Red Rocks and Classic Cars .. yes, please!!

This year marks the (I believe, but could be wrong) 21st annual April Action car show in Moab.
Since moving here in 2008 - we haven't missed one :)

For the record - I always love living in Moab.
However - the car show is my favorite event ALL. YEAR. LONG.
I don't have a jeep anymore - so I could sleep through Jeep Safari.
I don't rock climb, because I'm a big baby ...
we go hiking/biking/camping a LOT .. so it's fun - but not super special.
But car show .. oooohhh car show :)
sexy cars
hot people
money being spent
classic engines rumbling in the distance as far as your ears can hear.
.... what's not to like ?
horribly long lines at the checkout...
bumper-to-bumper trafficmakes you scream, despite the cool cars..
having to elbow your way through the grocery store for a loaf of stupid bread...
... ok fine !
it's not all happy grins and unicorns puking rainbows.
..  but it's worth it - I PROMISE!!

I even have pictures as proof .. :D

Happy Spring, everyone
season is here ! :)

sticker nails and cracker chips .. yay.

I don't often do it .. but I did.
I stepped outside my box.
I tried TWO new things this week.

yes, I want a medal AND a cookie for that - thank you.

In an effort to continue to shrink my size without effort .. (make sense?)
I tried some Ritz Cracker chips.

effort without effort just means I don't actually excercise
because that means I have to sweat and that's gross.

definition : all I did was cut down how much soda I drink on a regular basis, drink more water, and buy the occasional low-fat item.  lol like sour cream and 2% milk instead of whole milk, chips that aren't chips, etc.  BABY STEPS !!

Anyway - I tried these and they were YUM !!



I also tried these 'sticker nail' things .. omg they are AWESOME !!

Not only did they stay on all week, including working EVERY day; but they protected my nails from chips and dings. YAY !!
NOT THOSE CHIPS UP THERE .. duh :)

so - 2 steps outside the box - 2 thumbs up.
DOUBLE YAY !

mad world

As a full-time mom and part-time control freak - I've always liked chaperoning school field trips.  It's a lot of fun (mostly) and there've only been a handful of trips we've missed over the girls' years in school.

By we, of course, I mean myself and the besterest husband ever created.  Fourth grade and teenage boys tend to have a problem listening to a woman shorter than them; so I'm glad the G. man is so awesome.

Over the last week I've been having a hard time wrapping my head around something that rocked our tiny town of 5,500.  Two boys that we've 'watched over' in the past, were responsible for taking someone's life.
There was no accident .. it wasn't something that ''just happened.''
They planned, plotted, and repeatedly shot the boyfriend of one of their ''moms.''
To top it all off - this ''mom'' helped them get rid of the evidence.

The man they killed was a guy we worked with in the past, the brother of an acquaintance, as well as a 'friend of friends.'  I guess in this town it's impossible to not ''know'' someone, which makes something like this even harder to accept.

With life in our tiny town, I don't mean to, but I get complacent.
I start to think stuff like this only happens in the city.

But then along comes a reality bitchslap like this to remind us what a mad world we live in.

I've been locking my doors at night for the first time in years .. :(

focus on the good

I'm not even in the same zip code as perfect, but I make an attempt to better myself, everyday. 

I've never been a bony little size 3 - but I still classify myself as pretty damn cute.  (if you find me aesthetically pleasing or not .. is neither here nor there - this is about ME :)
I may not have a 'dream job' - but I'm good at what I do and I like it; I don't know that there is much more I could ask for.  ok, other than a billionty dollars - but you get my drift, smartass.
I don't have a billionty dollars & every silly little thing I want; but I have all I need and even lucky enough to even have a little extra.
Besides .. who needs a billionty dollars when you're rich in love?

