and he ran...

...he ran so far away.
right before we left on our trip last week, aaron decided, on a whim, to run the spring fever 5k. he's been an avid runner, usually running a few miles at the most. so the saturday before we left, we got up early...him to run, me to offer moral support. i was about the only person there who wasn't participating in one shape or form. he did well, considering he'd only run it twice the week before. he placed 12th out of 133 and first in his age group. i was quite surprised at how fast he was. i was debating whether or not to go get the dogs, when he comes striding around the corner. 22:17. not too shabby. the 12 year-old kid that won, ran it in 18:18 and, i should point out, was puking his guts out when he finished. not a pretty picture, but i guess it's the price you pay to win.

here he is about to enter "the chute." i still need to learn all the racing jargon. a little inspired to run? not really. but i have found myself trotting a little faster when walking the dogs. next i'll be speed walking. and then perhaps i'll actually start running.

everyone's a critic

funny story i need to tell before i forget. we got to vancouver last wednesday evening and decided to try out a local restaurant. we really didn't have any place in mind so we decided to walk down to the harbor area to see what we could find. we found a nice restaurant with a heated patio but unfortunately the view was obstructed by an awning. after we placed our orders, aaron decided to walk over to snap a photo of the distant mountains. unfortunately all he had was his camera phone and it didn't do the view any justice. after he returned, i decided to see if my phone could get a better snapshot. so i grabbed my phone and headed over.

as i was walking over, a man approached me. "do you speak english?" he looked pretty normal so i told him "yes."

"you have a fabulous haircut."

"thanks." i replied.

then he starts telling me this huge sob story about living in door ways and being stuck in vancouver for a week without any cash. i was a little taken aback. i told him i didn't have any cash, which i didn't, and proceeded to turn my pockets inside out to illustrate the fact.

"you can give me the change from parking."

"huh? i'm not parked, i'm just going to take a picture."

"oh, thanks anyways."

i just thought it was funny he commented on my haircut. i probably would have given him change if i had it, feed me compliments and i'll feed you cash!

throwing the peace

we're home, phew! it always feels like you need a vacation after taking a vacation. especially one jam-packed with a lot of walking and site-seeing. jamie and i hit up chinatown friday. (although pretty much all of vancouver can be considered asiatown. apparently it's a mecca for migrating asians.) we planned on getting bikes but the weather dictated otherwise. we ended up doing a little shopping and looking for a few more caches. i think urban caching is an acquired taste, both aaron and jamie didn't like it too much. but we managed to find a few.

you went all the way to canada and all you bought was japanese candy? yes. i'm a sucker for pocky sticks. i ended up getting strawberry, milk and blueberry flavors. i also got japanese gum, taffy and chocolate. and yes, that's all i bought while on vacation. i did introduce aaron to the kinder egg this trip too. i managed to score a few while waiting at the airport. so we ventured over to the asian and european side of confectionary delight this trip. i can't believe i wrote a whole paragraph about candy! and boy is it making me hungry. :)

saturday aaron and i hit up the capilano suspension bridge. we were a little worried about the weather, but in the end it turned out to be the nicest day of our trip. we were able the navigate using only public transportation and didn't have a single hiccup with our trip. we also hiked through stanley park, and of course, looked for a few more caches. i combined photos from washington and vancouver for your viewing pleasure.

my mom is notorious for throwing the peace sign when taking photos. we ended up doing a homage to her. hence the photos and the title. apparently it's not only a mom thing but an asian thing. we noticed quite a few taking photos and throwing the peace sign. i guess it's no different than me throwing the devil horns and sticking out my tongue. but i had to post, it's just too funny. while i'm at it i'll go ahead and post the cherry blossom photos i took while in d.c. a few weeks ago.

meet george jetson

i don't know why but vancouver reminds me of the jetsons. probably all the glass skyscrapers crammed in such a small area. you can actually see how compact the city is when you come over the bridge. it's a bit overwhelming. don't get me wrong, there's urban sprawl and the city goes on for miles. but the actual island is pretty much back to back high rises. the complete opposite to what i'm used to.

jamie and i did a lot of walking yesterday. we looked for some urban caches and checked out some of the sites. i think today, if the weather is agreeable, we'll rent bikes. our feet will be happy about that decision. better get ready for the day.

