La-Dee-Dah-Day

JabbaWockeez

2012-02-11T18:34:00.003-08:00

Ben and Julie are here visiting this weekend from San francisco and I scored tickets to see JabbaWockeez - Wow! these guys can really move. The show was great! funny, entertaining and lots of great dancing.

We were sitting in the second row and right next to the speakers so it was a little on the loud side for us but it was so mesmerizing that after the first couple of songs you really didn't notice. If you ever get a chance to pick some tickets up for this show I say "do it".
What a fun weekend, thanks guys! so glad you live so close now.

Just for fun

2012-02-06T17:21:00.000-08:00

How many babies can you find?
Double click on the picture to get a better look ...I found 3.

Super Bowl Sunday

2012-02-04T09:01:00.000-08:00

As you can see I am not into football or any other sports, I know the Super Bowl is on tomorrow so for all of you who watch and bet ...I hope your team wins....who's playing the Super Bowl anyways? Good Luck!

Freakishly Entertaining

2012-01-12T06:58:00.000-08:00

Last night I took my friend Ardith and her family that is in town visiting from Florida to see the Blue Man Group at the Venetian. First of all let me say that I forgot that we have 170,000 people in town for the Consumer Electronic show and the strip was packed. I always knew I wanted to see this show but really didn't understand what I would be seeing, the show was very different, very funny and I guess the best way to describe it was "freakishly entertaining". If you can open your mind to the fact you will be seeing something very different you will really enjoy this show.
Fun show, great seats and good friends ... what else would you need on a Wed. night in Vegas?

Seriously?

2012-01-09T13:39:00.000-08:00

I love cupcakes ...but seriously?

New Incentive for weight loss

2011-12-30T11:31:00.000-08:00

Girl Time

2011-12-27T14:47:00.000-08:00

What a fun day today with friends, we met at Starbucks for some much needed coffee and girl talk, then made the rounds to all the craft stores, Joannes, Michales and Hobby Lobby then met up for a movie at Sunset Station. The movie was "We Bought A Zoo", it was a cute family film with great music. This song in particular I loved, I have it by Judy Collins but his version was so good I just had to share. Thanks Jerry and Stephanie for a really fun day!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T10:25:00.001-08:00

Creative Christmas

2011-12-22T12:42:00.000-08:00

The 2011 Bead Metaler Christmas exchange was one creative Christmas! Every year I have a Christmas party for all my regular students who take classes during the year. Faces change every year as we welcome in the new students to join the fun. It starts in the summer when when put all the names in a hat that gives us up to 6 months to make our gifts ....oh by the way that is about our only rule we have the gifts all must be hand made. Lots of friends, lots of food and lots and lots of fun. Thanks to all of you who support and participate with me all through the year. Merry Christmas to each and every one of you.
Special thanks to Jackie and Ronna for taking all these great photos and more ...sorry I couldn't post them all but you get the idea.

Me and Ronna ...Bad Boys Bad Boys!

Ellen, Me, Jerry & Sandy

OMG soooo much great food- thanks everyone for helping!

June and Jackie

June and Winston

Susan, Ronna and Winston

Sandy, Annette, June, Pat & Susan

A Country Christmas

2011-12-15T21:51:00.000-08:00

Tonight I was invited to a Christmas dinner/party that was hosted by Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins. The theme for the party was a"Country Christmas" The band was The Tony Marques Band, great band for a fun country party. If you get a chance this week you can catch them down on the strip playing in Harrah's at the Tobey Keith bar.
Good friends, good food and great music....what else is there?

Las Vegas Rodeo Days & Girls Night Out

2011-12-08T07:33:00.000-08:00

House Seats definitely came through for us once again when I snagged tickets to see Dwight Yoakam at the Hilton Tuesday night. While my sister was in town we checked the computer every day for something to come up for us to go see and nothing. Of course the same day she leaves Las Vegas Dwight pops up.
The show was great, it was my first time seeing him in concert and I must say ....he is hot and puts on one hell of a show. Great night out with the girls! ....and Charlie! thanks Charlie for driving us and keeping us all in line and off the table tops.

Boulder Blues

2011-12-02T16:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my sister and her husband arrived for a visit, my brother in law is a huge blues fan & I had promised him that we would go to Boulder Blues. Did you know every Thursday night at Boulder Station in the Railhead is blues night? well it is and were treated to a great show with Guitar Shorty. He has been around along time and was fantastic on the guitar. Great night of blues music and even better people watching ...I'm telling ya Blues fans drink their own kind of cool aid.

Y

Is it over already?

2011-11-30T08:12:00.000-08:00

Well the visit with our son Ben and his girlfriend came to a end ...on a high note I must say, we had a great time and I think Ben and Julie did too. They went kayaking, they went to the shooting range, we all went to Lake Meade one night for a class under the stars about the stars and all I can say is ...Ranger Laura will be remembered. The last night they were here we took them to see a show, not much was going on so we ended up with "Confessions of a Rock Star" with Rick Dinizio the lead singer in a band from the 80's call the Smithereens. The music was good, the show was not so good until Julie ..... yes shy little Julie,
they asked for a volunteer to play the cow bell and before we could blink she jump up on her chain and on to that stage ....she was so cute and really ....it made the show bearable. Great time with them and now that they are living in San Francisco we hope to see more of them.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T09:03:00.000-08:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

I'm Thankful there are no dishes to wash this year

2011-11-24T15:05:00.000-08:00

This year our son and his girlfriend came to spend Thanksgiving with us and we decided instead of spending half of the visit in the kitchen we would go to Sam's Town for Thanksgiving dinner, it was perfect!

Thanks Ben and Julie for sharing this holdiay with us.

