Sharing Our Creative Weekend...

Been a very busy week...Dad is doing a lot better.  I leave tomorrow for California for a week.  I will attend Dad's Care Conference on Monday with Mom. 

My sister, girlfriends and I had a GREAT creative weekend (except for one accident...) please read  and view photos about our creative weekend on my other blog here.  I have to get back to my packing... Talk to you all when I get back...

All about our Scrappin weekend and photos are posted...

 OK, everyone.  Go to March 19th post and read through to March 22nd.
Everything is posted...

Hodge-podge...

The nursing home called this afternoon to let me know Dad is doing well, but had scratched his left ear and it was bleeding.  Their plan is to clean it daily with saline solution and to put antibacterial ointment on it to heal.

Mom got the paperwork from Medi-Cal to re-apply.  Guess it has to be done annually.  I told Mom to call the front office of the nursing home.  I felt certain, since the nursing home is his home now, they could help expedite the paperwork for her.  Mom gets freaked out when she has to have Dad sign anything, because he gets so confused and writes everything but his name...often making an X.

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I have Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday's posts in the hopper, but can't publish until I get everyone's permission to post their pictures...just waiting to hear from my sister...(and she hates pictures taken of her...)
So when I post them, go backwards on the dates back to last Friday...March 19th and then go forward, so you can see and read about our weekend...

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Today I discovered if I rub Bounce dryer sheets all over

on Izzy's coat, 

she smells so very delicious!

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Went to the Dentist today.

Since I had a loose bridge.

Turns out I did not get in fast enough,

And the tooth, which had a previous root canal,

Is decayed to the gum line...

He told me it had to be pulled,

but he had no time to do it...

But he had the time to work up estimates for me:

Implants - my cost $7,385.00

new bridge - my cost $1800

He would not consent to 

Make me a snap in and out type bridge.

I scheduled a 2nd opinion

Next Tuesday,

With a different Dentist...

Meanwhile, I have a gaping space on

My lower right side

with a exposed dead root hole

that I have to keep food out of,

and HAVE to chew

only on my left side!

Well, this may be just what I need

TO LOSE WEIGHT...

Giggles and Puddles... Boo hoo...Bye Bye...

Amazingly, Mom was the last to get up this morning...
cracked my sister and I up!

We loaded up my sister's car,
 making sure we did not forget anything.

My sister and Mom followed me
as I drove us down to the Landing,

a restaurant by the Executive Airport in Henderson.

We arrived first and sat and ordered some coffee,

enjoying the early morning flight preparations.

We wondered what famous and rich people's planes
were parked there...

(Those white spots are sun glare through the window)

When our red headed girlfriend from California and our co-host
joined us,

we all agreed how much the weekend was.

We all  felt sleep deprived, to prove it!

Mom, my sister and I all joked and told the gals
 we had planned to wear the same clothes from last night

and tell them we had come straight from the casino...

Our two co-horts began laughing
and shared their latest adventure from last night...

One of the projects they had planned,
and had ran out of time to do,

was the making of the phrase:
 LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH and REMEMBER TO DANCE,

in vinyl letters from the red head's Cricut machine.

Our co-host wanted it measured
and placed high on her livingroom wall...

(I know you women out there can understand,

when we women have something we feel dialed in to do,

 DOING IT becomes imperative and top priority...)

So these two crazy gals, decided, despite being dead tired, 

to take a quick cat nap,

and then stay up as late as necessary,

to get the job done.

(After the weekend we had,

 an hour's cat nap,

 does NOT constitute rest,

by any stretch of the imagination!)

While the red head stood on the couch cushions,

holding the yard stick with one hand,

and a section of the lettering with her other,

our co-host proceeded to strattle her,

to reach to the other side of the wall while,

 intently focused on securing the letters.

As our co-host begans to cross behind the red head's butt,

our co-host starts to lose her balance,

and lets go of the lettering,

leaving it hanging precariously half off the wall...

Instantly, our red headed girlfriend, 

being a die-hard-get-it-done-above-all-costs-type-woman,

did what any self respecting woman of this caliber would do...

