Much Ado about Nothing

There is no card today. I have been reading like a fiend again. I have read four books since Saturday and can recommend three of them:

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

The Violets of March by Sarah Jio (recommended to me by my sister, Merrilyn)

American Dreamer by Theresa Weir

The fourth book was really, really, really baaaaaad. No recommendation for you!

Obviously, if I am reading this much, I am not creating. However, I will get back to it just as soon as I can tear myself away from my reading jag. You know, I have realized that both of my favorite hobbies are not exactly good for my health. Both require a great deal of sitting. It's a good thing I am so into exercise and get plenty of it, isn't it. Nah. Just kidding. (You didn't honestly believe that, did you?)

My dog is wounded. Through his own doing, I might add. But not really his own fault. He tried to jump up on a couch and missed. When he fell he hurt his left knee. We found out from our vet that he has a "luxating patella". No, you don't need to look it up in your Funk and Wagnalls, (as if anyone would do that anymore!), nor do you need to go online and look it up. I will tell you that a luxating patella is a dislocated kneecap. Ick, huh? Yeah, that's what I thought, too. 

Donovan has done this three times now, but this is definitely the worst. The other two times his kneecap went back into place and stayed there. Not this time. It keeps popping in and out. When it is out, I call it 'three-legging it'. Apparently, his condition has developed over time and gets worse with age. He may need to have surgery to correct this (to the tune of $1800). Or not. The glucosamine and the anti-inflammatory that we are giving him now may take care of this episode. We can only hope. But, and this is a big but, (not to be confused with a big butt, which I have btw), I have to keep him from jumping up or down for the time-being. Yeah, this is fun. Not. He is a little dog, a Maltese, so he has to jump up or down to get most anywhere. I am now the lifting Nurse Nancy. And it ain't easy! Not that he weighs that much, just that I am on constant watch to see if he wants to get up or down. Fortunately, he seems to understand and has been pretty good about letting me take care of his needs. But what a nuisance!

Oh, and to add insult to injury--literally--he is two pounds overweight. How the heck did that happen? Welllllll, I have a BIL, Ron, who just loves to feed everything to the dogs. And I do mean "everything." So Donovan had too many extras, including too many dog treats, when he stayed at their house while we were vacationing. And I have to admit, I was probably giving him too large a portion of dog food at feeding time. So, between the two of us, we have created a chubby dog. Not fat, mind you, but chubby. And that does not help Donovan's knee in any way, shape, manner, or form. Ergo.....Donovan is on a diet. No people food. And less dog food. And less dog treats. And you know what? He is actually eating less at each meal on his own. It's as if he understands that he has to cut back. Is that possible? Or does his medication depress his appetite? I don't know, but I am glad that he is co-operating on this new food plan we have for him.

Well, one last mention about food before I close. This was last week's last trip to a Restaurant Week restaurant. And one of the best! We met John and Carol at Distrito in Scottsdale last Friday. It is a restaurant by Iron Chef Jose Garces that you just must try if you are in the area. OMGoodness, it was so fabulous. It was so good that we all over-ate. That part I don't recommend, as it is mighty uncomfortable when you leave. 

We started with a good, but slightly over-salted Margarita, some very good chips and great guacamole--oooh, yum! And I ordered the shrimp ceviche, which was out-of-sight delicious, if you're into ceviche, which I definitely am! I will order that again, for sure, the next time we go there. It is a little spicy, but oh. so. good. Then I had the chef's special small plate of the night, which was scallop and shrimp meatballs. Or seafood-balls, if you like. There were several tender morsels in a delicious tomato-based sauce. Slightly spicy as well. But. O.M.G. I was so glad I ordered this dish! Then I had my main course, which was a mushroom flat-bread and a side of plantains. The flat-bread was my least-favorite dish, as it just didn't have the oomph of the rest of the courses. But it was good, don't get me wrong. I ate every bite, except for the piece I gave to Gary.  And those plantains! Well, that's another dish I will be getting next visit! Oh, so sweet and creamy and just pure lusciousness. Mmmmmm. Now, I was already quite full. But I actually shared churros with Gary for dessert. Yeah, that's why I was so stuffed. Too much good food! The churros were very good, and served with two sauces--a spicy chocolate and a sweet cream. Oh, such flavor. Great way to end a meal! (Burp.) (Or two or four.)