In Memory of Patty

2011-11-16T20:28:00.000-08:00

Today is the one year anniversary that we lost our dear friend Patty to cancer, she was the funniest, the happiest and one of the kindest people I have ever known.
We miss you so much Patty

"Look with your special eyes" I have the nicest friends

2011-10-19T21:38:00.000-07:00

It happens every single year ....yup I had another birthday, I celebrated my birthday in Portland Oregon with my sister and her husband. Now I am back and some of my friends really went all out for me.
One on the nicest gifts I got was from my friend Colleen Myler, she just had major back surgery and should have been taking care of herself and resting but instead she brought me a great home cooked meal of chicken tortilla, soup and salad with the best Cesar salad dressing that I ever had and she threw in a few frozen margarita's and 2 cute margarita glasses to finish off the meal. And if that wasn't enough (and it was) she bought me my favorite lipstick ....thank you Missy you went way overboard.

Anyone who really knows me understands my love of baking cupcakes and Ronna found me this beautiful cupcake mug ..too pretty to use for drinking...check out the bling on this beauty..Thanks Ronna I will find a special place for this and every time I look at it I will think of you.

Jackie is so sneaky! She knew that I had been bidding on this Brighton Bracelet for days and couldn't seem to win- This is last years Power Of
Pink bracelet, Every year Brighton comes out with a new bracelet to bring awareness to breast cancer and they sell out really quick and once they are gone...they are gone. I loved this bracelet so much and really really wanted one and thanks to Jackie ...I have mine. I love everything about this bracelet...thanks a million Jackie.

Jerry and June ...all I can say is "you girls out did yourselves" How cool is this mosaic patio side table? Jerry and June got really creative when they made me this table, the work is just exquisite and the pansies are perfect for me...I love it, love it , love it.
I can't imagine how long this must have taken you two....and I wished I had a video camera of the process I am sure there were lots and lots of laughs as you worked together. Can you say Lucy and Ethel?

You can't even know how surprised I was to open this beautiful apron that I received from Tanya.... this girl can sew and pick the most perfect fabrics. This picture just doesn't do it justice but the apron is reversible one side is a Rodeo print and the other is really pretty print with all cowboy hats....Perfect for me since my sister and I are trying to start a business called "The Irish Cowgirls". So I opened up my apron and inside the pocket was a cute little business card holder ...do you see it?? it's the little pouch shown on top of the apron with the cowboy hats.
So just when I think I couldn't be more spoiled Tana tells me there is more....she made a matching apron for my sister ...whaaaa??? that's just too sweet! Thanks Tanya you are so creative and very very thoughtful.

Some months ago I told my sister that I needed a cute functional bag to take to the gym, I told her I needed a place for my gym pass, a place for my IPhone and IPod and a place for my car keys and glasses and that it had to be cute. Check out this really cute bag she made. She hand stamped on the front the guitar and the skull and wings and check out the bling. On the back of the bag there is a small pocket for my gym pass and on that pocket she stamped "backstage pass" and on the side pocket there is a stamped guitar pick. I love this little bag I used it for the first time this week and it was perfect. Thanks Dennie for the perfect gym bag and for being the best sister and friend a person could have...I love U.

Life is Good ....Gotta Love it

2011-10-18T08:20:00.000-07:00

Life IS a Cabaret!

2011-10-09T08:49:00.000-07:00

Arrived home from my Portland vacation with a pretty bad cold that kept me in bed ...yes me in bed for 3 days. By Thursday I am starting to feel a bit better and by Friday when Liza Minnelli tickets came up on House Seats, well I was not going to let that pass me by - snatched up the tickets and off I went with one of my Posse number 2 members to see the legendary Liza Minnelli ...that's Liza with a "Z". This was one of the greatest shows I have seen with House Seats, even if you were never a Liza fan (which I was) you couldn't help but love her. She walked on that stage with such confidence and greatness and just commanded that stage. She was so "cute", and so gracious and very very real. Although her voice just didn't reach range she once could she made up for it in so many ways. Sometime you go see a concert and sometime you go see a singer but Friday night I saw a Legend ...a performer, a truly great entertainer.

Day 2-4 of Portland

2011-09-26T17:07:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of my vacation trip my sister said she was feeling like she might be coming down with a cold with a little scratchy throat ....no big deal so off we went with her husband to the Rock and Gem show that was in town in search for that perfect treasure....no treasures to be found at this rock show so we had lunch at the local health food store called New Seasons and then decided we should head home for my sister to get some rest so we could be up and ready early in the morning to go to a Jazzercise class to get in some much needed cardio.

Day 3

The next morning I was up and ready to go for the class but Dennie was not up to it so she decided to stay home while her husband dropped me off for the class. I had only gone to a Jazzercise class once before years ago, this was a really good class with lots of cardio and strength training, I was dripping wet when they came to pick me up after class was over.

Dennie had some time to take some medication and was feeling a bit better so we ran home long enough for me to take a quick shower, drop Steve at home then we were off to the Saturday Market. Portland's Saturday market is really just a swap meet lost from the 60's tie dye everything and lots of good people watching with a local band playing music.

Day 4 - Sept 25th ...My Birthday and rain was in the forecast for today!

How dare mother nature play with me that way....3 beautiful days then my birthday rolls around and rain??? With the rain upon us and Dennie still not feeling great we decided to stay in for the day, plus our instructor from Art and Soul was stopping by to pick up all her supplies that she has shipped to the house since she lives in Baltimore and couldn't travel with it all. Barbra and her husband came by around 10:00 and we spent about an hour getting to know them ...both were very nice and we now we are so excited for the class on Tuesday we are besides ourselves. At 5 0'clock we got ready to go out for dinner and listen to some blues music ,we were to met my great niece and her boyfriend at a restaurant called the Refractory, we didn't stay too long since Dennie wasn't feeling good at all and we want to make sure she is feeling better to go to our class on Tuesday.

