Boys Will Be Boys

Last week we had our 3 grandsons visit us from Hawaii for a week and wouldn't you know it would rain everyday they were here.
They are really great boys and we had such a fun visit with them. Reese is 18 and in his first year of college, Willie is 16 and Oliver is 14. Greg had a week of gardening, kayaking, buffets, shooting and movies planned for the week. The were able to fit everything in except the kayaking.

Left to right: Oliver,Reese,Willie


Since this was the first time they ever shot a gun, I told the boys to bring all their bullets home. While they were gone I came up with an easy design for them to make themselves a keepsake of the day.

The next day they all took part in making a Christmas present for their mother with a photo of them and Willie has a girlfriend he wanted to make a gift for so he made this fun chainmaille bracelet and earrings ....I think they all did a great job.






Willie, Reese, Greg, Oliver






Merry Christmas guys, thanks for all your help

turn my music player off - Happy National Cup Cake Day!

Lots and Lots of news

I have been crazy busy for the past few weeks and just getting caught up on my blogging duties.
If you want to see what I have been up to check out the past several posts.

Ronna's B'day

Happy 50th Birthday Ronna, had a great time at your party with all your friends on Saturday, thanks for including me.

A crazy month-see the next few posts to catch up with me.

Sunday morning I was able to get 4 tickets for that afternoon to see the 4:00 pm showing of the Lion King. Jackie D., Tanya and Jaci G and myself all met up at the Mandalay Bay for a wonderfully, entertaining afternoon of music and lots and lots of color.
The costumes were amazing! the play was great and so stimulating with so much going on. If you get a chance you have to go see this show it was so good, I would love to go see it again.

Nov. 3rd

November 3rd would have been my father's 85th birthday and he would have loved the idea that my brother and sister and I spent the day with him in celebration. Happy Birthday Dad, may you rest in peace always.

Oct 30th

BeadMetaler Annual Tea

Every year I give a tea for all my current customers and close friends, this year I decided to make it an American Tea with an
English twist. Example??? Lemon curd cupcakes with meringue frosting.


Had so much fun and of course when I said hats were optional I just knew that having a tea on the 30th of Oct. I would have a few jokers in the crowd.
There were hats



And then there were hats, thanks ladies for a wonderful day and all your friendship.

Oct 11-16

Left Portland Oregon and flew on to Spokane Washington to visit my cousins, did you know I used to live in Spokane?? I really hated living there, I guess timing was just bad. Had a great visit while in Spokane and the weather was really beautiful, little chilly but not everyone can live in Las Vegas. Sharon took me out with her friends one day to an apple farm for lunch, little out of the city but not too far. Lunch was great and she has the nicest friends. Spent the next few days just going to dinners, and lunches and visiting with her sister and her daughter and grand kids.

Oct. 6th -10th

Wow! what a crazy few weeks I have had. I feel like I am so behind on my posts that I should just give up but ....I'm not gonna do that I am going to try to catch you up on what I have been up to since my last post.

October 6th I flew off to Portland Oregon to visit my sister and my brother-in-law in their new home. The first night I was there my sister had her tap dancing class to go to so my brother in law Steve and I went to his monthly Blues meeting. It was kind of cool because I normally go out with the girls here in Vegas to listen to music on Wed. nights and this way I didn't miss a beat ...ha ha ha.
My sister and I had signed up for a class at Art & Soul in Portland Art & Soul we both took a class in rolled milled bracelets ....didn't really learn anything new but still had a fun day playing with lace and making lace patterns on copper and we met some really nice people. My great niece Ashley lives in Portland and we met up with her for coffee one day ....can't believe she just turned 21, isn't she a doll???

Let the Wars Begin

Okay ...I know I am obsessed with this whole cup cake thing but dang ...they are so much fun to make and decorate. Tanya out did herself this year, she made me not one but 2 beautiful purses and .... the cutiest cupcake apron ever and then to top that off Erin bought me the best ever cup cake book by Martha Stewart ....I couldn't wait to get home to bake my Harvey Wallbanger cupcakes .... yummy! Thank you Erin and Tanya for supporting my cupcake addiction.
I have to tell you when your birthday lasts an entire week it really wears a girl out, but I have the nicest and most thoughtful friends a person could have. Thank you all for making my birthday so special!