She leaned forward,

(sticking her butt out in the process,)

to hold the slipping letters with her chin...

Her sudden movement knocked our co-host off the couch,

onto the floor, where she convulses into a fit of laughter....

leaving our red head holding up everything!

 The red head began to giggle...

The red head tries to speak, asking for help...but instead, 

giggles harder, and begins to lose control...

Meanwhile, our dear co-host,

(the red head's BEST FRIEND),

has launched into

an exhausted-but-refusing-to-give-in-to-deralict-type-lack-of-consciousness,

hysterical laughter, 

and leaves her best friend, literally hanging,

as she runs to the bathroom!

By this time, the red head has giggled herself

 into hysterics and collapses onto the couch...

To protect their privacy, suffice it to say,

this story, from this day forward, will be referred to as,

"Giggles and Puddles"

The red head from California, our co-host and Mom...

We all caused quite a commtion with our

hearty, boisterous bursts of loud, tear filled laughter.

The faces in the restaurant, kind of looked upon us,

like the onlookers observing Meg Ryan in,

When Harry Met Sally...

We finished up our breakfast and took turns with our potty breaks...

(I thought this picture was too dark, so edited it to make it lighter...

only to discover,

Mom was sticking out her tongue!

I wonder now if it was due to her not wanting to leave...

or not being able to gamble anymore???

After hugs and kisses,

our boo hoos and bye byes,

Mom, my sister and the red head left

to drive back to California,

our creative co-host left for work,

and I drove back home.

I collected all the sheets, towels

and tossed them in the washing machine. 

I took Izzy to the Groomers

to apologize in person to the owner

for raising such a stink

with Izzy's shaved fur-do last Thursday...

The owner was very gracious

and will not ban me from the shop.

She even invited me to come in on

Sundays and Mondays, in between cuts

to wash Izzy myself...

She allowed me to select a couple of

doggie treats

"on the house" for Izzy.

She told me she thought Izzy

had some Norwich Terrier in her

due to the black eyeliner around her eyes.

Izzy and I went down to the District,

( Shopping area by Green Valley Ranch )

(which is dog friendly)

and walked around window shopping.

She was happy to have

some one on one time with me

since she spent most of the weekend

outside in her dog house.

 My husband stayed home to dog sit

and I guess,

she felt more comfortable outside.

When my husband was out for awhile,

she was in her crate.

She did not eat any of her food

 the entire weekend,

except for the dog bones she had while in her crate.

I had cleaned up

all her poops prior to the girls arrival,

and after they left,

there was not one poop pile

 in the backyard!

I was relieved (and so was she)

while walking her at the District...

I was starting to worry she was plugged up!

It was a gorgeous day

and I was in no hurry

 to go back to our empty, quiet, house...

Early afternoon,

after purchasing some Bully Bones

for Izzy

at the Flea Bags Barkery and Bowtique,

we headed back home

and took a nap...

Boo Hoo...Bye Bye, until the next time...

what a FANTASTIC weekend!!

Target. Zip-lock omelets, Trip to Michaels, Chili Reyano, and more Gambling...

Sunday morning we were up and left the house fairly early, (considering our late hours...) my sister and I dropped off Mom (so she could have HER COFFEE) at our co-host's home, while she and I made a quick trip to Target.  My sister lent me her torquoise hoody she bought there, and I wanted to get one.  We found the hoodies, which luckily were on sale!  We each purchased a navy blue one also.

My sister found some glass lanterns in the dollar bins (buying extra for the other crafty gals), with visions of creativity in mind. We made our purchases and were in and out and on our way back to meet up with the girls.  Our breakfast was our co-hot's famous zip lock omelets.  We put our eggs in a zip lock baggie, shake it up, put all our ingredients in the baggie, squeeze out the extra air, and boil.  Voila!  They were yummy!

Mom, me, my sister and our cooking co-host..

(That's watermelon my sis is forking into her mouth,

and our zip lock omelets on the plate...)

