We Love Toms

It's the last day of August!  I can hardly believe it.  I didn't exactly blog every day, but I was much more active than usual, so I feel good about that.

During my stay-cation, I have had a lot of produce to confrontdeal with from the garden.  Todd has stewed Italian tom's multiple times--so we are ready for the winter.  I like to sundry the little guys.  Here's how I do it.

T's Sundried Toms

Step 1: Grow the sweetest, juiciest, best tasting cherry tomatoes called Sweet Baby Girls.  They have thin skins and explode with sweet flavor when you bite into them.  I do not like cherry toms (I detest Super 100's).  But these have a spell on my taste buds. 

 

We've grown millions of these this summer

Another Tree For Me

Hello, and welcome to my 200th post!  I don't expect that to mean a thing to anyone else, but for me, it's a major milestone.  I wanted to post something meaningful, but I've spent more time these past few days trying to select the topic, and I've gotten writers block.  So screw it.  I'll update you on my latest project, which is what I really want to tell you about anyway.


When I was growing up, I loved stickers.  Like most little girls, I was mesmerized by their beauty.  I coveted and hoarded them.  I carefully planned where I would stick each one, because it had to be perfect.  You only get one chance to stick it.  If you don't stick it just right, there are no do-overs.

I remember saving most of my stickers just like I bought them, keeping them on their original paper.  I had big plans for those stickers--I couldn't just go around sticking them all willy-nilly on anything and everything.  That would be irresponsible sticky-ness.  They had to be protected, loved, and daresay, respected.  My school notebook was decorated with my favorite stickers.  I still remember the scratch 'n' sniff doughnut stickers I thought were adorable.  I think I had an ice cream cone one too and chocolate bonbons.

Over the past couple of days, I've been able to play with lots of great stickers again.  They aren't scratch 'n' sniff, but they ARE totally cool. 

Todd hung a mirror above the bed, and I used some decals around it.  I'm not happy with the positioning of the top left one, so I will rearrange it.  Part of the scroll is behind the mirror.  Dang static cling.  I have a few more of these scrolls scattered throughout the bedroom.

Added some pizazz around the bedroom mirror

I've been planning another sticker project for over 6 months.  I was thinking it would be a major P.I.T.A, and I would probably end up getting so frustrated that I may scrap the whole thing.  But alas, I got to this project today.  And I am delightfully surprised.

First step = Cut all the pieces apart and get a game plan on what connects where.  This was like a jigsaw puzzle, although an easy one.  The directions were obviously not written by a native English speaker, but it made enough sense that I understood the intention. 



Placing all the pieces together--what did I get myself into?

Next step = Put up the first piece.  This was by far the scariest and most important step.  I wasn't sure how the plastic was going to be to work with when pulling off the wall (and the decal was supposed to stay in place).  And if I get this puppy crooked, all other pieces will be off.  Fortunately the trim wasn't flush against the wall, so I was able to maneuver the sticker right up to the baseboard.

Piece #1 = scary sticking
 

Continue putting up the pieces.  The only problem I encountered is that the film you use to stick the sticker onto the wall with, wasn't always bigger than the decal on the edge.  I had to carefully peel the sticker up and stay positioned, since this particular rectangle was a guide for centering the next piece to the last piece (slightly important to keep in place).

Could have been manufactured better, but I figured out how to work with it.

Continue placing pieces until they are all in place.

And then all of a sudden, a real wall-size tree comes to life within an hour!  This sucker went up QUICK!  I was so happy with how it worked, that I would have no apprehension doing any kind of decal sticker again.  I think the bigger ones were actually easier to work with than the smaller decals.  If it has a transfer film over it, it's pretty easy to work with vs. the clear plastic stickers that produce more static cling than a cattle dog running on shag carpet in a high dry climate.

I'm ready to print some pictures, buy some frames, and hang them from my "family tree".  Which will happen to be a literal tree of pictures in my hallway.  I will post a picture of it completed, but it will be a few weeks out for that.  Making decisions on which pictures to use will take me awhile.