A very special gift.

After the gospel brunch we went to a quiet place in the hotel to celebrate birthdays, mine and Tanya's. Jackie is a talented scrapbooker ...not sure that is a real word but lets roll with it. She took photos from years past of several different celebrations and had lots of photos of all my favorite people and put them into a beautiful book with clever themes and captions. It is just a beautiful gift and I love it to pieces, I am going to leave it in the studio for everyone to see so don't forget to look for it next time you are in class, you might just see yourself featured in it. Thank you so much Jackie, it means so much to me and I know all the thought, time and love that you put into it.

I Got Healed at the House Of Blues

Sunday morning Greg and I got ourselves together and left Primm to drive to the strip to drop me off at the Mandalay Bay so I could meet up with my music "posse" to go to the Sunday Morning Gospel Brunch for Tanya's Birthday, the usual suspects were there to celebrate, that would be me, Tanya, Jackie, Erin and Pat. It was a down home southern breakfast with all the fixing's and a 5 person - gospel go to church meetin' choir that entertained us all.

It's Still my Birthday

Saturday afternoon Greg and I drove down to Primm Nevada and had a great dinner at Tony Romas and then took in the John Michael Montgomery concert at Buffalo Bills. We had really good seats for the show, the concert started out a little rough but picked up by the 4th song. I love country music and this was a perfect way to spend my birthday. Even though Primm is only an hour away we always just get a room and stay over night, it's so nice to have the rest of the evening to just relax.

It's My Birthday!

Last Saturday the 25th was my birthday, It started off with a morning meeting with my very good friend Pat for coffee at Starbucks. Pat is one of those friends that always has a good story or great joke that just leaves you with a smile on your face. I always love to get together with her, she has this special way of knowing exactly how to tell a story that will leave you laughing every time. A few weeks back I gave a beaded bracelet class called "Dragonscale". I made the sample for the class in black and clear and the other sample was in Pink. One of the other students made the bracelet in blues and it was so pretty I had said I wished I had one like that. Well ....it was my birthday after all so Pat went home and made me one in blue, it looks really good with jeans. She also made me her famous earrings in purple. I love them both Pat, thank you for a wonderful morning and the beautiful handmade gifts! Thanks Pat I LOVE them both.

Okay ...Lets go back to Thursday - Sept.23rd,

I say lets start on Sept. 23rd because that's when all the Birthday celebrating started. Normally our music "possie"; me, Jackie,Tanya and Erin go out on Wed. nights to local hotels to go to either a show or listen to music. last week we decide to try out Boulder Blues at the Boulder Station and that only happens on Thursday nights. We were all ready for a great night of music and got surprised by Jackie's husband who took us all out for dinner first and lots and lots of laughs ...he is so entertaining; then the girls were going to go to the Blues show and Charlie was going to hang out and wait to for us so he could drive us home. Turned out that someone in the band was sick so the "show didn't go on". We all decided to go to the Kixx bar and have a few drinks and celebrate my birthday Thursday night because we were going to be celebrating Tanya's birthday on Sunday ...her story still to come. We were all having such a great time until someone spilled a drink on the floor and then some lady slipped and fell and then Charlie being the good guy he is jumped up to help clean it up and apparently brushed up against some guy at the bar and the guy wanted to start a fight. There was lots of testeterone in that room; I really thought we were all going to be getting tattoos from Tanya's daughter so we would look tough enough to help Charlie out ....not that Charlie would need our help, that little guy who was trying to pick a fight looked like a little flea compared to Charlie. Jackie diffussed the situation.....no no no not the Jersey Shore, stay with me, I'm talking about the almost bar brawl situation ...Jackie got Charlie out of the bar and got the car and we all live to see another day ...Boulder Blues still to come, maybe this week???