west coast action

a quick update. we're in canada now. spent the last two days in bellingham with the langei clan. i can see why they wanted to return to the coast. it's beautiful out here and the weather has been perfect. somewhat different from the mountains but fantastic all the same.

we've been doing some sightseeing, hiking and caching. jamie is officially addicted, i knew it wouldn't take long. they're on their way up here today and i have a feeling we'll be doing a little canadian caching.

hopefully i'll have more time to update while we're here. if not, next week for sure. i'm uploading photos now of our trip so far.

get your game on

when i was home a few weeks ago i scored an old scrabble game my parents had in their garage. of course, with years of moving/traveling there were bound to be pieces missing. what better way to put the game to use... recycle it into a craft project. ta-da, my first batch of scrabble tile pendants. it's been a challenge finding the right paper but i managed to find a few i liked that translated well on such a small scale. they're a little less than an inch in both directions. all in all, very happy with the outcome!

aaron and i head west monday. aaron has his annual mohs meeting in vancouver next week. i decided to tag along and we decided to head out a few days early to catch tom and jamie in bellingham, wa. they're getting ready for the big move. i.e. house-hunting and whatnot. i'm excited about the trip and can't believe they're gonna be a whole continent away. i'm sure i'll have pics to share upon our return.

billy goats

yesterday we trekked up grandfather mountain with the pooches in tow. aaron's been wanting to hit the hill all month, but due to rainy weekends we haven't been able to go til now. (plus, during the month of april it only costs local residents $1 as opposed to $14, so you know we had to go.) here's aaron and the dogs at one of the scenic overlooks. you can see the rope we used to climb up the rock, it was that steep. surprisingly, the dogs were able to climb the rock without any difficulty. they must have a little billy goat in them. unfortunately, spring hasn't quite hit the high country yet. the weather was agreeable but it wasn't as scenic as it is when everything is in bloom. probably why it only costs $1 this month.

friday find

i've been on a mission to find a really ornate frame for as little as possible. i want to refinish it and give it a shabby-chic feel to house some embroidery i've been doing. it's proving to be a difficult task. i hit up three thrift stores and two antique malls and didn't find anything to my liking.

i did make one purchase. a crewel embroidered pillow. i picked it up for $10 and am thinking i can do something that would resemble the isabella fiore handbag i posted a few weeks ago that i absolutely love. i'm finding it difficult to even consider taking a pair of scissors to it. it's so lovely as is. i'll keep it on the back burner for now.

i did end up finding a plain frame on saturday. for now i'll distress it, give it a nice decorative mat and see how it turns out. it's not going to be completely what i wanted, but it'll have to do for now.

ridin dirty

yesterday i ventured up the road behind our house in search of bottlecaps. there's usually no traffic on the road, maybe an occasional parker or two but for the most part it's pretty quiet. our neighbors had warned us that they've caught kids up there before so that's why they had placed a chain across the road to stop the trespassing.

well, as i got closer to the second empty lot, i could see something glimmering in the sunlight. this is what it was. a crack pipe or meth pipe, i don't know. it's some kind of smoking instrument. i brought it home to show aaron and he started to freak!

i was a little startled by his reaction. of course i knew he wasn't going to be happy, but i didn't think he would go into panic mode. "we should call the police. we can't have druggies hanging out around our house." well i come to find out he just read an article in our local paper about a murder that happened here a few years ago. it's a pretty gruesome crime, so i was beginning to understand aaron's frantic state.

we went back and dragged some logs across the road to prevent any further access up the road. we even found some 2x4s with nails in them to act as spike traps. now i have to contact the electric company about installing a security light at the end our our street. it's better to be safe than sorry.

10+

a memento from our first official date. i'm not too big on remembering actual dates. don't ask when our first kiss was or the moment we realized we were meant for each other. let's just make it easy on everyone and say april 15th was the day of everything!

not that we planned a special outing to celebrate the occasion. but we did venture down to hickory to watch a little minor league baseball last night. a little chilly, a very sparse crowd, and tons of cheesy activities to occupy our time. we were definitely entertained during the error-ridden game. the hickory crawdads lost to the lexington legends, 4-6. did i mention it was "all-you-can-eat" night. aaron took full advantage: two hot dogs, a hamburger, nachos, french fries, popcorn and two large sodas. and i was pretty much paying for it later!

