It's all apart of life's pageant

Peace Grandpa

My grandpa Kengo passed away tonight at the age of 97 - he will be missed by all of us.

Ebony

My sister and her family had to put one of their nine year old labs to sleep yesterday. Ebony had been battling bone cancer for several months. I am so glad that I was able to take these pictures of her.

Even in pain she would want you to play with her - especially fetch with her rings...

 

 

you will be missed sweet girl!

NINE Years...

It has been better than I ever imagined...

love you!

For father's day

Ten questions to ask your father:

1. What did you enjoy most about being a dad? Least?

2. Are there things you wish you had done differently as a father?

3. In what ways are we alike and in what ways are we different?

4. Why did you marry my mother?

5. Is there anything you every wanted to tell us (me) but have not?

6. What is the secret to raising good kids?

7. Is there anything you regret not having asked your parents (my grandparents)?

8. Do you think today’s fathers have it harder, easier or just different?

9. What do you want to make sure that my children and grandchildren will remember about you?

FUN gift ideas for the guys

If you are doing the gift card why not create a simple handmade card for it. I was inspired by Kristina Werner on this project. Basic Grey pattern paper and SU! stamp.

Kirk lives in these Red Back boots. He says they are super comfy, easy off and on (which means he doesn't have to bend over!) and there are some models that are water proof.

If you are looking to cook a meal for dad then look no further than the Pioneer Woman. It is called Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich and it's to die for. Be prepared to have your taste buds bursting and take a break from good eating habits. Kirk was in heaven when I made this, but he did suffer from heart burn after it! There are several other recipes that I have tried of PWs (chocolate sheet cake rocks!) and they have been wonderful. If this is your first time to her site plan on perusing for awhile.

Love these custom cuff links. Kirk is a cuff links guy and it's the only 'jewelry' that I can purchase for him.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there and dog dads too! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we are frantically running around trying to cook master pieces let's not forget what this holiday means. This was taken from the GOOP newsletter today:

Today is a day when we are meant to give thanks - which seems quite general. In your opinion, what are we giving thanks for and how can we genuinely activate that feeling of gratitude?

Dr. Karen Binder-Brynes replies:     
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because it is a day for the gathering of family and friends and typically involves the sharing of delicious food, laughter and conversation. The holiday originated with long-awaited harvests which the early American settlers experienced in their new country. After struggling to find their way and establish themselves, the colonists were finally able to celebrate the bountifulness of their new world. The word bountiful resonates with me when I think of giving thanks this time of year. Virginia Satir, a preeminent family therapist, describes the feeling of well-being her family experienced when the big kettle in their midwestern farm kitchen was brimming with food scrumptiously stewing and filling the room with wonderful aromas. The full pot came to symbolize the well-being of her family

The human spirit is incredibly strong, bountiful and miraculously resilient! Even in hard and trying times such as these, it is important to fill our hearts and minds with childlike wonderment at the miracle of being human. Look around this holiday season and SEE the light in children’s eyes, HEAR the laughter in your homes and SPEAK of your love to your family and friends. Fill your inner kettle with love and hope and you will know what it is to be thankful. Happy Holidays.

– Karen Binder-Brynes, Ph.D.
Dr. Karen Binder-Brynes is a leading psychologist with a private practice in New York City for the past 15 years. See her website for more information.

Today give thanks for right thought, give thanks for right speech, and give thanks for right intention. We hope that everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving day spent with family and good friends.

Jack's Car album

This is an album that I completed over the weekend for Kirk's dad. It's his birthday this month and I wanted to give him an album documenting one of his passions - collecting cars. His car collection is amazing and this only half of it.

The main structure of the album is chipboard and clear pages. I bought the old license plates on Ebay. For the plan of the album I used what I have learned from a few Ali Edwards' classes. Keep the same page sketch through out the album and use the same elements on each page. I had a production line going once I had all the photos chosen.

For the binding I went to my favorite hardware store - Parkrose Hardware. LOVE these guys, so helpful and personable. They worked with me on a few solutions on how to bind this album and we came up with this. We used galvanized cable (sold by the foot for .59) and we attached them with copper swages - they had a tool there than squeezes the swages closed. So for $2.56 the album was bound!

