Shoe Review

I ordered these Sketchers "Knock Outs" on line to replace my Kenneth Cole's that I wore until they fell apart.  Because I have been so busy, I just thought I would go on Shoes.com and shop that way.  I am on my feet all day and should try shoes on and actually spend a little more money for my feet, but I have had sketchers before and I figured for $39.99 they were probably going to do the job.       

WRONG!!!

The day I wore them, I picked Stevi up at the airport in Sacramento so spent most of the day in the car, HOWEVER, we made a quick stop at the Roseville Galleria for her school shopping.  So I drove 2 1/2 hours to the airport and walked to her gate, by the time we were walking out to the car with her luggage, I had two huge blisters on the backs of my heels.  I have had a few pairs of shoes in my life kick my ass, but flats!  And that fast,  I was miserable and limping, but I hadn't seen Stevi for 10 days so I toughed it out and headed to the mall.  I ended up putting bandages on my heels which wouldn 't stay on.  I don't know if I will gain the courage to wear these "cute" shoes again.  Hmm $39.99 for disposal shoes.......should have broke down and spent the standard $100+ for a decent pair where I could get endless enjoyment out of standing on my feet all day!!

Oh boy........and girl..........

Yup, my kids are 10 years apart, and fight just like all brothers and sisters do as they grow up.  He's 21, she's 11.  She just took his White Sox hat and threw it into the ceiling fan, which shot it across the room, I have to admit, it was completely random and it was hard to keep a straight face, so we all started laughing......so he promptly took her new converse and ran upstairs with it, with her in hot pursuit, then with doors slamming and screaming, running, slapping, pulling hair and kicking in boy spots, of course, with Jayson at over 6' and 235 lbs, and Stevi weighing in at half that size, and half his age, Jayson was in the lead,  until Stevi started crying.  She did start it, so I told her she asked for it........now she is mad at me.  I usually am telling Jayson to leave her alone, but she is getting older and she is starting more, so now, if she provokes big brother and gets into a situation........well how else is she going to learn.  So now she is upstairs in her room pouting.  I hope they don't do this forever.

40 in 4

So........40 in 4 days......I thought I would be upset about it, but I actually don't really care, most of my very close friends are in their 40's, 50's and some even just turning 60 and they are all still beautiful women.  So I look at them and realize, life is good.  40 seems comfortable, confident and when you look around you, you really are at a place inside where you really do not care what the rest of the world sees when they are looking back at you.  I still take care of myself, but now I am doing it for me, not everybody else.  I look in the mirror and see my mom looking back at me, and when I smile at her, she just smiles back.......I like her.  I have learned patience, tolerant, perseverance and calm.  I have also learned to stand up for what I feel is right, not backing down, but also to be open minded enough to see the other side is just as interesting as my own point of view.  I wear my smile lines like a badge of honor, if I didn't have them, I must not  have smiled a lot.  I have to work harder to look good, but some days I look at myself and say "Not bad, you've still got it."  While other days I say, "Good enough....."  So my mission is to get into tip top shape before our family reunion......I know I will stick to my guns.....Oh and the picture below......I thought I would make myself a birthday cake for my birthday, sooooooo I made myself a birthday cake......

MAREE!!!!!!!!!!

Maree.....it has been long, too long. I could have talked to you for hours!!  It was so wonderful to hear your voice, and I can't wait to have lunch with you!  I am looking at your picture and how is it that 21 years have passed since the day you hired me at Webb's?  You taught me so much in the time I was there, and thankfully spoiled me to the point I knew I could never work for anyone else except myself.   You taught me how to work and juggle a family and to be kind and respectful but to also be all business when I need too.  I became a woman while working for you and was always a hard worker, but you taught me how to get the job done, on time without stressing out, just put your head down and get your job done, but when you look up, SMILE BIG!  Works every time! I remember when I was in the commercial with Shari in our bathing suits......couldn't do it now, but nice to reminisce! You are and always have been an amazing woman.......can't wait to see you soon, and hey, lets keep in touch more often!!

Family Reunion 2009 1st update!