pillow talk

i finally finished brian and irina's pillow set. i did two of each design. (you're only seeing one here.) they all have zipper closures, which are still a challenge for me. i changed the fabric they had originally picked out, monk cloth. i honestly don't know what you'd use that fabric for. it unravels as soon as it's cut, almost definitely needs a lining, and pretty much loses shape with it's loose weave.

i'm happy with how they turned out. it might be a little while before i start on their christmas set. yes, i when i got home last week they had the christmas fabric all picked out and ready to go. along with two more requests for mp3 pouches and a handbag for mom. i'm off the mail these and my jar of whimsies!

korean melodrama

this has been my life for the past five days. if you've ever been to my parents house, one out of the five tvs has a korean soap opera playing. now the broadcasted korean channels have english subtitles. so i found myself engulfed in one the other afternoon. surprisingly the spoof is a pretty accurate depiction!

tanning hype

of course, with aaron being a dermatologist i may have a somewhat skewed view on the subject. but seriously, this made me laugh out loud when i saw it on the news the other day. and when i saw the commercial, i barreled over with laughter. do they honestly think the american public is that naive? that hundreds of thousands of medical professionals don't know what they're talking about? too funny!

you're it!

i was tagged by jen.

the rules: link to the person who tagged you. post the rules. share six non-important habits/quirks about yourself. tag three other people.

1. if i'm wearing socks, there's a 90% chance they're knee highs

2. i have a swatch watch collection

3. i haven't taken out a pair of earrings in 16 years

4. i hate fruit-flavored sodas

5. i have a huge dent in my shin from falling between a train and platform

6. i've eaten a whole jar of pickles on more than one occassion

I tag angela and susan.

loco for gocco

i finally busted out the gocco machine i bought months ago. i've been hoarding it, waiting for the perfect image to reproduce. (bulbs can only be used once and screens can not be cleaned and re exposed with a new image) knowing this, i may have never used it! well i decided to bite the bullet and find a decent image to give it a test run. i watched a few "how-to" videos this morning and this afternoon i started the presses.

this is the original image i got from istockphoto. it's a simple, clean image that i converted to grayscale. at first i had it completely black and white but i noticed while i was thumbing through the example booklet that came with the machine it had grayscale screens on some of the images. (all the instructions are in japanese, hence the video watching) so i went back and added a 30% and 50% screen on the trees. unfortunately, when i exposed the image, i lost all the grayscale screens. not sure if it can't do screens or if my screens were too light. i'll figure it out eventually.

the image is still decent so i went ahead with test run. i spread brown ink on the screen and began printing. it takes some getting used to. knowing how much ink to use and making sure it's spread evenly. i was able to print about 20 in the brown and after cleaning and reapplying red ink, printed about 20 more. i used the ink sparingly. it's supposed to print up to 80 with a good inking. all in all it was a good test run. now that i've started, i may not stop.

thirty-three

it's funny the things you care about. i've always gotten a card from my parents on or before my birthday. for some reason, i was a bit disappointed that it hadn't come and i kept telling aaron it was freaking me out. "well, you got cards from everybody else," he told me. it's just not the same. so after dinner i called brian to find out what was going on. emailed my dad saturday night to inquire. then comes sunday morning and the e-card arrives, an explanation from my dad and the snail card arrived today. all is back in sync and i realize how much i enjoy tradition. also, one good thing about getting older...got 33 bucks in my card! thanks dad!!

sleepy hollow

unfortunately the weather has put a damper on our zipline plans. it's about 20 degrees colder today than it has been all week. plus it's rainy and just a little foggy. just a tad.

a rude girl

urban dictionary defines a rude girl as a dedicated ska fan, with a sense of history, style of the ska scene, also known as rudi, roody, rudy, etc. traditional of the "rude boy/girl" is clothing similar to that of the swing dancers of the 1940’s or that of the historic gangsters akin to al capone.

just to clarify the blogger name. i'm not impolite, just a fan. i guess i should also define ska.

ska: three different types: "traditional", "2-tone" and "3rd wave". traditional came about in the late 1950s as new dance music straight out of jamaica. 2-tone is named such because whites and blacks came together to form ska bands to spread unity in the 1970s. 3rd wave is when ska hit america in the late 1980s, and added a bit of punk flair.

you say it's your birthday

i admit, i have somewhat of a handbag fetish. luckily i've kept it in check. keeping the bags and the pricetags to a minimum. i was searching ebay for some craft supplies. looking mainly for paddle punches, to be used for my felt creations. after finding a few, i went off on a tanget and typed "tattoo" in the search engine. (i occasionally look up tattoo-inspired artwork, another fetish.) and i came across this handbag. *insert me drooling here!