OK, I lied. I have just one more mention of food, (I promise), before I close. On Saturday night we met our dinner club at Vincitorio's in Tempe. Italian cuisine is just not my favorite. I like it, I just don't love it. But we wanted to see all our friends in the dinner group, so we did go. And we enjoyed our meal. We had some  good wine and ate a bit of the dinner bread, which was quite tasty. Then we each had a cup of cream of mushroom soup, which was quite good--but not as good as Blake's at the Deli, for sure. And we split a dinner special, which was a lovely stuffed piece of chicken (with what I am not sure, but it was very good) served with some good pasta and steamed broccoli. We also shared a caramel gelato for dessert, which was also very good. I enjoyed my meal there. I just didn't absolutely love it. But that's probably because I am not overly fond of Italian food. So would I recommend this place? Yes, yes, I would. ;^)

OK, enough about food and books. (Gosh, no wonder I am battling a weight problem, huh?) I am going to make another card sometime soon, but in the meantime, have a great rest of the week!

Catch-Up

I haven't posted for almost a week, and I haven't made a new card. WHAT? And just why not? I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine. I am still wondering where the heck the week went.

So we got our anniversary gift from our daughter Thursday. She sent us a pound of chocolates that are to be paired with wines. Have I ever mentioned how much we love our wines? We have a small 32-bottle wine refrigerator that is currently quite full. Just got a shipment from one of our Oregon wine clubs to fill the red section, and I went to Costco this week to pick out inexpensive whites for the white section (duh). So we are ready to pair with the chocolates we received.

Couple of funny things about the chocolates. Funny thing #1: we were to receive a pound, but the shipper sent 12. Hmm. Funny thing #2: the Styrofoam shipping container arrived with a hole in it. When it was opened, I found the freezer gel packs were not only thawed, but hot to the touch. It is Arizona. And our temperatures are above 100 right now. So, I worried that the chocolates might have melted. I rushed all 12 pounds of them to our refrigerator, and then I left the house.

I left the house because I had to meet Gary for dinner. I had to meet Gary for dinner because we had to eat before we went bowling. We had to go bowling because we are in a summer league, as I mentioned in a previous post. And, as an aside, (which I normally never do), bowling went very poorly for me. I only managed a 133 average for the night. #$$%^&^*(&*&^%%$$#@! So there. However, Gary bowled over a 200 average, so we managed to salvage 1 point. If you know what that means, great. If not, tough. Anyway, while I was waiting for Gary to get to the restaurant, I called Angela to thank her for the 12 pounds of chocolate. She seemed confused. After some back-and-forth, I found out that we received an extra 11 pounds of chocolate. Not a small thing. And not inexpensive, either. However, Angela was only charged for the one pound she had ordered.

OK, so I get home, after dinner and bowling, to check out my box of chocolates. I thought I should see if there had been any damage to it from the heat. There are four blocks of chocolate in each box. All four had melted somewhat on the bottom side. Not badly, but enough that I didn't think the chocolate company would be able to sell the other 11 pounds of chocolate. Turns out I was right, (which I sometimes am, just ask Gary). I emailed the shipper and told them this tale. They emailed back and told me to enjoy the other 11 pounds of chocolates. So I did. And, boy, howdy they were good!

Oh, alright, I did not. I was just kidding. And we are going to share the chocolates.

So yesterday my sister, Merrilyn, challenged me to come up with a great restaurant for our lunch next week. Our last lunch was at Havana Cafe, where we shared several tapas that were positively fantastic! And she reminded me of that fact. And she told me I had to pick a place that would provide an equally wonderful gastronomic experience. (Never-mind that I introduced her to Havana in the first place a couple of years ago.) Of course, I rose to the challenge and found a great place to share yummy appetizers: Greekfest. So while all of you are gagging down your Mickey D's or what-not on Wednesday, think of my sister and I enjoying some heavenly Greek food. Not to rub it in or anything. 'Cuz I don't do things like that. I am much too nice.

Whatever.

I finished reading a long book Wednesday night. I stayed up half the night (literally) to find out the ending, only to realize that it is the first in a series. And the second one isn't out yet. So it's going to be a while before I find out what ever happened to Baby Jane. Or, in this case, to Landros and Ysora. I hate when that happens. So I ordered four more books from Amazon. That made me feel better. And I can't wait to start them. But first, I should make a card. Because I will feel less guilty if I get one done. So look for it sometime this next week. But don't hold your breath. Please.

In the meantime, I hope everyone everywhere has a terrific weekend!

Happy Mother's Day!

My DD, Angela, is such a loving person. I am so lucky to have her for my daughter! :^) I wish her a very Happy Mother's Day this year and every year to come. She is taking me out for Mother's Day brunch at Cork, which she did last year also, and it was so delicious! As if that isn't enough, this year she also sent me two dozen roses and a box of chocolates! Really? Yup. I almost pinched myself when I opened the box! Of course, that would have hurt, so I didn't.

