freebies

For my local friends who read my blog, I'm giving away mags today!

I have 9 really nice issues of Better Homes and Gardens that I've never even cracked open.

Be the first to claim them and their yours - then just come pick 'em up!

If I'm not home they'll be waiting for you on my porch :)

I've got 41 issues of Guideposts Magazine - the best little magazine on earth!

I've mentioned Guideposts several times before - like HERE and HERE -

that powerful little magazine uplifts me and restores my faith in mankind.

41 issues friends! Claim 10, claim 20, claim them all and share them with friends!

Just be quick to let me know and they'll be waiting for you too :)

this boy

 Something came in the mail the other day. 

A very large box that the Mouse had been anxiously waiting for.

 "FRAGILE"??? Oooh, it must be Italian :)

For weeks he's been waiting for this moment! His first guitar!

 Ahhh... love at first sight :) And not just any guitar.....

 A Martin Guitar! A brand new type of Martin that has just been released. Anyone who knows Martin guitars, knows that they are the best of the best of the best - and very pricy. Martin wanted to come out with a model that was more affordable. They came up with a composite material similar to the material on the back of an Ovation guitar. The neck of the guitar is still wood, but the rest of it is made from this composite material. I really had my doubts when I heard about it. But John and Matthew said it was truly amazing. Well, they were right! The beautiful, rich sound that resonates from this guitar is astounding! It really blew me away! 

 The very first thing he played was "Blackbird" :)

This is one happy - talented - guy, and I'm very excited for him!

xoxo

got ma har did

Good morning! I trust you all had a lovely Mother's day yesterday! Mine was just wonderful - I will share some of my pics soon, so stay tuned. I am so grateful for my husband and my 3 precious boys. I am so honored to be their mother :) 

The morning my cousin Shelly left was the first time I noticed my face getting puffy from the prednisone (steroid) I am taking. The doctors warned me it would eventually happen - it's called Moon Face ("I'm a llama face - waaaaaaaa") - but I didn't want to believe it. And every day it's become a little puffier. LAME. I needed to do something for myself to lift my spirits. The strip of white hair I have in front has never bothered me - in fact I always thought it was superfly :) But all the salt & pepper stuff made me feel 100 years old. With a Moon Face. So for the first time in 10 years and went and got ma har did. 

Now I feel much better. Well, my hair looks awesome anyway! My Moon Face is starting to make me resemble Mrs. Puff from Sponge Bob. It's only a matter of time. Just wait - you'll see a difference in my Mother's Day pics. A good lesson in humility, right? LAME. So please just look at ma har instead. And by the way, thank you Dionne! You are awesome! :)

wrap up

~ way cool Beatles lamps at Amoeba Records ~

Hey all! The last few days have been nutsy cuckoo with busy stuff, fun stuff, boring stuff, usual stuff, friend stuff (yay!), driving everywhere stuff, and the Mouse's last volleyball game for the season (yes, they won - go Hart!). I always try to get my blog posts done early in the morning, but I've hit the floor running all week (I love that term because it's such a great visual - lol) and the last few days I just couldn't squeeze anything in. It's all good though, because I've had some stray photos and some new ones that I'm going to put together for a little pre-weekend post :)


First off, several weeks ago we went to our mecca, Amoeba Records, and I forgot to post these pics. We have been redoing the Mouse's room a la British Invasion (sneak peek below), and he had seen these cool Beatles lamps there. I told him the next time we went he could pick one out - I didn't remember there were so many great ones to choose from!

This is the lamp that Mouse chose, which I really love. It's their various album covers.

~ sneaky peek ~

And here's the sneak peek of Mouse's room... from left to right: the Welsh flag, the Scottish flag, and the United Kingdom Union Jack flag. Cool, eh? That's the only peek you're gonna get. We still have more to do, but it's looking really awesome already. And of course I'll blog about the "before" and "after" when it's finished!

