my layouts I did at Shanna lamba ding dongs...L

some pictures I hope will show up here...L

Woo Hoo--SNOW DAY! yeah, baby! It's a beautiful thing. I mean we move up from the furnace of hell to this lovely mountain place and then it doesn't snow...whaddup wit dat? So it started raining in Mesa last night and rained all night and Haley and I drove home to a snow storm. OK--technically not a blizzard or anything but I am calling it a snow storm gosh dang it! It has been snowing all day--there is at least a good 4 inches of snow all around. So Haley and I are living it up..movies, hot chocolate, fireplace a'roaring. Gotta love it.

So yesterday was fun. Haley and I drove down to Mesa--said hello to my old bowling team, of which only one was there!! But it was good to talk to Judi. Then Haley and I went shopping and then the fun really started! David had told me he would buy me a right-hand ring--probably because I cried I didn't get anything on V-day and that he never bought me anything, yada, yada, yada...so in order to shut me up he told me he would buy me a ring. I found one I liked in the mall and he finally went with me--'course then I wanted to "look" around. So when I went down to Mesa I popped in the jewelry store that I had found a ring before that I loved. Of course said ring was a 2 carat yellow diamond that had two half carat trillion diamonds on each side. $25,000. yep, didn't get it. Probably why I have a lack of jewelry in the first place. Too much expensive taste! So I went in yesterday and found this beautiful pave, white and rose gold way-awesome-unique-totally cool ring. I had the girl write down the info and left the store. I called David on his cell (like a normal person--not on the walkie-talkie boom box) told him I found the ring I wanted. Conversation then went like this: Me--I found the ring I want, D--How much is it? Me--$$$, D--Why don't you just buy it, Me--are you sure? you don't want to get it? D-you're still at the store aren't you? Me--NO! I'm in the car! D--well, go get it honey if you want it. Me--really?, um,OK!! Then I swerved the truck and I think I caused a pile up trying to rush back to the store so I could get me ring!!! Wearing it right now and it is very cool. Later that night D called me to ask if I was mad at him that he didn't buy it himself and I had to get it. Nah, I'll give ya another chance!!! :)

Afterwards Haley and I went to the mall, had lunch, went to our old house and checked it out, dropped cards off at a friend whom was sick in bed, went to the scrap store and then went to Shanna's. We had dinner, scrapped, laughed, doodled--just kidding--I absolutley did NO doodling--I'm anti--doodle. It pains me to say that but it is true. Only if you are a scrapbooker will the above sentence make any sense whatsoever! We had fun and Haley watched the Barbie Rapunzel movie about a gazillion times. The really sad part was that Shanna was singing all the songs whilst she doodled. She does have a nice singing voice so I won't make fun of her. Thanks for tracing my heart!!!!! She does draw a nice heart and she has a good one herself.

Will end this by another deep thought by Jack Handy--courtesy of my daughter whom sent this to me...L

There's always been a good explanation for everything.
When that owl attacked grandma and started biting her
head, at first it didn't make any sense. Why would an
owl attack grandma? But then we found out later: a
mouse was living in her hair.

-Jack Handy

Ok--so there's no snow. Yet. I'm still waiting. I thought I was going to wake up to a blanket of white. Major disappointment. Woke up at 4:30 a.m. and nothing to do so I made myself some hot chocolate (mint) and decided to blog. Couple of things to note. Here they are.

I'm in photoshop class last night at the local college. David is in Temecula. David calls me right during our teacher's presentation last night, not with a regular ring that could be muted--oh no--ON THE WALKIE TALKIE! Which is very loud! I must preface this with the fact that David bought me this phone because I never answered my cell and he joked that this way I had to answer! Anyway I sit at the front (like the good student I am!) and right in the middle of class I hear HELLO? blasting over my cell, which even inside my purse is still very loud! I quickly jump up and dash out of class, only after trying unsuccessfully to mute the darn thing. Still talking on the walkie talkie I remind clueless that I am in class--you remember, the one you dropped? The best part was that Debbie's dogs were going psycho in the background from the loud voice coming over the walkie talkie. No mention of said disruption from anyone in class!

Finally went to the doctor yesterday. The orthopedic doc I should say. My shoulder has been killing me for over a month. The doctor is a neighbor so that made it nice. Told him what was wrong. He tells me I have bursitis. Come again doc? Ain't bursitis an old people's illness? um, yep! Best part--don't get any pain meds--I get a shot of cortisone in my freakin' shoulder! Bloody Hell!! Well, it wasn't too bad and he said he wouldn't hurt me as he didn't want to be run down in the neighbor hood by the big rig! He did put some numbing stuff in it though so for a few hours it felt pretty darn good! Then it wore off. 'nuff said. Hope it gets better soon.