Mamma Mia

I Got my birthday present from my husband a few weeks ago .... I know, I know my birthday isn't until next weekend but it's tradition...I always get it early. He bought me a Kitchen Aid mixer and for the last 2 weeks I have been making cupcakes and sending them to work with Greg.
This week we decided to try pasta and...wa-la chicken and noodles just like my mother used to make. This thing is the best thing since sliced bread,Wait a minute it probably does slice bread. It has this nifty attachment that mixes and then rolls out the dough to just the right thickness and then has another attachment that cuts the pasta just the way you ask it to. Last week I made Tanyas famous Chicken pot pie with the best pie crust ever. I love my new present! How did mom ever live Without one of these? Next week .....Harvey Wallbanger cupcakes with orange butter cream frosting and a sweet orange slice on top ...look for me to be on cup cake wars next ...I am armed and ready to to go!

Meet my brother Kevin

Sunday my brother Kevin and His wife Judi were in town and I was so lucky they were able to make some time to meet with Greg and I for breakfast at the J.W. Marriott. They are both coaches for the company Beach Body, for those of you who have never heard of it before it is mainly a Internet weight loss and healthy eating organization. Judi has lost 80 lbs so far with the help and support of Beach Body; way to go Judi!! I just joined the free membership, lets see if I can drop my last 5lbs. Judi is such an inspirational speaker you just want to go out and conquer the world after talking to her. If you want to learn more about Beach Body and what they have to offer go visit their blog.
http://teambeachbody.com/member/sn/JudiFinneran
My brother Kevin is not only a coach for Beach Body he is also a Bio Technician at Kaiser Hospital in Oceanside and if thats not enough he is one hell of an artist - go check out his work on his website. http://thesushiartist.com
Thanks Kevin & Judi for a long overdue visit - Love you both!!

Cher....again

Cher again ....seriously?? Last night found me, Jackie, Tanya and Jerry out at Cecears Palace for a great dinner and then the Cher show. How lucky am I to see Cher for the 2nd time in 4 months! Wow! her show was even better the second time around. She sells out her shows even on a Wednesday night! Cher has such a stage presence, she know just how to touch everyone of us in the audiance. I can't say it enough ...she won't be in Vegas much longer, if you haven't seen her show it is a MUST! Thanks Jackie and Tanya for being the ticket nabbers this time around and

The Days Of The Doobie Brothers

Do you remember the days of the Doobie Brother's? the music was great then, and it's still great. Can't believe it has been 40 years since they released their first album ... that is a round vinyl disc that you would put on a thing called turn table ...yes something that would spin around and then you would put a needle on top of the round disc and then ....MUSIC. I explain that for all our young friends out there that think the IPod is the only thing that will play music.
Last Sunday night found Me, Greg, Tanya and Jackie at the Hilton to see The Doobie Brothers, Greg was a good sport and hung out with us girls and we all had such a great time.

All My Charming Friends

Yesterday was the Alice In Wonderland Charm Exchange, unfortunately we couldn't find a date that would accommodate all of us so we missed those you who were unable to attend. We decided to go to the Antiques At The Market for "High Tea". A few of us went for early morning shopping before the exchange. I gotta tell you the charms on this exchange were the the best yet ...I know I might have said that before but THIS TIME I am sure of it. The creative energy that all these wonderful woman have inside is just amazing, see for yourself. "Thank You" to all my charming friends for the beautiful charms.

Tibetian singing bowl

You are going to want to turn off the juke box on the right of the blog to hear this one.

Last year at the Art & Soul conference I took a class from Robert Danick, he started his classes using a Tibetian singing bowl.
I knew right then I wanted to find one for myself. I finally found one while visiting my sister in California last month. This singing bowl has water inside. ...How about that for releasing negative molecules??

23 years strong!!

This weekend Greg and I celebrated our 23rd year wedding anniversary. We met at work, both of us worked at Baxter Healthcare in Irvine California, he was a software engineer and I was a drafts person. Greg didn't work at Baxter for very long so I was lucky that our paths crossed when they did, I on the other hand worked there 20 plus years.
We dated for 4 years and then decided to take the plunge. We were married in Lake Tahoe on July 16th making no big fuss just the two of us and the minister.
We celebrated this year by going to Wolfgang Pucks Bar & Grill in the MGM Grand Hotel. The food was outstanding I had the organic chicken and potatoes with asparagus and Greg had the fish of the day which was Halabit and then we splurged by sharing the pastry chef's special of the day which was a lemon curd tart with a meringue topping and blueberries on the side.
I would definitely go back and recommend you check it out as well.