i can't remember what the bidding was up to when i first came across it, but i do know that it sold for $400. definitely too rich for my blood. i had never heard of the designer, isabella fiore, so i started doing a little research. i thought it might be selling so high on ebay cause it was hard-to-find. that was the case, that and the fact that most of the bags retail between $600-$800. i actually like most of the bags i've seen in her collections, so i'll be on the lookout for a reasonably priced bag. i think i'll be looking for a long time. my birthday's tomorrow, if anyone's still looking for that perfect gift! ;)

in my research, i came across this site: bagborroworsteal. where you can rent a designer handbag for a week/month at a time. i remember seeing this on the big idea and thinking how ridiculous a concept it was. i guess if you're really trendy and have to be seen with all the latest, it's perfect for you. paying $100 to borrow a bag for a month, not gonna happen here.

yes, tomorrow is my birthday. yesterday aaron told me he actually has something planned. drum roll....and this is what it is! all i can say...i have an awesome husband!

feedburned search of the day: "how do you like my balls in your face?"
and this is what they found. i should probably be a little more careful with the titles of my blogs. ha, ha.

feedburned

i added feedburner to my site a few days ago, mainly to give people the option of subscribing to my blog. i like having all the blogs i read on my front page, that way i don't have to click through to know if they've been updated. luckily, gmail lets me grab feeds without subscribing, but i wanted to have another option for those who don't use the program.

as an added bonus, feedburner also keeps track of the traffic that comes to your site. where visitors are from, how they got there, what they looked at and what they clicked on. i even know the operating system they used and the screen resolution of their computer. it's my mini form of "big brother." i'll share a few of my stats.

stats for yesterday:
wednesday, march 26: 15 visitors (73.3% new), 26.7% direct, 33.3% searches, 40.0% other sites, average time spent 2:15 on site
visits from: severn, mountain view, pleasant grove, ferndale, london, san francisco, jakarta, auckland, saint louis
what they searched for to reach my site: "site:rudegirl.blogspot.com," "westphal family blog," "nautical star tattoos," "sweet wiis"

it's always interesting to see how someone reaches your site.

bottlecap craft

it's been awhile since i actually posted a craft project. and since i need to get back in the swing of things i'd thought i'd start here. i found this tutorial online a few weeks ago and went to town collecting and making bottlecap pincushions. the caps are the ones you'd find on a 16 oz. plastic bottle of soda. yet another recycling craft.

easy, fun, and a small help to the environment.

most valuable pet

a few weeks ago i entered marley in the bissell most valuable pet contest. i kept seeing the commercial on tv and thought she'd be a perfect mascot. i guess thousands of other pet owners thought the same thing. well, i just got a email letting me know it's time to vote. here's the photo i cropped as her entry. vote for miss marley today!

facespace

i've been avoiding facebook, mainly because i don't see the need for another social networking program. i'm pretty happy with myspace as my social hub and occasionally i'll check my facebook account to get an update on friends who don't myspace. yes, i have one along with a hundred other miscellaneous accounts out there. i also found that facebook is not-so-user-friendly. at least for me. i really don't like all the "bling, bling" facebook has. giving people gifts, the wall, the super wall, comparing everything. it just seems more annoying to me than anything. but alas. i'm starting to convert. i've got a stack of friends only on facebook and ones that are only on myspace. so i find myself spending equal amounts of time at both. why can't we all just use one...and we'll call it facespace. i found this pic on facebook. too funny.

long week short post

i've been meaning to post about the rest of our disney weekend but with company in town i just haven't had the time. now i'm playing catch-up. i think i'll just summarize the rest of the trip with photos. disney photos.

we both had a lot of fun. it was a bit chilly the first few days we were there. i wore my app. state sweatshirt pretty much the whole time. we found that hitting the parks early and using the fast pass system we didn't have too long a wait for most rides. i think the longest we waited was for splash mountain only because we had a fast pass for space mountain and we really wanted to get in as many rides as possible so we stood 45 minutes in line. it's funny cause i thought disney had more rides than they actually did, at least adult rides. maybe cause everything is spread out over four parks with three or four major rides at each park it seemed sparse. my favorite was the new aerosmith rocknroller coaster and aaron's was the tower of terror both at disney's hollywood studios. we'll have to go back again, we weren't able to spend much time at animal kingdom. with spring training games in the middle of each day we had to plan accordingly and we only had a morning to spend there. our main objective was to ride the new everest coaster, but when we got there it seemed like it was everyone elses plan too.

