i think i can, i think i can, i think i can

it's all I can do just to type- let alone capitalize the right letters!!!! my head feels like the size of a small planet and i am dragging my butt along to get some lundry & vacuuming done. thank you captain for picking up the slack ... I know you don't feel great either. well .... on the silver lining side- it's good to get this past before our schedules start moving at lighten pace for the holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! y'll keep well.

I need to be de-bugged .... so to speak

Thanksgiving Day was a whirlwind of activity. cooking, cooking, packing up some goodies for later in the week. more cooking. planning, cooking ..... oh yes .... the watching of the Macy's parade and eating. Watched a movie with the guys and by the time we were heading to bed- the aches were setting in. just fatigue, I justified.
Friday morning. sore throat. slight fever. fatigue grande. BUT there are things to be done so late rising, then get some chores finished. Being married to the Captain of course allows me to also get some rest during the day :o) cuz he is NEVER demanding of things to be done (yay) Nyquil = a solid night's sleep and sniffles weren't about to keep me from seeing family in Bako on Saturday. Sniffles & a headache that is. And off we went (and it was great).
Sunday has LOTS on it's agenda .... Xmas is around the bend & we want to be prepared!! Enter ANOTHER bug that has infested the Captain. He slept the best he could. Got a couple things done, layed down a couple of times to pass the dizzy spells .... then jumped into the days' list head on (what a trouper). By this time, my sniffles require me to keep a tissue box close and the tickle in my throat is growing. By evening (now)- not a full-fledged cough but often & sudden enough to exhaust me. The Captain is pooped & I am waiting for my serving of Nyquil to kick in. I want to ge the decorating finished tomorrow but what I want even more is to feel & sound well enough for a full day of work on Tuesday. Don't mind the horseness- but coughing all over people is a no-no. AND I want the Captain to be feeling better than I do. Right now, I think a snooze is what my body wants!!

TURKEY- part 2

A year ago today we were doing just as we are now .... preparing
to head inland to the family food fiesta .... the "REAL Thankgiving
celebration. This pic was taken last year as we all gathered up.
I love this family. They are all nuts & they are mine!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!

There is a lot that leads up to this week........
the extra time off
digging thru recipes
decorations
greetings to family
food, food (dessert) = "pie noon"
** a wonderful day to be just a little more thankful than usual!!!! **
I wish love & extra blessings to all my friends & family (and to those in need we
managed to give a little to as well) Happy & Safe Thanksgiving to all !!

you CAN'T trust ANYONE !!!

I am so upset with my neighbors at the
moment that I can barely type! I arrived
home today ... feeling well organized &
prepared for the Thanksgiving holiday,
only to find my neighbor Dan- who I shall
not mention by name (?) jumping up &
down merrily while pointing upward to
his roofline. Low & behold .... he had
hung his Christmas lights. There he was
in all his smugness, showing me in a
rainbow of colors ... that he had once
AGAIN hung his Christmas lights before
us. WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS ? .....
Flaunting his evil plan to out us AGAIN!
Well, I hope he's happy because I am
pretty sure that this will totally ruin
the Captain's "decorating spirit" that
he was mustering up for days & days!!
I was just saying the other day how much
we love our neighbrs and now I feel like we have been stabbed in the
back. Well I didn't take this lightly, I can tell you that! I marched
over there & took these incriminating pictures.




I am pretty sure they have
broken some local ordinance
by "lighting up" before the
turkey has even been carved!

I have a few calls to make to
find out what kind of penalties
are involved with this sort
of infraction. THROW THE
BOOK AT "EM .... that's what
I say. LASTLY ..... I want to say that if YOU are silly enough to believe
that I could actually be upset with these people .... then YOU need to get
out more !!! The fact that Dan was willing to spend his day off getting
this done just to rub it in- gave us all a good laugh! And .... with some
luck ..... there will be 2 houses in a row decorated by the end of the weekend!

11/25/2009 = Pop Irwin Day !!!

POPS..... on this, your
86th birthday I soooooooooooooooo hope we help you to
feel as special as you are. WE LOVE YOU LOTS!!

thar be whales here !