This picture of "kissing Cousins"  inspired me to plan a Family Reunion.  I have just started putting together the details and sent out an email with a questionnaire with month requests, June, July or August of next year.  Location request, Reno, Vail Co. or Lake Shasta......how many are coming, interest and so forth.  I am so excited that I am already getting "yes, I am interested".  My cousin Corey with her children and my cousin Mark both of whom I haven't seen since I was just barely 16 are both coming, of course Me, Jay, Jayson, Stevi and Jack Jack, as well as my sister Carol and my niece and nephew , My sister Liz with her Husband and 2 girls, my brother Steve with his wife and son and daughter and probably my Aunt Pat, my Aunt Dottie with sister Peggy and for sure my mom.......so far!!  I hope this is something that turns out to be a blast and will turn into a tradition, even if it is every 5 years or so.  We literally have family spread out all over the place and I hope the majority of them come so we can all get to know each other.  The only e-mail address I am missing is for my cousin Gregory who I guess is a lawyer...I could probably Google his name, but I plan on calling his brother Mark so maybe he can steer me in the right direction.  So far it looks like August of 2009 at Fawndale Resort in Redding, Ca. (Lake Shasta area) is in the lead........I will keep you posted!

my family album page 1......

?(Down the street from my house, thought the guy waving was HOT!)

my family album page 1......

Elaine. (My space photo and for Cupid.com)

my family album page 1......

Sage.( Willow's sister, daughter to Liz, granddaughter to Elaine.)

my family album page 1......

Jack smiling.....

my family album page 1......

Jack in his new crib. (Grandson to Jay and Lisa, son to Chrissi and Jayson, Great Grandson to Elaine.)

my family album page 1......

Chrissi, the beauty in the Family.( No blood relation, obviously, but mother to Jack, friend to Lisa.)

my family album page 1......

Chyla.(Elaines room mate.)

my family album page 1......

Jay. (Husband to Lisa, father to Stevi and Jayson, son in law to Elaine.)

my family album page 1......

Stevi. (Daughter to Jay and Lisa, Grandaughter to Elaine.)

my family album page 1......

Me and my friends girls night out (I am on the left!)

my family album page 1......

Elaine. (The woman responsible for starting this Lovely Brood.)

My family album page 1......

Son Jayson (father of Jack, Son of Jay and Lisa, Grandson of Elaine.)

My family album page 1......

Willow, my beautiful and fun neice, (daughter of Liz, Grandaughter of Elaine.)