Right after breakfast, we were back to our computer fest...my sister was still working on retrieving all her photos and music.  Everyone had a project and would share and keep working...

After awhile, we needed a break so we decided a trip down to Michael's Craft Store was in order...

My red headed girlfriend from California

 perusing craft magazines...

always on the prowl to learn and teach...

Our creative co-host selecting items

for one of her many, many projects...(this gal is amazing!)

My sister and Mom in the 50 cent and dollar bins...

we LOVE those bargains!!

Did I show you the little candy treat

my sister made as a "Thank You" gift

for our co-host and I?

(Yes, she is my talented sister :}  )

Cheery flowers in the flower section, that caught my eye...

Random silliness...typical of our co-host and dear friend...

End results of our trip to Michael's and another trip to Target...

All invigorated with our heads popping and exploding wth ideas and shared creative thoughts, we all dove back into our lap tops, buzzing with excitement, laughing at wise cracks and of course, grazing on more food...

My co-host, is famous for the DVD videos she creates (and whips out at lightning speed)...showed us the one she did on her daughter's recent wedding...the music and photos are always perfect,

which always pull at your heart strings..(sniff, sniff)

Her daughter is so beautiful...

Since they were all leaving tomorrow morning, Mom made sure my sister and I knew she needed

some more time on the machines...

(we, being dutiful daughters of exceptional devotion, were willing to make the supreme sacrifice for her gambling pleasures...)

We had all planned to go out to dinner, but our co-host whipped up a fantastic Taco Salad and Chili Rellenos that knocked our socks off!!  D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!!

When everything was tidied up, Mom, my sister and I left for Green Valley Ranch Casino to satisfy Mom's lust for living and squeezing out every last ounce of energy we had left...

We all three played the same machines, with Mom's money, (because we lost all our's) 

and while laughing ourselves silly,

Mom won AGAIN!!!!

I think we got home around 2am...dragging Mom (who let me remind everyone is 82)

 and who SHOULD have been more tired than we were,

had a mantra of "Oh, this machine looks fun..."

My sister and I had been talking all weekend

of just sitting in my jacuzzi, relaxing with some wine, and talking...

FAT CHANCE that was going to happen!

Mom pulled the coup de gras, when we were on either side of her,

just about to finally usher her out the door...

"Oh Look!  a John Wayne machine! 

we HAVE to play that one for your Father..."

My sister and I look at one another incredulously, and say in unison,

"I can't believe you are playing the DAD CARD!!"

We ended up playing it and having the most fun of the night...

we laughed until we were wheezing! 

A change in our plans...

Saturday, Mom read her book and drank coffee while my sister and I took Izzy for a walk.  We had a big day planned, and were anxious to get started...

When we arrived at the other co-host's home, the other two gals were still in their pj's drinking coffee, munching on bagels and fruit salad. Of course they were working hard on their laptops. One was doing a page of one of our photos and the other was working on a photograph of her grand daughter.  She had made an image of her grand daughter's face, and transformed it into a brush so she could stamp it as a background behind her photograph.

Everyone was kind of dragging and anxious to start some projects, so we all decided to hold off going to Bellagio and City Center until later.  My sister opened her laptop to discover she had some how, lost all her photographs and her iTunes account!!

Two of us helped her retrieve the photographs.  Mom was reading her book since she could not find her laptop and came without it. She took a few naps as well, storing her energy level, because she wanted to hit the casinos again!!

Our hostess showed us some cute pillows she made for her grand kids for Easter.  We watched a video demonstration of how to make the pillow.  Everyone but Mom and I planned on making some.

Everyone was enjoying doing their own thing, interacting, joking around, various conversations and of course, laughter, lots and lots of laughter...

When we were all blurry eyed and starving, we piled in the car and drove to Applebees for some dinner. After all, we needed some energy to keep up with Mom to go gambling again!

Everyone wanted to return to the M Resort, so off we went.

A good time was had by all.  Some of the girls won, but I lost all my winnings from the night before.

