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Thanks for visiting!
Sharonwrote:
Thanks for shring the pictures of Renee. She was a beautiful girl.
Mar. 12
Jo Vickery-Allenwrote:
Hmmmm. I'm not so sure now. She hasn't updated for over a month. . . . . . But I love her anyway
Mar. 3
Steve Allenwrote:
After long and careful consideration, I think we must have the greatest daughter the world has ever seen. I'm honored to know her.  Love, your step-dad.
Feb. 24
No namewrote:
Hey stranger. I was killing some time on the internet and found your blog. Looks like you are doing well which I'm glad to see. Just wanted to say 'Hi' and let you know that I've never been able to drink white russians since that Christmas Party 18 years ago.
Jason S.
Dec. 29
Jo Vickery-Allenwrote:
Luvverly - The moss green is just enough contrast. I'm not a 'green' person but this gets a thumbs up.
Loveyoubye
Nov. 25
Bailey Garrison...and her BFF Spanky
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5/9/2009 Long time no blog....Two months to be exact.
Well, there's not really been anything to chat about. If something exciting does come up I will certainly write about it. 3/9/2009 Pictures of Renee Lynn EichelbergerHere are some old pictures I have of Renee - some she sent me and some I took when she came to visit. Hope it brings back some nice memories....
                               1/27/2009 A Funny...Dear Mrs. Jacobs,
1/15/2009 RIP Soot (2007-2009)This morning, not wanting to leave all the lemon tree leaves and braches for the landscapers to find, I set about cutting them up into smaller pieces and putting them in one of the big cans. During this time, my neigbor's cat Soot came over to say hi and purr and be friendly. So I sat down and played with Soot for a few minutes.
Sooty was a very sweet cat and I'm sad to say that he got hit by a car today and died.
RIP Soot, you were a damn fine cat.
 1/12/2009 Mom's visitMy Mom came up from Sierra Vista yesterday and we had a nice visit, got some errands done and such and then she helped me pick almost all of the lemons off the tree. So we loaded up most of her truck last night to go home, went to dinner, watched some TV and called it a night.
Early this morning she was loading up the cab of her truck with some stuff and someone called the cops on her thinking that the lurking individual was trying to steal her little truck or the radio or something.
So the cops came by to check up on things and we all had a good laugh. My Mom, the felon.
1/10/2009 FootballWent to the YardHouse up in Scottsdale with my friend Veronica to watch the Cardinals game. Not much of a football fan, but couldn't help but cheer for the home team.
I hear they'll play the eagles next weekend. That out to be tough.
Anyway, dinner was great and it's always nice to hang out with good friends! 1/6/2009 ShoesOne of the pitfalls of working from home so much during the holidays is that every time I put shoes on the dogs thought we were going for a walk.
I wonder how long I can keep wearing UGGs to work? it's not like we have a dress code or anything. Maybe once summer comes? When is that? Next week? 1/5/2009 I joined Facebook on Saturday. I had a goal of having 100 friends by Sunday night but I didn't make it.
 I only had 85 when I went to bed. I even found my young niece in Australia in Facebook. Small world as they say. Even my Mom was already on facebook. How embarrasing.....
However it's a new day.  1/2/2009 New Year's Resolutions.....Here are my current New Year's resolutions......
Glamis for New Year's Eve....Yes, I went 'glamping' (that's glamorous camping for you neophytes) with my neighbors Bill & Tiffanie in their new 5th wheel for New Years Eve. Glamis is the name of the spot in the Imperial Sand Dunes in California where peope camp in fully-loaded 5th wheels and toy haulers and ride dirt bikes and quads.
So I drove in behind Bill & Tiff and we got there about 1 pm on New Years Eve.
In our camp was Max and son Cody Newton, Eric, Michelle and Taylor Behrmann, Dave the mechanic, Greg the kitchen remodeler and Dave's friend Steve and his family. In the next camp over was Max's friend who is a CFO of two indian casinos and he set up a 14' x 20' TV display against his trailer and we watched some football, part of a Rolling Stones concert and some live Las Vegas motorcycle stunt later that night. Amazing picture for being out in the middle of the desert! I didn't know anyone else in that camp but some of the guys did.
At 8:30 we wnt over to wash 4 to the cop camp to watch them set up and burn their 'tower of fire', a NYE tradition. I recognized some people from that camp from the past three years and we all knew Clay, the cop who is one of Max's long time friends.....
Since I needed to get home to my doggies and house sit Bill & Tiff's dogs I left around 9:30 New Years Morning. It's about 250 miles and takes about four hours to drive....
So here are some pics.....
Here are Bill & Tiffanie Ayleswoth in the new trailer, having our traditional King Crab legs for New Year's Even dinner. I brough 6 lbs for the 3 of us - look at that pile of carcasses!
 Here is Cody Newton in front of the giant screen. If you are wondering why the picture looks so grainy its because my flash illuminated all the dust in the air. If you turn off the flash the pics are much better. In any case the screen itself was bright and clear and a big draw to people.