Portland Here I come

2011-09-26T10:04:00.000-07:00

I guess this is what helps to keep Portland Weird

My trip to Portland is finally here and how much fun was it to have my friends Ardith and Sally travel with me? My trip was all about visiting my family and going to Art and Soul of course. Ardith and Sally were just flying up for the day to have dinner with a dear friend of Sally's.
Ardith had heard about a Portland local donut joint that apparently she saw on the Food Network and it was one of the things she wanted to see while she was in Portland. So we arrive at the airport with my sister waiting to pick us up and take us to do the Voodoo Doughnut experience. Ardith and my sister got the famous Bacon and Maple bar donut that makes this place so famous that everyone raves about and Sally and I went the safe route and got the old standard buttermilk and old fashion doughnuts .... can you say yummy?

Now that we were sufficiently hyped up on sugar we were off to the Osmi Museum, I have been wanting to see the IMAX movie "Tornado Alley" for the longest time and it just so happened that it was playing in Portland - the movie was good but not great, Greg and I watch the TV show Storm Chasers, the film maker that made the movie was part of that show. After the show we dropped Ardith and Sally off in the downtown area so they could have a few hours to explore Portland before their dinner and flight home that night. Thanks ladies for a fun day together!

Tuacahn Trip

2011-09-12T18:38:00.000-07:00

Every year Greg and I take a trip to St. George Utah to go to the Tuacahn Amphitheather to see a play, spend the night and then bike ride in the morning.
This year the play we saw was Grease; who doesn't love the music from Grease? The play was really fun, with lots of dancing and good music. What made it more special is that my friend Winston was actually a dancer in the movie with John Travolta, as a matter of fact she used to have a dance studio and John would take classes from Winston...how great is that?
Well the show was really fun but we had to fore go the bike ride this year because my back went out a week ago and I am still really sore. If you haven't ever been to St. George you are missing out, it's such a cute little town and just 7 miles out of town is Tuacahn, you can take in a play.

Not your mamma's pressure cooker

2011-09-10T09:57:00.000-07:00

Okay so you know I love the kitchen gadgets and that will probably never change so deal with it! Remember the old pressure cookers that we used to have because our mother's had them? the scary ones that rattled on the stove top and you just watched and waited for it to blow up? The food always did taste better in pressure cookers and you can't beat the efficiency of them. Well there's a new toy in town and it is the new and improved electric pressure cooker. I bought this Wolfgang Puck pressure cooker a few weeks ago and have cooker a few things in it now and really love it. The other day I cooked artichokes in 15 min. and they were fantastic! Before that I tried the recipe that lured me into buying this in the first place. I took a frozen ...I mean frozen package of ground turkey out of the freezer and added organic pasta sauce, organic chicken broth and a box of dry uncooked pasta and threw it in the pressure cooker, closed the lid, pressed the button that says meat and 20 min. later I had a yummy, healthy meal...wow now that's my idea of cooking. Just think of a slow cooker but in reverse, love it - gotta get yourself one, it will save you time and calories.

Sinfully Funny- turn off the music player on the right

2011-09-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

Wednesday afternoon I went to see Nunsense with Ardith, Tanya and Winston at the Hilton. The show was pretty funny. This clip is the first thing you see in the play.
Five of the 19 surviving Little Sisters of Hoboken, a one-time missionary order that ran a leper colony on an island south of France, discover that their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God, accidentally killed the other fifty-two residents of the convent with her tainted vichyssoise while they were off playing bingo with a group of Maryknolls. Upon discovering the disaster, Mother Superior had a vision in which she was told to start a greeting card company to raise funds for the burials. The greeting cards were an enormous success and, thinking there was plenty of money, the Reverend Mother bought a plasma TV for the convent, leaving her with no money in the kitty to pay for the last four burials. With the deceased nuns on ice in the deep freeze, they decide to stage a variety show in the Mount Saint Helen's School auditorium to raise the necessary amount. Participating in the project are Mother Superior Mary Regina, a former circus performer who can not resist the spotlight; her competitive but dignified rival, second-in-command Sister Mary Hubert; Sister Robert Anne, a streetwise nun from Brooklyn; Sister Mary Leo, a novice who is determined to be the world's first ballerina nun; and wacky, childlike Sister Mary Amnesia, who lost her memory when a crucifix fell on her head. The show is a hoot you must go see it.

He's here world!

2011-09-01T13:59:00.000-07:00

Isn't he the most beautiful baby? My niece is going to be the best mom in the world I think. She is such a wonderful person and has been trying to have a baby for a few years and now has been blessed with a beautiful baby boy. They named him Logan, nice strong masculine name ...just love it.
Congratulations Kyla and Aaron!!! you are going to be great parents

Logan Olah: Born Aug. 29 12:37 pm 8lbs 20" long

Turn the music player off on the right

2011-08-30T17:43:00.000-07:00

Last night Posse number 3 (Jerry, June, Winston and myself) went to see a show at the Hilton called Body & Soul staring Rick Faugno.
Rick has been playing the lead roll in The Jersey Boys for the past 3 1/2 years at the Wynn Hotel here in Vegas. He is playing at the Hilton in this one man show on Monday nights until October when he will leave the Jersey Boys to be out on his own full time. The show was really good and this guy can really sing and dance, if you get a chance go see it you will love it.

Bitchen Concert

2011-08-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

Okay so last night the East Side posse and the West side posse came together for the 2011 Hippie Fest at the Hilton. We dug out our Peace & Love garb and jewelry and had a great time with good music and good friends. Dave Mason was just the best of the best we could have listened to him all night long.