So happy with our hallway tree!
Soon there will be pictures "hanging" from the branches.

 

My Big Stay-cation Goal

Quick update on Abby--she's doing well.  New meds are doing great.  No more puking, and she's eating with gusto.  All is going very well.  She's getting stronger and back to normal.

If you recall, I'm staying home on vacation.  I've got a list of goals as long as my arm, prioritized in the order I hope to accomplish them.  We'll see.  The main goal is almost finished!

 

 

These walls are pastel SEMI GLOSS pink.  PINK!!!  So not my color.

I've had some help along the way.  This room took TWO AND A HALF DAYS OF PREPARATION before I could even crack open a can of paint.  TWO AND A HALF!  You'd think they let their 8 year old son paint these walls as bad as they were.  And they must have bought rollers on clearance, complete with "extra lint".  Geez. 

He's such a good helper!

He's also a great helper.  Look how that tarp isn't moving AT ALL!

And now, the (almost) finished project.  It has been one year last Friday since we moved into this house.  We've both HATED with a passion the color of the bedroom walls, and FINALLY, they feel like ours.

The steps aren't actually for me, but Keystone used them once.
VIOLA!  No more pink.  LIFE IS GOOD IN GREEN.

Todd has told me multiple times how much he loves the color.  SCORE!  I chose wisely on the paint.  So happy.  I always have a seed of doubt when selecting a color.  Will it be too dark, or too light, or too yellow, or too blue?  This time is perfection.  I used the Behr paint with primer built in.  I had to do 3 coats of paint, which I expected to get the saturation I wanted.  I could have lived with 2 coats, but that's what the last owners would have done.  Not me, I went all out and did 3.  It's exactly what I wanted.  I found the perfect new set of sheets and blankets and fun new pillow too.

I love the new color, and pictures/mirror on the walls will be spectacular.

Finally, it feels like OUR room.  Instead of some hideous pink FAIL in decorating.  I can laugh about it now.  Tomorrow, I will place art on the walls and put the rest of the cover plates in place.  It's finally home!

 

Abby Update

LATEST UPDATE:  Behold the power of the donut hole.  For it works wondeful magic to coax Abby to eat!  She also ate some chicken for dinner.  She's doing better this evening.


Earlier update:
Last night was not a fun night, but once we got settled in, we all slept albeit fitfully.  Todd and I worried all night when we couldn't hear Abby's labored breathing.

Went to the vet today, and he is happy with the progress.  She is not puking since yesterday afternoon, and the other end is better too.  Her red blood count is steady, so that is a huge relief.  We adjusted her meds and changed some meds, so hoping she gets better in the next day or two.

Right now, she's not eating.  She is drinking water, so that's good.  Her hydration level is good.  She's just got to get an appetite.  I'm picking up donuts on my way home from work this afternoon.  It worked last time.  Fingers crossed she will like them.

Kids

Keystone is completely back to normal. His scar has healed up nicely and you'd never guess he had 23 staples at one time.

Abby on the other hand has good days and bad. Today was a bad day. She puked for the first time in awhile. It happens. We went to lunch and came home, and she had vomited in 5 different places. We took the poor girl in to the vet. Again. There was blood in her bile. Without getting into disgusting details, we knew it was serious. We've got her on some new meds. The latest theory is that the high dose of prednisone is causing bleeding. So we are decreasing the amount of prednisone she is on. She has to stay on it because she could still be killing her own red blood cells if we don't. Battling IMHA is a bitchbalancing act.

I take Abby in for a checkup tomorrow. We will be monitoring her closely. I guess I should be thankful this isn't Labor Day weekend on a Saturday, right? We will see what happens then. There's always time for more doggy drama. I am also going in to work mid-day tomorrow because there's a meeting I want to go to. Then I will be back home to hopefully put the 3rd and final coat of paint on our bedroom. It's looking great, so at least there's that.

Cheers, it's a respectable hour for a cocktail. Finally.