I guess I'm ranting and made the print below, because I'm just exhausted by all the whining.
I'm tired of people boobing around about how hard life is.  I've had enough of the housewives on tv bitchin about their hard lives; "omg - what ever will I do with all this money and time on my hands?" .... blah blah blah.
Go spend a month in a 3rd world country without your luxuries; then let's talk about how hard your Louis Vuitton drenched life is .. PLEASE.

focus on the good.

just do it.
don't sweat the petty stuff and definitely don't pet the sweaty stuff.it's gross and as far as hand sanitizer goes ... 'I don't have a square to spare.'

I'm happy, I'm healthy, my kids don't run away from me, my husband still wants to hang out with me, my customers at work miss me on my days off,  I even GET days off, I HAVE a job to get days off from, I can read/write/hear/see/smell ... jeez - have a little perspective, people.  

click here for the full size printable of "focus on the good."

LOVE is LOVE

what is LOVE ... ?

Blurting out or even just typing those three words makes me mentally replay the really bad song and even worse bar scene from Saturday Night Live.

Well, isn't that just GREAT!
Now, instead of being outraged as I write about this highly controversial subject; I sit bouncing my head left to right like a jackass - trying to rid my brain from visions of side humping.

Thanks A LOT, Haddaway and early 90's !
/end sidetrack
let's get back to being outraged! *furrows her brow & stills her bouncing head*

We've landed on the moon, perfected microwave technology and split the atom .. but still find ourselves having to ask the world if it's ok to marry the person we love, in the year 2013.

Something is VERY wrong with this picture.

Whether at work, in daily life or on my blog - I don't like to openly discuss highly sensitive subjects. As a rule, I avoid discussing religion or politics because those conversations start wars and people die. I figure it's best for me to avoid the subjects, altogether; I can't be responsible for more people dying!  (I make jokes at tense situations .. my bad!)

However, marriage equality is a subject that touches a sensitive spot.   In my family, alone - we have an amazing Uncle, a brilliant cousin and a phenomenal nephew who are gay.  Not to mention several friends and coworkers that fly their rainbow flags - very high and very proud.

How is telling adults they can't marry someone of the same sex any better than making people sit at the back of the bus, because of their skin color ?  I find it no less offensive than scooping up people by the thousands, branding and enslaving them because of their religion.

Love is Love.   black, white, gay, straight, Jewish, Catholic, rich, poor, fat, skinny .. who cares?

"Even if being gay were a choice - so what? People choose to be assholes and we still let them get married."

get it right, people -LOVE IS LOVE !

love is kissing boo boos better & scaring off 'under-the-bed monsters'
love is surprising your mate with breakfast at 5am, before their early shift
love is trying to make their day better, every day; no matter how bad yours was
love is just love and it's the only thing worth living for

does it really matter - as long as we stick to our own species
... unlike 2 of our favorite pets

love isn't judging another for things beyond their control

love is accepting your fellow man for who they are

in honor of the matter being brought before the supreme court today - I made some very rainbowlovetastic prints ..

here's to hoping today will become a proud day in history and not an embarrassing one for our rights as American citizens.

click here for the full-size print quality version of ^ this Love is Love ^ picture

click here for the full-size print quality version of ^ this print Love is Love - caps  ^

and since I'm a facebookaholic - I made facebook covers to match
Love is Love # 1 - BUTTON LETTERS for FB cover
Love is Love # 2 - CAPS for FB cover


and the rainbowlovetastic print I made for Valentine's day :

don't forget to be awesome ..

I'm most definitely classified as a fan of awesome.
I guess anyone prefers awesome to mediocre, so that ^^ is a redundant statement.
I can also admit that maybe ... just maybe I use the A word a little too much.
It's o.k. if you're judging me as you read this ...
I'm awesome enough to forgive your judgmental ways ;)

some of my favorite awesome things ..

my awesome family & friends
awesome books I refuse to can't put down.
awesome food from my awesome husband
awesome weather with more sunshine than pollen
awesome 27 lb. kitty foot warmers
awesome squirrels worth stalking from my kitchen window
awesome orbee eating ladybugs
                          and
awesome lego girls on awesome cork boats ... ?