We have the best time all playing one machine.  We scream, whoop and holler when we hit a good jackpot.  We really had so much fun.  Mom just goes crazy at those slot machines...AND SHE WINS!!!

Some where around midnight, we gathered everyone up and piled back in the car.  We were so tired, we just left our computers at our hosts house and I drove us back to my house.

I had cranked up the spa for us to enjoy and relax... but we got home so late, we were too tired to go in... 

Tagged picture in response to Debra at She Who Seeks...(DOUBLE POST TODAY)

Debra at http://shewhoseeks.blogspot.com/

tagged me with this photo tag game

This shot is entitled "3 Butt Salute"

It was taken 7-12-2008 at our

First Digital Scrappin weekend.

My Mom has said something we did not like,

so all three of us simutaneously, bent over, and gave her

"The 3 Butt Salute"

which cracked everyone up,

including Mom.

I am to pass this along to 5 other bloggers

and to instruct them to:

Go to their first picture file

Count off to the 10th picture

and send it out...

So I am tagging:

Mari at http://mari365days.blogspot.com/

Marylinn at http://marylinnmlkelly.blogspot.com/

Jeannette at http://reinventedvoices.blogspot.com/

Linda at http://wandertothewayside.blogspot.com/

Christina http://www.write-brained.com/

Gelatos, Eye Brow Threading, Books, Gambling, Chicken Soup & Raspberry Beer.......

The girls arrived at my house a little after 11am.  I took a picture of them when they arrived at the door. (We usually have two more gals that join us, but they had other plans and could not attend...WE MISS YOU GUYS!!!)  I do a wet board listing the weekend's events, when our co-host does it, she goes all out with photos and witty sayings.

We snacked on salsa and Trader Joe Identity Crisis chips (with corn, potato and brown rice) while I popped the garlic toast in the oven and served the salad...

The girls and my husband, all voted and decided Izzy's new summer "do"  is NOT cut too short and I should not complain the groomer took off too much fur.  Too late, I already complained.  Basically, I was in shock. I will have to go in Monday morning, eat total crow, and apologize.

After we finished lunch, I drove us down to Town Square, where we met our other girlfriend (our co-host) at Whole Foods.  After hugging and smooching our 5th cohort for the weekend, we each selected our favorite flavor of Gelato, chatting and walking through the store.  My sister and I broke off and were searching for some Raspberry Beer called Framboise Lambic Belgian Beer.  We found with the help from one of the Whole Foods liquor employees.  He suggested getting the chocolate beer to float over the top (we ended up not liking the chocolate.  It dialed down the delicious raspberry taste of the Framboise)...

Another one of the gals needed some Burt's Bees Spritzer for her face. Mom had never been in a Whole Foods before, so she was having a blast exploring.

Afterward, two of the gals broke off to go to the Apple store, while Mom, my sister and I went into the Brighton store so Mom could buy her favorite perfume and lotion.  All three of us LOVE Brighton, so my sister and I had no problem waiting and entertaining ourselves checking out all the baubles.  The sales lady told Mom she was so close to getting a free umbrella and asked if she needed any earrings.  So by the time we left, in addition to what she came in for, she walked out with a HUGE umbrella and another pair of earrings.

The two at the Apple store, met us as we left Brighton.  I asked who wanted to have their brows threaded and everyone wanted to know what it was like.  We walked into the threading salon, Eyeborws R Us, like an invasion... five women and one Cosmetologist.  She was working on a young woman who graciously allowed us to lean over and peer over the Threader's shoulder to observe the technique.

The Cosmetologist was middle eastern and from Manhattan.  She told us it took thirty years to learn how to thread.  Middle Eastern women thread their arms and entire faces, so they learn to be very proficient.  It takes experience, otherwise you can cut the skin if one does not have the experience.  When she finished the young gal, I sat down and in less than ten minutes she has finished shaping and removing all excess hair on my eyebrows and upper lip.  She told me I would not need to have it repeated for three months!

Everyone had something done and we all agreed we would definitely do it again!  The owner took a group shot of us outside the shop.