Puppy Pile

This is one of my very favorite pictures ever.  Shelly had long hair then and the puppies liked to bite it.  This was April 2003 when the little fur monsters were about 5 weeks old.  We had the 11 puppies in the garage with a play area staked off outside.  The hell-beasts could barely be contained at this point.  I remember their sharp puppy teeth, and clumsy puppy paws, and wonderful puppy breath.




It's a Shelly-puppy-a-la-mode

Our Hobby

This post is for Anonyvox.  I've been making mysterious references to which she is curious about the meaning.  It's been so nice getting to know Anonyvox online. We've never met in person but I think we could have been separated at birth or something because we have so much in common.  We have mutual loves for food, ONJ, camping (especially tent camping), LUSH, dogs... the list goes on and on. 

I realized there is a very fundamental aspect to my life that people in the real world know because it's literally pretty obvious. I take it for granted that people know about our hobbyobsession-gone-wild. We like pinball.

Teehee, OK, that's an understatement. We love pinball. We collect machines. We have a LOT in our basement (see pic below), and I'm cool with that. There is a culture across America, and actually the world, of people who love to play pinball. Most of the spouses of the men who play and collect do not appreciate the hobby. The games are big, expensive, and they complain because it takes time to work on the machines. A hot deal may require an emergency cross-state road-trip adventure to obtain that must-have machine. Or you talk a relative into picking up and storing a machine until your next visit. Most women resent the hobby. To which I respond "Poppycock!!!". Why not embrace something your hubby loves. Maybe get into it and enjoy it for yourself. I'll get off my soapbox now, cause this little post isn't going to convince them to stop their whining. Just saying, you might give it a try.

So in 1996 we bought a Police Force. It's a nice Williams machine that is a lot of fun to play.  I remember the day we brought it home.  Little did I know what was yet to be.

From there the hobby turned into an obsession. It's like potato chips, you can't have just one. Why? Aren't they all the same? No. They are not.  They all have their own individual personalities. Pinball machines come in different themes and from different eras. There are the old ones with wooden side rails and wooden legs, and then wedgeheads with a distinctive antique kind of feel.  Then the latest games have the most visually advanced displays with videos and 3D graphics.  Past manufacturers include Gottlieb, Williams, Bally, Data East, and even Atari (there are more, but these are the ones I know).  Current manufacturer is Stern (and I think another one possibly but can't remember the name).  Did you know the first pinball machines had no flippers?  You were supposed to bang and push on the side of the machine to get it to go where you intended, and the ball pretty much had one shot down the playfield.

We collected a few over the years. Whatever would fit in the basement. And then the garage. And then we expanded the garage to store more. And then stored some at a neighbors house. An then another neighbors house. And then Todd got a storage area... 

We currently have an awesome house with a nice open basement, just perfect for our games.

Here's part of our basement.  Yes, it's an arcade.

There is a community of pinheads in KC. We are so happy to be back in the area so that we can see our friends again and gather for pinball events.  There are new people to meet since we left & came back.  More women are getting into it too.  There is one tournament we enjoy going to monthly.  Actually, here is an article about the tournament.  I happen to be the one in a black t-shirt playing pinball (recognize my ring Mrs. Irritation?).  You might recognize the guy in the picture, too. 

We went last Saturday night, and I tied for 5th place in the tournament!  I beat the first 3 guys I played.  I had a couple of awesome games!  It was exciting to say the least.  And then the guy who ended up winning first place beat me.  I don't mind.  I usually don't play very well, so this is a big deal for me.  I knew the guy who beat me first was going to place very high, and he took first, so I was beat by the best.  Last Saturday night was good pizza, good pinball, and good friends.

Plenty of pinheads available to jump in and fix a game that developed a problem.
This was at the tournament a month ago.



