THIRTY!!!! 30!!!! THIRRRRRTY!!!

Pounds that is ... yup, its official, according to the all knowing scale I finally hit the THIRTY lbs gone mark today!

(We pause this blog for a moment of happy, happy, joy, joy happy dancing!)!!

Its been just over 4 months since my lapband surgery and can I just say I love it and the results! I had my second adjustment (fill) on Apr. 12th and since then I've been getting my head into the same game as my stomach - thankfully, most times they play nice in the sandbox! I can eat most things just fine. In fact, this Sunday we took Brian and his friend to Red Robin's ... its been ages since we've eaten out at home and I was just all set and drooly for their fish and chips. Well a few bites later, the band reminded me it was there and was firmly in charge. But I had leftovers! LOL!

THIRTY ... oh my gosh... I keep visualizing 30 lbs of potatoes and lugging them around Vons smiling that lunatic type smile saying "look at ME, look at THESE - 30 lbs of these are gone from me-woohoo" (course, then the store manager comes up and quietly asks me to put all his potatoes back where the belong thank you very much).

HAPPY HAPPY DAY!!! (everybody dance!)

Happy April!

I know, I know, April is more than half over and I'm just getting here - I gotta work on improving my timing!


So Molly is enjoying her life in our home ... and she now has several nicknames as well. My friend Nance calls her Doll Face, we refer to her as Little Miss Pee Piddles, but this morning, I've pretty much decided that I like the name DESTRUCTOR because it just fits her only too well. Allow me to explain.


Last weekend we picked up 30 bags of mulch for our back hill along with some plants that we hope will grow and fill in the spaces (and hey its fun to pick out plants named chocolate!)

Anyway, we then put our smarty hats on and put up a fence we innocently (naively?) thought would keep her off the hill ... alas, not so much. She not only gets up on the hill, she runs back and forth gleefully enjoying puppyhood. Only when hearing MOLLY MOLLY yelled from the house does her little Doll Face head turn, the bell goes off and she remembers she's not supposed to be up there! Then, since she can't jump over the fence to get down (its scarey!), she merely runs thru it. So the cute little fence is a crumpled heap while Destructor is doing just fine!


Anyway, here's our gal, Molly, and the path of her destruction ...





This is Molly - and Mr. Hedgehog, one of many of Zeke's toys that she stole from him! Most pictures of Molly have her face hidden ... we think she does this on purpose so she can't be identified in a line-up!


Molly's mulching efforts on the patio ... notice the culprit isn't around!


This used to be a bed of 3-4 foot tall double-bearded irises ... now its Molly's playplen! The fence (the thing that bent and flat in places) apparently doesn't work! (BTW, if you click on the photo, you can see the damage up close like we do - sorta that IMAX experience!)



This is part of our vastly improved retaining wall hill in the back ... it would look much better if certain puppy paws would keep off (and again, no sign of the little vixen anywhere to be seen!)

Today we hope to get the victimized mulch bags off our patio and distributed into the front planters! And we think a trip to Petsmart may be in order so we can find a new Mr. Hedgehog!

So while I was out flinging in the Spring ....

my boyz were out looking to add to our family! And they succeeded!

This was after El and Brian went to the big REI sale of used/returned gear and equipment (can you believe, they bought yet another tent? Yeah, neither could I!!) - but they have new water shoes, hiking boots, fleece hats & vests, socks (people return socks - how odd!) and even a wonderful laptop bag for Brian at school!

So then the boys decided to go out to Camarillo to the Scout Store and after that - well, the animal shelter is only just over THERE. So that was the first phone call (hey we're at the animal shelter - you're where? LOL). Alas, that didn't pan out and so they toddled over to Newbury Feed to check that out (this, I must confess, was MY idea so I guess I'm sort of to blame for the eventual result!). The owner of Newbury Feed runs out to the Bakersfield Animal Shelter and adopts the dogs, gets them spayed & neutered, and then puts them up for adoption in his store. He doesn't make money on this venture - he breaks even (if that), but since Bakersfield's Shelter is such a high-kill facility (70-75%), he is giving dogs a chance they wouldn't get :)

Anyway, El and Brian fell in love with "Molly" - a look alike to our Zeke. Then they found out that another family said they were coming back for her. So - they waited (and made back up plans). At the end of the day, the other family was a no show, and Molly was on her way to our house!

