Saturday

The weather cleared up some so we spent time in the pool and also visited the IMAX theater to see Dolphins & Whales 3D.

Hannah on the water slide.
The kids in the pool playing a duck game.
Dinner at Aunt Chilada's Mexican Restaurant.

Holiday Weekend: Friday

Dad & Linda saw a great deal on the news a few weeks ago for The Buttes Resort in Phoenix. It is a nice resort and so we decided to do a couple of nights at the Buttes.

It was a bit overcast on Friday afternoon but the kids still spent a bit of time in the pool. Afterward we went to dinner at a tourist spot with a great view called Rustler's Rooste Steakhouse. On the way in the kids saw a steer.
There is a slide from the hostess station to the tables. Hannah, Simon & Grandpa took the slide, Linda & I took the stairs.
At our dinner table.
The lights of Phoenix and the sunset in the distance.
Wish I had had some tequila. ;))

Happy Mother's Day

We took a great road trip today for Mother's Day on our way to San Dominique Winery for a wine luncheon. We got up there a little early so we decided to visit Montezuma's Castle.

The kids wanted to climb up and visit...um, not so much. ;))
A group shot with Grandpa & Grandma Linda.
An illustration of the inside of the dwelling.
A great Mother's Day photo of the 3 of us.
Dad & Hannah at the winery. A nice view. The lunch was good....even though we haven't been for 9+ years, the timing of the dinner service was as interesting as ever.
Finally, a photo of Dad & Linda.
A great Mother's Day!

The Week in Review

We went to Hannah's science fair on Thursday night. She did a great job testing antibacterial soap vs. regular liquid soap.
On Saturday Heather came over for a sewing lesson. Here is her first project....a Travel Tissue Holder. She also finished one of the grocery bags I made a few weeks ago!
Simon passed another milestone....he lost a tooth. His FIRST tooth!

Juliet Sweater

I saw this sweater on Catherine's blog....think I might have yarn to knit it in my stash. Going to go diving this weekend and see.

Random Monday

A cute kitty on the couch. I guess she is comfy.

A new sign above the pantry.....so true. LOVE it. (ha, ha...no pun intended)
A new addition to the kitchen. A iHome iPod player/radio/clock. Sounds great now that I have washers to use under the screws. I HATE when you buy something and you have to go buy one more piece to finish it. Would it have been so hard to include 4 small, little washers??
However, a good invention is that the remote has a VERY strong magnet so you don't lose it if you use the refrigerator to hold the remote.

Wine Tasting Road Trip

I saw that there was an Arizona winery having a wine tasting about an hour or so out of Phoenix so I grabbed a friend and headed out today.

We got there and it was crowded....but we got a few tastings and sat on the lawn to drink some wine and have some bread. This is a photo of the "normal" tasting room from my seat on the lawn. The weather was really nice...in the 70's and sunny.

A view of the vineyard in the background and the hills behind.
The wine was ok (I don't know a lot about wine but I know what I like) but there was another winery, Page Springs Cellars, that had tastings and sold their own wines. Their wine was MUCH so some chardonnay was bought.
However, the best winery was the one we hit on the way home. It is San Dominique Winery. It is small and quaint. If you drive up Interstate 17 from Phoenix, you will see this sign at exit 169 that advertises wine but you think, hmmm...not so much However, the food and the wine is really good!

One thing I do remember from our stops was the port. Amazing port. Well, we stopped by on our way home and had to buy a bottle of port or two. I can't wait to find a nice occassion to open a bottle and sip on its contents.

Photoshop.....

I was reading an article at work in an advertising publication and they were talking about the prolific use of Photoshop (and similar programs) used by the magazine/advertising industry.

I subscribe to Redbook and remember this cover. I thought Wow, she looks really good for being roughly my age and 3 kids. Good for her....

Uh huh, here is the BEFORE photo. She still looks great but more normal...you know, the almost 40 back fat, the crow's feet around her eyes, normal sized arm, etc.
And we wonder why there is such a problem with our women/girls and body image. Jeez, if a gal who looks great in real life has to be altered for a "women's magazine" targeted at her peers, what chance do our young girls have??? Oh that's right, plastic surgery.

Ok...getting off my soap box now.

Photos taken from this website.

He's Just not that Into You

One of the gals at work passed this book onto you and it is an easy read.
Not much that is earth shattering but some nuggets of truth for dating. Funny and sarcastic...I like it.

Road Trip....

Took a road trip today to the Casa Grande Ruins.
It is amazing what can be built from what is available so long ago!!!
Wildflower season is over but the cacti are blooming.......
I love the desert in bloom
I also made 3 more bags last weekend.....these are using cotton fabric and are much smaller and folded in my purse.

Did you know....

that you can send a jump drive through the wash and when it dries out, it still works??

Apparently so. I sent my drive through the washer a few months back but not through the dryer and so....found it in the laundry room this morning and thought I'd try it out at work and low and behold, it had all the original files on it and they were accessible. Who knew??

Cool!

Ah Babies....

We visited our new addition, Noah, today. He was gorgeous!!! Funny, does not make me want another babies no matter how cute and cuddly he was while holding him.

Here is Mom (Marne), big sister Elizabeth, Simon & Noah. Funny thing, Hannah wanted NOTHING to do with him. Ah, he is cute but nope, nothing doing. Let's hope that holds until she has finished college and worked a few years.
Simon LOVED rubbing Noah's head so much.
Congratulations Pat & Marne!!!

Green Bags

A few years ago I started using canvas bags to "bag" my groceries...long before OPRAH told everyone to do so.... Anyway, while surfing last week I found this pattern online that looks amazingly similar to a plastic grocery bag.

Here is my finished bag...all folded up.
Unfolded and ready to use.

Filled up with boxes. I have to be truthful, it is almost exactly the same size as a plastic grocery bag with the added bonus that you can fold this one up in your purse. I see making more of these with the fabric I have around the house. I estimate that this bag cost less than $3 to make since the outside fabric was about $1 and the lining also $1. The button and elastic were from my sewing stash so...almost free.

Definitely worth the $6 cost of the pattern.

Wednesday...

This is a bad photo of the bag I made for my Mom for her birthday. She also got a gift card but I thought she might need a bag to start her "green" bag initiative. I didn't like the pattern (free from Joann's) that much but maybe I need to try it again.
I also got a screen/security door for the house. I have been enjoying keeping the windows open along with the front door and getting a nice breeze into the house.
And, they were able to match the color of my deep navy door.

Current Book

A friend passed along this book to me last week and so...I started to read.

It is a really good book and it talks about just listening to our inner selves.

Hmm...might need to listen harder to my inner voice.

TAXES DONE!!

I finally broke down and did my own taxes using Turbo Tax. Usually, I would spend hours getting the info together and then recite the numbers so our tax guy could enter them. Um, this year I figured I could just enter the numbers myself.
There was one snafu....I entered something wrong and it showed that I owed $136,000. Dang, I wish I made that much money to own that much. ;) A load off...and one more thing off my list to do.

Babies....

Marne & Pat had a new addition to their home a few weeks ago....Noah Patrick.
Here he is with his big sister's Elizabeth & Reece. Hmm...I think that might be a hand knit hat he is wearing.
Here is my friend Kristina's newest nephew, Chris.
And his big brother & sister.
Congratulations to everyone! I love looking at your babies but I sure don't miss the loss of sleep that comes with the actual arrivals. ;)