Dawn, the Boy and Todd having fun at the event a month ago

We also travel across the country to attend pinball conventions. Yearly conventions for us have included:

• Texas Pinball Festival (TPF) yearly in March in the Dallas area (we still attend this one every year).  This is my favorite show from a party perspective.
• Pin-A-Go-Go in Dixon, CA (used to attend when we lived in NV)
• Pacific Pinball Expo (PPE) in Marin county (San Francisco area) in the fall (used to attend when we lived in NV and a couple of buddies would fly in from KC to go with us).  This by far is my favorite show from a machine perspective.  HUNDREDS of games from the 30s to the 70s plus a few newer ones.  This show made me appreciate the oldies. 

There is the Stern pinball factory in Chicago that you can tour. We've never been, but I could see going to that some year.

I've had a brush or two with pinball "royalty". 

• Once at PPE, I was waiting in line to play a tricked out Metallica machine (based on an Earth Shaker that someone had seriously modified in a most cool way), and just before it was my turn, Steve Ritchie walks up to play. Being that he is a well known designer of pins, I offered to let him go ahead of me. He declined, knowing I had been waiting. I said "OK, I'm not that good so it probably won't take long". I played with him watching and to say I was a little nervous was an understatement. I'll be darned if I didn't have an awesome ball or two! I had a respectable game.

• This past March at the TPF, I happened to get into an elevator, and someone was rushing in to catch the elevator at the last second, and it was Steve Ritchie.  I had just stood in line for hours to play AC/DC a few times, and I don't remember exactly what I said but he asked if I was having a good time.  I told him I was and I told him how excited I am about the AC/DC machine and he did a really great job.  It makes me excited about pins again.  I waited in line to play that game about a dozen times that weekend.  Some day, I'll have one.  Some day.

• One time at PPE, Larry Zartarian shared with me the strategy for playing Coronation.  I had a few great games on that machine and found myself drawn to it over the other several hundred machines.  Understanding the strategy from a pro made me appreciate the game even more.

If you find yourself in a pizza place and there's a pinball machine, give it a whirl!  Especially if you see an AC/DC machine--that will be my next acquisition.  Some day.

My score was the top one!

My Kids

From November, 1999.  What a sweet family we had!

Roscoe, Nellie, and Amber (2 mos)

Welcome To My Vacation

Hello, and happy Saturday!  I have all kinds of great news.

Last night we had a couple of friends from Salt Lake City, UT stay over on their commute across the country.  They had visited us in NV, so when they realized we were right on their way through MO, they just had to stop by and spend the night.  They are dog-parents too, so their little 5 pound dog got to play with some new toys!

Todd made the most delicious pulled pork I think I've ever tasted for dinner.  We played some pinball in the basement last night.  Had a few drinks.  And this morning, I made ham&egg cups that were pretty tasty.  They were basically single-serving omelets. 

Here is the recipe for the Berry Special Lemonade we enjoyed last night.

3 parts berry lemonade
1 part Cherry Vodka
1 part Citrus Vodka
1 part Sprite or Sierra Mist

Depending on how much lemonade and lemon-lime soda you mix in, you can feel pretty mellow in no time at all.

Today starts DAY ONE of my vacation!  Since we've had quite a few vet bills lately, we didn't really want to go anywhere this year.  Actually, that's not true.  We wanted to drive to PA to see family, but with the illnesses and other stuff, we just couldn't make it this year.  So it's a stay-cation for me!  Goal one:  PAINT THE HIDEOUS SEMI-GLOSS LIGHT BABY PINK MASTER BEDROOM WALLS.  Seriously, what were they thinking.  Semi-Gloss.  PINK.  In the MASTER of all rooms.  That woman was crazy who lived here before us.  And that man must have lost a serious bet.

I have many other goals:  clean up some areas of clutter that we've never really unpacked.  Do some decorating that I've been wanting to do but never made the effort.  Plant some plants needing to get into the ground.  And enjoy my family.  OH, oh, and there is ONE place I want to visit.  The hottest, coolest place in Kansas.  If we go, I'll tell you all about it.