Thanks girls for such a fun night out!

Hippiefest

Starring Dave Mason ("We Just Disagree," "Feeling Alright"), Rick Derringer ("Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo," "Real American"), Felix Cavaliere's Rascals ("People Got To Be," "It's a Beautiful Morning") and Gary Wright ("Dream Weaver," "Love is Alive"). Another special guest artist will be named at a later date. Bring your parents, your grandparents and bring your kids! It's time to break out the bell bottoms and the tie dye t-shirts and get ready to get groovy . be a hippie for a day at Hippiefest

Grow Tomatos As Big As Your Face?

2011-08-07T08:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning Greg and I drove to the west side of town to go to see a lady about a tomato...oh wait a minute I meant to say see a lady about growing a tomato. Greg has a veggie garden out in our back yard and grows all sorts of things and for the most part it always goes pretty well. This year one of my new students told us about this lady here in town that is a test gardener....meaning she does all sorts of growing
tests for the local nursery's. She also holds gardening classes in her back yard where you can see all her beautiful veggies growing. I'm not into all that dirt stuff but even I found it pretty interesting.
Here's a little background on her:

If it's hot where you live, our new method combined with our super heat tolerant tomato variety may very well work for you.
Because, when it comes to growing tomatoes in high summer heat, , , It's different, , , way, way different."

Since 1995 The Sweet Tomato Test Garden has continually tested new seed varieties, methods of growing tomatoes and products in our desert garden, always looking to improve the growing method, tomato quality and size of the harvest for desert gardeners.

The combination of growing method and tomato variety I discovered now applies to the tomatoes we grow for our own table, my improved growing method is used for our trial tomato varieties. We assume; if our successful method does not produce lots of big tomatoes in our test beds then it is the fault of the tomato variety being unable to set in our desert heat.

Picked July/Aug in Hot
Las Vegas, Nevada
Read what others are saying:
New Jersey Championship Tomato Weigh-In

Yes, this is not very scientific and we have no microscopes or laboratory. What we do have is a continuous supply of big tomatoes during the summer. So, I leave it to the biologists and horticulturists to work this over. I am just a humble Master Gardener searching for ways all of us can grow lots of big tomatoes in the hot desert.
As you travel around our site you will find desert gardening information, articles, a place for your tomato photos and recipes, plus wonderful products that will help you have a better garden in the hot desert.
For the real scoop on growing tomatoes in the desert be sure to order our book, "Growing the Tomato in Las Vegas in Terrible Dirt and Desert Heat." It was written after years of research and tells you what we finally found out to insure picking lots of tasty, big tomatoes in the hot desert.
If you live in a hot climate other than the desert, my method may very well work for you.
Leslie Doyle

Oh and one more thing .....her home is on Sheila Street just off Jones ...I had to take this photo, I have a sister named Sheila

Fledge is complete

2011-08-01T18:05:00.000-07:00

Well it's that time a year when my eagles have hatched and now taken their first flight (fledge)
These are amazing birds and I learn something new each year I watch and engage in the chat room.
The live web camera will soon be turned off now that the eagles are off and out of the nest until next year when the parents return to lay more eggs and the process starts over again.

Q. How old are the eaglets when they fledge?
A. Nest departure as early as 8 weeks of age has been reported, but 11 to 13 weeks appear to be the most common ages.
The Hornby eaglets have usually fledged at 12 weeks of age. In 2009, the chick fledged at 85 days of age (the exact age reported in Doug’s book).

Q. Do bald eagle siblings fledge at the same time?
A. They fledge a few (or more) days apart, depending on hatching interval and sex.

Q. When they fledge, are the eaglets just pushed out of the nest?
A. No. While some eaglets fledge ‘prematurely’ (have a mishap when over- or underestimating distance to a branch), the majority take their first flights by choice and under their own control.

Q. Is it true that 40% of bald eaglets do not survive their first flight?
A. While this is widely reported on some websites and in some books, more recent studies (and nest cam studies) indicate that this is not the case. (See “survival”, below).

Q. Do bald eagle parents starve out the eaglets to force them to fledge?
A. No; they continue to bring food to the nest.
In 2009, Mom and Dad Hornby delivered 19 fish to the nest the day before their chick fledged.

Q. Do the eaglets try to follow the adult when they leave the nest?
A. Yes; once the eaglet has flown from the nest and landed, the parents will coax it to follow (luring it with food). The eaglets will follow the adults back to the nest and feed there until such time as they begin to feed alongside the parents; at that point, their foraging abilities improve quickly and they become less and less dependent upon their parents.

Q How long will bald eagle parents continue to feed the chicks after they fledge?
A. Studies indicate that this period varies; the average across the entire range is about six weeks.

Q. How does an eaglet learn what food items to hunt? Do eaglets learn to hunt from their parent or is this instinct?
A. The eaglet first learns to recognize foods in the nest; when it fledges and follows the parents, it learns by watching them and other eagles. It continues to learn by observation and through trial and error. The predator’s instinct to pursue prey is innate and is fine-tuned through learning and experience.

Q. How do you sex eaglets?
A. Biologists measure beaks and feet to determine sex but this method, while good, is not always accurate. Eaglets in studies are weighed and measured prior to banding and many biologists now also take blood samples to confirm sex.

Lemon & Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling

2011-07-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

It's been a few weeks since I made cucpcakes and I figured it was about time to whip up a batch. A good friend of mine asked for a private class because her sister is coming for a visit tomorrow, I asked her what kind of cupcakes she wanted and she said "lemon". These are pretty time consuming but so worth it.
If someone held a gun to my head and asked me to choose between chocolate and lemon I think I would be saying goodbye to you all right now. I love them both!