 Pre-fire, here is Taylor Behrmann on top of the tower of flame with me inside, just to give you an idea of the size...
 Bill & Tiffanie in front of the Tower of Fire. it usually takes about 5 minutes to burn which gives us plent of time to take pics....
 More fire pics
   In the end, the Tower of Fire is reduced to a pile of charred timber....
 One more foot and Max's new truck would have backed into a deep trench. Oops!  Greg & Dave hamming it up for the camera...
 Dave looking just a little bit like George Bush, don't you thinnk?
 Back at camp, Bill & Michelle stay warm by the fire.
 Drubk guys will do nearly anything to have their picture taken, won't they.... Here's blackmail for a later date....
 12/28/2008 Baby, it's cold outside!For those of you not living in the paradise we call Phoenix, a frost or freeze warning is something to be feared, it can damage and even kill frost-sensitive plants. So what do we do when the weather people alert us to cold overnight temps?
We cover everything in sheets that is out in the open. Doesn't this look funny?
 After the sun comes up and the temp goes above 40 we take the sheets off to let them dry for the next night if needed. Just an FYI - my roof is not white - it's a rust color. You can hardly see it through the frost!!
 Win by TKONot to toot my own horn or anything but I did win the Ugly Christmas Sweater contest with my cousin Amy. Last minute she went online and ordered something from eBay.
To review this is what I sent and what she sent - any questions?
  12/20/2008 2WireJust as I was getting off work Friday the Salvation Army called and asked if I could help out Friday evening, so I worked from 6 to 10 pm and it was busy, busy, busy.
I have to give a shout-out to a local company called 2Wire. These four guys came in with money that all the employees had pooled together and they took 40 Christmas Angels off the tree. That's right, 40 Christmas Angels.....
They spent a fortune in the Apple store buying iPod Shuffles and toys, toy, so many toys and gift cards
 . They donated, no joke, $1,650 worth of stuff. It moved me nearly to tears. So I raise a glass of eggnog to the 2Wire guys tonight.... 12/18/2008 I bought the boots....After at least a full month of hemming and hawing over the cost of these stupid boots I broke down and bought a pair.
Took forever to find them as they were pretty much sold out everywhere. I bought the last pair of UGG Classic Short size 7 at Nordstroms.
I'm a sellout. I bought into the whole UGG hype and hoopla and I couldn't be happier with these boots. I've been wearing them for about two days straight now. They are soft and warm and so comfy. I'd like to think I am doing my part to stimulate the economy. 12/16/2008 In a quest for chairs.....I have to think that sometimes things happen for a reason....
I bought that table from IKEA a couple of months ago and I've been needing more chairs so I can sit more guests.
Anyway, these past two weeks I've been watching Craigslist, looking for Windsor-style chairs. Haven't seen much, but today I found some, out in East Chandler and the folks only wanted $60 for a table and the four chairs. The chairs looked like they would match my existing ones (Habersham) so I emailed them, they called me and we set a time.
Out into the cold, dark rain
 I went to look at the chairs. the chairs were great, they match up pretty good, but that's not the whole story.....These poor people were at their wits end with their old XP computer (dying), new Vista SP1 laptop and they couldn't get the files over with the Belkin patch cable because they didn't have SP2 and they couldn't figure out how to get SP2 because they couldn't get a network onnections, etc., etc., etc.
So I set about setting up a network connection, fixing all their issues, and we patched and rebooted and they decided not to do SP2, but use a jump drive and they were so incredibly grately for all my help. The lady even hugged me.
 I thought she was going to cry she was so happy. They even offered to drop the price $10 and I didn't even ask.So nice.
Anyways. I helped people. I have warm fuzzies now. :) I'm mad.....I'm so mad I couldn't sleep, and I'm a very good sleeper.
Last night, for the second time in as many weeks, volunteers showed up for their shift smelling like alcohol. I have to wonder what alternate universe these people exist in whereby they think its ok to throw back a few cocktails prior to showing up for their shift. They're there representing a charity and they spend their time there talking to grownups and kids.
What kind of image are they projecting? Good lord, what is wrong with these people? 12/14/2008 Long time, no blog....I know, I know, it's been a while, but in my defense I have been a little busy.
But I'm back with an update. A couple of months ago my cousin Amy in Charlotte, NC and I decided to have an ugly Christmas sweater contest. Despite my procrastination and the lack of choices (despite multiple trips to Goodwill) I was able to find what I think is a non-attractive Christmas sweater.
Here it is. Some people might say it's cute. I didn't find it nearly ugly enough, so I set about yesterday visiting craft stores with my friend and neighbor Ashley to find questionable and tacky embellishments.
BEFORE EMBELLISHMENTS
 AFTER EMBELLISHMENTS
 I added eyeballs, tinsel, jingle bells, pom-poms, garland and so much gliiter glue it didn't dry until this morning. The only thing I couldn't find was battery-operated flashing red lights. I think that would have put this over the top.