Speaking of physical pain brings me right back to my husband again. J/K. David found out yesterday that a co-worker's mom died. Suddenly and unexpected. He felt bad for him and said that Manny started to tear up telling him. David talked to him and told him how bad he felt about it and that he knew how hard it was. So the good part is that when David is telling me this he told me he wanted to get Manny something--like a gift certificate for dinner so that he could have a night to out and be able to think about something else for a moment. David said that he usually would feel bad for a person that was going through a difficult time and then let it go and not do anything for that person, like most of us do, but this time he actually was going to do something for someone. Very proud of him. I was very moved.

One other thing before I try to lay down and go to sleep for hmmm, about an hour before I have to get up. Haley is so cute right now. Ok, she has always been cute from day one--but right now she's even cuter if that can be possible! She loves to play with dolls, Barbies, polly pockets, etc. She has a huge Dora house that she loves to play with. Well, while she plays with said objects she likes to carry on these long, elaborate conversations. They are cute, funny, downright hilarious! I need a video recorder or a tape recorder to get these. They are involved to say the least. I think my favorite part is when she is playing with the Dora house and rings the doorbell and says "hola". Too cute! That is my mission now--to get those conversations down on paper!

Today is the fun day...L out

happy day--this is the forecast for Prescott this weekend:
significant winter storm system due to arrive by this weekend...a powerful winter storm system will begin taking shape along the west coast today. this storm will begin affecting much of arizona by friday and then last through the weekend. the first part of the storm will produce very windy conditions...as gusts to near 40 mph are expected to be common across northern and central arizona friday.rain and snow showers will develop over higher terrain late thursday night into early friday morning...and will become more widespread friday afternoon. snow levels will rapidly fall to between 3500 to 5000 feet by friday afternoon...before dropping another 500 to 1000 feet on sunday.as the storm develops...rain and snow will become steady and heavy at times from friday night through early sunday. at this time...the heaviest period of precipitation looks to be during saturday and saturday night. it is still too early to pinpoint exact snowfall amounts and locations...but some areas above 5000 feet are likely to see in excess of 6 inches of snow...with certain locations above 6000 feet around a foot or more by sunday morning.this is a large and potentially dangerous storm. most areas in northern and central arizona will be affected. in addition to heavy snowfall potential...this storm will be packing strong winds and the seasons coldest daytime temperatures. areas of blowing and drifting snow will be possible...along with extended periods of low visibility.travelers and others with interests in northern and central arizona this weekend should stay tuned to your favorite media sources for updates on this developing winter storm.

We finally get winter in March...L

Tomorrow starts a long-girlfriend-scrappy weekend for me! David is taking 3 of the oldest girls to CA tomorrow and Haley and me have us some plans! First day--not much, second day--heading to Mesa to see some old friends (a surprise!) and then a day of uncontrollable, giggly, scrap 'til you drop night with Shanna!!! And whomever else wants to join us. Then Haley and I will head back to Prescott so I can take a scrapbook class at my local store! YAY! Then the rest of the day is free, and a quiet Sunday--will sure miss my honey and kids but I love it when I get some alone time. Plus it is supposed to be stormy this weekend. I'm all about the stormy.

Speaking of...it snowed today...all day. Didn't stick but it was very pretty coming down. Loved it. The girls and I tried to catch snowflakes on our tongues.

Went to Mesa on Tuesday and scrapped most of the day with kerry. FUN! I got two layouts she made for me. {Note to self--leave more photo's accidentally at Kerry's} They are so cute! I love them. A big MWAH to you Kerry! I'm posting them for all to see. Until next entry...L

just wanted to share an email my daughter sent me tonight--too funny...L

before shoe shopping,calm yourself by meditating in the center of your closet. place a woven mat of green sawgrass in the center of the room. light incense and darken the room. sit on the mat with your legs crossed. clear your mind of all extraneous thoughts. breathe slowly and deeply. focus your mind on what you hope to accomplish. chanting is optional.

possible chants:
"do you... have these... in red?"
"will you... take another...10% off... if i buy two pairs?"
"i saw them first...b iach"

when you feel refreshed, relaxed, and at one with your shoes, go forth and shop.
-from the feng shoe book

I have seen other blogs with quotes from movies or books, etc. and I was thinking today that I would start putting up some of my favorite deep thoughts. So look for these periodically and have a good chuckle--I know I will. And now, another deep thought by Jack Handey: When I die, I would like to go peacefully, in my sleep, like my Grandfather did. Not screaming and yelling like the passenger in his car. Gotta love that Jack Handy...L

Today was a good day. One of those days that just goes nice and smooth. Started out with David taking me to breakfast at Casa Sanchez. What's not to love about chips and salsa and huevos rancheros early in the a.m? Then we went to check out a preschool for Haley that also happens to be a private school from pre-K to 5th grade. Lovely school with a great teacher to student ratio and a very Montessori feel to it. They get to take yoga, fencing, swimming, get taught sign language, french and spanish and have great field trips, local artists--just a lot of wonderful things. No testing (which I am soooo against) and just a lot of life experience and learning opportunities. We are seriously considering it. When I told Carson about it she wanted us to sign her up sight unseen! We told her we would take her to the school and she could decide. She had a hard transition going from her beloved Montessori school in Mesa to the public school here. Which brings me to my next subject. Carson had some artwork from school chosen to be displayed at the district office--going to go look at it this weekend!