Tales from the Chair Chapter 10

This is my story so the names haven't been changed......Eight years ago, probably to the month, I was working for Matrix International as an Educator, Master Cutter and Master Colorist, ( I was one of 3 that held those titles in this region.)  I was doing in salon education as well as traveling to teach hairdressers at booked classes and doing platform work at hair shows, yes I actually stood up on stage and did shows where sometimes 50,000 hairdressers would come threw the doors to watch and see what the new trends were for the upcoming seasons.  In 2000, I got a call from Matrix (which happened often)  to be in Sacramento that weekend.....4 days away at an impromptu small show at the Holiday Inn to demo our cuts and color techniques that were up and coming for the show season.  And we had no models.  So, I went to Meadowood Mall and looked for cute girls with good hair. Walked into Macy's, met a girl who worked there named Dawn who made a couple of phone calls and I had Dawn, Dawn and Rachelle within about 20 minutes.  Don't ask me how, but that always seemed to happen for me.  So after talking to Dawn and Rachelle mother, they were coming to Sacramento.  They were all of 15 years old and 5'11" tall twins.  How fun.  Dawn from Macy's dark haired and cute as can be and two towering adorable blonde's...heaven for an artist who needs clay to mold.  Dawn (the twin)  was sweet, but outgoing and more conservative, Rachelle spunky, the cutest dimples you ever saw and a little bit on the shy side, but they were both willing to let me do whatever I needed to do to get the show going. (Thanks mom Cherie, who is now a faithful and wonderful client)  A girl named Janae I worked with at Exoticut, gave me her 23 year old bartender client David to demo the masculine sides of the  trend.  After telling him a few times to leave Dawn and Rachelle alone, I had to pull him aside and explain that they were only 15 and that it was illegal, I also had been entrusted to protect my fabulous models by their trusting mother, so back off or I would show him how it was, he saw it my way and just admired them from afar.  The show went off without a hitch, perfect, they were born to model and boy did Rachelle work it!!  They blew me away, do their hair and make-up and it was like two butterflies spreading their wings.  So much fun, that weekend I made two (actually 3 with Cherie) new clients and got to enjoy watching the girls grow up and graduate high school, college, boyfriends and for Dawn, marriage.  Both of the girls are not only beautiful inside and out but smart.  Dawn more conservative, went on to teach in the beautiful town of Winnemucca with her husband who was also her high school sweetheart and is now Mrs. Lucas in the Winnemucca School District.  Even though I lost her to adulthood a little over a year ago, I wasn't sad, I still had Rachelle and Cherie to tell me how she was doing and so forth.  Now I am losing Rachelle.  TO ARGENTINA!!  She is going to be an ESL teacher in Argentina for adults.  Wow, what an incredible adventurous soul she is......It sounds like so much fun, and being an absolutely adorable 5'11" dimpled blond, in Spain, I don't think she will want for attention.  They way her personality is, she will meet all kinds of people right away, and her travel partner?  None other than Dawn from Macy's.  I had the girls model for me a couple of times, they even stayed over night at my house once to get an early start as they grew up in Dayton, (yeah Jayson hated that) and they are now 23, and starting their careers.  I encourage Rachelle to start a blog so we can follow along on her adventures and visit Argentina with her.....If she does wouldn't that be fabulous!  I have grown to love you Dawn and Rachelle, Rachelle, I will miss you sooo much, your dimples, your smile, your hair!!  Please enjoy this adventure with your eyes wide open,  that spouse you are looking for, may be right in front of you.  I love you, Be safe!

Hackers!!!!!!

Yeah...... I shot a 44 over par on a 9 hole. Jay shot 12 over and Jayson a 23 over.....ON A 9 HOLE!!  First time out this year, last year I only golfed once.....we are going to make it a point to try and golf once a week, I have this beautiful set of clubs my mom got me for my birthday and I am not going to let them sit in the garage this year to gather dust.  So we are going to get an early tee time for Saturday, and walking the course, I will count that as my exercise for the day.  It really was fun and the weather was beautiful, slight breeze, sunny and warm but not too hot.

     Now onto Stevi!  She got to make a new friend yesterday, his name is Gauge and he is from Carson City.  He was traveling as an unaccompanied minor to Baltimore, and is a seasoned traveler.  Thankfully, we met in line at Southwest and he agreed to  show Stevi the ropes.  Her flight ended at 10:10pm, and Gauge got to ride with Stevi until 7:30pm.  He was a very sweet kid when I spoke to him and Stevi said he was SO NICE!  Thanks Gauge for taking care of my baby, hope we get to see you again!  Today when I spoke to Stevi, she was on her way to the beach for a picnic and yes, she had on sunscreen.

Fly be Free.......

Today is the BIG day, I am getting ready to jump in the shower, bags are packed, flight is scheduled on time and Stevi's alarm just went off...I am so excited for her!!  She gets to stay on the beach for 10 days, go to a water park and Six Flags, Paint Balling and all kinds of other things.  Stephanie (Amanda's mom)  took the whole 2 weeks off to just have fun with the kids......I'm jealous, I wish I could go.  This is her first trip alone, we bought her her own digital camera yesterday so she can email us pictures and she is packed in pink luggage, with pink in her hair, a pink camera and pink on her braces..(do you see a pattern here?)  They are going to think she is a celebrity, either Pink or the Pink Panther maybe, or even Gwen Stefani back in the day!  Oh Girl, Have a blast, I will miss you so much but it is OK for you to have this break.  You work hard all year at dance and school, have fun and be a kid and WEAR YOUR SUNSCREEN!!