And now for the BEST NEWS EVER!  I got a new job.  It's an internal lateral move, but I am SO EXCITED.  I didn't even know the job was open.  Someone told me to go look at it, because it was "perfect" for me.  I'll be darned if it wasn't just perfect.  In less than a week, I am making plans to transition to something new.  To work for a woman who is amazing.  In an area led by another amazing woman.  I am also excited about the job I will be doing.  And we have a business trip coming up this fall.  To Vienna!!!!  Yesterday, I submitted my paperwork for my passport!  I still can't believe it.  If I wake up and this is all a dream, just let me keep sleeping.

The Good Old Days

I remember the very day Abbytail was too big to get under the bed.  That was a very sad day indeed.

Abbytail and Keystone = Double Trouble

My Lap Dog

My boy has always been a lapdog.  And he still is.

One month old





More the merrier!

Grandpa spoils him



Honeymoon

A hike on our honeymoon in the White Mountains of NH.  Best trip ever.  Didn't get the see the Old Man Of The Mountain because of low clouds.  Then the damn thing fell off.

It was lightly misting.  We had the forest to ourselves.

Caramel Monkey

Today, I bring you a new cocktail recipe.  That seems befitting for a Monday.  You're welcome.  I was craving something different and something with banana liquor.  I rummaged around in the bar until I came up with this devilish combination.

Here's my Caramel Monkey:

3 parts milk (more or less depending on the strength desired)
1 parts Banana Schnapps
1/2 part Butterscotch Schnapps
1/2 part Creme De Cacao
1/2 part Kahlua

Mix it up and serve over ice.  Enjoy!





Yummy ingredients

My First 10K

This picture was from my first 10K, in the caves of KC, during the Ground Hog Day Run in 2006.  My parents were here and I believe my nephew ran the 5K.  I ran the 5K the previous year and remember that it was more musty smelling in '05.  Caves can get pretty stinky, but you can't beat the cool temp!



Happy camper after the run

I don't remember my time from the 10K, but I beat my goal.  That run rocked.  I'm posting this as self-motivation to run the next one in 2013. 

I ran a 5K yesterday, and never walked once, so I was very happy about that.  My only goal was to finish it, and walking would be OK since I haven't been training again for very long.  I started out very slow, at the back of the pack.  After the first mile, my body had warmed up and stopped hating me so I could pick up my pace just a little.  I had a strong finish.  Bonus: I feel pretty good today!

 

Why do I run?
It may have something to do with the homemade peach pie I baked.  Maybe.

2 If By Sea

Road Trip!  We took a family road trip Fall of 2002.  It ranks as one of the best vacations we've ever taken.  We had a goal to take our pups to see the ocean.  Roscoe had fought a battle with cancer, and we were thankful to still have him.  We made his last year count.

We took two weeks and drove to the East coast.  I charted our course and planned to stay at either B&B's that would accept two big dogs, or with relatives. 

We drove to PA and connected with Todd's uncle and aunt, who at the time I had not met.  We had been married 3 years at that point, and Todd had lost touch with them.  We were going to be in their area, so why not stop by and see them?  It was the best thing we ever did, to connect with them.  They are dog lovers, so we were welcome to stay with them.  We ended up rearranging our plans and staying one extra night with them because we just couldn't stand the thought of leaving so soon.  We just found them!

It's one of those things that happens when you find another couple that you connect with so closely and comfortably.  It's always like that with them--we have a close bond no matter how many years pass between visits now.  I remember the warm fireplace and rum & coke filled evenings of staying up until 3am telling stories.  I can still taste the sloppy Joe's our aunt made too.

LOVE this family!

Although I'm not really a fan, it was worth taking this picture as we drove by:

Wow, that's a BIG basket!

Next stop was DC.  Got to meet another uncle & aunt of Todd's and his uncle showed us around all of the must-see sites.  Went to the National Mall and Arlington.  Saw many things I always wanted to see!

Korean War Memorial: unexpectedly haunting and emotionally moving.
I had no idea how moving this is, at least for me it was.

3 year old Boo (aka Amber)
The pups loved travelling.  They got used to loading up in the morning and hitting the road.