Turn the music box on the right side off to hear this one

2011-07-25T08:48:00.000-07:00

Summer is here and I know we are all looking for a easy fun way to shed the pounds ...why not try using your WII "Lets Dance" Check out these twin boys workin' it.

Girls night(s) out

2011-07-24T09:12:00.000-07:00

Friday Night Out:

The other day I suggested to one of the girls that we needed to go out together since I hadn't been out with the "posse" (Jackie, Tanya, Erin, myself and Charlie our honorary member) since Jackie's birthday in March and that's a long time for us. So she picked up ticket to go to the Hilton for Friday night to see this amazing 10 year old kid Ethan Bortnick. He is a great little piano player, playing everything from Mozart to Billy Joel and all things in between.
Not our typical "girls night out" but was fun just the same - I always have fun when the posse is together.

Saturday Night out:
So from one extreme to the other ...Last night posse number 2; me, Ronna, Ardith and Sally went back to the Paris hotel to see 75 year old Engelbet Humperdinck. I was expecting him to open his show with one of his old standards ...Please release me or After the lovin' but what a surprise when he opened the show with a Santana song..Smooth. He did sing his old stuff most of which Ronna and I would look over at each other and shrug or shoulders to indicate we had never heard the song before but Ardith and Sally knew nearly all of them. You really just can't go wrong seeing a show at the Paris Hotel, I think I have seen 3 or 4 shows there now and they all have really been top notch shows. Great weekend with great friends, those of you who live in Las Vegas should be taking advantage of our wealth of entertainment here and those who do not live here ...Viva Las Vegas.

2011-07-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

This post goes out to Ed a dear friend of mine. I am lucky to be able to call Ed my mentor, my inspiration and my friend.
I met Ed several years ago when I was just getting into lapidary work through the Rock and Gem society here in Las Vegas. He has a full shop at his house and my very first experience with rock cutting and polishing was with him. Ed is the most generous, patience teacher I have ever had. He has more than 50 years experience in the lapidary field and shares it all unconditionally.
Ed recently took a fall at his house and broke a hip and is now recovering in The Henderson Heathcare Center and making progress every day. I went for a visit and to my surprise he grew a beard and his hair long, the story goes his daughter wanted to see how he would look with a beard ... but Ed went all out for her, I almost didn't recognize him. I had a nice visit with him and he said he was anxious to get out of bed and home where he belongs. Take care of yourself Ed, work hard in therapy and try not to flirt with the nurses too much.

Oh Mandy....

2011-07-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

I know I am going to date myself but do you remember Barry Manilow back in the 70's? he looked looked like such a geeky kid didn't he? I was in high school and at that time I remember him being on the radio constantly. I guess there were alot of Manilow fans since five of his albums were on the best selling charts simultaneously in 1978, I think I might still have one of his albums. I am sure I must have danced to some of his music at Prom or surely at the Valentines dance at school.

Well that was him then and this is him now. I recently was out with a friend who had told me she would really love to see Barry Manilow if I was ever able to get tickets via my House Seats membership.
I was able to get tickets for last Saturday night and followed up on that promise. We had really great seats ... 5th row center to be exact. I was surprised at the sold out show and the participation of the audience. I really wasn't expecting much but the show was to my surprise really pretty good. Of course he did all the popular tunes but also threw in some new ones from a new CD he just released called 15 minutes. What I really liked about the show is how generous he was with his personal life, he even played a crackly recording of him singing when he was 4 years old.
His stage was beautiful and at times it was down right elegant.
I wouldn't have considered seeing this show if my friends Nancy and Julie hadn't told me that it was a good show to see even if you were never a Manilow fan. So ....go see it if you get a chance it was a fun evening will remind you of younger days.

Have a safe and Happy 4th

2011-07-02T10:12:00.000-07:00

2011-06-28T19:49:00.003-07:00

You meet the nicest People at Art and Soul

2011-06-26T15:22:00.000-07:00

How cute are these little cupcake salt and pepper shakers?
Yesterday I was relaxing after my Silver Art Clay class when my husband brought in the mail and in it was this surprise gift from one of my very creative friends. I first met Ellen last year in Portland Oregon at Art And Soul, she was signed up for the same class that my sister and I were taking. We got to talking and I gave her my business card. It turns out Ellen has a home in Mesquite and spends some of the Winter months there and now comes to visit me when she is in Nevada. This year Ellen and I took the same class at the Art And Soul here in Las Vegas at The Green Valley Ranch.
You really must go to Art And Soul...you meet the nicest people there. I have already signed up for Portland in September and can hardly wait. What a small world the creative community is, yesterday in class I was talking about how excited I am and can't wait to take this class from this amazing artist I found on line and it turns out that one of my ladies in class is very good friends with her...who knew?

Thanks again Ellen for being so sweet and thinking of me, I love these little cupcakes!!

An Evening in Paris

2011-06-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

Thursday night I took my dear friend Ardith to the Paris Hotel for dinner and the Magic of Paris show staring Stephane Vanel for her birthday celebration. I met Ardith years ago when
I was teaching and managing the Bead Buffet bead store in Henderson (it has since closed). We became friends then and have always kept in touch by going to breakfast every couple of months to catch up on all the goings on in our lives. Some of you may know her and those of you don't are missing out on a very special person. Happy Birthday Ardith, here is to many many more years of friendship.

10 years ago today

2011-06-17T14:20:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago today I lost my mother to cancer, it's hard to believe that it has been 10 years already maybe because I still think about her so much and feel her around me so much to this day. My mother was a smoker for my entire life and died of lung cancer...so to my daughter and all of my friends who smoke...please stop! My mother was a talented published poet and artist, she was a perfectionist to say the least. I asked her once to write me a poem, and for my 25th birthday she presented me with the following gift of this poem.