Kirk will be adding some journaling directly on the photo for a dedication of sorts. This is actually the hard part in getting him to sit down and do it. I was inspired by Kelli Crowe on the strips of paper framing the photos. Supplies: Authentic and Original stamps: SU!, dotted line stamp is Heidi Grace, letter J is old and can't remember, rhinestone circle is from Kaiser crafts, strips of pattern paper is from a paper kit DMD has at Target.

More journaling on this photo too.

Genuine Article stamp is from SU!

This is the back of each page. Supplies: patterned paper DMD kit at Target, MM Ledger paper 6x6 collection, the story - the facts - the details stamps Technique Tuesday by Ali Edwards.

You can see the rest of the album in my layouts album. It was good to be creative this weekend - Happy

Monday!

Happy Birthday to Kirk

Today is Kirk's birthday! Here's to many more years to come - Love you!

1980

Clark County Fair

First Thank you for all of your emails - it warms my heart to know I have a ton of support out there! :)

After my toast to Dottie - my sister called and told me they were going out to the Clark County Fair in Ridgefield, WA. So we decided to join them since this was the first year that my niece was able to ride the kiddie rides. Plus it was something FUN!

Especially since we both love to people watch so much. The county fair is #2 (to airports) for people watching. And what's better at the fair??? Shaved ice! Check out the size of this shaved ice that my niece has..

Of course this leads me to the, drum roll please...

Daily Grind. What was there to eat or what did I eat at the fair? My weakness happens to be corn dogs. Not sure what it is but LOVE the corn dog, has to be freshly deep fried, a little crunchy and lava HOT. Oh! and with cheap mustard. But I was good, or tried to be. I had a pulled pork sandwich and dumped the bun but then went in for the GIANT elephant ear. Definitely went over my points by 8pm.

So what do you eat at the fair? The good and the bad?

I have received some emails wanting to know what I do for breakfast - the most important meal of the day. This is what I have been doing with my nutritionist and will continue to do:

2 tablespoons of Nancy's Organic Plain Whole Fat yogurt (local company)
handful of berries (frozen blueberries are my choice)
3/4 scoop of Whey protein powder (I need to stay away from the soy)
1 scoop of Greens First
1 tablespoon of organic extra virgin olive oil
splash of water
Mix with hand mixer and enjoy! If you use fresh fruit you are going to want to add some crushed ice before you mix so you get that smoothie texture  - very filling and 6 WW points and 8 servings of fruits and vegetables (thanks to the Greens First), serving of dairy and some protein to boot. I use that yogurt because the whole stuff has WAY less sugar. Gotta watch out for that low fat stuff having too much sugar.

Have a wonderful weekend!

March for Babies

My sister Ali will be participating in March for Babies this year. She believes in the March of Dimes mission to save babies. Please support her fundraising efforts by sponsoring her!  She is the Team Captain for iQ Credit Union in Vancouver, WA. (congrats to her new promotion as branch manager!)

The money she raises will help save premature and sick babies. Premature birth is the #1 cause of newborn death and the biggest threat to babies’ health today, and through March for Babies, the March of Dimes is funding important research to find out why premature birth happens and what can be done to prevent it.

Click here for her personal web page for donations.Contributing online is fast, easy and secure. You can donate directly from her personal webpage with a credit/debit card or PayPal. If you prefer, she can also accept cash or check. Just click the appropriate box on her webpage.

The March of Dimes mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

With your support, there’s hope!

She's going to be 2

I can't believe she is going to be 2 today. Why is it as I get older the time is going by faster and faster? I keep reminding myself to slow down, but I feel like I am on fast forward sometimes. Maybe it's having this cute little girl in my life?!

Yes, she is playing with auntie Paula's iPhone. And yes, she figured out how to use it - making calls and taking pictures. I didn't think she could figure out that it was operated with your finger...I underestimated the 2 year old mind! Of course she didn't want to give it up so the only thing I could come up with was "okay the phone needs a nap, it's VERY tired" so we wrapped in the blanket and put it down for a nap...