Wasted a whole hour of my life......

Don't you just hate it when you waste a whole hour of your life,  if you are anything like me, you don't have an hour to spare.  This is why I keep my life on a Treo Smartphone.  The one I have is around 3 or 4 years old, and every now and then, I have issues with it shutting off etc.  So I am a little scared there will come a time when it will shut off and delete any information I haven't synced to my computer.  Therefore, I ordered a new (refurbished) Treo 750 because I am eligible for an upgrade.  So I just spent an hour trying to upload the system into my computer, and transfer all my VERY pertinent information, work schedule etc.  and it wouldn't do it.  So I PATIENTLY called the help line for ATT and they spent around another 15 minutes with me before deciding that the CD and system that goes with the phone is faulty.  Could that be why it was sent back by the previous owner?  Possible.  Because it is a refurbished phone, they cannot repair it and they won't exchange it.  So now I have to waste more time, dropping it off at the post office and sending it back and the even better thing is......even though they took the money off my credit card as soon as I pushed the send button, for some reason, I won't see a refund for 2-3 weeks.  Fabulous.  Hope my phone doesn't crash at this time.....maybe I am ready for a BRAND NEW phone.....I just don't want to spend the money, you know?

HAPPY FATHERS DAY.....

A  SALUTE TO ALL DADS OUT THERE..

Riding bikes and getting skinned knees,

Give Daddy a kiss and 

third degrees.

Run and play,

lots of love,

go grab your ball

and baseball glove.

Don't worry about that

I'll show you how,

if you want to go play

clean your room now!

Go ask your mom

lickety split,

don't worry that it broke

we can fix it.

Turn that music down!

You're driving me nuts

I can hug away

your bruises and cuts.

That is wrong

now do it right,

I'll always love you

even when we fight.

Rough and tough

soft and meek

there is a dad out there

smiling as we speak.

Give dad lots of love

and a huge hug,

and remember when

he squashed that bug.

I love you dad

and miss you too

lots of fond memories

because of you.

Memoirs of a crazy childhood....Chapter 5

I remember my mom looking out the window waiting for my father to come home, I was probably around 4 years old.  She would make dinner and wait.......sometimes I think she waited a long time.  There were times that I remember feeling sad because she was sad.  Not until I was an adult did she explain to me that my father had a gambling problem.  She never said a bad or mean thing about him, it was up to us to form our opinions of him.  I wish more people were this way. She would always tell me how talented he was as a musician, that he could walk down the street on his hands, he was an incredible author, and that he always made her laugh.  Now I see, she was the epitome of class.  He hurt her, he hurt me, he hurt us, and she never said a bad word, just that he had to leave.  I am sure she waited a very long time at times.  The days of him not coming home eventually ended.  I later learned that he hocked my moms jewelry and there was only one car, which he took also.  Nice, leave your wife and children, one of which had special needs, stranded in Reno Park without a vehicle.  I will tell you later about that day, as I remember it. What I do remember now at this time, was my mom smoking a cigarette waiting in the kitchen of our trailer watching out the window for him to come home.  Sometimes, you just have to walk away.

4 Days left!

Only 4 more days until Stevi leaves for Virginia Beach!  I am so excited for her, but nervous at the same time.  This is her first trip anywhere by herself and she is going all the way across the country!!  I never flew by myself until I was an adult and I was scared to death!  At least she has youth on her side, and she is fearless.  I am sure she and Amanda will have a blast and it is a direct flight, even though I have to drive to Sacramento to get a direct flight, at least I don't have to worry about her changing planes. We just went shopping at Justice for a couple of new summer outfits, which she won't be able to shop there much longer, and that sucks because it is affordable.  Tonight we are going to an Astro's game and Stevi and Jeremy are going skating because it is Friday the 13th, I guess the rink has  Jason Vorhees chasing them all over the skating rink.......sounds like fun to me, if I want to break my ankle again!!  Well have a wonderful Father's Day weekend, Jay is getting breakfast in bed and he got a conversion kit for the Ultra so he can take the tour pack off and look cool......gotta look cool.....