You,
burrowed in my heart and nested there like some small snuggled swallow
My little one
I watched you spread your winds and soar...
you made me proud.
I gave you all I had to give;
A love of books, and beauty from my mother,
The spirit of adventure from your dad,
the luxury of solitude to be yourself,
the gift of tears, a curiosity for the truth,
the talent to forgive ...and to forget.
And I look at you and see the girl I never was,
the woman I had hoped to be
the mother that I should have been
Could this dead tree have brought forth such a lovely bloom?
I thank you for your gifts to me.
You are the keeper of the flame.
and like the swallow, you come back
to warm the branches of my heart.

Joan Pratt Finneran
December 26, 1925 - June 17 2001

Black Rose

2011-05-26T18:23:00.000-07:00

Black Rose

Aeonium arboreum 'Zwartkop'

Last week while on vacation I stayed a few days at my daughters house in Costa Mesa, when we drove up to her place she had the most beautiful plants all around her place. I asked her fiance' what they were and he didn't know but said someone had given him 1 small plant a few years ago and from that one plant it just went crazy and now they have about 8 of these. I loved them so much that by the next morning when I woke up Johnathan had made me a small little plant to bring home. That morning I had my daughter take me to the nursery to ask about it and they told me it was call "The Black Rose". It is a succulent and takes full sun and gets about 4-5 feet tall. Thanks Johnathan this will be great for our desert weather, I can't wait for it to get big.

Grandma Rizzo

2011-05-24T18:20:00.000-07:00

Okay Okay ....I am a Grandmother you know. Kaitlyn calls me Grandma Rizzo. In this photo

Kaleb and I are just chillin out.

This photo is my beautiful Daughter -in Law Karie with Kaitlyn - I had Tanya make matching aprons for Karie and Kaitlyn.

More photos in the older post below of my trip

2011-05-24T15:30:00.000-07:00

Just got home from a great visit with my kids, my grand kids my sister and 3 of my long time girlfriends.
I flew into Orange County and my daughter picked me up at the John Wayne Airport- can't believe that airport pretty much looks the same as it did all those years ago

when I lived there. First things first...we went to Target to pick up a Wii game for Kaleb and (2) 1-2-3 cookers, one for my daughter Kori and one for my son Tyler. Then we were off to pick up my 9 year old grandson from school, he had an early day and got out of school at 1:00. Had a wonderful time with Kaleb and my daughter Kori, of course Kaleb and I played the Wii for hours.
Later that evening we met up with my sister Sheila for a yummy Mexican dinner at El Ranchero in Costa Mesa.
The next morning we got up and went to the Butterfly House and Environmental Center in Newport Beach, a really nice place to take kids to explore and learn about our environment. Next it was off to lunch and miniature golf ...of course Kaleb beat us both.

That night I went to South Coast Plaza to meet up with some friends at the Claim Jumper and got all caught up on jobs, husbands and boyfriends - I have known these girls for 30 years ....man I'm old!!

Thanks Denise for getting everyone together it was like old times.

The next morning Kori and I spent the morning together doing the pedicure thing and then off to Starbucks for coffee and to wait for my daughter in law and my Grand Daughter, Kaitlyn to pick me up and take me to their house in Chino Hills. We had to make a quick stop at the grocery store to buy all the makings for cupcakes...what else? Kaitlyn and I spent the afternoon making cupcakes..she is at the perfect age for baking, we had tons of fun and laughs as we baked.

The next day we went to Medieval Times in Buena Park and were placed on the green team. I really thought this would be a little scary for Kaitlyn but she clapped and yelled for the green team for the next 2 hours.Our green Knight rode up on his white horse and threw a flower in the crown to her and she was thrilled and felt like a princess. She loved the show and said she wanted to go back for her birthday. She is such a good girl and did I mention how cute she is? We watched tv, talked, walked the dogs, talked, went to lunch, talked, went to the movies, talked oh and then we talked some more. Okay okay so she takes after me

Here is Kaitlyn with her new cupcake apron that Tanya made.

New Classes

2011-05-12T12:02:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to tell everyone about some new cool classes here in Henderson Nevada. My friend Tanya is a sewing wizard and is now teaching fantatic classes ....you gotta check them out.

“Sew Obsessed" Bag

Come join Tanya as she teaches her exclusive "Sew Obsessed" bag. Her personal

design is darling and features beautiful had made flowers and antique buttons.

This bag and pattern can only be found at our store! Make sure to sign up quick

since limited space is available. Beginners are welcome. Must purchase the $9.95

pattern before the first class. * Bring your own machine.

Cost: $30

Date: Sat, June 4

Time: 10:00am-3:00 p.m

Instructor: Tanya Greb
Space is limited! Call 702-776-8038 today to reserve your spot.

Mothers Day

2011-05-08T10:20:00.001-07:00

Grandparents give roots, parents give wings
Happy Mother's Day to all the strong wonderful women we call Mother's

Edith Pratt- My maternal Grandmother & Joan Pratt Finneran- My mother

The New Babies are here

2011-05-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

2011-04-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn and Friends and yes that bunny is big and REAL.

Nesting Cupcakes

2011-04-14T07:36:00.000-07:00

Inspiration is all around, the sun is out, the air is warm and the pigeons are pooping all over my front porch ....life is good!

2011-03-29T13:41:00.001-07:00

I know I am her Grandma but really....can she be any sweeter?
This is my son's daugter, Kaitlyn she just turned 4 years old this month. I can't believe how fast it has gone.