Phoenix Update

The following was posted on the Hornby Eagle site.

This morning we received the preliminary findings from the necropsy performed on Phoenix.
Phoenix was a female. She died from acute bilateral mycotic pneumonia.

Other tests results will become available over the next week, and will confirm the causative agent.
Because Phoenix's death was caused by an infectious disease, sadly, she cannot be returned to Hornby Island for interment.

We owe a debt of gratitude to Maj Birch (Mountainaire Avian Rescue), Dr. Schwantje (wildlife veterinarian, British Columbia Ministry of Environment) and Dr. Bowes (avian pathologist for the British Columbia Animal Health Laboratory) for their dedication and determination to learn as much from Phoenix as they could.

A.J.L., on behalf of Doug Carrick and the Hornby Eagle Group.

Terms:
Acute: rapid onset
Bilateral: both lungs
Mycotic: fungal
Pneumonia: inflammatory lung condition

Phoenix

Very sad today, logged onto the Eagle site to find out that they were removing this year's baby eagle from the nest due to an unexpected death. This year they named the Eagle "Phoenix", he was due to take his first flight from the nest this week or next.
The following is the information straight from the Hornby website.
HORNBY EAGLES - LATEST NEWS!

Doug and Sheila Carrick, the Hornby Eagle Group, and friends are shocked and saddened to report the sudden death of our beloved Phoenix at 7:19 nest time, Wednesday, July 14.

Yesterday afternoon a rescue effort was underway, but Phoenix collapsed and had difficulty breathing. He died from unknown causes, at an age (76 days) where this is very rarely seen.

His body was removed from the nest shortly after 1 P.M. on Thursday, July 15. He will be taken to Vancouver island MARS wildlife rehabilitation centre where he will be examined and necropsied by a skilled veterinarian and wildlife rehabilitator.

We ask that you remember him by supporting the work of the Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society (MARS) (http://wingbeats.info/), who moved heaven and earth to get help to him.

We love you Phoenix and we mourn with Mom and Dad Hornby.


We kindly ask that questions about events are not sent to any of the mailboxes as we have been inundated and cannot cope with the volume.

We have a very friendly and information Forum where you can read the many posts on the subject and hopefully find what you are looking for. You are welcome to just read or you are invited to join if you wish to contribute.

We are all very sad at this time and our hearts go out to Mom and Dad Hornby and of course Doug and Sheila Carrick and everyone else who has put in a lot of time and devotion to this nest.

The Hornby Eagle Group


Join us on Facebook for the latest news

My mom always said "don't talk with your mouth full"

California here I come right back where I started from...

I spent last week in California helping my sister Dennie pack up her house in Temecula to make a move back to Portland Oregon where they lived about 10 years ago. While I was there my daughter Kori and my grandson Kaleb came to visit and we went over to the local mall to have photos take. I can't believe my daughter is old enough to have a 9 year old son!!! yikes...that makes me one old mama.

Wed. night Concert

Tonight we were short one of our regular "possie" members, we missed you tonight Tanya!
It seems like the bands are getting better and better, last night was the Journey tribute band
and they might just have been my favorite so far ...okay so it's a toss up between them and the Eagles
we saw a few weeks back. Wow!! Journey did have some of the best music and these guys were "spot on"
Great show!
They announced last night that they will be back at the Hilton in early Oct. Those of you
who love the music you don't want to miss them.

FanHalen -Tribute Band ...Van Halen

One more fun night for the girls!! The concert last night was the "Fan Halen", the first few songs started off kind of rocky but once they got going there was no stopping them. Very entertaining ...lots of laughs and boy could that guy play the guitar?? Wow!!! amazing. Great fun with good friends, thanks again for another Wild Wednesday.