We've seen a few pods of dolphins the past few weeks but yesterday we saw a couple of whales as well. At first we thought it was some white caps due to the wind but when we used the bi-scopes (binocs the size of a telescope) .... we saw them- loud & clear.
VERY COOL

just one of many reasons

I have mentioned on numerous
occassions that we LOVE our neighbors. THIS .... is what happens when you
ask Dan a question - he shows up to help !!! Take a treat to them & bring home
twice as much of something else ! Not enough room in our recycling container ...
start filling up theirs. Smell something good on the barby - end up with a snack.
Need a kitty sitter ... they arrive on your doorstep. AND THESE are the tip of
the iceberg! YES- we doooooo love our wonderful neighbors (xo Julie & Danno)

Hope you are feeling better LouLou

my sissy is under the weather.
SURE HOPE she is feeling a lot better really sooooooooooooooon. XOXO

UNBELIEVABLE !!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe it !
If I wasn't saying it MYSELF about MYSELF, I would say ... SHUT UP!!

I dont' what's gotten into me this year. I have been ready to decorate for Christmas for over a week. SO FAR ... I am being good & keeping it to the fall/Thanksgiving thing (and I do soooo love the fall colors too) but the urge .... the constant pull of Christmas is wearing me down! I can guarantee that I will be doing just that the day after Thanksgiving! I have had to put away the little trinkets that I have picked up here & there .... because seeing them was almost painful (really) - like those black patent leather shoes I wanted for sooooooo long (and I never did get them by the way) I have decided to even put a funky white tree in my craft room since I spend so much time in there anyway ..... my mind is honing in on the boxes of Christmas decorations that are in the attic of the garage (thankfully) .... ummmm do I have this and will I find that ...

I have several Christmas tree themes to choose from. I don't usually even decide which one I am in the mood for til a couple days before we start hauling them down. Even then ... I still want to look thru nearly every one of the 20+ boxes in case there is something I want to put on my desk at work or downstairs in Pop's place. And this year is no different.

I have already warned the Captain that he will be decorating the exterior on Friday (if I can manage to wait past Thursday afternoon). Our neighbors are ON TOP OF THINGS each year so we told them we are tryin' to keep up with the O'Briens this year.

Well .... talking about it has actually made me feel a little more in control so I am going to turn off my decorating urges for now & watch a movie with the Captain.

DAY 7 of "a week in the life of" ....

da puddy tats were up & frisky a little more than
usual this morning - probably because I forgot to
leave out their nite-time dry food .... but it
meant I got up later than norm for a workday and
earlier than norm for the weekend!

they keep themselves busy while I am clattering about with
their food .... perhaps to keep their minds off the fact
that THEY think they are starving.
the Captain has
recently started heading out with the lighthouse crew on Saturday
mornings. (in addition to his Weds docent duties) He says it's to help out
& get some exercise. I THINK it 's to keep a watchful eye on HIS lighthouse !

DAY 6- part 2 of "a week in the life of" ......

This morning, I am off to the 2nd northern-ist office we have. Nothing
much to the drive usually. Every other week I am only accompanied by
a receptionist (and patients) but this being the week in between - I will
have a doctor & at least one more tech to socialize with. It's a nice change.

THIS ..... is what I have to come home to on a regular basis .... simply put .....
I'm glad it's me !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sooooo here is where my weekend begins .... Friday afternoon :o) The TV
weatherman claims we are going to have a little rain this evening. It's not
looking toooo promising -but I doooooo hope he is right!

DAY 6 of "a week in the life of" .....

NEED

I

SAY

MORE??!!

although I probably will ...

DAY 5 of "a week in the life of" ....

ahhhhh the week is slowly closing
in on the BEST part ....
TIME OFF !! For some reason
this week as gone a little slower
usual. BUT- not long now. This is a pic of my Tues/Thurs
workplace. a quaint little B&B just around the corner. the typical
"view" I have for much of my drive (the ocean) and .... the exit sign for the biggest little town in California (inside joke). Harmony has a yummy wine label .... and 4 residents I think !!! It was a productive day ... but I'm pooped & the Captain is calling me for din-din.

DAY 4 of "a week in the life of" .............