Choc-O-Lishous

2011-03-28T19:27:00.000-07:00

Today I treated my class to really yummy cupcakes and thought I would share.

Devils Food Cupcakes with marshmallow cream filling and Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting.

Devils Food Cupcakes

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 cup hot water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream, room temperature

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-
quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

Marshmallow Cream Filling

1 cup Marshmallow Fluff
1 cup butter

Beat until very fluffy.

Cut center of cupcake and fill

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup heavy cream
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

MAKE THE FROSTING: Heat the cream in a small saucepan until steaming. Add the chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. Add the butter and stir until smooth. Spread the top of each cupcake with the frosting. Spoon the reserved filling into a pastry bag fitted with a very small plain tip and pipe decorative swirls on each cupcake. Refrigerate the cupcakes for at least 10 minutes to set the frosting.

The early bird catches the worm

2011-03-23T08:32:00.001-07:00

The first egg in the Hornby nest was laid early last evening...WHEN I WASN'T LOOKING! The incubation period takes only about 35 days give or take a day or two (wouldn't that be nice ladies), so if this little egg makes it we should have a hatch sometime around the 3rd week in April. Hopefully Mother Hornby will produce another egg in the next day or so. I'm warning all you newbies watching the live eagle cam IS addicting, it's crazy like crack, you sit and watch a silly egg for 32 days and then when it's hatched you watch the baby chick until it takes it's first flight.

2011-03-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me know that this time of year I am waiting on the edge of my seat for the Hornby Eagles to lay their eggs. The time is almost here they are due any day now. Doug Carrick is the man who owns and runs the web cam for this site and he is predicting they will be here in 2 more days. The web cam will be on close up so we can actually see when the eggs arrive...it's just so amazing, of course you might have to watch and chat with the people in the chat room for the next 48 hours if you don't want to miss the big event. Go to the web site from time to time and be prepared to get lost in watching the beauty of nature, and if you read the chatter you will learn so much about how amazing eagles really are. You can find the link to the eagle nest and all sorts of other live web cams I watch on the left side of this blog just look for "La-Dee-Dah-live web cams" and then click on Safari-TV cam then look for Hornby Eagle cam (you will have to watch a short 30 sec. advertisment) then sit back and enjoy.

1st Day of Spring

2011-03-20T08:10:00.000-07:00

"A bird does not sing because it has an answer.
It sings because it has a song".

This sweet little bird in the nest was inspired by the coming of Spring and will be posted for a new class for April.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T17:20:00.001-07:00

5 O'clock and I am Just sitting here drinking an Irish Beer ....ingredients left over from my cupcake baking. I swear I love to watch cupcake wars on Sunday nights on the food channel at 11:00 p.m. I decided since I had a class on St. Patrick's Day that I should surprise my class with what else but cupcakes, and hell I'm Irish so why not go all out??? These cupcakes are chocolate cake made with Irish Beer, with a surprise filling made of chocolate granache infused with Irish Whiskey and Irish cream and if that wasn't enough I topped it off with a Irish cream buttercream frosting! Bottoms Up!! no drinking after one of these cakes.

Happy Birthday Kaitlyn

2011-03-14T14:20:00.000-07:00

I can't believe you are 4 years old already and look how big you are. Happy Birthday Kaitlyn!!!

The Big Birthday Bash

2011-03-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

Last night "The Posse" celebrated Jackie's birthday, the Posse being Tanya, Erin & myself and Charlie being an "Honorary Posse member".Jackie's husband Charlie took all us girls out for a wonderful dinner at the Claim Jumper and treated us all to the Huey Lewis concert at the Green Vally Ranch Resort herein Las Vegas. We started the evening at the Claim Jumper then moved the party to a beautiful suite that Jackie and Charlie were staying in for wine and presents. On entering this beautiful room we smelled a really "spoiled" odor ....oh wait ... That was just Jackie being 'SPOILED ROTTEN" She got some really nice gifts. Anyone who knows Jackie knows that she is aexpert scrapbook maker & how she puts a story together with ease using paper, photos and stamps I will never know. I was just "pretending" to be a scrapbooker when I made herthis cupcake gift card holder...please don't look too closely Jackie, remember it's all about the love.

Okay so I am convinced that Erin is in the witness protection program because she never lets anyone get a good photo of her so we won't use her last name here in order to protect her identity and since she is so camera shy she is the one behind the camera taking this birthday photo.

How lucky am I?

2011-03-06T17:27:00.000-08:00

This beautiful purse was made by my friend Tanya who is the type of creative person that can do anything and everything she does is beautiful. She sells her purses and other creative designs on her Etsy shop. You can find a link to her shop on the left side of this page- look under "networking" and then click on Bead and Needle. You can also find out more about her when you read her blog and that can be found on the right side of this page just look under "La-Dee-Dah Blogs"

Thanks so much for taking the time to take my very special order, I love this purse!!

2011-03-06T08:03:00.000-08:00

What beautiful weather we are having here in Las Vegas, so beautiful Greg and I loaded up the bikes yesterday and took a relaxing bike ride on the new bike trail on Flamingo, only to find out it is not yet connected throughout the city just yet. Once it is it will be a great safe place to ride - 14 miles of trail. When it is complete it will go from the Wetlands Park in Sunrise to UNLV.

Happy Birthday Sylvia

2011-02-23T16:42:00.001-08:00

Last week was my BFF's birthday; I won't tell how old she is but lets just say that Social Security will be hearing from her from now on. I flew to Tucson for a quick trip to celebrate her birthday with her and we had a wonderful visit that was long over due, we Skype nearly every week but I haven't been to Tucson to see her in 11 years. Happy Birthday Sylvia, I am so lucky to have you in my life and I hope 2011 brings you much love and happiness.

