Let’s Catch Up!

I’d say it’s been a while since I blogged, huh? Here’s what I’ve been up to, for the most part:

- several more trips to Long Beach, CA for a successful software implementation

- lots more stitching, photography, knitting and scrapping

- hanging with the fam!

One of my very best friends from WA, Tomi, has had her 2nd baby!! It’s a boy! Luke is his name, and he is really adorable. Tomi and Kyle have made 2 absolutely gorgeous children! Way to go Tomi and Kyle!

*~* My dear sister decided to convert to Catholicism a while back and has been going through the classes to accomplish that. A couple of weeks ago she and her husband had their vows re-confirmed in the Catholic church. She called me, letting me know that she needed to apologize to me. I hadn’t a clue what she was talking about – then she let on that she had asked her sister-in-law to stand up for them in the church. I had to giggle. I really would have loved to be there for her. In their first wedding in 1984, I was being a really selfish 19yr old and wouldn’t commit to going to NH for the wedding. A large part of it was actually that I didn’t have a pot to pi** in or a window to throw it out of – and I just wasn’t sure I could squeeze out the bucks to fly out from WA. Anywho – she had to ask one of her friends to be maid of honor. Yeah, I should have gotten a second job, or found a way to be there. And if I had known about their vows in the Catholic church, I would have found a way to be there. I have plenty of FF miles to burn up. That would definitely have been a worthy cause.

*~* So today I finished a project I started yesterday. I’ve been nostagalically admiring some ads in the scrapbooking mags with flowerpots containing pinwheels. (It’s one of my fave quilt blocks, too!)  Amy Butler is a designer who’s had some really yummy fabric lines for years now, and just came out with a line of scrapbooking papers and supplies. I snatched up some on a recent trip to the brand-spanking new Michael’s at The RIM!

So whadda ya think?

 

*~* Today Ed went to the River City Bike Fest and found a few things he liked. Big surprise, huh? Boys and their toys? Almost as bad as me with shoes, bags and craft stuff!

Tomorrow I think I’ll finish Nick’s flannel quilt for him, then get packed up for Chico. That’ll be a long day of travel and work. Hopefully the hotel is decent. This will be my first trip to Chico. They are next on my list for work for the software implementation. They are a conscientious office and I am expecting them to be a great office to work with.

“C” ya soon.

xoxo

Bets

 

Heya from Bullhead City, AZ/Laughlin, NV

This has been an interesting trip. My first trip to an office, especially to a city that I have never visited before, is always interesting. Flew into Las Vegas on Tuesday and drove down to Bullhead City. The airport in Vegas is ridiculous. I was here about a year ago for a conference, and it was really crowded then, but really, it’s BAD. Way too many people, way too many cars!! What a pain.

Anywho, the drive down was nice. It’s definitely a different landscape. SO brown, and more mountains that I expected. It reminded me of Eastern Washington, and Phoenix, too. 

Ever been to this area? Bullhead City is not exactly a thriving metropolis! If you’ve never been here, these two cities are across the Colorado River from each other. Laughlin is like a little Las Vegas, with pretty big hotel/casinos lining the riverbank. A couple of them must be like 25 stories or more. You just don’t expect that out here in the middle of the desert! Probably kind of like when Vegas was a “baby”?

The majority of the folks here are snowbirds. I haven’t seen one child/teenager/young person since I got here! On the street behind all the casinos, the far side is all RV parking. I’ll have to snap some pics before I leave. It has a certain unique character. Not exactly dazzling or anything. Gotta wonder what attracts people to move here. Perhaps there are other areas with more redeeming qualities that I just haven’t seen yet.

The office I’m working in is new, and the folks are very nice. Kinda stiff, but they’re warming up to me. (How could you not? I’m such a goofball!)

Toodles!

Betsy

 

Chocolate & Champagne

Woohoo! Another FO! I ran across the pattern below, and really liked the texture of the yarn. Didn’t care too much for the shape of the bag, so I figured I’d get the yarn and play with the shape.

Voila! Here is my curvier version of this bag! Someday I’ll get better with the color/saturation on this little camera, but you get the idea. The yarn is Lion Brand Chenille Thick & Quick. It is sumptious! I liked the color combination, too, so went with what the sample used – Chocolate & Champagne. Just like Dante, my Siamese cat. *snort* Whadda ya think?

On to choose the next project. Hmmm. Quilt, Scrapbook, Crochet, Knit, Embroidery? May take a little bit to figure out what I want to work on next! lol

Toodles!

Betsy

 

Who’s got hair?

Yeah, it’s humiliating, isn’t it? That is some BIG 80’s hair, huh? Posted this as a challenge from my scrapping buds. Guess it could be worse, huh?

 

30 Days Down ~ An Entire Life to Go!

Well, I quit smoking on 12/21/06, so I’m counting today as one month down!  Ed and I had been planning to quit for a long time, and we finally took our last step – picking a date and just doing it! I thought that quitting while I was on vacation over the holidays would be a great time – and it worked out just as planned. I was busier with more fun things, not stressing about work, was not influenced by being at one of the offices where there is anyone smoking, and I could just relax about the whole thing. I ended up wearing a patch a few days, and I was *really* crabby a few days. We all got through it though – hopefully without any permanent damage!