Girls Night Out with the Eagles

Another great night out at the Hilton, I tell you if you live in Las Vegas you are really missing some good entertainment if you are not taking in these Wednesday night concerts at the Hilton. This week it was the Eagles, they were really good, I think this was my favorite one so far. They sang song after song of all the Eagles greatest hits. The June line up sounds really good ....stay tuned.

OMG ....Cher show ....are you kidding?

Last night was Wednesday concert night out with the girls ... Tayna, Erin, Jackie and I, we had tickets to go see the U2 tribute band at the Hilton but yesterday morning I was able to snag 4 tickets to see CHER!! I called the girls to see if they wanted to ditch the U2 concert to see Cher instead....no brainer.

This was by far the best show I have ever seen on the strip, 90 minutes of pure entertainment. Cher's entrance was only as Cher can do, she floated on stage in a cage above the crowd and was dressed as only Cher can dress. She had 17 costume changes during the show and every one of them were as great as she was. Her voice is flawless and her body is better at 64 than it was when she was 20.Her show took you back in time in with the music, the outfits and her days with Sonny. You have got to go see this show.

Okay so I don't do night driving very well but when push comes to shove and I have to I will but really it's pretty dangerous when I am on the road after the sun goes down. I had to pick the tickets up at 4:30 so I did drive myself and I was to meet the other girls there, leave my car in valet overnight and drive home with Jackie and then my husband would take me in the morning to get my car.
He dropped me off this morning to a very empty valet since it was only 6:45 am. I got out of his car and walked up to the valet and said "I left my car here last night because I don't drive at night and my husband dropped me off to pick it up", they both looked at me like ....sure lady and then said ..."hey you don't have to explain yourself to us" It must have looked like I got lucky and had a one night stand. I guess they must see it all

FUN FUN FUN NIGHT

Saturday Night on the Las Vegas Strip

Another great night out last night at the Monte Carlo Hotel with good friends. Lance Burton has been a headliner here in Las Vegas for 14 years. Lance Burton has been voted "Best Magician" for 11 years in a row from the Las Vegas Review-Journal and has performed 15,000 shows over the past 30 years. Lance is ending his show on September 4th this year. According to what I have read, the Monte Caro has told him to cut his show’s budget. In turn, he has told the company he would rather leave, and the company plans to turn him loose.
The show is spectacular and the stage setting is first class. Don't miss out, go see him while you still have a chance.

Rat Pack Show

Almost forgot to tell you what Greg and I did last weekend. We met Pat and Joe at the Sahara Hotel and saw Sandy Hackett's Rat Pack show. What a great show, they sounded great and it was really entertaining. If you haven't seen it yet ... GO, you will have a great night. Thanks Joe and Pat for enjoying the show with us. Tonight the four of us are going to see Lance Burton ....stay tuned.

Happy Mother's Day Mom

Today is Mother's Day, a day that is sometimes sad for me. I lost my mother to cancer several years ago
and Mother's Day is a big reminder for me of how much I have lost, no card to send, no phone call to make,
no mother to visit. My mother was a beautiful, intelligent, creative person. This picture was taken of my parents long before they
move to Nevada ... I guess Las Vegas was always in her blood, check out the card she is holding.
Happy Mother's Day mom ... I love you.

Concert Night - Led Zeppelin Tribute

Every Wed. night at the Hilton in Las Vegas are classic rock concert nights ...girls night out. last night Tanya, Jackie,Erin and I had a fun night reliving the great Led Zeppelin. The music and show was awesome, they sounded great and the crowd was really into it. But I have one question?? Was or is Robert Plant gay? the guy who portrait him on stage was definatly gay ... I'M JUST SAY"IN....he just couldn't keep his hands off himself and I also think that he thought that the crowd were all deaf because I swear he was doing sign languge for us during the entire show so we would understand the lyrics, that was a bit distracting but the show was really good and if they come back to do another show I would say go for it.

No concert review for next week, the show is Wild Child (The Doors) I saw that a few months ago and reviewed it and will skip next week and have to settle watching American Idol on t.v.