Am I the Cooliest Grandma or what?

2011-02-22T17:38:00.000-08:00

Okay so grandma bought the kids the tattoo's for Valentines Day but not to worry they are not real but they sure do look real don't they?

2011-02-14T18:27:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day

2011-02-14T08:12:00.001-08:00

Turn the music box off on the right before you watch this video

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Turn off the music box on the right

2011-02-03T08:10:00.000-08:00

Last night I went to the Wynn Hotel to see the Sinatra Dance With me Show. Living in Las Vegas you would think that I go to all the hotels but that is just not the case. This was my first time in the Wynn Encore and it is just beautiful from the moment you arrive at the valet to drop off your car to the show room ...just beautiful. I took my friend Winston to this show and we had such a great evening. Winston is a dancer and she herself has been on many a stage in Las Vegas. We both loved the show and the music and the dancing. I don't know a thing about the art of dancing I just know I loved it. Winston on the other hand said they were very accomplished and they looked as though they were New York trained.
Thanks Winston for a fun night out and for sharing a wonderful experience with me and most of all for your friendship

Cucpcakes 101

2011-01-24T17:06:00.000-08:00

I love making cupcakes and this past Saturday my friend Jerry and I went to Castle of Cakes to take a 3 hour class to learn how to decorate cupcakes. What a blast! we had about 12 total in class and everyone was so fun. The cupcakes were baking when we arrived and the store smelled so delicious we could hardly stand it. We learn lots and lots of fun techniques and everyone brought home a total of 7 cupcakes that we decorated. I can't wait to go back and take another class!!

Check out the sexy hair net we had to wear

Concert Night

2011-01-16T14:06:00.000-08:00

Last night Greg and I drove out to Primm NV to take in the Air Supply concert. The concert itself was really pretty good, after 36 years together they still sounded great and have a large fan base. They sang all the oldies and everyone sang right along with them. At one point in the show they came out and walked all through the venue, sang, shook hands, took photos with their fans walked up into the stands to meet the people in the nose bleeds seats, Greg and I had really good seats on the floor.
The town was packed, we normally stay at Buffalo Bills but when I called to make a reservation they were sold out so we had to stay at Whiskey Pete's. None of the places in town are great but please....Whiskey Pete's is just a nightmare. It took us longer to stand in line to get checked in than it did to drive to Primm. We tried to eat dinner in the cafe in the hotel, we were seated and that was the last time we had anyone come check on us. After about 15 minutes we finally decided enough was enough and ended up going to McDonalds for dinner. All in all it was a nice mellow night out, it's always fun to get get away with the one you love and just enjoy each other and good music.

Innocent until proven guilty

2011-01-12T09:15:00.000-08:00

One day last November I went out to the mail only to find that I was sent a Jury duty summons and was to show up for my service Nov. 3rd, the same day that I and my siblings were to lay my father to rest. Needless to say I had to call to reschedule the jury duty in which they did and I had showed up this week, Monday morning.
Jurors are to be in place by 8AM and you first have to pass through a security check point just as you would the airport, and like the airport off goes the shoes,belts etc. Once I passed the security up to the 3rd floor I go to sit with a few hundred others waiting for instruction. We were all first shown a short movie about what to expect once we were in the court room. Next the court clerk told us that there were only 2 cases that needed jurors which was highly unusual for a Monday morning. They started calling numbers, about 60 and had everyone line up in numerical order ....I am not chosen for that group, and based on my number
I am sure I will be in the next group. About an hour goes by and again they start calling out numbers but this time they took a whole other sequence of numbers and I'm thinking.....only 2 cases now they have both covered and I will be going home soon.
Just about that time the court clerk started to tell us they just put up another case and you guessed it ...I'm in the next group of people to go in the court room. This time they lined us all up and had a Marshall come over to tell us that this was a criminal case and could be as long a a 6 month duty. Now I really didn't mind doing a week of jury duty but up to 6 month????
Once in the court room the Judge started explaining the case to us and what was expected of us, we were all sworn in and seated. I was one of the 24 seated in the jury box. The judge then went one by one down the line asking us all a series of questions. After we all answered his questions he asked if there was anyone who thought they would not be able to serve and why. A few people were let go at this point. Now it was time for the lawyers to start asking questions to the jury and making notes on what everyone had said this process took another hour and we were sent out of the court room for them to make a decision on who they wanted to make up the jury for this case, luckily I was not chosen. All in all the process was very smooth and everyone was really nice and the judge really put everyone at ease making jokes during the process. The worst part about it was the parking, they expect you to park 4 blocks away which doesn't sound that far but our blocks in Las Vegas can be very long. I decided not to park in the pre paid parking area and parked across the street in the metered parking lot.

Boys Will Be Boys

2010-12-24T18:50:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-12-15T21:32:00.000-08:00

Lots and Lots of news

2010-11-08T18:27:00.001-08:00

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

2010-11-08T18:24:00.000-08:00

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.

2010-11-08T18:11:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-08T17:52:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-08T17:30:00.001-08:00

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

2010-09-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-09-28T16:49:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-28T16:42:00.001-07:00

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

2010-09-28T16:32:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-09-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

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,

2010-09-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-19T15:50:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-13T13:21:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-26T11:54:00.000-07:00

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!!

2010-07-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-17T17:04:00.001-07:00

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

2010-07-15T15:31:00.001-07:00

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

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

2010-07-06T16:14:00.001-07:00

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

2010-06-28T14:55:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-16T16:22:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-03T10:47:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

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?

2010-05-20T07:35:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-16T07:32:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-09T20:04:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-06T07:47:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-25T07:16:00.000-07:00

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)