Ok. I'll admit the last four sound a little weird when I read them back. 
LoL, but in my opinion - they're made of awesome and I brought pictures as proof!

This is our cross-eyed ''little'' kitty
despite being the youngest - he's the biggest kitty we own
I would hope he's the biggest, considering he is 27 pounds

he's been deemed 'the world's best foot warmer'

---

After her feet were sufficiently toasty she wanted to make mini cork sailboats.
[ corks, hot glue, foam craft sheets (for sail), & skewers ]
I didn't drink all that wine, I promise we ordered the corks from Etsy ;)

 Nobody is ever going to be able to convince me that this little lego lady
and her awesome one-piece swimming suit weren't made for this corkboat :)

---

For Christmas, she got a remote control ladybug that eats orbeez
Nugget is NOT a fan.
LoL he kept very slowly 'chasing' it down the hall

---

this is my new buddy - 'squirrel'
he comes to 'say hi' after I feed the finches

he stands off 'in the distance' .. staring .. waiting for me to go inside
only then will he come down his 'hill' to feast on seeds / nuts

---

So, in honor of the 'word of the day' - I made an awesome print. ;)
(in case I have to hold your hand and draw a picture for you - the word is awesome.)

 click here for the full-size Printable version of "Don't forget to be AWESOME."

I put it into a frame on our fire place and I just LOVE IT :)

So, don't forget to be awesome AND even more importantly, I think - don't forget to recognize the awesome that surrounds you.  It's everywhere !! :)

.. tis the season to be stupid.

"The Doors had it wrong .. people are stupid."

This is, by far, one of my FAVORITE phrases to utter on a regular basis.

I try to be kind and forgiving, but day by day the amount of stupid stored up inside some people sends me to new levels of amazement. 

Maybe it's the cold weather or the stress of the new year; whatever the case may be - at the moment I have zero tolerance for selfish, stupid people.

People don't like to hear the truth and the real problem here, is that I don't like to censor it.

If I think you're being a jackass and screwing up your life and/or the lives of the ones you love --- I WILL say just that !!

When a real friend tells you that you need to get your shit together, it's because they love you and want to see you and yours do better.

It's 2013 and  time to rid ourselves of losers .. such a good idea. 

it could always be worse .... scary

I don't want to call Forrest Gump's mama a liar, so let's just say she was confused

life is NOT at all like a box of chocolates

unless she meant life would leave me feeling bitten in 1/2, chewed up & spit out 

if that was her intention - she was spot on.

More times than I can count, we'll be plugging along one day, just fine and WHAM!

something scary or painful or both comes along and stinks up our happy place.

where I come from, our chocolate doesn't kick you in the face

as hard as it may be, I keep remembering .. 

21 is the number ...

quitting smoking can suck it.
lol, I say that because I may or may not have had a few cigarettes since my last post.

I have a stupid high amount of stress going on in my life, right now and don't have time for your judgment, dammit! >_<

21 was the date in September as well as the number of days I made it before I started stopping quitting smoking ....

LOL ? what ? :P

.. I've had a handful of cigarettes in a week - I don't feel all too bad after 21 years of several cigarettes a day.

chocolate cake and orbit gum ...

On the 31st of August I turned 35.
I had the realization I've been smoking cigarettes on & off for 20+ years

So, in my new mature 'old age' - I decided to quit
... just QUIT all together.
COLD TURKEY

No patches, nicorette gums or acupuncture .. I just stopped.

The first few days I had leftover birthday cake to sustain me through tough times
these days, it's a lot of orbit's curiously strong 'pure' gum

It's been 19 days and I don't want to kill anyone .. yet.

here's to another 19 ... :)

... ps - I have a small pack of nicorette hiding in my bedroom in case I have a meltdown.

home faked deliciousness ..