~ Cheryl's amazing tee shirt ~

 Okay, does this not win the prize for the GROOVIEST tie dye shirt EVER?!?! I will answer for you: YES. Yes, it does. My wonderful friend Cheryl Elm went back east and among other things, visited the extremely unique town of  Northampton, MA. And when she came upon this wild little store, what did she think of? Nope, not Jerry Garcia. Not Wavy Gravy. Not even Ben & Jerry's. She thought of ME :) And she brought me home this AMAZING shirt! Oh Cheryl, I love you xoxo

~ Jamie's beautiful Gerbera daisies ~

 Jamie is one of my dearest friends, and has been for years. But the two of us trying to get together or even just talk on the phone is beyond ridiculous. Our lives are just crazily running parallel to each other but rarely crossing. It's always been that way. So when we DO get together, it's an absolute JOY. We go to the same place, we eat the same thing, we talk as fast as we can, we have the most wonderful time, and it's over before we know it. It's just our ritual. Well when I got sick after the holidays and fell off the face of the earth, it not only practically took an act of God to get us together again, but I had missed Jamie's birthday :( Well would you believe, when we saw each other this week, I wasn't the only one with a gift to give. There was Jamie with a gorgeous vase full of one of my favorite flowers, Gerbera daisies. That's my Jamie xoxo

~ the little things are the BIG things! ~

And last but certainly not least... ta-daaa! You didn't think I'd get a pedicure this week and not SHARE it, did you?! This turned out SO CUTE, you may actually have to click on the pic and see it close-up! Because my rhinestone polka dots are just too adorable :) I went with my friend and pedicure buddy Diana. My precious Diana whom I've also known for years and years. My life and my kids' lives would not be the same without Diana. She is out of town so often, and does so much for others, and is busy loving her sweet grandbabies, our special time to see each other is when she's finally here and we both need pedicures. We sit next to each other and catch up on everything, and then we go get Subway sandwiches. Another happy little ritual that means a LOT to me xoxo

And that's my wrap up for now! 

no va

~ Spanish translation: "doesn't go" ~

 So while we're on the subject of cars... When I dropped Davy of at the local college this morning I drove past an old red VW Squareback in the parking lot. Oh, I just *loved* those cars and I rarely see them! I had forgotten my cell phone so I couldn't take a pic :( It even had a tree-hugger bumper sticker on it :) I couldn't tell the year - I'm much better on identifying old Bugs since I had a '63 - but it was pretty ancient. Which reminded me I hadn't posted these pics yet!

 This '57 Chevy Nova has been popping up for sale in our neighborhood off and  on. IT'S. SO. COOL. The funny thing about the name Nova (no va) is that in Spanish it means that it won't go, hehehe, so of course they had to change the name to something else in the South American models! 


My dream car is a red '57 Chevy Bel Air Wagon (WITH air conditioning) because that car is as cool as it gets, and I could fit the entire neighborhood in it, PLUS my dogs..... and every time I turned a corner all the boys would smash each other sliding on that massive back seat, hehehe :) 

But this Nova was mighty sweet. It had all original everything. And the interior was red! Look at that awesome dashboard! Is that too cool for school or WHAT! Of course they are asking way too much for it, and of course my husband is looking at me like I've lost what's left of my mind (especially after bringing the gnome home)....... but hey - I can lurve it if I want!!!

And just in case you're not sure what a '57 Chevy Bel Air wagon looks like:

Ladies and gentlemen, the Cool Meter is off the charts :)

defrocked

~ a rare photo of the Megibug with it's spots ~

It's true, peeps. Some of you have already noticed. Instead of all the honks and waves we give to each other... all our thumbs up and kisses thrown in the air as I go zooming all over town in the Megibug... I drive right past you and you don't even know it's me. Because I'm not driving the Megibug anymore :(

~ the Megibug friends ~

In fact, the Megibug is no longer the Megibug. You could even go so far as to say that the Megibug has been defrocked of all it's Megibugness. All my little Megibug friends have been removed... my MEGIBUG license plate will soon be the last thing to go.