Angela, my sweet, I thank you from the very bottom to the very top of my heart. You outdid yourself this year! I am so blessed to have you for a daughter and a friend. MWAH!

I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who has been so kind to comment on my blog. I really do appreciate the fact that you take time out of your busy days to stop by and say something. I know how caught up one can get in day-to-day life. I get that way myself; in fact, I am so behind in following all of you that I am embarrassed. I will try to catch up next week, I promise!

OK, enough nice stuff. I am back to being me, (bummer, huh?!). I wanted to let you know that I started bowling with Gary on a summer bowling league this week. And my friend, Ellie, (hi, El!), couldn't picture me bowling. I really don't understand this. Is it because I look so out-of-shape? Snort. Or because I am so blasted uncoordinated? Double snort. Or because I am old? Sigh....

Hey, believe it or not, I actually beat Gary by one pin in one game. HA! And I rubbed it in, too! Well, just a little. But at least I can tease him about it now. I could not do that when we were first married.

After our wedding, (in 1970 before there was dirt), we moved to Ft. Benning, Georgia from the Twin Cities in Minnesota. (Gary had just come home from Viet Nam before our wedding, but he was still in the Army.) OMG, the trip down there was a nightmare. We were in a little VW, which had such bad seating that I had trouble sitting down for a week afterward. The car burned oil and sounded like it was at death's door. I had never driven on highways before that trip. Nor driven a stick-shift. It's a wonder we made it down there--and in two days and nights of very hard driving! As a sidebar, I also have night blindness. And I did all the driving because Gary didn't have a driver's license. That's another story altogether.

Anyway, after we moved into our Army housing unit, furnished with giant cockroaches and no air-conditioning, we decided to join a bowling league. It was a way to cool down. This was Georgia, people. In June. We needed some relief from the heat and humidity. Oh yeah, and the tornadoes and hail storms. Can you tell I don't like Georgia weather? :^)  So we joined this bowling league, and besides learning to bowl, I learned some new things about my new husband. When he bowled poorly  he kept throwing his towel, kicking the ball return, and breaking the pencils at the pit desk, (yeah, back in the olden days you had to keep score). He was such a naughty boy then. Our team members actually asked me if we could kick him off the team! So I had a nice long talk with Gary, and he sheepishly agreed to behave better, which he did. My, how he has matured since then! LOL!

We were pretty poor back in those days. The Army didn't pay well, especially for enlisted men. I worked at the bowling alley in the mornings to make some money. Had to clean bowling shoes while I ran the morning leagues. Then I would go home to fix dinner with my hands stinking like dirty feet. UGH! Oh, and for a little extra money, we would keep score for the tournaments that were held at the bowling alley. That was a trip. You had to add quickly and accurately, because you were responsible for scoring two lanes of very fast bowlers! One time we even entered a tournament, and I actually won a bowling ball. I know, amazing, right? The ball was purple. So we named our next team the Purple Hippo. Aren't you glad you know that?

OK, so enough of Memory Lane. Let's get to the card I created for my DD for her Mother's Day. I chose this darling image, Becca and Bo, by Saturated Canary. Krista draws the most wonderful images! So much fun to color! I stamped this image on Cryogen CS with Memento ink, and rubbed Stampin' Up ink around the edges. I paired it with patterned paper from the Basic Grey Kissing Booth collection and CS from Stampin' Up. I used two dies from Memory Box for the hearts. Flowers are by Wild Orchid Crafts and Prima, some of which I colored with Copics. I accented the image with a Signo Uniball white gel pen, and I added Glossy Accents to Becca's eyes and lips and Bo's eyes and collar tag. I used a bazillion Copics:  B05, Y00, Y02, Y04, R81, R83, R85, YR21, E000, E00, E07, E08, E09, E11, E23, E25, E27, E29, E33, E35, E37, E39, E40, E41, E42, E59.

I am entering this card into the following:

Saturated Canary Challenge #17 May Flowers
Outlawz Twisted Thursday
CMC Anything Goes Challenge

Here's wishing that every mommy everywhere has a Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Anniversary, My Sweet Gary

Today is our 42nd wedding anniversary. And it has been a very strange day.

First, I have worked on Gary's card most of the day. It nearly drove me crazy, as I just couldn't settle on a design, even though I thought I had it figured out yesterday. One night's sleep and the card didn't look right anymore. So I did my usual 'fuss and stew'.