spring training was a great experience. cardinals weren't looking too hot though. they played the atlanta braves and lost both games. they've practically got a whole new team. i found myself asking, "who's that and where's he from?" a lot during both games. unfortunately with our new location the only time we can see the redbirds play is if it's against cincinnati. aaron was contemplating getting a satellite dish just to watch games this season. i think he might just wait til the team is in better shape all-around.

the day after we got back from disney, nate and katie arrived from illinois. it was their first trip to the high country and i have a feeling it won't be their last! we got some fly-fishing in. katie actually caught a rainbow trout in the first 20 minutes we were out there. aaron, danny and i have been fishing a countless number of times and none of us has ever reeled in a thing. so kudos to katie for her catch. to sum up the rest of the weekend...wii, shopping, hiking, drinking and tapas! we all had a blast. matt, kristin, max and grandma westphal are heading up here saturday. we've got a little bed and breakfast going on here now!

yesterday we took bosco in to get a little snip-snip. yes, i decided in order to curb his pee problem we had to be a little aggressive. i quickly regretted the decision when we had to drop him off, but he's home now and doing great. i decided to post a pic of the two of us from a few months ago. hopefully our problem is solved.

blogging molly

we actually had a direct flight from charlotte to orlando. i don't remember the last time we didn't have to transfer planes to go anywhere. that put us in florida at 2 p.m. friday. we checked in at our hotel. a doubletree suites close to downtown disney. hung out there for a little while then decided to walk the 20 minutes to downtown disney.

aaron had looked up shows before we left and saw that flogging molly was playing at the house of blues. what a great way to start our weekend we both thought. luckily he bought tickets online because when we headed over there we saw it was sold out on the marquee. we both were surprised at how popular they had become. danny had mentioned they would be signing autographs at the virgin megastore across the way from the show so we stopped by there to check it out. there were two members still there when we arrived. just chatting with fans. we had planned on getting one of their new cds signed for dan but we thought it was a little cheesy to walk up to one in the middle of his conversation and hold out a cd for him to sign. plus we had no clue who the band members were. we know who the singer is and that's about it. and he certainly wasn't one of the two standing there. we decided to just head over to the show and get a bite to eat before it started.

unfortunately, aaron had a bit of a stomach bug and really wasn't feeling the flow of food or show. it's really unusual for him to get sick, especially while on vacation. he stuck it out and ended up having a good time. i had decided not to bring a purse, so i had had my i.d. and camera in my back pocket. little did i know, there was a restriction on cameras at the venue. i tied my sweatshirt around my waist to disguise the fact that i had it. metal detector found it and i ended up having to pay $2 to check my camera at the door. otherwise i would have had to go all the way back to the hotel to drop it off.

once inside the first band was already playing. "i think the flute player is japanese." aaron said. "i think the whole band is asian!" i said. it was the cherry cokes. it was very weird seeing japanese people playing irish music. they rocked it though. next was the reverand peyton's big damn band. they were okay. they sounded like primus but with a washboard. finally flogging molly took the stage and they absolutely brought the house down. it was so great seeing a show with so much energy. both of us were bouncing around, chanting and singing along. it was an awesome show to start the weekend with. since i got my camera confiscated i had to use aaron's cell phone to take pics. being it was a dark club, none of the photos came out but this one. yes, i have this strange desire to take photos while urinating. it's my thang. i might have to continue my toilet obsession gallery.

back from madness

we're back from our disney/spring training/flogging molly jam-packed weekend. i thought i'd be blogging nightly after we returned home from the day/evening activities. unfortunately, we didn't have internet access in our hotel room, or at least free internet. plus i was completely drained to even "blog now post later." hopefully i can update tomorrow before nate and katie arrive. yeah, we're both excited about their arrival. even more photos to come.

another interpretation

i got a sweet tin in my last swap. it's always interesting to see how different people interpret the same theme. i'm slowly acquiring a little "day of the dead" collection to add to my craft room decor. i love the detail in this one. i'm always amazed at the different things you can do with polymer clay. always learning and feeding the mind's eye.