Brian Crain

I love piano music and found this guy through the Hornby Eagle site...great music for a La-dee-Dah-Day.
(don't forget to turn off the music player at the right of my blog to listen to this)

Turn off the music player on the right side of my blog to watch this video...Don't forget to watch this weekend!!

The big event is almost here, it should happen sometime in the next few days. I was watching today and saw that the eggs are starting to crack open....can't wait!!

Concert Night

Okay ... so tonight was another concert night with the girls .... The show was a tribute band to Bruce Springsteen ...I just can't even explain how bad the show was, take my word for it and just sit back and listen to some music from the real boss and skip this particular show at the Hilton.

The Eagles are back!

Last year you might remember me being all excited about the live eagle cam I was watching. The eagles are back and have laid two eggs in the nest I like to watch. Here is Mr. & Mrs. Honby trading places babysitting the eggs, you will notice when the second parent takes over how he rolls the eggs? they do this every hour or so. These eggs should hatch around the 25th or 26th of this month. It is so exciting to see the eggs hatch then the weeks ahead of how the parents take care of the eaglets until their first flight or Fledge as they call it in Eagle-Lingo! if you would rather see the cam live click on the link on the left side of my blog called "La Dee Dah live web cam, then click on Honby Island Nest.

Rolling Stone Night

Tonight it was Jackie, Tanya, Erin and I out on the town to see the Rolling Stones Tribute band at the Hilton. The show was really good and boy did they sound like the Stones. The guy who played Mick Jagger was really good right down to how unattractive he was. He had about 20 lbs on the real Mick and all I can say is .... has he heard of WII??
Once again we had a blast .... next week we go see "The Boss" can't wait for that one, stay tuned.

Turn off my music player on the right hand side of my blog

Girls night out .... boy I really needed this. Tonight I went out with some good friends to the Hilton; first for dinner then to see Bella Donna- A tribute to Stevie Nicks. Overall she was pretty good, some songs she was dead on Stevie on the vocals and others.... A little pitchy as Simon would say. Gotta love House Seats ....next week The Rolling Stones.
St

Turn off the music player at the right of my blog before you play this.You gotta hear it to believe it

In Memory of my father Ted J Finneran 1925-2010

Happy St. Patrick's Day dad, I love you!

Happy Birthday Kaitlyn

I meant to get this on the blog yesterday ... Happy 3rd Birthday Kaitlyn

Ladies with Hats

Last weekend was my "Art Group's" charm exchange, Betty was the "charmed one" and invited us all over her house to exchange our charms and have "tea". The ladies all decided to wear hats for this occasion, we had so many different,hats from beautiful flowers to funky feathers. It was a great afternoon with good friends and lots and lots of laughs.

Meet Jenks & Colie

This is my sister-in-law Jenks, and her husband Colie, Greg's younger sister. Jenks and Colie live in South Carolina and take a trip out here every year the week after the Super Bowl game. We love it when they come to visit. It's great to catch up on what is going on with all the other family members. Had a great visit with them over lunch at Bahama Breeze ... Thanks you guys, can't wait until we see you again.

Girls Night Out

Tonight Jackie, Tanya and I went to see "Wild Child" a tribute to The Doors. The show would have been much better if it had
been billed as a lounge act. The keyboard player was pretty good and a few songs were solid Jim Morrison, over all it was a fun night with good friends. Tanya put us up to the challenge to find the sexiest photo of Jim Morrison ... I really liked this one with him and his dog.


Jim Morrison Pictures

Meet my friends Sylvia & Bones

I am sure you have all heard me talk about my dear friend Sylvia from Tucson. She and I met years ago when I was working at Baxter Healthcare in Irvine California. Sylvia was a temp. employee filling in for the Secretary of one of the divisions, I was working for a V.P. of the "Mothership" of that Company. It was one of my luckiest days when I met Sylvia, she and I connected so quickly and I feel as though she has always been my sister. We have seen each other through many many tough times and have been able to share the good times as well. Sylvia is my "go to girl" for just about everything ... she has been my medical mentor, my cooking mentor and my personal mentor. Thank goodness for Skype, it really allow us stay in touch. I feel so lucky to have her as a friend and can only wish that everyone had someone like Sylvia in their lives.