I'll Paint {if I want to}

I definitely have more to share about Vegas.  But today, I want to share about my weekend.  Several weekends ago I wrote about painting a coffee cup at the local Painting Party Studio.  You know the one where my Dad said my cup looked like a hat?  Yeah.  Well, I said I had plans for that painting and the plans didn't include being/staying framed.  I'm still thinking on that.

But as you can see, I did feel compelled to try again.  This time on my own.

I woke up yesterday with two things on my mind:  1.  Hanging Out with my sister {the middle sister, that doesn't like her photo taken}. And  2. Finally doing the art project I had in my head for weeks.

My Birthday Week

Guess where I was last week.  Before I break the suspense and tell you...did I mention that it was my birthday?  Yep.  My birthday was celebrated in VEGAS!

I gotta tell you last week's party week was just perfect. We stayed in the Bellagio and the photo above was taken from our window.  How cool was that?  We got to see the wonderful water and light show from our window every night.

The Hubster's siblings have a tradition of getting together for a few days to celebrate "big" birthdays. This was my year. Hub's sister was able to come for the celebration too.  Hub's brother and our sis in law couldn't come this time.  I know they are disappointed...I know this because they said, "I'm disappointed". {Smile} But the good news is that this means we will get to celebrate together a second time.  So, I get two birthday parties {so to speak}.

On our first Vegas day, we visited the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art.  The current show is featuring Monet along with his contemporaries.  The works are on loan to the Bellagio from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

I felt doubly lucky that we were in the museum when the docent-led presentation.

My SIL and I spent the second day in a CABANA!! {Complete with snacks, beverages and a Cabana Person}  This was my idea of complete indulgence. I wanted to spend some time outside but couldn't fathom being in the sun with only sunscreen and a hat keeping me from burning.

The morning was spent lounging under the canopy of the cabana.  I sank into the chaise and was so relaxed that my body melted into the cushions.  Pure heaven.

We also enjoyed the pool, which cooled us off nicely.  It was a perfect day.  The entire week felt like everything a vacation should be. Both fun and relaxing.

We carved out "me" time for sipping tea and reading my book.  It has been forever since I indulged in a book.

What am I reading?  The new Anna Quindlen book.  I haven't finished reading it yet.  I was so relaxed naps were interspersed between chapters.

And now, we get to celebrate a wonderful Three Day weekend.  Hope you have a good one!!

Cheers,
~Kimberly

Tiffany from "The Coffeehouse"

I'm so excited!  Today Tiffany at The Coffeehouse is Guest Hosting. I love this Bloggy World.  I found Tiffany's blog and can't even tell you how. But the more I read the more I wanted to read. I'm so glad she accepted the invitation to Guest Host here. She seriously made my day.
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Hi there. I'm Tiffany, husband is Dan and lab is Sherman. I blog over at The Coffeehouse; a blog that has absolutely nothing to do with coffee. Instead, I blog about everything, everyone and their dog. Literally. I love dogs.

We All Have A Writing Story

Earlier this year, I wrote a Guest post and wanted to share that post here {in case you missed it.}

As I thought about what I wanted to write, the thing that kept coming to me was I wanted to talk about writing. Specifically my writing story.

I used to journal writing intermittently in my adolescence.  I struggled with being “real” in my personal writing. I really wanted to avoid the angst filled teenage diary.  Not sure what that was about. Perhaps I was self censoring because of the thought that one day my diary would be discovered.

Judging a Book by its Cover

Through the magic of television, I am posting even when I'm not here.  I'm actually on VACAY today.  But, I wanted to make sure that my blog was not on VACAY.  So I'm sharing the Guest Post I wrote for Mia Hayson at Literary Jam an Toast in February.  So, sit back, relax and agree with me.

SOURCE 

I don't think I'm alone in this when I say, "You should judge a book by its cover".  That should be the goal of the book publisher and marketer (and even the writer).  The best books are the ones that delivered on its promises.

Good writing is best when the reader is ready for it. So, if you want a reader to be satisfied, it's important that you properly set their expectations.  This absolutely does not mean eliminating surprise (s).  

All good entertainment begins with a good set up.  Movies have their trailers and their posters. Blockbuster movies become blockbuster because they deliver what they promise.  

Ranger Raccoon

So, my steadfast Hubby continued the vigil to "catch" Ranger in the act and take photos.  I wanted to tease Hubs to ask if we were going to share the pics with authorities...a "beware this thief is on the lose" type public service announcement.  But, we've come to think of Ranger in a friendly manner.  We do take the fact that he is a wild animal seriously.  We make sure that we give him ample "warning" before we go outside...you know...tapping on the window, saying things like "I'm getting ready to go outside"....saying this pretty loud so that even the neighbor's dog can hear us.  --We don't want to be in the yard at the same time that Ranger is there. And I definitely don't want my dog out there when Ranger is there either.

My dog is so extroverted that there is a chance that he would think this masked man/animal was a new playmate. That would not be good.

But, for now, "It is what it is", which means some kind of cool photo opportunities.

All Ranger photos are by the Hubster. I am using them here with his permission.  I found this "poster" app on Lunapic and just couldn't resist making a poster...you know like those cheesy inspirational {though cheesy} Motivational Posters.   As I said, I just couldn't help myself.

Guess Who Is A Regular Visitor

You may remember we had a surprise visitor earlier this Spring Hubby vigilantly sat on stakeout to discover who was eating the bird food during the night. The squirrels were quite bold, but we were pretty sure that they are not nocturnal.

I gotta tell you, I have a {healthy} fear of raccoons.  I know they look cute in the Lone Ranger mask but I'm pretty sure that they can bite the sh*t out of someone.