John and I switched cars for all those annoying economic reasons like gas mileage and commuting, blah, blah, blah. So now I'm driving our white Tacoma truck. To be honest, I've always loved the Tacoma - it's an awesome truck. It's actually much easier on my back, and it's got power, and boy do I love power - bwa-ha-haaa :) But alas... it's not the Megibug. So before we continue... a moment of silence for the Megibug please :/ 

 ~ Awww... the Megibug in front of the Megihouse ~

~ Awww... the Megibug with her wings ready to take flight ~

 But it's not all bad... Luna has made friends with my Grouchy Ladybug. She carries her all over the house, nibbles on her now and then, and uses her as a pillow. It's pretty dang cute :)

 I think they were telling secrets here, but Luna does NOT like her picture being taken, so of course she froze the second she saw the camera... she's very sensitive that way...

~ at least one awesome thing that will stay with the Megibug ~

So from here on out folks, watch for me around town in the white Tacoma! I miss feeling the love out there when I'm driving around! I feel so invisible! The Megibug and I have been associated with each other for so long I almost feel like part of my identity has been erased! I need my honks and waves back!

EPILOGUE: As if handing over my MEGIBUG plates wasn't hard enough, he took my words off the back window..... I was crushed :( 

gnome home

My long time readers will probably remember this, however any new readers may not have seen  -----> THIS BLOG POST <----- about gnomes. Or as I affectionately call them both individually or in plural..... gnomedge. Quick recap: I always thought gnomedge were the freaky and sad hobby and/or downward spiral of older people who were also attracted to hideous plastic yard ornaments. Over the years I have softened my opinions on gnomedge in general, as they have appeared in a few movies/tv shows/commercials I actually liked. Plus it seems they have also evolved into more jolly looking creatures rather than ones you fear have slipped out from under their mushrooms to hide under your bed at night. (good grief - just click on the highlighted post above) 

ANYWAY. I have casually been on the lookout for a large, colorful, jolly-looking gnome, being that I tend to like large, colorful, jolly-looking things. I'm extremely picky however, about anything I bring into my home that has a FACE. So I hadn't had much luck. Then just a few weeks ago, the day my cousin Shelly & I went to the nursery to pick out flowers for my porch (aka. the day I stood there brain dead and drooling while Shell made decisions for me)........ there he was! GNOMEDGE!!! Large. Jolly-looking. Ridiculously expensive. Not colorful. But overflowing with gnomedge potential. Dare I say....... a project! After just a few minutes of debate, Shell & I took our gnome home. I think we actually giggled much of the way :)


So here begins our gnome transformation from "Before" to "After" - and it's been an amazing journey!   Because I am freaking A.MAZ.ING.

 Found him! Near-perfect gnome looking dull and drab, sad and sorry... 

but with gnomedge potential off the charts of the Gnome Meter! 

 * my fave pics of Shell & I *

Above is my mid-way peek... starting first coats of color... pant color not decided on... his skin is still a nauseating yellow... no definition in his beard. His facial features and beard took me a long time - I think I must have done his beard at least 4 times, maybe more, before I got it right. My family thinks I've officially lost my mind. Whatevskies. 

I am sooooo happy about how he turned out! Look, look, LOOK!!!

 Is he the cutest gnome EVER or WHAT?!?! 

He almost has a "Seven Dwarfs" look about him, which I just love.

 I think it's cute how he holds his hands behind his back

 I like his face a lot. It took me FOR.EV.ER. I was bound and determined to make his face as cheerful as possible. Even his tongue needed to be changed, and the lines around his eyes defined. Changing his pasty yellowish skin to a flesh tone made a huge difference, as did adding some definition to his facial hair and beard. That was a challenge, but even more challenging was giving him his rosy cheeks and nose. First he looked like a clown (SCARY), then he looked like he had a bad case rosacea, then his teenage years came back to bite him in the butt with pock marks....... aargh! I really LOVE the final results :) John says I made him look like he's been drinking too much, but to me he just looks jolly and cheerful. So maybe he DID toss back a few, hehe :)

 Mehhhhh!!! Stranger danger! Help! 

More gnomage fun to come this week, so stay tuned!

I know you'll be waiting on the edge of your seats!