Went to Costco and found a ton of really cool new things. David found a smoker that I'm pretty sure he is going go back and get. Then I went to my photoshop class and learned how to retouch photos. Very cool stuff. When I got home I had a package of shoes to open! That's right--SHOES! Yum! Can life get any better when you can order shoes online? The answer is no if you live in a virtual shoe drought in a tiny town! So I am off to try and get at least 4 hours of sleep tonight, I have been having a week of sleeplessness--not fun...L

just a few more...L

more pics from Utah...L

I’m back from Utah. I can’t even begin to describe what a fun time I had. I had a great flight and Brianne picked me up from the airport and we then went directly to eat, of course! Then we went shopping at the new (to me) Gateway mall. We had a great time shopping at Anthropologie. Loved that store! Then we went to a wonderful scrap store, Paper Creations. After that Brianne surprised me with tickets to the new Joseph Smith movie. That was the most wonderful, beautifully made movie. Incredible acting, beautiful cinematography and just a lovely movie. Made me appreciate our prophet in a whole new way. Then after that we went to dinner at the Melting Pot (David calls it the fondue pit!) and had a wonderful dinner—our waiter looked like a younger, cuter version of Donny Osmond.

The next day we went and hiked Sundance. We were going to go all the way to Stewart Falls but found out it was closed. We still enjoyed our hike and found a nice slope to slide down on our aspens! LOL Later we had dinner at the Bombay House and then went to the mall and had massages at the Aveda store went to cold stone creamery and then went home and promptly fell asleep!

Day 3 of our adventure found us in Park City. Beautiful area of Utah, where the ’02 Olympics were held. Lots of shopping, more eating, getting lost a few times and then heading back to where we enjoyed a sub sandwich (yummy!) and then went back to Brianne’s apartment where a few of her guy friends showed up and we talked about music and I gave them a lecture about how they needed to settle down! HA HA they were very nice and hopefully one of them will wake up and smell the coffee and start dating my beautiful, talented daughter!!! J

The next day I went home. Over too soon but glad to be home and see my other honeys! A big shout out to my dear husband whom took care of everything in my absence and had everything in order at home. He did try to tell me he had potty trained Haley, but all the girls promptly shot down that story!! Brianne—love you, miss you and so very proud of what a wonderful woman you are!! Love ya...L

Well tomorrow is the big day--UTAH here I come! It is supposed to be cold my daughter says...I can hardly wait. I'm packed, I picked up the dry cleaning, wrote down a schedule for David (of which I'm sure he will not even glance at!), cleaned the house--oh, who am I kidding about that one--I never clean--it just sounded good! :) and finished the laundry--of course in this house laundry is never, ever finished--it just takes a breather for a nano second before doubling in size. I had to include this pic that Carson took of me at the lake this weekend--she did a good job and I'm putting it in my next layout--that unfortunately has to wait because the printer uncontrollaby and unexplainably told me to take a hike. Guess I'm not the techno geek I thought I was going to be...L

Here is my day: Wake up at 7:47 a.m. Realize that Anna must catch the bus at 7:55 a.m. Bloody hell! Jump up, wake up Anna, rush to get dressed, make her lunch and out the door to be greeted right by the bus as the bus driver kindly stops while he sees Anna and myself scurrying out the front driveway. Just as I am putting Anna on the bus I see she has no coat--I calmly tell her that I will bring her coat to her. I run in the house, grab coat, rush to the truck and drive like mad (I mean very cautiously and slowly) to get to the bus and follow it until the next stop where I can give Anna her coat. I miss the bus stop and I'm praying that there will be another stop before the bus leaves our neighborhood. The bus driver surely recognizes my truck and pulls over and stops--not at a normal stop but one where everyone knows some lame mother is trying to get something to a child so she will not have to drive a half hour out of her way to go to the school and drop said item off. So there is the bus stopped and me in my jammies making my way very publicly with coat in hand to my sweet Anna who would surely freeze to death shortly if not properly dressed. Of course my Anna could not have sat at the front of the bus--nooooo, she has to be at the very back! After getting her coat to her and mumbling thanks and offering up my first born child at the bus driver's graciousness I haul my butt back to my truck to go home. Not until this very moment did I realize that I was rewarded tremendously by not having Carson and Taylor on the bus--oh the humiliation they avoided today!

