us happy - I did this for Jana, and she in turn did it for me. She wrote me a note explaining everything she sent! First up was this gorgeous, collaged box! So fun, and bright and cheerful!


Next, inside was a plethora of goodies! Jana included sharpies (my favorite, of course!), candles (that smell really good!), a cute little candle holder, flower seeds (from her garden!), glitter pens, handmade (by Jana!) earrings, chocolate, lip balm (also chocolate!), a great book that's on my to read list (White Oleander), and a pez dispenser. What a fun box to receive!!! I will definitely enjoy everything packed in!! Thanks for everything Jana!! And thanks to Zazazu for hosting such a fun swap!!

Harry Potter - the final - has arrived. UPS delivered a minute ago... I'm gone - reading! :) Must find out the ending before someone spoils it!!

News flash: Tammy makes new art! No, really! I did!! :) I've been so uncreative about art lately (other than photos) and a deadline was the only thing that pushed me to do it!

I joined several Sharpie ATC swaps and the deadlines are upon me!! I mailed the first set of cards off yesterday! Before the deadline even! These were for the easiest swap - an open theme - basically whatever you want as long as it uses some Sharpie! These were fun, as always! Doodling is my favorite!




Next up, a passport themed swap (due to be mailed on the 15th! Yikes!) I have all my supplies, but haven't started the cards. I HAVE to get them done tonight!! Nothing like a little pressure to motivate me! Hopefully I'll have some more art to share soon - as in before the deadline!

We have friends coming to stay with us tonight through Sunday. Mike's friend Jeff, and his wife Sarena will be visiting from Dallas, TX. They are the friends who got married in March and we went to Texas for their wedding!

I think we'll have a fun time! Mike has taken today-Friday off from work. I was only able to take tomorrow off because of work conflicts. We'll be heading up into the mountains near our home to show them the sights! I'll take pictures and have them to share soon! I may be absent until next week though since we'll have visitors!! See you all soon!! (I'll be back later with the Getting to Know You questions for this week... I think!)

Wow - it's been a few days since I posted. I'm having a less grumpy week than I was last week!

This month's Self Portrait Challenge is:

The challenge for May - is street photography - with YOU in it. Capture yourself somehow, somewhere on the street. With or without others around or others in the photo frame. You could ask someone else to press the shutter for you or carry around your tripod - whatever you do it has to have a ’street photography’ vibe to it.

Well, this is going to be a challenge for me for sure. I have some ideas, and Mike is going to help me over the weekend, but for this week, I am using one of my favorite photos from a few years ago. My friend took a whole bunch of photos of me - they are all quite good. This was the last one she took. I am walking up the driveway of the house I used to live in. It was taken in Black and White - I just love the starkness of the photo. My black clothing, and the "old" feel of the photo. It makes me miss living out in the country! I love our house now, but I lived in my tiny house there for exactly 10 years! I do miss it!

In other news... I had the chance to talk with one of my favorite bloggers, Mary Ann, on the phone last night. What a treat!! This is the first time I've talked with anyone I've met via blogging! She and her husband are considering a trip "out west" this summer, and that would put them quite near me in Colorado! We're hoping, if they make the trip, that we'll get to meet in person!! That would be FUN! I hope they get to make their trip!!

And, we have a new "toy" at our house. Mike splurged at his favorite website, www.thinkgeek.com, and bought this: Laser Star Projector... Wow - is it just SOOO cool!

The cats went nuts the first time he turned it on. Luna loves a laser pointer - this is thousands of them all moving around the room. She wasn't sure where to look! They have decided it's boring now, but Mike and I LOVE it! I tried to get some pictures - they are kind of fun, but I need to do some "studying" on taking night shots with my digital!

Mike showed up at my office today bearing a gorgeous bouquet of flowers for me!! What a guy! He hasn't done flowers very often, so this was a true surprise. And for no reason (that I know of anyway!) I was grumpy this morning, so maybe it was just a cheer me up kind of thing!

He even remembered a conversation we had with his friend Jeff and his now-wife Serena (it was their wedding we were there to attend)... Serena and I were talking about flowers and how girls just love to get them. We mentioned favorites - mine are Stargazers - and he remembered that!! Yay! :) Here are pictures - I wish I could transfer smells too - the lilies are great!!

Well, the possibility exists that Mike and I will be making a big move in the not-so-distant future... Yikes!

We've been talking about moving somewhere for quite a while now, but this location was definitely NOT on our list. Mike has a tentative job offer in Raleigh, North Carolina. Now, we've talked a LOT about Oregon and Washington - anywhere within driving distance of the Pacific was going to work for us. We even thought about the possibility of Fort Worth or Austin after our recent visit... But Raleigh??!?!?

Mike has travelled there a number of times for work, knows the people he would be working with, etc. Neither of us is very sure about the town though. It's a big place and it's hot/humid in the summer, something I'm definitely not used to, and not a fan of!! On the plus side, it is only a short drive from an ocean, something we both want!

Now, this isn't a done deal by any means... but we're thinking about it. There are SO many things that are running through my head that I'm having a hard time making sense of it. So many things that I never really thought about in considering a move. I grew up in Colorado, I've never lived anywhere else, so I just don't know what changing states entails.

For one thing, I am worried about my health insurance. I don't have a job in North Carolina. There is a possibility that I will continue to do part of my current job from a distance, but they wouldn't be able to offer health insurance... And Mike and I aren't married, so his work won't offer it to me at this point. Yikes! What to do?

Then there is just the logistics of moving across the country... How do you prepare for this?!? Help! I have moved only about 5 times in my life. The most recent move to my house with Mike was the biggest! We will have moving expenses paid by his job, so that is a huge plus, but ... Wow! How do you plan this??

Do any of you have input, advice, sage words for me as we try to decide this?!? I'd love it if you do! Mike is much more calm about this than I am. I was doing pretty good over the weekend, but today, it has hit me like a ton of bricks and I'm having a hard time!!

I'll keep you posted!!