So in a minute I am going to pack this up ever so nicely and ship it to my favorite cousin and wait to see what she sends me..... Submissions are due by the 20th, maybe she forgot and I will win by default.
If she does remember, maybe I'll post a picture and let you all vote.
See you soon!!
11/28/2008 Hmmmm. Naughty or Nice?So I did my first Salvation Army Christmas Tree Angel shift today and picked up an Angel for myself. Think maybe Mom needed a little something too?
 11/17/2008 Painters Remorse?Is there such a thing? Most of the walls in the common areas of my house are a pale tan, a milk chocolate kind of color and the bedrooms are an icicle blue. I like my colors, very calm and cool.
However, with free time, which I didn't have much of the past few years, I find myself wanting to change things up a bit.
I like moss green, which I have a dark version of on the trim of my house, and since the painting bug bit, I decided to paint the inside of the laundry room which requires geting the washer and dryer out of there (no easy feat). But it also gave me a chance to sweep and mop behind them (yucky).
So here is the new color. I'm torn. I like it, but I was a little afraid it would look to institutional.... The cabinets and washer/dryer are white so I thought it would be a good contrast. 11/14/2008 Volunteering.....So I was excited to hear from Captain Angelina this morning from the Salvation Army of Chandler to arrange my schedule for this Christmas. I'll be at the Chandler mall, manning the gift wrap station every monday from December 8th thru the 22nd, and some Christmas Angel tree shifts Thanksgiving weekend.
So yeah, I was a little pleased with myself... until I went to lunch, and there, walking down Elliot were the 3-day walkers, clad in varying levels of pink and white, raising money for breast cancer.
Now you guys all know that I volunteer a lot for breast cancer causes, but never the 3-day. Why, well because the 3-day is actally a 4-full-days committment and because they are 'encouraged' to raise money and I don't like to hit up my friends for money.
But I support them wholeheartedly and it made me proud knowing they were out there walking by my house.... Hooray for the 3-day'ers!!!  11/11/2008 A bird in hand......Around Noon today the dogs heard something in the kitchen and started barking their heads off. I went in to investigate and found a bird had flown in, but couldn't get out. Just kept flying back and forth between windows (serves me right for cleaning all the windows this past weekend).
So that was five minutes of fun, trying to get the bird to go out the open back door.....
If a bird in hand is worth two in the bush, what's a bird in the kitchen good for?
 Big day.....Today at 5:30 am for the first time in 14 years, one month and a couple of days I ventured through a high school parking lot and ran laps on the track and did bleachers. For those of you out of the loop, on October 9th, 1994 I was abducted at gunpoint from my high school parking lot by a serial rapist.
Other than some scrapes and briuses I escaped unscathed. I learned my lesson though about working out alone. In the dark. Bad idea.
I felt ok today, in the company of the 20 women in my boot camp but I still wondered -- who is watching? Is some freak under the bleachers or hiding in the oleanders? Safety in numbers though. No worries.
I don't think I would duplicate the workout in the dark on my own but I don't think high school parking lots are to be feared any more. 11/8/2008 Mmmmmm Eggnog....Ah, the joy that is eggnog. I usually find eggnog creamer in mid-late September, but not this year. I was so desperate for it this week I even bought the real stuuf, mind you the lowfat kind, but still.
Alas, now I have found what I have been looking for....Eggnog Coffeemate - all the flavor with a fraction of the calories, perfect for a hot cup of tea.
Isn't this a beautiful sight?
Master Closet ShelvingNot long ago, I went through my closet and amassed bags of stuff to donate. Because I work from home two, sometimes three days a week, my dress clothes needs have diminished.
My closet was bugging me, there was always stuff on the floor and if I left the closet door open, Maggie was inclined to chew on things as a reminder for me to keep the door closed.
So I decided I needed shoe shelves and a place to put purses, etc. I made braces out of 1x2x6 furring strips and then put the selves on them. The shelves are not screwed in, so if needed, you can pull out the shelves and hang stuff. I even had winter shoes and boots I didn't wear last winter because they were packed away on the top shelf and never thought of them! Wel, no mas. I made three shoe shelves and since I had more shoes than shelf space I made the tough decision to donate more shoes. KISS - first in/first out - new mantra.
I'm so not done - there's so much more I can donate. Now I'm hoping to get rid of the ikea storage thing holding workout clothes. I must have 50 + pairs of athletic socks!
BEFORE
AFTER
11/2/2008 StorageThere's a very short coat season here in AZ and in my quest for more storage, I found that my hall closet to be a wasted space. So today I stripped it of coats, put up braces along the back and sides, had some shelves cut to fit down at Lowes, installed everything and made the hall closet into a pantry of sorts. Now I can get some kitchen stuff out of the garage and have a little more space in the kitchen cabinets for food. Check out these pics - I feel like quite the handyman today!!!
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