Even though in my teenage years I worked at a Red Lobster & made hundreds of dozens of the actual 'cheddar bay biscuits' ... I had never attempted to make 'em at home.

until now ...

I made 'em ... everyone loved 'em.

what else matters ?

haha oh right .. a recipe might help, eh ?
I used the recipe below @ the girl who ate everything.com.

I hope your family enjoys them as much as ours did :)

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Ingredients:

Biscuits:

2 1/2 cups Bisquick

4 Tbsp cold butter

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

3/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Butter Glaze:

3 Tbsp butter

1/2 tsp garlic powder

3/4 tsp dried parsley flakes

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease or line one cookie sheet with parchment; set aside.

Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter (I just used 2 forks). Don't worry about mixing too thoroughly; there will be small chunks of butter in the mix about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and garlic powder. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.

Drop 1/4 cup portions of the dough onto the lightly greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes in preheated oven or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.

While the biscuits are baking, melt butter is a small bowl in the microwave. Stir in garlic powder and dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread the garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Sprinkle a little kosher salt on the freshly coated biscuits. Makes one dozen.

dumb dog bite .. day 5

I told my dad I'd post pictures of the dumb dog bite I received Monday, here.

backstory of the dog bite - made kinda sorta shortish : I was 70 feet away from my front door with Nugget - unleashed; despite my better halfs' better judgment, when a neighbor's dog ran around the corner (also unleashed) and Nugget ran towards him - tail wagging.  The other dog barked aggressively at Nugget's face, kinda biting at him.

Nugget tail tucked immediately between his legs and he ran towards me; to hide behind my legs.

That DUMB DOG kept running at me, despite my hollering like a mad woman "NOO! GET BACK!" .. like he didn't speak English or something .. wth ?   where's that dog whisperer guy when you really need him ?   My "I'm the alpha pack leader!" attitude and stance did NOT work .. :/

I guess because I stood in the way of him biting Nugget's face off - he settled for biting my forearm and shoulder, instead.  We went to the ER, I'm on anti-biotics and the dog has been 'quarantined.'

On a happy note .. 2 days until vacation .. :) <3

it's here .. it's here !!

You'd be hard pressed to find a day where I splurge on something specifically for me.  correction    "...where I splurge on something new and/or expensive specifically for me."

we'd researched extensively and had our hearts set on getting me a Canon T1I before we go on vacation, this year. It was really exciting for me, because my nicest camera to date was a Kodak Easy Share.  $89 on it's most expensive day. 

I was on the phone with my dad,  who has always shared & encouraged my love of photography.  I informed him about my exciting purchase plan, when he said 'you might want to reconsider.' 

I thought maybe he'd heard bad things about the Canon or had some advice to offer; when he dropped a bomb on me.   

During my parents' visit next month - apparently he'd been planning on giving me his Nikon d40x AND three kick-ass lenses.  oh. my. gosh.   

words just cannot explain my level of gratitude and excitement!

after running around like a kid, screaming with joy ruining the surprise of actually 'giving' it to me .. he sent it all to me, the next day.

It arrived after a mix-up with the Post Office.  By mix-up .. I mean I heard FedEx when he said post office .. then freaked out for 2 hours when FedEx couldn't find the tracking number.   what ?  .. they sound similar.  fed ex .. post office. fed ex .. post office. 

He also sent all his books, guides, and instruction manuals.  It's going to take me at least a year to get through the basics of the camera.         

after realizing how much would be involved with this camera - I made the very adult decision to put off the purchase of my silhouette, until I've got this baby down.   

*pats self on back*









anyway .. onto the point of the post - these are my favorite pictures (of the 243) from day 1

the last, lone survivor of the fishies we adopted in 2008

'one of four'

cutest. dog. ever.

I can't take enough pictures of our foliage 

don't you love how his tongue is the same angle as his neckerchief

how everyone will be seeing my face for some time to come ... smile !

our four-legged baby .. so sleepy

I love the moon coming out while the sun's up

this is her 'take the picture & hurry up' smile

"deer tracks mom, you HAVE to get a picture with your new camera!"