From there, we checked out the Hello Kitty store and then shopped and bought books in Borders.  Mom was anxious to gamble, so our next stop was at the M Resort.  We spent a few hours there playing penny machines.  Mom won, but put all her winnings back into the machine.  My sister and I won and printed out our winning tickets and cashed them in after we finished, so we left with money in our purses.

We were all starving at this point, as it was almost 8pm.  We drove back to our other girlfriend, who is the other co-host of our Nevada weekend.  She had a delicious home made chicken soup in the crock pot.  What gave it so much flavor, was the rind of one lemon. She also served a yummy salad and scrumptious roasted garlic bread.  After dinner is when we brought out the raspberry beer...ooooh boy was it delicious!!!

Everyone brought out our laptops and we began puttering and sharing.  Our eyelids were beginning to droop from our full day of activities...(or maybe it was the beer) yet, we still made room for ice cream and cake and then decided we would all get some sleep so we could start fresh the next morning...
We were so tired, my sister left her purse behind! (I wonder why?)... she did kinda smell like raspberries...

Dad and plans for this weekend...

Am so excited to see my sister, Mom and girlfriends tomorrow.  I will have lunch for them when they arrive, then we had plans to go see the Big Elvis show.  He is an Elvis impersonator that used to weigh 800 pounds.  This man is phenominal and sounds just like, the King.  He has lost weight, without bypass surgery, through hard work, exercise and diet changes.  Unfortunately, he canceled his show this weekend due to March Madness...

So we will go to Town Square, which is an outdoor shopping experience, patterned after a small town. I went to lunch there a couple weeks back to lunch with two blogging buddies.  While visiting there, I discovered an eyebrow threading salon.  I am anxious to have my brows threaded.  My youngest daughter swears by threading, and has the most gorgeous brows I have ever seen.  So I volunteered to be the guinnea pig, to see how it is.  We'll probably hit a casino on our way back to our girlfriend's house for dinner.  My Mom is choppin' at the bit to gamble. 

Saturday, we are off for a day of photo taking at the Bellagio conservatory, and City Centerl; followed by a Wild Life lazor show/dinner at Sam's Town. City Center is the most expensive construction project in the western hemisphere, costing $11+billion dollars. It opened last December.  The City Center complex will feature some of the worlds most renowned sculpture artists, including Maya Lin, Jenny Holzer, Claes Oldenburg, Coosje Van Bruggen, Nancy Rubins, Frank Stella, Henry Moore, and Richard Long.

We should get some interesting photographs...

Sunday, we will exchange photos and work on Digital Scrapping from all the photos we took.  When we finish, we send them to Costco to pick up later on.  Monday morning, we meet for breakfast for our good byes as the girls drive home.

These are the plans we have tentively planned...course that could change, depending how the group is feeling and what everyone feels like doing.

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Mom received a phone call from the nursing home...(did not call me...AGAIN) to let her know Dad has another urinary tract infection.  I sent an email to his doctor asking why he has another one so close to the last one, which was in March, or the end of February.  I wonder if it is from not drinking enough water?

I'm tired...better hit the sheets, lots still to do before the girls arrive...

A bit of this and a dash of that...

I went to visit my Orthopedist today, and all my exercising at home has been very successful.  He told me I was 90% improved from my last visit with him.  I told him I walk Izzy with my left hand, and several times she has jerked me into breaking up the frozen shoulder fluids.  He got a kick out of my "dog therapy."  I asked if I could work with some hand weights, and he told me to do whatever I wanted.  I only need to return if I am in pain.  He told me it still may take several more months before I am completely healed.

To remind you, so you don't have to reference back as to why I have a frozen left shoulder, I had a "slip and fall" at one of the local casinos last July.  My left shoulder took the brunt of it.  So hopefully, before we move back to Cali, we can settle this claim...

This weekend, my Mom, sister, and girlfriend come for our quarterly Digital Scrap Booking weekend.  Some of us do Digital Scrap Booking, and others just have fun on our lap tops and we all take a TON of pictures.  We have a full weekend planned, so stay tuned for a full report...we have a lot planned. Really looking forward to a fun weekend!