Next stop was the Outer Banks of NC.  Finally--we got to see the ocean!  We stayed at a Ramada Inn, RIGHT ON THE OCEAN.  And they ALLOWED DOGS bigger than purse pups!  Can you believe that?  I still can't.  Those poor maids, with all that sand to clean up.  It was actually a decent room.

Roscoe ended up not liking the water so much.  Todd, determined to have fun despite the COLD TEMP, ran back and forth with Amber into the waves and back out.  She had so much fun with her dad.  They were thoroughly soaked and every cranny was filled with sand, but totally worth it.

Amber, Roscoe, Todd in the ocean

Family picture taken by a very gracious volunteer. (Roscoe laying, Amber sitting)
After she gave the camera back, she reached out to pat Amber on the head.
Amber ended up projectile vomiting salt water all over the place--that poor lady!



Had to take the kids through the Brew Thru.
Why doesn't EVERY state have these???

Body Island Light House stairwell from the top looking down--awesome!

Next stop was a lovely Victorian B&B in Wilmington, VA.  They had a nicely landscaped yard all around the house.  On the side, there was a beautiful bathtub buried in the ground full of lilly pads.  I was watching Amber with a keen eye because I knew she had no idea what she was seeing--she had never experienced lilly pads (or any kind of small pond).  Amber thought it looked so inviting, she stepped right in before I knew it, and I yanked her out so fast it's amazing she got wet.  Whoops!  Thankfully no harm, no foul (and they didn't see it happen!).


Yes, that's Todd!

We left the dogs in the room that night while we went to dinner.  I remember walking to and dining at a restaurant on the water, and LOVING their seafood bisque.  They had pewter glasses for water, and it kept the water bone chillingly cold.  Loved that.  We saw a "palmetto bug", and they comped the whole meal including the bottle of wine.  We did not expect that (the food was SO GOOD it didn't even bother us) so we went back the next day and got a tub of seafood bisque frozen to go. 

That night for dessert, we went to a different restaurant and had the most amazing chocolate mousse served in an espresso cup.  It was the most rich and decadent dessert I've ever had.  The butter content had to be amazingly high. 

We walked back to the room & found total destruction & mayhem (not):

Good dogs!

We picked up a pinball cocktail machine in Wilmington, so the dogs were a bit cramped.  But they didn't really mind.  The next stop we made was to see my brother & sis-in-law in VA for a first time visit.  It was such a gorgeous area on the edge of the smokey mountains.  The pups enjoyed playing on the edge of the river.  My brother had them in it before I even knew there was a river there.

So that was our trip.  We loved every minute of it.  Roscoe passed away the following February, and I will always be so thankful we made the time to take that trip.  We made memories I still hold dear.

Blast From The Past

Some of you probably only vaguely remember Roscoe (maybe), and probably not his mom, Nellie.  Nellie forever changed me. I'll blog about that some day. I'm almost ready. Almost.

For now, here's the sweetest picture of Nellie, Amber, and Roscoe.  They still live in my heart.  All 3 of them.  My babies forever.



 

Late 1999

 

Puppy Time

Dawn is going to kill me for this one.  But I can't help it.  She's so cute, all preggers with her long ponytail and braces.  Dawn favored the pups who grew to be known as Baxter (grey collar) and Frisbee (yellow collar).




Dawn caring for 3 pups.  Only two had fur.

Happy Birthday Mom!

My mom is either  going to love me or kill me for this one, but I took a picture of this really old picture.  I'm fairly certain this was on a formal night of the first cruise my parents took. 

Look at the picture on the wall & the decor.  Has to be an old cruise ship room from the late 70s, no? 

And my mom was smokin' hot like a Greek Goddess, don't you think?  Happy Birthday, Mom!  You're the best.

Exhibition Of Emotions

Last weekend was pretty fun.  Had a birthday party in the old 'hood to attend.  For some unknown reason this little princess doesn't like to take self portraits, but she thought the iPhone self-picture feature (technical term) was pretty cool.

This was our "BIG SMILES" photo

Ok, now show me shock and horror!

And now for the BIG FINALE!!!