I love random shots like this .. au natural

lol the teen doesn't like 'au natural' .. she 'ducks n runs' or smiles big :P

and this  last picture isn't really a nice picture lol

it's just to compare the size of the 'big' lens to a giant wendy's drink .. that's all.

I love my new camera .. <3

he's crazy sweet .. I'm crazy

I won't be the first to say it - but I'll say it, anyway; I can be a brat.

by brat I mean stubborn, melodramatic, and spoiled

quite the package, eh ? :))

"I don't want you to buy me ANYTHING!!" were my exact words on my way out the door to work, in the morning.  I really can't explain it, other than I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. 

I don't mean to be moody and irrational .. I guess it's just part of my charm. :)

despite my biting his head off in the morning; my ever-so-sweet husband took time out of his day to come to work to bring me this .. 

how did he do that ? you might ask ..
In November - he was the loving husband he always is and he had made A TON of these tissue paper flowers for my good friend's baby shower.  now, he's a pro.
fast forward a few hours .. I got home and within a few minutes discovered something new on the wall.
omg ..
I have to admit that it made my heart flutter a little .. he crafted for me.
he CRAFTED for me .. that's so hot.
he used the matching 'plaque' I used for his Valentine's gift and turned it into something I'll cherish forever.  He used mod podge and ribbon and lace and doilies .. all to make me smile.

I am unbelievably lucky that he puts up with my crazy ...

what I learned today

• calm my anxiety
• irrational expectations get me nowhere 
• have a little faith in the people I love .. because they have all the faith in me.

'technology takes over ...'

the reality of this post is that it exists because as soon as I saw the image below it spoke volumes, to me as a wife, mom and child of this technology craved society.

It's excruciating for me to admit; but a handful of years ago, I had a point in life where I couldn't get enough time on the glowing interwebs box.
video games, apps, social media, online worlds, forums about anything & everything, etc.

I ignored a few things that should've been very important to me; I let relationships fade, friends calls go unanswered and my ass got way too big; all because of a box of wires, a motherboard and graphics card.

I can happily say that's a shadow of who I am, today.

I still love my facebook and computer stuff, but in small intervals. (stares at blog, pointing out the obvious)

I prefer my addictions of a crafty, outdoor, social, and familial nature, these days. ;)

original image found on thisisnthappiness.com

double frown .. double hug

In general, I'm a shiny happy person.  :)
I love to laugh, make fun out of boring situations, and be a goofball at all times.
That's why it felt so foreign to find myself in a severe state of frown several times, today.

my bestest four legged friend of 5 months - senor Nugget - had to spend the night at the vet because he was having his nuggets removed. :(  we haven't spent a night without him, since he came barreling into our lives! >_<

I also have an old friend that I keep up with through facebook.  This morning he announced his pregnant girlfriend went secretly to sign papers & the baby is to be placed for adoption. He's devastated, as expected.

Then there's my good friend, who I've worked with for a couple years. She lives just down the street and our kids have all been friends for years.  She lost custody of both her 14 yr old son and 16 yr old daughter.   I feel crushed for them, all.

I have been through a lot in life.
And by a lot, I mean 87% of all things you could possibly imagine .. I've had to deal with.

I can't imagine not having my girls with me.
so, tonight - I gave them 2 hugs & 2 kisses & told them twice I love them to the moon and back


I wish I could mend my friends' broken hearts .. I can't imagine the desperation they're feeling right now.

lighting a candle, sending prayers, and happy thoughts.
if someone reads this .. I hope you do the same; send prayers and double hug your loved ones.

I have no TIME to be sick..

but for some reason - I am!

I have cards to make, a Christmas letter to write, cookies and other goodies to make, stuff envelopes .....

that very sentence made my face hurt - I'm going to bed.