The other dogs (including her look alike big cousin Zeke) have taken to her really well. The cats - not so much! Max hissed at her this morning and she batted him in the face - so he's been pouting! Sabrina won't come out of my scrapbook room - totally disgusted with another female in the house! LOL!

Anyway, here's a picture of Molly enjoying her chew toy (on the couch no less!)

and here'a a pic of Molly with her look alike - our Zeke boy!

More photos to follow in the weeks ahead!

Trish

Spring fling crop was wonderful!

Yesterday was Ginger's first crop of the year - and it was FUN! Star, Dani and I had a fun day of creativeness and girly time and just can't believe how FAST time goes by when one is having fun! Wouldn't it be great if our workdays went by just as fast?

Speed aka Dani played with bling & glitter (and woohoo, shared a photo of her & Mike Piazza at Petco Stadium - thank you!!!), Star experimented with different techniques (lots of oohs and aahs from my side of the table!) and then started to work on one of Ginger's kits - the amazing Goofy book - its just so wickedly cute! I can't wait to see it finished - cuz then I'll work on mine!!

Thanks to Ginger and Ginger's Mom for a VERY enjoyable day away from it all! Mom - you did AWESOME before Ginger arrived (woohoo)!!! I still can't believe I won the big prize of the night - a Quickutz Revolution - its SOOO cute!!!! What a treat - and all thanks to the Diva Happy Dance and the extra good luck rub from Mom!

Trish

SINGING A HAPPY SONG!!!

oh joy oh joy, oh wonderful happy joy joy!
Last night, totally on a fluke, we were able to sell our huge Suburban to a family that drove by, noticed the 'burb on the curb and said "hey wanna sell?" We are SO doing the happy dance. Let's face it, in the land of soon to be $4.00 a gallon gas, a 3/4 ton 'burb with a 454 wasn't going to sell and yet IT DID!!!
WOOHOO!!! And its the sale that keeps saving money - today I'm calling my insurance company and we don't have to renew the DMV registration... and hey, best yet, the mailman can now deliver our mail into our mailbox without having to get out of his Jeep (he umm was apparently irritated and wouldn't always close the mailbox), but now he can deliver (though probably not a snow & sleet type of dude!) and the mail will stay in the mailbox!
Yippee!

Happy Easter!

El is creating Easter dinner as I type - boneless leg of lamb, veggies, mashed spuds ... and of course, mint sauce! Yummm... can't wait! We rushed to Pavilions this afternoon because I suddenly remembered I had no mint sauce - one just cannot have lamb without it - its a rule, numbered even. But that has been fixed and I'm calm. Of course, it wasn't my fault that the giant bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs jumped into our cart as I walked by them. It wasn't! I gasped and whoops, there they were! In the cart, all pretty ... now they're home and even prettier! Its my one weakness at Easter ... the one candy that makes me squeal with delight (an homage to Ginger) and makes me do the happy dance! Yes, candy can do that! Frightening how easily I'm amused isn't it?

I'm on vacation this week - YAHOO!!! (visual - another happy dance!) I was off on Friday so yesterday felt like Sunday and today feels like a really odd Monday - I sure hope that straightens out this week! LOL! Brian and I have nothing planned, especially as El has to work. Of course, work already called on Friday - good grief, they were only there for half-day, and they called! HELLOOOO - I'm on vacation! So it looks like I'll be perusing the caller ID all week.

Best part is that on Saturday, I'm going to Ginger's crop in Santa Clarita! (okay... everyone with me this time - happy dance! Hey I feel like Ellen with all this happy dancing!) This week I need to figure out what I want to make, create or just chat about! I had taken a break from Scout stuff, but now I'm way behind so I don't think that was such a great plan! I need to get the photos organized, paper set and then bring some back up cards to make (that will make me open the box from QVC that arrived the other day!). We have a new printer and I have a project in mind ... I need to print photos and see if I can actually move the project from my brain to actual production mode. That means breaking out the bind-it-all that is still in the box ... well I have a week so I should be able to do this right? (ha ha ha - yeah I'm laughing too!)

Hope you all have a lovely Easter day and a happy hoppy spring!
Trish :)