We have decided we are taking 5 days and going house hunting in Cali the first week in April.  My husband has agreed not to put the house up for sale until we return.  We should know by then how realistic our relocation plans look... Either the houses are selling like hot cakes, or all the Realtors are putting in multiple bids on various houses for each buyer, only to withdraw the ones the buyer does not want.  No WONDER it is so difficult to find a house to buy!!

Meanwhile, I am packing up a storm, and being totally overwhelmed with the amount of CRAP I have accumulated!!  I should hang my head in shame!! I need one of my "neat nick", ruthlessly simplistic, girlfriends to come and help me eliminate stuff.  I am loosing my perspective...H-E-L-P!!

Two of my husband's sons, their wives, another couple, and us went to see Dennis De Young, formerly the lead singer and keyboardist of the band STYX.  He was at the New Orleans Casino with his new band.  Dennis is now 63 years young and you would not believe how zippy and animated on stage he is. His wife of 40 years, who was very attractive and hip looking, works with him as a back up singer. He must do Yoga!  His voice sounds as good as it did back in the 70's and 80's!!  Awesome evening!!

He did many of his big hits, including, Babe, Too Much Time On My Hands, Desert Moon, Lady, Come Sail Away, Don't Let It End, The Best of Times, Mr. Roboto,  and Madam Blue. I have to admit, I had to stuff Kleenex chunks in my ears to prevent deafness from the LOUD music....but it was really wonderful and fun!!

Photos, Digital Scrap Booking and highlights of Las Vegas...

I belong to a group of friends who enjoy Digital Scrap booking. It's like regular scrap booking, except it is all done digitally. All the supplies are kept filed in the computer, and the work is done in Photoshop Elements. That is where the challenge lies for me, learning Photoshop. I have 4.0 and 6.0 and I am the least experienced of our group.

One important aspect of digital scrap booking, is the taking of photographs. That is the fun part for me. I LOVE taking photos. Usually, the first day we are together, we go somewhere and take pictures and then the remainder of the weekend, we create digital pages with those photos.

We started the group July, 2008 and have had four different weekends, all here in Nevada, with the last one in California. Our first weekend (summer) and the second to the last in March (spring), we went to the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. Every Holiday, Chinese New Year, spring, summer and fall, over 140 expert horticulturists arrange gazebos, bridges, ponds, water features with fresh flowers and plants displayed with creativity and theatrical impact. Absolutely wonderful in sight and smell. and if you are in town, do not miss it!

Also, at the Bellagio are the Fountains of Bellagio. Check them out on line. Totally spectacular the way the music corresponds with the movements of the water, dancing on the water to the rhythm of the music.

I really liked this photo I took of the sky light ceiling of the Conservatory...

It reminds me of some old historic building, with so much charm. One would never imagine it could be found on the Las Vegas Strip.The fragrant aroma of all the flowers is powerful and seductive to the senses. It is a wonderful place to enjoy time with friends, alone, or with someone special. Don't forget the largest ( 27 feet tall) chocolate fountain in the world at Jean-Philippe Pastisserie, not far from the Conservatory.

Daffodils and California Poppies, for me, are the happiest of flowers and make me smile every time I gaze upon them.

The creativity of the horticulturists is almost unbelievable in the way they surpass the various exhibits...

This shows the reflections within an orb water feature in the middle of the floor, showing off the multicolored flowers and the sky light of the Conservatory.It's an amazing place to be with a camera...

I would like to persuade a couple of my girlfriends, and my sister, who are so talented, to do a blog, showcasing their work. Not only are they gifted photographers, but their pages capture the most precious and memorable moments.

They do the 12 x 12 size pages, where I think I prefer to do a book with 8 x 11 sized pages.

On this beautiful summer's day in July, we were blessed with the most incredible rainbow over the Bellagio fountains. These next two photos, show before the water fountains began and then after the music started, and the rainbow appeared...

Guess that is all for now... My stomach is telling me it is time to eat...