Speaking of my little Anna--tonight she asked me if Natalie was "norman". I was almost afraid to try to decipher this one but finally figured out she meant "mormon". I told her that Natalie was not "mormon" (we've had this discussion before--along with the "turtleteck" discussion). Anyhoo, Anna then asked me if "norman's" watched R movies. I replied that R movies weren't really good for anyone, being the good parent that I am--ha ha. She then told me that R movies just weren't for "norman's". Ok then--that is where we will leave it.

Took Max to the vet today to get neutered. Happy to say that everything went well and he now has a chip implanted in him as well in case anything should ever happen to him. I will sleep much better tonight knowing that my puppy can never really get lost and/or if he should, that heaven forbid, he couldn't impregnate every female dog along the way.

Best part--my house is clean, quiet (except for the new Live cd I bought today) and I actually burned a cd with my digital pictures on it all by myself! Look out world, I'm a gonna turn into a techno geek...L

So I just had the best weekend ever! Seriously--too fun! Dennis came down and we had such a good time. We went to the lake, rode quads, ate, ate some more, watched the olympics, looked at toy haulers and trailers, bought a trailer, had a picnic, relaxed, enjoyed marvelous cool weather, got deserted with two small children while others went and took a leisurely hike, looked at the stars and found Uranus, got Max a dog trainer, heard the name Lindsay Jacobellis a gazillion times and I think that might be it! All in one very long and exciting weekend. In fact, it was so fun that David, Taylor and Carson had to keep the party going by traveling back to CA with Dennis. Have fun with them Deb!!!! Debbie and Dennis are supposed to be moving here sooner than later I hope--can't wait for that to happen! That will be positively a joyous and long awaited event! Keeping the home flames burning and anxiously awaiting my trip to Utah...L

So I got this sweet present in the mail from my good friend Kerry. Thanks Kerry!! Love it!! She is one talented scrapper that woman! If I had half of her talent!!! Anyway I adore it and found a great place for it on one of my shelves. This scan might not do it justice but it will do for now. Nothing beats having great friends in life--truly it is a treasure...L

Well, I did it--I actually scrapped a page--about me!! I took an online class last month and I'm finally getting around to making the page. The picture was one my sister took of me on our Alaskan cruise--she sent it to me last month and I had to use it somewhere. Funny thing is I don't even remember her taking it!! Oh well...L

David left this morning at 5 am to go to the cannery and then off to Glamis--poor thing! A three day weekend with the boys and their toys. I'm a little jealous--I would love to be riding my bike this weekend but I'm glad David has a hobby and friends to go and relax with for a little while.

Me and the girls went shopping at the new Joann's superstore here in town--yawn!! Not a big deal, but it did have a few things. Then off to McDonald's for a fun lunch that ended in spilled soda, fry's and not much eaten--but the very cute "purple dew" doll was enjoyed thoroughly!! Then off to see the new Curious George movie which was awesome!! We all loved it and went directly to Target and bought the lovely soundtrack which is sung by Jack Johnson!

Now I am worn out and tired like I have been all week--think I'll go to bed and hopefully scrap some tomorrow...L

So we had a superbowl party yesterday--mostly friends and family--and lots of food. I spent all day in the kitchen cooking. I did take an hour out of my day for a short nap which was heaven! The day before my parents came up unexpectedly and I spent the afternoon with them. We went to lunch and then I took them to see Joe's house ( the one that David built for his father). We stayed and visited with him for a while and then my parents left and went home. Short but nice visit. David however missed them as he was at the boat show in Phoenix with Dan!! He did not come home with a boat as that very morning he had his Raptor quad delivered--he went down Friday to get a new jet for my bike and called me three hours later and started stammering out some nonsense at which point I asked--Did you just buy a quad? Hmmm, two in fact--one for him and another one for the girls. So in the next two weekends we will be going riding with my cousin Todd and his family--good times!!

So while I am in random mode I finally looked up where my son was in Italy going off a tip from Dennis whom told me to mapquest it (DUH!) Anyway it looks like it is only 20-30 miles from Turin--where the Olympics are being held!! Very cool. Hopefully you will be able to see it in the corner. I'm also heading to Provo in a few weeks to spend some time alone with Brianne!!! I can hardly wait. She has already planned a day of shopping and eating in Salt Lake and then we are going to hike Sundance and we're getting massages!! WOO HOO!! I am excited! This is the first time I have gone up and visited her. All because my hubby told me to plan a date and go--thanks, hon...L

So this was my birthday present from my husband--pretty sweet! Don't know which is worse--the 43 year old woman that wants a dirt bike or the man that buys it for her! Either way it's insanity! I just got my helmet, boots, knee pads and gloves--the pants and jersey are being shipped--yeah--it's pink!!! HA HA Have only ridden it in the back yard as we have to take it to be re-jetted--won't start up here in the high altitude! Watch out when I get mobile on it though...L