i also loved all the content she included. i'll have to figure out a way to incorporate all the cute little charms into a unique and different necklace. some nice eye candy. i'm still searching the net for some inspiration. i don't want to start a new hobby, but it's always nice to look.

i'm in a bit of a funk lately. hopefully our trip to florida this weekend will get me back in the groove. aaron is completely pumped. disney and cardinals baseball = his dream vacation. we got our spring training package in the mail a few weeks ago. they only promised tees, but they delivered so much more. it had cardinal t-shirts, hats, baseballs, messenger bags, pins...and so much more. i was quite surprised that they sent so much. i need to get a pic of aaron sporting all the gear. maybe i'll do that tomorrow.

through the wire

"I broke my jaw in two places last night but I don't need any wiring or anything. Just thought you would want to know."

the message i got a few weeks ago from dan. "you better call your dad," i told aaron. "danny broke his jaw last night."

"what?"

after finding out details: running and sliding on ice, falling, hitting his chin on a friend's knee, we're told he's doing good and will be on a liquid diet for the next week. mark took him to a radiologist the following day and that's how they found out it was fractured in two places.

after dan went back to u of i, mark asked an oral surgeon friend if anything else needed to be done. long story short, he recommended dan see a specialist to make sure everything was healing properly. mark drove up to champaign and took dan to see an oral surgeon. it was decided that full metal gear was needed to stabilize his jaw. to ensure no movement would cause it to fracture more. considering how it got fractured in the first place, it was definitely a good idea. now poor dan can't talk or eat anything unless it's in pureed form.

i've never seen what a jaw wiring looks like so i asked him to send me a photo. behold.

looks like braces for your gums. they compromised and he's getting the vertical wires taken out next week, so he'll be able to talk again. don't know if that's a good thing! :) a few weeks later he'll get the rest taken out. now he's a walking advertisement why you shouldn't run and slide on ice, kiddies!

big hair, class of 1993

this evening dana bombarded my cell with old photos from high school. all of them were new to me. and most of them should have been burned instead of shared. i don't think my hair could have gotten any bigger. embarrassed? no. funny? hell yeah! now it's my turn. we're supposed to get snow tonight and tomorrow. know what i'll be doing. high school friends beware.

bacon on the brain

a couple of weeks ago, jen had her appendix removed. as a 'get well gift' i sent her a few slices of bacon. yes, bacon. if you've checked out loopy rocket you'll know she has an undying love for the pork product. all i can say is that i made her a very happy gal. you're so welcome, jen!!

walls of pain

i started wallpapering yesterday. what was i thinking? it's a lot harder than i anticipated. i thought by starting somewhat small, the master bathroom, i'd be able to get my feet wet and be hanging like a pro in no time. apparently our bathroom is the definition of "wallpapering around the tricky spots," (a brochure i picked up before starting). and our bathroom is a lot bigger then the lady at lowes thought. i had measured before i went in to order the paper. i then forgot to bring in said measurements. but i thought i could wing it and told the lady what i was papering. "two should be enough," she told me. and when i picked up the order i thought the same thing. "what am i going to do with all this extra paper?" ding. once i started, i knew i was gonna be in trouble. i'll have to go back this afternoon and order at least two more rolls. i'll be posting before and after pics once i finish with the two rolls i have. it may be a few more weeks before it's completely done. i do have to say, i am getting better with each strip and it does look good. i should have started with a room that didn't have so many in-corners, out-corners, fixtures, tight spots, etc. another lesson learned.

on another note. i rarely encounter a rude person in boone. at least not one of a local persuasion. when i went to pick up the wallpaper, the interior electronic doors at lowes wouldn't open. they were open just a crack. i stood there waving my arms, stepping here and there in front of the sensor. nothing. i walked over to the service department and told the girl they wouldn't open. "it's the wind."

okay. so i walked back to the doors and tried to get the doors to open again. she walked over, pulled the doors open and again said "it's the wind." and turned and walked off. i don't know why this bothered me so much. perhaps it was the "it's the wind, moron." look she had on her face. that i was supposed to know it was okay pry open the doors myself. AND that there was no freaking wind blowing.

it's the first time i've ever had the desire to report someone. man, i'm getting old!