Second, the weather has been ugly--first we got a nasty dust storm, complete with high winds and followed by rain. All of our patio furniture blew over, and it appears one of our small trees got damaged. I don't want to go out and pick up the furniture yet, as it is still raining. (Yeah, I know, I am a wimp when it comes to rain, but we might just melt away if we get wet in the desert.) The rain is actually a good thing, as it washes the dirt out of the air and off of the plants. So we don't mind the occasional wet weather, especially if we don't have to be out in it! But now the dog doesn't want to go out, either, and I would expect his little bladder is about to explode. Or is it implode? I think his eyes are turning from brown to yellow as I write this.

Third, Gary and I could not spend much of today together, as he always has an extra-long work day on Wednesdays. So I am about to have a frozen Amy's meal for an anniversary dinner. By myself. Ah, but don't feel too badly for me. We will go out to celebrate next week when many Valley of the Sun restaurants are participating in Restaurant Week. And there are several ones I would love to go to, so it will be interesting picking out the one to celebrate at. Most of these restaurants offer a fixed-price, 3-course menu for $30 or $40 per person. Some even throw in a free glass of house wine. Woohoo! I am really looking forward to a great meal at a nice place.

OK, back to Gary's card. I chose a Magnolia image for this card. I know it is called 'Brother and Sister', but I think the image works for a couple as well. I stamped this on Cryogen CS with Memento ink. The color scheme came from the Authentique Journey collection. I used Stampin' Up CS for the card, and I distressed all my papers with my Zutter Distrezz-It-All. The sentiment is from an Inkadinkado Wedding/Marriage stamp. The large flourishes were made with a Magnolia Doohickey die; corner flourishes were made with a Cheery Lynn Lace Corner Deco B die. I also used a Spellbinders Classic Rectangle die to cut out the sentiment. A little Wrights' Lace Trim and a Prima flower were added, as well as some image accents with a Signo Uniball white gel pen. Last, but certainly, not least, I colored the image with Copics: W0, W2, W4, W6, B12, B14, B16, E0000, E000, E00, E11, E13, E30, E31, E35, E37, E50.

I intend to enter this card into the following:

Outlawz Greeting Card Challenge
CMC Copic Challenge #42

Here's hoping your weather is a little nicer than ours right now!

Congrats to Sarah

I can't believe that it is Friday already. What the heck happened to the rest of the week? It seems like just yesterday that we celebrated my sister's anniversary. And it's already a week later? Oh, please, somebody slow time down for me. It is going much, much, much too fast!

And next Wednesday will be our anniversary. Forty-two years. Of wedded bliss. And never a cross word between us. (Do you honestly believe that? HAHAHAHAHA!) You know, though, Gary's mom once told me that she and his dad never had an argument. Come to think of it, I don't think I actually ever heard them argue. Weird. And not normal. Well, at least in our marriage it wouldn't be normal. ;^)

So I guess I'd best get back on the stick (or my broom) and make a card for my best friend. No gifts need to be exchanged. He gave me a beautiful gold plumeria ring in Maui. And my gift to him? A Polynesian fish hook tattoo. Unbelievable, I know. Everyone at work keeps asking him when he is going to buy his motorcycle. (Over my dead body. And I mean that.) But the tattoo is cool, and he loves it, so....

And Mother's Day is coming up. That means I should make a card for my DD. Hopefully, I can get both cards done in the next week. Someone needs to help me stay on point. I get distracted too easily right now. I keep thinking about our time in Maui two weeks ago. And the vacation we plan to take in Cancun next year--to stay in the timeshare we bought two weeks ago. Oh, yes, yes, we did! I can't believe that one, either. But I am glad we did it--it will force us to take vacations every year now. And Gary needs that after working so hard all his life, and relaxing so little.

Tonight he and I are going to a graduation celebration at the Deli. One of our favorite servers, ever, Miss Sarah, is graduating from ASU, and she asked us to come help her celebrate. She has worked at the Deli for about 3 years, I think, and is now moving to Texas. She is one of the sweetest people on the planet, and we will miss her so darned much!

I used Magnolia Graduation Tilda for Sarah's card. The papers I chose were from Basic Grey's Little Black Dress collection and from DCWV La Creme matstack, which I combined with Stampin' Up CS. I added Prima flowers and a Stampin' Up rhinestone brad. The dies I used were:  MFT Leafy Flourish, Memory Box Floral Circle, and Marianne Designs Forest Branch. I accented the image with a Signo Uniball white gel pen. Tilda was colored with Copics:  E0000, E000, E00, E11, E13, E50, E53, E57, Y28, C0, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, C9.

I am going to enter this card into one challenge:

Outlawz Paper ala Mode

Hoping everyone everywhere has a wonderful weekend!