Hubby and I were curious if Ranger {yeah, we named him} would come back. We hoped not....but we also sort of hoped so. We wanted to get some pics of this guy.  Do you remember how seriously he took the challenge to outsmart Pesky Squirrel?  Well, Ranger has proven to be a different sort of challenge.  After the undeniable proof that we had a raccoon stealing our songbird's food, we felt a duty to bring in the feeders each night.  We hypothesized that after finding no food for several nights Ranger would move on.

Taking in the feeders is sort of tricky for timing.  The birds are still out singing and coming to the feeder until dusk is over. We don't want to discourage them from eating, so we wait for them to become quiet before bringing in the feeders.  The thing about that is that it is often already dark and sometimes we forget.  But for at least a week, the feeder remained full overnight, so we thought, yep, Ranger moved on to another food source.

On Friday night, Jacob {poodle} and I were sitting on the couch watching TV when both Jacob and I heard a sort of clatter outside.  It's Spring, so we knew it wasn't Santa. I said to hubby:  "Hubby did you hear that?  It sounded close...like in the yard or something".  So hubby went to the window, turned on the floodlight, and Ranger was on top of the feeder.  He stopped, looked at hubby and evaluated if we were coming outside. He decided we weren't, so he went right back to eating.

Hubby wanted to get a "good" pic of this wild animal in our yard. But of course, his camera was not in the kitchen (where we can seem Ranger from the window). Hubs went about getting his camera and when he came back to photograph Ranger was climbing down from the feeder and left.  Hubs couldn't believe he missed the shot.

When I came home from work the next day, I noticed a tripod and camera set up at the kitchen window.  I didn't say anything. I knew that Hubs was going to ensure he was "ready" for the next raccoon encounter.

I LOVE MOTHER'S DAY

The little cherub to the left is how I joined the Mother's Day Club. {This photo is the day we were leaving the hospital.} This was just the beginning of the motherhood adventure.  This little, little person has grown up to be a lovely young woman. And, yes, as her mother, I deserve ALL the credit. {Thank you...thank you very much.}

Of course, mother's day is not just about me.  It is a day where I can reflect on the Mothers I have been blessed with.

I am Margaret's firstborn.  This makes me the "good one".

Friday-and a RED VW {Among Other Things}

Did I tell you I have a VW Bug? A RED convertible VW Bug.  That's my car on the right. When we were choosing my car {3 years ago} Hubby and I were toying with if we wanted a black top or a tan top. As you can see we went with tan {which matches the interior}. But I absolutely love both color combinations. The last time I went to my dentist, I couldn't believe there was my car's compliment in the parking lot. I HAD to park beside it. And, of course, photos were required.  Aren't these two cars just perfect?

Monday, after work,  I rode with the top down.  I even made up a little song that I was singing when I parked in the garage. Lyrics are:  "I'm ridin' with the top down".  Yeah, you can sing it. I haven't copyrighted it and I won't sue you if you end up recording it and become a folk singer/rock star success.

Monday Monday

Happy Monday.  This Monday I kept thinking about the Bangles song "Manic Monday".  {If you haven't heard this song, you need to.  In fact, I think it's time this song makes a comeback.}

I'm not the only one that looks to the Bangles to define Monday emotions. Marissa at Everyday Lounge Act shared an acoustic version of the song.  You should check it out.

This weekend was quiet and wonderful at the same time.  Saturday night the Hubster and I went out for dinner. We had chicken piccata and asparagus. It was perfectly light and tasty.

After our dinner, we went to a concert.  I will tell you a little more about that in my next post.

Sunday was especially special. Sunday was spent with Sissy and Daughter.  The pic above is the three of us at the local Bridal Expo last year when both Sissy and Daughter were soon to be brides.  {~Hence the tiaras.}  Can you believe how much my daughter looks like my sister?  Sunday was girl day.  Manicures and a girl's lunch.  I just love spending time with these two!

Today's weather was wonderful.  I lunched outside in the breeze and enjoyed my very solitude.  After work, my bug called for me to put the top down and I happily obeyed.

I'm Not a Morning Person

Notice anything different in this pic? Other than the really poor quality photo {iPhone camera}. My lip is purple and swollen. Yeah, it's undeniable. I have a fat lip.

Here is what happened. This morning, before my alarm went off, I woke up to my dog wheezing.  {This cute dog here}  Anyway, Jacob was wheezing and coughing and sounded like a cat dealing with a hairball.  Hairballs, wheezing and coughing never ends well.



My auto-response was "Oh,*@!* NO!"  I was not about to have to deal with the results of doggie hairball in my bedroom.  If a hairball is going to occur, it needs to occur in the bathroom. {Everyone knows that.}

So, I jumped out of bed, grabbed the dog and proceeded to run to the bathroom.

Did I tell you that I was wearing socks? Yes, sleepy me running into bathroom {dog in hand} and when my socked feet hit the vinyl floor my body was on a forward trajectory as I was also falling to the ground. Basically, once I fell, my body was still moving forward like a torpedo!  The only thing that stopped this human missile from sliding was ...the bathroom cabinet. Yes, my head crashed into the cabinet. I hit my head (and still have a headache) and bit my lip.

Hubby was awakened by the sound of my fall. Here is what he heard:  "Bum...bum bum. Head
hitting hard surface".  "Ow".

Poor dog was traumatized, though NOT hurt.  His wheezing was scared out of him and he insisted that he was completely fine.

Lessons?  Wake Hubby any time dog coughs during the night.  I am not qualified to handle this.