it runs in the family

my uncle dick won the 'world wide trails top outdoor photograph of 2007' contest. the local paper wrote an article about him in sunday's paper. the photo and the article were on the front page of the outdoor Xplore section. way to go, uncle dick! being artistically inclined does run in the family.

his name is john, my dad's name is john, and my grandpa's name was john. so we called him: dick, my dad: joe, and my grandpa: jack. just thought i'd clarify. it made sense at the time! ;)

lady and wood

on our way to san antonio, i passed the time working on a few projects from the "doodle stitching" book i got a few weeks ago. here is my first project done in completion. too cute. i've been on a ladybug/wood grain kick lately. right now i'm working on another altoid tin. next week i'll start brian and irina's throw pillows along with setting up shop. goal for the month of february is to get something up and going. i'm about 75% there.

we decided not to do anything for valentines day. at least that's what we told each other. no gifts, no nothing. aaron came home with a big bouquet of flowers and i had made some valentine brownies. originally i made a batch of sugar cookies that turned out horribly wrong. i followed the recipe for cookie-cutter cookies, but something went awry. they were heart-shaped and they weren't burnt but they were rock hard. so into the trash they went.

when desert time came around, i used the heart cookie cutter to cut out a brownie, put a scoop of vanilla ice cream, added a few raspberries, powdered sugar and chocolate syrup. it looked divine. i almost ran upstairs to take a pic of my creation. aaron was impressed. all in all, we had a good day!

memory lane

with the arrival of adobe creative suite, i have deemed it necessary to clear off hard drive space. i will be moving all 3000 photos to disk. before doing so, i'm gonna post a few photos that are blogworthy. most are from our time in springfield. only 3000? remember this time last year, we had a major malfunction with the macbook. i lost the equivalent plus some. now on to the photos.

who do you love?

when we first started dating i told aaron if he ever wanted to get married he'd have to get a tattoo. a small sacrifice to prove his love. actually i told him it had to be large, no dinky taz or tweety for my man. maybe my name across his chest or a dragon across his back. of course he told me tattoos weren't his thing. i'd keep chipping away til he changed his mind. eight years later, they still weren't his thing. i knew he wouldn't budge on the subject, so i ended up compromising in the end. happily married, me inked and him naked of art.

i came across the perfect alternative on etsy today. uncorked sells the cutest symbols of love. i considered buying a set for us, especially with valentines day approaching. i'm almost positive he'd be happy to receive it and i'm equally sure he wouldn't wear it. but i thought i'd share these original gifts in case anyone else is still looking.

he doth protest

When we went out of town this past weekend we had a girl, gracie, watch the dogs. She offered to stay at the house a few nights too, which I was really happy about. I had talked to aaron about boarding them, just because both dogs have been having "accidents" when we were away. But since gracie was going to stay the night, I'd decided against.

I did expect there to be pee in a few places when we returned, and there was. Bosco seems to really regress when we leave even with someone around. I've found a few times where, if we let marley sleep in the bed, he gets out, trots downstairs and pees to express his protest. Anyways, we cleaned up the messes and for some reason I thought there might be more than what the eye was seeing.

I asked aaron if he could bring home the uv light they use to spot skin cancers so I could double-check. Yep, big mistake. He brought the light home, I waited til dark and then set out looking for urine. Turned on the light in the front room and to my surprise the floor lit up like a crime scene. The little turd, i mean urinator, had been using the front room as his personal toilet! Pretty much had lifted his leg to every piece of furniture in there.

We hardly use the room, and the carpet is green so I never noticed anything before. I promptly went out and got a steam cleaner and a blacklight of my own. (Funny how we're using a blacklight to light up pee rather than posters.) I cleaned the mess, deodorized and vacuumed. Luckily, our carpet is stain-resistant so it all came up easily. I made sure there wasn't any other "accidents" in the house. Found a few upstairs, mainly where my brother stayed with his little dog. Cleaned those and now hopefully with everything gone it'll deter him from doing it anymore.

Now I've added to my ocd obsession. I'll be prowling the house nightly with blacklight in hand looking for messes! Not only does the blacklight pick up urine, it also picks up dust and dirt among other things which the naked eye doesn't detect. Fun for me!

meet me in san antonio

awes and i returned from our long weekend in san anton yesterday. let's just say we had an absolutely fabulous time. it was so great seeing everyone from the patch. i didn't realize how much i missed everyone. it was like old times, back with a vengeance. i'll be posting a link soon to all the fun that was had by all.