WEDNESDAY is "emerald green"
day .... for scrubs. We are in the
process of changing over from
prints to solids so not everyone
has caught up yet. BUT TODAY
both me & Stevo (my supervisor)
had the exact color on & we looked
fab! I enjoy pulling into the driveway of this particular location of our
practice during this time of the year because of the beautiful colors in
the leaves of the trees surrounding it :o)

At noon(ish) I leave this office to head
about 22 miles south to another location.
Nothing special about the drive BUT- it
usually means there is one of my fav
lunches on the menu !!!


and












quite often a stop at stores that we don't have near to us .... so I make
good use of the opportunity to stop while I am in town.







This particular office of ours- is in a new
building that is modern & nice looking.
everyone likes this one.

THEN .... I get to go home

my most favorite "building"

of all !!!!!!

DAY 3 of "a week in the life of" ....

TYPICAL Tuesday workday.

Road trip about an hour to

the office ... but it is a leisurely

& scenic drive. Don't mind it

at all.

This is one of the 3 cubby holes

I work in on Tuesdays.

HOWEVER

also on my

schedule was

a meeting at

our main

location in SLO

I caught a bit of

the sunset in my rearview mirror. Not great,

but sorta cool to try. SO it was a little more

driving & a little bit longer than normal. (BUT-

this way, I get to see some fellow techs that I

often go weeks with only talking with over the phone on business matters.... so it's a little bit social as well. and we had pizza too)

DAY 2- part 2 of "a week in the life of" ....

THE CAPTAIN & I went on a "date" today. On Thursday evening, he
asked if I had plans for today so
he was in the planning stages already!!














A short stop to pick up the "right rope" for Dad's flag pole and onward to the ZOO.










Thank you my wonderful hubby .....
you think of me at just the right times
(and then some)











LAST STOP ....

dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse It was fantabulous (and ALMOST free!)

It's been a long enough day for me (just not a long enough weekend)
nighty-nite!

DAY 2 in "a week in the life of" ....

this morning was started with (well after a Starbucks designed
mug full of coconut creme coffee & cinnamon toast & berries)
1. a preview of the where I stand with my holiday card designs
2. & a sneak-peek listen of my new Buble & Barbra CDs
3. checking in on work & misc email
4. last glance at the OK mags laying around (and last subscription)
5. & attempted pics of the dozen + doves that have discovered
the bird feeder - boy are they skittish!!
6. a weeeeee chat with Chris on Anthony's latest school fundraiser

BUT ....I gotta get this out RIGHT NOW, cuz we are heading out
for the rest of the day & into the evening ......
Santa Barbara (ZOO & dinner) ....... here we come!

Day 1 of A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF ....

I hope I didn't pick the wrong

week to get into the mood to

do this!!!

SUNDAY- Day 1 of my typical, untypical life.

Pops, the Captain & I set out on this

sunny afternoon to find a back road

explore. GUESS WHAT ..................... Nice scenery, yummy treats.

EVERYONE should be so lucky !!

YAY .... the weekend ... for sleeping & scrapping

YUP- Friday the 13th and I am none the worse for wear
but then .... I am NOT supersticious! (nor can I spell it)

I was surprised by the number of patients
today that mentioned they started to
reschedule their appt because of the date.

well looky

here - Pa &

little kitty

are sharing

the blanky.

She has a

different "style"

SHE likes to be

totally covered.

I don't know how

she breathes !! She will bury herself deep & sometimes even

roll over so she is totally "tucked" in! She particularly likes

fuzzy blankets cuz they are warmer & she does love to be warm.

Thanks Pa- you're a good sport considering she is a 10th your

size & yet she claims half your blanket. AND - big kitty is

sitting in you recliner as we take this picture. IS NOTHING SACRED ?!!

this is where I plan to spend an obscene

amount of time tomorrow (of not the

entire weekend!)

THANKS FOR UNDERSTANDING

CAPTAIN (ILY)

O.M.G. (and that's putting it nicely)

Health Care . . . .out of network
premiums . . . . . .PPO, IPO, HMO
insurance . . . . . . deductibles
co-pays . . . . . . . . .formulary
FSAs . . . . . . . . . . . cosmetic
preventative . . . . .cdhp
blah blah blah blah blah !!!!!!!!!

