It's a Happy Month

... A happy birthday month :oD

And we got the whole family together to celebrate. 

The birthday girl...

And the birthday boy...

Happy birthday to Cheryl and Jim!

Note: Buca order for 11: large antipasto salad, large pizza, large spaghetti, large eggplant and small sausge rigatoni. Next time don't get the rigatoni and substitute another large pizza. 

PTI Blog Hop

I'm getting my crafty in gear again this year, and I'm starting with the PTI blog hop. This month the theme is to take inspiration from this collage by Rex Ray:



And here is my card:



I used the following supplies from PTI:
Stylish Sentiments - Birthday
Headline Alphabet Die
Headline Alphabet Stamp Set

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Holidays

Hello poor neglected blog...

As I was going to do another post, I found this post in progress that I never finished! Well, now is as good a time as any....

Holiday Season is in full swing!!!

I signed up for a seasonal flower arranging class. It's one night a month for the rest of the year. The arrangement is not quite my style, but it was fun to do. 

I reinjured my foot, and have been going to PT once a week. I'm on my second month there and it's been getting better! WHOOHOO!!! Thank- you, Sean at Rausch Physical Therapy and Sports Performance!

Jim had the kidney stone incident last summer. The stone is 6mm and has been hanging out in his bladder. They tried blasting it with ultra sound, and it didn't work, so they went up into the bladder to get it. Jim is in s lot of pain. Hopefully that will all subside when the stint is removed. 

Chris finished his first semester at Dominguz Hills. He stayed two nights a week at my mom and dad's house. It worked out great and cut his drive time in half. 

Cheryl is focusing on PT school and is refreshing the final two classes that she needs before applying. 

I've started going to yoga. And I realized that I look seriously creepy upside down. 

That was a random revelation...

Things were so busy with work, Jim's surgery, and doctor appointments that I only got about half my Christmas cards sent out. I sent the rest out as New Years cards :oD

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's from our house to yours. 

Girl's weekend!

Last weekend was my brother's annual darts tournament. It's a guys only event. So Cheryl and I decided that it would be a good weekend for a girl's getaway. We've wanted to take Grandma on a trip with us for a while. Cheryl suggested Santa Barbara wine tasting, but Grandma isn't a big wine drinker. I suggested San Diego, but Cheryl said that she's ready been there. So we compromised on Ojai. The last time we were there was a few years ago for the Ojai to Ventura marathon. We were so beat after the race that we didn't get the chance to checkout the cute town. 

It took only 2 hours to drive from Grandma's house. We got there in plenty of time to join a food walking tour. 

We stopped for three different kinds of tamales at La Fuente. Then on for more Mexican food at Las Caporales. 

Then a quick stop at a Taquilla bar. No sampling there though. Too bad because Cheryl wanted to try for the scorpion, ha ha!

Next stop was Carolina Gramm Designs for olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting. 

By this time the temps were climbing into the 90s, so our next stop for Freezer Monkey Popsicles was very welcome! We had to eat th quickly because they we're melting FAST! 

Next stop was wine tasting at Ojai Vinyard. You'd think they put that in just for Cheryl. 

Last stop was dessert at a very cute cooking store called Tipple and Ramble. 

After the tour we walked through the unique boutique shops in downtown Ojai.  Our favorite was an outdoor used book store called Bart's. 

The only thing that we bought that day was a garlic chopper for Armand. Thinking back, it seems like a bizzare choice. Blame it on the margarita, three glasses of wine, and the wine spritzer, lol!

After checking into the hotel and relaxing a bit, we actually got hungry again! After some internet research, we walked down the street to a little Italian restaurant and ate out on the patio. The evening temps were perfect. 

We were outside to try to catch Ojai's famous Pink Moment, but the clouds had moved in. No Pink Moment that night :(

The following morning, we hit the free breakfast at the hotel and headed to the Farmer's market. 

Everything looked so GOOD!

It was fun sampling the fresh baked goods, popcorn and fruit. We bought a lot! It's a good thing that grandma brought tote bags! 

They had yummy green plums, Ojai pixie tangerines and a white watermelon that we couldn't resist. 

The flowers were beautiful too. I was tempted, but it was going to be a long hot ride home. 

That's it for our whirlwind weekend of fun and laughs. It was great spending time with Cheryl and my mom. Opportunities like that should not be put off. Those are memories that will be treasured forever. 

So What's Up?

Wow, where has summer gone?!!! The kiddos are starting school next Monday. That means that this is Chris's last week of work at DTI. Cheryl will be cutting back her hours at work too. Oh, speaking of Cheryl... look! She made the Rausch page!

http://rauschpt.millsys.org/about/#staff

Let's see, what else is happening... A big kitty moved into Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park. That is where I do my runs during the week. BUMMER!



We are still getting up insanely early to get in a long run on the weekend with the running group. Wake-up time was 3:30am last Saturday to get out there in time to beat the heat.





And these two are still SO CUTE!



I went to a training class with a triathlon group... YEP, SWIMMING, ME! I actually learned something. By the end of class, I could actually swim across the pool and halfway back freestyle. That's me with the blue towel. I wasn't staying in any longer than I had to, haha!



Jim just got back from a week long camping trip. He's been busy this week working of the items on my "Honey Do List." So far he: repotted the plumeria, changed the toilet seats, picked up paint for the bedroom, and is in process of replacing the smoke alarm (which he says is more complicated than it seems).

Oh, and I had a bit of excitement at work today! I can't even find a souvenir key chain with my name on it, and look what a coworker gave me today.



I hope that you all are having a great week!

The Music of the Night

Jim got tickets for the whole family to see Phantom of the Opera at the OC Performing Arts Center.







I thought that "Broadway Musicals" were set in stone... music, score, choreography... but this Phantom of the Opera had a different ending. The old ending was more action packed, but I liked this ending. Anyway, I will say no more since I don't want to leave spoilers on the www.

Everyone have a great weekend!

Happy Anniversary to US!!!

PTI Release Week Inspiration

I'm a BIG follower of the PTI release week. They have a super talented design team, and I LOVE looking at their creations. This month PTI is giving us a chance to play along by using one of the DT creations as inspiration.

I fell in love with this creation by Nicole Heady:



http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2015/07/vintage-linens.html

I adore the colors and the design, so my card is as direct a lift as I could manage:



Thanks for stopping by.
I hope you have a great day!

An Evening of Messy Fun!

Thursday night a local artist named, Jacki Long, came to Mission Viejo to teach a portrait collage class. I couldn't resist! I love the cabana art that she created for the community center...


(*picture from jackilong.blogspot.com)

... and the Mission Viejo Library card:


(*picture from jackilong.blogspot.com )

I met Jacki, seven very nice ladies, and one sweet dog at a night of art and fun:


(*picture from jackilong.blogspot.com )

I know it looks like I'm by myself, but there were others there. They must have been picking out paint or digging through the huge tub of paper at the time the photo was taken, haha!

Here is my collaged girl. The background is painted, the face is a combination of butcher paper, sewing patterns and yellow tissue paper. The hair is torn tissue and napkins, and I used acrylic paint to finish the face.



If you want to see more art from the night, visit Jacki Long's blog.

I hope that everyone is having a great weekend!