 I finally got my hair done yesterday and I feel SO much better. It’s amazing what a good cut and color can do for a girl!

 I’ve got a big batch of stuff prepared and pulled together for Valentine’s Day cards. I think they will go together really nicely. I’ll probably get them done next weekend.

Friends of ours from Seattle, Dick and Bonnie, will be here Thursday. We’re really excited to see them and have a chance to catch up. Dick has a class or business or something in Dallas, so they are coming all the way down here to see us~! Maybe we’ll go do some touristy things. I’m not sure yet how long they will be staying. We got the spare bedroom cleared out, and the bed remade. We haven’t had house guests since Dad & Sandy were here in May. That was a really great visit, and I bet this one will be, too. I’m sure there will be great photo ops, too.

 Oh – and some really exciting news!! Nick got his driver’s permit Friday, so Ed took him out driving for about 2 hours on Saturday and today. Ed said he did really well. He has a few things to work on, but what new driver doesn’t?

A big woohoo for Nick!!

 

Happy New Year!!

OMG! I can’t believe I have to go back to work tomorrow! This vacation has been a true pleasure. It was relaxing, yet I got a lot accomplished. That is a great feeling! The spare bedroom is clean and tidy; the pantry is clean and reorganized; my desk is clean (still need to buy some organization stuff and some shelves for above that desk); Nick’s bathroom is clean, freshly painted, wainscoting is up, trim is up, new light fixture is up, new towel bars, tp roll, etc are all up! The last thing to do in there is put new faucets in. We’re waiting for the ones we want to get restocked at Costco. They told Ed they were on order and should be stocked soon. Brushed nickel with a high spout. Very nice!

Ed did his yearly Christmas cleanup prior to 1/1. He’s even got all the outdoor lights taken down and put away! Jeesh! Speedy Gonzales with the Christmas cleanup! Guess I can’t complain now, can I?

 

Photo a Day Challenge ~ Dec. 31, 2006

New Year’s Eve! Back in the day, we’d be making plans to go and party until the sun came up! Instead, we’re doing some housework, and I decided to crochet an i-pod sock! I haven’t crocheted since I was probably in Junior High. I googled some instructions and picked it right back up. It was really fun and went together SO fast. The body is all single crochet, then i decided to do a row of double/triple crochet to fancy it up a bit. The last 2 steps were to close it up and put a neck strap on it. I figured the strap would make it easy to hold onto when I’m puttering around the airport.

 

Yeah, the first one is kinda blurry. Shoulda used the tripod! And the color is a bit off – it’s a nice bright apple green. The color looks kinda pastel on my monitor.

ttfn.

Betsy

 

Photo a Day Challenge ~ Dec. 30, 2006

The bathroom is coming along very nicely! The wall is repaired, the paint is up, the cabinet is put in, and the toilet is back in! Yay Ed!! He always does such nice work.

The wainscoting and trim is next, then the sinks, faucets, new towel bars, roll holder, caulking, light fixture, and, and, and…lol. This bathroom had chrome fixtures that had seen better days. We decided to go with brushed nickel. I think it will all look so nice!

Ed has his assistant helping today, too. How lucky he is. *meow*. Jake kept stealing the plumbing parts from Ed while he was working. He’s such a funny cat!

NYE tomorrow. Woohoo! There is a big celebration down at the Tower of the Americas. They have a 15 minute long fireworks show that begins at midnight, too. That must cost a pretty penny. We’ll be watching that from the comfort of our rec room, with beverages of our choice and no long drive home. (What an old fuddy duddy, huh?)

ttfn.

Betsy

 

Photo a Day Challenge ~ Dec. 29, 2006

That was SO fun! Did you have puzzles when you were a kid? I remember having a few over the years, and had gotten Nick some when he was little. Well, one of the things I asked for, for Christmas, was a puzzle. Ed came through in a BIG way. He got 3 great ones for me. I thought this was a really pretty puzzle! I started putting it together on Christmas day, sitting on the floor in the living room at the coffee table. That was fine and dandy until I tried to get up! CRAMP! Uh-oh. That wasn’t a very good idea!

Ed helped me move it to the dining room table later, and that was SO much better. He and I worked on it leisurely off and on.  Then this morning I finished it. Woohoo! Thanks, Ed!

ttfn!

Betsy

 

Photo a Day Challenge ~ Dec. 28, 2006

Man at Work!

Here is the master plumber at work. A few weeks back while we were sitting in the rec room, Ed thought he heard water spraying. He looked high and low for what was spraying or leaking, and finally decided that it was inside the wall between the dining room and Nick’s bathroom. He pulled the cabinet out and saw that the sheetrock was starting to get wet. He had to remove a bunch of sheetrock and then had to cap off the plumbing so that he could get parts. There was just a little pin hole in the copper pipe! The thing that amazed me so much was that Ed heard it – he never hears anything – or is that selective hearing at work? lol

Well, Ed fixed the plumbing right after the leak and now it’s time to put the bathroom back together!

ttfn!

Betsy