Brace Face....Metal Mouth.....Tin Grin

My little girl is STILL growing up, she now has braces, and I must say, she actually looks cute in them.  I looked dorky, she looks cute.  She couldn't wait, now her mouth hurts and she needs to figure our how to eat again and what not to eat.  Last night my mom had to remind me that I always got soup the evening of my braces being tightened.  I needed to be reminded of that and I forgot how painful and tender it can be.  I have always had a sensitive mouth, and Stevi got that from me.  She is turning into a beautiful butterfly.   (sigh........)

BIGGEST LITTLE SMILE IN THE WORLD.....

Remember back when if you had glasses or braces, you got made fun of and you were a dork?  I do,  I was a dork. Stevi has an orthodontist appointment at 1:30 today and she is praying......yes praying that today is the day she gets her braces on.....what happened, now you are cool if you have braces and hot if you have glasses.  I guess part of the fun is glasses are very stylish now, and you can also design you braces. Her teeth are no where near as bad as mine where, they used to call me snaggle-tooth in 6th and 7th grade, but it is nice when people comment on how beautiful your smile, as you know a great smile can make or break a person, and if you smile, the world smiles with you.  If you cry, you cry alone...(unless you are with me).

When it clicks!

Every performer has that AHA moment where everything clicks and you are just on, you have figured it out, it's fun and you perform instead of count.  Stevi had that AHA moment on Friday night.  It was so wonderful watching her, it was like watching someone else on stage, she was in the moment.  I couldn't have been more proud of her than I was this weekend.  The 9 dance classes a week she takes are starting to pay off.  She has performance in her blood, my mom, my sister and I have all been on stage, and we all thoroughly love to be the center of attention when the spotlight is on us.   Now it is in her blood, Saturday morning as we were getting ready for her recital, she said to me "Mommy, I am never going to stop dancing!"  Sweetie, after seeing you this weekend with your face lit up, animated and glowing, I don't think you will...........I am so proud of you.

Just around the Bend...

Well today was the day of manipulation, so we arrived at Reno Orthopedic Center at 7:30, and like always, they were running around an hour behind, but it was fast, Jay called me and said he hadn't been seen yet, then they put him under anesthesia and he called me 40 mins. later and said he was ready to be picked up.  I took him to breakfast at Archies Famous Grill and it was fun, he fell asleep at the table 4 times, once in the middle of stirring his coffee.  Afterwards he got to go straight into therapy for an hour and tonight they want him to ride a stationary bike, so he will be going to a spinning class with me at 6:30. Isn't that amazing, he went from a 70 degree bend and now he is at 108 degrees and he should be at 150 degrees and feeling perfect in the next two weeks.....so while I spin, he can ride a comfortable pace just to keep his knee loose.  I'm glad we are spinning tonight because last night I took the body conditioning class

and after the really fun 500 or more jumping jacks we did for warm up, I think the bottom of my right foot is bruised.  I also liked the part where we got to stretch on leg straight on the floor and lift the other one straight up over our head and touch our toe to the floor with our heel touching the other floor OH and keep your back straight at the same time.  I would tell you the rest of the fabulous moves but I am trying to block them out of my memory until next Monday at 5:30 (in case anyone would like to join me). 

I JUST ADORE MY NEICES!!!

Aren't they just the cutest!?  Yesterday we went to Willow's recital and she is so adorable.  She is the Princess and Sage is  the "Leave me alone, Rebel"  In fact, I think Willow is going to be a lot like Liz and (Sorry Liz)  Sage is going to be more like me,  Willow loves to play dress up and be a Girly Girl and Sage just likes to beat to her own drum, and leave her alone so she can do it her own way and on her own time.  Willow likes to be the center of attention and wants all eyes on her when she is doing something entertaining, Sage couldn't care less if anyone even notices what she is doing, because she is in her own world.  It is such a joy to watch them, and I love to play with them,  it is amazing, but the older I get, the more I appreciate what life has given me, and being "Auntie Beautiful"  is one of my favorite things in my life.........