Like we weren't hearing ENUF about it with the
reports from the left side & the right side (and
SHUT UP Pelosi ... don't even pretend that you know
how r-e-a-l people live or budget or get by- and you
obviously don't care about what we have to say!!)
ANYWAY-
All of this is annoying enough and then the "enrollment"
packet comes in the mail a few days ago. WE JUST DID
all of this in July because Ken's company used to run July
to July. So all the crap you have to read thru almost
every year was done then (I soooo miss Kaiser) and here
we go AGAIN. This time it was even worse (if you can
believe that) because they dropped the plan provider
that we had! GET THIS .... we pay around 800.00 per
month for our part of the coverage & the company pays
around 750.00 as well .... sheesh!!!!!!! Just thinking about
it makes me want to call & schedule a doctor's appt to get
my money's worth. (yuk) AND that has nothing to do
with dental .... we haven't even attempted to find some
ins for that at all yet.
Well now that I am feeling so cheerful ..... I think I will
have a bowl of pumpkin ice cream :o) because if nothing
else is worth celebrating about .... the fact is tomorrow is
fwiiiidaay. (yippy skippy)

oh goody, goody, GOODY

I got my Blue Moon Scrapbooking order a couple of days ago and oooooh .... ahhh.....
the new Prima Flowers are delicious. pretty, pretty.

HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY is all I gotta say for now.

(well that and that I can't wait for the weekend to dig in !!!)

everyone should take a look at their site. It's very groovey. (and I KNOW groovey)

cocoa & candles

finally .... an evening with a chill that is a perfect opportunity to light a few candles and brew up hot chocolate with marshmellows. With a kitty kats huggin my hip, & a mellow movie playing - it makes for a pretty darn good Tuesday evening!
The Captain warmed up some leftovers that were ready 'bout the time I dragged by tired tail in the door. I made an unscheduled stop at Cost Plus to see if the Electric Reindeer selection of wine was in yet (YES) & found a couple other fun things as well.
I am already wishing I could have a do-over with this past weekend. Not for changes, just to enjoy it all over again! I have an incredible family :o)

good friends mean .....

not having to feel guilty for a last minute change!

and TODAY started around 1pm !

BY that I mean that I was
astill doing things til then
that I had hoped to do yes-
terday!
I was in my PJs til then ....

BUBBLES here, is the newest
addition to the family.


The kitty kats - STILL basking in the realization that we are home every
day .... were caught doing one of the things they do best. "Bird Watching"

they

love

the

fall

hatchings!

and the crowning moment

YOU may have thought it had to do with ME being the princess ......
but really, the crowning moment of the weekend .... even with all
the other precious time I had with family, was to visit with a
nephew who has been "disjointed" from the family for too, TOO
many years. All I have to say was he was as excited to see all of
us as we were to see him and I doooooo believe there will be many
more visits & family holidays with him & his delightful wife &
daughter. I am really glad it all cam together & worked out for
everyone to get together!!

and seeing the grandkids is frosting on my cake !

Anthony (ACE) is very oblidging
when it comes to picture taking.
He let me pose him numerous
times. (even WITH his sister)

They are both so loveable.

Addyson was feelin' stylish with her polka dot boots. She even let me
try them on (?)


and then of course is my own two babies !!!

and the day continued with ....

We spent Saturday nite at my son's house.
He is renting his "granny's" house. This is
a good place for him to be since he has soooooo
many good memories here from childhood!

It gave us time to chat

comfortably & catch up

is life has been so hectic &

busy lately that it was a

real treat! AND THEN ....

he insisted on showing me

the ropes on his Rock Band game. I can see the craze .... it was... fun.

(in a feel goofy, unco-ordinated, spastic sort of way !!)

a funny thing happened on the way to the ....

as we headed east to the valley we noticed a lot of jet trails and I grabbed the camera to snap a few shots from the window of the (moving) car. MOST were nice with a powdery blue sky but somehow- the timing, the angle, the luck ....

this one -REALLY popped. It took my breath away. oooooh ..... ahhhhh .....

so .... I figure .... I need... about 3+1/2 hours today

BUT- since I do NOT (definately do not) have the time I want
to do my post justice tonight - you will have to settle for installments!





The Captain and I left around
noonish on Saturday for a jaunt
to the valley for #1 my nephew's
housewarming party & #2 a reunion
with a family member once removed
(I'll explain more on that later) - BUT
first .... we stopped off down the street
from home to pop some pics of our
surf-advisory waves!!

(might this also be a good time to
mention that it seems like EVERYTIME
we make plans to go out of town .... we seem to "miss" something !!?!!!!)




WELL- we spent only a short few minutes
and I still managed to fire off 150+ pics
and I after nearly an hour, I have only managed to dum maybe 25% of them so
far! I soooo need to hit the hay right now but I hope to alow myself to get Turkey'd up & blogged up tomorrow :o)

HEY- before I forget (again)

I want to set up a mental toast to the

gang I work with. I got to touch bases

with most of them these two weeks

since I returned from my vacation &

it reminded me what a really groovey

group they are! What troupers when

things getting complicated & oh (OOH)

soooooo busy & hectic. It is NEVER

boring in my workplace. You can count

on change (and then for the change

to change again).

I love you guys.

I DID MISS YOU !

I am conjuring up the Christmas creative bug in me ...

alrighty then .... time to start thinking about the old holiday card mailing ....... I got me a few new tools, some fun paper, pulled out the stamps, glitter & ribbon,
& some ideas from a couple of digital sites and set it out to inspire me. BUT- I
can tell you right now, it will not set out for long because I really hate to see
it out before Thanksgiving !!! Red, green, gold & silver bothers me when I am
feeling bronze, sienna, orange, brown, cream, brick, & coppery!!

oh little kitty !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOTICE ANYTHING ODD ABOUT THIS VIEW ODD MY MONITOR??!??

little kitty went bounding across
my keyboard & here's what I

ended up with.

Interesting perhaps, but even

mouse worked sideways !!!

FORTUNATELY I knew exactly
what to do to fix it. "CAPTAIN,
I need you!" (works every time)











THIS is pretty typical Little Kitty behavior below as well.
Pull out some stuff from the fridge and she insists on seeing
if any of it is for her (I guess)

always something to figure out (or not)

not sure how to link my blog to my facebook -
what the heck is a widget?! I am such a computer
dummy !?!??

but you know what -life goes on anyway.
there are soooo many things that
I didn't used to have & life was just fine.
such as;

a DVR (or a VCR)
a big screen
a laptop (or 3)
a cordless phone
a remote control
a microwave oven
a remote alarm system
a CD player (or DVD player)
hand held games
personal masseuse (ok, I still don't)
a convertible
an espresso maker
instant anything
automatic anything
garage door opener
motion sensors
timer
mini anything
memory chip
back up system
digital anything
this is exhausting ...... I could KEEP going

the weekend is lookin good .....let's start with a cocktail

we have a lot on our plate for the weekend and I have to say
it's all going to be really cool.

I get to sleep in tomorrow and that's not the best part of my
day. We are heading to the valley to see family & celebrate
(of course seeing family is always a celebration as far as I
am concerned anyway!) Then Sunday carries a reunion with
a family member we've not seen for 30 years! cool huh?

Pops is hanging behind to bond with the kitty kats (and get
his own break from us).

let the fun begin :o)

Blue Moon scrapbooking ..... totally groovey !

THANK YOU LOULOU for turning me on to this too, too cool site. The items they carry are not out of ordinary. The prices are not out of the ordinary. The customer service is, HOWEVER, out of the ordinary.
My sis mentioned them in her blog the other day- touting the great customer service. Being OCD as I am with regard to this topic, it was ONLY BECAUSE of her words that I checked them out. I have 2 MAJOR comments about my experience .... or three.
They have a good selection.
Their shipping fees are reasonable (about time)
AND THEY CALLED ME .... on the phone ... a real person .... TO TELL ME IT SHIPPED!
Thanks sis! Can't wait to see my new goodies.

www.bluemoonscrapbooking.com

my pics are based on a true story

the watchful eye .... the overseer

THAT'S ME.

a bit more comfortable behind the scenes but I

do occassionally rip open the shower curtain &

take center stage (but not very often)

my life is a great story line,

and best of all - it's based in

reality !